Eyre House

by Caitlin Greer

  I hesitated. Telling myself I was crazy was one thing, but voicing it to someone else… I wasn’t sure about that. “Well, like earlier today, Ginny heard someone playing the piano, a song she used to play with Jaime. But nobody was there when we walked in the room.”

  Tom raised his eyebrow and smiled a little. “Anything else?”

  I closed my eyes and took the plunge. “Well, I keep thinking someone’s rearranging the stuff in my room.”

  Tom let out a gut-busting laugh.

  Yeah, you set yourself up for that. “You and your ghost stories. Forget I said anything.”

  “No way! You know your room used to be Jaime’s, right? Man, I think you got yourself a curious haunt in the form of Jaime Eyre. Hoo boy!” He laughed again and slapped me on the shoulder.

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Whatever, Tom. Better get out of here before the guests get cranky.”

  He glanced at his watch. “Oh, shit, you’re right. I gotta run. Thanks for the repair, man.”

  I shook my head at him. “My pleasure. Give me a call if you have any trouble while you’re out.”

  “I will. And Evan?”

  I looked back up at him.

  “Good luck with your ghost!”

  Tom drove off with a loud laugh, leaving the garage quiet again in his wake. I looked around, my hands thoughtlessly busy cleaning off my tools. I was a little obsessive about keeping them clean and organized. It made fixing things a whole lot easier. I just wished it kept my brain as busy as my hands.

  With the Land Rover fixed and Ms. Catherine still out with Ginny, I really didn’t have anything to do. Most of the guests were out, and the ones still here were taken care of. I decided now might be a perfect time to check out the secret passage Ginny had shown me. She and Ms. Catherine were due back soon, but as quiet as everything was until then, my mind just kept going back to the night before and all the other nights.

  What worried me most was that the only thing I could see tying everything together was Ginny. Someone or something seemed to be targeting people close to her.

  I knew she wasn’t involved. But I couldn’t help thinking she knew something.

  So now, while everything was quiet, seemed the perfect chance to do a little poking around. Because a bunch of secret passages running through a house that was seeing a lot of crazy things happen just screamed dangerous.

  I scrubbed off the last of the grease in the garage sink without really seeing it, and turned to walk out, only to be caught by the last person on the island who I wanted to see.

  “Mmm, Evan, you are hot as hell covered in grease.”

  I clenched my teeth. “Blanche. Where the hell did you come from?”

  She stepped closer to me. “You know, it would be very worth your while to be on my good side. Very,” she added, running her finger along my jaw.

  I slapped her hand away. “I’m not seeing the advantage from where I’m standing.”

  Blanche laughed, and I guess it was supposed to be breathless and sexy. Mostly it just sounded affected. “Well, you could have all this, for starters.” She waved her free hand down her body, which she’d squeezed into some dress that looked about two sizes too small even on her anorexic frame. At least it clung to her that way.

  “Yeah, not interested. The skin-draped skeleton look isn’t really my thing.”

  “Honey, nobody likes a fat girl,” she whispered back with a wink. “Besides, when your naïve Ms. Eyre gets thrown out on her quaint little ass, you’re goin’ to want to be friends with the new management. If you want to keep your job.”

  I leaned in close to whisper in her ear. “Let me try this one more time. I’m not interested. I find you and your brother repulsive. And in case the big words were too much to understand, let me try it this way. I. Don’t. Like. You.” I threw her hand back at her and stepped away, only to come face-to-face with her brother.

  I let my glare linger and took a deep breath. “What do you want, Ingram?”

  “Where’s Ginny?”

  “Out. Like it’s any of your business.”

  “Oh, it’s my business—”

  “Are you really this stupid? Or did you just ignore everything I said last night? Both of you?”

  “Where is she?”

  “Why don’t you ask her yourself?”

  Brandon clenched his teeth and glared. “Her phone doesn’t appear to be working.”

  “Oh, really? Because it couldn’t possibly be that she isn’t interested in talking to you.”

  “Of course not. Her father arranged for her to go to lunch with Blanche and myself.”

