Ghost Boy of Mackenzie House (6 page)

By the time Chloe managed to get herself out of bed
(she had fallen asleep right around dawn), Aunt Larry had knocked on her door three times, twice for breakfast and the third to tell her she had to go out. Chloe was able to mutter something to satisfy her aunt and lay there listening as the front door thumped shut, the car door slammed, and Aunt Larry drove off.

Exhausted from two sleepless nights, Chloe cleaned herself up and got some cereal. Wanting to be out of the house, she took her glass and bowl out to the deck and ate in the sunshine. She sat with her back to the creepy window, trying to ignore it, but caught herself glancing over her shoulder at it more than once.

As she was finishing up, Marsh appeared around the corner of the house. Seeing her, he grinned and waved. Feeling relief, wanting the distraction he would create, Chloe smiled and waved back.

“Morning, neighbour.” He collapsed himself into the chair opposite her. “Sorry I'm late, had chores.” He made a face. “The only thing I don't like about the farm.”

Chloe had never been to a farm but guessed there were things that had to be done for the animals. Having never had a pet, even, she could only guess.

“What do you want to do today?” Marsh asked. “More beach?”

“Whatever,” she said. “What is there to do?”

Marsh groaned. “That's the problem,” he said. “Not much. Welcome to the Island. Boring is our middle name.”

He was so dramatic, Chloe laughed. “There has to be something,” she said.

“Beach,” he admitted. “Farm. Read. Video games. TV. End of story.”

Chloe was disappointed. Aside from the beach it
sounded like home. The difference was, she was on her own. She was used to having Sophie to do those things with.

I'm not alone, she told herself. I've got Marsh.

“Okay, beach,” she said. “But we have to stay away from the fence, okay?” She shuddered. “That guy who owns the other side is mean.”

Marsh whistled, his eyes getting wide. “Tell me you
didn't go over there.”

“Yesterday,” she said. “I went for a walk. Climbed over the fence.” The memory was vivid and made her flush. She could feel her cheeks getting hotter and hotter. “He yelled at me.”

Marsh nodded in sympathy. “Yeah, you got to stay away from him,” he told her, voice hushed for no particular reason as his eyes drifted to the fence two fields away. “He's a real nutter, you know? Crazy.” He leaned in closer. “We're related, if you can believe it. On my Dad's side. Joseph was Grampy's second cousin or some such. His family owned all this.” He waved his arms, encompassing Aunt Larry's, the cottage, and his own family farm. “But bad things started to happen and the family fell apart. One daughter hung herself.” He shivered. “Something to do with the war. Then the last two male heirs—Joseph and his brother—had this big fight, right? Split the whole family right down the middle.” He punched his palm for effect. “There was too much land and a whole bunch of arguing, and when it was all over, the bank had to come in and sort things out. Dad said we're lucky any of the property came to us after all that.”

If Marsh was related to the family who used to live
here, Chloe wondered if he could help her with the ghost in her bedroom—if he'd even believe her, that is. She continued to ponder it as he went on.

“Anyhow, the bank had to sell off all the land, so that now there isn't much left. Dad inherited the new farm, and Larry bought the original homestead from us. All that's left of the original family is Joseph and the widow cottage where he lives. It's a shame, but like Dad says, farming isn't what it used to be. Could be even if the brothers hadn't fought, same thing would have happened, just slower. Lots of farms are gone now and no one is starting new ones.”

Chloe thought he sounded like an old man talking that way. “So he's, like, some kind of cousin?” she prodded.

Marsh nodded, red head bobbing so fast his curls bounced. “Yup. Everyone is related here. First thing you get asked when you meet someone new is, who's your mom? Who's your dad? Where're you from?” He grinned. “Pretty soon you find out you're related on your mother's side through marriage or something.”

Chloe thought it was funny. “Maybe you could show me the farm?” Getting away from the house for a while sounded like a good idea.

Marsh lit up. “Sure!” He was on his feet and moving before Chloe knew what happened. “Coming or not?”

After a brief visit to the kitchen to put her dishes in the dishwasher, Chloe followed Marsh across the field to his house.

“Nobody plants in this one anymore,” he told her over his shoulder as she struggled to keep up. He noticed and slowed his headlong plunge through the tall grass.

“How come?” Chloe was having more trouble than him and hoped keeping him talking would slow him down.

“Not enough money in it,” he told her. “And Dad doesn't have time anymore. The tractor is fine for small jobs but we don't have the right equipment. Some farmer from up west wanted to rent it for potatoes, but your Aunt Larry said no. Didn't want all the chemicals so close to the house.”

Chloe realized there was a lot more to farming than she had thought.

By the time they reached the edge of the field she
was dusty and sweaty and feeling unhappy about the whole business. She had been forced to dodge bees and other nasty critters, and felt a mouse run across her foot once, making her jump and squeal. Marsh didn't notice, however, and picked up the pace across the grass behind his house. The going was easier at least. Chloe did her best to keep up.

They were greeted by a giant white dog with a thick, furry coat. He ran at them, barking. Chloe hesitated as the dog tackled Marsh. She felt better when he licked the boy's face rather than biting him before trotting up to her and shoving his big head under her hand for a scratch.

