Vacancy

by B. Groves

  Vacancy

  A short story

  B. Groves

  Vacancy

  Copyright © 2018 by B. Groves

  All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations em- bodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organiza- tions, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Information and contact :

  www.bgrovesauthor.com

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  Book cover by Broken Candle Book Designs

  To my Colorado cowboy…. My husband

  Other Works

  The Mirror In The Forest Trilogy

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  Carlton House

  And my most popular book to date…

  House Of the Golden Butterfly

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Lacey Marshall suppressed her laughter as she listened to Scott’s exasperated sigh while he struggled to calm their three- and five-year-old children down before putting them to bed.

  “When are you coming home, Mommy?” Five-year-old Bella asked when Scott handed her the phone.

  Lacey’s heart melted with the hopefulness in her daughter’s voice. Bella always had that golden touch. The touch and ability to wrap her and Scott around her tiny finger, and her little brother, Sam, would soon learn that trick, too.

  Lacey heard Scott take the phone from Bella. “Yeah, when will you be home, Mommy?”

  Lacey chuckled. “I’m practically through Utah. I should arrive home by tomorrow afternoon.”

  Lacey was deathly afraid of flying. When she and Scott first married, they took their honeymoon in Costa Rica. Lacy had never flown before that day and after that, she swore she’d never fly again. She was convinced Scott would divorce her after the way she reacted to the plane taking off but after eight years of marriage; they were happier than ever.

  She never understood her irrational fear of flying and Scott liked to make his little snarky comments here and there making Lacey determined to one day conquer her fear.

  Like on their present exchange. “If someone would take a plane…”

  “Funny,” Lacey sighed.

  Lacy eyed the road and the clouds building to the west and north of her. The forecast said a slight chance of snow, but Lacy didn‘t worry since she’d driven through worse conditions.

  The sun had set over the desert plains leaving Lacey with an impressive view of violet and orange for her drive. But now, she noticed the clouds moving her way from the west hindering the pretty colors.

  She couldn’t wait to return home to Denver. She was drained from the desert drive. It was dull and caused her to have bouts of highway hypnosis. Her ass had gone numb from the driving.

  The couple had been talking about moving out of Denver and make their way east since both their parents had retired to Florida and were not getting any younger, and they said, they better do it now while the kids were young enough to adjust to new schools.

  Lacy never liked Denver. The traffic and the overpriced homes were enough for them to consider moving. She’d miss the mountains, but she preferred to live near the ocean again.

  She heard Sam giggle when Scott scolded him about getting into some kind of mischief.

  “It’s their bath time,” Lacey said glancing at the clock on her dashboard.

  Scott breathed a sigh of relief through the phone receiver. He adjusted the phone and said, “Call you back after I get them to bed?”

  Lacey grinned. “I can’t wait.”

  Scott yelled, “Come on! Let’s say goodnight to Mommy!”

  Lacey chuckled when she heard the kids struggle to hold the phone while they fought over who would say goodnight to her first.

  She threw them kisses and promised she would be home the next day. Scott got back on the phone, promising to call her back once they were in bed, which made Lacey stifle a giggle. Sam never stayed in bed long, he was always wandering about well into the night, but Bella would drift off right away. Her husband already knew this, but he still hoped that putting them to bed would go smoothly.

  It never worked.

  Lacey glanced at the time again. She should have made it home in one day, but the conference drew more of her time than scheduled and she left late in the morning. If she rode hard, she might make it home by the early morning hours, but she was dreaming. The conference had exhausted her like it did every year and stopping for the night would make more sense.

  Besides, she thought as she tried to see the sky through her windshield; the clouds looked darker and more ominous than before, and that worried her a little.

  Lacey observed the road as she passed trucks and other cars. She was thirty miles from the Utah/Colorado border.

  As she watched another sign for Colorado fly by her on the highway, Lacey spotted the snowflakes.

  Ugh! It couldn’t hold off a little while longer!

  Okay, Lacey, she coached herself. You can do this. You have plenty of time to drive out of this storm.

  Lacey pressed on the gas to speed up her time entering Colorado, but as she drove the snowflakes became heavier and whipped past her windshield as if she were putting the Millennium Falcon into warp speed.

