by Olivia Miles
It echoed the emotion Kate had felt once. She blinked quickly, then smoothed Elizabeth’s veil, trying to not think about everything that had happened instead.
An hour later, Kate triumphantly scratched the final dress fitting from her to-do list and said goodbye to Elizabeth, waving cheerfully from her perch on the cobblestone steps outside the bridal salon. She held her smile until her friend was safely out of sight and then fell back against the wrought-iron railing with a frown. For months she had obsessed over every detail of this wedding—right down to spending an excruciating amount of time holding various invitation samples to the light to determine the closest shade of pink to the bridesmaid’s gowns—but not everything, she knew, could be controlled. An inebriated guest, she could handle. A sniffling flower girl, sure. But a stubborn man who didn’t support the wedding? He’d require a tight leash.
And that was why she, as best friend, maid of honor, and wedding planner extraordinaire, was going to personally greet him upon arrival.
But first, she had a haunted house to visit.
* * *
Bree was sitting behind the counter of Rose in Bloom when Kate reached the end of Harbor Street, the main drag in their small Rhode Island town. Even before her fingers could reach for the handle, she watched as her cousin shot up off her stool and darted to greet her.
“Thank God you could make it,” Bree gushed, fumbling to turn the sign on the door to CLOSED.
“That’s what cousins are for,” Kate said with a smile.
“Well, I still can’t thank you enough. The thought of going into that house. Alone.” Bree shuddered as she turned the key on the shop door and dropped it back into the pocket of the denim jacket she wore every day from April through September. Even in the flower shop she owned and operated, she was rarely without it, claiming the refrigeration made her cold.
Now, though, the shivering had nothing to do with the warm summer afternoon temperature and everything to do with Bree’s paternal grandmother’s house.
“What are we checking on this time?” Kate asked as they walked down the block to Bree’s station wagon, a modern one, but still a purchase solely made for the sake of her flower deliveries.
“It’s not supposed to rain, at least not according to the five-day forecast,” Bree explained.
Kate climbed into the passenger seat. She could only hope that the weather held up until at least next Saturday. A hurricane could hit Sunday for all she cared. But for Elizabeth’s big day, the sun had to shine.
“I need to air the place out for a bit.”
“Does that mean in a few days you’ll be calling on me for a favor again?” Kate asked.
Bree gave her a pleading look. Even though she was older by a year, she had always looked up to Kate. And Kate had taken her under her wing, welcomed her into the fold, away from her brother and strictly boy cousins on Bree’s other side of the family. A rowdy lot from which Bree clearly needed saving.
Kate laughed. “Fine. You know I’m always here for you when you need me.”
Bree gave her a small smile. “And you know I’m always here for you, too.”
Kate looked away before she turned emotional. Bree, like Elizabeth, had always been there for her. And that was why today, her first Saturday off in more than a month, Kate was choosing to help both of them out rather than grab her towel and hit the beach.
Rose Callahan’s house was not far from the center of town, but too far to walk. Still, they arrived within minutes and, as usual, sat in the driveway with the talk radio that Bree preferred filling the car.
Finally, because time was a tickin’, Kate said, “So, ready to go in?”
Bree drew a long breath. “I wish I didn’t have to.”
“But it’s your house!” Kate exclaimed. She looked up at the beautiful Colonial, not quite old enough to be registered with the historical society, but full of history and charm all the same. Rose had kept the house impeccable, right up until the time of her death last fall.
Grumbling something under her breath, Bree released her seat belt and popped the handle on the car door. Kate hurried to catch up with her, knowing there was little sense in running in her heels, considering that Bree wouldn’t cross that threshold on her own.
Her cousin took her time fishing around in her handbag for the key, still kept on a crocheted ring most likely made by Rose herself. They’d discussed the fact that she couldn’t bear to put the key on her regular keychain just yet, back at the visit where they had to hurry over on a particular cold winter day to make sure no pipes had frozen and burst or anything else catastrophic that came with a mostly abandoned house.
“Have you thought any more about moving in?” Kate asked as she stared down at the half-dead perennials in the planters that anchored the front door.
“No. I can’t do that!”
“Because it would upset your cousins?” It had been a sticky situation, of course, when Bree, the only granddaughter of a woman who had borne six sons and never a daughter, was given not just the flower shop but also this house.
Bree said you could hear a pin drop in the room. If ever the boys had managed to convince themselves that somehow Rose wasn’t the favorite grandchild, the reading of the will was bitter confirmation of pecking order.
“Oh, they’re over it now,” Bree said tersely, leading Kate to think they were no closer than they’d been last Christmas, when apparently every Callahan had snubbed her vegetarian contribution of a butternut squash side dish.