“Don't worry about Shep,” Marsh said. “He won't hurt a fly, let alone the coyotes we want him to chase.” Shep
was drooling on Chloe's foot but she didn't mind. He
joined them as they took the tour.

Most of the small buildings were empty and worn-
looking, down to bare wood if they had ever been painted at all. A few looked like they were ready to fall in. Marsh showed her the grain silo, a short, round building made of steel with a funny pointed cap. She peeked her head inside and smelled dust, amazed at the big pile of shining yellow grain inside. Marsh took a handful and held it out to her. It tickled her hand as it trickled through her fingers.

Next was the chicken coop. The chickens were kind of cute but the whole place had a nasty odour so they didn't stay long. The cows were better since they were out in the field, but Marsh informed her she didn't want to go into their barn because it hadn't been cleaned out in two weeks. She giggled as one of the reddish brown cows with a solid white face accepted a clump of grass
from her hand and let her scratch its wide forehead.
Shep exchanged a nose touch with the same cow then went and flopped himself down in the shade of a maple tree.

To Chloe's delight, they also had horses. Well, a pony, at least, named Pretty Girl, all dappled grey with a long mane and tail, and a big draft horse the same colour. Marsh told her he was a Shire and his name was Whisper.

“I love horses,” Chloe said, holding her hand out.

“Whisper's great,” he said. “He's really old and nice. But Pretty Girl is nasty.”

As if to agree with him, the pony snapped at Chloe's fingers and trotted off. Shep barked at her and chased her around the field. Chloe felt like cheering him on.

“It's not a real farm anymore,” Marsh admitted as they made their way to the house, Shep walking along beside.
“The chickens and cows were supposed to go in the
freezer, you know, for food.” Chloe was horrified. She
never thought about where meat came from. A small
white chicken ran past her, chased by another, this one
a shade of brown. The idea of eating them made her
queasy. She swallowed hard as Marsh went on. “My Dad
is an accountant.” He said it like an apology. “He was
raised on the farm but never did any of that stuff himself. And we got so attached to the animals that they're all pets now.” Chloe felt better immediately.

They paused at the farmhouse long enough to get a drink. Chloe thought it felt a lot like Aunt Larry's except
more careworn and without the cool stuff. Plus, the
house was a bit of a mess. She had to make a spot on the crowded counter to place her used glass after finishing her lemonade.

When they went out the kitchen door, she heard shouting and laughter coming from the other side of the yard. They followed the sound to find Marsh's brothers and
sisters playing by a small pond. It was oval-shaped,
backed by a thick patch of bulrushes. Chloe could see a track leading away from the pond headed for a marsh
off in the distance. She returned her attention to the
kids and found them all staring at her.

They all had the same red hair and freckles, but in
varying degrees. Two of the boys, teenagers Chloe guessed, looked so much alike they had to be twins.

“Lucas and Logan,” Marsh said.

They waved at the same time and went back to whatever they were doing, hanging over the edge of the pond, their shorts filthy and soaked through.

The oldest boy she remembered from the first day. “I'm Liam,” he said. “Nice to meet you, Chloe. Marsh driving you nutters yet?”

Marsh rolled his eyes at his brother while the oldest girl giggled. She was cross-legged on the ground, a little girl in her lap. Her long red hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She was much neater than her brothers and even had nail polish on.

“I'm Rebecca,” she said. “This is Olivia,” she pointed to the little copy of her that sat between her legs, looking at Chloe with huge eyes while she chewed on a dandelion,
“and that is Gracie.” A second, also younger girl was
rolling in the grass with the happy Shep. Chloe couldn't believe how much they all looked alike.

“Hi,” she said.

“Like PEI so far?” Rebecca took the flower from her sister who picked another.

“It's okay,” Chloe answered, feeling shy.

“Yeah, but it can be weird, too. My best friend is from Ontario, moved here last year. She had the hardest time.” Rebecca laughed. “But she's okay now.”

Chloe smiled back, liking all the kids already. Best part was, at least some of them were more normal.

“Been to the barn yet?” Lucas or Logan, Chloe had no idea which was which, grinned at her like it was some big joke. The other twin joined in while Rebecca threw a small clump of grass at them.

“Leave off, you two,” she snapped. “Ignore them, Chloe. They're idiots.”

Chloe, however, was curious.

“Which barn?” she asked. The farm had so many.

The second twin (Logan, she decided) got up and
pointed. Chloe could see the pale grey roof of the big old barn she had forgotten was in Aunt Larry's yard.

“MacKenzie Barn,” he said. “Been around forever. Has the best loft.”

Chloe was confused. “Why's that?”

“For jumping,” Lucas said, still on the ground. “Dad
put a new pile of grain in there for storage.”

The thought of jumping from a loft didn't sound like a whole lot of fun to Chloe.

“We were heading over,” Logan said. “Is Larry gone?”

Chloe nodded. The twins lit up. Lucas leapt to his feet and took off, followed immediately by Logan. Rebecca
hollered after them to get their butts back, but they
didn't listen. She got to her feet, scowling at Liam for not doing anything about them.

“I guess I'll have to go get them,” he said, grinning. Rebecca wrinkled her nose at Chloe while Marsh followed his brothers, also beaming.

“Boys,” she said. “You want to stay here?”