The Ghostly Hideaway (10 page)

Ed and Johnny started to work on getting the wood
for winter fuel while they waited to see if they would get the job
they had bid on. The sealed bids would be opened on September 15
and as soon as they had that decision, they would be able to plan
their winter’s schedules. Ed was pretty confident that his bid
would be low because of the good deal Frank Tinsley was offering Ed
on the lumber from Frank’s property. He could pass his savings on
to the customer and that let him make a lower bid on the job. There
would be a supplies cabinet in each classroom of the school that
was being built as well as cabinets and storage bins in the kitchen
and pantry of the school lunchroom. Various other cabinets were
located in different areas of the school and Ed had studied the
blueprints carefully before making his bid. Actually, he had done a
similar job in North Carolina and he remembered the costs involved
with that work and that helped, too.

On the day of the bid opening, Ed and Johnny were
genuinely excited. Johnny had already decided he would give Chrissy
an engagement ring for Christmas and this was his chance to earn
the money to pay for it. Of course, Johnny had the money his
Grandfather O’Reilly had left him in his will. It amounted to over
three hundred thousand dollars but Johnny still felt it would
somehow mean more if he earned the money himself. His Grandmother
Lydia didn’t even know he had the money even though he had used
some of it to fix little things around her house up on Thorne Hill.
Their needs there were simple and he enjoyed hunting and fishing to
provide meat for them for food.

As soon as they had announced that Ed Wroe was the
successful bidder on the cabinetry, Ed told Johnny that they should
celebrate and that he had something important to discuss with him.
They went down to McAfee’s Restaurant and ordered hamburgers and
tater tots. They ate most of their celebration meal in silence and
then Ed got serious.

“Johnny, I’ve decided I don’t want you to work for
me any more.”

Johnny was totally devastated. “But Ed, I thought
you said I had been working well and doing a good job! You asked me
to come with you today to see if ‘we’ got the bid. Why would you
suddenly want to fire me?”

Ed grinned mischievously. “Because I want you to be
my partner,” he announced. “You’ve learned very quickly and you’re
such good help, I don’t feel right about not sharing the profits
with you. I want you to be my partner, that is, if you want to,
Partner." Ed held out his hand and Johnny took it
enthusiastically.

“Man, you had me worried there for a minute,” Johnny
said, getting a long breath. “I’d love to be your ‘Partner in
Crime,’” he said in jest.

“Oh, don’t say it that way." Ed was remembering his
last partner. “I guess it’s about time I told you what happened
with my last colleague." Ed took a newspaper clipping out of his
billfold and placed it on the table between them. “This guy worked
with me, side by side. We went to school together and I thought he
was the last person in the world who would do something to hurt me.
I considered him a friend. However, as you can see from the story,
Norman stole around twenty thousand dollars worth of property from
our last customer and framed me for the crime. I was arrested and
tried and Norm testified that he saw me take the stuff. When my
attorney proved I hadn’t done it, Norman skipped town, went to
Chicago or somewhere, and left me to face the consequences.
Moreover, even though, I was found not guilty, my reputation
sustained enough damage that I decided it would be better to leave
town and ply my trade in a new place. That’s how I ended up here. I
thought maybe you should know what I had been accused of before you
agreed to join the firm of Wroe and O’Reilly, Contractors.”

“Hey, that was a hateful thing for somebody you
thought of as a friend to have done to you. He sure doesn’t appear
to be the kind of guy who would do something like that." Johnny
studied the picture and the police description. His age, it said,
was thirty-nine; he had sandy hair and moustache; blue eyes; five
feet eight inches tall and weighed one hundred seventy pounds.
Under distinguishing marks and characteristics it listed a tattoo
of a hammer on his right forearm and that he walked with a
noticeable limp. He also, it said, wore glasses.

“I know. I still have to wonder why he would have
done that to me. Well, that’s water under the bridge. We’ll just
start from here, Johnny. Okay?”

“This says he has a limp. Was he in an accident or
something?”

“No, it was a birth defect. I guess he always felt
sort of left out. He didn’t feel he could compete in sports or
anything. Except for me, Norman never had many friends, I guess. As
I said, though, this is a new day and we start from here.”

