The Fine Line Book One Between Worlds Series (13 page)

The private ceremony fit them perfectly. It
wasn’t that they tried cutting family and friends out, but they
wanted the event to be shared between only them.

As Robin stood in front of Matt holding his
hands, she got lost. All of her life she had waited for him.
Finally, her happy ending arrived. A freak accident, a twisted
ankle, had brought them together. And now it would be final;
husband and wife.

****

Matt and his brother, Charley, worked
nonstop on the house along with the private contractors and soon it
was the end of November. The constant work on the house paid off.
Thanksgiving came and went, but the couple’s sights were set on
being in the house no later than Christmas.

Robin, ecstatic about the home, met Wendy
after work. Her mission was to gather measurements for window
treatments.

The layout of the house was simple. There
were two entrances, one on the east side facing a large field and
one on the west side facing the garage. Private contractors
finished the masonry, laying large stones down into the dirt
instead of pouring a sidewalk. Unique and eye catching with plans
to plant flowers in the spring, Robin felt the contractors did an
accomplished job.

An old oak tree stood beside the west
entrance and more stones led to the garage. Matt and Charley stored
many of the materials for building in there. Of course, when they
finished the house, cars and outdoor supplies would be put in the
garage.

On the east side of the house was a porch.
Robin had inherited her grandmother’s wooden swing and her mother’s
decorative checker board. She planned to put those items on that
porch with the Cracker Barrel rockers she purchased.

The worn hard wood flooring of that porch no
longer had splinters thanks to Charley’s buffing abilities. Two
sets of stairs led off of the porch. One set faced the woods and
the other toward the open field.

New dark burgundy doors with brass knobs
were purchased. White wooden screen doors covered the newly
purchased doors. The windows were trimmed in dark green paint with
burgundy shutters to match the new doors.

Essentially, the front entrance would be
used for decoration only. There were no plans to actually use it.
The front entrance didn’t have a porch, only a concrete slab with
two concrete steps. A screen door wouldn’t be necessary.

When entering from the garage, the kitchen
would be the first room guests would walk into. The flooring
throughout the home would be original hardwood with many repaired
and replaced planks, of course. Matt and Robin ordered an island
for the kitchen.

In the kitchen were two large windows
trimmed in dark wood to match the floors. The baseboards throughout
the home were also dark wood. All of the rooms were newly
drywalled.

Once guests entered the kitchen, there were
two choices of direction. If turning left, a large dining room
would be found. If straight ahead, the living room awaited.

The dining room, constructed with two
entrances, one from the hallway leading to the front door and one
from the kitchen, would be large enough to entertain guests
comfortably. The dining area entrance from the kitchen ran right
under the stairs. An original brick fireplace stood grandly in the
center of the west wall and another large window faced the front of
the property.

The living room’s original fireplace still
stood and a large window looking onto the east porch would allow
plenty of sunlight. Robin looked forward to placing house plants in
the living room.

A hallway separated the dining room and the
parlor. The parlor, which seemed rather small compared to the
dining and living area, also had the original fireplace. Two
windows on each end of the room would also allow house plants to
thrive in that room as well. A set of original double-decker
closets covered the wall with the fireplace in the middle.

An enclosed stairwell led from the hallway
to the second floor. A small window found at the top of the stairs
was oddly shaped and ill placed, but the decision to leave it
unanimously prevailed.

On the second floor, a door opened up to the
right which would lead to the master bedroom. There were two large
windows looking out over the front of the property and a large
original fireplace stood in the middle of the outside wall. On the
same side as the fireplace were double-decker closets filling the
wall.

Right across the hall from the master
bedroom would be Olivia’s room. Quite large already, it would
appear even bigger with the original fireplace torn out. A small
closet replaced the void and two large windows faced the woods.

Another door on the right toward the end of
the hallway would lead to a grand study. There, too, an original
fireplace stood on the outside wall and two large windows
overlooked the front of the property.

To the left, a linen closet would be built
to accommodate the bathroom at the end of the hallway.

Back on the main floor, a door in the
kitchen led to the basement. It would be finished. The hot water
tank, water softener, the heating and air unit would be housed
there.

Eventually, when completed, Robin and Matt
wanted the house to be placed on the state’s historical home
registry. They knew extra funding would be made available to them.
This would help pay the mortgage. Because the home had been built
in the 1800’s and because they would be restoring it to its
original splendor, the home would easily pass inspection for the
registry.

Robin planned to research the home’s
history, but Matt wasn’t interested in that. He felt that the
research wasn’t necessary. Either way, Robin didn’t have time right
now.

After touring the home, Wendy and Robin set
out to measure the windows as planned. As they stood in the master
bedroom with their pencils and paper, Robin carefully climbed the
ladder as Wendy steadied it. The windows were unusually large and
Robin didn’t like heights.

She stood steadily on the ladder shouting
out measurements when suddenly, they heard the kitchen door slam
shut. The shudder shook the panes of glass in the windows.
Startled, they looked at one another. Robin didn’t expect anyone to
be coming by. The wind blew calmly outside.

Robin clearly remembered shutting the door
when she walked in with Wendy.

Robin hoped it was Charley coming by to
work. So, she shouted his name, but no one answered back.

The tension filled the air around them.

“
You heard that right?”
Robin asked as she flashed a puzzled glance at Wendy.

“
Yes, I did,” Wendy
replied.

“
Just making
sure.”

Calmly, Robin descended from the ladder and
walked to the doorway. After walking through the upstairs she found
nothing. So, she walked down the stairs with Wendy following
closely behind.

