by Natalie Ann
“That’s what I was thinking,” he said.
“I can’t. I’m beat. I’m always ready to crash afterward and then we have to take this down on top of it.”
“Leave that to me,” he said. “I’ll get some crew here tomorrow and another day and we’ll get it all down and packed up.”
“Don’t put my stuff away. I’ve got a system of storing it and I don’t want it touched by anyone other than me.” She stopped talking and just stared at him. “I’m sorry. That was wrong of me. In a few months it’s all going to be your stuff anyway, so you can put it away any way you want.”
He pulled her in. She’d been such a great sport and he was wondering if the reality was hitting her that this was the last haunted house under her family ownership. “It’s still your stuff, Ali. I fully expect you to be here doing this with me next year.”
“Do you mean that?”
Her voice broke a little and he questioned that even though he’d been trying to show her how much he cared for her, she obviously didn’t know. Of course, it wasn’t as if she’d told him either.
One of them had to take the first step, and he was guessing it should be him. He still remembered not so long ago that she didn’t want to have a relationship with him because he had more than her. That she didn’t want anyone to know for fear they’d think she was trying to snag a husband to support the farm. Her excuses didn’t seem to end in the beginning and he figured that was still bleeding over in their relationship.
“Yes, I do.” He ran his hand along her jaw, then tucked her hair behind her ear. “Ali, don’t you know what you mean to me?”
“No,” she said, her eyes looking up at him, confusion and hope swirled together like soft serve ice cream on a beachfront, wanting and needing everything better but afraid it’d melt all over the place knowing the heat would be too much. There was a vulnerability he didn’t see from her often.
He took her hand and put it over his heart. “Deep inside of me, this beats for you. It beats for this place. I love you.”
Her eyes started to fill and he wondered if he was showing his cards a little too soon. “I love you too. I didn’t want to say it first though.”
He laughed, not surprised to hear that. “Why?”
“Because I didn’t want you to think I was using you.”
“I’ve never thought that at all. I don’t now either. Let’s close this all up and go home. We can figure out how to clean up the mess later.”
“Can we go to your house tonight?” she asked.
“We can. We can go there together every night if you want.”
“Tonight will do.”
He was trying not to be hurt over that, and knew he still had more walls to break down. Good thing he was handy with a sledgehammer.
My Problem
Into the first week of November, Liam was walking the farm with Jim, listening to everything that needed to be done to prep for the winter. With the busy apple season pretty much over with, the bakery was the sole business for income.
There were a few greenhouses that housed the start of vegetables for the spring along with a handful of other items, but for the most part, the farm would quiet down for the winter months. At some point, he’d brainstorm with Jim and try to figure out a way to get more of a steady income here year round.
He and Jim were working out details of Jim staying on and overseeing the property on a full-time basis along with being allowed to live in the house as part of his salary. Liam felt fairly comfortable with the way things were run, knowing that Jim would be able to maintain it.
He also got the feeling that Belinda would still be around to talk with his mother, and maybe visit with Jim, but he kept that opinion to himself.
Ali and he had settled back into a quiet life for the most part. She stayed with him more often than in her own apartment, and though he wanted her to move in with him, he wouldn’t ask. It didn’t seem like the right time.
He was walking away from the farm and toward his truck when his phone rang. He looked down and saw it was his lawyer calling. “Hey, Tyler.”
“Do you have a few minutes to come in and talk, Liam?”
“I can. I can run over now if it works for you. What’s going on?”
“It’s best left for my office. It’s complicated. I’ll see you soon.”
Liam hung up and drove across town, then walked in to have the secretary say, “He’s waiting for you in his office.”
That never sounded good. “What’s up?” Liam asked when he walked into Tyler’s office.
“Shut the door and come on in.” Liam did so, then took a seat at the table Tyler was at. “George Rogers was just in here.”
“Who’s that?”
“Belinda Rogers’s ex-husband.”
“What does he want?” Liam asked.
“He is claiming that he has a say in the sale of the property. That he is entitled to half the proceeds and he says the price is too low.”
“The title is in Belinda’s name.”
“It is. But he’s claiming that it’s her retirement and he is entitled to half of that. I told him that an inheritance after a divorce doesn’t make the ex entitled to anything unless there is a clause in the divorce paperwork that says they can renegotiate alimony, child support and the such.”
“What did he say to that?”
“He said he didn’t have the paperwork in front of him, but he knows what he’s entitled to and he thinks you’re trying to steal the farm and wants to sell it for more. I told you he is a douche and a bit of a liar. Unfortunately, we have to address this.”
Liam felt his blood start to boil. It was one thing to accuse him of trying to rip people off, which he wasn’t doing, but it was another to disrupt Belinda and Ali’s life, which he suspected was the main goal here. Not to mention slander his good name.
“First off, how does he know who my lawyer is? And did you tell him the selling price?”
“He said Belinda gave him my name. I didn’t tell him the price. You know I can’t do that. I’m not sure he knows. I think he was bluffing, trying to find out. He’s an ass. I told you the type of person he is.”
