Page 4 of My Inherited House Might be Haunted

“Rhett, what is going on over there?”

“That,” I said faintly, “is very much the question.”

Two

Rhett

Another sound, this time behind me, and I whirled to face—

—a cat?

A beautiful cat, really. It had long black fur, big green eyes, and sat on the bottom step of the staircase like it had been there for ages andwhat took you so long to notice, silly human?

Had the cat pushed the door open somehow to get in? Maybe I hadn’t shut it as firmly as I thought.

That didn’t explain the footsteps that sounded like marching, though. I’d heard cats sound like a herd of elephants coming down the stairs—maybe it was the cat? I saw no sign of any other intruder, so it must have been.

“Uh, Mom? Did Aunt Ruth have a cat?”

There was a surprised pause. “Uh, no?Why?Do you see a cat in the house?”

“Beautiful black cat. Just sitting here like it owns the house. But surely that’s not possible? I mean, she never mentioned a cat.”

“I don’t see how a cat would have survived. It’s been three months since anyone was there. Well, maybe the cat distribution system found you. You said you wanted one.”

“I did, yeah. Assuming this one’s friendly.”

I’d grown up with pets in the house, but I hadn’t had any in years. I hadn’t had time to care for a cat while in college and the dorms didn’t allow pets anyway. I’d missed my furry friends very much, and I’d sworn that as soon as I was settled in my new house, I’d get at least one cat and one dog.

My promise to myself had not anticipated getting a cat fifteen seconds after inheriting the house, but here we were.

I came in closer, slow and low. “Hi, pretty kitty. Can I pet you?”

The cat gave a leisurely stretch, then hopped off the stair, sauntering toward me. Without any hesitation, it rubbed its head against my fingers, tail giving a happy flick as it did so.

“Aww, you are sweet. Mom, I think I have a cat.”

“I think you do too.”

Belatedly, I remembered the front door was wide open behind me. Not wanting the cat to escape, I crab walked over there and quickly shut the door. Then locked it for good measure. Phew, okay.

“Well, I was going to get groceries after walking around the house anyway. I guess I’ll pick up cat food and such while I’m at it. Do you want to go through the safe before I do?”

“No, honey, you get situated first. I can wait. You’ve got a lot to do to move out of your apartment.”

“You’re not wrong.”

Although most of what was in my apartment was either being dumped or picked up by Goodwill. My furniture had been cheap from the day I got it—meant only to help me survive—and didn’t begin to compare to the beautiful antiques in this house. Really, the only things I’d be bringing with me were personal effects,clothes, and my own book collection. They were already packed, and I had movers scheduled for tomorrow. Tonight, I’d sleep here. I had a suitcase in my car already.

I looked down at the cat sitting near my feet. Almost on my foot, really, as they had a dainty little paw resting on my tennis shoe. The cat looked up at me curiously, like they were trying to get my measure.

Same with me, little buddy. “In that case, I’m going to hang up. I’ll need two hands for this shortly.”

“I’ll talk with you later. And make sure to video chat your father tonight. He wants a tour of anything that needs fixing.”

“You got it. Love you, bye.”

“Bye, honey!”

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