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I’m grateful for his abrupt change of subject because the thought of the two of us dating is incongruous and I can’t afford to do anything to jeopardize this job. Whatever Harlan may say, I’m pretty sure Magnus and Helga will boot me out of here if they think I’m interested in their son.
“Not really. I’ve walked past the orchards but haven’t explored fully. Daphne and Spencer have kept me busy working inside the last few weeks.”
I find it odd I haven’t had time to venture outside much, let alone meet anyone else. I’m the only worker living in the house at the moment. The rest, couples mostly, are inhabiting the tents. I barely see them. They’re up earlier than me and already in the orchards by the time I’m in the kitchen helping prep their lunch and dinner, and I can’t see their tents from my bedroom window.
I’d mentioned introducing myself to them to Spencer once, but he’d been oddly recalcitrant, saying they kept to themselves and didn’t treat us—the employees who worked in the house—the same, seeing us as outsiders. I’d rather not risk having anyone against me while I’m trying to make a good impression in my first few weeks here, so I’d steered clear.
“If you’re keen to take a walk, why don’t you skip the boardwalk and I’ll show you around the orchards?”
I’d rather be alone, but that fervent glint in his eyes is back and I don’t want to appear churlish. Besides, spending more time with this enigmatic guy can’t be a bad thing. I can’t get a proper read on him and I want to.
Starting now.
Chapter11
Lucy
After a long walk on the beach to shake off Spencer’s bizarre warning and an hour of reading in my room, I meet my fellow guests at lunch. Craig and Demi are a delightful couple who finish each other’s sentences and are here because it’s the one week a year they take off from their thriving social influencer career across all platforms. Jase and Cindy are practically newlyweds who barely hear a word the rest of us say, they’re that in love. They work in IT and want a second honeymoon after a heinous job that involved reconfiguring the data systems for a hospital in Florida that ransomware had corrupted.
I can’t deny I’m fascinated by my fellow digi-detoxers, mainly because they take my mind off brooding about Mom, and I make small talk over a delicious lunch of vegetable burritos and fruit salad. No staff are in sight and we help ourselves from the monstrous platters laid on the table.
“Does anyone actually work here?” Craig asks, gesturing at the empty dining room. “Our friends who’ve been coming here the last few years warned us about the isolation and implied that the place appears deserted most of the time, even with other guests around.”
Demi snickers. “Craig’s best friend spooks easily and swears this place is haunted, which is why no staff stick around, and now that we’re here, Craig agrees.”
I laugh too, but it’s a tad uneasy, while Jase and Cindy continue to stare into each other’s eyes, oblivious to our conversation. “Why do you say that?”
Craig glances over his shoulder, then leans forward a tad as if about to impart a great secret. “Don’t you feel we’re being watched?”
Demi rolls her eyes, but I cast a quick glance around the sparse room, looking for the possibility of hidden cameras. She laughs. “Stop it, Craig. You’re scaring Lucy.”
Craig tilts his nose in the air, mock offended. “Some of us have a sixth sense about stuff like this. You get it, don’t you, Luce?”
I hate when people abbreviate my name, especially when they don’t know me. Mom was the only one who called me Luce and, to my embarrassment, tears fill my eyes.
“See what you’ve done?” Demi hisses and nudges Craig, whose expression is sheepish, before she slides into the chair next to me and slings an arm over my shoulder. “Are you okay?”
I press my lips together to stifle a sob and nod, dragging in a few deep breaths, before feeling confident enough to speak without bawling. “It’s nothing to do with you. My mom died recently and I’m still coming to terms with it, so the slightest thing sets me off.”
“Aww, honey, I’m sorry.” Demi hugs me and I see Craig mouth, “I’m sorry too,” over her shoulder.
My embarrassing behavior has caught the attention of Jase and Cindy, and they offer their murmured condolences too.
I dab at my eyes and force a smile. “Sorry, guys. I didn’t mean to be a downer.”
“Hey, you’re not, and if you want to talk any time, I’m here,” Demi says, her offer unexpected and sweet.
I’m an introvert with few friends, so it’s always a surprise when a person I barely know reaches out. It’s happened a few times at the library—Gerry, an old man who asked me out for coffee once after I’d helped him research his family tree online, and Beryl, an octogenarian who shared my love of paranormal novels, who’d invited me to her home for dinner. I hadn’t accepted either of those invitations, but it had been nice to be asked.
“Thanks, but I’m okay.” I stab a piece of watermelon with my fork and bring it to my lips when Craig says, “Perhaps you should chat with Cora? She’s good at counseling, or so some of our older friends who were here years ago have said. Apparently, they worked the orchards for a while before moving on.”
I have no intention of unburdening myself to Cora but if Craig and Demi have friends who were around back then, maybe they knew my mom?
“How long ago was that?”
Craig screws up his face, thinking. “About twenty-six years ago. I remember it because it’s the year she lost her daughter to that alligator attack in the swamp.”
Demi shudders. “We avoid that boardwalk no matter how safe it supposedly is now.”