Bree wrestled with the key and finally managed to jimmy open the door. “This thing is solid wood,” she said, giving it a sound knock. “Swells in the heat!”
“They don’t make them like that anymore,” Kate agreed, wondering if her own door was solid wood. She hadn’t considered it before—she’d simply fallen in love with the sunny front room and back stone patio—but now she had the sudden urge to check.
Maybe this was her problem. She didn’t inspect things closely enough…at least not when it came to matters of the heart.
They wandered into the hall, which remained intact, exactly as it had been the morning of Rose’s fatal stroke. Even her handbag still sat perched on the console, its zipper open, as if at any moment Rose herself would come around from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron, to riffle through it for a stick of gum.
Kate would never admit it to Rose, but she wasn’t exactly comfortable in this house. Not when it was like this—frozen in time. No wonder Bree was too freaked out to deal with it herself.
Bree marched into the living room and wrestled with the window, finally managing to crack it a few inches. Without pausing, she marched back into the hall, brushed past Kate, and disappeared into the kitchen. From the sound of her grunting, the back windows were just as challenging.
“It really is a beautiful house,” Kate said, admiring the built-in shelves that framed the fireplace. “But I understand it would be hard to move in, with all the memories…”
That handbag! She had to stop staring at it! Was it open on purpose? Was Rose coming or going?
Just stop thinking about it, Kate.
“I can’t move in here,” Bree said firmly as she appeared in the hall again. She turned into the dining room and threw back the curtains.
“Of course. It’s hard to let go—”
“If I move in here, then what kind of message would that send to Simon?” Bree demanded, officially silencing Kate.
Kate stared at her cousin, hoping she wasn’t hearing what she thought she was hearing. Did Bree actually think that she and Simon had…a future?
“I think that would send a message to him that you are a smart, independent woman,” she said carefully.
But was that what Simon was looking for? Of course not! Simon was looking for a sweet, easygoing girl who went along with whatever he wanted, no questions asked. And unfortunately for her, Bree was currently that girl.
“I recently bought a house,” Kate pointed out.
“Ye
s, but you’ve given up.”
“I have not!” Kate blinked at the wall. Had she? Sure, she hadn’t gone on any dates in a year, but that wasn’t the same as giving up. She was busy. With other things.
Better things.
Christ. Maybe she had given up.
Bree shot her a pointed look. “He’ll never propose if he thinks I’ve made commitments that don’t include him.”
Kate pressed a finger to her forehead. There was a lot she could say in response to that, but she decided to pick her battle. “But you own this house. Outright. Why continue to pay rent when you could live here for free?”
Bree hesitated, but only for a moment. She shook her head as she flicked the metal latch on the window and reached for the handles. “I don’t think it sends the right message. Simon and I have been dating for almost a year. Now isn’t the time to do anything that would mess up our plans.”
“Oh.” Kate hadn’t realized that things had become serious with Bree and Simon. Last she knew, Simon had still refused to spend a Friday night with her cousin because that was “guys’ night.”
Bree set her hands on her hips. She was slightly out of breath. “I just…I just need to tread lightly.”
Kate counted to three, willing herself not to overstep. She could tell Bree that it was obvious that Simon was not thinking of rings or white weddings, but then she’d just be accused of being bitter. And maybe she was. Maybe Simon was a wonderful, devoted, adoring boyfriend worthy of her cousin’s affection.
And maybe the sun was blue.
“Are you seeing Simon tonight? Before the bachelorette party, I mean?” It was Saturday, but the festivities didn’t start until seven thirty.
“It’s his bowling league tonight,” Bree said, frowning. “He’s there all day.”
Ah, right. His Saturday activity. Co-ed league. Bree wasn’t invited. “Team only” was the excuse.
Kate opened her mouth to give a heavy dose of tough love and then shut it again. Some lessons just had to be learned the hard way. After all, hadn’t she overlooked the warning signs with Jake? The wandering eye, the disapproving family, the way they had drifted further and further apart at a time when they should have been coming together, planning their wedding?
Right. No more thinking about that. It was time to focus on the present. Not the past. “Well, I’ll help you with the upstairs windows, but then I have to get back to town. Elizabeth’s future brother-in-law is arriving for the bachelor party tonight, and I want to go over a few things with him beforehand.”
“The best man?” Bree’s eyes lit up. “Is he cute?”
“Why? Are you thinking of breaking up with Simon?” Kate asked hopefully.
Bree frowned. “Of course not! I was thinking of you.”
“Ha.” Kate shook her head as she reached for the banister rail. “I have enough to worry about without romance complicating matters.”
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