Chapter 1

 

 

Hearing the alarm clock going off, I stick my hand out of the covers and wave my hand wildly until I connect with it. When it’s silent, I snuggle back under the covers for that blissful extra fifteen minutes the snooze button gives you. I don’t know why I do it; I always feel worse when I do.

Instead of going back to sleep, I lie quietly and think about all I have to do today. The realtor is going to show me three houses—a farm up in the mountains and two others in town. Gasper is a charming little town, don’t get me wrong, but I want peace.  I think the mountain can give me that. I guess we will have to wait and see.

The alarm goes off again, and this time, I flip the blankets back and turn it off. Swinging my legs off the bed, I sit up. Looking around my hotel room that I’ve been living in for three weeks, I realize I really can’t wait to buy a house. Living in one room for that long can drive a person crazy. I head into the bathroom, turning the shower on and brushing my teeth while I wait for the water to warm up. Another thing I won’t miss is these lukewarm showers. That, and the loud screaming brats running up and down the halls all night long. I don’t know how anyone can get any sleep in hotels.

Taking off my fuzzy PJs, I throw them into a basket I bought the other day at this cute little store in town and step into the shower. Just what I thought—lukewarm. Hurrying, I wash my hair and the rest of myself then I grab one of the off-white towels, dry off, and get dressed.

At one time, I bet these were white.

It’s getting colder and colder out. Soon, it’s going to be a full-blown winter. I needed to move south; I don’t like the cold weather. Dressing in jeans and a hoodie, I brush my hair out and put on some makeup. I can’t go looking like a total bum. I have enough time to go to that little diner called Hicks and get some breakfast because I have completed everything. Grabbing my coat and purse, I head out the door. As it opens, the wind whips in and almost chills me to the bone.

Sucking in a breath, I shut the door behind me and walk to my SUV. It’s only a few blocks to walk, and I think that might be better because it would take me forever to find parking. It could be because it’s the only food joint around. Deciding to walk, I zip up my coat and put my gloves on. Heading down the street, people walking greet me with the traditional, “Good morning.” Smiling, I say it back. But do I mean it?

Making it to the corner, I wait for the light to turn and cross the street. One more block to go. In this small town, I glance behind me, feeling as if someone is watching me. Still, I don’t like the feeling, and I quicken my step. Rubbing the back of my neck, I make it to the door of the diner in no time. Everyone turns to look at me when I step inside. Putting a smile on my face, I walk over and sit at the bar. The diner is jam-packed this morning.

“Morning. Coffee?” a waitress named MaryLou asks.

“Yeah, that would be great, creamer too, please.” As Mary Lou walks away toward the coffee, I pick up the greasy menu and look it over. She comes back with a little bowl of creamers and a hot steaming cup of coffee.

“So, you know what ya want?”

“Yeah, I’ll take the hotcakes and sausage please,” I tell her, putting the menu down and fixing my coffee.

“OK, sweetie, I’ll get this order right up for ya,” she says, walking away to yell in the kitchen. Watching her make her way around to the other customers, I get that funny feeling of being watched again. Looking around the little diner, I notice four guys that stand out like sore thumbs. Turning a little bit so they can’t see me looking, I check them out.

Looking at the first guy, I notice he’s tall, really built, with dark eyes—almost black. He’s dressed in all black and has a tattoo on his wrist. I can’t make out what it is. The other guy that sits across from him is dressed the same way, with the same tattoo. That’s weird; they must be in a gang or something. It’s kind of funny if you think about it since we’re in West Virginia, in a small farm town.

Hearing something in front of me, I turn around. The waitress sets my plate down along with another coffee. The hotcakes are enormous, and I’ll never eat all of them.

“Thank you,” I say to her.

“Is there anything else I can get you, sweetie?” she asks happily.

“Nope, this is good, thanks.” She walks away and heads to the back of the kitchen. Digging in, I pour tons of syrup onto my pancakes and start eating. Rubbing the back of my neck, I still have that creepy feeling of being watched. Almost evil.

I eat as fast as I can; I’m running out of time anyway since I have to meet the realtor at eight. Taking a sip of my coffee, I feel a warm wisp of air run across my neck. Turning in my seat, I see the four guys getting up, ready to leave. I don’t want to watch them leave, but something tells me not to turn my back on them completely. Watching out of the corner of my eye, they walk past either. The tall one pauses when he gets next to me, but the other one pushes him to keep going. As they pass, he turns around, and I look up at the same time making eye contact. Shivering, I watch as his nose flares, and he takes a deep breath. It’s almost as if he smells me. I try to pry my eyes away, but it’s near impossible to do so.

