Page 25 of Don't Scare Me, My Love

“Oh.I’m sorry?—“

“It’s okay. It feels like they’re with me when I’m here.” His gaze wandered around the vast foyer. “My parents can’t wait to get rid of it, but somehow…” He shook his head. “I don’t know. Ilovethis place. I had the idea of maybe reopening it myself—to honor my grandparents and give it some new life—but I have enough trouble with the gas station. It’s super hard to find employees. Besides, Seastone has nothing to offer but the mountains. Why would anyone want to stay here?”

He looked at me as if I were the perfect person to ask since I had just recently taken a job in a town that everyone had decided was as good as dead.

“A lot of people like to spend time in nature. Maybe you could turn it into one of those offline places.” I raised my hand as if painting a banner in the air in front of me. “Nothing but mountains and silence.” I looked back at him. “Throw in a day spa, guided hikes, and good food. People would probably pay for it.”

“So we turn the bad cell phone reception into a selling point? I love it.”

“Or,or, you could use the rustic look and sell it as ahorror movie hotel. Turn one room into a movie theater and show one horror movie after the other. You could do horror-themed escape rooms and?—”

“You’re quite the businessman,” he grinned at me.

“Oh, no. I have ideas, but I’m not a businessman. I couldn’t do what you do.”

“It’s not that hard. At least not with the gas station.”

“The taxes alone!”

“I have a company taking care of that. It’s more about the business risk, but people always need gas, and I don’t have any competitors nearby.”

“Then why not the hotel?”

“Like I said, it’s the business risk. A lot of investment without knowing if it will pay off?” He shook his head from side to side as if he was weighing it. “But I like your ideas. I might steal them.”

“Go ahead. I’ll give them to you for free.”

“Are you just doing that so I won’t kill you?” he laughed.

“Exactly.”

We walkedaround the upper floor for twenty minutes. The rooms were decent. They all had excellent views, but most of them would need an overhaul if one ever thought of reopening. The furniture was old, and the complete emptiness of the place made it feel eerie—perfect for Halloween, but probably not during the other seasons.

He offered to show me the exterior another day when it wasn’t so dark. I told him I didn’t mind the darkness, but he insisted, and I couldn’t help but think this was his way of letting me know he’d be happy to have me back.

We returned to my car because there was still a bonfire to attend.

“Thank you for showing me this place,” I said as I unlocked my minivan.

“I knew you’d like it. That’s why I wanted to come here first.”

“I bet you bring all the boys here.”

“Yes. Alloneof them.”

With my hands on the door handle, I stared at his head, barely poking out over the roof of my minivan.

“One?”

“Yes.You.”

FIVE

SCARY IN A DIFFERENT WAY

JASON

His car smelled like lemons.I hadn’t sat in the passenger seat in years, and it was strange. He didn't brake like I did. Whenever he pulled up to a car in front of him, I was already flexing my muscles, bracing for what seemed like an inevitable collision, though so far, Nicholas had always slowed down in time.

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