It was John and Bill Mathers—two brothers with a truck who owed her a favor and delivered her desk.
“Hi, guys.” She ushered them in as they carefully wheeled the desk in on a cart.
“Wow,” John said, looking around after Torrie had to explain the reason for her limp. “I had heard you had done a great job with this old haunted place, but I had no idea what was involved.”
“Yeah, this is really something,” Bill added as they pushed the cart through the house to the conservatory.
A few minutes later, they had the desk situated where Will had indicated he wanted it.
“This desk is perfect for out here.” John put in.
“You sure do have an eye for putting things together, Ms. Reynolds,” Bill said, looking around, still in awe.
“I can’t thank you enough.” Torrie felt as if her heart was fluttering with excitement. The desk really did fit perfectly. Will would be so excited. If it wasn’t for her hurt foot, she thought she could actually fly!
Where was Will? Where were the children? They should be here, lost in the excitement. Maybe they’d ventured out to the gazebo or were up in the master bedroom.
“Gosh, this place is really something,” John said, taking in the room before moving to the doorway where he could peek into the dining room. “Did you know I once accepted a dare to come into this place when I was sixteen or seventeen?”
“And what the hell happened?” Bill piped in. “Did some ghost scare you out of here?”
“No, but I thought I might fall through the floor, the place was so rotted.”
Torrie laughed nervously. “Did you hear any voices?”
“Nope, not a thing.” John grew serious. “You’ve sure redone everything beautifully. I can’t wait to tell my wife.”
“This is a great room,” Bill commented.
“It certainly is that, but Mr. Dalton asked for what he called fun furniture, too, so I have a hammock chair ordered. And of course a few other chairs should be out here, too, but I haven’t seen anything yet I feel fits,” Torrie explained. “And there’s a grand piano coming, too.”
“Well the place sure looks great,” John said. “If this Mr. Dalton ever has an open house, I want to bring my wife, Liz, to see it. She’d love it. Of course, she’d probably spend the rest of my life begging for a room like this one,” he joked.
Torrie carefully moved with them as they wheeled their cart back through the house to the front door. She thanked them and promised to tell Mr. Dalton how nice his house was for them. They, in turn, promised to tell their wives hello for her. Once she closed the door, Torrie leaned against it and rested her foot by picking it up. She looked up the stairs toward the other floors. The house was completely still. Where was everyone? For a brief moment, she was tempted to call out for them, just to assure herself they were still here. Then she went back to the parlor. She still had work to do.
It was a good thing Torrie had her computer. Spending the rest of the afternoon ordering small details such as sconces, plants for the conservatory, the new leather chair to match the desk in the conservatory, and various chairs and small tables to sit in what she considered empty spaces kept her busy. The three treks to the bathroom took some time, too.
In fact, Susan’s arrival at four shocked her. Where had the afternoon gone?
“Another room done. I really do love this house.”
“You’re finished with the violet wallpaper?”
“Yes. Except I’ll be back Monday to put up the border you bought, but I’m not sure it needs it. That wallpaper alone makes that room.”
“Thanks for working on a weekend.”
Susan shrugged. “I really don’t care what day of the week it is. I happened to be free and available, so here I am. Just don’t tell anyone I’m fast, cheap or easy, okay?”
Torrie laughed. “Okay.”
As soon as Susan was gone, the house felt absolutely still.
Where was Will? Where was Alice?
Torrie swallowed down a bite of anger. Where were they? They needed to see the desk in the conservatory.
Maybe Will had taken them all somewhere. It would be like him. She could just hear him telling the children they needed to stay quiet and out of the way so Torrie could finish the house. It was so close to being done, and pride for the job she’d done warmed her insides.
At the sounds of footsteps above her, she realized what she heard was the children, but where had they been? Obviously in the ballroom on the third floor where she couldn’t hear them, and they couldn’t hear the commotion of the desk being delivered. There was no other explanation. They evidently thought her still working and were being quiet for her.
Well, she’d just go up, tell them about the desk and see the train. It would take her some time to climb the stairs with her boot, but she could do it.
One careful step after another, she made her way toward the stairs. She passed through the conservatory again on her way and took in the desk. She called it the desk since looking at it, it still looked like her desk, but now she knew it wasn’t. Even though it felt as if it were. Yes, it was perfect in this room. She would miss it, but she didn’t regret her action in the least. Giving—or selling—her desk to Will was the right thing to do as her work on Hargrove House wound down to being finished. She stared at the desk for a long moment and smiled.
Then she turned to head toward the stairs.
And nearly ran into Will who stood right behind her.
Startled, she screamed and jumped back. She stumbled clumsily in the stiff boot and probably would have found out what the floor felt like beneath her bottom and possibly caused further damage to her foot or perhaps other extremities had Will not grabbed her. Within a blink of an eye, she was safely in his embrace.
“Damn, would you knock off sneaking up behind me!” She didn’t allow him the opportunity to go on. “Where have you been? My friends were here to deliver the desk, and I’m sure they would have loved to have seen the rest of the house. I wanted you to meet them. They are really impressed with this place.”