“Okay. There is something I need to talk to you
about. I plan to ask your daughter, Chrissy, to marry me in the
spring and I wanted to know that you didn’t have any serious
objections. I haven’t mentioned it to Chrissy yet, and I wanted
your blessing before I do.”

“Johnny, I think my daughter would be a lucky girl
to have you for a husband and I’m sure Penny will feel the same
way. Just think; I’ve gained a partner and a prospective son-in-law
all in one day as well as what should be a lucrative job.
Congratulations to both of us." Ed clapped Johnny on the back and
they got to work deciding what materials they would need first.

A few days later, on Sunday afternoon, Johnny asked
Chrissy to go for a walk with him.

“I’ve got something to show you and somebody I want
you to meet.”

Chrissy looked at her dad for permission and Ed with
a twinkle in his eyes nodded his assent.

“Can we go, too?” Andy and Candy asked in
unison.

“No you
may
not; not this time,” their
parents insisted.

Johnny and Chrissy began walking toward Thorne Hill
hand in hand.

“I also have something to ask you." Johnny kissed
Chrissy as they turned toward each other. “I’ve grown to love you
more and more. More than I ever thought I’d love anybody. I’ve put
a down payment on a set of rings and I want to give you the
engagement ring for Christmas. This is a sweetheart ring that I
hope you will wear until Christmas." He had taken the little square
box out of his pocket and now he offered it to her. “Will you be my
sweetheart for the rest of my life and my wife, eventually? I love
you and I’ll always be good to you and try to make you happy. Do
you love me just a little, Honey? Will you at least think about
it?”

“I don’t think I could ever love you ‘just a
little,’ Johnny. I already love you so much my heart is about to
burst. Yes, I’ll be your sweetheart, now and I’ll be proud to be
your wife, too. Oh, Johnny, I’m so happy! I was so afraid maybe you
didn’t feel about me the way I did for you.”

“I think I’ve been in love with you from the first
moment I saw you." Johnny hadn’t told her, yet, that the first time
he had seen her had been on the front porch that first day when
they ran out of gas.

Johnny had stayed awake and walked the floor the
night before wondering how much he should tell Ed and his family.
It had started out as sort of a prank. He had been on his way down
to see if Old Mister Coy had come home yet when he saw the car
stalled on the road and the family of strangers walking down the
road to Clifton’s house. He figured he owed it to Clifton to make
sure nobody burglarized his place while he wasn’t there or take
advantage of him if he had come back. He had watched as they
entered the house unbidden and then Johnny had sneaked into the
secret passage that Mr. Coy had shown him a few years earlier. It
was built right on the side of the house with a sloping floor that
led to the second story and on up to the third floor as well. A
secret door was hidden back in the darkest corner of the Coy’s
bedroom and the grill in the floor allowed heat to enter from the
first floor and the person listening above to hear every word that
was said on the first floor. When he had heard the women talking
about the suitcases and how they wished they had them, he had
sneaked down to the kitchen, got the car keys out of Ed’s pocket,
went up the road to the stalled SUV and brought the suitcases back
to the porch. Afterward, he put the keys back in Ed’s pocket. He
had thought of it as a prank, but then he didn’t quite know how to
tell them, so he just kept it to himself. The same with the five
gallon can of gasoline he had put in the gas tank. He had to work
hard not to laugh aloud as they puzzled about who, what, and how it
had been accomplished.

He had also known where the Coy’s family picture
album was kept and had left it and the forget-me-nots on Chrissy’s
nightstand. She had looked absolutely beautiful and innocent lying
there asleep and he had wanted badly to wake her and hold her in
his arms. But, of course, he knew he had to wait. He had been out
behind the storage shed when he had heard Andy and his Dad talking
about meat for the barbeque and had decided to get the rabbits for
their July 4 celebration. He thought the fireworks had been a nice
touch, too. As he was setting them off, he could almost see the
reflection of the stars in Chrissy’s eyes. She still had stars in
her eyes and he knew now they were there shining with love for
him.

They had been climbing steadily when they suddenly
came in sight of a large house and several outbuildings. Johnny
stopped before one of them and unbuttoned the door. He stepped
inside pulling Chrissy with him. The light was dim inside but as
her eyes adjusted Chrissy could see a shape in the corner and could
just make out JoJo lying there wagging her tail. Johnny spoke
softly to the dog and patted her head as they knelt beside her.

