Being dead wasn’t so bad. Although, Marie Nichols had to admit being alive had been better. She had been born to loving and doting parents who’d had the good sense to invest in beach property. When their estate eventually passed to Marie, it had secured her financial future.
As a young woman she had fallen in love and married. Unfortunately, as the years wore on and her blinders eventually came off, she saw her husband for who he really was—a putz. However, it wasn’t an unhappy marriage, and it had produced one child. Regrettably, he turned out to be a putz like his father.
Her son’s marriage produced two sons. The eldest, Adam, had given her life purpose and had enriched her golden years. She realized Adam wasn’t perfect. In fact, since moving over to the other side, she began noticing he had a number of bad habits. It was one reason she was reluctant to move on to the other side. Adam wasn’t fully evolved yet, and she needed to stick around and make sure he got to where he needed to be. One place he needed to be was married.
Adam wasn’t the only reason Marie was reluctant to move over to the other side. There was Danielle Boatman, her surrogate granddaughter. Marie wanted to find out how it was going to work out between Danielle and Walt. While she assumed moving over to the other side wouldn’t prevent her from learning how it had all turned out, she didn’t imagine there was any way she could intervene on the other side if necessary. One thing Marie especially enjoyed about death was how she could instill herself into the living’s life and make a difference. Just look at her grandson Adam. He was no longer visiting those shameful websites.
Today was the day Walt’s cast was coming off, and Marie couldn’t help but wonder how the dynamics might change between Walt and Danielle when he was no longer depending on her as much as he had since the accident. It wasn’t just the broken leg—most men wouldn’t let something like that interfere with their lives—but Walt was just getting used to having a life again, and the broken leg had slowed down the adjustment process.
After checking in on Adam, Marie headed to Marlow House.
At five feet five inches tall, Danielle Boatman had been wanting to lose fifteen pounds for as long as she could recall. She had never been terribly committed to the goal, considering she enjoyed baking, sampling her confections, and she found it impossible to resist Old Salts Bakery’s cinnamon rolls. But that morning, as she stood on the bathroom scale, she was perplexed to find she had lost five pounds—without even trying. If her jeans hadn’t been loose, she might have suspected the scale was broken.
Later that afternoon, as she stood on the front patio of Marlow House, watching the furniture van drive away, she looked down at her jeans, once again noting the change in their fit. Grabbing hold of one seam, she gave it a tug and frowned.
“You’ve lost weight,” Marie announced when she appeared the next moment.
Letting go of the seam, Danielle looked up at Marie and smiled. The once elderly woman—now a ghost—wore a bright floral sundress and straw hat. Had she been flesh and blood, Danielle imagined a warm sweater and slacks might have been more appropriate considering the chilly May weather.
“Afternoon, Marie. Yes, I have. Five pounds. I just can’t figure out how I did it.”
“Obviously the normal way. You ate less.”
Danielle shrugged. “I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s probably because of Walt.”
“Walt?” Danielle rolled her eyes. “If I’m going to try to lose weight, it’ll be for my health—for myself, not for a man. Not even for Walt. Anyway, he’s always telling me I’m perfect just the way I am.”
Marie laughed. “That’s not what I meant. Ever since Walt moved back over to your side, he’s developed quite the sweet tooth. Who knows, maybe he always had one. Every time I’ve been over here and you start eating anything sweet, Walt tends to finish it off before you have a chance to.”
Danielle considered Marie’s suggestion for a moment and then laughed. “Oh my gosh, you’re right! That brat has been poaching my share of the cinnamon rolls.”
Marie smiled. “The van that just left, was that the furniture for the attic?”
Danielle nodded. “Yes. Everything’s set up. Walt can’t wait to see it, but I convinced him it was a bad idea to go up two flights of stairs with a cast on. The last thing he wants to do is fall and break something else, especially since he’s getting the cast off today. Would you like to see the attic?”
“That’s why I’m here. And to tell you my grandson will be here in a minute. He wants to see the attic too.”
Danielle stood at the open doorway of Marlow House’s attic, surveying the stunning transformation. Bill Jones had packed up his tools the day before, and this morning Joanne had given the space a thorough cleaning, just in time for the furniture delivery.
Adam Nichols had arrived a few minutes after his grandmother, yet he had no idea her spirit trailed after him. Chris Johnson had arrived a few minutes later, and now the two men walked together in the attic, admiring Jones’s work while Danielle and Marie stood silently by the doorway and listened.
“I have to say, I wasn’t sure he could pull it off.” Chris opened the door leading into the new attic bathroom. “I can’t believe he finished all this in less than a month.”
“I knew he could,” Adam said. “But I had to talk him into it. Bill wasn’t thrilled to be working up here alone, but he hired a couple of guys to help him. This attic tends to creep him out.” Adam shivered at the memory and then added, “Sort of creeps me out too, but it seems different now. Maybe the remodel got rid of all the old ghosts.” He laughed nervously and glanced around.
“Hmm…should I take offense?” Marie asked Danielle with a chuckle. Danielle flashed Marie a smile.
“Maybe,” Chris muttered under his breath as he entered the bathroom.