Suddenly, there is a crash in the kitchen, and my ability to tear my eyes off the stranger returns, but not before seeing a grin spread across his face. Looking at the waitress, I see she’s bending down picking the pieces of a broken mug off the ground. When I look back over my shoulder, the strangers are gone. I could have sworn that guy’s eyes were all black, as in no white at all. Finishing up, I stand up and walk over to the register. The waitress comes over and rings me out. I hand her the money and tell her to keep the change.

“Be careful out there, honey, the weather’s changing fast,” she says sweetly.

“I will, thank you.” Putting my wallet back into my purse, I head to the door. Stepping out into the crisp morning air makes me shiver. After taking in my surroundings, I don’t see those weird guys. There was something off about them. Picking up my pace, I walk back to the hotel and my SUV.

Sliding the vehicle into drive, I pull out of the parking lot and head to Gasper’s Realty. Fifteen minutes later, I turn into the parking lot. Ruth should be waiting for me. I want to get the show on the road. Parking the SUV, I hop out and make my way to the front door. A funny looking little woman is sitting behind the desk; she must be the receptionist. Walking over to her, she has a huge smile on her face.

“You must be Spring!” she says, taking my hand in hers.

“Yes, I am. Is Ruth in?” I ask, glancing around the small little reception area. Looking back at the lady, she smiles.

“Yes, she is, go have a seat, and I’ll tell her you’re here.”

Walking over to one of the few chairs that are facing the window, I sit down and watch a few cars go by without a care in the world.

“Spring, how nice to see you again,” Ruth says as she walks into the room.

“How are you, Ruth? I’m excited about today. What do you have for me?”

“Yes, yes, I’m sure you are, Spring. I have three to show you. Let me get my keys, and we can go,” she says as she hustles to the back. Turning to look out the window, I see the same four guys that were at the diner. Walking closer, I put my hand on the cold glass, staring at the tall guy in the middle.

“Spring. Spring, are you ready to go?” Looking over my shoulder, I see her mouth moving, but I don’t hear anything. Shaking my head to clear the fog out of it, I nod and grab my purse to follow her out the door. The guys are gone when I look across the street once more.

Maybe they weren’t there, in the beginning. Maybe I need more sleep.

“So, Ruth, where to first?” I ask. Let’s get this show on the road.

“Well, the first is here in town, and before you say no, let’s go take a look,” she says, smiling. She knows I don’t want anything in town, but I decide to go anyway. Getting into her little car, I let her chatter away, nodding at all the appropriate times. It takes us ten minutes to get to the first house.

I look around the little postage-stamp-sized yard. Frowning, I look over at the little house. It’s small but cute. Walking to the front door, Ruth unlocks it and stands to the side.

“Aren’t you coming in, Ruth?”

“No, no you go look around. I will be in in a few minutes.”

Walking into the house, I notice that it smells like mildew and cheap cologne. Walking into the kitchen, it looks like an orange threw up in it. Can you say older then I am? Not going any further, I step back into the living room. Ruth is on the phone. After five minutes, she notices me standing there.

“So, how did you like it?” she asks, shutting her phone.

“Not for me, Ruth. Where’s the next one?”

“It’s outside of town, twenty miles out,” she says as we walk out the door into the cold. Pulling my coat around me tighter, I glance at the quiet neighborhood. I wait for her to lock up and we head to her running car. At least it’s going to be warm in there. Hopping in, I watch as she takes us out of town.

“So, why you moving, Spring?” she asks.

“My husband died a year ago, and I just needed a change,” I say. It’s not like I could tell her the truth. Hell, I don’t know what the truth is. I came home, and this guy was sucking on my husband’s neck. There was blood dripping onto our new carpet. I knew John was dead when I walked into that room that night. I will never forget that guy’s black eyes for as long as I live.

After that, I don’t remember anything. I woke up in the hospital two days later. They tell me it was a break in and someone cut John’s throat. It was all bullshit, but I didn’t want them to think I was crazy. So, I buried him, healed physically, and then put everything up for sale and moved. Ending up here, in the middle of nowhere.

“Here we are. Now, this is a three-bedroom three bath, and it’s on ten acres.”

I can tell right away this isn’t the house for me. There’s no reason to go inside.

“Nope, not this one, either,” I tell Ruth. She fixes her hair and smiles at me.

“Don’t you have another one to show me?” I ask her, getting back into the car.

She takes a minute before saying, “Yes, I do. Now, this has been empty for years, but it’s an amazing house, the only bad thing it’s up on the mountain and comes with one hundred acres, barn, and other sheds.” I don’t know why I’m getting excited, but I am.

“Let’s go see that one, please,” I tell her. She looks at me like I’m crazy. “What?”

