'Tis the Season for Love: A Charity Box Set

by Maggie Dallen

  “I know you never met them, but did you see them at all? Did they eat at Dodgy Diner too?”

  “Um. I don’t think so,” I murmur, heading for the ladder. “I didn’t really see them, like ever. Mom said the oldest one would sometimes come into town with Ray to pick up supplies and stuff, but they tended to stick to their own. Not sure why. They just…” I shake my head and pull out my phone again. “This is a good spot, right?”

  I spin my back to him and hold out the phone, trying to get the awesome dining table in the background of the shot.

  Nate does a cheesy smile that cracks me up and I snap a couple of extras.

  “Okay, let’s get out of here.” Nate heads back to the little office we snuck in through, but I linger by the ladder, looking at the rungs and wondering again what’s upstairs.

  I rest my foot on the bottom rung.

  “What are you doing?” Nate clips.

  “I’m just curious.”

  “You want to go upstairs too?” He looks a little incredulous and it’s kind of cute.

  I grin at his expression and am tempted to tease him for being chicken, but I hate being called that, so I bite the tip of my tongue and start climbing instead.

  “Can I just point out that I think this is a really bad idea?” Nate starts climbing behind me.

  “Yes, of course you can.”

  “You’re going to ignore me, though, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, of course I am.” I glance down the ladder at him, grinning until I get a smile in return.

  He shakes his head and trails me up to the landing, where I brush my dirty hands on the back of my pants and try to decide which door to walk through first.

  There’s this delicious “Alice in Wonderland” feeling coursing through me. It should be a warning I suppose, but something compels me to treat it like an invitation.

  Chapter 10

  A Ghost Within

  NATE

  The air is slightly musty up here. I walk through the dust particles, aware this place has been closed up for years. I’ve gotta say though, for a “haunted” house, it’s pretty freaking cool. A ladder leading upstairs. Even at eighteen, I think that’s awesome. The loft looks out over the living area, and the pale late-afternoon light easing through the top windows is ethereal, bathing everything it touches.

  It must have been pretty cool living here. It’s like a massive hunting lodge or something. I bet the Barrett boys loved it.

  It’s weird for me to think that, because there’s this creepy, dark mystery surrounding their swift departure. I’ve only heard rumors, of course. Passing statements that made me wonder.

  A door whines behind me, and I spin to see Shay slip into the first bedroom on our right.

  I follow her, curiosity and this weird sense of wanting to protect her tugging at me.

  Wrinkling my nose at the musty smell, I try to step quietly, feeling like every little creak in this house is amplified by my big boots.

  The Persian-looking rug under the bed is dusty and faded, the wrought iron frame pinning it to the floor. Shay’s lingering by an old set of dresser drawers, gazing at bottles of perfume and what looks to be an antique jewelry box.

  I creep past her and reach for the framed photograph next to the bed. Wiping my thumb through the dust, I expose an image that looks like it was taken in the eighties maybe. A tall man with a shy smile has his arms wrapped around a cheerful-looking lady. A young girl, who must be about five or so, is perched on his hip, her arms wrapped around his neck. They’re smiling at the camera like life couldn’t be better. The big house I’m standing in is behind them in the shot. It looks brand-spanking new—fresh, polished and inviting.

  It’s kind of heartbreaking that it’s fallen into such disrepair and become this haunted house that everyone’s too afraid to visit.

  “That must be Edie.” Shay taps on the frame.

  “His wife?”

  “Yeah.” Shay lets out a sad sigh. “She died of a stroke about…” She shakes her head and shrugs. “I can’t remember how long ago it was. Nearly destroyed ol’ Ray, though. That’s what I heard anyway. Apparently, Edie was this strong, sunshine kind of woman, you know? And after she died, he just… lost himself.”

  “What about the daughter?”

  “I’m trying to remember her name.” Shay’s face bunches, but she soon shakes her head. “She, um… she took off when she was a teenager. I think there was some bad blood between them or something. And she just… she left.” Shay’s voice trails off to an infinitesimal whisper.

  I can tell she’s thinking about her brother and I give her a sympathetic smile.

  Talk about bad blood. You could hear Spencer and his dad yelling at each other over the TV at my house. It was pretty horrible. I can’t remember all the stuff they fought about, but the whole coming out thing did not go well for Spence. Poor guy. I feel sorry for him. But that didn’t give him the right to turn his back on Shay as well. She told me once that Spencer being into guys doesn’t change who he is as a person.

  “He’s still my brother. I love him no matter who he’s got the hots for.”

  I wish I could say something to make her feel better. I’d be lost without Luke. He’s not only my brother, but one of my best friends.

  Shay and Spencer were pretty close too, although I think he started pulling away near the end. Shay seemed pretty cut up about it, but I felt awkward asking her and the one time I kind of tried, she cut me off before I could even finish my sentence.

  It’s been ten months since he dropped out of his senior year and took off. As far as I know, Shay hasn’t heard from him once.

  I open my mouth, desperate to kill the sad silence swirling around us, but Shay shakes her head and saves me the trouble.

