Page 2 of Now You See Him
“Logan?” she called out as she lined up the next sheet.
“Yeah?” His voice came from upstairs. Tina froze.
She whirled around to see the discreet panel door in the corner of the kitchen standing wide open. It was the door to the basement.
Tina had to walk past that door to lay out the flattened cardboard. Sheknewthat it had been closed a minute ago.
“It probably has bad…hinges,” she mumbled to herself.
Before she could close the door again, loud footsteps pounded down the stairs.
“Honey?” Logan said as he entered the kitchen. “Did you say my name?”
Tina nodded. “Sorry, I thought you were standing behind me.”
His brows furrowed. “Why would you think that?”
“Because I heard the basement door open, and I was facing the window,” she said, motioning to the shelf liners she’d been working on.
Logan’s eyes went wide. His head jerked to the left as he stared at the open basement door, then whirled to face her. “Tina, Itoldyou buying this house was a bad idea!” His cheeks paled several shades as he kept looking between her and the door.
She had to refrain from rolling her eyes. “I know you don’t like Pennsylvania, but?—”
“And the fact that this house is fuckinghaunted.”
“Oh, please.”
“Then can you explain why the basement door opened on its own?” Logan cried. He crossed the room and closed the door with a definitive snap. “A man died in this house, and you don’t think there will be some sort of supernatural entity left over?”
“People die in houses all the time, Logan,” Tina said blandly. She separated another shelf liner from the roll. “Not every ghost is going to linger and haunt the new owners.”
He crossed the kitchen to stand by Tina’s side. “You heard the Realtor. The reason why this house is so cheap is because the owner fell down the stairs and was mur—ah, in an accident!”
“The key word isaccident.”
“He could still be haunting this place.”
Tina turned to Logan, amused at the distress on his face. She knew she should be more considerate of his feelings, but it was damn difficult when he was being silly. “The door opened because it’s an old farmhouse. Even if it was renovated from top to bottom, I bet the springs are old, and a draft could’ve been the culprit. If you’re really worried, then why don’t you call an exorcist or something from your mother’s church? She’s already offered, hasn’t she?”
“That might not be a bad idea,” Logan muttered as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter.
“Logan,” Tina said with a sigh.
“What? I am concerned about our safety. About our futurefamily.”
Great, she thought. He was now using her argument against her. “What you should be concerned with is helping me get these shelf liners in place so we can wash dishes and put them away. Then I’ll help you set up the TV in the great room.”
Logan took the stack of liners from her hand and moved to the far end of the cabinets. “I’ll help only because I don’t want you to be alone down here after a paranormal event.”
Tina shook her head. “You’ll see. It’s all in your head.”
Chapter
Two
It had been two weeks since Tina had uprooted her life and moved to her beautiful country home in Pennsylvania, and she loved every moment of this new life that she’d envisioned the first time she’d laid eyes on the For Sale sign.
That morning, sunrise was accompanied by a thick rolling fog that settled over the yard. Despite the early fall weather, bright beams filtered through her wide windows, filling her hallways with brilliant light. The sunsets were highlighted with the hooting owls and the quiet rustling of trees that bordered the property. Tina wandered the rooms, imagining what she would do with the few empty spaces that were on the second floor, or she’d enjoyed the solitude of her front porch as peace settled into her bones. The backyard was another blessing of a space. There was so much potential beyond the narrow, serviceable deck. Maybe she’d put in a garden next year, and a fire pit. There was always an option of including a pergola with a trellis.
