Chapter Four
Silas
Yanking off my rubber boots, I place them on the deck before walking through the door of Warren and Maisie’s cabin.
Then I unbutton my jeans and strip them off so I don’t track dirt on the carpet.
My shirt goes next since that’s also covered in dust and straw.
I hadn’t expected Posey to agree to giving me a job, nevertheless, starting right away, so I was in my nice Wranglers and boots.
I texted Warren to give him the news and gave Maisie a heads up since she works from home. She’s sitting behind her desk in the office when I find her.
“Hey!” Her eyes light up when she notices me in the doorway. “Why’re you naked?”
“Excuse me?” Warren’s voice echoes from her speakerphone.
“I’m not naked!” I quickly tell him before he rushes home and kicks my ass. He’s normally home by now so I’m surprised he’s not. “I didn’t wanna track in dirt and goat shit.”
Maisie beams. “How was your first day?”
“I’m certain Posey told that Ian guy to give me a hard time ’cause he didn’t give me two seconds to breathe all day.
Either he’s a germaphobe who wants every speck of dirt cleaned up or Posey told him to purposely stay on my ass.
On top of that, the goats kept chewin’ on my clothes and chased me ’round the pasture until I tripped and fell.
If that wasn’t bad enough, tryin’ to milk ’em was a nightmare. ”
Maisie chuckles, clearly enjoying my suffering.
“You’ll get used to it,” Warren says. “It takes a bit to get the hang of it, but I’m sure you will.”
“Well, I’m certain she’s hopin’ I’ll quit by the end of the week.”
“I can’t believe she agreed to let you move in too,” Maisie says. “That must’ve been some apology you gave her.”
“I did give her my best puppy dog eyes.” I grin, but I’m just as surprised. “But if I suddenly go missin’, don’t be shocked if she puts a pillow over my head in my sleep and feeds me to the goats.”
“Posey’s very independent and headstrong. So, as long as you stay outta her way and don’t suffocate her, she’ll play nice,” Warren explains.
I want to believe him, but there’s a part of me that thinks she’ll do whatever it takes to get back at me even if she acts like she’s over it.
“I hope you’re right. Well, I’m gonna shower, then grab my stuff and head over there.”
“I should be home before you leave,” Warren says. “Had to run to the grocery store to get steaks for dinner.”
“Steaks? Well shit, now I wanna stay,” I quip.
“Take your time, Silas. I’m sure Posey won’t mind waitin’ for you.” Maisie winks.
Yeah, I’m sure she’s eagerly awaiting my arrival.
I take a quick shower and change into clean clothes, then load up my bags. Warren’s home by the time I’m ready to leave and I thank him again for letting me stay last night.
Even though the offer to crash there was made, I didn’t want to invade their space. I’m lucky that Posey’s letting me take her spare bedroom so it gives me more time to find an apartment in town. It’ll be a bit of a drive into the ranch, but I’m used to commuting for work.
“See ya guys. Enjoy your dinner.” I wave, opening my truck door.
“Hey, don’t forget to see my dad and fill out paperwork so you get paid,” Warren reminds me.
“Will do.” Assuming Posey doesn’t fire me in a few days.
“And if she ends up kickin’ you out, you can always come back.” Maisie smirks.
As I drive to Posey’s cabin, it hits me how I’ve barely processed how much has changed in the past four days and how much has changed in such a short matter of time. Aundrea was my longest relationship, and I thought we’d be together forever.
Now I’m pulling back the blinders and realizing I was more dedicated to our relationship than she could ever be.
I enter Posey’s house, hauling in my suitcases, then set them by the door. Since I don’t know her rules on shoes in the house, I take mine off and place them next to my bags.
“Posey?” I call out, walking through the living room.
The house is quiet and eerie with no lights on. Her car’s parked in front, so she’s here somewhere.
“Hello?” I say louder. “Posey?”
“Yeah?” She continues talking, but I can’t make out the words.
I follow her voice to a door and open it so I can hear her.
Posey whips around, clutching a towel tight against her chest. “Ever heard of knockin’?”
“Shit, sorry.” I smirk. “Though, nothin’ I haven’t seen before.”
“Silas!” Her face goes red.
“You’re all covered up. Except…” I arch my neck. “What’s that?” I point toward the back of her thigh where a tattoo peeks out from underneath the fabric.
“None of your business.” She attempts to hide it but I already saw the ink.
