AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He filled her in on the events he’d seen on his one visit to Salem during October. From the sound of it, the city used the infamous witch trials held centuries ago and the hauntings associated with them to its advantage. Even if they didn’t make it back in October together, perhaps she’d recruit Kristen and spend a day up here. Her sister was always up for a little exploring, and they hadn’t had a girls’ day out together in months.
“Walking is out for the night. Anything else you want to do?” Brett stopped next to her car.
Nothing came to mind, especially not still wearing the wraparound rayon dress she’d worn to work. She hated to see the evening end though. Brett had a ridiculously busy week ahead of him, so who knew when he might have time to see her again.
“Sorry, no, not dressed like this.” She gestured toward her outfit. “You?”
The lights in the parking lot made it impossible to miss the way Brett’s gaze left her face and roamed over her figure. He took a step closer, and the air between them danced with excitement. “I don’t live far from here. Come to my house. We can watch a movie, talk, whatever.” Brett ran a finger down her jaw and across her bottom lip, and her heart jerked against her rib cage.
She had a good idea of what the “whatever” might encompass. If it were any other man standing there and asking her back to his place after only technically two dates, she’d be jumping in her car and leaving him in the dust. Brett she knew perhaps better than any other man she’d ever dated. “I’ll follow you.”
Brett’s car turned onto a street named Fender Drive. Although several businesses lined the street, including a grocery store and an automotive garage, the area radiated a small town vibe. As they passed through an intersection, the streetlights provided enough illumination for her to see the large town common. The streetlights ended though when Brett turned left. Now the only light came from the homes lining the street and her car’s headlights.
In front of her, Brett stopped and turned. J
en waited until Brett pulled into his garage before turning into the driveway. The colonial-style home resembled many of the homes in her neighborhood, only this one looked to be much older. Actually, all the homes they’d passed on the street looked on the older side, and she wouldn’t be surprised to find some had historical markers on the front.
Jen pushed open the car door as Brett approached. The sensor light attached to the garage made it possible to see the frown he wore. “What’s wrong?” Had he noticed a problem with the house? Even small towns experienced break-ins and vandalism.
He tilted his head in the direction of the car door. “I was going to get it for you.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to.”
She closed the door and added her keys to her purse. “Next time.” She looked around the front yard, her gaze stopping on the large front porch. “I love porches like that,” she said. “One of the houses I lived in growing up had one. I used to sit outside and read out there even when it rained. Sometimes in the summer we’d eat breakfast out there on the weekends.”
Brett’s arm wrapped around her waist. Together they walked up the driveway and into the two-car garage. “We’ll have to do that sometime.” He pressed the control panel on the wall to close the garage door and unlocked the interior door.
Jen expected to walk into a kitchen. Most homes, hers included, seemed to have a door in the kitchen that led directly into the garage. However, she hadn’t expected to walk into an empty kitchen. The only evidence someone lived there was the overly complicated looking coffee maker on the counter. There was no kitchen table or chairs. The counters gleamed as if recently washed. There wasn’t a single item in the sink, not even a dirty spoon. No matter how hard she tried, she always seemed to find a stray utensil or empty glass in her kitchen sink. The glass doors on the cabinets above the counter revealed that most were empty. Only the one closest to the stove contained any dishes. The cabinet doors below the counter weren’t glass, so she didn’t know what was behind those, but if she opened them she didn’t think she’d find anything.
“I thought your things arrived?” she asked.
“They did, and I finished unpacking.” He led her through the spotless kitchen and into another room. “Make yourself at home.” He left her side long enough to turn on more lights.
Although not as empty as the kitchen, this room didn’t contain much furniture either. “Did they leave some of it in Virginia?”
The leather sofa looked comfortable and high-end. Definitely not something he’d picked up at a discount furniture store. However, it and the large square coffee table were the only things in the room, unless you counted the huge flat-screen television mounted over the fireplace. The room could easily accommodate a few armchairs and an end table or two.
“Nope. I didn’t have a lot, just the essentials.”
“You consider a sixty-five-inch television more essential than a kitchen table?” she asked, guessing at the size of the television. At home she had a forty-inch mounted on the wall, and Brett’s was much larger than it.
He took the remote from the coffee table and switched on the obnoxiously large device mounted on the wall. “Affirmative. A movie or football game on anything smaller is a waste of time.”
Only a man would consider a television more important than a table. “You sound like my brother.”
He brought up his movie collection. “I’ll prove it to you. Pick anything you want.” Brett gestured with the remote. “But don’t worry, I’ll get around to buying more furniture, including a kitchen table. My sister offered, but we have different tastes.”
She wondered what else the house was lacking. If she walked into his bedroom, would she find a sleeping bag on the floor? “Okay, if you say so. You’re the one who has to stand up while he eats breakfast, not me.”
Jen didn’t wait for him, instead she sat down on the sofa. “Let’s test your opinion. What movies do we have to pick from?”
He sat down too, his thigh rubbing against hers, and put an arm across her shoulders. “Take a look and pick whatever you want.” He handed her the remote and then undid the top two buttons on his shirt.
She scrolled through the various movies, not at all surprised by what she found. Except for horror films, they liked all the same kind of movies. She’d never understood the appeal of horror movies or even books. What was so entertaining about being scared to death? She’d watched a few in college and then spent several nights sleeping with her dorm room light on and jumping at every single sound.
“I’ve got two in mind. Do you prefer A New Hope or the first Lord of the Rings?”
