Free Spirit Read online

  “Errr, sure. What’s the hurry? Did something happen?”

  “No real hurry, but it’s the weekend and I’d like to know before I get back to work on Monday.” She thought it wise not to mention the falling-face incident, as her boss’s reputation was already on rocky ground. “I’d appreciate a call, but can you also email me what you find?”

  “You got it.”

  “Thanks, Tim. I gotta go. I’m in traffic.” It was a little white lie, but she knew what was coming next. Tim would be looking for cooler gossip. Jacey threw her cell back into her bag.

  Why did she care? So what if there was a joke mirror or bad plumbing? It wasn’t her house. “Concentrate, Jace.” She forced herself back to the present and the road she was driving on. No sense in having an accident because of inattention. There was no way she wanted to explain that she’d been daydreaming about Priory when she totaled the car.

  As expected, the trip took a fraction longer than an hour and a half. Luckily, she was driving against the traffic, but that did nothing to allay the fact that later on she’d be driving with it. The story of her life. Every upside had a sometimes-abrupt downside.

  Surprisingly, Jacey had little trouble gaining access to Priory’s apartment, but however hard she tried, she couldn’t pack all the boxes into the SUV. It was going to mean a second trip. Maybe she could talk the boss into picking them up on her way to work on Monday. Making a second trip all that way for them seemed a waste of time.

  But she knew she’d be making that second trip tomorrow. Jacey only hoped she was getting paid for all this work.

  “Shit!” she hissed as she popped another box into the car. “I should have gotten it in writing.” Too late now. Her only hope was to hold the boxes hostage and negotiate. Her girls flashed another image of Priory’s ass sticking up in the air moments after she fell into the box earlier that day. The tailored skirt conformed to Priory’s body like a second skin, and Jacey had thought she could see the outline of her panties.

  “That was a cheap shot!” she muttered as she climbed into Priory’s SUV. She turned around to face a woman about to open the driver’s door of the car next to Priory’s. The woman’s disapproving glare made her respond. “Sorry.” Jacey could feel the heat rise from her chest to her face.

  †

  Priory sat at the kitchen table with mug in hand. At this point she no longer had an excuse to be there. If she didn’t move now, nothing would get done.

  Reluctantly, she stood and placed the mug in the sink, girding herself for another trip out to the van. Just as she reached the door, she stopped. “Damnit! I’m not going to let this house get the better of me!” She made an abrupt U-turn and grabbed the first box she came to. It was labelled lounge and fragile, and Priory knew exactly what was in that box. When she first inspected the house, she had thought of a Tiffany lamp—its lead-light panels would match the stained-glass window in the attic. It was a small thing and no one would notice, but it was something that would connect her to the house.

  Carefully, she unpacked it and placed it on the nesting table next to the sofa. However, her plan had been quickly sabotaged when she realized the extension cord had no power point nearby to plug into.

  “Shit!” She had been saying that a lot lately, and it was just one more thing to add to her dismal day.

  Left with no choice but to move the lamp, Priory put it to one side and moved the table to a more suitable location near the wall. She replaced the lamp, plugged it in, and switched it on. The illumination danced around the room, settling on the walls in splashes of color. “Now that’s—”

  The light went out.

  “I … do … not … believe … this!” she bellowed. She unplugged the lamp and waited a few moments before removing the light bulb to inspect it. It appeared intact, so she re-inserted it and plugged the lamp back in. Again, the light flickered to life for a moment or two, then died. Maybe it was the power point.

  Priory grabbed the lamp and tried the power point in the kitchen. It had been used for the coffee maker, so she knew that one worked. The lamp shone brightly and Priory breathed a sigh of relief. At least it was an electrical problem and not her sanity. She was getting tired of battling the belligerent house. All she wanted was for something to go her way. A loud bang echoed through the pipes, quickly answered by a hum from the refrigerator.

  “No comment from the cheap seats.”

  As a compromise, Priory left the lamp unplugged on the small table. For now, it was an ornament instead of a fully-functioning source of light.

