Josh pushed back from the table and shook his head, looking at Amanda. “I’m not saying you can’t. Just not right away.” He opened the fridge door and bent to grab a beer.
Paige looked over at her brother-in-law. The engineering firm where he worked didn’t even have an office in Kingston. “But what about you, Josh? How are you going to manage this promotion, splitting your time between Toronto and Montreal? You’re going to be on the road all the time.”
He laughed and shot a smile at Amanda. “I’ll manage. Kingston is the half way point between the two cities. It’ll mean some driving for sure, but it beats watching her check every lock and window in the house before bed and then recheck them, SIX MORE TIMES! This is crazy, living in fear. At least it’s a smaller city and thus, less crime. It’ll be better to raise the kids there.”
Amanda rolled her eyes and smiled. “Laugh all you want about my paranoia. I’m just glad we were all out that day when they broke in. Even Barney was at the beach with us, thank God, not here probably getting beaten or even killed.”
Paige sighed. The lonesomeness that she’d tried to hide was probably showing on her face now. It wasn’t just Amanda she’d miss. It was Avril and Julian, Josh and even the slobbering fool of a dog, Barney. For the past year she’d practically lived at her sister’s house, helping out. It was great that Amanda looked happy again, making plans but that didn’t mean when she moved, there wouldn’t be a big hole in her own life.
Josh took a deep breath, and pulled his shoulders back as he stepped over behind Amanda’s chair and rested his hand on her shoulder. He smiled looking over at Paige and after a brief glance up at him, Amanda turned and gazed at her sister too.
“About the new house...Paige...” Amanda leaned forward in her chair, a nervous smile spreading on her lips.
Uh oh. She suddenly felt that she was being set up—that they had something they had talked about and were about to spring on her? “What?” She stared at Amanda, trying to read her face.
Amanda leaned forward and placed her hand on Paige’s arm. “Look, it’s just you and me now, Paige. With Mom and Dad gone, we need to stick together. Leaving you here is the downside of getting the farm in Kingston.”
Josh cleared his throat and continued. “I’m going to be gone most of the week, living out of a suitcase, overseeing projects in Montreal and Toronto. What we’re getting at...” His eyebrows rose high, “...we’d like you to come with us, Paige.”
She could feel her eyes get wider and wider and her mouth fall open. “Go with you? But what about my job, my apartment?”
Amanda squeezed her arm and when she spoke there were tears glistening her eyes. “Paige, Josh told me that you got a letter of warning about all the time you took off work. It was because of me, being sick and all. So really, how secure is that job? We could pay you to help me with the kids and the farm.”
Josh jumped in, “Yeah. I’ll be making way more money and we’re making a profit selling this house. The house in Kingston was cheap by Toronto standards.”
Paige couldn’t help the smile that twitched on her lips. “No.”
Amanda’s mouth fell open and Paige chuckled. From the way the knot in her stomach had loosened when they asked her to go with them, there was no way she was going to say no. And there wasn’t really anything important to keep her in Toronto. “You aren’t paying me. I’ve got some money saved.”
Amanda popped out of her chair and clasped Paige’s shoulders, planting a big kiss on her forehead. “Oh thank goodness! The kids would have been heartbroken if you weren’t there, not to mention us.” She pulled back and looked at Avril, snuggled in Paige’s arms. She nodded and reached for her, lifting the sleeping child up.
When she left the kitchen, Josh took a seat at the table. “She’s really perked up with this move, Paige. The meds have helped but I think getting her out of the city is the real deal.” He looked down at the bottle of beer and his fingernail scraped at the edge of the label, prying it loose. “Still...I know I’ll feel better having you there. Julian has another year until he’s in school and as for Avril, well, it’s a lot for Amanda. She’s still kind of rocky, and having a three year old and a five year old to look after is a lot for her to manage. Add the getting settled into the new house…” he paused, “we really need your help.”
