Moving On (Ghost Of The Past Book 1)

by Trisha Grace

  Taking the laptop from Tyler, she slipped into her car. “Thanks for getting the piano.” She beamed at him, closed the door, and drove off.

  When Kate reached the Harpers’, she closed her eyes and muttered under her breath, “Give me favor, Lord. Help me.”

  Taking a deep breath, she pressed the doorbell.

  The moment Mrs. Harper saw her, she folded her arms across her chest before drawing in a long, frustrated breath. “What do you want?” she asked, ending her question with a sigh.

  Kate gave her a small smile.

  She had already expected such a reaction from Mrs. Harper. At least Mrs. Harper hadn’t slammed the door in her face.

  “I’m here to apologize and fix the mistakes.”

  Mrs. Harper rolled her eyes. “I loved that desk. That Laura girl just threw it out, then had the audacity to say that I was the one who told her to do so. I still have the drawings of the design we’d agreed on, and it didn’t include throwing away that desk.”

  “I understand, and I know it was entirely our fault. I know I can’t give you back the original table, but my business partner, Miss Jordan, is searching for a replacement. If we can’t find it, we’ll make a replica for you. I know it can’t replace the memories you had before, but at least we can return you one that’s as similar as we can achieve.”

  With her fingers rubbing her temple, Mrs. Harper continued. “And the rest of the furniture? So many of the pieces are wrong; they don’t fit the house.”

  Kate nodded. “I’ll fix all of that. Let me take a look so that I know exactly what needs to be done. Miss Jordan is already checking on the availability of the furniture that we agreed on. If they aren’t available, she’ll search for alternatives, and I’ll get back to you.” She paused, waiting for a reaction. But Mrs. Harper merely closed her eyes and looked away.

  “I know our mistakes inconvenienced you. I don’t want to end things like that. I want to end this right. I promise we’ll make it up to you. There will be no further charges, and I’ll completely waive our original designing fees. Also, I’ll give you a further thirty percent discount off the original furniture we agreed upon.”

  Mrs. Harper drummed her fingers against her elbow. “When can you get it settled?”

  “Give me a week to get the design right and change the furniture for you. As for your desk, if we can’t get it, Miss Jordan is going to make another one for you. So regarding that, I’ll need to check with her before I can confirm it with you.”

  Sighing, Mrs. Harper nodded. “All right.”

  “Thank you. I promise you won’t regret it.”

  Mrs. Harper stepped aside, allowing Kate to enter.

  As Kate walked around the room, she pointed out the wrong pieces and described how the original ones were supposed to be.

  “Did I miss anything?” she asked politely.

  “No, you got it all.”

  She nodded and said, “Again, I’m so sorry for all the headaches we’ve caused.”

  Mrs. Harper pinched her lips together, giving her a nod.

  “Thank you for giving us another chance.”

  Before leaving, Kate apologized again and promised that she would correct the mistakes as quickly as possible.

  She sat in her car and e-mailed Evelyn the list of furniture that had to be replaced, then sent Tyler a text, letting him know that she was done with the Harpers and was leaving for the office.

  She headed to the office and spent the rest of the day on the phone, trying to rectify the mistakes made. After much negotiation, pleading, and some groveling, they got all the furniture they needed. All except the desk. That would have to be recreated by Evelyn.

  Kate called Mrs. Harper to inform her of the latest updates, then headed back to the mansion with Evelyn’s car behind hers.

  As she drove toward the mansion, she found herself looking forward to seeing Tyler, to tell him how her day went and find out how his day was.

  Maybe they could spend some time playing the piano after dinner.

  But as she turned around the bend and saw the pink mini-Volkswagen, she sighed. This isn’t good.

  She took out her phone and called Tyler, letting him know that she was outside the mansion and so was Joanne.

  As expected, he told her to stay in the car and hung up.

  She was intending to hideout in her car anyway. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel as the car came to a stop and prayed that Joanne would just leave her alone—a prayer that wasn’t answered.

  Joanne stormed over and started pounding on her car’s window, yelling and gesturing for her to wind it down.

