Chapter 2

Elbow deep in a porcelain throne, I was sweating profusely and strands of hair that had fallen out of my ponytail were sticking to my neck. I sighed, annoyed with my hair, but there was nothing I could do about it right then. Thick, plastic cleaning gloves covered my hands up to my elbows and there was no way I was taking them off until I was done here.

The scent of bleach wafted up my nostrils, and even though it was probably going to singe my nose hairs soon, it was still a lot better than how it had smelled when Brittany and I showed up to start working.

A shudder raced down my spine at the mere thought of the scent that used to hang in the air in here. But that was one of the things I loved most about my job. Not the scent, obviously, but the fact that the stench could be strong enough to make someone’s eyes water, and a couple hours later, an entire house would be sparkly clean and lemon scented.

Brittany and I both had a knack for cleaning, and over the years, we’d devised a pretty efficient system. We owned a residential cleaning business together and I wondered if I could ask her to remove the hairs stuck to my neck. Glancing away from the toilet, I saw her on her hands and knees in the shower—also wearing thick plastic gloves.

That’s a no, then.

Resigned to waiting until I was done, I scrubbed the tiles around the throne when I finished with the inside. Then I finally got to my feet and carefully pulled off the gross gloves. “Is it just me, or is it like a sauna in here?”

Brittany widened her eyes at me and nodded enthusiastically. “I know the Rogers family isn’t fond of wind, but I think we should open the windows to let in a bit of fresh air. I’ll text them about it.”

As I opened the faucet and washed my hands, I looked around the little bathroom, spotting one tiny window right above where I’d been working before. “I’m on it.”

I wiped my hands on a clean rag we’d brought along, fixed my ponytail, and pushed up on my toes to open that window. Then I strode out into the master bedroom to open a few more. The Rogers were an elderly couple who’d just moved to June Lake and they had a terrific view of the mountains and the shimmering water in the distance.

We still had some work left to do in their condo, but I paused at the window for a moment to admire the view. I’d lived in this town, or village rather, my entire life and I still hadn’t grown tired of that view.

The heavily wooded forest between the lake and the condo was completely green, the majestic pines at their happiest in the summertime like now. Crystal clear, blue water stretched from the edge of the forest to the mountains, the very tops of them still wearing little white caps of snow.

I sighed dreamily, leaning against the windowsill and then suddenly realizing that I hadn’t cleaned it yet. My fingers came away dusty and I groaned, sad to leave the view but knowing that I had to get a move on.

Brittany and I had started Tidy Touch almost four years ago and we had a list of loyal clients in June Lake, but we wouldn’t keep them if I sullied our spotless—pun intended—reputation by getting starry eyed over the views instead of actually cleaning. Most of our clients were older folks who needed help maintaining their homes and young working professionals who just couldn’t get around to everything by themselves. We also had a couple of younger families, but a cleaning service just wasn’t necessarily in their budget around here.

Either way, we always did our very best and the Rogers deserved that too. Especially since we were hoping to sign them on for our weekly service.

When I walked back into the bathroom, Brittany had just gotten done in the shower. Her short, curly hair clung to her neck as well and she pushed some of it off with her forearm as she removed her gloves. “We’re almost done, right?”

“Yep. I just want to dust the windowsills in the bedrooms, but we should be out of here in about ten minutes.”

“Good,” she said. “I’m boiling. I’ll double-check the kitchen and the living areas if you take care of the bedrooms?”

“Deal,” I replied easily, grabbing a soft cloth and a spray bottle out of my caddy before heading back into the bedroom.

After dusting the remainder of the surfaces, I gave the room a last onceover, ensuring that the bedding was fitted perfectly and the floors were immaculate. Satisfied that we’d done a good job, I headed to the small guest bedroom and did the same thing there. When that was finished, I smiled at the cloudless blue sky outside and checked the time.

11:37 a.m. Awesome.

Brittany was wrapping up when I skipped down the stairs, packing all our supplies and equipment into her trunk. She perked up when she saw me, her light brown eyes sparkling in the summer sunshine. “All good?”

“All good.” I locked up behind me and left the keys in the spot the Rogers had designated. Then I stripped off my disgusting cleaning clothes to reveal my bathing suit underneath.

Brittany did the same thing, bagging up our clothes before tossing them in the back and wrestling the top of her ancient car down once more. “Are you ready?”

“So ready.” I hopped into her car and grabbed my sunglasses off the dashboard. I slid them on as she slid in behind the wheel.