“Great. So now what?”
“I can’t reach Belinda’s lawyer, but once I do, I’ll see what is going on. I hope it was also her divorce lawyer, but if not, I’ll get my hands on those papers soon enough. I think you should probably go talk with Belinda and find out what happened on her end. Hopefully we can resolve this and not slow anything up. Otherwise...”
Liam looked at his watch. Ali would be getting out of school in an hour. He’d go back to the farm now and talk to Belinda before he talked to Ali. He figured Ali wouldn’t appreciate that, but the bottom line was, the business was between Belinda and him.
He drove back to the farm and walked into the bakery. Belinda took one look at his face and pulled him back to the house, leaving her one staff in the store manning everything.
“What’s wrong, Liam? Did you and Ali have a fight?”
He wanted to laugh, as that was something his own mother would think of. “No. I just came from my lawyer’s office. He said your ex-husband was just in there saying he is entitled to half the sale of the farm as it’s your retirement and that he thinks the selling price is too low.”
Belinda paled. “I told him to leave me alone. He’s been calling me and then he finally showed up two days ago. The farm is mine, not his. He wanted no part of it and hated it here. All he wants is money. I finally told him to talk to the lawyers.”
She looked close to tears and he felt his heart twist. “Why didn’t you say anything to me or Ali?”
“It’s my problem, not Ali’s. She doesn’t need to be burdened with this. She was caught in the middle too much as a kid.”
“But Ali said her father called her a few weeks ago asking about the sale.”
“George told me that. He said Ali told him to talk to me. I told her years ago to not get in the middle. I think he might have been th
e one who tried to get in the house too. He said something about paperwork and wanted to see it all and why the house was locked when it never used to be.”
“Did he admit he was in the house?” Liam asked.
“No. It’s just something he said.” She waved her hand. “It doesn’t matter. I got the feeling whatever he was looking for, he couldn’t find. The funny part is if he remembered Ali’s birth date he could have gotten in.”
Liam didn’t bother to respond to that. “He didn’t say anything about looking for something in the house?”
“No. It could just be my thoughts scrambling. I don’t know. This is horrible. Could he stop the sale? Do I really have to give him money?”
“I don’t know. Tyler, my lawyer, was trying to reach yours. They need to see your divorce papers and go from there.”
“I don’t understand that though. We were divorced and the farm wasn’t mine at that point. It’s always been in my father’s name.”
The tears that she’d been fighting back were now running down her cheeks. He saw his own mother while looking at Belinda and his protective nature kicked in. He pulled her in, hugging her. “We’ll get to the bottom of it, don’t worry.”
***
“Why didn’t you call me?” Ali yelled at him later that night. “Why didn’t my mother?”
She was livid right now. How dare her mother treat her like a child and not tell her what was going on?
How dare Liam shelter her from this?
“You’d have to take this up with your mother. Besides, you told your father to call your mother. And your mother told me that she told you to always do that. That she didn’t want you in the middle.”
Ali didn’t care to hear that. That was when she was a kid, now she was an adult. Just because she told her father that last week, she wouldn’t have if she knew what he was after.
No one messed with her mother. Especially her deadbeat dad!
“That’s beside the point. And I’ll deal with her. But the bigger question is why you didn’t call me right away when you found out. Why you went there to talk to her without me!”
“The sale of the farm is between your mother and me. You’ve said it yourself multiple times.”
“It’s different now,” she said, crossing her arms.
“It’s only different when you want it to be different,” he said, glaring back at her. “I’ve noticed that when you don’t want to deal with something, you push it off or push it away. Now all of a sudden you want a say in this and you’re ready to bite my head off for doing something that you don’t agree with.”
“You went behind my back,” she accused him.
“I did no such thing.” Now he was getting pissed, she could see. “I got a call from my lawyer and I was advised to talk to your mother while more facts were discovered. That is what I did.”
“You could have waited for me,” she said stubbornly.
“I could have, but I made the decision to not burden you with this. Your mother is an intelligent woman, who, by your own admission, has held things together for years without you. I don’t understand what you’re so up in arms about. I came right over here and told you the minute I knew you were home. And,”—he held his hand up—“I might point out I didn’t need to tell you at all.”
She didn’t like that he pointed that out. “That’s not fair,” she said.
“Nope, it’s not. Choose a side, Ali. Or better yet, don’t, and trust me. I’ve put you and your mother first this entire time and I’m a little ticked off that you think I’m not now. That you don’t trust me. That maybe you don’t believe I’d have your best interest at heart. I’d like to say I’m pretty hurt by it, but that would be crossing business and our relationship, something I’ve tried to keep separate this whole time...for you.”
She didn’t need that thrown in her face right now. “I’ve never told you to do that.”
He threw his hands up. “Really? You’re the one who didn’t want to date me when you found out who I was. You’re the one that didn’t want anyone to know we were dating because you didn’t want to be looked at in a bad light. Now all of a sudden you’re changing your mind.”
