Page 82 of A Haunting at Keystone Manor

“You cannot read? How did you get a job here then?”

“No, I can read. I can’t do math,” I explain.

He looks more confused. “Math?”

I sigh. “I don’t know what you’re not understanding Sasha. Look at this recipe. It calls for dicing, cubing, sautéing. I don’t even know what that means! That’s clearly not even English. There’s fractions in here too! I didn’t sign up for this. I just wanted to make enchiladas,” I whine.

He laughs, hard. “No one has ever taught you how to cook?”

“No!”

“I can help,” he shrugs. I perk up at that.

“You can?” I ask hopefully.

“Yes, I will help you make your enchiladas. Will Seth be attending dinner tonight?”

“He will, so you better do a good job and impress him. If you fuck this up, he may cancel your second date.”

He smirks and says, “He doesn’t like me for my cooking.”

I gape at him. “So you two were canoodling!”

“Focus. I will teach you how to read a recipe.”

I study his scarred hands as we work. He’s so gentle as he cuts the onion and bell peppers. So precise. “You’re really good at this,” I tell him.

He smiles at me. “Thank you. Dinner will be a success. This is good recipe.”

“You like to cook?”

“I do, sometimes. It’s relaxing.”

“So, what—after a long day killing people and butchering their corpses you like to come home and cook a nice dinner to sit down and enjoy?” I tease.

He chuckles. “Something like that. I learned to cook as a small boy, with whatever was available in the house. If I did not cook, I would go hungry. So, I learned.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. That sounds fucked up.”

“Yes,” he agrees. “But I can cook. It is a good thing, too. Otherwise, your dinner would be a disaster,” he teases back.

“You’re a secret softie, aren’t you? It’s a good thing, though. If I thought you’d hurt Seth, I’d have to kill you.”

He studies the ingredients intently, adding the spices to the chicken cooking in the pan. “I will never hurt him,” he says seriously. “Ever. I will protect the people I care about with my life.”

“I believe you,” I say and give him a small smile.

***

Jake

Alex stands from his seat at the head of the long table. This is the first dinner we’ve had in the dining hall. It’s always been for show and nothing else, so it’s nice to have a chance to use it. The table seats twenty, and we don’t have nearly that number, so everyone is concentrated at the left end. Alex, of course, is sitting at the head of the table. He deserves that spot, and I can tell he’s enjoying it. I enjoy seeing him so confident and at ease. Everyone is here tonight: me, Alex, Brandon, Sasha, Seth, Frankie, Debbie and Tom. Even Kayla’s here. She glances over at me trying to get my attention and I look away. I know she has a crush, so I do my best not to encourage her.

Alex clears his throat, clinking a spoon on his glass of wine to get everyone’s attention. “Thank you all for coming tonight. I worked really hard to cook this meal for you, as a token of my appreciation. Your hard work, even yours Kayla, has made this hotel the success that it is. I hope you enjoy the enchiladas.” He sits down and everyone claps politely.

“Does that mean we can get a raise?” Kayla asks.

“Um, no. But you can have an extra enchilada,” Alex replies.