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His brow creased. “Why?”
“You sound like Nana Pratt.”
“It’s a reasonable question. I’m not someone with a large fan base, mostly due to my acerbic personality.”
“You say acerbic. I say amusing.”
Otto continued to explore the contents of the box. “You must get more than entertainment value from me. You can get that at home by yourself. No need to interact with others.”
“I guess it’s because you understand me,” I admitted.
“How so?”
“You’re unapologetically reclusive, too.”
“Yes, but I’m quite happy this way. It suits my personality.”
“And you think it doesn’t suit mine?”
“I think the fact that you’re here with a board game suggests otherwise. I also think your resistance to music, despite the fact that you clearly love it, suggests a story you might one day tell me, if I’m patient.” He tilted his head toward the piano. “Would you like me to play something?”
“Not now.” I couldn’t handle the emotional charge of music at the moment. “I’d rather play the game.”
“As you wish. Would you be so kind as to set it up? Feel free to move the chessboard aside.”
“With pleasure.”
“I heard you cleared out whatever had taken up refuge in the Thoreau house,” he said.
I replaced the chessboard with Scrabble. “I did.”
“I also heard there was another party in town with an interest in the contents of the house.”
“You hear a lot for a recluse.”
“I’m blind, not deaf.”
I shook the bag of tiles and chose mine. “I ran into another interested party. There was a disagreement. I won.”
He chuckled softly as he joined me at the table. “A disagreement? Is that how you’d describe it?”
“That about sums it up.”
“Be careful, Lorelei. From what I understand, you’ve awakened the dragon.”
“No, you got that part wrong. The dragon was slain.”
“I think we both know I mean a metaphorical dragon.” He selected his tiles from the bag.
“You sound concerned.”
“I dislike what I heard. Fairhaven has been a supernatural sanctuary of sorts. It would be a shame if that were to change.”
“If that changes, you can blame 27 Thoreau Street.”
“Maybe so, but your presence is what will bring them back.”
I fell silent. “Is this your way of asking me to leave town?”