Adam turned to Danielle and asked, “So you’re really going to rent this to Marlow?”
“I have to rent it to someone. After all, that’s what I do—I rent rooms.”
“You’re a B and B, not a boardinghouse,” Adam reminded her. “At least, that’s what you’re always telling me.”
Danielle shrugged. “Maybe I like the idea of a real Marlow living under the roof. And considering I have the portraits back in the library—well, at least the reproductions—it might be fun for the guests to get to meet the Marlow who looks exactly like the man who used to live here, the man in the portrait.”
Marie lovingly watched her grandson. “I find it sweet how concerned Adam is for your welfare.”
Danielle resisted the temptation to roll her eyes.
Adam glanced briefly to the ceiling by the window, where, according to legend, his great-grandfather had found the original Walt Marlow hanging from the rafters after being murdered. Back then the general consensus was that the man had committed suicide. Adam shivered at the thought and then looked at Danielle and shook his head. “I just can’t get over the fact he is staying. I thought by now he’d be ready to move on. Isn’t he getting his cast off today?”
Danielle glanced at her watch and then looked to Adam. “Yes, and I’m taking him. I’ll have to leave in a few minutes.”
Chris stepped out of the bathroom and said, “Looks great, Danielle. Walt’s going to love it up here.”
“If you guys don’t mind, could you lock up for me? I really need to leave, or Walt’s going to be late for his appointment.”
“No problem.” Chris flashed her a smile.
“Thanks. See you guys later.” Danielle turned and dashed from the room.
“I just remembered, I have to leave too. I promised Eva I’d meet her this afternoon at the theater,” Marie said right before vanishing.
Adam stood quietly for a moment, listening to Danielle’s steps as she made her way down the attic stairs. He turned to Chris and shook his head.
Chris frowned. “What?”
“I don’t get you. What happened with you and Danielle?”
Chris shrugged. “Nothing happened…”
“I guess not. Not if Marlow is moving in here, and you don’t seem to have a problem with it.”
Chris wandered over to the window and looked out at the street below. “Danielle and I are good friends. I just don’t think we were meant to be—well, you know.”
Adam shrugged and walked to Chris’s side. “No. I really don’t. And frankly I can’t believe you’re okay with Marlow staying here. It’s only been—what—eight weeks since the accident? Eight weeks ago he was engaged to another woman and taking off to Europe. Now he’s moving into Danielle’s attic.”
“I’m okay with it—honest. Anyway, I have other things on my mind right now.” Chris turned from the window and faced Adam. “I was hoping to talk to Danielle about it, but I forgot she was taking Walt to the doctor this afternoon.” He leaned back against the windowsill.
“You can talk to me. I’m a good listener.” Adam paused a moment and then chuckled. “Actually that’s not true. I’ve always been a crappy listener, but I’m working on it.”
“Because of Melony?” Chris teased.
“Something like that.” Adam grinned. “Go ahead, I need the practice anyway.”
Chris let out a sigh and then said, “I got a letter from my uncle Loyd.”
Adam arched his brows. “Is that one of the uncles who tried to take your inheritance?”
Chris nodded. “I only have two uncles—my father’s older brothers, Loyd and Simon. Dad was the youngest. There was a huge age gap between him and my uncles. They were old enough to be his father.”
“So what did he want? Money?” Adam asked.
“Claimed he didn’t. Said he wanted to apologize for what happened after my parents died. He insisted both he and Uncle Simon regretted what they had done.”
“I bet,” Adam snorted. “Not too bright pissing off your billionaire nephew.”
“They claim this isn’t about money. Insisted they aren’t asking for anything. It’s not like they need any money. They each inherited a few million from their parents, and both of them have been frugal all their lives. I’m sure they still have the money their parents gave them and more.”
“But not billions like you inherited?” Adam asked.
Chris shook his head. “All the sons inherited the same amount. I’ll just say Dad was better with money than my uncles.”
“No kidding,” Adam muttered. “So is that why they tried to contest your parents’ will, because they were jealous their younger brother did better with his inheritance?”
“I used to think so.”
“Used to?” Adam frowned.
“According to my uncle’s letter, the reason they contested my parents’ will was that they were worried I’d end up giving it all away.” Chris chuckled. “Which I have been trying to do. Uncle Loyd insisted what they really wanted was to control the inheritance so I wouldn’t end up broke. Claimed they were ultimately doing it for me, but things spiraled out of control.”
“So what does he want, just to apologize?”
“That’s what he said. Told me he and his brother don’t want—or need—a penny of my money. They just want me back in their lives. They don’t have any children. I think they’re just getting old and realize how alone they are.”
“How did they even find you?”
“No secret my foundation headquarters is located here. They sent a letter to the office.”
“So what are you going to do?”
Chris shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s what I wanted to talk to Danielle about. What do you think I should do?”
Adam considered the question a minute. “You know, I never thought I’d say this, but you and I have a lot more in common than I realized.”
“What do you mean?”
Adam shrugged. “Just thinking of the money I inherited from my grandmother and how my parents and brother were barely included in the will.”