PROLOGUE
Hot and sweating, he lay on the bed for a moment to take stock.
“Gonna party it up like I’m ninety years old,” Caspian declared to the ceiling, grinning before rolling over and planting his face against the pillows. Or, at least, where the pillows were buried underneath the dust sheets that had been drawn over them. Early bedtime, lots of sleep, and hours for reading. I’ll do a whole novel in one sitting, or possibly a series. This is the best.
The soft bed smelled a little musty, but Caspian didn’t let the odor deter his happiness. He’d just finished lugging his suitcase up the stairs and unpacking everything for his three-month stay. Considering the stifling humidity, that had been just this side of an Olympic feat. Having a place of his own, on his own, felt liberating, even if it was only a temporary stay. After four long years at a university, sharing a cramped dorm room with near strangers, he had his own massive, private domain.
The silence sounded golden.
He rose from the bed and moved to the window, looking out over the backyard of Dr. Kilpatrick’s house. The lawn spanned only about fifty feet before it met forest. When Caspian’s parents had approached him about house sitting for their family friend, he'd hesitated. The house was in a small town surrounded by woodland. Staying in a big old house surrounded by a forest and a couple of miles outside of the nearest small town sounded very creepy. Horror movies were set in small towns just like Beaumont, after all. The way it looked on the internet, the tiny town of Beaumont had sprung up between the trees.
On the other hand, after spending all his life in the busy city of Riverside, house sitting for three months offered a great chance for Caspian to embrace nature. He’d once loved nature and parks, and bird watching, but he’d never ventured out into the wilderness alone.
As the time neared, he deliberately didn’t read any gothic horror or Stephen King, or watch the Walking Dead, for that matter.
Now that he was here, however, he found the forest beautiful. From the moment he’d neared the town in the car, he’d itched to get out there. There were very few things in his life he’d been so drawn to. With trees starting literally at the foot of the yard, he had every reason to get out there. Once he was on top of chores in the house and lawn, he’d have time to explore.
Caspian abandoned the window. He bunched up the dust sheet, then tossed it through the open doorway to land in a heap on the floor of the landing. Dr. Kilpatrick had said he’d find a washer and dryer in the basement, along with some window-mounted air conditioners.
With sweat dripping down his forehead and back, he figured it was too damn warm to do anything but focus on getting the window AC units put into place. He’d take a window AC over nothing any day of the week.
He began heading down to the basement with the full intention of getting cool air set up. Having been focused for so long on his studies, at which he’d excelled, he became easily distracted in this new environment. He decided to take a roundabout route so he could tour the substantial property on the way—at least, that was the plan.
He poked his head into every room and closet on the ground floor, which didn’t take long.
A sliding glass door from the living room opened onto a small patio with furniture: a round table with an umbrella and four chairs sitting next to a covered barbecue. Caspian had never grilled before, and he wondered if he should take advantage or stay far, far away in case he set fire to everything.
The grass would soon need mowing. Caspian tucked that chore away, slotting it in around the cleaning he wanted to do. Dr. Kilpatrick had a riding lawn mower, and Caspian looked forward to taking it out for a spin. He’d never been on one before, but they looked like a blast.
The forest guarded the horizon.
Caspian lingered on the patio, observing the tree-lined distance for a while. Since becoming an adult, he’d not been much of an outdoorsy kind of guy, but there was something…appealing about the woods that made him want to investigate. He hoped to reconnect with the kid inside him.
Not now, of course. Caspian was too practical for that. The sun was heading for the horizon, and he wasn’t interested in wandering into the forest when it would be getting dark soon. Getting lost on his first night in Beaumont wasn’t exactly on his bucket list. It was far better to get his new home all set up. He could explore later.
Caspian took one last glance at the black line of forest, then shook his head and went back inside the house. One day he’d get out there. Tomorrow, maybe.
But he stopped at the sliding glass doors and looked back, the pull growing stronger by the moment. Ugh. He couldn’t resist. Okay, fine, he’d go just a few feet, barely out of sight of the house. A short walk couldn't hurt, right? He could stretch his legs.
Forgetting everything else, he raced to grab some essentials. His compass, map, and most important of all, a phone in case he got lost. He could call for help or use the GPS to find his way out.
Just a quick look around, and then he’d get back to setting up the house.