“I’m glad,” he managed to squeeze in.
“And you were nowhere to be found.”
“I had business upstairs. Forgive me.”
“Forgive you for what?” She wasn’t able to keep her voice from rising. “This is your house. Show it off if you want.”
“The desk looks perfect.” Then he kissed her. “I love it.”
The fire that had raged through her at being frightened and not knowing where Will had been fizzled out instantly with the touch of his lips.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she muttered.
“I came to tell you dinner’s ready.”
“Dinner?” She pulled away enough to look him in the eye. “I was just in the kitchen a short while ago and I didn’t even smell dinner, much less see anyone in there to cook it.”
He shrugged. “Whether you smelled it and saw it or not, it’s in the dining room waiting for us.”
“Really?”
“Allow me to escort you so you can see for yourself.”
She took the arm he offered and moved carefully into the dining room.
“And I saw where the third bedroom wallpaper is finished. It looks perfect,” Will said.
“I hope to get up there before I leave and see it.”
“I’ll help you up the stairs,” Will promised.
Eleanor and Alexander were sitting and waiting for them.
“But why can’t we tell, Eleanor?” Alexander asked as Torrie and Will came through the door.
“Tell what?” Torrie asked without thinking.
The room was suddenly so silent Torrie thought she heard all of them breathing. They stared at her as if she’d suddenly sprouted a second head. She looked at them expectantly. Beside her, Will tensed visibly.
Will had to clear his throat before he could reply. “I’ll bet they’re talking about something about the party, and it’s a surp
rise. And it’s hard for Alexander to understand that when something is a surprise or a secret, we don’t tell. Is that what you were talking about, Eleanor?”
It wasn’t what they’d been talking about, Torrie understood that was clearly written on all of their faces. She and Will moved further into the room.
“That’s right, Papa,” Eleanor replied hesitantly.
Will directed Torrie to a seat and pulled it out for her.
“Thank you.”
Then he took the one next to her
The room was still emotionally charged and quiet as death.
“You all really didn’t have to wait for me,” Torrie said, hoping to break some of the ice. “Although how you got dinner in here without me seeing it or smelling it, I don’t know.”
“We didn’t mind waiting, did we, children?” Will asked as he took his seat again.
“No,” they both piped.
Thunder rumbled as another storm worked to take hold. Out one of the big windows of the dining room a flash of lightning lit up the sky. Thunder shook the house, and the lights went out.
For a long moment, the four people around the table were completely still.
Then Torrie smiled, worked to breathe and stay calm, and straightened in her chair. “How lovely, dinner by candlelight. How did you all know it was what I wanted tonight?”
Eleanor and Alexander relaxed visibly. Eleanor even smiled as if she might really have planned it that way. When Alice came in a moment later with a tray of roast beef and creamed spinach, everyone was at ease again.
“Creamed spinach, my favorite,” Torrie put in, looking sideways at Will.
“I know.” He placed his hand over hers as he passed the bowl to her.
“Trying to melt my heart with creamed spinach, are you?” she whispered.
“Whatever it takes,” he whispered back.
“And there’s vanilla ice cream for dessert, too,” Alexander informed her loudly.
“Another one of my favorites,” Torrie said.
“We know,” they all said in unison.
From the floor above, there was a sudden crash.
“What was that?” Torrie gasped, looking up at the ceiling as if she could see through it. “Susan’s gone. She left when she finished the room earlier.”
Will tossed his cloth napkin to the table, seeming frustrated. “Yes, I know. I’ll take care of it. I’m sure something simply fell over upstairs.” He was out of the room before she could stop him.
There was a moment of awkward silence before Torrie smiled. “So I hear you got the train running upstairs, Alexander…”
When Will returned a few minutes later, it was evident he worked to appear not as frustrated as when he left.
“Is everything all right?” Torrie asked. She cursed her painful foot for the umpteenth time, wishing she’d been able to go up there with him.
“Everything’s fine.” His smile was forced. “There was a large seashell on the table up in my room, it must have been near the edge, and fell off.”
“Your room?”
“Yes.” His smile was still forced. “Everything’s fine.”
“All right,” Torrie forced out.
The children were silent and stared at their plates. Torrie knew a lie when she heard one. The fact that Will’s room was one floor up and on the other side of the house, not directly overhead where the crash had been heard didn’t ease her mind. He had said he’d never hurt her or lie to her. So why?
“Let’s just all finish our dinner now,” Will said. “Eat children.”
Obediently, they picked up their forks.
After several moments of tension so thick Torrie could have cut it with her steak knife, she put down her fork. She took a deep breath and offered Eleanor and Alexander a smile. “Will, why don’t you just tell me what’s going on. It’s obvious something is.”
Will let out a heavy breath. And for a long moment, there was only the sound of the rain. Then he reached out and covered Torrie’s hand with his. “All in good time, dear Torrie. For now, please don’t concern yourself.” Then he, too, visibly relaxed. “Does it help for you to know it’s a special surprise for the upcoming party?”