  “Her father arranged it.” I ran my hand through my hair and laughed. “You know, I’ve met some serious idiots in my lifetime, but you two are just… You have your own level of stupid. Neither of you can take a hint.”

  Brandon puffed his chest out and leaned in. “I would be very careful about who you call stupid.”

  I almost laughed at his pitiful attempt to intimidate me. “Why? Because you’re rich, and I’m some kid who grew up in the system? Get over yourself.”

  “Because I can and will ruin you.” He turned to his sister with a scowl, just as Ginny’s Jeep loomed up behind him.

  I laughed when Ginny didn’t really slow down much and the Ingrams had to jump out of the way.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, I was so caught up singin’ along with the radio, I didn’t even see you there!”

  Lord, I loved this girl.

  Brandon forced the scowl off his face. “That’s quite all right, Virginia.”

  “Brandon!” Blanche hissed through her teeth. “She just tried to run us over!”

  Ginny’s eyebrows twitched. “Really, Brandon, I’m not going to tell you again. I’m just going to start ignoring you when you call me that.”

  He waved her off, and I almost decked him. “Regardless. We should be going, if we’re to make our lunch date.”

  “Oh, I couldn’t eat, not now. I just dropped Mama off out front, we only now came from brunch.”

  Brandon’s smile grew even more pasted on, and Blanche just kept glaring. I was seriously about to lose it, watching them.

  “Well, you’re still welcome to come with us.”

  Ginny glanced at me and winked. “I’d rather not. I did only just get back.”

  Brandon’s jaw clenched. “Well. I’m sure your father will be disappointed, but I suppose we’ll be going.”

  “I do think that’s for the best.” Ginny’s eyes glinted at the mention of her father, but I was sure the seriously obtuse Ingrams missed it.

  It took everything I had not to burst out laughing, but I managed to hold it in until I heard the motor of their car turn over and their wheels spit gravel. And then we both fell into each other, howling with laughter.

  “I don’t know how you’ve lived within a thousand miles of those two.”

  She shook her head. “I’ve wondered the same thing myself!”

  “By the by, you owe me for not giving me a warning that your dad was Jonathan Drayton, of all people.”

  She stuck her tongue out at me. “I do my best to forget. So please don’t bring him up.”

  I laughed. “Sure. That why you have your mother’s last name?”

  “Ha! Please. I want as little to do with him as possible, and that includes his name. Besides, somebody’s got to keep the Eyre family name alive,” she added with a wink. And then she sighed, and leaned into me.

  “You’ll get grease all over your clothes.”

  “I really don’t care.” She turned and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I missed you.”

  I laughed and closed my hands around her waist, pulling her into me. Even with the day already stifling hot, I wanted her near. “You were only gone for a few hours.”

  “I know. But I couldn’t stop thinking about this.” Her hand slid up onto the base of my neck just as her lips brushed mine.

  “Ginny…”

  “Shhh…” A very different heat tha
n the sweltering June flamed between us. My hands pulled her tight as her tongue slipped into my mouth. Just like last night, her kiss was demanding, eager. She turned my head upside down with one nip of my lip, one dip of her tongue. I couldn’t keep a thought in my head, and I didn’t even want to try.

  My hands gripped her tighter, twisting into her shirt, squeezing out all the air between us.

  I grabbed Ginny hard and pushed her away, gasping.

  “Lord, Ginny. You can’t… We can’t…”

  She laughed. “Really, Evan. Come on, what have you got for the rest of the day?”

  I took a deep breath and leaned against her Jeep, trying to get her touch out of my head. Unfortunately, it seemed to have driven everything else out. “Nothing, unless your mother needs something. I was thinking about hitting the pool.” I wasn’t about to tell her I wanted to check for someone sneaking around the secret passages.

  Ginny smiled and inched closer again, trailing her fingers down my chest. “Mmm. I like this idea. I think I’ll join you. Or we could head to the beach again…”

  The beach would be secluded, where the pool wasn’t. And after that kiss… I still wasn’t breathing right. What was I talking about? “Beach. Definitely beach.”

