The Waiting: A Supernatural Thriller(25)

“Where the hell did this come from?” he asked out loud.

Had Jason’s grandmother worn her hair long? But that couldn’t be—his grandparents had passed away a decade ago. And if Bob had supposedly been here up until a couple of months before they arrived, how did the hair get missed?

He dropped it back into the pile, wiping his hand against his jeans. Another glint of white caught his eye, and when he looked closer, he saw that a second strand lay amongst the dust, this one longer than the first.

The phone on the wall rang loud and shrill, and Evan inhaled and almost sucked up a mouthful of dirt. He stood and stared at the phone on the wall as it trilled again. The panic was quelled inside him as he stepped forward and picked the receiver up.

“Hello?”

A slight crackle of static. “Evan?”

“Yes?”

“It’s Selena.”

He turned toward the backyard, leaning against the wall. “Hi, how are you?”

“Good. I’m calling because I was thinking of going for a paddle later if the lake calms down, and wondered if I could stop in and say hi.”

No.

The internal answer to her request startled him. “Sure, that’d be fine. What time are you thinking?”

“Oh, late afternoon.”

“That would work, we’ll be here.”

“Sounds great, see you later.”

“Bye.”

Evan hung the phone up and gazed out at the backyard. “What are you afraid of?” he said.

The tinkling of the wind chimes was the only answer.

~

A knock at the front door pulled Evan away from the cooking beef. He rumpled Shaun’s hair as he walked by the kitchen table, where the boy played with several toy cars. Smoothing his own hair forward, he opened the door.

The late-afternoon sunshine outlined Selena in the entryway. Her hair hung past her shoulders in a brown wave that caught the light. She wore a white T-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts that accentuated her legs.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” he replied, his heart picking up speed. “Come in, dinner will be ready in a bit.”

She paused halfway through the entry. “Oh, you don’t have to feed me, I just wanted to pop by, maybe meet Shaun properly.”

“Come in, it’s fine. I have to cook for us anyway.”

Evan waved toward the kitchen and Selena smiled, stepping inside.

“Shaun, this is Selena, do you remember her from the other day?” Evan said, turning Shaun in his chair so that he could face her in the doorway.

“Hi, Shaun, how are you?” Selena said, putting her hand out as she knelt before him.

Shaun looked at her for a moment, and then smiled and placed his hand in her own.

“Nice to meet you,” she said, pumping his arm up and down.

Selena turned her eyes to Evan’s, and he caught himself smiling at her. Hearing the sizzle of the stove, he made his way to the browning hamburger. After adding some salt and pepper, he stirred the meat until he thought of something to say.

“So the lake calmed down, huh?”

Selena gave Shaun one last smile and then stood, framing herself in the doorway. “Yeah, turned out to be great. I was disappointed this morning when I looked outside, I didn’t think I’d be able to get out on the lake today.”

“Yeah, we went into town when it was rough this morning. Even in the pontoon, it bounced us around. Would you like a glass of wine?” Evan said.

“That would be great.” Selena pulled out a chair from the table and sat. “So, are you two getting settled in here?”

He opened a bottle and poured two glasses. “I think so. It’s a little more of a commute into town than we’re used to, but yeah, it’s a good fit for us.”

He moved to the table and handed Selena her glass. As he did, their fingers brushed and a flutter of pleasure flitted in his stomach.

“To the evening,” she said, tilting her glass toward him.

“To the evening.”

He clinked her glass and took a sip, hoping the wine would calm the nervous energy inside him.

They ate spaghetti at the table, their conversation comfortable and easy. Every so often Selena would ask Shaun a question, and he would either respond with a waving of one hand or an excited noise. Evan watched Selena, examining her interactions with his son. She didn’t talk baby talk to him, like some other people that knew them, and he was grateful for that. There was nothing more infuriating or frustrating than watching people degrade Shaun’s intelligence through pity.

He anticipated that Selena would look uncomfortable with Shaun’s movements or lack of proper articulation, but if she was, she didn’t show the slightest hint.

After a quick cleaning of the kitchen, the three of them settled into the furniture on the porch. The sun hung above the tree line that marked the boundary of Mill River, its light rippling with gentle waves that rolled in colors of cobalt and amber.

“God, it’s pretty out,” Selena said, gazing at the lake.

“Yes, it is,” Evan said, placing his wineglass on the patio table. “I’m curious, though.”

She looked at him, tilting her head.

“How did you find the phone number for the house?”

She blushed and licked her lips, casting her gaze at the floor. “I asked my secretary to find out who owns house, and after she told me, I looked up the name online and found a listing.”