AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Dear Raven Blackwood,” I start but am cut off as the waitress comes over. We order food quickly without looking at the menu, a perk of hitting our favorite spot. The moment she’s out of earshot I dive back in. “I regret to inform you of your uncle’s passing. Mr. Blackwood was specific in matters of his estate. With the absence of his daughter and any other living relatives, he’s named you as the benefactor of his estate, which includes his accrued wealth, property, and any belongings within.”
“Wow,” Lucien breathes out. “That’s not what I expected.”
“Was he a wealthy man?” Eli asks quietly. Something in his tone is off and I reach out for him, forcing him to look up at me. “It doesn’t really matter, but maybe it’ll be enough to get out from under my dad, let us really focus on our businesses.”
My heart breaks as his vulnerability shows. He always hated how his father treated him, but took the job to save us from suffering through awful jobs that would interfere with our abilities. I don’t think I realized how deeply it was cutting him daily.
“Let’s find out,” I say quickly as I flip through the property. “It looks like the farm is about one hundred and sixty acres and includes a barn, a garage, the main farmhouse that’s three stories, and a storm cellar near the main house. There’s also an old house but it’s listed as uninhabitable. His livestock was already auctioned off. And here it is, the accrued wealth is estimated to be seven hundred thousand dollars.”
We all sit in stunned silence, processing everything I just read. My uncle was never a kind man, in fact, he was downright closed off and cold. But this was the last thing I expected when the lawyer handed me the envelope.
“I’ve never run a farm,” Lucien finally breaks the silence.
“Oh my god, we should get goats,” Eli says. “The fainting kind.” He chuckles to himself before pulling up a video and turning it to show the rest of us. Lucien and I join in the laughter at the adorable goats but Jayce’s face is full of worry and something I can't quite place.
“We’re going to live there?” he questions. Eli puts his phone away and looks at Jayce like he’s lost his mind.
“I mean, the apartment is great and we’ve got the businesses in town, but this isn’t far, and it’s a whole property,” he argues. “And with those funds, we could focus on expanding the business like we wanted and possibly doing some repairs on the property if it needs it. Or upgrades since I highly doubt an old farmer kept it modern.”
“But–” Jayce argued.
“What is it?” Lucien questions. “We haven’t seen the property yet, this is all speculation.”
“Yeah, and I have to meet with the lawyer; his business card is in here,” I add, holding up the small square of paper. “Talk to us, Jayce.”
“It’s one thing to deal with the dead daily,” he whispers quietly. “It’s another to live with them. If she came to you for help, then I have a very distinct feeling this isn’t just any old farm. It’s a mystery we’ll be forced to solve while also trying to make it our home. I can’t just turn off this new ability and I certainly don’t want to go home at the end of the day and be afraid I won’t be left alone.”
“That’s fair.” Eli winces. “I didn’t consider that. It would suck.”
“But we’re learning quickly there are ways we can block spirits from our home,” Lucien points out. “Though, I guess if it’s your cousin and you want answers, we can’t just block her out. Maybe we stay where we are and see where this farm takes us first.”
“That’s what I was thinking, too,” I agree. “Plus, why worry until we talk to this lawyer and actually see the property.”
“True,” Jayce says, relaxing now that logic is coming into the conversation; something he can easily cling to instead of letting his thoughts spiral like he does when anxious.
“Then first things first, we eat, then I’ll set up a meeting and get us some answers.”
Eli
As we finish up, I say, “I’ll call Dad and tell him that I need the rest of the day off. He doesn’t have me doing anything major, so there's no reason I’d have to stay.”
“Good, I’ll call the attorney and see if we can go view the property today. I haven’t been out there since I was a little girl, so I’m not sure how well it was taken care of or not. We can decide then if we want to move out there or not,” Raven says before taking another drink of her shake.
“And we can also see if it’s a haunted property or not,” Jayce speaks up.
“Way to jinx us,” I tell him, throwing a fry at him.
He catches it easily and pops it in his mouth, “What? We were all thinking that.”
“I was,” Raven admitted with a little shrug.
“As was I,” Lucien adds.
I let out a huff, “Okay, let's get on the phone and figure out where the rest of the day is taking us.”
Out of the four of us, I wasn’t too keen on ghosts and my still new-to-me, ghostly flashbacks. Jayce and Raven seem to have adjusted to theirs already, but there is something about seeing someone’s last moments that haunts me, and not in a fun way.
I throw down some money for the meal before looking up at Raven with a smirk. “It will be nice to have a sugar mama soon.”
