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“You know, my stomach hasn’t been great the past few days, so I think I’ll just drink water tonight.”
“Oh no, did you eat something off?” Luna asks as Sarah returns one wine glass to the cabinet and pulls a bottle of water out of the fridge.
“It’s either that or stress. I’ve been working my ass off on the chapel over the past few weeks, but Thanksgiving is this week, and I’m not even close to being done.”
I follow them out of Sarah’s back door, across the patio, and over to the guesthouse where Sarah has her art studio set up.
Earlier this year, she had been living in the space, having rented it from Tanner, but when she moved into the main house, Tanner set her up out here with a really kick-ass studio.
It makes sense because Tanner owns an art gallery, and he understands how important it is to Sarah to have her own space to create.
“It’s so cool in here.” They removed all the furniture out of the living room, there’s an easel set up in one corner, and there are canvases leaning against the walls all around the room. Some are empty, waiting for Sarah to work her magic on them, and others are covered in gorgeous colors.
“It helps to have a working kitchen and bathroom out here. Tanner even insisted that I keep the bed in the bedroom in case I wanted to take a nap. You guys, I never could have even dreamed that I’d end up with a place like this.”
“It’s pretty damn sweet,” Luna agrees with a nod as she takes in the different pieces. “I love this one.”
She’s standing in front of the canvas on the easel. It’s a seascape with moody clouds and choppy waves, and there’s a whale’s tail coming up out of the water. The sand is sprinkled with crystals and starfish, and it looks as if you could walk right into it.
“Thanks,” Sarah replies as she pours wine for herself and Luna. “It’s not quite done yet, but it’s getting there.”
“I swear that I’m not crashing your party,” Tanner says as he opens the back door by the kitchen and comes in carrying a tray of food and leading Sarah’s one-eyed rescue cat, Petunia, on a leash. The cat happily runs into the studio and winds her way through Luna’s legs. “I’m just bringing out the food so it doesn’t go cold.”
“Thanks, babe,” Sarah says, smiling as she loops her arms around his neck and gives him a big kiss.
“Ew.” I wrinkle my nose. “Save that shit for after we’ve left. Remember when I told you that I’ve had an upset stomach? This isn’t helping.”
With a laugh, Tanner gives her one last kiss and then walks out the door, leaving us alone with excellent food and a very happy cat.
“June, we cut you off earlier,” Sarah says as she pulls some paper plates out of a cupboard and gestures for us to help ourselves to the food. “You don’t think your chapel will be done by Christmas?”
“I don’t see how.” I shake my head and stare at the spread of comfort food. There’s hot artichoke and spinach dip, bruschetta, cheeses, meats, and all kinds of olives and breads. It’s an awesome-looking little buffet of goodness, so I mentally cross my fingers that my stomach won’t revolt and fill my plate. “It’s been three weeks since Grandma’s party, and I’ve been busier than I thought I would be at this time of year with actual work. I haven’t been able to spend as much time on my place as I’d like.”
We settle on stools around the little island in the kitchen to eat.
“What do you have left?” Luna asks as she scoops some dip with a chip.
“A lot.” I shake my head and sigh in happiness when the bruschetta tastes like heaven and doesn’t make my stomach roll. “The walls are all done, complete with drywall and texture, but I still need to paint. The kitchen has cabinets, but they also need to be painted, and there are no countertops yet. The trim needs to be done. I need light fixtures. And don’t even get me started on the bathroom and mudroom.”
“What’s happening with the bodies in the basement?” Sarah asks. I showed them the little mausoleum in the basement the week after the party, and it freaked them out as much as it did me.
“The city thinks that we should be able to move them—respectfully, of course—to the mausoleum for cremated remains at the city cemetery. I only have to get final approval from someone higher up. As long as no one has been interred in the last twenty-five years, it’s considered abandoned.”
“Oh, my god, will they have to bring them up through your house?” Luna asks, looking horrified by the thought. “Because, holy shit, I wouldn’t want that.”
“They’ll bring them up and out the back door so they won’t have to come through the whole house.”
“Good.” Luna sighs in relief.
“Once that’s done, I’ll seal off that door downstairs so I can forget that it ever existed. Cullen thinks I should use it for storage.”
“No fucking way,” Sarah insists, shaking her head. “No. Absolutely not.”
“Agreed.” I reach for more bruschetta, happy that it’s sitting well on my stomach. “I’m just glad that it’s not going to be a huge hassle to have them moved. But, you guys, I need to talk to you about one of the graves down there.”
This has both of them leaning toward me.
“Go on,” Sarah says before stuffing some olives into her mouth.