  Kate closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. She wasn’t interested in getting yelled at today.

  Then, the pounding stopped.

  She opened her eyes, thinking that Tyler had come out from the mansion. But she was wrong. “Oh, no.” She’d clean forgotten that Evelyn’s car was right behind hers.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Evelyn shoved Joanne back.

  As Joanne staggered back in her heels, Evelyn took another step forward and gave Joanne another shove.

  Kate hurried forward and grabbed Evelyn’s arm. “Eve, please.” She turned and tried dragging Evelyn away from Joanne.

  That two didn’t make a good combination. They needed distance.

  “You went on a trip with my Tyler?” Joanne screeched.

  Kate shook her head, suspecting that Joanne had some suicidal inclination.

  Evelyn easily shrugged off her hold and stepped closer toward Joanne.

  “Eve, please,” Kate repeated, hoping that Joanne would finally register the deadly vibes radiating from Evelyn. Jesus, please. You know I can’t stop her when she’s bent on fighting.

  Before Evelyn or Joanne could do anything, Tyler came sprinting out the door. He stopped in front of Kate, stretching his arm out protectively in front of her.

  “I called Dan. He’s on the way,” Tyler stated before asking, “Did she hurt you?”

  “No, she was just pounding on my car’s window.” She let go of her grip on Evelyn and placed her hand on Tyler’s outstretched arm. “It’s okay. I’m all right.”

  “Go inside,” Tyler said softly, but she knew he’d meant it as a command. She sighed softly, looking between Evelyn and Tyler.

  “No,” Evelyn said. “Kate will be here for a year. If this girl has something to say to Kate, then thrash it out now.”

  “Just stay away from my Tyler!”

  Kate’s hand tightened around Tyler’s arm, but she immediately released her hand when he pushed her half a step further behind him.

  She wasn’t frightened. Joanne’s scream simply caught her by surprise, but her reaction definitely made it worse for Joanne.

  “I’m not your Tyler. I never was, and I never will be. I told you that the last time. Who I go out with is none of your business.”

  “She’s just a slut pretending to be all sweet and nice. She’s trying to get your money.”

  Evelyn took a big stride forward, staring Joanne down. “Say that again and I’ll rip out your tongue.”

  “I’ll say—”

  Evelyn grabbed Joanne by her wrist and jerked her forward. “I dare you.”

  Joanne’s eyes widened.

  “Stop behaving like a spoiled brat. Nobody will ever see you as anything more than a spoiled brat unless you grow up. If you think the rest of the world will condone your actions like your family does, then you’re wrong. I dare you to try me.”

  Joanne drew in a sharp breath and finally learned how valuable silence was.

  “Let me make it clear. If you ever dare to go crazy on Kate or do anything to hurt her again, I’ll make sure you receive double of everything you do to her. Do you understand?”

  Joanne stared back at Evelyn, her chin jutting out stubbornly.

  With another rough jerk, Evelyn repeated, “Do you understand?”

  “Eve …”

  Evelyn shot her a glare and turned back
to Joanne. “Do you understand?” Evelyn asked again, raising her voice.

  “Yes,” Joanne finally said, almost in a whisper.

  Evelyn let go of Joanne’s hand, the red imprints of her fingers clear against Joanne’s porcelain skin.

  Joanne spun around and headed toward her car, but Evelyn cut her off. “No, you don’t. You don’t get to come here, yell at Kate, then go home. You owe her an apology for splashing juice in her eyes. And now, you owe her an apology for coming here to terrify her.”

  Joanne’s eyes turned red and the tears brimmed over in an instant.

  Kate sighed and closed her eyes.

  Tears wouldn’t make Evelyn back down. Once Evelyn began on a warpath, no one could stop her—not even Kate.

  Evelyn didn’t believe in begging or crying. She hated people who used tears as weapons. She grew up learning to fight hard to win her battles.

  And right now, it was clear that Evelyn wasn’t letting Joanne leave without any consequences.

