Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
NED
Nine Months Later
“Babe?” Carlos calls. “Where are you?”
Stepping back, I allow myself to admire the beautiful piece of heaven in front of me. “Out here,” I yell. A moment later, the screen door opens and he comes outside.
“Admiring the grill again? You might have a problem.”
“Sssh.” I toss him a smile over my shoulder. “She’ll hear you.”
His laugh warms me from head to toe. Since we decided to slow things down and spend more time with just us, things have gotten so much better.
We’ve reconnected, and once again we have the vibe I loved so much in the early years of our relationship.
Turns out, we didn’t need the whirlwind travel and exciting parties.
We just needed to pay attention to each other.
Part of that has been finding new hobbies together.
It was Carlos’s idea for us to take an Argentinian barbecue class, but I’m the one who fell in love with grilling.
So for my birthday, he bought me the fanciest damn grill he could find, and now he complains that I spend more time outside than with him—which inevitably leads to sex when I try to convince him otherwise.
But instead of making a comment about how neglected he is, he says, “Pack a bag. We have to go to Mannix.”
“What?” Things moved fast once we decided to buy the estate.
The old owners were happy to sell and get it off their hands, so we got it for a steal.
Convincing the town that our plans were good was even easier than I expected.
They were excited to see the place brought back from ruin, and the promise of some tourism to the area was a bonus they couldn’t ignore.
The permits were issued in record time, and work started almost immediately.
It’s been almost a decade, but I’m still astounded by the difference having money makes.
We’ve gotten regular updates from the team on the ground, and everything’s been running smoothly, so I don’t understand why we have to race across the country now.
“There was an incident with the ghosts, apparently. Benson wasn’t all that clear on the phone, but two of the crew were injured, and some of the non-local workers are talking about hiring an exorcist.”
“Wait, our ghosts injured people? No way.” I abandon my baby and walk past Carlos into the house. We need to get to Illinois stat.
“That’s what Benson said, and apparently the ghosts are all up in arms about the incident, but it seemed like something we’d want to sort out in person, so I said we’d meet him on-site first thing tomorrow.
” He follows me upstairs to our bedroom but stops me when I head toward the closet.
“We’ve got a few hours before our flight. ”
I grin. “Oh? Did you want to play a board game or something?”
His lips quirk, and he starts to unbutton his shirt. “We could do that. Lately it feels like you pay more attention to your grill than me, and I’m feeling a bit… neglected.” The shirt hits the floor, and he tucks his thumbs into the waistband of his jeans.
“Neglected, huh? Well, we can’t have that.” I tackle him onto the bed, both of us laughing, so grateful to have this back.
“…but both of them are okay?” Carlos checks with Ted Benson, the project manager in charge of the renovations. He met us at Mannix at the ungodly hour of seven this morning and just finished telling us that two of his crew were taken to the hospital in the next town over yesterday.
“Bates has two cracked ribs and Tully has a broken arm, but they’ll both be fine,” he assures us. “They got a damn big fright, though, when their tools just up and started flying at them.”
“I can imagine,” I murmur, looking up at the house we’re walking toward from the newly graveled parking area. “Make sure all their medical expenses are covered. And they’re on full pay while they’re off work.”
He jerks in surprise but agrees fast enough. “I’ll let them know. They’ll be grateful.”
“What did the ghosts say?” Carlos asks, and Benson shrugs.
“It was kind of chaotic. Bates and Tully were screaming, tools flying around, none of us could get near the basement. They got out, and then the ghosts were there, yelling at us to leave. I cleared everyone out of the house, realized the guys needed medical care, and decided the best thing to do was send everyone home for the day until it could get sorted out. Higgs and I took Bates and Tully to the hospital, and I left Higgs with them and came back here to see if I could sort it out, but Carter met me at the gate and told me to stay away until today. Then I started getting calls from some of the guys about an exorcist, and I figured it would be best to call you in.”
“You were right,” I tell him, and Carlos makes an agreeing noise. “The ghosts seem to be okay with us being here today, though. Let’s go in and see if we can find out what happened.”
We make it three steps over the threshold before I’m distracted by the work that’s been done. The place is really starting to look great, and a warm glow of accomplishment overtakes me.
“There you are!” Hattie declares, popping out of nowhere and eliciting a strangled shriek from Benson. “We’ve been waiting for you all morning.”
I check my watch, and yep, still only a few minutes after seven. “It’s nice to see you again too, Hattie.”
She visibly stops whatever she was about to say and smiles. “Oh, I’m glad you’re here. But we need to have words, I’m afraid. Who told you to renovate the basement?”
“Nobody told us we couldn’t,” Carlos says while I stand there with my mouth hanging open. “And it would make a great casual space for the guests.”
“No.”
“No?” I ask. Benson looks like a spectator at a tennis match, his gaze pinging between us.
“Absolutely not. I need your agreement on this before Joe realizes you’re here. He’s very angry right now.”
“But why?” Carlos looks in the direction of the door to the basement. It’s at the other end of the house, and there are a fair few walls between us and it, but he still looks.
“Did anyone tell you about the troubles that got the hotel closed down?” Hattie raises a brow significantly. “We took care of things then to make this place safe again, and we’ll take care of them now, but the basement absolutely must be off-limits.”
That… does not sound good. Carlos and I exchange glances.
We looked into the closure of the hotel in the ’70s, and there’s no official reason for it on record…
but in the weeks beforehand, several people were injured while in the building, some quite seriously, one actually ending up in a coma for weeks.
The obvious conclusion is that the ghosts were doing something, but neither the locals nor we could believe it of them.
They’re so friendly. And they haven’t hurt a single one of the teenagers who’ve flocked here for nearly thirty years.
“Are you saying it was a ghost who did this?” Carlos asks. “We can’t have guests here if there’s any chance of danger.”
“The only danger is because those idiots poked around where they shouldn’t have been!”
I jump, then spin to face Joe, who clearly overheard at least part of the conversation. He’s a grumpy old man ghost, but I liked him when we met and thought he liked us too.
If he did, it’s not apparent now. His scowl is fierce.
“Joe, we just want to make sure people will be safe,” I placate.
“Then keep them out of the basement.”
Carlos and I exchange a long look. “Can you tell us—”
“No.”
“Joe, we’re trying—”
“No. Stay out of the basement, and everything will be fine.”
I sigh. “Do you need help? We could get an exorcist and make sure they know to leave the rest of you alone.”
He makes a rude noise. “Don’t waste your money on a charlatan. We’ve got it handled, as long as the basement is off-limits.”
I’m tempted to say no. I should say no. That would be the responsible thing.
But… the estate has been here for two hundred years, was a hotel for fifty years, and as far as we know, the only suspicious incidents were the ones in the ’70s and what happened yesterday.
The ghosts claim to have everything under control, and… it seems like they might be right?
I can tell Carlos is thinking the same things I am when he says, “So if we close the basement and make it a no-go zone, there will be no more problems like what happened yesterday? It will be safe to have guests here?”
Joe meets his gaze unflinchingly. “It will.”
Carlos heaves a sigh and raises his brow at me.
“Fine,” I agree. “We’ll get a lock and close off the basement.
We’ll make sure everyone is told to stay clear, including when we hire the staff to run the place.
And if you ever feel that you need assistance or that things are changing, you’ll have someone call us.
” I make my voice firm, and Joe nods curtly.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Let’s go find a lock.”