We raced away from the Rogers’ place, smiling. The wind whipped through our hair and the hard work of the morning melted out of our tired muscles. Zipping along the winding mountain road, I relaxed into my seat, proud of another job well done.

A few minutes later, Brittany pulled over on the side of the street in our usual spot, grabbing a bottle of sunscreen from her glove compartment and slathering it on before she grinned at me. “Let’s go.”

I chose to forego the sunscreen, but my skin wasn’t nearly as fair as hers. Sun-kissed already, I didn’t burn as easily and I wanted to get a bit more color now that summer had officially arrived. She and I ran to our rock next to the road, not pausing for even a beat before we jumped off, happily leaping into the crystalline waters of the alpine lake below.

It was clean, fresh, and pristine, and as soon as I hit the cool surface, I felt refreshed, going under and lazing around underwater for as long as my lungs would allow before I kicked my way back up. Giggling as I surfaced, I looked around for Brittany, finding her flopping onto her back just a few feet away.

“God, I love summer,” she whooped happily, her eyes closing as she spread her arms to her sides. “We don’t have any meetings this afternoon, right?”

“Not as far as I know,” I replied, slicing silently through the water and splashing her as soon as I was close enough.

She sputtered before she squealed with laughter, splashing me back when I spun to race away. We goofed off in the water for a little while before we swam to the shore, stretching out on our favorite rocks to lounge in the sun as we dried off.

Across the lake, sunlight reflected off the windows of The Manor. It had been one of the first homes that had been built in town as far back as 1920. The original owners had lived there until they’d passed away, leaving it to their grandson who now used it as an AirBnB. He accommodated ultra-wealthy guests coming to vacation in our simple small town during the summer and the winter, to enjoy either a sun-washed holiday or the snowy ski hills.

Beside me, Brittany was admiring it as well, sighing and murmuring aloud as she settled down on her rock. “Just once, I’d love to see the inside of that house.”

“I know,” I agreed. “Maybe we should offer to go spruce it up for free before his next guests arrive?”

She let out an unladylike snort and shook her head. “I don’t want to see it that badly. Have you seen the size of the place? It’d take us a whole day and we won’t even be getting paid for it. No, thank you.”

I remained propped up on my elbows, momentarily unable to stop staring. There was something about that house that was just so compelling that it always drew me in. It was old, sure, but classic and timeless with sprawling grounds meticulously cared for by a groundskeeper who lived just down the road.

I’d considered offering him a free cleaning or two to let me into the house, but I’d never been able to bring myself to follow through. It seemed too dishonest. Instead, I drooled over the place from a distance, constantly trying to devise a plan to get me in the doors that didn’t involve spending all the money I made in a few months just to stay there for a single night.

“It’d be worth it, though,” I said, my voice hushed for even just admiring the splendor from afar. “How dirty would it really be? I’m sure they have it cleaned after guests have stayed there. All we’d have to do is give it a bit of spit and polish, and we’d get to look around to our hearts’ content.”

“It’s just a house, Jewel,” Brittany said, never understanding my utter fascination of it. “We’ll get to take a peek inside sooner or later. You just have to be patient.”

I wrinkled my nose. “It’s been twenty-six years. I’ve been patient. It’s time to become proactive instead.”

She chuckled, rolling her eyes at me before she closed them and tipped her face to the sun. “I’m curious too. You know that, but we’ve seen the listing and it’s still just a house. Even if it is an old, beautiful one.”

“It’s not just a house, though,” I protested as I kept staring at the striking structure across the lake. “Mrs. Styles waited for her husband to come back from the war in that house. They raised their children there. Decades of lives were lived there and it just looks like this perfect time capsule, don’t you think?”

One day, I’d see the guts of that old house and I was sure it would be everything I imagined and more.

Brittany shoved me playfully. “We’re going to have to find a way to get richer clients if you ever want to afford to stay in that house for a night.”

“I’ve already thought of that, and I think offering to clean it before new guests arrive is a more realistic option. There are only so many people in this town, and even if we clean every day for all of them, we still wouldn’t be able to afford staying there.”

“You just have to be patient,” she repeated before stretching her arms above her head and yawning. “We probably need to start heading back to town for lunch. I have to do some invoices this afternoon and you need to do inventory.”

I groaned, casting another longing look at Styles Manor before I got up and followed her to her car. I loved this town, but if there was one thing I knew for sure it was that living here meant never getting rich enough to see the inside of that house by paying for it. It also meant never getting rich enough to buy a new car or to own a house myself, but I was at peace with that.

We lived a simple life here and I was okay with it, but just once before I died, I wanted to go into Styles Manor. If I could just do that, I would truly die happy.