The Guest House Hauntings Boxset

by Hazel Holmes

  “This house isn’t haunted. There are explanations for why strange things happen, even if they’re not always readily apparent. And as for Lyla and Richard, we don’t even know for certain that they did kill their children. However, if they did, they were likely struggling with very human problems brought about by selfishness, anger, or mental illness. There are a ton of possible explanations, but we can’t blame things like that on ghosts.

  “This is all scary, I get it. I believe you saw what you saw, but we also must stay rational. We can’t let the stories get to us.” She took his hands and kissed them. Worry was bright in his eyes, paired with a fear of being judged. Shame weighed on him. “I love you, okay. We’ll get through this together. I’m not judging you for coming to me with this. I’m glad you did. I just want to help you see the truth in it.”

  “I know,” he whispered. His voice raised. “You’re right. There’s no such thing as ghosts. I know that, but it’s hard to fully convince myself of it when I saw him there.”

  They were quiet as Clara gave him a moment before she offered a solution she hoped he wouldn’t react badly to.

  “Ezra, I don’t think any less of you, but I am worried about you. Maybe it’s time to talk to a doctor. I’m sure it is simply a nightmare due to sleeping problems, but they could give you something to help you sleep better. They could probably give you something to help with the stress.

  “I’m not saying you have to be medicated forever, but it might be something to look into for now. Maybe we could even try to find a therapist of some sort. Something to help you feel yourself again.”

  Ezra wasn’t offended. If a doctor could offer him a pill that would chase the ghosts away, he’d gladly take it.

  “I’ll look into it,” he told her.

  “Good,” Clara said. “There’s no shame in needing some help. In fact…” she looked around the room, her mind returning to renovations, “why don’t you take a break from the normal stress today?

  “I’ve been wanting to make some changes around here. I have so many ideas, and they’re going to take a bit of time to put into place. We’ll want to get started on them soon so everything’s ready for the opening. Why don’t we take the day to do some shopping? It might help you get your mind off things. If we can plan for the future, maybe you can look away from the past.”

  “That sounds nice,” Ezra admitted. “But I have to get the menu done. I have to order food.”

  “Ah, but the café also needs to be sorted out. Any changes to the room need to be made ahead of time. At the very least, our guests will need tables and chairs. We can even pick out some décor for it.

  “It’ll likely take some time for everything to be delivered. So, tomorrow you can get back to work on the menu while we wait for everything else to come in. I’m not sure you’d be at your creative genius best when you’re exhausted anyway, or when you’re this stressed.”

  She had a point. This was so important to him, and he didn’t want to make mistakes simply because he couldn’t fully focus on it. His mind admittedly wasn’t at its best.

  “Come on,” she said, wielding that smile that always got him. It was the thing that drew him to her in the first place, infectious in the best way. “You deserve a break for the day, and it isn’t even fully a break. We’d still be productive. These sorts of things have to get done regardless. Maybe shopping will give your brain space to focus on something else. A little retail therapy always helps me. And it’ll be fun to spend the day together.”

  She wasn’t even sure it was the right decision, but she wanted to make him happy. She’d do anything she could to purge that haunted look from his face.

  “Okay,” he relented. “Just for today. But first… I think it’d be good if I called a doctor. There’s no way I’m getting an appointment today. These things take time, but I want to get better.”

  “I’m so proud of you,” she said.

  20

  As Ezra searched for a suitable doctor, Clara cleaned up after breakfast. She intended to do her own research eventually to see if she could find anything else to help him. But for now, she needed time to process everything. As she loaded the dishwasher, she tried to piece together all the bits of information to figure out a path to Ezra’s wellness. When one of them had a problem, it fell to both of them to fix it. They always tackled everything together, but Clara didn’t even know where to start.

  She kind of worried that maybe they had moved too quickly in buying the bed and breakfast. She didn’t realize how upset Ezra was over his father’s death. She hadn’t foreseen how much it would affect him and had she known, she would’ve waited. She felt bad for putting this all on him all at once. Now they had to figure out a way to help him cope. She wouldn’t let him keep sliding like this.

  As she contemplated how to approach her husband’s suffering mental health, a bang against the wall drew her attention to the hall. She froze. “Ezra?” she called out. She thought he was upstairs, but they were the only two in the house.

  He didn’t respond. She waited a moment, then slowly left the kitchen. “Ezra? Are you okay?”

  Just outside the kitchen, the door to the basement was wide open. It had clearly hit the wall, allowing a faint bit of light through the doorway. Clara shook her head, confused as to why Ezra had gone down there. It wasn’t an awful space, but they hadn’t really touched it since they arrived, so it wasn’t the most welcoming. She glanced down the stairwell.

  The only light that was on was a lone lamp way in the back corner of the room, so it was difficult to see if anyone was down there. But of course, he had to be down there. The door didn’t slam open on its own.

  “Ezra? What are you doing down there?” she asked.

  He didn’t respond. She found herself getting a little irritated. Was this his way of trying to convince her there were ghosts in the house?