She checked each room downstairs. Nothing;
no one was in the home except the two of them. Hesitantly, she
walked to the kitchen door. Jiggling the knob, she found it to be
locked tightly.

“
Wind must’ve caught it,”
Wendy suggested.

“
Must have,” Robin
lied.

Measuring the windows continued with no
other occurrences and as the evening went on, Robin forgot about
the strange event.

****

By early December the home neared
completion. Robin certainly wanted to be a part of the decorating
process. So, she and Matt took three weeks of vacation making some
finishing touches to the house with every intention of moving in
before Christmas.

Robin and Matt decided to stay in the house
to continue working nonstop. The last room to finish was
Olivia’s.

Burgundy paint and beige valances were
chosen for the kitchen. The island matched the stone countertops
perfectly and hanging from the ceiling were copper pots from a
metal pot rack. New appliances were purchased.

The living room, dining room, hallway, and
parlor were painted a dark shade of taupe. The closet doors in the
parlor were painted burgundy.

Robin found a long oak table. The wood was
distressed and a matching bench and some chairs came with it. It
fit the dining room’s style perfectly.

The master bedroom walls were painted rich
brown and the study walls were navy. In each windowsill of the
house were electric accent candles. There were ivory ruffled
curtains hanging on each window with the exception of Olivia’s
room, the kitchen, and the bathroom.

The bathroom curtains were light yellow and
the walls were painted white. Robin stenciled daisies on the walls.
Matt put tile in the bathroom because of the old water damage to
the hardwood flooring.

A primitive theme pulled everything
together, but Olivia wanted a Super Girl theme for her bedroom. So,
red panels on her windows with a red, white, and blue star-pattern
valance. A large shaggy red rug lay in the middle of the room to
accent Olivia’s white furniture.

Robin stood in Olivia’s room finishing the
wallpaper mural of Super Girl. She painted one wall white. Another
wall she painted red and yet another wall she painted blue. These
colors made the mural pop out.

She heard Matt coming up the stairs. Matt
spent most of the day in the basement finishing some minor things.
To their delight, the basement playroom and gaming room would
finally be finished.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Matt
leaning against the doorframe in his old grey sweats, work boots,
and old torn t-shirt. His eyes bored into her as he continued
watching her.

“
You are hot,” he
said.

She glanced down at herself. She wore a pair
of red sweat pants, flip-flops, and a tie-died t-shirt. Her hair
pulled up onto her head in a ponytail, she felt grimy. Working on
the house all day took its toll. “Well, let me tell you, Dr.
Gregory,” she replied as she continued working on the mural, “I
don’t feel hot.”

“
I decided to see if the
fireplace in the living room works after all of the money we’ve
thrown into having it restored. It’s our first official night in
the house, you know.”

“
Yes. I know. Exciting
isn’t it?”

“
The fireplace seems to be
working pretty well.”

“
That’s good,” she said
with a nod as she put more paste on the wallpaper cut
out.

“
The electric furnace
seems to be working pretty well too. You’re not cold are
you?”

“
No, not at all. You’re a
miracle man my dear.”

“
I am. I know,” he replied
with a confident shrug.

She bent over to grab something else for the
mural and felt his hands on her waist. When she stood, she felt his
breath on her neck. “Why don’t you take a break for a little bit?”
he suggested.

Before she replied, the kitchen door
slammed, not just once, but several times. It startled them both.
Robin looked at Matt. “Think it’s your brother?” she whispered.

“
You’re a mood killer,
Charley,” Matt shouted, “we’re upstairs.”

No one answered, but distinct footsteps
trudged up the stairs. Robin followed Matt to the hallway expecting
to greet Charley. To her astonishment, no one was there. She
watched as Matt looked over the banister. He turned to her and
shrugged. Robin felt unsettled. The kitchen door slamming the night
she and Wendy were in the house came rushing into her mind.

“
I can tell you’re
spooked. Stay here. I’ll go check it out,” Matt said.

“
No. You’re not leaving me
up here,” she whispered.

They made their way down the wooden stairs,
Matt in front and Robin following. As they stood in the hallway,
the sound of the wood in the fireplace crackling and the furnace in
the basement running was all they could hear. No one else seemed to
be in the house.

Robin’s facial expressions were
unmistakable.

“
Robin,” he began, “this
house is old. It’s going to have noises we’re not used to, you
know?” His explanation, while realistic and logical, really didn’t
explain anything in her mind.

“
But, doors slamming? The
doors are brand new,” she objected.

Matt stayed quiet.

“
This same thing happened
to Wendy and me when we were measuring the windows,” she
added.

“
What
happened?”

“
The kitchen door slammed.
No one was here but us. I know I shut the door when we came in,
too.”

“
It’s nothing,” he
continued. “We’re just jumpy. It’s a new place. It’s
old.”

Against all logic, Robin agreed with Matt’s
interpretation. Robin’s hand fit perfectly in Matt’s as they
continued to a blanket and pillows in the living room. His smile
always made her feel better. His inviting kiss reassured her even
more. They lay down on the blanket and rested their heads on the
pillows.

“
I love you,” he
whispered.

“
I love you, too Matt.”
She looked over at him as he stared up at the tall
ceiling.

“
This is just the
beginning for us, you know? We’re breathing new life into this old
place,” he continued.

“
You’ve done a great job
on it,” she said as she turned to her side and started running her
fingers through his hair. “I’m very proud of you; very
proud.”

The glow of the fire was like the desire she
felt for him: hot and raging. To quench that fire, only one
solution existed. So, they made love continuously in their new home
that night, christening their new life together in hopes that what
lay ahead was just as exciting and happy as what they had
experienced together thus far.