Page 36 of My Inherited House Might be Haunted

“Your familiar is offering to show us around. May we?” he asked in a surprisingly deep voice.

“Please do. This is home now. His name is Myst, by the way. I have another familiar, Lucy, a fluffy black cat. Oh, and don’t mind the ghosts, they’re mostly passing through.”

“We will handle it,” River assured him. “Thank you, Master Rhett.”

“Pleasure having you.” Rhett beamed back at her.

I set Pepper down and she moved off with her family, who were obviously giddy about exploring this huge house they could now call home. I was relieved my apartment and shop weren’t going to be abandoned because I’d be sad to go back to cleaning. Pepper had clearly told them of our agreement and the family chose to honor it. I was glad.

Rhett threw his arms around my waist, hugging me, his eyes warm and tinged with laughter.

“I thank you for bringing me a live-in cleaning crew. God knows I need them.”

“You’re welcome. Honestly, I got the surprise of my life when I came home to find a whole family of Brownies.”

“I bet.”

From somewhere in the back of the house, River’s voice rose in a sharp command.

“GHOST! DON’T YOU DARE LEAVE THAT WINDOW OPEN! I WON’T BE CHASING FLIES BECAUSE OF YOUR CARELESSNESS!”

Rhett and I both started laughing, hanging off each other.

“Well,” Rhett choked out, “one thing’s for sure. With Grandma River around, the house will be kept in immaculate condition.”

“And the ghosts don’t stand a chance against her,” I agreed, still laughing.

If nothing else, the Brownie vs. Ghost wars should be entertaining.

Epilogue

Rhett

Three months later

I sat in the library that evening, curled up in my favorite armchair, with a glass of wine in my hand and a purring cat in my lap. Calix was in the kitchen making something yummy—I could tell from the smells alone. Nothing better than a sexy man in my kitchen cooking.

For some reason, I felt a little pensive. A little sad. Well, I say “for some reason” but I knew the reason. Today was Aunt Ruth’s birthday. It was a reminder to me of all the other birthdays I’d celebrated with her. I missed her fiercely even on a good day, but today? It was more poignant.

I looked up at the oil painting of her above the fireplace and spent a moment mourning this incredible woman. At the same time, I felt like I should thank her. So much had happened in my life, all positive, because of her generosity.

“So, Aunt Ruth? Turns out I’m a technomage after all, like you guessed. I’m still training, but your apprentice is doing a damnfine job getting me up to snuff. Thank you for Chelsea. She’s really becoming one of my best friends.”

I was on a roll now and needed to say this aloud. To acknowledge it, hoping she could somehow hear me.

“The house has been so welcoming to me. It has a spirit of its own, I’ve found. It doesn’t talk to me, but I sometimes get impressions from it. With practice, I hope to get better at understanding what it’s trying to say. The Brownies interpret for me often. Oh, speaking of, thanks to Calix, it’s now got a whole family of Brownies to take care of it. I’m not even allowed to clean. They get pissed at me if I try. It’s glorious. I’m so spoiled, and I never want it to change. I feel like I’m a Disney princess some days.”

Myst came in to flop at my feet, then went belly up. Shameless creature. I used a foot to give him belly rubs and got a wagging tail for my efforts.

“I have two wonderful familiars, a loving boyfriend who moves in with me this week, and a successful business that’s grown so much I’ve actually hired a person to help me in the shop. And while the house is hella haunted at any given time, you set it up this way for those who need help to pass on. It’s been wonderful, seeing people stuck in time finally reunite with family and friends. Some days, I sit on the patio with Chelsea and just watch, encouraged by the thought that there’s a life after this one.”

The front doorbell rang and Calix called, “I’ve got it!”

Good, because I wasn’t moving. I was under various levels of fur paralysis.

I kept my ear trained toward the door though and heard Calix greet someone, a beep, and then the sound of a heavy cardboard box being lugged inside.

“Cutie, what did you buy?” Calix called to me. “It’s heavy as hell and marked fragile?”

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