  She grabbed my belt buckle and tugged, winking. “Let’s go then.”

  I pulled her hand off my belt. Having it there was a very bad idea, and gave me all kinds of other extremely bad ideas. But I let her have my hand and drag me away to the house, and up the stairs.

  “You have two minutes, and then I’m coming in after you.”

  “I still need to find your mother—”

  “I’ll text her and make sure it’s okay.” She dove forward and kissed me again, and then bounced away. “Two minutes!”

  I was changed and waiting at the top of the stairs in one. Ginny came out in a bikini and shorts that left absolutely nothing to my imagination. I wasn’t sure whether to bless or curse her for it.

  “Mama’s fine with it. Apparently you’ve kept the place in perfect shape.”

  “I doubt it, but I try.”

  “Well, I haven’t seen her this relaxed in years, so take the compliment. She’s not even—” She stopped suddenly, her face frozen like she was about to drop the world’s biggest secret.

  “Not even what?”

  She shook her head sharply, not looking at me. “Nothin’. Let’s just go.”

  “You know how bad it looks when you do that? I’m not blind, Ginny.”

  She turned and looked at me, her eyes pleading. “It’s really nothing, I just don’t want to talk about it. Please, Evan? It’s just a personal thing.”

  I sighed but let it drop. “If it’s really nothing. But Gin—”

  Ginny reached up and pressed a sweet kiss against the corner of my mouth then pulled me down the stairs, smiling. I was so focused on her that I almost didn’t notice the noise outside. Not until I heard the dog barking. A dog I’d heard before.

  “Ginny, is that Pilot?”

  The stair below me groaned louder than usual. Then there was a crash and a scream from just outside. Ginny and I stared at each other and then raced down the rest of the stairs together.

  Chapter Ten

  The front steps looked like a scene out of a horror movie. Smashed pottery shards and blood ran down the white stone. My eyes covered the area in moments, stopping on the young man who lay at the bottom.

  “Good God.” Ginny’s hand locked onto my arm. “Evan, that’s Keith. He’s one of the guests.”

  “Go grab a first aid kit and get your mother. Quick.”

  Keith, when I got to him, seemed only a year or two older than me. I couldn’t tell if his head wound was from crashing down the stairs or if he’d been hit by someone or something. But he groaned, so at least he wasn’t dead.

  “Easy, Keith. Just stay still, okay? We’re getting you some help.”

  “He pushed…hit…”

  “It’s okay, don’t move. Just relax.”

  “Evan!” Ginny tumbled down the steps after me, shoving a first aid kit in my hands. “Mama’s calling an ambulance. Good Lord, Keith, honey! What happened?”

  I started pulling out gauze pads. “He said someone pushed him, hit him. I think with whatever’s broken all over the steps.”

  “Oh God.”

  “I know.”

  “Evan, he brought me flowers this mornin’!”

  “Ginny…”

  “This is my fault.” The horrified tone in her voice made my gut twist.

  “Ginny! He’ll be all right. It’s not your fault.” I wasn’t sure what to believe, but whatever was going on, I knew she didn’t push him. A movement in the oaks caught my eye, and I looked away from Keith for a moment. “Ginny…”

  “What?”

  “I thought…” The face I could have sworn I saw in the oaks had vanished. “Never mind.”

  I was glad when we heard the sound of the Life Flight. Keith was already looking way too pale when the chopper arrived. The paramedics took over and had him out in no time, and his parents with him. The police stayed around much longer, unhappy about this second incident in as many days. But they took our statements and left us to our ruined afternoon.

  Ginny looked so heartbroken, staring after the last police car, that I couldn’t stand it. I wrapped my arms around her from behind, trying my best to give her comfort.

  “I need to find Mama. She’ll need help…”

  I kissed her head and pulled her in tighter. “Maybe some quiet beach time is just what you need. The adults can sort this out.”

  “No, I… I need to be here with Mama. She’ll think I’m abandoning her.”

