People looked at the house, and they shivered, and they thought of horror movies, Psycho, House on Haunted Hill…
And, yes, the house could seem to breathe in the moonlight, but… Ah, yes. Power. It lay in wealth. And in the ability to haunt and tease the mind. There was no weapon as great as the mind!
To Kelsey…he would do no evil.
He needed her, but then…
Great power did demand great sacrifice.
4
Kelsey woke with a hint of sunlight streaking through her windows; the curtains hadn’t been fully closed. She lay for a minute, enjoying the dazzle of the light on the dust motes in the air. She smiled and stretched.
She’d slept beautifully. No dreams, no bumps in the night.
She rose slowly and searched the closet for towels. She found that a stack had been wrapped in plastic as well and thanked whoever had helped Cutter after she and her father had left.
The concept of a shower wasn’t quite as appetizing. A patina of dust was on everything, and in the end, she decided that it was best to scrub down the bathroom, get all hot and sweaty and dirty first and then relish a shower. Luckily, cleaning fluids didn’t seem to go bad.
Finally, refreshed and clad in shorts and tank top, she headed downstairs. The morning light pouring into the house gave her pause—the task ahead of her was daunting.
“Cutter, what were you doing?” she asked aloud.
She walked into the kitchen and winced. Before anything else, the kitchen had to be cleaned. Then she’d be able to brew coffee and buy food. The thought that she really wanted coffee put everything in order. Kitchen first, then a trip into town for a new coffeemaker and some groceries. Then dusting and vacuuming her room. Then she would delve into Cutter’s office and try to discover what was in some of the boxes. She wanted to go through Cutter’s things carefully. She didn’t want to discover that she’d thrown away what appeared to be junk and was really a precious relic belonging to an obscure religion.
The kitchen didn’t appear to be quite as bad as the rest of the house. Cutter had used the kitchen, whereas he probably hadn’t been in her room since she had left. Delving under the sink, she found sponges, scrubbers, dishwashing detergent and all kinds of cleaners. It took her about thirty minutes to do a thorough go-over, and then she was happy to find a coffeemaker, and some coffee in the refrigerator. She prepared a single cup in the little coffeemaker and enjoyed it without cream or sugar.
She started to make a list of things she would need for the next few weeks, then remembered that she was hosting a barbecue and added the items she assumed she’d need for her impromptu party. While she was mulling what the group would enjoy, her cell phone rang and she answered it.
“Kelsey?”
“Hey, Liam.”
“You’re all right?”
“Of course, I’m fine. I told you I’d be fine. You sound so distressed.”
“You were supposed to call me and tell me that you were fine,” he said.
She was disturbed by the flutter that teased inside. What was the matter with her? She hadn’t seen him in years, and yet those years had melted away. She’d naturally been attracted to several men throughout the years, and she’d had friends who’d made her laugh, who intrigued her with their interests and hobbies, but she’d never known someone who seemed to have such a physical pull, and who haunted her soul and mind, as well. Liam still cared, after all this time. She didn’t think that he’d spent his life waiting for her; he was an extremely attractive man physically, sensual, vital, honed, and she was sure he’d had his share of relationships. But he wasn’t in one now, unless she was imagining things and he was about to tell her that he was bringing his wife or his girlfriend to the barbecue.
Maybe he’d been a lot like her—meeting people, enjoying them, their company, and spending time, even making love, but never finding whatever it was that was needed to make it a real and total commitment.
Or maybe she was reading far too much into a friend’s concerned call.
“I’m sorry. But I slept great, and everything is fine,” she said.
“So, what’s on your agenda?”
“The grocery store, and a call to Joe Richter, and probably a drive over to his office. I was Cutter’s only living relative, and the only one mentioned in the will. But I knew even when I was a kid that he kept a log—he wanted a lot of his pieces in various museums. He trusted his family never to let greed get in the way of what he wanted, and he wasn’t all that fond of paperwork and lawyers. So…it’s good and it’s bad. I have a lot to figure out, trying to fulfill all his wishes. Anyway…that’s the agenda.”
“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll see you later, then.”
“Great.”
Kelsey hung up. She hesitated, and then dialed him back on his cell phone. Later was a little too vague.