“Well, it is a beautiful house but, Spring, you’re single. It’s huge up on the mountain with no one else around. In the winter, you will be snowed in at least four weeks if not more.”

“Let’s go look at it,” I say again.

“OK, it’s forty-five minutes up the mountain across the river.” Nodding, I sit back and watch the little town pass by the window. It doesn’t take long since it’s not very big.

We go across a one-lane bridge and head directly into the woods. Or State Forest, if that’s what you’d rather call it. The road is very steep with a lot of twists and turns. My SUV will be fine on these streets. I see what she is talking about in the winter, although. The further we go up, it’s starting to snow. Not heavy but still you can see the difference. Looking in front of us, I watch as three deer run across the road. The further we go, the trees get bigger; it’s utterly magical. I also thought the trees got smaller as you go up.

An hour later, Ruth slows down at what looks like a driveway.

“Are we here?” I ask, looking around at the beginning of the driveway. This spring this will need to be cleared out and cleaned up.

“Yes, maybe we should have brought your SUV,” she says nervously.

“This is way up here. Why did the owners move again?”

“Oh—” she fixes her coat nervously “—all I know is that eight men came here and built the house, once it was done they ended up having to leave; something about business.”

“Ohh, so it’s never been lived in?” I ask, looking over at her.

“No, you’d be the first,” she says, smiling.

Getting out of the car, I can’t believe what I’m seeing. The cabin is huge. It’s got a massive A-frame in the middle, then two balconies on each side.

“Are you sure this is for sale?” I ask, shocked.

Laughing, she looks around. “Yes, it is. Why don’t you look around, and I will try and get ahold of the owners? Is it OK if I give them your name?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you need.” Not paying any attention to her, I walk to the left of the driveway to check out the barn. Walking over, I open up the big door. It’s dark inside, but I see the light switch and turn it on. The lights go all the way down the aisle. There are six stalls, three on each side. Opening up the first one, I walk in. It looks newly finished with sawdust, new feeders, and electric water bowls. Stepping out of the stall, I move over to look at the tack room, grain room, and shower stall. The barn has everything I could want.  Seeing stairs at the back of the tack room, I head over to them and notice the door at the top is closed. Making my way up, I slowly twist the handle, pushing open the door to find a beautifully fully-furnished apartment. By the looks of it, they didn’t cut corners and go cheap. Shutting the door, I head back downstairs and leave the barn.

I go to the French doors of the main house and open them up walking right into the great room. Also, fully-furnished. I head into the kitchen—everything is top of the line in here. Off the kitchen, there’s the laundry room with a door leading out to the garage. Turning on my heel, I go up the stairs to the second-floor walking into what must be the master bedroom.

I walk over to the bed and fall back, looking up at the ceiling. Grabbing a pillow, I hug it close. I breathe in deeply, and the scent is intoxicating. Not wanting to put it back I force myself to do so than stand up. Walking to the door, I look around the rest of the house. Making my way down the stairs, I head to the only part I haven’t been to yet—the basement. I shouldn’t have been surprised; it was just as lovely as the upstairs with four bedrooms and bathrooms and a family room. Heading back upstairs to the kitchen, I see that Ruth is waiting for me there.

“So, what do you think?”

“It’s a huge house, that’s for sure,” I say, looking around the kitchen. “The barn and the grounds are amazing; this had to cost a ton to build. What are they asking for it?” I ask, knowing it’s going to be more than I want to pay.

“Well, come on let’s get out of here. The owners are going to call me tonight or in the morning. Sam has to get ahold of his brothers first.”

Walking out of the house, we make our way back to the car and get in. The snow has stopped falling, and the sun is shining.

Ruth drives us over the bridge into town as it’s starting to get dark.

“Let’s go get something to eat, my treat,” Ruth says, looking over at me. I haven’t eaten since this morning.

“OK, just not at the diner, please; I’d rather eat at a different place. I’ve had enough of that one,” I say, laughing.

Ruth looks over at me and starts laughing. “How about steak?” she asks. My stomach rumbles at the thought.

“Now that sounds great.” Looking down at myself, I guess I don’t look too bad. It is a little hick town anyway. Ruth goes past my motel room and pulls into the realty company.

“Let me just go in and check my messages. Are you going to follow me?” She asks getting out of the car.

“Yeah, that way I don’t have to come back here to get my SUV.” Getting out of the car, I get into mine. Starting it up, I shiver—it’s cold in here. It doesn’t take Ruth that long to come out and jump back into her little car. I follow her to what looks to be a packed bar. So much for not being a people person. Finding a parking space, I turn off the SUV and hop out.