“Really? It’s just a surprise, huh?”
His grin seemed genuine. “A surprise I’m sure you’ll like.”
His warmth moved up her arm. “I like surprises.”
“I know. How’s the dinner?”
Torrie smiled. “Great.” It was another lie for the evening, but she thought she pulled it off better than the previous one told by Will. The dinner no longer held much appeal, and Torrie was far from hungry. Will had lied to her. She knew he must have had his reasons, but he had promised he never would. She had started to trust him. Now there surfaced yet another mystery about the man.
Because he lied, she didn’t stay the night.
The next morning, she forced herself not to arrive too early. She couldn’t make breakfast with the Daltons a habit. Instead she went to her office, a place that now felt foreign given the little time she’d spent there in the past weeks. It was even worse now that her desk was gone and everything she’d stored in it was packed in boxes against the wall. It didn’t help knowing her desk looked perfect in Will’s conservatory.
Torrie sat down at the small table across the room, leaned back and closed her eyes. She knew she should distance herself from the Daltons. She knew that leaving last night right after supper and not staying with Will was the right decision.
If leaving had been the right thing to do, why hadn’t she been able to sleep? Even after a hot, relaxing bubble bath lit by many candles due to the fact the power was out at her place, too, three cups of chamomile tea, and one of her painkillers? Why did she see the Dalton family every time she closed her eyes? Why couldn’t she think beyond the Hargrove House? Why was she angry at herself for leaving without seeing Alexander’s train or the wallpaper in the last bedroom?
Then, as she thought of that third bedroom, it came to her—what had been missing in the third bedroom, the bedroom with all the violets, the room Torrie had created for a young artist. The room needed a work table, just like the first bedroom had a small table for tea parties. True it already had a drafting type desk, but it needed a work table for all the other crafty things the young artist might like to do like working on puzzles or pasting together Valentines.
Torrie rubbed her eyes and gave up. She couldn’t get way from Hargrove House no matter how much distance she put between it and herself.
“What am I doing to do?” she said. The job would end soon enough, and the last thing Torrie needed was a broken heart.
She planned to stay away until her new desk was delivered, but when the furniture store called her cell and she was told there was a problem with the order and her new desk wouldn’t be delivered for a week, she decided she couldn’t sit on the chair all day. She might need to wean herself from the Hargrove House, but at least while she was there, she got things done. At least the electricity was back on by the time the sun was up.
So a little before lunch, she made her way back through the door. With her, she brought a fancy small work table and two matching stools.
And did her best to ignore the feeling she was coming home.
It didn’t help that Alexander and Eleanor rushed up to her and both hugged her tightly. “Miss Torrie, where have you been all day?” Eleanor asked.
“We were afraid you weren’t coming,” Alexander said at the same time.
“You were just afraid of the dark,” Eleanor piped in.”
“I was not!”
“It’s all right, I’m here, and it looks like the lights are back on just fine, so don’t worry about being afraid of the dark, Alexander. After all, I’m very afraid of the dark,” Torrie said.
“You are?” Alexander looked at her with eyes that looked like saucers.
“Indeed, I am. And I’m sorry I’m so late. I just needed to get some work done at my office.” Hell, it was an
other lie. She was going to have to stop that, or her nose was liable to begin to grow.
Alexander looked up at her anxiously. “Papa said you would be back, but I was still afraid you wouldn’t be.”
She smiled down at the little boy. “Well, your papa was right. I’m never further than a phone call away, and your papa has my number.” That was certainly true. “And speaking of your father, where is he? I have a small table and two stools I’d like him to get out of my car and take up to the third bedroom.”
Before anyone could say more, her cell rang. Not readily recognizing the number, she motioned the children to quiet as she answered with a simple, “Hello?”
“Ms. Reynolds?”
“Yes?”
“This is Marcy with the International Piano Company.”
“Oh, yes?”
“We don’t usually make deliveries on the weekend, but we have men available and we wanted to deliver yours before Monday when more rain is expected.”
Torrie smiled, feeling like a kid at Christmas. “That would be wonderful.”
“Will there be someone there?”
“Yes, of course, I’ll be here. So will the Dalton family.”
Marcy rattled off the address of the Hargrove House. “Is that still correct?”
“Yes, do your delivery men need directions?”
“No, they’ve got a GPS system in the truck, and they should be there in about an hour.”
Torrie felt like giggling. Will would be so pleased. “Tell them to park around the back—and tell them to be careful of the mud where they might get stuck. And perhaps they shouldn’t come all the way to the end of the drive where it’s more muddy. Then they can come through the door of the glassed room conservatory. That’s where the piano will go anyway,” Torrie instructed.
“I’ll be glad to give them that message.”
“And give them my cell number in case they have any problems.”
“It’s already done.”
“Thank you.” Torrie disconnected. And if it hadn’t been for her sore ankle, she would have jumped up and down and clapped her hands. As it was, she settled for just clapping her hands. “The piano is coming today, kids!”
Hargrove House: The Haunted Book One Page 18
