“I wouldn’t mind checking it out myself,” Em said. “Come on, Gus.” She patted her thigh.
“Would you mind if he stays, Em?” Bri asked as she went to answer the door. “Charlotte might be more comfortable opening up if he’s here.”
“Sure,” Em said, and Bri let Jenny and Charlotte in.
They said hello as Josh, with Em following behind him, joined them at the door. “Em and I thought we might take a walk to Seaton House and check things out. You don’t mind, do you?” he asked Jenny, smiling when Charlotte made a beeline for Gus.
“Not at all. I’d planned to ask Em how we can keep the kids away or at least keep them safe. I have a feeling my book has renewed interest in the house.”
“Your book and Abby Mackenzie. She’s going all out to promote it,” Josh said, repeating what his mother had told him. She was a podcast junkie and never missed Abby’s show.
“Abby’s been wonderful, and she’s so creative,” Jenny said, taking a key out of her pocket and handing it to Josh. “Although I am a little concerned about a few of her ideas, especially considering the state of the house.”
Josh was surprised Em didn’t react and glanced over his shoulder. She was focused on Charlotte and Gus. The little girl was explaining to Gus that the ghost had gone home and why that was a good thing, not something to be sad about.
Bri glanced at Em and nudged Josh.
He nodded. “Em, you ready to go?”
“Yeah, sure.” She didn’t look at him so it was hard to tell, but he thought she had tears in her eyes.
“Are you okay?” he asked when he closed the door behind them.
“I’m fine, why?”
“You didn’t react when Jenny mentioned she was concerned about some of Abby’s promotional ideas for her book,” he said instead of bringing up Em’s watery eyes.
She’d be embarrassed that he’d noticed. Even as a kid, she hadn’t liked people seeing her cry. He wondered what had upset her but he’d let it go for now. He’d ask Bri about it later.
Em scrolled through her phone, and her eyes widened. “Have you seen this?”
He leaned in. “What is it?”
“Abby’s upcoming podcasts. She’s planning on doing them from Seaton House. And it says here the bookstore is running a contest for people to stay the night at the house. What a nightmare,” Em said, rubbing her hand up and down her face. She frowned and slowly lowered her hand, pointing at her garden. “What are those?”
The dead plants had been replaced with brightly colored rocks decorated with stick figures, smiley faces, and the word hero. “Gratitude rocks. Mom painted them with her class today. I got a few too.”
“Oh.” She looked at him. “Am I supposed to send them a thank-you card or something?”
“You could,” he said, keeping his amusement in check at the ill-at-ease expression on her face. “Or you could drop by their class and thank them. That’s what I’m going to do.”
“I won’t have time, not with what Abby’s got planned. Gabe will probably want me to work double shifts for the next few weeks.” She looked pleased at the idea she’d be working nonstop. Obviously, Bri hadn’t shared Gabe’s news with her. Josh didn’t blame her for putting it off.
“I’ll ask your mom to thank them for me.” Em frowned. “What?”
He thought he’d done a good job covering his reaction but he should’ve known Em would notice. Nothing got by her. “You might want to give your boss a call later. Now let’s go check…,” he began as he headed down the driveway.
She stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Why should I call Gabe?”
He sighed. As much as he didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news, he might as well tell her. The woman was like a dog with a bone. She never gave up. “He took you off the schedule for this week, and he’s—”
“Oh, okay.” She nodded. “I figured he might. But if I get a doctor’s note stating I’m fine, I’m sure he’ll put me back on the schedule. He’s going to need all hands on deck.”
“You didn’t let me finish. Gabe took you off the schedule for a week because of the accident, but he’s insisting you take an additional two weeks.”
“Why? I didn’t do anything wrong. I just did my job.”
“Em, it’s not a punishment. You haven’t taken your holidays, and Gabe wants you to. He says you’ve accumulated more overtime in the past year than the entire station has in the past two.”
“Because they keep asking me to take their shifts.”
“And you never say no.”
She looked away. “I like my job. I like to stay busy.”
And he had a fairly good idea why. He’d done the same when Amber first left. He draped a companionable arm over Em’s shoulders. “You said you needed to get a life, so look at this as an opportunity. You’ll have time to take up a hobby and go on a couple of dates.”
“You always do that.”
“Do what?”
“Look for the positive. It’s annoying.” She moved out from under his arm as they walked along the side of the gravel road lined with sugar maple trees. “So this Neil guy, what’s his story?”
“He was married to Gwen’s sister-in-law. He wanted to be around family after he lost his wife. They moved here three years ago. His son plays for me.”
“Ah, how old is this guy?”
“I’m not sure. Around forty, I guess. Why? Is that a problem?”
“Josh, he’s ten years older than me. We won’t have anything in common.” Her eyes narrowed. “You picked him because we both lost someone, didn’t you?”
He had. He’d gotten the impression Neil was having a hard time moving on after losing his wife, and since Em was having a hard time moving on after losing Brad, he thought they’d be good for each other. He wasn’t about to share that with Em though. “No, he’s a nice guy and a good dad. He always shows up for our games and helps me out at practices sometimes. I think you’ll like him.”
“What’s he do?”
“Contractor,” he said as they reached a rusted gate, barely visible under the fiery orange leaves of chokecherry bushes and sumac trees. A battered yellow Keep Out sign hung on the post.
“You should give Jenny and Steve his name. They’re going to need a contractor,” Em said, the gate squealing as she shoved it open and the house came into view.
It sat nestled among a stand of evergreens. It was a mishmash of architectural styles, but the stone stairs, stained glass windows, and turret made it look like it belonged in a fairy tale. As they walked up the dirt path toward the house, and he got a better look, Josh amended his first impression. The house looked like it belonged in a horror story.
Rubbing her hands on her thighs, Em glanced at the roof. “Are those crows or ravens?”
“I don’t know, but whatever they are, there are a lot of them.”
Em nodded while she looked around. “This place is creepy enough in the day. I wouldn’t want to hang out here at night. Maybe that’ll be enough to deter the kids.”