Page 100 of The Curse of Redwood

My eyes stung as I swept a gaze throughout the foyer. A handful of people stood around a table with finger food and chatted about renovation ideas to make the place look morewelcomingandopen. Two men walked up the staircase and pointed at the dome above us in awe.

It felt so wrong to have people there—living ones anyway. I wanted to scream at them all to get out.

“Oh, excuse me!” Caroline exclaimed, stepping across the threshold and raising her arm in the air. She looked up at the men on the staircase. “The viewing is for the first floor only. The cleaners didn’t have time to get to the rest of the home. There are safety concerns as well, since no one’s been up there in quite some time.”

“No problem, ma’am,” one of the men said in a strong southern accent. He grabbed the other man’s hand, and they walked back to the ground floor.

From the corner of my eye, I saw someone standing in the corridor to the left. When I looked, they were gone. I stared at the spot for a few seconds before walking over. I turned the corner and nearly bumped into William.

“Afternoon, sir,” he said, tipping his little hat to me. “It sure is busy today.”

“Yeah.” I could barely speak past the lump in my throat. “People are interested in buying the house.”

It really hit me in that moment that Zeke wasn’t the only one I would miss when the mansion got a new owner. I’d miss William too.

“They are such a bore.” He reached for my hand and swung it from side to side. “Can we play?”

“Not right now, buddy.” I knelt down to his level. “But as soon as everyone leaves later, we’ll play any game you want.”

“Promise?” He poked my nose.

“I promise.”

“Attention, everyone,” Caroline said from the entrance hall. “I’ll now be conducting a tour and answering any questions you may have.”

“I gotta go,” I said, releasing William’s hand and standing back up. “Keep Mr. Warren company for me until they leave, okay?”

“Will do, sir!” He saluted me. “You can count on me.”

He turned and ran down the hall, disappearing before he reached the end of it.

I joined everyone beside the staircase and walked with them as Caroline led us to the parlor. It looked cleaner, so the people must have come shortly after I left that morning to get the mansion ready for viewing. After the parlor, we were led to the study. I looked at the desk and remembered a time when Zeke had bent me over the top of it and taken me hard and fast.

I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling.

“If I bought the place, I’d knock out that wall,” a woman said, waving a hand at the wall behind Zeke’s bookshelf. “And I’d throw out all this clutter.”

My heart sank.

“If purchased, the seller has informed me that the house comes fully furnished,” Caroline said with an excited tone. Probably because she’d been trying to sell the mansion for so long and couldn’t believe there were so many interested buyers standing before her. “So, you can do whatever you want. Knock down walls, build them, renovate to your heart’s content.”

“I think the mansion is beautiful as it is,” I said, touching the bookshelf. Zeke loved his home and wouldn’t want anyone to change it.

“If you’ll all follow me, I’d like to show you the sunroom.” Caroline’s heels clacked on the floor as she walked out into the hall. “Oh, and then we’ll go to the parlor where fancy gatherings were held back in the day. All original structure and furnishings still remain, a true antique collector’s dream.”

As I walked at the back of the line, counting down the hours until all these damn people left, a cold hand clamped over my mouth and I was pulled into another room.

“I hope you don’t mind that I stole you away,” Zeke whispered into my ear, before turning me around. He smirked as he glided his fingers along my jaw. “But I couldn’t wait a moment longer. Seeing you and not being able to touch you is true torture, you know.”

“Zeke…” The tears I’d been holding back finally fell as I looked into his eyes and realized the amount of times I’d ever be able to do so was limited. “I hate this. What are we gonna do?”

“Please don’t cry, darling boy.” He moved his thumb under my eye, wiping away a tear. Different emotions crossed his face, though I could tell he was doing his best to stay composed. “We knew this day would eventually come.”

“I don’t wanna lose you.”

“You will never lose me,” he said, his voice cracking a bit as his body flickered. “I will love you until the sun dies… and perhaps even longer. Nothing will ever change that.”

“I love you too.” I laid my head on his shoulder and squeezed my eyes shut, doing my best not to breakdown.