  Grabbing the frame off me, she sets it back down on the nightstand. “It must have sucked losing their only daughter, and then for Ray to lose his wife as well. He would have been so lonely.”

  “So how did his grandsons end up with him?”

  “Don’t know.” She shrugs, gazing at the photo. “Nell said those boys brought him back to life. I hate to think they might have killed him.”

  “They probably didn’t. Rumors are these ugly things that grow and intensify until there’s hardly ever any truth left in them.”

  She nods, kind of shuddering before moving away from the bed. I watch her walk around the room, trailing her fingers across the bed frame and looking as if she’s trying to imagine what it used to be like.

  “I bet they loved it,” I whisper. “This house is way too cool to be filled with misery. They probably loved living here.”

  “So, what happened to them?”

  Shay’s brown gaze captures me, and I stare into her beautiful eyes wishing I had the answers. For some reason, I know they’d make her feel better. Like solving this mystery might dull some of the hurt. If we could somehow prove that the Barrett boys didn’t kill their grandfather, then all would be right with the world again.

  Logically, I know that’s not how the world works, but I’d do anything to take away the sadness in Shay’s smile right now.

  “Come on, let’s check out the other rooms.” I snatch her hand and pull her out the door.

  I probably should do the right thing and let her go once we’re out of the room, but her small, icy fingers feel too good.

  “Your hand is freezing,” I murmur, stopping in the hallway to take her other hand and give them a good rub.

  She smiles up at me, while I engulf her hands in mine. “Yours are so warm. How do you do that?”

  I shrug. “Warm-blooded, I guess.”

  “You know, it’s really unfair that I’ve lived through multiple winters in this freezing town and you’ve only had to endure like two, yet your body has adjusted better than mine.”

  “I’ve never felt the cold. The heat…definitely.”

  “But you lived in Arizona before moving here.”

  “And the summers nearly killed me.”

&
nbsp; She snickers, her eyes sparkling for a moment. Damn. She really has the most beautiful eyes. I stare down at them, my gaze flicking to her lips. They’re full and look kind of soft. I bet they taste great.

  Shay clears her throat, her cheeks glowing red as she wriggles her hands free of mine.

  “Thanks for the warmup.” Brushing her teeth over her lower lip, she dips her head and scuttles into the bedroom on our left.

  I scratch the beanie on my head, my heart starting to pound when I realize she no doubt saw the desire all over my face.

  Crap. What is she thinking now?

  Wincing, I trail her into the next room, sticking to the corner and staying pretty quiet as she scans the bed and the faded basketball posters on the wall.

  “Someone was a fan like you,” she murmurs, smiling at the action shot of LeBron James slam dunking the ball.

  My lips pull into a grin, but I still can’t say anything.

  I shouldn’t have looked at her mouth.

  I’ve made things awkward. She’s avoiding my gaze. Her cheeks are still pink.

  Great. She’s probably wondering how the hell to get out of this. How to let me down gently, so that our friendship isn’t permanently ruined by my uber crush.

  I linger back, letting her lead the way as we check out the three other bedrooms on the floor. One has a set of bunks in it.

  “Maybe for the twins?”

  “The twins?” I murmur.

  “Yeah, I’m pretty sure two of them were twins.”

  I bob my head, wondering what they look like. Wondering why Ray’s room stayed so untouched, yet every other room looks as though it was emptied out. No toys lying around, just the odd poster on the wall. The closets are empty, and the bathroom cupboards are bare.

  The feeling that we’re trespassing continues to grow inside me until it’s an uncomfortable pull in my chest.

  “We should probably go, Shay.”

  “Yeah.” She glances at me, then quickly looks away before we make eye contact.

  Crap. I really screwed this up.

  Trying for light and cheerful, I amble out into the hall and stop next to the ladder. It’d probably be safer to take the stairs down, but I wait for Shay to catch up with me.

  “This place is bigger than it looks,” I murmur, glancing over my shoulder to scan the upper floor.

  “Yeah, totally. It’s kind of sad that it’s just slowly dying. This place could be lit. Imagine having a party here.”

  I snicker. “It’d take a pretty decent clean-up crew first.”

  She smiles. “Yeah, I know.”

  We go silent beside each other, and I slide my hands into my pockets, not sure what to say. I want to go back to our easy banter and am just trying to formulate something I can tease her about as she inches towards the ladder.

  “Maybe we should take the stairs.” I point to the other side of the loft. A staircase runs down the edge of the house. It has a railing and looks like a much safer option than the ladder.

  Shay’s turning to descend, and I want to reach out and take her hand again, but resist the urge, figuring that’ll just bring on the awkward train, which I’m pretty sure is still screaming around me in circles.

  I grip the inside of my pocket, making a fist and looking away from her.

  A noise outside makes us both jump. I flinch, wondering if we’re about to get busted for trespassing.

  But Shay lets out this panicked yelp.

  I whip around in time to see her hand slip off the railing.

  Lunging for her, I snatch her wrist and yank her towards me, gathering her into my arms and wrapping her in the kind of hug Mom gave me that one time I nearly ran in front of a car.

  “Are you okay?” My words are muffled by her beanie.

