Page 53 of The Curse of Redwood

“I know what you mean,” I said, as we stood in line to order. “I used to be the same way with sex.”

“And now?”

“I want something more meaningful,” I responded. I felt like I’d found it too—even if Z still tried to make me believe he didn’t want me in a romantic way. His affection for me was clear in every kiss, each laugh when I said something silly, and how he liked to hold me close after sex.

“Are you dating anyone?” Taylor asked, moving his gaze to the menu above the barista station. I could tell he wasn’t actually reading it. This was the first time since we’d started hanging out that we’d ever talked about dating and relationships. We usually just joked around and had conversations about ghosts.

“Kind of. It’s complicated. What about you?”

“Not really,” he said, his brow furrowing. “I was kinda talking to someone, but it didn’t work out.”

“Well, it’s their loss.” I smiled when he looked at me. “Because you’re pretty great.”

“Thanks.” He returned my smile before stepping up to the counter and ordering us both a coffee. When I tried to pay for mine, he shook his head. “Nah, it’s payment for listening to my whining.”

“You weren’t whining. Why are you getting another coffee? You just had one.”

“You can never have too much coffee. And we’ll need the extra pick-me-up.” Excitement filled his eyes. “We’re going to Redwood tonight.”

***

This is a really bad idea,I thought as Taylor and I pulled up to Redwood Manor.

As much as I’d wanted to tell him no earlier, I’d sensed he’d end up going anyway, with or without me. At least if I was with him, I’d be around if something happened. We’d driven together in his car, and I told him where to park.

“I take it you’ve done this before?” he asked, as he parked in my usual spot near the shrubs.

“Once or twice.”

“Even though the place scares you?” He cut the engine and we got out of the car, lightly shutting the doors so the sound didn’t travel far.

“What can I say, I wanted to face my fear head on.”Not like I had much of a choice.I stared up at the mansion through the iron fence. So many secrets hid within the many rooms. So much horror had taken place within the walls. Z had told me some, but there was still so much I didn’t know. Maybe I never would. “I used to have nightmares about it.”

“Do you still have them?”

“No.” I hadn’t had a nightmare in weeks, not since I’d started regularly visiting the estate. The draw to the mansion had lessened too, as had the voice that had beckoned me there in the first place. “Follow me.”

I no longer approached the main gate when I visited. I had found an easier way to get into the yard. A part of the fence at the side of the property was a lot easier to climb. Once we were over it and in the backyard, Taylor approached the rundown building that used to be the stables. Ever since the first time I’d discovered it, I hadn’t gone back. It felt too personal, like that was a part of Z’s past I shouldn’t look into.

“I wonder if this used to be a stable,” Taylor said, resting his hands atop the wooden post. “If it is, there might be a trail leading into the woods from it. The men used to go on hunts and stuff back in that day. Horse riding was a big thing, especially among the wealthy.”

“So you’re a history nerd as well as a book lover?”

Taylor released a short laugh. “Guess you could say that. History and English were my two favorite subjects in school.”

“I hated all subjects equally,” I said, as we walked toward the gazebo overtaken by vines. “I mainly just sat in the back of the room and tried not to fall asleep.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Taylor plopped down on a stone bench.

It was the same bench I’d seen Ezekiel sitting on in my last vision when he was readingDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

“You never told me what got you into the paranormal,” I said, sitting beside him. The stone was cold beneath my ass, even through my jeans.

“My dad,” he answered. “I grew up hearing him tell ghost stories, and I watched my very first horror movie with him. He was convinced our house was haunted by my dead uncle.”

I blinked in surprise. “Come again?”

“I never met him,” Taylor said. “He died a few years before I was born. He was my dad’s older brother.”