Read Online A Stranger in Wynnedower by Grace Greene - Free Book Online

stupid did that
sound? Eyes couldn’t laugh. He blinked against the strong light in the
corridor. Clearly, it was playing tricks with his vision.
    “It is bright in here,
isn’t it?” She waved at the long wall of windows lining the hallway. “Your
great-grandfather really did love light. When did your family leave Wynnedower?”
    “When I was ten. We
came back for visits, but after my father died, my mother refused to return.
Still won’t. She lives in New York.”
    “And yet, you’re here
now.”
    “I am. Time to move
forward with restoring the property or get rid of it.”
    “Thanks, Jack. I hope
I’ll be able to give value in exchange for you allowing me to stay.”
    That was the dilemma,
wasn’t it? Value? No one ever gave more value than they consumed in time and
obligations. He was well into his thirties, closing in on forty, and here he was,
still trying to find a way to shake free of those obligations.
    But it was more than
obligation. There was also love. That’s how they got their hooks in so tight.
    Rachel walked away,
moving with determination, heading toward the central hall and to who knew
where? She didn’t look back, as if she’d read his second doubts and knew
exactly when to exit the stage.
    Well, this wouldn’t be
a new obligation. This was simply about doing a favor for a woman who’d been
ditched by her brother. It was a day to day arrangement. They’d agreed on it
and an inventory of the attic would be good to have.
    She’d get tired of the
whole thing in a few days and decide to wait for her irresponsible baby brother
back home in Baltimore where air conditioning and modern conveniences were easy
to come by. In the meantime, he needed to explain this arrangement to some
people, especially to May.
    He twisted the knobs on
the dining room doors. Locked. Good. As he walked away, it hit him that her
eyes weren’t topaz-colored at all, but more like golden amber.

Chapter Five
     
    Rachel was so
blissfully far from being trapped in warehouses and businesses with electronic
inventory equipment that it didn’t take long for her to prefer the smell of
‘old’ to that of concrete and steel. On the other hand, Wynnedower wasn’t air
conditioned and could get hot, especially upstairs.
    If only Jeremy were
here…if only she knew he was okay, knew where he was and with whom.
    She changed into shorts
and a loose cotton shirt to work her way through the house. It was inevitable
that she passed the closed dining room doors many times. The doorknobs were
like glowing, blinking beacons shouting, ‘try me,’ and she did. The doors were
locked.
    There were many other
doors and most of them were locked, too. She had about thirty keys on the ring
and no doubt many were duplicates. She’d number the doors and write the number
on the tags, but she needed the tags and a marker, so trying the keys was a
half-hearted effort. She did identify the keys to the doors around her rooms
and she kept them with her, close to hand.
    She spent time on the
list. She worked it room by room, beginning with the library, making notes
about restoration tasks. The furnishings were few and pitiful.
    After a while, when she
grew hungry, she realized they hadn’t discussed meals and Jack was nowhere to
be seen.
    In the kitchen, Rachel
went through the cupboards and found some food supplies. In the fridge, there
were a couple of covered casseroles, presumably May’s.
    Rachel spooned pasta
casserole into a smaller pan and slid it in the oven to heat. While it was
warming and the smell of baking tuna was filling the air, she went through the
cupboards in the adjoining pantry. It was spacious. No food, but lots of
cookware and implements, all wrapped up in paper and plastic, were stored in
the upper cabinets. She was going to need a stool or step ladder to go through
them properly. The lower cabinets were largely empty.
    A soft clatter, as if
distant and imagined, echoed in her head. The movement of pots of pans.