1 Chapter 1
“You look like you lost your last friend,” Mellie said after Daniel let her into the house. She settled down on the arm of the sofa, her feet on the cushions, as was her wont.
“That might be possible, if I had any friends, Mel,” Daniel replied dryly.
“Having a pity party, are we?”
“No ‘we’ aren’t. Youseem quite chipper.”
Mellie nodded, reaching over to pat her brother’s knee. “I guess I am. At least compared to you. Want to tell me what’s bothering you?”
“Nothing I can put a finger on. Just this sort of feeling that something’s not right.”
“Ghosties and goblins and things that go bump in the night?”
Daniel looked around the living room of what had been his grandparents’, and great-grandparents’ home, and shrugged. “Maybe. You have to admit in this house that might be possible.”
“I suppose. If you believe in such things. Me? All I see is the need to renovate the place, now that it’s yours. Get rid of the ghastly wallpaper and the furniture that looks like it belongs in the early twentieth century. Maybe take up the carpet. I bet there’s decent flooring underneath it.”
“Papa and the aunts might not like that. After all, they grew up here until they went off to school.”
“If Gramps wanted them to have a say in it, he’d have left the house to one of them. But he didn’t, Danny. He gave it to you.” She slid off the sofa arm to sit next to him. “So what are you going to do with it?”
“I don’t have a clue. I can’t move out or try to sell it or any of the land. That was stipulated in Gramps’ will. If I do, everything goes to the county.”
“Which sucks. They’ve been after this property forever to use it as the new dump.”
“Exactly! You know that’s why he made that proviso. He knew it would make me keep the place.” Daniel sighed. “It’s too far off the beaten track to turn it into something useful, like a shop or whatever.”
Mellie nodded, patting his leg. “Looks like you’re stuck living here all on your lonesome.”
“I could—” he looked at hopefully at his sister, “—rent it to you and Tom and live in the mother-in-law apartment above the garage.”
“I sodon’t think so. Tom would have a hissy fit. He’s a big city boy through and through and loves Denver.” Mellie tapped her chin pensively. “Turn it into a bed-and-breakfast?”
“Who’d come all the way out here to stay? Besides, there’s already three of them in town, and two motels.”
“True.”
Daniel puffed out a frustrated breath. “Why me?”
“Because you’re single and don’t have a job that requires you to work in an office.”
He chuckled. “Technically, I don’t have a job at all. At least to hear Papa tell it.” He got up, pacing with his hands behind his back in imitation of his father when he was having a serious discussion with his children. “Being a painter is not a job, Daniel,” he said, mimicking his father’s voice perfectly. “You need to grow up and find something productive to do with your life.”
“He’s an ass,” Mellie said. “Him and the aunts. Gramps was smart, leaving the house to you. He knew you’d respect it.” She snapped her fingers. “Turn the dining room into your studio.”
“I already considered that. But I think it would be smarter to knock out the wall between the two largest bedrooms upstairs, since they face north. That’s better natural lighting. Maybe. Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
Mellie nodded. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Daniel returned a moment later with one of his sketchpads and some pencils. Sitting, he put the pad on the coffee table and made a rough sketch of the floor plan for the second floor. “Take out this wall. Hopefully it’s not a supporting one. Then make the four windows into two large ones.”
“That’s would be a major renovation, Danny. And pretty costly, I bet.”
“The cost isn’t too much of a problem, thanks to Gramps. I’ll need to find a good contractor though.”
“I know the perfect one. They did work on our place when we added the family room.” She took one of the pencils lying by the pad, got out her phone, and after checking, scribbled a name and number on the corner of the sketch.
Daniel looked at her in amusement. “You still have their number?”
“No, silly, I looked it up.”
“Do you think they’d be willing to come all the way out here?”
“Jeez, Danny, it’s not like you’re in Bumfuck, Alaska. It’s a forty-minute drive from here to Denver. Most of it by the highway.”
“And the rest by dirt road,” he pointed out. “But yeah, I guess it’s not that hard.”
“So figure out what you want them to do and give them a call. Shoot, maybe they can recommend a good interior design company, too, to deal with this.” She swept her arm around to encompass the living room.
