Chapter 1
Summertime.
Heat wave.
Blistering sun.
Sweat.
It’s pretty much all that can be expected when one lives near the beach. I for one have the benefit of being in a county that not only has hot sandy beaches, but also long dirt roads of southern soil. In the evenings, when the sun has finally set, the sky fills with flashes of lightning as far as the eyes can see. Usually the light display is all that it is, but at least once a week a thunderstorm follows. On a night like tonight the sky is not only filled with bright bolts, but also crashing booms.
I look down at the paperwork we’ve been going over for more than two hours. It’s important that I leave the attorney’s office before the storm arrives. The last thing I want to do is get to that old creepy house and have to run through the rain to go inside. If I had a boyfriend this would all be easier to handle. Instead I’m alone to deal with whatever comes my way. That’s my fault for picking my job over everything else, including my family.
I turned my attention to my great aunt’s lawyer. “Is there anything else I need to sign today?”
“No, ma’am. The house and it’s contents are yours to do with as you wish. I do hope you think about keeping it in the family. Your aunt ran that bed and breakfast for forty years. I know she left it to you for a reason.”
It probably wasn’t to take the money and run, but if I wanted to pursue my future in the big city of Baltimore, I couldn’t be worried about the upkeep of an old house.
There was a time when I loved coming to the beach and staying at my aunt’s large home. I had so many memories of being there. I remember pancakes on S
aturdays, and the smell of fresh bread that she used to knead herself. I can also recall the crisp scent of freshly cleaned sheets that hung on the clothesline outside, right next to where the gazebo sat in the yard.
When I was younger her rose garden was the talk of the town. Now it was just overgrown and too hideous to fathom cleaning up. Cancer took a toll on my aunt, and after fighting for many years, her body had given up.
I had brothers and sisters, but none as close as the two of us were. She was my godmother, and also my father’s sister. We spent many weekends together, and for a short time I even called the old house home when I was in college. It was the closest I came to having a beach experience for a whole summer. My family wouldn’t have allowed me to live in a small bungalow with a group of people my age that were seemingly intoxicated for the entire three month span.
“I will consider it, Mr. Angelo. Thanks for seeing me. If you’ll excuse me for being blunt, I would like to beat the rain home.”
He led me to the front door. “Go on now. We’ll talk once you decide what you want to do.”
I already knew the answer. The house was going on the market, and after I sorted through her belongings for what I wanted to take home, I’d donate all of the rest.
I rushed to my car, not even putting on my seat belt before pulling out of the parking spot. I could see the clouds gaining inches on me in the sky and knew it was only a matter of time before a late-afternoon downpour cooled off the ground.
My aunt’s bed and breakfast was nearly four miles away from the center of the little town, and about halfway there the sky opened up and it began to hail. Ice the size of golf balls was steadily coming down hitting the windshield of my brand new BMW. I slowed to prevent them from cracking the glass. After a good few minutes the ice stopped, followed by a torrential downpour. I kept at my slower than normal pace and continued on, just trying to get home before the lighting and thunder frightened me any more than it already was.
About two miles from where I was headed, I spotted a poor guy standing on the side of the road next to his motorcycle. It was rude but I silently chuckled at the fact that he’d not made it to his destination before the buckets began to come down. Seeing as storms in these parts were short, I figured that he’d climb back on his bike as soon as the sun broke out and begin on his way again.
While driving the rest of the way I secretly envisioned myself riding on the back of a motorcycle, spreading my arms out as the wind blew. I imagined wrapping my arms around a handsome man, and having him ravage me in bed. It was all just a fantasy, as I wouldn’t have been caught dead on the back of something so dangerous. I thought about all of the months I’d deprived myself of a relationship, because work always got in the way. Sure, I’d been hit on by co-workers, but I knew better than to mix business with pleasure. I hadn’t gotten to where I was from sleeping my way up in the company. It was actually from countless hours of dedication.
While imagining being ravaged by a handsome man, I thought about my last physical encounter. Regrettably I’d signed onto an online dating site. After talking to a man for nearly a month we met for dinner. Not only was he thirty pounds heavier than his photo, but everything about him repulsed me. I’d gone home that night and deleted the account, promising to never put myself through that again.
Nowadays I spent my free time daydreaming about the perfect guy, who would sweep me away and make me forget that I’d even done without.
I had more important things to do than look for that special man to fill the empty spot next to me in bed. Plus I didn’t have the time to even know where to look for a good man.
While pulling into the driveway a tremendous boom rattled the ground and left me feeling unsettled. My aunt’s house had been closed up for nearly a month and with that being said I knew it was going to have a creepy feel to it.
The house was nearly two-hundred years old. It was once a farm that had been equipped with actual slave quarters, which had now been converted into my aunt’s private living area located separately from the bed and breakfast. I remember being a teenager and hearing my aunt telling stories about the people that once owned the farm. She would always add that strange things happened from time to time, but that she always felt the spirits meant no harm. Honestly, it scared the living shit out of me every time. The idea of going inside now that it was vacant was also freaking me out.
I looked around at the sky before deciding if I should wait out the rain. Unlike most storms I couldn’t see the clouds breaking in the horizon. Knowing that I’d be sitting there forever, I had to get out and make a run for it. After grabbing my bag from the back seat, I opened the door and hauled ass to the large covered front porch.
The key, hidden in the same place as it had been for nearly a decade, was easy to find. I opened the door and listened to it creak as it moved. The hair on my arms stood up as I entered the foyer.