18. Cary

18

Cary

I texted Christie, told her I was bringing Evan for breakfast, and immediately received a thumbs-up emoji. They actually had a breakfast menu, mainly because Christie poured a lot of time and energy into making their business as unique and accommodating as possible. Before she and Al married, Christie had run a large restaurant chain in Sacramento, and it showed in the food they offered.

It’d been interesting watching her over the years adapt to living in a small town and running their small bed-and-breakfast. At first, I thought it’d been really good for her, but lately, I could feel her growing restless. A restaurant closed a couple of years back in town, and Christie had wanted to take it over, but she and Al were still working to establish the bed-and-breakfast at that point, so she backed out. Now, I thought she regretted it.

I saw Evan come out of his room and spot me sitting in the car. When he climbed into the front seat, I smiled. “So, this should be fun. Christie has a gift with food, and I think today she’s doing some strange mushroom dish. All local mushrooms, of course, and Al said they’d bought some local salmon too.”

“I’m sure it’ll be yummy,” Evan said, but I could sense his distraction. I decided to shut up and just let Christie work through her own mess. My rambling certainly wasn’t going to fix anything.

Christie was shy when we arrived, which was strange. I looked over at Al, who cocked an eyebrow when Christie said something about how nice it was of Evan to visit again.

“Thank you for having me,” Evan said, only mildly succeeding in an attempt to sound gracious. We all sat around the dining table amid an awkward silence, just staring at one another.

Wow, this is painful , I thought, then Al surprised me. “Cary, I need you to come to my office.”

I nodded and stood to go, knowing she just wanted to give the two a little privacy to work things out.

“So, what do you think about the advice we got this morning?” Al asked as soon as we sat down in her crafting room.

I shrugged. “Well, it seems we’re on the right path. Evan told me he’s been having dreams and visions of his ancestor, Inez, since he arrived. She even told him what Drew advised us earlier, that he has to face the entity.”

“Interesting,” Al said, and turned to look out at the ocean through the great windows that flanked this side of the house. “So, that’s something, I guess. Before you take him back there, though, I want to secure that basement. In fact, I think we should do that soon. Can you meet us over there this afternoon?” she asked, and I shook my head.

“No, we’re going to drive up to Tillamook to meet my high school buddy, Deke. I know Evan’s worrying about what to do with the estate, and the way he came into possession of it hasn’t given him much insight. I figure if he’s less stressed about it, maybe that will help us keep his anxiety energy under control a bit. No sense feeding the negativity that already exists at the manor.”

“Oh, that’s smart,” Al said. “Do you think he’ll want to reopen the hotel and restaurant?”

I turned to her and could feel her wheels turning. “Honestly, I don’t know. We just met, but all indications are that he’s broke. He’s going to need funds, and the empty manor will cost more to maintain the longer it sits there.” Considering all that’d happened recently with Christie, I felt the puzzle pieces fall into place. “Al, do you think Christie might—?”

“Shh, don’t put energy out in the world that isn’t ready to be harvested,” Al chastised, then winked at me. “Wasn’t it Drew who said this morning that we need to continue living our lives and not let these things interfere?” I nodded, and Al smiled. “Let’s let things work out the way they’re supposed to. Meanwhile, I’ll call the coven together and manage the energies in the old manor. We can build a boundary, as you suggested, around the basement entrance that should help keep him contained for the time being.”

“Shouldn’t I be there?” I asked, feeling disappointed I wouldn’t be included.

“No, he attacked you, which means there’s unresolved issues. It’s best if a fresh group of people, neutral to the situation, handle this. You take Evan up to Tillamook, and we’ll handle the rest for now.”

I nodded. She was right, of course. If I got anywhere near the basement right now, the only thing I’d accomplish would be to piss the entity off even more.

Best to keep things as neutral as possible.