  Evelyn fastened her hand around Joanne’s arm and turned her back to face Kate. Tightening her grip, Evelyn demanded, “Apologize now.”

  Joanne swallowed hard. She turned to Tyler, but he didn’t say a word to defend her.

  “Sorry.”

  Scoffing, Evelyn tightened her grasp. “Who is sorry and for what?”

  Kate stepped out from behind Tyler and said, “Eve, that’s enough.” Joanne’s behavior was ridiculous, but so was theirs. “Stop it.”

  “No.”

  “Eve, come on. That’s enough.”

  “Tyler, are you convinced that Miss Joanne here won’t ever come back to harass Kate? Am I going too far?”

  Tyler pulled Kate back behind him. “I think you do owe Kate a proper apology.”

  “Ty.”

  Evelyn shot Kate another glare. “You can get angry with me, but I’m not letting this girl go until she learns her lesson.”

  “I don’t need your help!” Joanne screamed and brushed away the angry tears on the back on her hand.

  Kate’s fingers splayed across her eyes. She couldn’t figure out what was wrong with Joanne. Was she so proud and stubborn that she would turn down help from the one person who was willing to do so?

  Kate couldn’t stand watching them, and Joanne clearly didn’t want her help. She turned away from them, intending to head into the house, but Tyler’s hand held her in place.

  “I’m sorry for splashing juice in your face, and I’m sorry for making a scene here today.”

  Evelyn released her death grip and took a step away from Joanne. “See, that was easy. Now get out of here. Don’t let me find out that you’re harassing Kate again.”

  Seething, Joanne got into the car and sped away.

  Kate pulled her hand from Tyler’s and stormed into the house, heading straight for the kitchen.

  “What’s wrong?” Marianne asked.

  She exhaled heavily through her nose and leaned against the counter. She was too agitated to sit.

  Evelyn entered the kitchen and pulled out a seat. “Go ahead, start your lecture.”

  She glowered at Evelyn. “That was so wrong.”

  “Wrong? That girl’s insane, insanely spoilt.”

  “So? That doesn’t mean we can bully her.”

  “She went crazy on you twice. I went crazy on her once. She got off easy.”

  “Eve!”

  “All right, all right. I’m sorry.”

  She rolled her eyes at Evelyn’s patronizing apology.

  She went on and on about how awful they were to Joanne, how Evelyn shouldn’t have been so rough with her, and how she couldn’t believe Tyler took Evelyn’s side.

  Both Tyler and Evelyn kept their mouths shut and allowed her to rattle on until the doorbell rang.

  She wasn’t sure how long she’d vented, but she pulled out a chair and sat, as usual, by Tyler.

  She had stopped her lecture, but she was still feeling uneasy about the whole thing. “Maybe I should give Dan a call and apologize.”

  “What do you have to apologize for?” Dan’s voice got their immediate attention.

  “If you apologize, I swear I’ll hit you,” Evelyn said before Kate could open her mouth.

  Evelyn gave Dan a rundown of what happened before she continued. “I’m not sorry about it. But if you want to blame someone, you can blame me.”

  Instead of getting angry, Dan gave Evelyn a pat on her back. “Thank you,” he said. “I hope she learns something.” He sat on one of the chairs, sneaked a peek to make sure that Marianne wasn’t looking, then picked up a potato wedge and popped it into his mouth.

  Kate and Evelyn shared a confused look.

  “She’s really spoiled, and no one ever sets her right. So, thanks,” Dan continued. Curtailing his jubilance, he said to Tyler, “Sorry about her coming here again. My mom is encouraging her to fight for what she wants.” Looking over at Evelyn, he asked, “Are we still on for tomorrow?”

  Kate arched a brow at Evelyn, but she simply smiled at her.

  “Yes, that’s if you’re still willing to introduce your wood guy to me.”

  As they chatted, Joanne was quickly forgotten, and Kate was smiling again by the time Dan and Evelyn left.

  Marianne then shooed Kate and Tyler out of the kitchen so that she could clean up.

  Since there was some free time on her hand, Kate decided to try out the piano.

  Tyler sat on the couch behind her, watching her play.

