Page 36 of Heir to a Curse
“You guys should go rest. No need to overwork yourselves for me.”
“Boss,” Jerry said. “Let us help. Don’t be a prick.”
We arrived back at the cabin and an ashen looking Montana. “You okay?” I asked him, stepping into the cabin to set the box down and grab my tools. Three shoji screens I’d been using to separate the rooms were all lying flat.
“I wasn’t near any of them,” Montana said. “They all fell at once.”
I glanced at his little wagon, which was empty.
“I was putting your stuff away.”
“Let me walk you back to the house,” I offered, taking the handle of his little wagon. “I’ll be right back to work on the doors,” I told Mike and Jerry. Montana walked very stiffly several feet away, as far as the path would allow, until we got back to the house. “Sorry,” I said.
“Not your fault I’m jumpy.” He let out a long sigh and didn’t look at me. “It really is haunted, you know. How can you live there?”
“I’m not sure about haunted. I think maybe restless? Like the house and land is telling me something? I’ve had that before. Houses make noise. The older, the noisier. Can’t jump at every little sound they make.”
“It’s creepy.”
I could understand. “Well good thing you’re in the new part of the house, right?”
He nodded, glanced at me and tugged his wagon toward the door. “Come to meals when you can,” he said. “Even though you have food stuff. Let me cook for you sometimes.”
“Sure,” I agreed without really agreeing and watched him disappear inside. By the time I got back to the shrine the guys had pulled out the old frame.
“Pretty solid framework,” Mike said. “Looks like part of it was replaced since there’s no holes from the previous hinges.”
“I’ve got a drill in the cabin,” I said. “Let me grab it.” In the cabin, I swept up the drill, took a few extra seconds to right the screens and made my way back to the guys who were positioning the first door with a handful of wedges and a level. “Damn near a perfect fit,” I marveled at the first door.
“Yeah, no way you could have done this on your own, Boss,” Jerry said. “These things weigh a ton.”
I found a set of long screws in my tool box and helped them finish squaring the first door before drilling the screws into each hinge. The second door went up even easier since the first was there to help it balance. The center section was meant for a lock I’d never seen before, and of course that was gone, but I’d find something to fit. For now, I used some twine to tie the doors shut. They weren’t moving on their own anyway. Not with how heavy they were.
“Fresh coat of paint and it will look good as new,” Mike said. “You grab some paint chips yet to match the color?”
“I did actually. They are in my wallet. Addy said she would stop up tomorrow morning to grab them while we’re working on the cabinet install.” I looked over our handiwork, thinking maybe I could install some basic weather stripping too, and added it to my list.
“Looking good, Boss,” Jerry said. “Starting to feel like home yet?” He pointed at the cabin. “Maybe add some new paint for that too?”
I thought about the cabin and the original pictures Hitori had given me. Had the cabin been in any of them? I couldn’t recall. “I’ll think on that. You guys go get some rest.” The sun was finally setting on us and I knew it had to be after nine. “Put your time helping me on your timecards.”
Mike sighed, and Jerry shrugged. But I paid my guys for their work. Took pride in that as much as I did the work I did. “Go.” I waved at them. “Rest. Watch your streaming stuff. I’m going to read.”
They wandered off and I headed back to the cabin, opening the door and sliding off my shoes. The pantry cabinet was open, a handful of things on the floor, though I knew it had been closed and secured when I’d retrieved the drill.
“Stop messing with my stuff please,” I said into the empty space. “I’m trying to help. Trying to put things back to right. It would help if you’d give me a clue what to fix instead of knocking stuff over like a two-year-old.” I put the drill and toolbox away, and found my way to the bedroom to change into pajamas. The house was still and quiet again, the sounds of birds and crickets outside, faint, but soothing. Angry spirit or not, if it was hanging around, it wasn’t getting much excitement from me.
I doused all the lights except the small lamp in the bedroom and crawled into bed with the book of fairytales. It was a bit dry. Like that class I’d taken in Greek philosophy at the community college in my twenties. Lots of sort of boring stories about seemingly normal events which somehow always got the attention of a spirit or a god or something to create havoc. These were all love stories. Or at least they began that way. None of them had happy endings. Some couples ending up married, but cursed to die in the middle of a war, or have their child ripped away, or be alone forever instead of with their love. I wondered if that was why they were cursed, or perhaps part of the curse, the fact that they never got to experience the realization of their relationships.
I only got through three stories before I was too tired to keep my eyes open and set the book aside. If the story of the prince and the monster I’d seen was in that book, I had yet to encounter it, and wondered if it would make a difference. Knowing versus not knowing. Life was more about actions than simple knowledge. Sofia had taught me that.
“I’ll help you if I can,” I mumbled into my pillow as I closed my eyes. “But you have to give me some direction.” I let out a long breath feeling sleep tug at me. “And stop breaking my stuff. That’s rude.”