  Lacey cursed when she realized the snowstorm grew worse as she approached the border. It had been snowing harder and now she drove through in blizzard-like conditions.

  Lacey slowed her car down while the wind whipped over the desert making the car rock. She glanced at the road and belted out another string of curse words.

  The snow had stuck to the highway and covered the white lines.

  Lacey gripped the steering wheel, knowing this is why she wanted to move to Florida. She’d never have to worry about this kind of crap there. She told Scott one time she would rather deal with the heat and humidity and the seasonal threat of a hurricane than these freak snowstorms.

  Lacey’s muscles tensed when a semi-truck passed her barreling down the highway. She slowed even more and drifted over to the far-right side of the road. At least, she thought she was in the far-right lane since the snow was covering the lines.

  As another semi-truck passed her, she reached for her phone to call Scott.

  “Hey! I’m still putting the little monsters to bed,” he said.

  “There’s a freak snowstorm and I’m right in the middle of it. I’m going to have to stop sooner than I expected,” Lacey said.

  The snow was blowing around the road even harder, and Lacey pressed the speakerphone. She heard Sam ask if he could talk to Mommy again on the phone and Scott told him he could in another minute.

  “Okay. How bad is it?”

  “I can’t see the road,” Lacey answered.

  If she would have been in the room with Scott she would have sworn she saw him frown.

  “That’s weird. The forecast said all clear,” he commented.

  She heard him moving around the house to get to their laptop which was probably on the kitchen counter.

  “I saw the clouds gathering but thought I could beat it,” Lacey said, trying to keep her voice calm as another semi-truck roared past her spra
ying snow over her car.

  “Where are you?” Scott asked.

  “I’m right at the border,” Lacey answered. She thought she’d seen the welcoming sign for Colorado pass her, but she couldn’t remember now.

  She heard Scott moving around and heard him mumble a few words.

  “There’s not much. There’s a rest stop coming up. Did you see the signs for it?” He asked.

  Lacey looked around and was relieved when she saw the blue sign for the rest stop. “Yes, in a mile.”

  “How about you stop there and I’ll call around to see where you can stay the night,” Scott said.

  “Sounds good,” Lacey said. She knew she could count on her husband to save the day.

  “I love you and be careful,” Scott said.

  “I love you too,” Lacey said.

  She pressed the button on her cell phone and watched for the sign to the entrance of the rest stop.

  She exhaled when she spotted the entrance. The place was more of a welcoming center than a regular rest stop. It looked creepy from what she could see, but at least it was better than driving through the snowstorm for the moment.

  Lacey pulled into a parking space and looked around. There were a few cars scattered about and some trucks sitting in the truck spaces in back of her.

  She turned back thinking she would stay in her car despite her need to pee. This stop was isolated and she didn’t want to chance it.

  While she waited for Scott to call her back about hotel rooms, she spotted an older couple emerge from a small camper and make their way to the brick building that held the bathrooms.

  Well, if they feel safe enough, then I will too.

  Lacey exited her car and drew her jacket closer to her body. She shivered as the cold wind seeped into her bones, and whipped through her hair. She carefully stepped onto the snow-covered sidewalk and it was no time before she caught up to the older couple.

  “Do you need any help?” She asked as she walked along with the couple.

  The couple turned and smiled at her. “No, we’re fine, thank you.” The woman said.

  “Heck of a storm,” the old man said.

  “I know. My husband said this weather wasn’t forecast,” Lacey said with a smile.

  “Well, it looks we’re packing it in here for the night,” the woman said. “Are you heading somewhere?”

  “Back home to Denver,” Lacey said. “But, my husband is trying to book me a hotel room now.”

  The woman nodded. “Good. It’s not safe to keep driving all that way in this weather.”

  The three entered the lobby and separated with Lacey going with the older woman and the man entering the men’s room.

  Lacey and the older woman made small talk while they did their business. The older woman was complaining about her son. He didn’t like them traveling so much now that they were getting older or something.

  The older woman shrugged. “I’m enjoying my retirement. Angus and I said we’ll stop when we want to.”

  Lacey chuckled when her phone rang.

  “Excuse me,” Lacey said taking her phone out of her jacket pocket.

  “Sure.”

  Lacey turned away and answered her husband.

