Hauntings of the Heart

by Joselyn Vaughn

  She had several bedding themes for this room; newlyweds could request the one they wanted. Some were playful, some were romantic, and one was—well, she thought the black silk was a little naughty, but customers requested it the most. Speaking of naughty, she dashed into the bathroom and dug through the basket of lotions and bubble baths near the Jacuzzi. She found the little black book of sensual suggestions and chucked it onto the top shelf of the closet. She didn’t need to think about Gordon perusing that in his leisure time.

  She’d put the playful sheets on after the last booking. They had hearts on them, with messages like those candies people shared on Valentine’s. She considered changing them for a plain white set, but she didn’t want Gordon to think she was preparing his room too carefully. He’d have to deal with the silly sheets.

  After one final check, she returned to the kitchen and found him perusing something else she didn’t want him to see. She’d left the paranormal romances she’d picked up from the grocery store lying on the counter, intending to drop them off in her apartment later. She’d chosen the last two books in the series where the vampires sparkled. Having Gordon see what she read was a little too intimate for her liking.

  She cleared her throat.

  Gordon gave her a sidelong glance, then tapped the spine of one of the books. “Vampires, eh?”

  Minnie wrinkled her nose. “Not so much. I like the werewolves.”

  Gordon arched an eyebrow. “Really? All that full moon mumbo-jumbo?”

  The color rose in Minnie’s cheeks and she pressed her cool palms against them. The full moon—how could he bring that up so casually? As if it meant nothing?

  She shook it away. He didn’t care, she reminded herself. He’d proven that. “They remind me how dangerous a full moon can be,” she said. Gordon hid a wince, but she saw it. Nice shot, she congratulated herself. “Your room is ready.”

  “Thank you. I’ll get my things.”

  Gordon turned to face her, and dang if those fifty years didn’t disappear again. The same look in the same eyes she’d fallen in love with all those years ago. She was in big trouble.

  He settled his fedora back on his head and headed for the door.

  Minnie heard the front door open again a moment later and poked her head into the hallway to see who it was. Gordon couldn’t have made it to his car and back with his luggage that quickly, unless he only had one bag. One bag meant a short stay, right?

  Instead of Gordon, Mark’s wife, Leslie, stepped through the doorway. She wore her usual business attire, a suit in gray tweed. Minnie thought her suits always looked so smart. She and Mark were the type of opposites that worked—enough differences to strengthen each other’s weaknesses. Minnie had never been sorry about coaxing them together. She could see when two people belonged together.

  “Hey, Minnie.” Leslie waved as Minnie stepped into the hallway. “I see you’ve got a new guest. Is he here for the haunted house?”

  Minnie snorted. Gordon’s presence might summon the spirits to make it an actual haunted house, rather than the funhouse thrills and chills she had planned. “No. Just some businessman.”

  Leslie nodded. “Quite handsome, too, if you ask me.”

  It was on the tip of Minnie’s tongue to snap, “Well, no one did.” but she decided the less said about Gordon, the better. “I didn’t notice.”

  “Minnie,” Leslie chided. “You’ve got to keep your eyes open. You never know when the perfect man will show up on your doorstep.”

  Perfect wouldn’t even rhyme with a word she’d use to describe Gordon.

  “Mr. Thomas at the hardware store has had his eye on you all summer. He’s such a nice man.”

  Minnie shook her head. “He keeps his teeth in a glass by his bed at night.”

  “I don’t think it’s a deal breaker.” Leslie crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Leslie, you’ve got to stop trying to set me up with every octogenarian in town.”

  Leslie’s face took on a mask of sweet innocence. “I’m trying to be as helpful as you and your friends were to me and Mark.”

  “Oh, pssht. You are full of it.” Minnie patted her shoulder.

  At the end of the hall, Gordon pushed open the front door, then tugged a hand cart laden with suitcases over the threshold.

  “Wow. Is he planning to move in?” Leslie whispered.

  Perish the thought. With that much luggage, he could be here for a month. She’d never stay out of jail with him under her feet for more than a day or two. “I hope he knows we don’t have an elevator. How’s he planning to get all that upstairs?” A little part of Minnie snickered at placing him in a room on the top floor.