“C’mon, let me see. You saw mine.”
She crosses her arms, tightening her hold. “All of yours?”
“No.”
“Show me.”
“Show me yours first.”
Her lips twitch as if she wants to argue but then huffs and turns away.
Looking over her shoulder, she carefully pulls up the towel.
My eyes widen in shock at the compass design surrounded by flowers that starts on her left mid-thigh and continues up her ass cheek.
I’m immediately jealous of the person who gave it to her.
“We have the same tattoo!” My jaw drops, amused. “It’s gorgeous on you.”
“No! You stole my idea!” She quickly spins back, hiding it from me. But I already engraved it to memory.
“I wasn’t aware you were the only one allowed to get a compass tat.”
She waves her finger, ignoring my comment. “Now show me your other one.”
Lowering my sweatpants to my knees, I lift my boxer briefs and reveal the floral design on my right upper thigh. “It’s nothin’ special. I was bored.”
“You really like flowers,” she says, staring at it. “Didn’t peg you as the slutty thigh tattoo kinda guy.”
I pull my pants back up and straighten them over my waist. “Slutty thigh tattoo?”
She points toward it. “That’s what that is.”
“Is that what yours is too?” I quip.
“No, mine’s on the back so it doesn’t count.”
I chuckle. “If you say so.”
“I do. Now, can you leave so I can get dressed?”
“Sure thing, roomie.” I shut the door behind me and hear her groan at me calling her that.
Grabbing my luggage, I bring them to my new room and set them on the bed. Sadness washes over me that my life is condensed in these two bags.
“Oh look, you found the right room.” Posey leans against the doorway.
“I haven’t been in here since it got remodeled.” I helped Warren and his dad fix it up several years ago. It was a fun summer project. “Looks nice all decorated and furnished. I’m surprised they didn’t end up usin’ it as a guest cabin.”
“They tried at first but once word got out that someone died in here, no one wanted to rent it out.”
My hands freeze midair from pulling out my clothes. “What? Someone died in here?”
“Yeah, before the remodel,” she explains. “But her spirit never left.”
“Whaddya mean? Whose spirit?”
“The woman who died. Her name’s Marjorie.”
“You’re fuckin’ with me, aren’t you?”
She’s talking way too calmly about this.
“I’m being dead-ass serious. She likes movin’ shit and openin’ cabinet doors, so try not to freak out. I don’t think she knows she’s…” She lowers her voice. “Dead.”
I bark out a laugh, shaking my head. “Now I know you’re messin’ with me.”
“Why would I lie about that?” she asks, defensively. “When no one wanted to stay here, I volunteered since I didn’t wanna live at my parents’ anymore. I needed more privacy.”
“So this Marjorie…” I walk toward her, lowering my voice. “How do you know when she’s here?”
“Things will go missin’ or they’ll be moved. Cabinet doors open after I’ve closed ’em. Sometimes things are left out that I already put away. She’s usually harmless, but sometimes she lets me know she doesn’t like somethin’ or someone,” she explains, walking through the hallway.
“Someone?” I follow her toward the kitchen.
“When I have friends or guys over. She’ll flick the lights or slam a door to get my attention.”
The silence lingers between us as I glance around the room for any weird movement. A cold shiver runs down my spine, sending goose bumps over my arms.
“Did you feel that?” I blurt.
“What?”
“Like a gush of air…cold air.”
“No. But I wouldn’t be surprised. She’s not a fan of company.” She shrugs, glancing over her shoulder.
“You couldn’t have told me this little detail before tellin’ me I could move in?”
“You didn’t ask.” She grabs a glass out of the cabinet, then opens the fridge.
“I didn’t know that was somethin’ to ask about!”
“Oh relax, you big baby.” She pushes against my chest when I close the gap between us.
“You just told me this place is haunted and she doesn’t like when you have people over. How should I act?”
“It’s not haunted…it’s spiritually-occupied.”
I roll my eyes, moving out of her way when she nudges me back. “We need sage. And a priest.”
She cackles. “For what?”
“To guide her into the light. Or wherever the afterlife is.”
“Bellamy already tried that. We had a whole séance and even tried a Ouija board. Marjorie likes it here,” she explains, pouring sweet tea into her cup. “And I like her too.”
“Great, so I have to sleep in a house with two crazy women.”