  “Did you get a room for me?”

  “Yes, but there was only one within ten miles of where you are,” Scott said.

  Chapter 2

  Lacey frowned when Scott informed her about the rooms.

  “No chains? I know they’re around here.”

  “That’s the shitty part. The one clerk informed me that everyone stopped when the snowstorm hit,” Scott answered.

  Lacey sighed. “Figures. So where did you get me a room? Is it called The Bates Motel?”

  Scott scoffed and laughed. “No. It’s a little cabin type, um, bed-and-breakfast, but they host regular motel rooms too. That’s what I booked.”

  Lacey’s frown deepened. “I don’t remember seeing signs about it on my way to Vegas.”

  “I guess the snowstorm is messing with the phone lines because I could hardly understand the woman, but I looked up the place and it’s there. There are great reviews too,” Scott explained.

  “What’s the place called?”

  “Foxworth House,” Scott answered.

  Lacey raised an eyebrow. Sounded like a creepy, turn of the century place where ghost hunters would gather for a week of trying to find evidence of spirits.

  Lacey shook her head trying to focus her thoughts. Well, she didn’t have a choice as she watched the snow continue to blow around outside the windows of the lobby.

  “How far is it?”

  “The map says from the rest stop about five miles. Once you use the exit, drive over two hills, it’ll be on the other side,” Scott explained.

  Lacey caught the hesitation in Scott’s voice. “What? What’s wrong?”

  “Oh, nothing. It’s just strange that when I was trying to locate it on Google Maps, it looked like a rundown building from above,” he said.

  A chill ran down Lacey’s spine, but she ignored it, although she didn’t remember seeing any advertisements for this place and she’d been driving this road for years.

  “You said a lady answered?”

  “Yeah, and her directions were exact,” Scott answered.

  “Maybe it changed ownership,” Lacey said.

  “I guess we’ll see when you get arrive,” Scott said.

  Lacey walked outside. The snow and wind swept through Lacey’s jacket making her shiver. She thought she’d better get going or she would have to spend the night inside the rest stop and even with the older couple there she wouldn’t feel safe.

  Scott gave her the address and Lacey promised him she would call him right when she pulled up to Foxworth House.

  Lacey waved to the couple as they carefully made their way to their camper.

  “Did you find a place?” The woman asked.

  “My husband booked a room for me about five miles away,” Lacey explained, appreciating their concern.

  “Be careful driving,” The man said.

  “Thanks!”

  Lacey walked over to her car, careful not to slip on the snow. She got in and waited for the car to warm up while she shook the snow from her hair.

  Putting the car in gear, she turned on her GPS and pulled out of the parking lot of the rest stop.

  Chapter 3

  When Lacey found the exit for Foxworth House, she checked twice on her GPS to make certain she had the right one. She turned left like it said but still doubted the directions.

  Scott said she would pass over two hills, and a small forest would appear.

  That puzzled her. She knew she was close to some small towns, but this was the middle of the desert.

  Lacey doubted Scott’s directions when the street sign appeared over the second hill.

  Fox Street.

  That’s it!

  She smiled about how her husband came through for her again.

  She turned onto the street and spotted lights shining in the distance.

  Lacey had a hard time seeing the driveway. She bounced around in the car and slid a few times from those bumps, not sure if the driveway was dirt or needed work.

  She rounded a curve and trees appeared along each side of the road, along with a cozy looking two-story home sitting at the end.

  Lacey slowed down to an opening and was even more surprised to see the motel-like rooms sticking out from either side of the home.

  She wondered if she should stay here when her gaze caught cars parked near rooms and the lights on inside the rooms.

  She exhaled in relief knowing she wasn’t the only person spending the night here but stayed wary of the company she might be keeping.

  Lacey sighed as the snow continued to fall heavily in front of her.

  Finding an empty spot to pull into, Lacey parked in front of one of the smaller rooms.

  She gazed around thinking the house looked cozy and inviting on this harsh winter night.

>   She spotted a yellow upstairs light behind lacy curtains, and smoke coming from a chimney.

  Lacey scratched her head trying to remember if she’d signs for this house on her way to Las Vegas. She traveled the highway so many times and never remembered advertisements for Foxworth House.