  In another small box were the coffee table magazines and books. Did she want to tempt fate by unpacking them? Hesitantly, she grabbed a small pile of the magazines and placed them artfully on the table. She turned back to the box and grabbed the two heavy coffee table books she had bought for display. Before she had a chance to put them down, the pages of the top magazine were open, sitting in slight windblown disarray on top of one another.

  Priory looked for the source of the breeze and realized the doors and window were still open. With both doors now closed and the window slammed shut, she went back to her arrangement. Again, the top magazine was open; this time it was also askew.

  “I gotta lie down.” She didn’t even bother to straighten the magazine before she left. Dejected, she climbed the stairs, crawled onto her mattress, and curled into a ball.

  Maybe we should leave her be.

  Aww, come on, Rhee, how long has it been since we’ve had this much fun? Forty … fifty years? Remember that old biddy…?

  She nearly burned down the house, Dylan. She could have died.

  And…?

  I don’t know about you, but I didn’t want to spend the rest of eternity with her.

  But the house would be gone.

  And we’d be in Dylan.

  The kiss-off.

  Rhea smiled. Dylan finally got it.

  Chapter Five

  Jacey pulled up in the driveway and looked about. When she got out of the car, there was no sign of unpacking, so she walked up to the front door and opened it. Again, she was met by silence. Maybe Priory had gone shopping for candy?

  “Ms McAllister?” she called tentatively as she walked into the foyer. “Anyone home?” Jacey closed the door behind her and ambled through to the kitchen. Priory’s keys clattered as Jacey set them down on the kitchen table. She touched the coffee maker and found it warm but not hot. Jacey topped up the water and turned it on.

  While the house was quiet and she wouldn’t get disturbed by her boss’s incessant instructions, Jacey took the keys and returned to the car. Steadily, she moved all the boxes into the house. Now that she had finished her part of the job, she could sit back and relax over a coffee. She decided to leave her overnight bag and candies in the car and wait to see what would become of the night. She didn’t want the bag to be an invitation, but she didn’t want to be left sleeping in her underwear either. And as for the candy … well, the throwing of said treats out onto the street was still up for grabs.

  As she sipped her coffee, Jacey felt the silence close in on her. There was something wrong about this house, and the conversation she had with Tim did little to allay her anxiety. Should she tell Priory? Yes, she had to, but she needed to find the right time, when her boss was calm and rational. Based on that criteria, it would be next Christmas after they both had a few drinks in them.

  Jacey looked at her watch. She’d been back for an hour and still no sign of Priory. Now was a good opportunity to check out the house. She approached the stairs and looked up. Might as well start at the top.

  Her girls began an unhealthy conversation.

  Where did she put that box, the one with the frilly underwear?

  You can check out the bed … she won’t know.

  “Shut up, all of you,” Jacey whispered. “It’s none of my business.”

  You can make it your business. Come on, when will you get to see her like this again?

  The girls were right abo
ut that. She’d never have another opportunity to see the personal side of her boss. But she didn’t want to think of herself as nosy … or a pervert … or a nosy pervert. She got the point.

  Every step made her feel uncomfortable until she stopped at the top of the stairs. Should she? She continued on and hesitated at the bedroom before moving to the second set of stairs, which she figured led to the attic. Maybe if she started with a less intrusive room, she could convince herself to look in the bedroom.

  Her footsteps echoed loudly in the confines of the walls on either side of the staircase, but try as she might, she couldn’t soften the noise. Jacey glanced over her shoulder and down the staircase, half expecting her boss to be standing there with hands on hips.

  Cluck. Cluck.

  Her girls hinted she was scared, and they were right. What explanation could she have for being in the attic? Checking out where to put the boxes from the U-Haul? That might work. She only hoped she didn’t have to use it.

  Tentatively, she opened the door to an empty room. What was she expecting? Hula girls? A surprise birthday party? Jacey mentally slapped herself upside the head. This had probably been some teenager’s bedroom, and she could imagine the walls covered with pictures of boys or girls. She crossed the wooden floor to the small window and looked out. It had a pleasant view of the neighborhood in the cul-de-sac where the house sat. She studied the surrounding land for a while, watching the neighbors move about their daily lives. Some were mowing lawns, others were putting the final touches on their Halloween festivities. It all seemed so normal. A normal neighborhood on a normal day.

