Hacienda Moon (The Path Seekers) Read Online Free PDF

aloud.
     
    As she moved down the hallway she heard water gushing from several areas of the house. She felt torn about which way to go first; so she chose the closest room, the kitchen.
     
    Trudging into the room, she slowed her pace as she got closer to the sink. The tape she triple-wrapped around the faucet was ripped, the water flowing through as if it were teasing Tandie’s amateur repairs. She inhaled deeply and glanced around the kitchen, a strange feeling growing in her chest. Outside the window over the sink, the daytime sun made jagged shadows in the flower beds sitting along the edge of the woods. A rush of cool air crept up Tandie’s backside. Grandma Zee always called that feeling the creepy chills.
     
    Gushing water noises erupted upstairs. Willing her nerves to steady, Tandie trudged up the stairway, into her bedroom, and stopped at the doorway to the bathroom.
     
    The tape on the plumbing in the bathtub and sinks had broken too. After turning them off, Tandie studied the faucets, blinked, and chewed the right side of her lower lip.
     
    “Okay, now this is getting freaky.”
     
    She walked in a daze down the steps and back toward her study. Passing the window beside the entry door, she glimpsed a young blonde girl around seventeen years of age. She was shuffling around Chelby Rose’s neglected rose beds that lined the property’s borders. No one but Saul and Marsha had stopped by since Tandie arrived two weeks ago. Even though she knew the population was small, she’d begun to believe she was the only resident on this end of town.
     
    Tandie stepped outside and approached the girl. She wore a strange costume, a brown prairie-style dress complete with a shift that lifted it up at the sides the way women wore their clothing back in the 18th century. It even had an apron on the front and a collar made out of lace. It looked as if it were ripped straight out of a different time period. When she noticed Tandie standing behind her, the girl jumped and held her chest.
     
    “May I ask who you are, and what you’re doing on my property? Tandie asked sharply.
     
    “By all means, I do apologize. I’m Ella, the neighborhood gardener.” She spoke with a hard southern accent and made a small curtsy, her curly blonde ringlets pinned up in a loose chignon. Tandie repressed a grin and held out her right hand. The girl stared at it and frowned. Slowly, she reached her hand up and placed it in Tandie’s.
     
    “And you are?” Ella asked.
     
    “Tandie Harrison. This is my place now. Or, it will be soon enough.”
     
    “Tandie? Hmm. Why that sounds just like—candy.” High-pitched giggles spilled out of Ella. She covered her mouth and tilted her head down as if she’d shamed herself by laughing.
     
    “Yes, I believe it does,” Tandie said.
     
    Another series of high-pitched giggles erupted from Ella.
     
    “Okay then, Ella. Why are we poking around my flower beds?”
     
    “You’re gonna need to be thinking about my services real soon. Just look at all these poor wretched souls. You need to hire me right this instant.” Ella caressed a couple of the dried roses, touching each one as if she were a parent tending a sick child. She seemed confident enough. But there was something about this girl that gave Tandie an uneasy feeling. “Tell you what. Since we’ve just met, and I don’t really have any pictures of your work—”
     
    “This is my work. I did all of this right here by myself. My mother helped me a few times, at first. But I got it right all the next times, though.” Ella’s voice raised a notch.
     
    “I understand, Ella. I’ll get back with you when it’s closer to blooming season,” Tandie said.
     
    Ella narrowed her eyes for a moment, and then a Scarlett O’Hara smile flashed across her face. “Well don’t wait too long, unless you want them to freeze up and turn black.”
     
    “I’ll make a note of it.”
     
    Ella bowed again and turned around without saying