  Gordon stacked the smaller suitcases next to the bottom of the stairs, then hefted a beat-up suitcase and headed upstairs.

  “He must be in good shape.” Leslie elbowed Minnie.

  Minnie rolled her eyes. “Maybe that suitcase is for his souvenirs.”

  Leslie laughed. “I’d better track down Wendy before we’re late for her dance class again.”

  “She’s upstairs in her usual hideout,” Minnie said, eyeing the stairs. Gordon had already disappeared up the first flight. Leslie was right; he was in good shape.

  “See you later,” Leslie said as she darted up the staircase. “Wendy!”

  Minnie scowled at the pile of Samsonite in the foyer. It didn’t look like she’d be getting rid of Gordon any time soon.

  4

  “You’ll never believe who I saw at the Register of Deeds yesterday afternoon.” Edith tossed her purse on the red vinyl booth across the table from Minnie before she scooted into the seat.

  Minnie waved to their favorite waitress, Rachel, who balanced a tray of the daily specials and a half-empty pot of decaf coffee. She acknowledged them with a nod and headed toward the rear of the dining room. The rest of the diner held the usual bunch of early lunchers, reminiscing with their cohorts on the morning news, the chance of an early frost, and the state of affairs at the zoning commission. Years of baked-on grease permeated the air and accounted for the signature flavor of the scrambled eggs.

  Edith smoothed down her more-salt-than-pepper coiffure and reached for the specials card clipped to the jellies. “I didn’t think he’d ever set foot in Carterville again.”

  “Who?” Minnie asked, already knowing the name that would spill from Edith’s lips.

  Edith slapped the menu down on the table. Her eyes slid both ways, then she leaned across the table. “Gordon Anderson.” She raised her eyebrows conspiratorially.

  “I had hoped he wouldn’t.” Her stomach roiled. He’d been here sixteen hours and already she was jumping out of her skin at every sound, expecting him to appear whenever she turned her back. She attributed it to loathing, but it felt like a high school crush.

  Rachel arrived at their table and flipped their sturdy brown coffee mugs over. “Just decaf today, ladies, or half-and-half?” She held the orange-rimmed carafe poised over Minnie’s cup.

  “It’s a half-and-half day,” Edith said. “Any day Gordon Anderson comes to town requires a dose of caffeine.”

  Minnie snorted. “It requires Jack Daniel’s, but it’s a little too early in the day.”

  “Gordon Anderson?” Rachel raised her eyebrow. “Who’s he?”

  Edith gawked at Rachel for a moment, as if she had said she’d never heard of Elvis Presley, then blinked. “I forget you’re not—” she coughed “—our age.”

  Rachel laughed. “But you aren’t a day over twenty-five, Edith. I’m sure I’d get mistaken for your older sister at a bar.”

  “Aren’t you angling for a hefty tip?” Edith winked. “Rachel, you’re young enough to be my granddaughter. Gordon was Minnie’s…” She stopped and stared at Minnie, waiting for her to fill in the blank.

  Minnie wasn’t sure what word to offer. How would she describe their relationship? Beau, boyfriend, lover, fiancé? None of them seemed right. Too old-fashioned, too juvenile, too limited, and not true.

>   “Were you two actually engaged, or was everyone just expecting it?”

  Rachel tipped the carafe and filled her cup half-full. Minnie spun the cup so the handle faced to the right, and traced her fingertips along the curve. “We weren’t engaged. He wanted to get the ring from his mother first.” Even after so many years, it still seemed like they should have been married. If they’d had the quickie wedding at city hall like she wanted before she’d left for the Peace Corps, then maybe all the rest of it would have worked out.

  “I bet Minnie broke his heart,” Rachel said. She checked with Minnie for confirmation, but Minnie faced her coffee. His heart hadn’t been broken; hers had. Over and over.

  When Minnie didn’t say anything, Rachel shifted toward the kitchen. “Regular for you, Edith?”

  Edith nodded.

  “Alrighty. I’ll be back with the leaded brew.” Rachel zipped away from the table.

