Haunted Fixer-Upper, The (4 page)

“
You two must be tired after the long trip and then the truck breaking down.” Frank maneuvered the truck over the bumpy gravel.

We’d only arrived in Bay Point that morning. There had been barely enough time to unpack and grab lunch before we
had jumped in the truck and headed toward the reunion.

“Yeah, it’s been a long day
,” Reed said, then let out a deep breath.

“
You never should have left Georgia in the first place, then you wouldn’t be so tired now.” Frank shoved the truck’s gear into park. “Of course, then you wouldn’t have met Alabama.”

Maybe I was imagining things, but I thought he had said
my name in a mocking tone. Was he making fun of me? I couldn’t help it if my parents had named me after the state I’d been conceived in. Whatever. The faster we got this reunion over with, the faster I could find out the status of the old plantation.

Reed hadn’t answered, which was probably for the best. He was tired of people criticizing him for leaving
home. He was a grown man and had to do what he felt was best for himself, not what everyone wanted or expected out of him.

I
pulled my sticky body from the leather seat and jumped down from the truck. Reed grabbed my hand as if he thought I might take off running in the opposite direction. He might be right. My stomach flipped at the thought of all of his relatives scrutinizing me. The white house had a wrap-around porch with rocking chairs flanking the front door. Loud chatter sounded in the distance, but not another soul was in sight.

“Everyone’s around back,” Frank said as he started across the yard and around the house.

“You ready for this?” Reed asked.

I was sure he felt the tension in my grip.

I nodded and tried to flash a genuine smile. “I hope they like me.”

“They’ll love you. How could they not?”

I could list a few reasons, but I wouldn’t get into that right now.

Reed and I
made it around to the back of his cousin’s home and was introduced to people I would never remember the name of. Too many faces in too short a time-span. I looked around for lemonade and spotted a picnic table with several pictures of lemonade and a cooler full of sodas. There was a group of trees to the right and I planned on easing my way over at my first chance. Maybe I could hide under their branches and no one would notice.

Reed introduced me to more people and I longed for a chance to slip away. I’d rather just watch the action from afar.
There was one person missing though.

“Is your uncle
here?” I asking, scanning the crowd of relatives.

I hadn’t met his uncle
, but I had seen his picture. As far as I could tell, Reed’s uncle was MIA. His uncle had been like a father to Reed when his dad died.

“Apparently he had to leave early.”
Disappointment laced his words.

“That’s too bad,” I said, not knowing what else to say.

“We’ll catch up with him later.” Reed grabbed my hand. “Come on, there’s a few people I want you to meet.”

After being introduced
to another handful of cousins and an aunt, Reed went to retrieve drinks and food for us. Thank goodness, although I wasn’t sure about being left alone to my own devices.

At least Reed’s aunt seemed nice just like his other aunt who lived in Rosewood. She had used her psychic ability to help me figure out the ghosts in the old house I’d bought and I’d help save her from the crazed realtor who had tried to kill her too.

I’d just finished my burger and was enjoying my second glass of lemonade when a pretty blonde approached. She wore khaki shorts and a pink T-shirt.

“
Hi, my name’s Melody.” She stuck her hand out toward me. “I’m Reed’s second cousin.”

“
It’s a pleasure to me you,” I said, shaking her hand.

“
So, I heard y’all had some problems with the truck on the way here.” She flashed a wide, white smile.

“
Yeah, it broke down. But it wasn’t so bad. We did a little sightseeing as we walked here.” If it hadn’t been for the sightseeing it would have been bad.

She quirked a brow.
“Oh, yeah? Not a lot to see on that old road.”

“
We discovered a place called McKeeley Plantation. We went in and looked around.” I took a sip from my glass.

Her eyes widened.
“You went in there?”

Uh-oh.
Her expression told me that maybe there was something I didn’t know about the place. She looked as if she’d seen a ghost.

“Was I not supposed to go in there?” I asked cautiously.

She didn’t answer the question, but instead said, “My husband’s boss owns the place.”

Her gaze studied mine as if she wanted to gauge my reaction. What d
id she want me to say? This reunion was definitely looking up. Talking to her was making up for the fact that the lemonade wasn’t that good.

“
Really?” I stood up a little straighter.

She nodded with a sly smile. What was wrong with her boss?

Reed was across the lawn playing horse-shoes. Which was fine with me, I’d get more information about the plantation that way. I got the impression that he wasn’t that excited about the place. He seemed to think it needed a ton of work. But I’d never let something like that stop me before. Besides, he didn’t have to be excited about the plantation. As long as I loved it, that was enough for me. I didn’t need him to buy the house. Although if I signed on to restore the place it would mean staying in Georgia for a while? Would he be willing to do that with me? And if not, would he be okay with being apart for a while. What was I talking about? I didn’t even know that the place was for sale.

“
What do you know about the place?” I asked.

“
Well, I’m not sure about the history, but he bought it with the intention of restoring it. I guess he’ll eventually get around to it. But right now he’s been consumed with restoring a place he bought in town. He got this old house and fixed it up to use as his business.”

“W
ell, that’s great. What type of business is he in?” She still hadn’t told me who her boss was. It seemed so mysterious now and I just had to know.

“
He owns a car lot,” she said.

Well, that wasn’t so mysterious. Why did she look like a cat that’d caught a mouse?

