Sunset House (Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper Book 18) by JL Bryan

Author:JL Bryan [Bryan, JL]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JLBryanbooks.com
Published: 2023-03-02T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

With the house short-staffed and Chelsea unexpectedly away, Stacey and I decided to help Pablo serve the residents their early-bird dinner of rice, peas, and Salisbury steak. We sat with them at dinner, drinking herbal tea but not eating, since neither Stacey nor I was really in a Salisbury-steak mood. I wanted to get more information out of the residents while Tag was away and before they all went to bed.

“We know Arden just moved here, but who has lived here longest?” I asked.

“Georgette,” Wallace said.

“Yes, what?” Georgette, who hadn't been listening, looked over.

“Haven't you lived here the longest?” Wallace asked her.

“Oh, no. Louise was here before me.”

“But she's no longer here,” Wallace said. “She passed away.”

“Oh, yes.” Georgette looked around them, blinking. “Have I been here the longest?”

“You were sure here when I moved in,” Coach Joe said. “I've been watching you sing since day one.”

“You and Louise were here before me,” Karl said to Georgette. “I used to be at Rustic Pines, but they closed after the health inspection. Wallace and Spencer, and then Joe, moved in after me.”

“Lord knows why Wallace moved here,” Arden said. “The McMurtry house was bigger and grander than this one. The nicest house in town.”

“Well, thank you for saying so,” Wallace said.

“Why you thanking me? You didn't build it. Men hired by your grandpa did. Bet he was skimpy with their wages, too.”

“That would be my great-great-'grandpa' who built it. Or had it built, as you pointed out. And yes, my only role was to inherit it. However, as you mentioned, Arden, my family's house was both larger and older than this one. A hundred and fifty years of accumulated leaks, sags, rust, cracks, and decay gave the old family place an endless appetite for maintenance and restoration. The house threatened to consume all I'd earned, and more, and for what? For what posterity was I struggling to maintain it? I sold it and instead took a comfortable home here, overlooking the charming little town of my youth.”

“And your adulthood,” Spencer added, in a slightly needling tone.

“Yes, sadly. I once dreamed of a wider life, seeing the world, perhaps set up practice in a major city, but one family obligation led to another. And for what? Where is that family now, whom I served so diligently? They are buried in the graveyard down the street, and what have I to show for my years of service?”

“The finest suite at Heusinkveld House,” Spencer said with a smile.

“Where the staffing is inadequate at best,” Wallace said.

“Chelsea's working on it,” Karl said, sounding a little defensive. “She's overwhelmed right now.”

“I wish we'd been overwhelmed with better local options,” Wallace said. “Ironically, my father hated this house. He called it decadent, even European, which was a venomous insult from him.”

“Well, it does sorta look like something out of The Addams Family,” Georgette said.

“I think it's pretty,” Arden said.

“Oh, don't misunderstand, I personally admire the lavish architectural style,” Wallace said. “I always have. It's amusing to

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.