The rain was coming down so hard that I could barely see the stripes on the road in front of me. I had thought that just maybe my luck was changing but now I wasn’t so sure. Here I was in the middle of nowhere, miles from the last town, with no real clue as to where I was going.
I had always thought I had my life in pretty good order. I had been popular in school, made good grades, things had just seemed to work out for me. After graduation, I had moved to the city with my high school boyfriend and for the past five years, I had thought I was living the dream.
Six weeks ago however I discovered that my dream was actually a nightmare. The man that I had thought I would one day married came home telling me he had met someone else and was moving out. I had been shocked left staring after him as he walked out of my life as if I was nothing more than a passing fancy.
I was left with nothing and no one. I had been laid off from work and he had insisted that I didn’t need to rush and find a new job. My parents had divorced shortly after I graduated and neither one of them really reached out anymore. My dad had gone and started a whole new family in another state and my mom well, we had never really gotten along.
My savings could only last so long and with no luck at finding a job I was now facing eviction. It was there at my lowest that I had received the news that could possibly change my life forever. That day would be forever etched in my memories.
It was a Friday and I was over a week past due on my rent. I had the money to pay it but it would take every single penny I had to do so. All day I had sat in the apartment with the lights and tv off reading trying to avoid the manager of my apartment. I knew an eviction notice would appear on my door any day now but I didn’t want to actually have to face him.
When I heard the knock at the door my heart stopped beating and my book fell to the floor at my feet. My first instinct was to stay as still as possible and keep pretending to not be home but my curiosity got the best of me and I found myself moving to look out of the peephole. On the other side of the door was a man in a dark suit holding a briefcase.
I still don’t know what made me change my mind but I opened the door. I remember being afraid of what would happen if I didn’t. The man on the other side looked to be in his late 60′s. His kind blue eyes found mine. “Hello, “I’m Simon Fitzgerald. Are you Samantha Montgomery?”
Seeing me swallow he smiled, “you are not in trouble Ms. Montgomery. I represent your Aunt Violet. She has passed away and has left you a considerable fortune.”
Motioning for him to come in I shut the door behind him trying to make sense of what he had just said. I had only met my aunt once when I was about 14. She had come to my Grandmother’s funeral. I had never even known until that day that my Grandma Elizabeth had a sister. Both of my parents had ignored her, in fact, everyone that attended the funeral ignored her. I had thought it odd but when I had tried to ask my mother she had simply told me to shut up and mind my business.
It wasn’t till after the funeral services that I had made my way outside to await my parents that I found her outside sitting on the church’s sidesteps. I had slowly approached her seeing her and when she looked up at me I saw she had tears in her eyes. still, through the tears, she smiled, “come Samantha. Come sit beside me.”
I had no clue how she knew my name. Maybe how I knew hers. We were both in the pamphlet they had passed out as we had walked into the small church. She sat and explained to me who she was. She even acknowledged the fact that she and my grandmother didn’t get along. As we sat on the steps she told me stories of the two of them from back when they were children. I found her easy to talk to and even shared some personal things about myself.
When my mother had some outside and found me on the steps talking to her she about had a whole ass heart attack. My Aunt simply patted my hand and told me we would meet again one day. I can remember looking back at her as I walked away feeling as if she was the only person who really understood me.
That day never came, the man at the door had explained to me how Aunt Violet had passed away leaving all of her earthly possessions to me. He laid everything out simple, I would only need to make the drive down to his office to sign some paperwork and he would take care of the rest.
Digging through his briefcase he dug out a letter handing it over to me. “Your Aunt left his in my possession telling me to give this to you if anything ever happened to her.”
Opening the letter Mr. Fitzgerald sat on my couch watching me read the letter.
Samantha,
I will never forget meeting you that warm day in July. You were the only one to speak to me the entire day. In all of my years I have acquired quite a few things, never having children, I am leaving everything to you. I tried writing to you years ago but your mother sent them all back. I have thought about you every day for years. You remind me quite a bit of myself. My lawyer will get everything set up for you. I am leaving you my house, don’t worry about money I have enough that you won’t have to worry about things for quite a while. If you need help getting down just let the man who brings you this letter know. I left him detailed instructions to help you get set up. I would prefer you to keep the house, even if you choose not to live there, it is a place of solitude, something we all need.
Yours Truly,
Aunt Violet
Closing the letter I had sat in shock wondering how this could be real. This was too good to be true there had to be some kind of catch. Mr. Fitzgerald waited a few minutes before asking me when I would be able to come to his office.
I had been so happy to have a place to live that I blurted out “tomorrow” without even thinking.
He had lifted a bushy white eyebrow and laughed, “ok. Well do you need money to drive down or would you like me to wait and drive you myself?”
By the time he left, I was for the first time in a while hopeful. How could a woman I had only met one time leave everything to me? I didn’t understand but I believed that everything happened for a reason. Maybe I had been destined to talk to her that day.
Fitzgerald had discussed the fact that the house was move in ready. The electricity and gas were still turned on. He had even called in a moving crew to help pack up my apartment in the morning. Fitzgerald had left me with more than enough cash to fill up my SUV for the drive even though I had insisted I would be fine.
