“Pearl arranged everything for a reason,” Keller argued. “Are we going to disrespect her memory by going against her last wishes?”
“In all fairness, Pearl probably doesn’t care about anything anymore,” Johnny replied. “Holly is a living, breathing person who’s had a lot of curveballs thrown at her today. Is it fair to let her keep stressing out for the sake of wishes from someone who can’t feel stress anymore?”
“Thank you.” Holly nodded to Johnny. “That’s the most reasonable thing I’ve heard all day.”
“Oh, I get what this is.” A snarl comes to Keller’s face. “You’re just trying to get a head start.”
“Typical,” Garret muttered.
“I’m not trying to do anything,” Johnny insisted.
“Bullshit.”
“Get ahead in what?” Holly piped up. They didn’t pay her any attention. Instead, they stood staring at each other, looking ready to pounce.
“Forget this,” Holly muttered. “I’ll pay someone to sell the house for me.” She stepped around Garret, who blinked like he was coming out of a trance.
“Wait,” he called, but Holly didn’t stop. She was done with this. She was done with charming strangers, old houses, and creepy murals. She was going back to California, and she wasn’t going to leave any time soon.
A loud crack echoed through the house. It sounded like...
“Did someone just break a glass?” Holly said.
“Shit,” Johnny hissed.
All three of them left the room in a rush. They barreled past Holly as if she wasn’t even there. Stunned, a few moments passed before Holly had the sense to go after them. When she entered the living room, the men were nowhere to be found.
“This is ridiculous,” she muttered to herself. Her purse sat on the entryway table. She grabbed it and made for the door. The drive up here hadn’t taken very long. She could probably walk back to town before nightfall. There had to be a hotel somewhere in town.
She looked over her shoulder, checking for the men one more time before she departed. That’s when she saw the crack in the window. One of the floor-to-ceiling windows beside the French doors—that lead to a deck far larger than Holly realized—now sported a large crack. It ran in a jagged length from top to bottom. What could’ve caused something like that?
The sun was already sinking behind the mountains. Holly hadn’t realized it was so late. Maybe she couldn’t make it back to town before dark. She didn’t want to risk it. She set her purse back down and stepped into the center of the living room, her eyes on the cracked window.
Something large and dark streaked across the deck. Even though she was inside and at least twenty feet away from the window, she jumped back with a yelp. In an area as remote as this, encountering wildlife was to be expected. The question was, what sort of wildlife was Holly going to encounter?
The front door swung open. The sound made Holly yelp again.
“What’s wrong?” Johnny stood in the doorway with a furrowed brow. “I’m sorry if I scared you.”
“Where did you go?” she asked.
“I went to check out the window.”
“No.” Holly shook her head. “You didn’t. I was watching the window. I saw something out there, but I didn’t see you.”
Johnny’s face turned to stone.
“What did you see?”
“What do you think I saw?” Holly shot back. “Clearly, something came to mind, or you wouldn’t be making that face.”
“There are dangerous animals in the woods,” he said. “Sometimes they get too curious for their own good.”
“Where are Keller and Garret?”
“They’re checking things out.”
“What things?” Holly cried out. “You know what? I don’t care. Show me to a spare bedroom that has an en-suite bathroom with a big tub.”
Johnny raised his brows. “I’ll show you to the master bedroom.”
Without asking, he retrieved her overnight bag from beside the front door. Holly hadn’t realized any of them had brought it in. She followed him up the wide staircase, running her hand along the intricately carved wooden banister.
“Did you do this, too?” she asked.
“No, those carvings were here long before me. They’ll be here long after.”
Holly said nothing else until Johnny stopped at a set of wooden double doors on the second floor.
“Thanks,” she said. “I guess, since you live here, I’ll see you in the morning.”
“You will. I’ll tell the others you came up here. We’ll try not to make any noise.”
“Thanks.” Holly couldn’t bring herself to offer so much as a smile. She felt drained and a little scared. It had been one weird thing after another today.
Johnny closed the door for her as she stepped into the room.
The first thing she did was go to the windows and lower the blinds. The room plunged into darkness. It took her more time than she cared to admit to find a light switch on the wall.
The room was elegant. The walls that weren’t allocated to windows were painted to look like a forest-covered mountain range. The muted colors prevented the artwork from looking too over the top. The bed was an absolute marvel. Like every other stunning piece of furniture, it was made of carved wood. Instead of woodland creatures, which seemed to be a favorite theme of Pearl’s, it showed mythical creatures. Fairies, dragons, unicorns, and several carvings of people transforming into various animals. Wolves, bears, foxes, and even elk.
“Grandmother Pearl,” Holly looked up at the ceiling, “If you can hear me, you seem like a cool lady. I’m sorry I didn’t get to know you better.”
Holly set her purse and her overnight bag onto the bed, kicked off her shoes, and padded into the bathroom. It wasn’t huge, but it was nice. The tub was deep and round. Holly turned on the water and let