  She started down the staircase slowly, using the faint light to guide her. She was still unable to fully see if anyone was down here, and it was slightly unnerving considering all the odd conversations they’d been having lately. It made her angry at Ezra for playing these games, yet she refused to show her fear. She didn’t want him to see it was working.

  “Ezra?” she called out.

  “Clara?”

  Clara froze. Ezra’s voice was coming from upstairs. He wasn’t even in the basement.

  As she faced the stairwell, a bang punctured the silence behind her. She spun around and saw… nothing. Heartbeat pounding, she darted to the light switch and flipped it, turning on the ceiling light that illuminated far more than the lamp did.

  No one was down there.

  “What are you doing down here?” Ezra asked as he came down the stairs after her.

  “You were down here, weren’t you?” she responded slowly. He had to have been down here, but if he wasn’t, she didn’t want to freak him out more. He was already going through enough. If he wasn’t down here though, who was?

  “No. I was talking to the doctor upstairs. I found one I think will be a really great fit. I made an appointment for next week.”

  Clara hesitated. It was still possible Ezra had been down here and was lying to try to convince her the ghosts were real, so she’d believe him. She thought about calling him out on this, putting her foot down. She wouldn’t be tricked so easily, and he wasn’t going to get out of visiting a doctor by changing her mind about the ghosts.

  But it was a huge risk because if he weren’t behind it, she’d be adding to his fear. There could be a reasonable explanation for what happened. There had to be. Perhaps the door was already loose, perhaps… Well, there had to be a reason for it. A reason that wasn’t attributed to ghosts. With his nerves already frayed though, she doubted Ezra would see it that way.

  She didn’t like to lie to her husband. She wasn’t in the habit of doing so. Their marriage lasted because they trusted each other. They were open and honest about everything, even the tough stuff. Seeing him struggle as he did lately tho
ugh, that was difficult. She wanted to protect him from it, no matter what that took.

  “That’s great,” Clara said, forcing on a smile. “I just came down here to get an idea of what to do with this space. I feel like it could be a nice place to entertain our visitors, but we have some work to do on it first. Maybe we can lay down some carpet, plaster on a new coat of paint, get some furniture for it.”

  “That would be a great idea,” Ezra replied. “What colors were you thinking?”

  It wasn’t easy for Clara to stay in the basement after being spooked by it. The space felt creepy now. Unsettling. But she didn’t want to raise any red flags for Ezra, so she stayed. They discussed possible color schemes and she tried to avoid looking in the corners to see if anyone was hiding there.

  She tried to pick up on any hint that Ezra might’ve been down here, that he might be lying to her. She didn’t get the sense he was though, which scared her like never before. Was his paranoia rubbing off on her? Were they both mentally unwell? Or was there really something going on in the house?

  There couldn’t be. Clara knew there couldn’t be. Still, they were both relieved once they made it out the door and off to the store.

  21

  They decided to stop at the hardware store first. They didn’t think they could properly pick out furniture for spaces that were still vague mysteries. Their minds were full of inspiring ideas, but stepping into the store was both exciting and daunting. There were so many great choices, and neither could quite fathom that they owned a bed and breakfast to decorate as they wished. It was such a huge change that came with a huge amount of pressure. They weren’t even sure where to begin.

  Despite having done some planning ahead of time, seeing the wide range of colors and materials changed things a bit. They started second guessing their decisions, faced with options that might be better.

  “I wish we had a million more rooms to decorate,” Clara said, as she and Ezra stood in front of the endless swatches of paint. “I have so many design ideas and themes I want to explore. There simply isn’t enough room to bring them all to fruition.”

  “I love that creative mind of yours,” Ezra laughed. “But if we can channel it now, maybe we can expand later. If you want to, of course.”

  “I don’t know. As fun as it is, I’m not sure I’d want to take on more projects. I love our little property and the house we have now. But I shall try to narrow my vision and tuck away potential hopes for the future. There’s just so many amazing colors!”

  Clara had already picked up at least twenty swatches and she was still eyeing an array of them. This was her dream come true, a dream she never thought would come true. It was exciting, overwhelming, and the perfect distraction.

  As they stood in front of the display, with the sound of the paint shaker behind them and bright lights above them, worries about ghosts and declining mental health were forgotten. The only thing on their minds was the bed and breakfast they were opening together; a shared dream that offered up enough happiness to battle the shadows that had worked their way into their lives. Hope was restored. True happiness began.

  “I know that look,” a familiar voice said, interrupting their thought process.

  Clara turned to see Brittany walking over, her smile even brighter than the first night they met. There was an unmistakable warmth and enthusiasm that radiated from her. It made Clara grateful to see her again. She was just one of those people that others gravitated towards and wanted to be around.

  “Brittany!” Clara said. “It’s so good to see you again! How are you?”

  “Fantastic!” Brittany went in for a hug, which Clara accepted. It already kind of felt like the two were close friends. “And you?”

  “Excited,” Clara beamed. She took a step back and motioned to Ezra. “Brittany, this is my husband, Ezra. Ezra, this is Brittany. I met her at the book club. She also owns a bed and breakfast.”