She knew exactly what he was getting at. There’d been too many times that they’d talked together, both worried about Amanda and of course, the kids. He was going out on a limb with this, moving the family far away to a home in the country. If it didn’t work out, he needed a safety net for the kids. He was counting on her to be that safety net.
Paige looked across to the family room where Julian was curled up on the sofa, sound asleep while the Disney movie he’d been watching played on. He was a little angel with Josh’s curls and fair complexion.
She turned and smiled at Josh. “It’s not like I have a boyfriend or anyone keeping me here. I’ll come back the odd time to see Jennifer and the gang.”
Josh rolled his eyes and grinned. “Yeah. It’s not like you couldn’t have your pick of guys. Maybe Mr. Right is living in Kingston, just waiting for you to show up.”
“Hmph. I doubt it.” She pictured Tony, the guy she’d wasted a year of her life on until she caught him cheating. But that had been a couple of years ago and since then, Amanda and her family had needed her. “I’ll be around as long as you need me.” She smiled and tapped his hand. “For what it’s worth, I think she’s rounded a corner in her treatment, too.”
Josh chuckled. “You should know. You’re the expert in this.”
Her eyebrows rose high and she shook her head. “No expert, but I know a few things about mental health after working at the group home.” She gasped as another thought popped into her head. “Oh my God, when are you moving? I’ll have to give notice on my apartment and at work.”
“We take possession September first. So you’ve got two months. And...we still have to sell this house.” Josh got to his feet and walked quietly over to the family room to turn the TV off.
She watched him scoop Julian into his arms and then Amanda appeared at his side. The two of them shared a sweet look and Amanda’s hand rose to gently rub her son’s pajama clad back. It was the warm picture of love and family, that struck a chord in Paige’s mind.
Oh my God. The fortune teller...the card. The three of them were eerily familiar to the Tarot card she’d drawn, the one representing the present. And from the pictures Amanda had shown her of the farmhouse, the grey limestone, it wasn’t all that different from the stone castle depicted on the card.
An acrid foul taste filled her mouth. Cold fingers clutched her chest, making it difficult to breathe. The final card revealed that day, the one with the tower being struck by lightning flashed in her mind. What were they getting into?
Chapter 3
Two months later, September 1st
“Aunt Paige!” Julian yelled and his face lit up like fireworks before his small feet raced across the room to the front door.
Behind him, pink tongue lolling out from a wide yap, Barney loped. The Bouvier des Flandres’ heavy feet and toenails clicked the hardwood floor with each step and Paige grinned watching him. The dog had always looked cross eyed to her, with the big lock of hair falling over its forehead between the high, pointed ears.
Julian hugged her thighs and beamed a grin up at her. Paige’s heart swelled with love for the small, sandy-haired tyke. She reached down and scooped him up into her arms. Now that was a welcome if ever there was one! She kissed his cheek and toed her sandals off, already on her way into the house.
“How’s my big boy today? Where’s Mommy and Daddy?” She looked into the living room as she passed, noticed the sofa and chair framed by neatly stacked, brown cardboard boxes.
“They’re upstairs packing the last of Avril’s stuff. Can Barney and I go with you in your car? I never get to ride in your car.” He reached into her shirt pocket for her sunglasses, sl
ipping them on his face and giving her a cheesey grin.
She stifled a laugh at the sight of his small face dwarfed by the dark sunglasses like some kind of giant fly. “Sure can. As long as it’s okay with your Mom and Dad.”
At the soft thuds of footsteps on the stairs, she turned.
“What’s he talking you into now, Paige? I swear, he’s got you wrapped around his finger and you love every minute of it.” Amanda’s smile as she stepped down the stairs sent a warm feeling through Paige.
“Totally! He’s my favorite nephew.” She gave his cheek a big kiss.
“We won’t mention that he’s your only nephew, will we?” Amanda’s eyebrows bobbed high, and it was just like old times, when she used to tease Paige, the younger, pesky sister.
Paige grinned. “He wants to ride with me. A walk on the wild side in the Miata, rather than the ‘Griswold’ van. Not too sure about Barney though. He’d never fit.” She set Julian down and stepped over to her sister. “You two all packed up now? You really think we’ll be able to stay there tonight?” Paige set Julian down on the floor, looking up at her sister. “It’s not too late to book a hotel and tackle the unpacking and set up in the morning.”
Amanda shook her head. “It’s only three hours away. There’ll be plenty of time this afternoon to set the beds and kitchen up. That’s really all we need for tonight.” She gripped Paige’s forearm and squeezed it. “I can’t wait to show you the place! It’s like my all time dream house! A hobby farm on the lake.”
“Hi Paige. Did the movers already get your stuff?”
At the sound of Josh’s voice Paige looked up at the stairs once more and smiled seeing Avril in his arms. The child’s blue eyes were wide and her arms outstretched to Paige, almost squirming out of her father’s burly grip. “Aunt Paige!”
She took the toddler in her arms and kissed the top of her head, again inhaling the innocent baby smell. “Hi Avril.” She whispered into the fine, dark hair.
Meanwhile Julian was back tugging at the bottom of her T shirt. “C’mon Aunt Paige. Let’s go.”
She ruffled the boy’s curly locks and turned to Josh. “They took everything an hour ago. I just popped in to see Jennifer before I came over. So yeah, I’m all set. It’s going to be weird leaving though.”
“After that break-in...” Amanda huffed a sigh as she gave the house a final once over. “I’m not going to miss living here, that’s for sure.” Turning to Paige, she said, “If Julian is going with you, you’ll need his booster seat.” She walked over to the front door and then turned, signaling for the others to follow.
Paige looked around at the living room and the dining room across from it. They’d lived there for seven years and she’d always considered it her second home. She pictured the times they’d sat around the table, the Christmas dinners and the celebrations, going back to when her parents were still alive. Amanda might be totally fine with leaving all this but there were good times too, in the beginning, before she got sick.
At Julian’s tug, harder this time, she looked down and took his hand walking over to the front door. Behind her she could hear Josh’s footsteps and the jangle of Barney’s collar and tags as the leash was snapped on.
She turned and smiled at Josh. “This is quite the caravan we have, driving to Kingston. You know, I’ve never been there. Three hours away and never set foot inside the city.”
Josh’s smile belied the sadness in his eyes. He also gave the house a once over. “Sure, it’s time to move on… but there were some pretty darn good times in this place, you know.” Turning back to face her his face brightened. “As far as Kingston… well, the pace is a little slower but it’s a pretty spot. You’ll like it, Paige.”
“I sure hope so, Josh.” She led her nephew outside, where Amanda was leaning into the black Jeep unbuckling the booster seat. She glanced back at the doorway, seeing Josh shut it for the final time. Her stomach felt like a lump of lead and tears welled in her eyes suddenly. Even though it wasn’t her house, she had spent a lot of time there. But over-riding the sadness was a sense of unease.
“Aunt Paige?”
She looked down and saw her nephew looking up at her with wide eyed concern. She took a deep breath and pulled her shoulders back, forcing a smile. This was silly. This was a new beginning not an ending. Kingston would be a fresh start.
“Sorry Julian. Got a little sad there for a moment.” She handed the toddler to Josh and then bent to pick up the car seat.
The fortune teller’s face flashed in her mind, along with the words she had spoken. ‘Protect yourself first and then you can help the others’. A chill skittered up Paige’s spine. In all the mayhem, the packing and preparing for the move, she’d forgotten the fortune teller’s warning until then. But why, now of all times, did it pop into her head?
She tried to shake the feeling of dread as she settled the booster seat in the car. The last time she’d felt this way, her parents had been killed in a car crash. All that fateful day she had been restless and teary, jumping at every little noise. She’d been at home, not at work, thank God. She could never have helped clients when she could barely keep a coherent thought in her head.
And then, the police had showed up at her door. She hadn’t needed to see their somber serious faces to know the worst had happened. The most kind and loving parents a girl could ask for, gone in the blink of an eye.
And for some reason, that jittery, fearful feeling was back again.
