30. Cary

30

Cary

T he weeks sped by after the dinner at Al and Christie’s. It seemed so strange how quickly life changed once Evan showed up. The manor spirits seemed settled. As far as I could tell, the benign ones were getting stronger, now that we’d caged the old man. None of them were causing any trouble or showing themselves, at least not in the parts of the manor we were using again.

Evan’s great-grandmother Inez had not shown herself to me again either. I still sensed her presence, and got the sense she was pleased Evan was spending more time in the manor, but I hadn’t spoken with him about the encounter. Truth be told, I didn’t know how to discuss the spirits with him without freaking him out. The evil one remained locked in the basement, the basically friendly ones weren’t a bother, and there was no sense in rocking that boat for now, not when everything appeared to be going so well.

Interestingly enough, Evan and Al seemed to be the most at odds. Al possessed an incredible talent for renovating old buildings. But, despite Evan’s small build and quiet personality, when he set his mind to something, no one, not even the powerful coven leader herself, could sway him otherwise.

I was surprised to see admiration in Al’s expression as well as frustration. Christie and I mostly stayed out of their way, only doing what they told us to when they needed our help. Christie, of course, took over the kitchen. Prepping, testing supplies, and ensuring it was all up to standards before all the health department inspections began.

For my part, I helped sort through the massive file of past inspections, licenses and agreements relating to the hotel and restaurant that Deke had given Evan. A lot of the legalese was well above my paygrade, so as Deke had suggested, I contacted Mr. James to help us. He, in-turn, contacted the Hallock family’s attorney, and between the two of them, we forged an agreement. Assuming the restaurant passed another round of health inspections, we’d be able to operate under the Hallock umbrella for the immediate future.

I knew without question we would sail through the health department inspections. Christie was as dictatorial over the kitchen being pristine as Evan seemed to be over the dining room being impeccable.

He found the original fabrics for the chairs somewhere in storage, and I almost had a heart attack when he pointed toward the back of the kitchen where the door to the basement was. He noticed me cringe and physically paled. “I didn’t think… should I not go back there?”

I shook my head. “I-I think it’s fine as long as you leave the basement door alone. But how about you make sure one of us is with you anyway, just to be on the safe side.”

He nodded. “I got so caught up in the renovations. I’ll be more careful!” he said, quickly scurrying back to the dining room.

“Damn,” I said, and Al came up behind me. She’d obviously heard the conversation.

“Yeah, damn,” she repeated.

“I hate this,” I whispered because we were still close to the basement door. “He shouldn’t have to be afraid on his own property.”

Al took me by the elbow and dragged me away from the basement door. “It’s for the best, and I have a feeling that door will open when the time comes, no matter what we want or hope for. For now, though, we’re doing what we’re supposed to do. The other spirits seem to be gathering strength too… that’s encouraging. You can feel it too, right?” she asked.

I nodded because I did feel it. This was exactly right. I didn’t know why or how I knew, but I did. The nasty entity was safely locked behind the basement door. We hadn’t needed to get anything from down there. Thanks to the kitchen renovation after the fire, the plumbing had been updated and was working perfectly.

I dreaded the day we might need to get into the basement. I had a feeling there would be a reckoning coming, and maybe it would happen when we reopened that door. Or maybe something else would trigger it. Whatever the instigator, we needed to be prepared, I just still wasn’t sure how. More accurately, I wasn’t sure how to prepare Evan for that eventuality.

The man seemed to overcome his fears, though, and several days later, all the old-fashioned chairs had been repainted and reupholstered. Al had removed the ugly carpets only to find a layer of quarter-inch plywood. Evan was all for painting and polishing it when Al pulled the plywood up and found beautiful hardwood floors underneath.

We came to find out that Deke’s grandfather had put the plywood on top of the floors to preserve them before installing the carpet. I think if he’d been around, Evan would’ve kissed the man. Unfortunately, he still wasn’t well enough for us to make good on our visit to him, or for him to venture here to see our progress in person.

Al gave the floors a light sand and three heavy coats of satin polyurethane. “More than enough,” she’d said, “…to keep them safe from all the wear and tear associated with feeding customers night after night.”

New paint, days of polishing crystal chandeliers, more days wiping down the ceiling plaster, and the place looked positively regal. In just over a month, the work had transformed the ragged-looking dining space into something spectacular.

“What about this area?” Christie asked about the sitting area after we finished the dining room.

“That’s the next project I need to discuss with you both,” Evan said, leaning back in his chair with eyes closed. “But not tonight. I’m positively wasted.”

Al cocked her eyebrow at him, but his eyes remained shut, and he didn’t notice.

“So, the health department comes tomorrow morning for their inspection. After that, we can announce our reopening,” Christie said.

“When do you want us here?” I asked, and Christie smiled.

“Not us, just Evan and me.” She looked over at Al and smiled. “Last time we had an official inspection, my wife almost turned the poor woman into a toad.”

“Ugh, that woman was horrible,” Al said. “She didn’t deserve to be a toad. A wart on the back of a toad—”

“See what I mean?” Christie interrupted, gesturing toward Al and causing me to chuckle.

“Probably wise. We’ll stay away,” I said, and looked over at Evan, who still had his eyes shut. “I’m going to get this one home before he falls asleep and I have to carry him out.”

One of Evan’s eyes popped open then, and he smiled before pretending to snore.

Al and Christie chuckled. “We’re headed home too. Night, boys,” Al said, taking her wife’s hand and leading her out of the manor.

“Come on, Evan, your golf cart chariot awaits.”

“No carrying me out?” he asked, teasing, then pretended to snore again. I got up and quickly pulled him into my arms, making him squeal. “Wait, I was kidding.”

I bounced him in my arms a few times before swinging out the front door and using my foot to shut it. When I placed him in the passenger side of the golf cart, I bent down and kissed him. It was the first time we’d kissed since the night we’d attended the concert. Only this time, it wasn’t chaste.

“Mmm,” he murmured into the kiss. When I pulled back, he asked, “What did I do to deserve that?”

“You just being you,” I said, climbing into the other side of the cart to drive us home.

Evan laid his head on my arm as we bounced along the forest trail to the cottage. It felt so good to have him cuddled into me like that, so I put my arm around him and drew him into my side.

When we got home, he said no to supper and headed upstairs. Al and I had surprised Evan with a newly painted and upgraded bathroom just a few days before, so I assumed he was headed there. Most of the work on the manor’s dining room was done, and he and Christie had been planning the menu, setting up separate duties, and even hiring staff, leaving Al and me with little to do. I felt getting his bathroom up and running was the best use of our time.

Well, mostly my time. Al was still running their business back in town. The three-quarter bath hadn’t been much work, really. Of course, looking at the space, I had a feeling Evan would make even the plain bathroom his own in no time.

The thrill in my heart the evening he came home and saw the redone bathroom was enough to light me up for decades. I’d learned I loved few things more than making that man happy. It wasn’t difficult to do either.

Evan was the kind of man who appreciated when you made an effort to do something, anything, for him. That just touched on my natural love language to show I cared through my actions. The more time I spent with the man, and we’d spent a hell of a lot of time together the past few weeks, the more I knew Evan Garland was about as compatible with me as any man could be.

That thought inspired and terrified me. Mostly inspired, but I couldn’t deny the fear element of loving a man who might not return my affection. Our kiss tonight, though, gave me hope.