Page 30 of Heir to a Curse

Chapter 11

Ifound my way to the dining hall for food again, thankful for Montana’s cooking since the appliances for the cabin still hadn’t arrived. The tracking said they were on the list for tomorrow. That meant I’d have to get groceries and could spend less time bothering the crew of the house.

Tonight’s spread was fresh fish, the choice of veggies or rice, and a lot of sauces. Did he drive several hours every morning just to restock supplies? I filled my plate and wondered if the industrial fridge I’d ordered would be enough.

“I’m happy to see you stopping in for dinner,” Montana said.

“I promise to bring your basket back from last night. I really appreciate all this.” I motioned to the food. “The appliances for the cabin will arrive tomorrow. I’ll have to get some groceries, then I’ll be out of your hair.”

“If you give me a list of things you’d like, I can pick them up for you.”

“Do you sleep?” I held up a hand. “I’m not flirting. Though that would have been awkward flirting. But I am worried you’re working too much.”

“I promise I’m okay. Cooking is my life. It brings me joy. I will be happy when the kitchen is done and stocked so I won’t have to shop as much. There’s not enough room in the garage kitchen. Not even with the extra fridge in the garage.”

I squinted at him. “Do I need a bigger fridge for in the kitchen?”

“The one you showed me looked amazing. Bigger than the old one.”

“The new one is full industrial size. The sort of thing they use in restaurants.”

He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “That would be amazing. But my offer still stands. Shopping for your groceries. I can give you my number.” He hurried on to say then. “Not for flirting, just for groceries.”

We were both awkward as hell. I let out a long breath and pulled out my phone. “Okay, groceries. I’ll send you a list.” Though I planned it to be a very short one. “I’m pretty much a meat and veggies guy.”

“Sounds great,” he agreed and offered up his number, and took mine in exchange. I let him go back to his meal stuff and took my plate to a table. Jerry and Mike joined me briefly. Both happy to not be making their own stuff in the camper, but neither pressuring me into conversation. We all ate and I listened to them go on about some show they were watching on one of the streaming services.

My phone pinged with a text as I was finishing up. It was Addy.Did you know that dragon picture on your wall is actually a Chinese Unicorn?

Really?I sent back.The qilin?

A:Yep. Sarah says it’s a Chinese Unicorn. Decider of kings. Guess you’re king now.

Ha. Ha.I texted back a laughing emoji.

A:I’m sending you a link to an app that translates by scanning. Just take a picture and it should translate for you.A link popped up a second later, and when I clicked on it, it asked for access to my phone’s camera, which I allowed.

Thanks.I sent back, taking my empty plate back to the serving area for clean-up. It wouldn’t be too late to go check out Sofia’s office would it? It had been years since I’d been in there. I didn’t see Mr. Yamamoto around and assumed he’d already gone home for the day. I figured if I was going to be looking into breaking a two-hundred-year-old Chinese curse, the least I could do was research how it came to be. Sofia had to have some records.

I headed upstairs to the empty upper hall. There was a grand sitting area up there, which was open to all the rooms at this end of the hallway. Sofia’s office and library were at the end. The quiet of the house felt weird. Like I shouldn’t be sneaking around, though technically it was my house now.

I entered the room and felt along the wall for the light switch, finding it right away. The room blossomed into something I only vaguely recalled seeing once or twice. Sofia had never spent a lot of time in here, not when she could be out talking to people. But it was a big den layout, with floor to ceiling bookcases, and a handful of display cases. I had actually forgotten about those. Some of them were empty. Had Sofia sent some of those items off? Or had they been confiscated by family after her death?

Most of the remaining cases contained small things, like hand fans which appeared to be hand embroidered silk. One large case contained an outfit which appeared to be feminine, red in color and embroidered with gold. I stepped in close to read the small plaque on the side of the glass. It was a Ming era wedding gown. Probably worth a fortune. I wondered if it could be loaned to a museum or something. A piece like that was meant to be seen. Though perhaps it was still here because the family didn’t want it shared. I would have to ask.

Sofia’s desk showed Mr. Yamamoto’s organization had tamed that beast. Everything in its place, from financial records, to copies of Sofia’s death certificate, and copies of the deeds of the house. I was glad he was on top of things. It all sounded like a lot of irritating legalese to me.

The bookshelves were an eclectic blend. From current fiction, to classics, a lot of it in English, some in a handful of other languages. The categorization seemed a bit scattered, much like Sofia’s way of thinking sometimes. The case closest to her desk was filled with volumes with legal how-tos, history texts duplicated in a few languages, and at the very top shelf books all in Chinese with very simple spines.

I pulled out my phone for those, scanning for the titles. Hoping for something that jumped out and said “Legends of the Yang family” or something like that, though they were more basic law titles. Sofia had reverted to her family name after each divorce. It would have been too easy to find something there, I thought. A guide to the history of their family and a breakdown of the curse. The app couldn’t translate it all. Some of the titles came out looking like weird things equivalent to “ducks in the rain”, but I scanned all that I could find, hoping for something.

A bit disappointed, I headed back downstairs and out toward the cabin. Maybe I’d find more with an internet search. Everything was on the internet nowadays, wasn’t it?

I arrived back at the cabin, somewhat sad to find the rabbit gone. I’d forgotten food for him anyway, so it was probably better that way. The shrine looked still and untouched across the bridge, though I hadn’t had time to do more than cover the opening with a few sheets of plywood. Building something to fit the doorway would take a bit more time. Maybe I could find some antiques to repurpose for it. I’d have to call Madison tomorrow.

Instead of heading in for the night, I crossed the bridge to the shrine. There were a handful of small flowers blooming on the island, and I took a few minutes to gather some before going inside. The bits of moonlight cast an eerie glow in the space, but there was no one there but me. No monsters or mysterious men. The trickling fountain soothed something deep inside my gut as I lit a stick of incense for Sofia and put a handful of flowers beside her urn. I left a few near the tree as well, below the name the monster had been reaching for. Maybe it was all about being forgotten. No one wanted to be forgotten. Even in death, right?

I dug out another stick of incense and lit it near the tree design, leaving it on one of the plates there, then made my way back to the cabin for the night. Inside, everything sat still and untouched, though the room felt like it had more life. Addy’s additions in design helped with pops of color and small pieces pulling the entire space together.