“You’d think him restoring the old house would be a good thing, right?”

I
nodded, eager to hear where she was going with the statement.

She glanced around like she was looking for someone,
then said, “That’s not the case though. He’s made a lot of people in town unhappy.”

“
How so?” I asked, taking another sip of my watered-down lemonade.

“
Apparently, he made a ton of changes to the house and the town’s historical society isn’t very happy with the changes. He took this fantastic-looking federal-style house and made it look like some kind of weird castle. Not to mention there are cars parked in the big parking lot that he had paved all around the place.” She shook her head. “But he’s a nice guy though.” A little grin spread across her face with the statement.

“
A castle? I noticed there were some things like that inside the plantation. I guess he plans on doing the same thing with that place too.” I glanced around to see if Reed was still playing. He was tossing the horseshoe, so I knew I had time to continue the conversation.

She shrugged.
“I guess. He’s a little strange, but loveable. But he has some kind of obsession with castles.”

The man sounded a little creepy. He probably had
a dungeon in his house. “Have you worked for him long?”

Her blue eyes sparkled.
“A few years. He’s a good boss. He’s just a little eccentric and a little bit of a flirt. He’s always asking women around town out, but I know he’s only a flirt.”

I bet none of the women wanted
to chance being locked up in his secret torture chamber.

“
I guess he’s a nice man then, huh?” I plastered a smile on my face.

She nodded.
“Yeah.”

We paused for a moment.
She seemed to be lost in thought. Daydreaming about her boss maybe? After a few more seconds, I wanted to ask about the house again, but I wasn’t sure how to broach the subject. I’d just have to come out and ask.

“
Do you think he’d be interested in selling the McKeeley Plantation?” I looked over my shoulder to make sure Reed hadn’t slipped up behind me.

“
I think he’d sell his soul if someone paid him enough money.” She giggled.

“
Oh, he’s that type of guy, huh?” I asked.

She shrugged.
“Like I said, he’s eccentric.”

A woman
holding a baby waved at Melody from across the yard.

“
Oh, I need to help her with the baby. It was nice meeting you, Alabama. I hope to see you again before you leave town.”

Little did she know that if I had my way I’d be in town for
quite a while.

“
Definitely. It was nice meeting you too.”

She waved over her shoulder as she made her way across the l
awn toward the woman. Now I just had to find the man who owned the planation and convince him to sell the house. Not just sell it, but sell it at a dirt-cheap price. That would probably be the hardest part. Yeah, there was a slim chance of that ever happening.

Chapter Five

My mind was a million miles away when
Reed approached a few seconds later. His spicy scent tickled my nostrils long before I even spotted him standing next to me. For several seconds it didn’t register with me that he was there. My thoughts were preoccupied with the plantation. What was wrong with me?

“L
ooks like you are having fun.” He kissed my lips lightly, then flashed his perfect smile.

I nodded. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but how much fun could I have with people
I didn’t know? I’d had some awkward conversations about the weather and what I’d done in my short time since arriving in Bay Point. I was making the most of the situation though.

“I met your cousin
Melody,” I offered.

“Ah, Melody.
She’s a sweet girl. A little flighty, but sweet, nonetheless.”

I left out the little details of my conversation with Melody. I’d tell Reed about it when the time was right
… if the time was ever right.

I swatt
ed a fly away from my head and asked, “So your uncle left before we got here? I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll ever meet him.”

Reed
looked off, distracted. Finally, he met my stare. “Thanks for coming again. I don’t think I’ve thanked you enough.”

Hmm.
Why was he avoiding the topic? I’d always thought he’d gotten along with his uncle, but I was suspecting that something was amiss. I’d let the subject go for now because it was obvious Reed didn’t want to discuss it, but sooner or later he’d have to come clean.

“Hey, I’m having fun.” Could he tell I was lying? I hoped not.
If I couldn’t ask about his uncle, then I might as well mention the news I’d discovered about the plantation. Okay, so I couldn’t wait to tell him any longer. I was a weak woman. “Listen, guess what I found out?” I said with a little too much enthusiasm.

Reed
frowned. “Have you been talking to my Uncle Calvin?”

I furrowed my brow. “No, but I’m making a mental note to do that later. Anyway, your cousin
Melody knows who owns the plantation.”

His eyes widened. “
What planation?”

“The one we just s
pent a half hour roaming around,” I replied, trying to hide the disappointed tone in my voice. Wasn’t he as excited as me?

“
Really,” he said, trying to pretend he hadn’t known what I was talking about. Reed was a terrible actor, though, because a sexy little smile played at his lips.

“Yeah, I think we should go talk to him.”
I wiggled my eyebrows.

I held
my breath waiting for his answer. But he might as well say yes because he knew I’d do it with or without him.

“You know I’m a sucker for old houses. How can I say no
?” Reed ended with a smile.

I grabbed his hand. “You can’t say no. That’s why I love you.”

After talking to what I believed was every single person at the reunion and a million mosquito bites later, Reed and I jumped back in Frank’s truck. As he drove us home, I was thankful that Frank and Reed were so engrossed in their discussion of the Atlanta Braves game that I was free to daydream the whole ride back.

We pulled down the long gravel ro
ad toward his uncle’s home. The brick ranch home sat next to a small lake and was surrounded by many tall trees. Moonlight glowed across the lake as we pulled up to the house.