“Aren’t you glad you asked to be roomies?” She brings the glass to her lips, smirking around it.
“Anythin’ else I should know? You have a zombie livin’ in the basement? A poltergeist in the attic? Perhaps a baby dragon in your bathroom?”
She licks her lips and my eyes track the movement. “No, but I have a pet rat named Teddy in my walk-in closet.”
I squeeze the bridge of my nose. “Please be jokin’.”
“Nope.” She pats my chest before moving past me. “You’re in the country now, city boy. Time to toughen up.”
“Silas!” Posey’s whispered voice above my head sends me into a panic, catching me off guard and thrashing against the mattress. My eyes struggle to find her in the dark.
“What the fuck?”
“Time to get up,” she says, flicking on the lamp next to the bed.
“What time is it?”
“Six-thirty.”
I groan, rolling away from her. “I thought we started at eight?”
“It’s Tuesday, so we start at seven.”
“Why?”
“Goat yoga at the Branch Haven every Tuesday and Thursday. We gotta load up the baby goats and bring ’em over, then back to the barn when it’s over.”
My eyes finally adjust to the lighting. I roll back over to find her in tight leggings and a pink sports tank. “Goat yoga?”
“Yes. And since you’re the newbie, you get to be the demonstrator.” She grins wickedly. “So wear pants you can stretch in.”
“Wait, what?” I lift up on my elbows but she’s halfway out the door.
“You heard me. Chop, chop!” She claps, walking down the hallway.
Groaning, I fall back on the bed.
She’s trying to kill me.
Once I’m out of bed, I change into sweats and a T-shirt, then find my running shoes. I have no idea what the hell goat yoga entails, but I have a feeling I’m going to regret finding out.
“Uh, Posey?” I glance around the kitchen, my mouth wide open in confusion.
“There’s coffee in the pot. Help yourself,” she calls from her room, then walks toward me. “And you should be grateful I’m sharin’ my expensive beans with you.”
“Is this supposed to be funny?”
“Whaddya mean?” She walks up to where I’m standing and finds what I’m staring at. “Oh.”
Every cabinet door and drawer is wide open.
“Did you do this?” I ask, creeped out by the thought of the alternative.
“No, I swear. I haven’t been in the kitchen. The coffeemaker’s on a timer. I set it last night.”
“You’re tellin’ me your ghost did this?”
“Marjorie,” she confirms. “I told you she doesn’t like guests.”
I look down at her, scowling.
“Hey, you’re the one who begged to live here.” She holds up her hands.
“I didn’t beg. Maisie asked on my behalf,” I defend.
“Same thing. She’ll get used to you…eventually.”
“That’s reassurin’,” I deadpan.
She clears her throat, bellowing out her words. “Miss Marjorie, this is Silas. He’s not here as a friend or boyfriend. It’s temporary, so you don’t gotta worry.”
“Not even as a friend?” I smack my chest. “Ouch.”
“Well, are we? Friends?” She moves into the kitchen, grabbing two tumblers before shutting the rest of the doors. “Workin’ and livin’ together doesn’t automatically make us friends. We’ve barely had a conversation in six years.”
“I thought we could be,” I say somberly, grabbing the carafe. “Do you have cream?”
“I have half-and-half.” She opens the fridge and sets it on the counter. “And probably not.”
“I guess that’ll do.” I pour some into my tumbler before tightening the lid. “And why not?”
“’Cause guys can never be friends with girls. They always sexualize ’em. And eventually when the fantasy ain’t enough, they make a move and ruin the friendship.”
“But we’ve already had sex. So it shouldn’t be an issue to be friends, right?”
“I think being friends would complicate things.”
“How so?” I challenge, leaning against the counter while she finishes making her coffee.
“We’re gonna be late. Let’s go.” She walks off before I can stop her. “Do you wanna carpool?”
“Only if I can drive.”
“Why?” She grabs her bag before opening the front door.
I follow her outside and wait while she locks up. “I’ve heard stories.”
She rolls her eyes. “You’re such a wimp.”
“’Cause I don’t wanna be a passenger as you drive off a cliff?” I open the passenger side door and motion for her to jump in.
“That was one time and everyone was fine!”
Shaking my head, I close the door, then walk around to the other side.
“So what does goat yoga entail?” I ask, hitting the gas. “I don’t gotta do any weird positions, do I?”
Her lips curve into a wicked grin. “I hope you’re flexible.”