The drive to the small town on the border of Texas and Louisiana was a long one, but to be honest, the drive helped clear my head. The meeting with Fitzgerald had taken a while but by the time I left his office, I had signed a deed to a house and had gone to the bank to set up an account for him to transfer money into. Fitzgerald had explained that he would stay on as my personal lawyer and continue taking care of things as he had always done.
My drive to the house had started out easy enough but the longer I drove the worse things got. The rain had seemed to come out of nowhere and had only gotten worse the minute I turned off the main road and onto an isolated county road. I was tempted to pull over and wait the rain out when I saw the private drive to my new home.
The only way you could even tell there was a drive was a small road sign that read Violet’s Lane. I smiled, thinking of her wishing I could have known her and feeling some resentment at my mother for never giving me her letters. From the road, you couldn’t see the house. The long drive was a well-worn dirt road with Huge Oak and Pine trees on each side that seemed to drown out the sun. After driving about a mile, the trees thinned and I got the first glance at my new home.
I stopped the car and stared. The place was huge, it was something out of my wildest dreams. The house had so many windows I couldn’t count them all. Not one of them had any mini blinds or drapes. That I would have to change, even though I would be in the middle of nowhere with no neighbors in sight, I still couldn’t get over how someone could drive up and just look into the house.
Just from the outside, I could tell I would love the house. I loved all things antique and this house certainly filled the bill. Continuing down the drive I parked my car in the half-circle drive in front of the house. Jumping out of the car I grabbed my purse and the box that had sat beside me in the front seat. The moving van was scheduled to arrive later in the day with the remainder of my things.
My hands shook as I pushed the old worn key into the doorknob twisting it. The door opened in front of me and I found myself frowning. The furniture was all covered in white sheets and there was a thin layer of dust everywhere. Fitzgerald should have told me I would need a cleaning crew too.
Setting my box down by the front door I decided to explore my new home. From the front entrance, you had three ways to chose from. I decided to take the path to the left first and found myself in a beautiful kitchen. the appliances all appeared to be new. It didn’t take long of exploring before I found out that the downstairs consisted of a kitchen, a large dining room, a half bath, and a huge library-type room that had shelves of books lining the walls.
The staircase upstairs was made out of some antique wood. It led to four-bedroom, all with their own private bathrooms. After looking at all four rooms I chose one that sat on the left. The minute I had opened its door the room spoke to me.
The room had two beautiful stained glass windows. The room was wallpapered in a black and silver fleur de lis pattern. Dark wooden floors only made the room appear more mysterious. The bed dominated the room with a canopy of a see-through type material. One corner had built-in bookshelves that blended in perfectly.
Walking into the room I ran my hand over the fur-like comforter feeling the silky smoothness of it. Pulling back the sheets I found cool silk sheets underneath. The sink against the fur felt amazing and I couldn’t wait to spend my first night in this massive bed.
I couldn’t help but kick off my flip-flops and crawl into the bed. Closing my eyes I couldn’t have been there a good five minutes before I heard the honking of a horn. Jumping up I went to the window and saw the moving truck. I sighed, sadly all of my belongings had fit into just one small truck.
Mr. Fitzgerald had all of my furniture sent to a consignment shop, so really all I had was clothes and little odds and ends. I had never bothered to decorate my last apartment, I never saw it as home. I did miss that little one-bedroom apartment though. Memories of better times.
Sliding back on my shoes I ran downstairs and met the moving men. Instructing them to just place everything in the entry I decided I better make a list of things I needed for the kitchen and pick up some cleaning supplies. It didn’t take long before one of the moving men came into the kitchen so I could sign the form releasing them of responsibility for my belongings. I thanked him, getting up and showing them to the door. The rain had stopped but by now it was already starting to get dark. The one downside of living in the woods in the fall.
I don’t know why but as I looked out at the rising moon I felt a shiver go down my spine. I was used to the city and tonight I would sleep alone, in the middle of nowhere. No one would hear me if I screamed out. No one would even know if I went missing.