  “She won’t. I’ll go talk to her, let her know you need to get away for a little bit. We can be back by supper.”

  She turned and snuggled into my shoulder, the deep breath she took making her shudder against me.

  When she looked back up at me, her face was straight and composed, all the heartbroken emotion gone. Pushed away. “You’re right. Let’s get out of here.”

  “All right. I’ll be right back.”

  “You best be.”

  I looked at her hard for a moment, but her eyes were far away, her mask tightly in place. And maybe that was for the best.

  Ms. Catherine was in her office, where I’d hoped I’d find her. My fingers pushed against her door, but stopped quickly. Her voice came through clearly, and so did her anger. It took me a minute to realize she was on the phone.

  “Dammit, Jonathan! You tell that bitch of an Ingram to go to hell. Eyre House is mine. It’s been in my family longer than yours has been on this island, and I’ll make sure you can’t touch it even after I’m dead and gone!”

  Silence, and then the noise of a phone dropped onto a desk and a long exhale. I hesitated, and then knocked, pushing the door open a fraction.

  “Ms. Catherine?”

  “What is it? Oh, Evan. Sorry if you heard that, sweetie.”

  “No worries, Ms. Catherine. The twins were here earlier, so I had a slight preview already. Sounds like Mrs. Ingram is making a bid for the hotel?”

  “Yes, and my ex-husband is helping her, damn him to hell. They’re trying to say these two incidents are my fault, that I’m losing my touch. Really they’re just trying to buy up real estate to bring in some fancy hotel along Edisto Beach. It’ll turn the island into just another tourist trap, but they don’t care.” She collapsed back into her chair with a sigh. “I’m sorry, honey. You shouldn’t be worrying about any of this. What did you need?”

  “I think Ginny’s a little overwhelmed by everything. She’s worried about you, with all of this, but I think she needs to get away. I wanted to take her out for a bit, let her pull herself back together.”

  “Oh, yes Evan, please do. Get her out and away. She doesn’t need to be here.”

  “Yes, ma’am. We’ll head back to the beach so she can have some quiet. I’ll have my phone if you need either of us, and have her back by supper
.”

  “Take all the time you need. If I don’t see you back by then, I’ll have the kitchen set food aside for you two. In fact, take some with you. Please.”

  “Thank you, Ms. Catherine.”

  She looked hard at me, her blue eyes studying mine for a long minute. “No, thank you. Thank you for being there for her.”

  Ginny was waiting for me in the garage. Instead of leaning up against her Jeep, she leaned against my motorcycle with a smile that was much closer to the Ginny I knew than it had been when I went inside. She was also holding my spare helmet.

  “You did promise me a ride, you know.”

  I laughed. “Are you sure you want to do this? Now?”

  “I think it would be the perfect distraction.”

  The way her eyes were dancing made me sure of it. Except that I was still wearing sandals and swim trunks.

  I still only hesitated a second. “Go throw on jeans. I’ll meet you back here.”

  She grinned and raced me upstairs. But when I came out of my room, I found her standing in her doorway, still as a statue.

  “Ginny?”

  She didn’t answer. I pushed in, worried by her immobility and the stony look on her face.

  “Ginny, what is—”

  She turned, trying to push me out.

  Her effort at a fake smile didn’t even half fool me. “It’s nothin’. Let’s just—”

  “No, something’s got you freaked—”

  “Evan, stop, just—”

  I grabbed her wrist and twisted past her. Dead bouquets of flowers littered her dresser and bed, lying scattered across the floor. Shriveled roses, brown daisies, wilted and dead lilies. Lifeless and withered remains, tossed across her room.

  “Ginny, what the hell?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t care. Honey, let’s just go, please?” I could practically hear the tears in her voice.

  “This is seriously fucked up. What the hell is going on?”

  “Evan, please.” Her hands tugged at me. “Please. I just want to go.”

  “No, Ginny, what—”

  “They’re his, Evan. They’re from his grave.”

  It was the horrified undertone in her voice that caught me, more than the words. And when I turned, the pleading in her eyes did me in.