“I hope you aren’t leading me to my death.”
“Are you always this paranoid?”
“Only on Sundays.”
“Well, pretend it’s Saturday.” He squeezes my hand before leading me into a low attic that peaks in the center. All around the space are original pieces of furniture hidden under dusty sheets. Arlo leads me past all of that to the window at the end that isn’t a window at all.
“Is that?”
“Yep.” He pushes open the large windows, guiding me out onto a hidden balcony I didn’t once notice from the ground. Built into the roof, it’s almost concealed, providing the perfect space to hide. A rusted iron railing lines the little balcony.
Arlo plops down in the corner, wrapping the blanket around himself. There’s a challenge in his eyes as he holds one end of the comforter open.
Feeling brave, I sink down beside him, thankful for his warmth.
For a long moment, we sit there, watching the graveyard below and the forest beyond, passing the bottle of wine back and forth.
“I feel like a teenager.” I laugh around a pull of wine and hand it back over.
“This was my favorite hiding place as a kid.” He wraps his arm around me, pulling me close, and I bask in his warmth, in the strength of his arms, and his scent.
“Tell me more.” I lean my head against his shoulder as a gentle breeze ruffles my hair.
“I was the only guy in a house of all girls after my father passed. That’s a lot of estrogen to deal with daily. Sometimes, a guy just needs a moment to himself.”
“But of course,” I agree, but I can’t really relate. It was always just my brother and me, and though we fought, I never wanted a moment alone. I was too afraid of losing him.
“As teens, Spock and I would come up here, sneaking Dad’s old whiskey collection. I suspect my mom noticed it was missing, but she never really said anything.”
“Nothing gets past her.”
“She really has that mom’s intuition.”
“It comes in the handbook.”
“There’s a handbook?” He peers down at me with curiosity.
“Oh yes. Chapter five. When they appear suspicious, they are being suspicious.”
“Lend me this book.” He gazes across the graveyard. “Just so I know what my mom went through.”
“You sound like you were a good kid.” I nudge him a little.
“I think I was. What about you? What was your childhood like?”
“Our gram raised us. My mother’s mom. She was as flighty as they came, but she always worked hard and never once regretted taking us in. My dad’s parents couldn’t stand the sight of us after they passed away and cut us off .”
“I’m sorry.” He squeezes me gently. “Can I ask what happened?”
“Car accident.” I snuggle closer to him, drawing comfort from his touch. “Robin was only a few months old, and they went out for the first time in years. According to Gram, Mom always loved drive-ins and creepy movies. That’s the one vague memory I have of her. She used to let me watch creepy shows. Nothingtoo scary, justThe MunstersorThe Addams Family. But after they died, I latched onto that.”
“You must love this house.”
“I really do. It has all the important creep factors.”
“The graveyard is definitely at the top of that.”
“It was the first thing I noticed.”