“It’s alright, JoJo, we won’t hurt your puppies. I
just want to show Chrissy how tiny and sweet they are. Okay, JoJo?
That’s a good girl." Johnny reached to the edge of her belly and
pulled out one tiny little fur ball that squeaked weakly as Johnny
placed the squirming puppy in Chrissy’s hand. The puppy began to
root around trying to find her mama’s nipple to feed on. Instead,
it latched onto Chrissy’s little finger and began to suck hungrily.
Chrissy stroked its soft almost white fur tenderly.

“Oh, they are precious! How many puppies did she
have?”

“She had three and they all seem healthy. When they
are old enough to be weaned, I’m going to see if your Mom and Dad
will let the twins have one apiece."

“Oh, they will be thrilled!" JoJo began to whine
softly and exhibited some signs of anxiety. Johnny reached for the
pup and put it back gently beside her. The mother dog sniffed the
puppy and began to wash it gently with her tongue.

“Maybe we can bring Andy and Candy next time to see
them when the puppies are older and JoJo won’t be quite as
protective. Now, I want my grandmother and you to meet each other.
Will you come into the house?”

“Yes, I suppose. Do you think she’ll like me? I’d
just die if she doesn’t.”

“You need to know, she doesn’t actually seem to
enjoy much of anything these days. After her daughter eloped with
my dad and moved to Ireland, she became very bitter. Please don’t
be too hurt if she doesn’t seem too overjoyed to meet you.
Okay?”

Mrs. Thorne looked up as the two of them walked into
the kitchen. “Johnny, where is our other milk cow? I know we had
three and I can only find two.”

“I know, Grandmother. I loaned it to some friends of
mine and she’s being well taken care of.”

“You’re sure they’re feeding her good and keeping
her milked morning and night? You know she’ll be ruined if she
isn’t kept on a regular schedule.”

“Yes, Grandmother.”

“Well, are you going to introduce your girlfriend or
not? I assume she’s your girlfriend since you haven’t turned loose
of her hand since you came in here." She still sounded cross and
irritable, but she hadn’t ordered Chrissy to get out or anything,
which let Chrissy breathe easier.

“Grandmother, this is Chrissy Wroe, the girl I plan
to marry sometime next spring. Chrissy, this is my grandmother,
Lydia Thorne.”

Chrissy blushed prettily and offered her hand. “It’s
very nice to meet you, Mrs. Thorne." We just came from seeing
JoJo’s puppies. They’re such sweet little balls of fur. And JoJo
seems so proud of them.”

“Well, sit down girl so I can get a look at you
without breaking my neck looking up. I guess if you’re going to
marry my grandson, you may as well call me ‘Grandmother.’ You are a
pretty little thing, you seem to have good manners, and you like
animals. Those are all points in your favor. I’ll have to have more
time, though, before I decide if you’re good enough for my
grandson." Her voice was somewhat gruff but she almost smiled.

They visited a few more minutes and they said their
good-byes. “Will you come back and see me again, Chrissy?” she
asked and Johnny almost gasped in surprise.

“Of course, Grandmother. I’ll be back real
soon.”

Johnny could talk of nothing else except his
grandmother’s seeming acceptance of Chrissy. “I can’t believe she
treated you so civilly. She almost smiled at you and asked you to
come back. That’s absolutely unbelievable, Chrissy. I am so glad
she likes you, Honey.”

“Me, too." Chrissy was elated.

When they returned to Crissy’s house, she talked a
mile a minute.

“You all should have seen the puppies! They are the
sweetest little things. They're so tiny and nothing but little
balls of fur. They don’t even have their eyes open, yet. They are
absolutely adorable. And Mama, I want you to go with me next time
we go to see Grand—Mrs. Thorne. She appears to want to be
disagreeable but she can’t quite make herself. I think she’s
lonely, that’s what I think. Anyhow, she asked me to come back
soon. One of the puppies, when I held it in my hand, it nuzzled my
hand and found the tip of my little finger and thought it had found
its mother’s nipple and she tried to suck on it. It was so sweet.
You could tell JoJo was not too happy about me getting too close to
her babies, but she was still gentle and when she began to whine
and get nervous, we gave the puppy back and left quietly so we
didn’t get her too upset. She’s a good little mother, though, and
she wants to protect her babies—“