  Of course, Clara had already told Ezra all about Brittany and her worries that ghosts were haunting their bed and breakfast. Still, Ezra played along for her sake.

  “It’s great to meet you!” Ezra said, shaking Brittany’s hand. “I’m glad we’ve already been able to connect with some local business owners. It’s so important for us all to stick together against this crazy, money-hungry, corporate world.”

  “I agree,” she replied. “It’s the only way any of us will thrive among the giants. You’re lucky though. You couldn’t have found a community more welcoming to small businesses than we are here. This region is still in that stage where each newcomer brings in more visitors for the rest of us, as people are starting to become more aware of the gifts we have to offer here. So, we try to provide the warmest welcome to all fresh faces.”

  “That’s fantastic,” Ezra said, a bit relieved by this. “We’re definitely glad to be here and we appreciate your support.”

  Lately, coming here had seemed like a bad idea to him. Hearing the ghost stories and seeing what he’d seen made him regret moving to the area. Hearing some positives about this place they’d chosen to build their life was ammo against the daily battle. They had a good foundation to start from. He just needed to figure out how to build a steady life on top of it. A small voice reminded him that he needed to get his mental health in check so they could make the best use of that support.

  “It’s my pleasure,” Brittany insisted. “You must be looking into making some changes to the bed and breakfast.” She glanced at the wall of paint swatches. “I recognized that look on your faces the moment I saw you. It’s the fresh excitement of owning your first business and imagining all the fun things you can do with it. There’s nothing quite like it.

  “It gets a bit more difficult once everything is set up. There’s the constant barrage of paperwork, repairs, efforts to improve, build, just so much to do. But at the start everything is new, exciting, and anything seems possible.” She shook her head. “What I wouldn’t give to go back to that headspace for a day.”

  “It’s exciting,” Clara admitted. “Crazy trying to make these choices. It’s a little intimidating, though I suppose this is the fun part.”

  “But not the most fulfilling,” a man said as he approached Brittany. He was tall, muscular, with big brown eyes and carefully kept brown hair. Like Brittany, he was classically attractive. It wasn’t surprising when he wrapped his arm around her waist. They fit each other perfectly. “Don’t let my wife fool you. She’s been a little overworked lately, so she’s a little bitter. But the best part of running a business comes a few years after you get it off the ground.

  “Sure, the initial period of getting everything set up is fun and exciting, but it’s also nerve-wracking. You’re so new and unsure of everything, you’re bound to make a ton of mistakes, and there’s so much to do just to get to opening day. Don’t even get me started on the stress that stretches into the weeks that follow.

  “The first couple of years are even tougher. That’s when a lot of businesses fail, since you’re dumping your money into this venture that you might not see a return on right away. You have to work on building your clientele, getting your name out there, coming up with a system that works for you, avoiding as many mistakes as you can, and reacting to the problems that inevitably arise. It’s all so overwhelming that the new, fun feeling fades quickly. You’ll probably regret your decision a few times.”

  “Sam!” Brittany interrupted. “You don’t have to make it sound so dreadful.”

  “It’s true though.” He shrugged. “Starting a business isn’t easy. But if you can make it past those first few years, it does get easier. Once you’re established, the real fun begins. That’s when you’ll find the most fulfillment.

  “Sure, it’s not the shiny new feeling of redecorating everything. But don’t listen to Brittany.” He laughed. “Long-term success truly is the best part. I’m Sam by the way.” He held out his hand to Clara first, who shook it.

  “Clara,” she said. “And this is my husband, Ezra. It�
�s nice to meet you.”

  “Nice to meet you too,” he said as he shook Ezra’s hand.

  “Ezra and Clara bought Lyla and Richard’s old place,” Brittany explained. “They’re going to be revamping the bed and breakfast and opening it up themselves.”

  “That’s awesome!” Sam said. “Welcome to town and to the hospitality business. It’s a great property with a lot of potential. You must’ve had an amazing realtor. A lot of people were eyeing it. We weren’t expecting an outsider to even know of its availability.”

  “She’s one of the best,” Ezra said. Though of course, the windfall they had stumbled upon was the true reason behind their ability to purchase the property. There had been a lot of negotiations and mounting offers to attain it, but it was worth the fuss.

  “Lucky you happened upon her. Congratulations on the purchase. Are you planning on fixing the place up? I assume that’s why you’re here.”

  “We are,” Clara said. “It’s such a beautiful Victorian house that we want to lean into that as we grow our business. I have this vision of an old-fashioned, Victorian-era bed and breakfast. I’d like it give it that classy, upper-class look alongside something literary. I want it to feel like you’re stepping into a scene from one of the classics right when you walk through that door.

  “It’s a bit of a risk, I suppose. It’s not going to appeal to everyone. But at least there are other businesses in the area people can visit if they don’t like our style. It’ll make us stand out though, I hope. It’ll offer an experience that can’t be found everywhere. So, I think once we start getting guests that’ll spread the word to other likeminded people, it’ll become a sustainable business.”