“No photos necessary.” The fact was, I couldn’t wait to see this slip of a woman in action.
“Good. You want to see the damage?”
I started towards the cabins on the south end of the property in answer. “Kids have been coming up here the last few years. Partying, mostly. I’d be shocked if they hadn’t caused more than a little damage. Have you had any trouble since you moved in?” As my gaze traveled over the property, I thought about Piper up here all alone with poor cell service and spotty power. She needed satellite internet and generators. An alarm system. But at least she had that beast of a dog. I glanced at Bruno, who’d gone to sniff a bush…or maybe not.
“I’ve only been here a week, but it’s been perfectly quiet.” A small smile curved her mouth. “It’s been nice. I’m used to city noise. This has been…restful.”
“Except when you’re blaring Cyndi Lauper.”
“Except then.” She turned to face me. “I’m guessing word’s spread that someone bought the place. Shouldn’t that be enough to scare people off?”
“Until you get more folks coming and going, it might not. The partying should stop, but some kids could come up here on a dare. It’s supposedly haunted.” I didn’t want to think about the other reasons someone might come to a mostly abandoned resort. Darker ones.
“I always loved the ghost stories from this place.”
I stopped and turned to face Piper. “You came here when Whispering Falls was open?” She didn’t look familiar, but it had been years since the place had been up and running.
Her gaze swept the property as if something pulled her into a memory. “My uncles brought me here almost every summer. They got married on the cliff up top.”
“Uncles, huh?” The prod was out before I could take it back. I couldn’t seem to help the desire to know more about the woman currently weaving through this falling-down property, covered in dust and paint.
She pulled open the door to a cabin. “They raised me. My mom was way too young when she had me, and they stepped in.”
She said it so matter-of-factly, my steps faltered. “That was good of them.”
“They’re the best. I’m sure they’ll be out here sooner or later to check up on me. And they’ll probably want to survey your work.”
“I’ll make sure I bring my A-game, then.”
“Thank goodness. Now, tell me. Any ghosts in this cabin?”
I grinned at the hopeful look in Piper’s eyes. “I think a woman supposedly haunts the lodge. It’s rumored she hung herself in the mid-nineteen-hundreds after discovering that her husband had left her.”
Any signs of humor fled from Piper’s expression. “That’s just sad.”
“I don’t imagine many ghosts are happy.”
“I guess you have a point.”
“There’s supposed to be one that haunts the cliffs, too. A young man, waiting for his lost love to return. A couple more, but I honestly can’t remember the stories.”
She drummed her fingers on her bare thigh. “I might have to make up my own. But I’m going to invent one of those happy ghosts. You know, like…what was his name?”
“Casper?”
Piper snapped her fingers and pointed at me. “That’s the one. This place needs a happy ghost.”
“Might have to start calling you Casper.” This woman was a total kook. But it worked for her. Somehow, it was this potent mix of endearing and intriguing, and I didn’t doubt she’d keep me on my toes for however long the job lasted. Glancing around the space, I had a feeling it would be a good while. “Someone really did a number on this cabin.”
“Pretty much all the ones in this area look like this.”
A chill skittered down my spine as memories swept in. A burst of pain and heat in my chest. The cold wood of the floor at my back. Telling Shay to run. Being so damned sure I was about to take my last breath. Everything was hazy after that—brief glimpses of things I couldn’t place or make sense of.
“Hunter?”
Piper’s soft voice brought me out of my spiral. “Sorry, what’d you say?”
She took a step towards me, looking as if she might reach out a hand, but then stopped herself. “Everything okay?”
“Fine.” The words came out harsher than I’d intended, and Piper took an instinctive step back. “Sorry, just thinking about plans for the cabins. Got lost for a second.” It was a total and complete lie. The dreams that haunted me had been dialed up a notch over the past few weeks. It was as though my mind needed to exorcise the demons there as my body healed. But that would be a hard task. There were too many people I’d failed. Too many who had stepped in to make up for my shortcomings.
“If you’re sure…”
I looked up and met Piper’s gaze. There were shadows there I hadn’t noticed before. A weight she carried. I felt an instant pull to her, a desire to see what took up real estate in that brain of hers. To know if the voices sounded anything like the ones in my head. Yet, even with that tug, I couldn’t find it in me to be honest with her. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
She blinked up at me. “Sorry, none of my business.” Piper started walking again. But as I steered us towards cabin eleven, she stumbled, seeming to miss a step.
I reached out a hand to steady her. “You all right?”
Her head snapped up, and she began walking again. “Totally fine.”
Now who was lying?
5
Piper
“Start interviewing for support staff,” Nathan ordered. “You can’t do this alone. You look ready to drop.”
“I’m not doing it alone. Hunter’s here.” I angled my body so the camera on my phone pointed towards a corner of the lodge that looked in the best shape. This was, of course, the corner where I’d put Bruno’s dog bed, and he grumbled at me taking up space.
“What about the rest of his crew?”
“They’re finishing up another job right now. They’ll be here in a couple of weeks, but Hunter said he could get started on a few things in the meantime.” I hated the idea of him working alone when he was still recovering from a shoulder injury. It hadn’t seemed to slow him down, though. I’d stopped by the cabin more than a few times to see if he needed anything, but I could tell that my hovering was driving him crazy. My mouth curved at the image of him scowling at me that filled my mind.
“What’s that smile about?” Vic asked, crowding into the frame.
I immediately wiped the expression off my face. “I’m just excited about getting the rehab started.”
“Mm-hmm,” he answered knowingly.
I pointedly turned my gaze to Nathan. “And you’ll be happy to know that I have an interview with a housekeeper this morning. She used to work for Mr. C., so she knows the ins and outs of the property.” And she hopefully wouldn’t run away screaming when she saw what bad shape the place was in.
“Glad to hear it. Are you sure you don’t want us to come out there and help for a few weeks?”