Picket Fence Surprise. Kris Fletcher

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СКАЧАТЬ be the primary occupants these days. He was, undoubtedly, a fool to continue poking around.

      But he could never quite forget it. Especially after he started taking pictures that showed the layers of time between the house and the present—cobwebs over brambles over grasses—or those that captured spots where a listing step was bookended by wild roses.

      Mesmerizing.

      Yeah. Heather had nailed it. He was fascinated by the place, both in person and in pictures. It seemed to whisper to him, words only he could hear. Words and pictures of secrets waiting to be uncovered.

      Xander had always been a sucker for secrets.

      Camera in hand, he strode toward the house, taking care to whistle and make a healthy abundance of noise. Lulu’s barking had probably already alerted any critters to his presence, but he wasn’t going to take any chances. He might be nosy, but he wasn’t a complete idiot.

      “Hey, house. Mind if I have a look around?”

      He had never ventured deeper than the front porch. That was close enough to poke his camera through the empty windows and get shots of lonely interior rooms. Once he’d stumbled over a nest of newborn mice, and one time his flash had sent something deeper into the shadows, scaring the crap out of him, but the pictures were worth the fright. After all, it wasn’t like he was facing down big game. He was more likely to go through a rotten board than to come face-to-face with any living danger.

      Don’t go again, okay?

      He wondered if Heather had noticed that he hadn’t answered.

      He made his way up the now-familiar path to the tilted porch, stepping cautiously around weeds and rocks. The sound of panting from behind him made him pause, but only for a second.

      “Back already?”

      Lulu wagged her tail.

      “Fine by me. I always did like your company.”

      He made his way around the side of the porch. He knew the shot he wanted—the aging maple against the overgrown field, framed by the once-sturdy rail and ceiling of the porch. It took a few attempts from a handful of different angles, but he finally got one that came close to what he had in mind.

      When he was done, he shot off a few more. Lulu rolling on the grass. A spiderweb stretched across a window. The patch of sky visible through a jagged hole in the porch roof.

      But when he was done, he found himself staring at the overgrown door of the abandoned house.

      He could still hear Heather’s hushed voice as she leaned closer to the photo of that entry.

      Mesmerizing.

      And some stupid part of him, some stubborn streak that refused to listen to sense and reason, kept wondering what would happen if he were to open it.

      * * *

      ONE WEEK LATER, Xander peeked at the clear blue of the sky, decided the weather forecasters had totally miscalled it when they predicted rain and grabbed the diaper backpack.

      “Cady girl, it’s a summer afternoon, it’s sunny and I think we should blow off the rest of the chores and go play by the river for a while. Let’s go for a ride.”

      Lulu’s ears perked up.

      “Not this time, Lu. We’re biking it.”

      Lulu whined and sank back to the floor, resting her head on her forepaws while giving him the evil eye.

      “Damn it, dog, now I feel guilty. Here. Have a treat.” He stopped stuffing snacks into the backpack long enough to grab a dog biscuit from the box and toss it her way. She nudged it with her nose.

      “Cookie?” Cady asked. “Cady have cookie? Pease, Daddy?”

      God, he was such a sucker for that little voice. “One lion. Rawr.”

      “Rawr!” she echoed while bouncing up and down.

      With all his charges suitably bribed, he popped the diaper bag over one shoulder, scooped Cady onto the other and gave Lulu a nod.

      “Make sure you scare the burglars before they toss you a steak.”

      Fifteen minutes later, helmeted and laughing, they were zipping down the road as fast as Xander dared with his precious passenger. This was the life. Sunshine on his back, his kid giggling in his ear, sweet freedom all around. It didn’t get much better than this.

      At least that was what he told himself as they flew past the turnoff to Heather’s place.

      They bypassed the public beach—too many tourists this time of year—and landed at a little inlet where some of the locals liked to launch their fishing boats. It had stones to throw and sand to sift and the perfect blend of sunny openness and shady trees. Cady found a plastic bucket that someone had left behind and spent an hour hauling water back and forth from the river, pouring it into the channels that Xander dug with a stick. They chased birds and stacked stones, and Xander lost count of how many pictures he snapped before they retreated to the picnic table under the trees for a well-earned snack.

      “Talk about a perfect afternoon, huh, Cady bug?”

      Before she could answer, the sky let loose with a distance but unmistakable roll of thunder.

      “Holy—”

      He ran out from beneath the trees and looked up. Sure enough, storm clouds were rolling in from upriver. They looked nasty.

      And here he was, half an hour’s ride from home.

      He threw everything into the backpack, jammed helmets on heads and got Cady buckled into place in record time. If luck was on his side, they might just make it.

      They hit the road.

      The wind kicked in, pushing against him, slowing his pace.

      The skies darkened. A drop of rain landed smack in his eye.

      Cady whimpered in his ear.

      “Hang on, kiddo. We might—”

      Thunder broke through his words, a sudden crash that had him cursing and Cady shrieking. They weren’t going to make it home in time.

      He glanced over his shoulder, checked the road and hit the turnoff to Heather’s.

      Five long minutes later he wrestled a crying Cady out of her seat and sprinted for the door as the rain started in earnest. If Heather wasn’t home, he might have to break in and pray the place wasn’t alarmed. Heather would understand. Police, not so much.

      He rang the bell, pounded on the door and huddled over to protect Cady from the wind. When Heather opened the door, he could have kissed her.

      Purely in gratitude, of course.

      “Oh my gosh! Come in, get in, are you guys okay?”

      Heather fussed around them, asking for details and offering towels and doing her best СКАЧАТЬ