future.”
“How convenient,” Lin murmured trying to figure out why she felt so anxious being in the basement.
“So this is where the kitchen will be to serve the outdoor café.” Nathan headed for the door to return to the garden and Lin followed. As she was stepping through the doorway, panic flooded her body and an image flashed in her mind of Viv in terrible distress. Lin’s vision sparkled and began to dim. She blinked hard several times and sucked in quick, fast breaths trying to keep her composure.
“That’s the tour.” Nathan smiled. He turned around and looked at Lin.
“Do you mind if I sit here and make a few more quick sketches?” Feeling weak, Lin hurried to the rusty old table and plopped down in the chair.
“Be my guest. How soon can you have the proposal ready?”
“I can finish it by the end of the week.” Lin felt like all the blood was draining out of her head.
“Excellent. I’ll show the proposal to the board members and they’ll vote. Not to worry, it will be approved. The board knows your work and is aware that your prices are reasonable for the high quality you offer.”
Sitting in the fresh air, Lin started to feel better. “I met Martha Hillman the other day. She didn’t seem amenable to spending money on the garden project.”
Nathan waved his hand in the air. “Don’t be concerned about Martha. We only need a majority to approve.” The tall man stepped over to the table and shook Lin’s hand. “Stay in the yard as long as you need to. It was nice to meet you, Lin. I’ll leave you to your work.” He nodded and smiled and left the back yard.
Lin sank back against the hard metal of the seat trying to calm herself and she tried to force the anxiety and adrenaline to dissipate. Glancing back to the basement door, she tried to understand what had caused the sensation of danger. She reached in her bag and pulled out her phone to text Viv to ask if she was okay. A reply came in almost immediately. I’m fine. Why are you asking?
Lin sent a second text telling her cousin that she was just checking up on her, and then in order to distract her thoughts from the worry she’d felt, she removed her sketch pad and added some details to the preliminary garden plan.
After fifteen minutes of working, Lin realized that the tension had drained away and her muscles were less rigid and tense. Glancing around the space, she made a few more notes and then closed the cover of the sketchbook. The large trees ringing the yard caused long shadows of shade to cover a good portion of the area making it feel like a cool oasis. Lin slipped the sketchbook into her carrying bag and stood up. A whoosh of cold air enveloped her and she froze in position.
Turning slightly, Lin saw the Wampanoag ghost standing under the Beech tree on the far side of the space. He held Lin’s eyes with his own and an immense sadness filled Lin’s heart before the ghost shimmered and sparkled and disappeared.
9
T he sun was setting as Lin sat at Viv’s deck table with her hands wrapped around a hot cup of tea. Her face was pale and she still felt shaky from her visit to the cultural museum. When Lin arrived at her cousin’s house, she was visibly trembling from the chill that had settled over her and Viv ushered her to the deck to sit in the last rays of the day’s sun and had wrapped a soft woven blanket around Lin’s shoulders. Although Nicky was resting on the deck with Queenie by his side, he kept looking up at his owner checking to be sure that she was okay.
“Then what happened?” Viv had a cup of tea in front of her.
“Then Nathan showed me the basement where they intend to have a kitchen built.” Lin raised her blue eyes to her cousin. “I felt weird in there, dizzy, kind of disoriented. I honestly thought I might faint.”
Despite her concern about what had happened to Lin, Viv couldn’t help but smile. “I wonder if you’d fainted right there in front of him, if Nathan Long still would
“How convenient,” Lin murmured trying to figure out why she felt so anxious being in the basement.
“So this is where the kitchen will be to serve the outdoor café.” Nathan headed for the door to return to the garden and Lin followed. As she was stepping through the doorway, panic flooded her body and an image flashed in her mind of Viv in terrible distress. Lin’s vision sparkled and began to dim. She blinked hard several times and sucked in quick, fast breaths trying to keep her composure.
“That’s the tour.” Nathan smiled. He turned around and looked at Lin.
“Do you mind if I sit here and make a few more quick sketches?” Feeling weak, Lin hurried to the rusty old table and plopped down in the chair.
“Be my guest. How soon can you have the proposal ready?”
“I can finish it by the end of the week.” Lin felt like all the blood was draining out of her head.
“Excellent. I’ll show the proposal to the board members and they’ll vote. Not to worry, it will be approved. The board knows your work and is aware that your prices are reasonable for the high quality you offer.”
Sitting in the fresh air, Lin started to feel better. “I met Martha Hillman the other day. She didn’t seem amenable to spending money on the garden project.”
Nathan waved his hand in the air. “Don’t be concerned about Martha. We only need a majority to approve.” The tall man stepped over to the table and shook Lin’s hand. “Stay in the yard as long as you need to. It was nice to meet you, Lin. I’ll leave you to your work.” He nodded and smiled and left the back yard.
Lin sank back against the hard metal of the seat trying to calm herself and she tried to force the anxiety and adrenaline to dissipate. Glancing back to the basement door, she tried to understand what had caused the sensation of danger. She reached in her bag and pulled out her phone to text Viv to ask if she was okay. A reply came in almost immediately. I’m fine. Why are you asking?
Lin sent a second text telling her cousin that she was just checking up on her, and then in order to distract her thoughts from the worry she’d felt, she removed her sketch pad and added some details to the preliminary garden plan.
After fifteen minutes of working, Lin realized that the tension had drained away and her muscles were less rigid and tense. Glancing around the space, she made a few more notes and then closed the cover of the sketchbook. The large trees ringing the yard caused long shadows of shade to cover a good portion of the area making it feel like a cool oasis. Lin slipped the sketchbook into her carrying bag and stood up. A whoosh of cold air enveloped her and she froze in position.
Turning slightly, Lin saw the Wampanoag ghost standing under the Beech tree on the far side of the space. He held Lin’s eyes with his own and an immense sadness filled Lin’s heart before the ghost shimmered and sparkled and disappeared.
9
T he sun was setting as Lin sat at Viv’s deck table with her hands wrapped around a hot cup of tea. Her face was pale and she still felt shaky from her visit to the cultural museum. When Lin arrived at her cousin’s house, she was visibly trembling from the chill that had settled over her and Viv ushered her to the deck to sit in the last rays of the day’s sun and had wrapped a soft woven blanket around Lin’s shoulders. Although Nicky was resting on the deck with Queenie by his side, he kept looking up at his owner checking to be sure that she was okay.
“Then what happened?” Viv had a cup of tea in front of her.
“Then Nathan showed me the basement where they intend to have a kitchen built.” Lin raised her blue eyes to her cousin. “I felt weird in there, dizzy, kind of disoriented. I honestly thought I might faint.”
Despite her concern about what had happened to Lin, Viv couldn’t help but smile. “I wonder if you’d fainted right there in front of him, if Nathan Long still would
Similar Books