  Edith rifled through the bowl of sweeteners for a packet of pure sugar. “I wonder what he’s doing here.”

  “I can only hope it doesn’t keep him long.” Minnie took a sip of her own coffee and frowned at the bitterness. Either the coffee was old, or the conversation had ruined it. Maybe the addition of the caffeinated half would improve the flavor, and her disposition. “He decided to stay at the Lilac Bower, probably to irritate me. It’s like he doesn’t remember…” She trailed off, not wanting to put the details into words. “I’m doing my best to avoid him.”

  “You never told me what he said in his letters.” Edith leaned forward across the table.

  Minnie hesitated. Edith knew part of the story—the part where Minnie and Gordon had never spoken again after she returned from the Philippines. But not what had happened while Minnie was overseas.

  “It doesn’t matter anymore,” Minnie lied. She reached for the specials card and bumped her mug. Coffee splattered over the side and onto the cuff of her sweater.

  Nothing was going right this morning. She blotted the stain with her napkin, knowing she’d never get it out. She needed to change the subject. “We need to go over the haunted house plans.”

  Luckily, Edith let it drop, but Minnie knew she’d pay for the favor later. “What do you need me to do?”

  “I’ve got the dry ice machine. I can do the creepy sounds CD and the lights, but I need you to watch the machine while I crawl into the attic and make bat noises. I want to have a light mist floating through the hallways, and the machine needs to be adjusted carefully so the carbon dioxide isn’t too thick.” Then again, maybe this wasn’t the best job for Edith. She tended to be distracted too easily, and it didn’t even have to be something shiny. Maybe Minnie would have Edith crawl into the attic instead.

  “I think I can handle it.” Edith unfolded her napkin and dropped it in her lap. “We aren’t doing this for Gordon, are we?”

  “For goodness sake, no. The commercial I posted on YouTube says only the weekends.” Heaven help her if she was going to do more than the bare minimum for Gordon Anderson.

  Although, the idea had possibilities. Could she frighten him away with her parlor tricks? Probably not. Gordon was made of sterner stuff. A cold draft wouldn’t send him packing—which made their history all the more infuriating.

  Edith nodded. “What time do you want me there?”

  “We’ll start the show at seven-thirty Friday night. Give them a good enough fright they’ll be jumping at every creak the house makes the rest of the night.”

  “How long did Gordon reserve a room?” Edith asked.

  Ah, later has already come. “He requested night-by-night if that was all right by me.” Minnie rolled her eyes. “But he’s got enough luggage for a month of Sundays. He’s in the honeymoon suite, and it isn’t reserved again for a couple of weeks. I did insist on cash up front. Who knows when he’ll up and skip town again?”

  “Good move.”

  Rachel returned and finished filling Minnie’s cup. Minnie took a sip. “That’s what I need.”

  Edith pointed her cup at the door. “Well, he hasn’t skipped town yet.”

  Minnie twisted in her seat to see the entrance. Gordon removed his fedora and dropped it on the counter across from the kitchen. If she didn’t know him, she’d think he was as handsome as Leslie said. A regular Paul Newman. Those blue eyes had charmed her into and out of a lot of things.

  He surveyed the diner like he was visiting a childhood friend. The diner had been a favorite hangout for their crowd. His gaze stopped on Edith and Minnie and a smile curved his lips. He meandered through the tables to their booth.

  “It isn’t fair men get more handsome as they age,” Rachel muttered with her hand on her hip. Then, to Gordon, “Can I get you a cup of coffee, sir?”

  “I’d be delighted.” Gordon winked. “One sugar. To go, please. I have an appointment.”

  “I’ll be right back with a fresh pot.” Rachel flashed him a smile, then hurried away.

  Minnie frowned at her own cup. How long had her coffee been sitting on the burner? Gordon still had all his panache, sweeping every woman in his path off her feet. She’d certainly been first in line at Rachel’s age…but not this time.

  “Good morning, ladies.” Gordon rolled his shoulders, and Minnie wondered if he was still as mouth-watering in a white T-shirt with the sleeves cuffed around his biceps. She exercised three times a week, but she had long passed the age where her mini-dresses would be acceptable.

  “Beautiful morning, isn’t it?” Edith poured half the packet of sugar into her cup.

  What is she doing? Engaging him in conversation was as good as fraternizing with the enemy. She kicked Edith’s toe under the table and gave her a look she intended to say, “What the heck?” Edith met her eyes, then slid her gaze over to Gordon and raised her eyebrows.

  “Indeed, it is,” Gordon said. “Thanks for leaving breakfast for me this morning, Minnie. I’m sorry I missed you.”

  She wasn’t. “I don’t usually breakfast with my guests.” Gordon bestowed an eye-crinkling smile on her and Minnie’s insides swirled. This morning she had made a special point to be out of the house by seven-thirty. So what if she’d been a half-hour early for her Zumba class?

  Edith stirred the rest of her sugar into her cup. “What brings you back to Carterville?”

  “This and that. Family business mostly.” The enticing grin never left his face. Minnie had once been in love with his charm and persuasive abilities. Then that smooth-talker had ruined everything they’d planned. Had he simply been stringing her along until she left the country? How long had it taken for him to find a new girl to sweet-talk? She’d been such a fool.

  “I didn’t think you had any family around here anymore,” Minnie blurted. This time Edith kicked her under the table. Minnie muffled a yelp and rubbed her shin. “I mean it’s been so long…” she backpedaled.

  Rachel reappeared with an insulated cup. “Careful, it’s hot. Fresh brewed.” Minnie scowled again at her own mug, the scalded flavor lingering on her tongue.

  “Thank you, miss.” Gordon lifted the cup to his nose and breathed in the aroma. “I’m trying to clear up some legal matters with my parents’ estate.”

  Rachel addressed the occupants of the booth. “I didn’t get your lunch orders. You want the usual?” She poised her pen over her notepad.

  Minnie nodded. “Fine for me.” His parents’ estate? There couldn’t be trouble with the title to the Lilac Bower, could there? The title history had been murky—especially after Gordon’s family sold and moved—but her attorney assured her there could be no disputes. Hopefully if there were, enough time had passed that the law would be on her side.

  “I’d like the whole wheat bread on my sandwich instead of white, and a side of fruit instead of potato chips,” Edith said, glancing at the specials on the card again. “Doctor says I have to watch my cholesterol.”

  Rachel made a note on her pad. “I’ll get that right out for you.”

  Gordon sipped his coffee and hovered beside the
ir table.

  “Don’t let us keep you,” Minnie said, sliding her coffee onto a small white napkin. Maybe he’d take the hint and be about his business, but her suggestions were ineffective today.

  “My meeting’s right next door.” He tipped his head in the direction of Edith’s real estate office. “I have a few minutes.”

  Minnie shot Edith a horrified look. Edith shrugged slightly and shook her head, denying she’d known anything about such a meeting. Then she plastered a smile on her face. “I work over there. Who are you meeting?”

  Gordon fished a business card out of his leather jacket pocket and held it between his fingers. Edith snatched the card and studied the name. “Oh, Ron. He’s a good agent, one of the best we have. He’ll get you the deal you want.”

  Minnie barely held in her disgust. Ron is the best we have? He’ll get you the deal you want? What if that deal was to steal the Bower out from under her? If Ron was the best, he might root something out with the title. And Edith was encouraging him?

  “I’ve enjoyed working with him so far,” Gordon was saying. “I’d best get going. Good day.” He placed his hat back on his head and strode to the cashier, sipping his coffee.

  Minnie scowled at Edith. “The real estate office? And you didn’t see him?”

  “I’m not in the office all the time. He just got into town. He’s probably meeting Ron in person for the first time.”

  “What family business would he have here?” Minnie’s thoughts jumped frantically about, diving through implausible, yet frightening scenarios. “No one in his family owns anything around here to sell.”

  “Maybe that’s what he found out at the Register of Deeds,” Edith said.

  “Then his stay shouldn’t be long.” Minnie rearranged her cup on her napkin, feeling a little relief. The sooner Gordon was out from under her roof, the better.