  “Yep,” she squeaks. “What was that noise?”

  “I don’t know.”

  I should probably let her go. There was definitely a noise outside, and we should split. But she nearly fell, and she feels kind of perfect against my chest right now.

  So maybe I can’t let her go.

  Maybe I never want to.

  Chapter 11

  Be Brave With Me

  SHAY

  Nate’s arms are so encompassing. So strong. His chest is firm and comforting against my cheek. I can hear his heart thumping through his jacket and want to wrap my arms around his waist and cling to him.

  I don’t know what the hell happened with me slipping just now.

  That noise spooked me, and I let go of the freaking railing!

  What a moron.

  Thank God for Nate.

  Thank God he’s here. He’s holding me. I don’t want him to let go, but this is weird. Before, I could have sworn that he looked at my lips like he wanted to kiss me. I was so tempted, but then got freaked out by the thought that maybe I was imagining it. Nate wanting to kiss me? That can’t be right.

  He’s Nate!

  I’m Shay!

  We’re not a thing. We’re buddies. We’re neighbors. He was dating Sheridan. He couldn’t possibly see me that way.

  I mean, could he?

  This is getting awkward.

  As much as I don’t want to, I need to stop dreaming and bail on this hug.

  Reality check!

  Wriggling out of Nate’s embrace, I give him a grateful smile and head for the staircase.

  “We should get out of here,” I murmur over my shoulder.

  Nate follows me, not saying anything.

  I can’t decide if that’s a good or a bad thing. Part of me wants him to crack a joke or tease me, but another part wants silence to reign.

  Aw, man! This is what I was afraid of. Things are getting awkward between us. I don’t want to lose our friendship. He’s my bud. The guy I eat lunch with sometimes. The one who helps me finish my Stats homework and doesn’t judge me when I struggle to understand it. The guy I binge-watched “Brooklyn 99” with when he was recovering from a cold last month.

  My boots thump on the stairs and I try to focus back on the house.

  On the mystery.

  That’s safe, right?

  What was that noise before, though?

  It was a weird kind of thud that scared me enough to nearly break myself. It sounded like it was coming from around the back of the house. Yeah, we should seriously leave.

  This place creeps me out.

  But it kind of ignites me at the same time.

  I’d love to know the truth about Ray and his grandsons. I didn’t really care that much before, but now that I’ve walked through their house, I’d love to know what really happened here the night he died.

  Shoving my cold hands into my jacket pockets, I duck beneath the stairs and head for the kitchen. It’s through a doorway and looks like it could use a remodel. It’s big enough, with stainless steel countertops and a retro fridge in the corner. I glance behind me as Nate walks in, giving him a small, edgy smile.

  Ugh. This is weird!

  Say something, Shay. Anything.

  “You know, this would be amazing if you punched out that wall and turned this all open plan. You could have like a breakfast bar there.” I point at the wall. “With that same rustic kind of top as the dining room table. And then you could create more counter space here and shift the fridge that way. You could hook up one of those cool potholder things and…” My voice trails off as I gaze out the window and imagine what it’d be like to work in the kitchen with a view like that. The mountains in the distance with fields stretching for miles. Man, it’d make doing the dishes a hell of a lot more interesting than it is at my place.

  “You can see it all, can’t you?” Nate’s voice sounds like he’s smiling.

  I glance at him and grin. “I’ve always been good at visualizing.”

  “Which is why you’re going to make an amazing designer or architect or whatever you settle on.”

  I’ve already applied to a bunch of design schools and there’s one in Portland and two in Seattle that I’m super keen o
n. I have no idea if I’ll get into any of them, but I’m hoping it works out.

  I’m going to miss not being Nate’s neighbor anymore. The idea sits inside of me like a brick. Although, he has told me he’s interested in West Coast schools so who knows, I might get lucky enough to have him nearby. Or he might move to California to be closer to his dad.

  The idea makes me incredibly sad.

  “Why are you frowning?”

  “Huh?”

  “You’re frowning.” Nate points at me. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” I bob my head, too embarrassed to tell him that I was lamenting the fact that in like eight months or so, we won’t be living next door to each other anymore.

  “This is so weird, right?” Nate stops by the fridge, adjusting magnets and flicking his finger under a “To Do” List. “This whole house… It’s like they just walked out one day.”

  “Well I guess they kind of did. After Ray died, the boys were all split up. Foster care, I think. I don’t know. It was a big mess. Nell doesn’t like to talk about it.”

  “I wonder who looks after this place.”

  “Uh… no one?” I point around with a little chuckle. The place is falling into disrepair.

  “Someone must. I mean, land rates and all that stuff. There’s no ‘For Sale’ signs out front or anything. The Barretts must still own it.” His voice trails off as he looks up at the ceiling then over his shoulder. “Maybe their spirits still linger here,” he whispers. “Harvey swears there was a ghost who snuck up on him. An old man. Probably Ray out to avenge himself.”

  A shiver races through me, but I roll my eyes to try and hide it. “Oh please. I don’t believe—”

  Something creaks and I gasp, jumping next to Nate.

  He grins down at me. “You believe it a little bit.”

  “No I don’t.”