When she turned to put Julian in the car seat, his eyes were welled up with tears. His voice was barely above a whisper. “I’m scared too, Aunt Paige.”
Chapter 4
That afternoon...
Ahead of her, the left turn light of Amanda’s Jeep blinked, catching Paige’s eye. The last hour and a half had been quiet in her tiny car, after Julian had drifted off to sleep. The three lane highway seemed to go on forever. Now, that they were on the smaller road, the last leg of the journey, she perked up.
There was so much green space, fields where herds of cows meandered, munching lazily in the afternoon sun. It was different—the air fresh, the spaces more open from what she was used to. She drove by farmhouses and barns set well back from the road. The spaces between them were long and lonely. One thing that would definitely take some getting used to would be the sense of isolation, totally unlike the cookie cutter houses rubbing shoulders in the Toronto.
At Amanda’s brake lights ahead of her, she eased off the accelerator. They seemed to crawl at a snail’s pace through the tiny village—if a gas station, a general store, a squat limestone library and a smattering of bungalows bordering the street could be considered a village.
“Are we there yet?” Julian asked.
She turned and grinned, watching him blink the sleepiness out of his eyes. “Almost, I think. We’re in some place called Inverary. Your mom said the house is about ten minutes past this village.”
“I thought we were going to live in Kingston,” he said, peering out the window.
“Inverary’s a town just outside of Kingston.” She grinned. “We’re almost there.”
“Good. I need to go to the bathroom.” Proving his point, he squirmed in his seat.
“Think of something else. How about what color you want to paint your room or if there’s a tree that your Dad can hang a swing from, or playing in the barn, making forts in the hay. I’ve read about that.” She smiled and punched the accelerator again, following Amanda’s lead.
After a few minutes the jeep ahead signaled and turned right onto a dirt road. There was a small green sign—‘Larkspur Lane’ They had to be getting close now. Yellow fields of hay bordered each side of the road, while in the distance a line of trees stood like sentinels.
Julian was really squirming now, his face blank and inwardly focused. Her fingers tapped the steering wheel, watching the tail lights ahead of them.
“You okay buddy? I can pull over and—”
“No! There’s no bathroom or...” He look
ed at her with shock, squeezing his legs together.
At Amanda’s turn-signal flashing, she smiled. “We’re here buddy! You did it, Julian.”
She parked the car next to Amanda’s and her eyes grew wide as she looked out the windshield at the imposing two story, stone building. From the ground rose thick sold walls of limestone block that rose two stories. Two angled peaks broke the line of the slate gray roof, reaching upward and ending in points as sharp as spears, while under them, huddled close together, arched windows peeked out.
For an instant there was a flash of light reflected in the window on the left. Her eyes narrowed focusing there. Was there someone in the window or could it have been the sun, appearing suddenly from the bank of clouds? The hair on the back of her neck tingled and she shuddered. If it was the sun, why did she feel suddenly cold as ice?
At Julian’s sharp intake of breath, Paige turned to look at him. His eyes were like marbles looking up at the same window and he was white as a sheet.
“What is it, Julian? Are you okay?”
The door next to Julian opened and Josh’s face appeared, his gaze looking from Julian’s eyes down to the dark, spreading wetness on the front of the boy’s pants.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t hold it anymore.” The boy’s eyes filled with tears and his lower lip quivered watching his father.
“It’s okay, Julian. You didn’t mean to. It was an accident. We’ll get you changed into clean pants in no time.” Josh’s smile was warm when he gazed at Julian and unhooked the seat belt. Julian slid by him and stood next to the car, facing away.
Josh took his son’s hand and led him to the jeep, before Amanda appeared carrying Avril in her arms. Paige got out and walked over to join her.
Amanda’s eyes flashed wide with surprise taking in her son and she whispered. “He wet himself? He hasn’t done that since he was two years old. Not even at night!”
The Haunting Of Larkspur Farm (Ghosts and Haunted Houses): A Haunting In Kingston (The Hauntings of Kingston Book 4) Page 2
