Friends and Lovers Trilogy 03 - Seduced Read Online Free PDF Page B

weeks now. At first, he’d attributed the frustrating occurrences to the typical chaos of moving into a new place. But then the problems had escalated. This evening he’d resigned himself to the notion that Hollyberry Inn, his newly purchased, quaint, but ancient, bed and breakfast resort, was indeed haunted.
    “Do you know what I had to go through to get Jake to agree to this trip in the first place?” Afia continued in a strangled whisper. “He made me get a doctor’s written note stating it was safe for me to fly!”
    “I think the airlines require …”
    “Then he
blackmailed
me. Said we’d fly up and spend the week in Vermont if I stopped visiting the HIV babies at the hospital!”
    “I happen to know you’re a mess every time you leave those poor kids, sweetie, and that Jake only asked you to take a break until …”
    “He lays out my vitamins every morning and stands there watching until I wash them down with a glass of milk! What am I, five-years-old?”
    He cradled the receiver between his shoulder and ear while tinkering with the breaker panel.
Sans
electricity his salmon soufflé teetered on ruination. “Honey, I know Jake’s been a little controlling lately, but …”
    “
Lately
? He’s always controlling, Rudy. I’ve learned to handle that.
This
is much worse. This is a … a dictatorship! Yes, that’s what it is. I’m living under the iron fist of Jake Leeds. Do this. Don’t do that.”
    Rudy almost laughed. But then he risked Afia biting his head off or bursting into tears. Talk about hormonal. Poor Jake. Yeah, the alpha P.I. was a control freak, but he worshiped his wife, recent mood swings and all. “Well, you
are
eight months pregnant.”
    “So what? Women have babies all the time!”
    “But this is your first. Jake’s first.” He grappled for patience, flicked more switches. “And there was that problem with his sister’s first pregnancy. Joni pulled through with flying colors, thank God, and Kylie’s a cutie. But it
was
touch and go for awhile. You can’t blame Jake for being nervous. Cut the guy a break, honey.”
    “You’re supposed to be
my
best friend.”
    “I am.”
    “But you’re siding with Jake.”
    “I’m not siding with anyone.” He heard the distant sound of his radio, turned, and saw the kitchen and dining room lights shining which meant the electric stove was back on. He glanced at his watch. Eight-minutes had passed. “Dammit, Casper.”
    “Who’s Casper?”
    Rudy flushed. “No one.” No way was he confessing he had a ghost, poltergeist, whatever. His friends would declare him bonkers or say, “
I told you so
.” Jake had tried to talk him into investing in a newer property. He and Afia were constantly pouring money into their genuine Victorian home. Not that Afia couldn’t afford it. She was an heiress. Jake, however, was old fashioned and insisted on handling renovations himself. Since his expertise was in private investigations, not plumbing and roofing, progress was slow. “
Save yourself the hassle and the money
,” he’d said.
    But Rudy had wanted a place with history.
    Well, Hollyberry Inn had history, all right. The realtor had shared several stories of happy honeymooners and vacationing families throughout the decades, but had failed to mention that in the early 1900s a lovesick, artistic youth had committed suicide in the Evergreen Suite. He’d learned
that
juicy tidbit through town gossip. “Listen, Afia, I’m serious. I don’t want you and the gang to come up here yet. I’m not ready.”
    “But the grand opening is …”
    “I’m going to postpone that too.”
    “But Jean-Pierre …”
    “I’m calling him next.” His stomach curdled with disappointment. He’d spent months getting his emotional cookies together, basing his recovery on an observation by his estranged lover, Jean-Pierre Legrand. He’d abandoned his self-help library in favor of seeking answers through meditation, hoping to embrace what he feared most: