Page 38 of Destined Chaos
“Now, Dinky, I told you I’d split any profit from the sale with you. He was just as much your grandfather as he was mine. I don’t know why he only left it to me. Just part of the drama, I guess.”
“That’s even more reason to just sell the thing, Libby. Johnson is willing to buy it as-is and renovate it himself. He wants the property, and I don’t know if he’ll wait thirty days for you to make up your mind.”
“Sorry, Dinky. I already gave Hugh my word. He’s going to help me schedule the crews to have it renovated if I wait thirty to decide. I can’t in good conscience sell it without knowing our history.”
“Our history is dead and buried, Libby. Why can’t you just forget it?”
“I can’t. Not yet.” I glanced down the hall. “With everything going on, it makes sense that I don’t pass it off to anyone else just yet. Not until we have all the answers.”
Dinky stood from his seat. “I don’t know why you care about answers. Our mothers didn’t.”
I lifted the contract, and he shook his head. “At least look at it, and I’ll tell Johnson in the morning that you’re waiting for thirty days. I’ll come up with some excuse. I just hope he doesn’t lose interest in this place.”
Dinky headed down the hall and out the front door, shutting it behind him. Johnson’s interest in the place was the least of my worries.
18
Hugh
I disconnected the call and shoved my phone into my pocket. The morning air was brisk, but the coffee heated me from the inside out. I’d have to grab my jacket and more clothes. The door squeaked as Dinky walked out. He was on the last step toward his car when he turned around to face me.
“Did Libby tell you why our mothers took us and ran when were just kids?”
“She told me some things.”
“An evil spirit locked me in the attic, and my mother couldn’t find me for twenty-four hours, but that wasn’t the catalyst to running. Libby’s accident was. She was pushed down the grand staircase by an evil spirit. It almost broke her neck. It’s not safe for her to live here. The longer she stays in this place, the more danger you’re putting her in.”
“She makes her own decisions, Dinky.”
His eye twitched. “If anything happens to her, that’s on you. You’re the reason she’s not thinking clearly, and you’re the reason she’s spending the next thirty days here.” Dinky shook his finger. “That’s right. She told me about your little deal. You can’t protect her from the evil in that house. You want this place, I get it, but at what cost? Libby’s life?”
Dinky spun and headed to his car, slamming the door after he slid inside.
I walked back inside, straight to the kitchen. Libby was pouring herself another cup of coffee. “That went better than expected.”
“Dinky must mask it well around you, because he was pretty mad.” I leaned against the counter and met her gaze over the rim of my cup as I sipped.
“I promised him half the proceeds when and if I sell. He’s seeing dollar signs.”
“No, I’m pretty sure the little scolding he just gave me was over how the spirits in this house tried to kill you when you were a little girl.”
“Yeah, stuff like that is kind of hard to forget,” she said, sipping her coffee.
“Listen, if staying here is too hard for you, I can do it myself.”
“I’m not scared of this house or the spirits in it.” There was a hesitation in her eyes. She visibly swallowed after saying the words. There was something beneath the surface. Something that I hadn’t figured out.
“Tell me about when you lived here.”
“I’ve already told you the reason my mom ran. Besides that, there’s nothing to tell, really,” she said, pulling eggs and bacon out of the fridge.
I pulled out a chair and guided her by the arm to sit down. “You sit, and I’ll cook.”
“I’m not an invalid, Hugh.”
I leaned over her and kissed the worry from her face. “I never said you were. This is my way of thanking you for last night.”
“Oh, right.” A blush crept onto her cheeks.