I awoke the next morning to the blinding light of the sun entering through my window. Groaning I turned on my side reaching out for my phone. Opening my eyes I saw it was only 7:03.“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I said aloud. Why did this place have no curtains? I had been up half the night cleaning and had managed to clean all of downstairs and most of my bedroom. The other rooms would just have to wait. I doubted I’d have visitors anyway so I wasn’t in a rush to fix them up.Last night by the time I was down I took a quick shower and collapsed into my bed. A bed that was like sleeping on a cloud. I could happily spend the rest of my life snuggled up in this huge king-size bed.Sighing I sat up figuring I might as well get up. First thing first, however, I must have coffee. Wa
A week had passed by before I ever knew it. My dish and internet service had been installed earlier in the day and I'd spent most of the remaining morning rearranging furniture. I knew it was silly but moving things around made the house feel a little more like it was really mine.Lucien had yet to make a reappearance but that didn't stop me from thinking about him. I hadn't built up the courage to keep running to the cemetery instead I had started running up the long drive to the mailbox everyday. It wasn't that I was afraid of running into Lucian again, I just wasn't ready to find out what was doing all of the howling in the woods at night.I was sitting on the couch in the living room searching for any local jobs when I heard a loud booming knocking sound from the front door. My heart instantly dropped as I jumped up tiptoeing to the door almost afraid of what would be on the other side. Taking a deep breath I opened the door unable to hide the grin that appeared on
Knowing that Lucien was going to pick me up in the morning I had been unable to sleep. I did more tossing and turning than anything else. When my alarm sounded I hated myself, I was not a morning person. It had taken everything in me to get dressed.Choosing what to wear had been a whole issue. What did you wear when you had no idea where you would be going. Lucien had claimed to know the perfect job for me, no interview, no nothing. I had gathered it would be with him but I had never asked him what exactly he did for a living.After way too much thought I had chosen to wear a pair of black skinny jeans, a maroon sleeveless shirt, and a pair of sandals. I did a quick job going for a natural look with my makeup and did a simple braid for my hair. I just hoped I wasn’t too casual.Hearing a truck coming down the driveway I sighed taking one last look at my reflection. “Well here goes nothing, ” I said to myself.Lucien was walking up the s
Lucien pulled up in front of the office at exactly five o’clock. I had gathered my belongings meeting him at the door. Looking up at him I arched my brow, “and what exactly have you gotten into since lunch?”He smiled at me, “he was now covered in dirt and grease but still managed to look fine as hell. “had to work on one of the machines.”“Looks like the machine won, ” I said as I followed behind him. Hoping in the truck I looked over at Lucien as I buckled up, “Jax is a mess.”Lucien laughed, “that boy is a full-on train wreck.”I looked over at him, “so tomorrow I need to be here at 9?”Lucien’s smile faded, “yeah if you want. I won’t be here tomorrow.” I nodded at him about to speak when he started talking again, “my brother Damien will be in tomorrow. He shouldn’t be in the office too much.” I looked at him wondering wh
The rest of the week proved to be rather uneventful. Lucien would pop up here and there but he never stayed around for long. Things were kind of awkward, I’m sure it was all me but I felt awful about bringing up his past. The most I had gotten from him since that conversation was a few casual hi and byes.As soon as I made it to work I pulled my computer up and started checking everyone’s time so I could print the checks out for the day. As I loaded the checks in the printer I began to feel a little nervous. Lucien had told me that it was impossible to mess up but if there was a way I would be the one to do it.As I hit print I watched the printer come to life holding my breath until I saw the first one come out. I would have to talk to Lucien about direct deposit. Pulling out the envelopes I looked out the window wondering where Jax had run off too. I hadn’t seen him all morning and he would be perfect at stuffing envelopes.I was just about d
Fresh out of the shower I change into some black leggings and an oversized shirt. I debated on if I wanted to watch tv in my bed or go downstairs to the living room. The simple fact that I had left lights on downstairs ended up sending me down there.Sitting on the couch with my favorite blanket I flipped through the channels settling on a movie I had been wanting to see. It still had a few minutes before it would start so I got up and started a load of clothes. As I passed the backdoor I couldn’t help but stare at it for a second before returning back into the living room. It creeped me out to think about how a stranger had been in my house.The movie I had picked out was a scary movie, probably not what I should have picked out after just having an intruder. It had turned out to be scarier than I had bargained for. I was literally watching it with one hand over my eyes and the other hovering nearby when my phone rang making me jump.“Hey,” I
Taking a deep breath I wrung my hand together in my lap. “So, I don’t suppose you would want to come in?Lucien arched his brow at me, “do you want me to?”Smiling I looked down, “I’m not ready for you to leave yet.”Hearing the truck turn off I looked over seeing Lucien watching me. “So what did you have in mind? More scary movies?”I smiled opening my door, “no. How about coffee and conversation on the front porch.”Lucien nodded, “sounds good.”Nodding at him I stepped out leading him to the porch pausing only long enough to unlock the door. Flipping on the lights on our way to the kitchen I glanced over my shoulder. “I’ve never watched you make your coffee but for some reason, I see you as a no sugar, no creamer type.”Lucien sat at the bar smiling watching as I pulled two cups down out of the cabinet. “I feel like I should be ins
Monday morning I made good on my word and moved a small table a chair in the corner by my desk so Jax could work on his home school assignments. He wasn’t thrilled at all but he didn’t try to fight me on it. I’m sure he was more afraid of Lucien’s reaction if he upset me than me, myself.Walking to the back to start my coffee I couldn’t help but glance at Lucien’s closed office door. I already missed him, with Jax at the house yesterday our goodbye had been short and sweet. I didn’t even get a real kiss goodbye.Coffee in hand I walked down the hall pausing to look outside. Paul and Damien were outside talking. Just seeing them made me wonder how Lucien got along with his father. Although his dad would come and go as he pleased Lucien never talked about him. Just the one night he had to leave early to drop by his house.Damien looked catching me starring at them and arched his brow, a cocky smirk on his lips. Averting my