Page 13 of Chasing Your Ghost

Riley grinned and rolled her eyes. “What about Olivia?”

“Olivia’s a typical sixteen-year-old.”

“So, tread carefully?” Riley asked, trying not to wince at the reminder that after abandoning her newborn, Edith had been pregnant again within about a year and a half.

“Very carefully,” Noah replied, shuddering for emphasis.

Riley forced a chuckle. “Noted. Thanks, Noah.”

He saluted as he began walking backward toward the main house. “No problem.”

Despite his encouraging words, Riley’s nerves grew as she lugged her suitcases inside the pool house. The space consisted of a spacious bedroom and an ensuite bathroom. At the very least, she’d be more than comfortable during her stay there.

The queen-sized bed with its dark gray headboard looked ridiculously comfortable and inviting, the generous closet space could serve her very well indeed, and the white-tiled bathroom with its gray walls, large bathtub, and walk-in shower was like a dream compared to the cramped and never-tidy bathroom she’d used to share with her dad in New York.

Everything was so clean, so pristine, and so spacious, and she felt guilty for even thinking about how much nicer it was compared to the apartment that had been her home for years. She was a traitor for loving how soft the sheets on the bed were, for thinking of how nice it would be to have enough space for all of her clothes and her leotards and dancing skirts, for looking forward to the shower she’d have later.

She felt like it was all a betrayal to the parent who had wanted her, who had worked so hard to provide for her, and who understood her like no one else would ever be able to. But Riley knew Edith could give her the most amazing and luxurious items in the world, and it would never be enough. Her dad was the one who had her respect, her love, her admiration.

In that, at least, Riley would never betray him. She would give up the fancy pool house with its organic cotton sheets and walk-in shower without a second thought if it meant he could come back.

“But he’s never coming back,” she reminded herself in a hoarse whisper.

Riley looked at herself in the mirror above the bathroom sink. She’d just splashed her face with water, and droplets were rolling down her pale forehead and cheeks. With her wet face and her red and puffy eyes, she looked deranged.

“It’ll be fine,” she said to the empty room before patting her skin dry with a towel that was so soft it must have been exorbitantly expensive.

She just had to get through the rest of the day, and even if it ended up being a complete disaster, she would be leaving in a few weeks anyway. So, what did it matter if they didn’t like her? She didn’t need them to like her. She didn’t need anything from them.

“It’ll be fine,” she told her reflection again, this time with more steel in her voice, and with that, Riley left the pool house and strode toward her new dysfunctional family.

4

“Hi, Riley,” Hugh greeted her as soon as she entered the main house.

The French doors she had entered through opened into a dining room that was painted a pale green. A large sunburst mirror featured prominently on the wall across from her, and a light-colored rustic dining table took up most of the space. Hugh placed a tray of steaming taco shells onto the large table before focusing all of his attention on her.

Edith and Noah stood a few feet away, but while Noah didn’t look fazed by the scene, Edith looked on with pursed lips and bloodshot eyes.

“Hey,” Riley replied with a smile that she hoped wasn’t too obviously forced.

“How was the drive?”

“Long,” she replied honestly.

He nodded and gestured toward the food-covered table. “Well, there’s plenty of food. I’m sure you’re hungry.”

“Starving.” Her eyes took in the bowls of salsa, grated cheese, lettuce, sour cream, mince, and guacamole appreciatively. She’d take pizza over tacos any day, but her stomach practically purred at the sight of it all.

He grinned, but it wasn’t as broad as it could have been. His puffy-eyed wife probably had something to do with that. “Good. Do you want a quick tour of the house first?” he asked.

“Uh, sure.”

“Through there is the kitchen and the smaller dining room where we usually eat breakfast,” he said, pointing to the left through a large archway that opened up into a tiled room.

Riley walked under the arch and peered through, taking in the open-plan space. A round dark wooden table with four cushioned chairs provided a more casual eating spot than the larger dining room table, and the large window behind it provided a backdrop of the backyard and the pool.

On the other side of the space was a kitchen that looked like it had come straight out of an Architectural Digest magazine with its sizeable island, dark blue cabinets, brass cabinet handles, and matching faucet. The windows above the white quartz kitchen countertops looked out onto the street. Riley could see a group of women with strollers walking past on the sidewalk.

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