“It’s different now,” she argued.
“No, it’s not.” He turned to leave. “Think about it. Go talk to your mother, do whatever you need to do. You know where I am when you’re ready to talk about this reasonably. But remember one thing,” he said, opening the door to leave.
“What?” she asked, feeling her eyes start to burn with an effort to hold the tears back.
“I’ll always put you first.”
Then he slammed out the door and left her there as tears ran down her face, making her feel like a complete bitch.
Test My Sanity
“She had it coming.”
Ah hell, Liam thought, opening his eyes and looking across the room. Yep, there was Anthony Michaels staring at him. Just what he needed on top of everything else tonight.
“Who?” he asked. If he was going to lose his mind, he might as well talk to the guy and try to figure out what was going on.
“Ali. She was always stubborn and wishy-washy on top of it. I’m glad you gave her hell. Don’t let her think she can always get her way or walk all over you.”
He snorted. “No one walks all over me without me letting them do that.”
“Good to hear.”
“What are you doing here? Just coming to test my sanity?” Liam asked.
Anthony looked a little sad, if it was possible for a ghost to do that. “No. This is such a mess and I wish I could tell you how to fix it. It can be fixed and fixed easily enough, but I can’t tell you how.”
“That’s not much help to me.”
“I didn’t think it would be. Talk to Ali tomorrow. She’ll find a way.”
“What—” Anthony was gone before Liam could ask him what that meant.
***
“You acted like a spoiled little brat today.”
Ali opened her eyes. Not again. “I don’t need this tonight,” she said to her grandfather. He hadn’t come to see her in weeks. She finally thought she’d imagined it all, but now she realized she hadn’t.
“I told you to be aware and stay strong. That it would be all right. But you didn’t listen, did you?”
“Dad? You meant that about my father? How could you know?”
“Of course I meant it about him, Ali. I’m dead. There are a lot of things I know. I can’t tell you if I saw Elvis either, but trust me when I say I tried to warn you.”
She flopped back on the bed. “Now what?”
“Now we try to fix your relationship with Liam.”
“I don’t need love advice from my grandfather.”
“You need it from someone and your mother sure wasn’t the best example you ever had in choosing men.”
Ali snorted. “She only ever dated that one time after Dad and then that ended too. It’s like this farm is cursed.” Her hand flew to her mouth the minute she said that.
“Sometimes I wondered if that was the case. This farm was your grandmother’s. It was in her family, started and named after her mother. Hence the name Granny’s. Your grandmother loved that place so much as a kid and was thrilled when it ended up in her hands. That none of her brothers wanted to be here.”
“How did you two meet?” Was she really having this conversation with her grandfather’s ghost in the middle of the night? And why had she never had it with him before? Why had she never asked about the history of the farm?
“I worked on the farm. I fell in love with your grandmother. It was love at first sight. I’m going to see her again soon,” he said a little sadly.
“What?” Ali asked, shocked. “Grandma isn’t in heaven?”
“I’m sure she is, the angel that she was. But you see, it hasn’t been my time yet. I wasn’t ready to go to begin with and I needed to stay here and make sure my two girls were taken care of.”
Tears rolled out of Ali’s eyes. “Y
ou’ve been here all these years? Are you trapped?”
“I’m not trapped, sweetie. Time is different for me than you. It’s been so wonderful to watch you graduate from college. I’ve talked to you often, but you don’t want to admit it.”
“Those have been dreams,” she said.
She had dreams all the time of her grandfather, and she knew they were dreams, just like she knew this wasn’t. That the past few months had been completely different.
“They were. I felt it was the easiest way for you to accept it. The same with your mother.”
“So you haven’t shown yourself to anyone else other than me?” she asked.
He just laughed at her. “Don’t worry about that. Back to what I was saying. The farm was everything to your grandmother, but she worked harder than she should have. I wish she didn’t do as much as she had, but it was everything to her and that was funneled to me. I didn’t want to see your mother be a workhorse, so when your father came around, I thought for sure he was someone that would step in.”
“He proved everyone wrong,” she said.
“He did. Lazy piece of shit.”
She giggled like she always did when her grandfather swore since it wasn’t often. “Like I said. I tried to warn you. I tried to tell you to be aware. You just didn’t get it.”
“So you were telling me that Dad was going to cause trouble?”
“I know I was kept in limbo for a reason. This is my reason. Remember all those old videos you took as a kid of the haunted house?”
She didn’t know why her grandfather was changing the topic again. “Yes. You thought it was so silly, but I loved having the videos back then. Now I take them on my phone. It’s easier and that old video camera broke years ago.”
“You still have those videos, right?”
“Of course. They’re somewhere.”
“Best day of my life was when you decided to do that haunted house. It was our bond, wasn’t it?”
“It was,” she agreed, feeling her eyes fill some more.
“Fix this thing with Liam. Know that he wouldn’t hurt you and that he’ll be there for you and your mother. He’s a man that will stand by your side. He is nothing like your father.”