  “Thanks, Ty. This is a great piano,” she said without turning to look at him. She played another piece before looking over her shoulder and cocking her head to the side. “Still remember what we played the other day?”

  He sat beside her and suddenly said, “I didn’t mean to push Joanne too far, but if I’d helped her, she might come again. I want to make sure that you’re safe. I’m usually back before you, but what if I’m not? I don’t want to risk that.”

  She laughed softly. “I was still feeling slightly guilty over what happened to Joanne. But you know what, maybe God allowed this to happen so that you can finally see.”

  “Finally see what?”

  “See that you don’t always have to worry about me. I was so tired today that I didn’t want to ask Evelyn over for dinner. But she asked to come, and I agreed. God won’t leave me unattended, okay?”

  He sighed, clearly unconvinced.

  “Okay. Even if God isn’t real and there are no angels in this world, Marianne will be here. And if I can’t get you, I can always call Eve. You saw how she was,” Kate said.

  He grinned. “She’s a good person to call. I’ll give you Dan’s number, too.”

  She nodded, took his hand, and placed it on the piano keys. She didn’t want to think about Joanne anymore.

  She had a long day, and she’d be busy solving the issue with the Harpers for the rest of the week. That was enough problem for her.

  She waited for Tyler to begin the melody before joining in.

  Just a few notes into the melody, Marianne came dashing out. The two of them stopped and looked up at her.

  “What’s wrong?” Kate asked when she saw the bewildered expression on Marianne’s face.

  Her question brought no reply. Marianne merely moved closer to the piano staring at their hands.

  “Were you playing?” Marianne asked Tyler.

  Tyler didn’t bother replying.

  “Is he not allowed play?” She turned to Tyler, wondering if she did something wrong.

  “She’s just surprised,” he assured her. “Don’t worry.”

  Before Kate could return her gaze to Marianne, she felt Marianne’s arms around her. She coughed, trying to replenish her severely constricted lungs.

  “Marianne, you’re hurting her.” Tyler pried Marianne’s arms from Kate. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “Is everything all right?” Kate asked as she rubbed her palm against her chest.

  “Yes, dear. Play, ignore me,” Marianne said and returned to the kitch
en with the widest grin.

  Kate blinked and turned to Tyler, who simply gave her a slight head shake. Looked like she wasn’t going to get any answer, so she placed her hands back onto the piano.

  They played for another hour before returning to their rooms. She wanted to spend more time with him, but she was exhausted.

  After a quick shower, she stepped out from the bathroom and was walking over to her desk when she heard someone playing Heart and Soul on the piano.

  She frowned, wondering who was playing it.

  Joseph and Ryan weren’t around, maybe it was Mr. Sawyer. But it was a duet.

  She got out of the room and headed down the stairs, smiling as the cheerful piece continued.

  Just before she got off the final step, the melody suddenly stopped.

  She stepped off the stairs and turned to the piano. No one was seated in front of it. The cover was down, and the seat pushed in; exactly how she had left it.

  Her head tipped to the side, and her brows drew closer.

  “Mr. Sawyer?” She went into the kitchen, but nobody was around either. “This is …”

  It was a long day.

  She was probably too tired. The tune was probably stuck in her head from before.

  She shook her head and returned to her room, going up the stairs two steps at a time.

  Chapter Twelve

  Evelyn stepped into Dan’s office and found two tables on opposite sides of the wall.

  Joanne sat behind one of the tables, filing her nails. She wore a peach-colored lace headband that pushed her wavy blond curls back.

  Evelyn could never pull off that kind of headband. It was simply too sweet for her personality.

  It didn’t suit Joanne either. She wasn’t sweet; she tried to be, but it always came out so forced, so feigned.

  Across from her, another blonde sat behind the second desk. Unlike Joanne, she wore a white, buttoned-down shirt. Her hair was tied up in a neat ponytail, and she appeared to be actually working.

  “Hi, can I help you?” the working blonde asked as she glanced up from her computer.

  “I’m Evelyn, I’m looking for—”