  Jacey turned around to face the room. It had been recently cleaned, so at least the cleaners had been thorough. There was a slight chill in the air, which held an uneasy edge to it. It was as if her intrusion had not been appreciated. She’d seen all she was going to see, so left with as much dignity as she could muster. The stairway seemed a little more precarious down than it had been on the way up, and she held on to the bannister tightly.

  Now on the first floor, Jacey looked at the short hallway, which nestled four doors, two either side. The ones nearest to her she investigated. The one on the left opened on a large, walk-in closet. The one opposite led to what looked like a spare bedroom, which held nothing more than an unassembled bed, so she moved on to the remaining two doors. The one on her left she knew was the bathroom, so that left the remaining closed door. It had to be the main bedroom.

  Quietly, she knocked before opening the door. “Ms McAllister?” she whispered, even though she suspected her boss was out shopping or something. She was surprised to see Priory curled up on the bed, snoring gently.

  Awww, her girls said sweetly.

  Jacey’s gaze slipped to Priory’s ass, which faced her in her curled position on the bed.

  Not a word! she ordered. But would they listen? Nooooo.

  Are you going to touch it?

  Shame you don’t have a camera.

  What about your cell? That has a camera.

  Damn, it’s downstairs. Go and get it before she wakes up.

  Stop! She could barely hear herself think with all the chatter. Touching Priory would amount to assault. If she woke up while I was doing that, being charged with assault would be the least of my problems.

  “Ms McAllister? I’m back,” she said in a low voice.

  Priory stirred and stretched.

  Oh Lordy Lord! Would you look at that!

  Jacey rolled her eyes. Talking about stating the obvious. She could see with her own eyes that Priory’s ass stuck out more as she stretched. No more talk, girls.

  We didn’t say anything.

  Yeah, what she said.

  Right. She didn’t believe one word of it. Her girls couldn’t keep their mouths shut even if she used superglue.

  “Boss. It’s Jacey. I’m back.” As she spoke, Priory’s eyes opened. Jacey’s breath halted as Priory smiled at her.

  “Hey. Did you have any problems?” The sleepy huskiness of Priory’s voice was kind of, well … sexy.

  “I … err….” Jacey was too close. She backed away before speaking. “Some of the boxes didn’t fit. It’ll need another trip.”

  Priory wriggled off the bed, and Jacey’s heart rate picked up. When her boss turned to straighten the bed, Jacey was aware of a pain in her chest.

  “Are you all right?” Priory asked.

  Before she had recovered, Priory had turned to face her. What had she seen? “Must be heartburn.” Jacey thumped her chest a couple of times.

  “This place has that effect on people.”

  Jacey bit her lip and allowed the comment to pass. “You had a nap?” She was curious why her boss had wasted the precious few hours she had to unpack the U-Haul.

  “Locked myself out of the house. I had to climb in through the window.” Clearly satisfied with the bed-making, Priory walked out of the room and across the hall to the bathroom. Before Jacey had time to ask a question, the bathroom door closed. Strange noises came from within, including Priory carrying on a conversation with what sounded like the toilet. Even stranger, the toilet seemed to be talking to her in a series of gurgles, flushes, and pops.

  The door flung open and Priory muttered, “I hear ya.”

  “Who were you talking to?”

  Priory looked over her shoulder at the bathroom. “No one. Just making some mental notes.”

  “Uh-huh. Coffee?” Jacey led the way downstairs to the kitchen.

  “What’s the time?”

  Jacey looked at her watch. “Around four.”

  “It’s probably too late to grab a snack. How about an early dinner?”

  Jacey had missed lunch while out on her errand and she was hungry. On the other hand, she didn’t want to pursue the leisurely interaction any more than she had to. Yet … something stopped her from being blunt and just telling the woman no.

  Who are you fooling, huh?

  The ringleader in her mind had hit the nail on the head. Despite her denials, she was attracted to Priory, even though the woman treated her like shit. She had suspected that under all that cut-throat business bull she spewed, there was a woman worth getting to know. Was that why she had agreed to help Priory move? She had been well within her rights to say no, but she couldn’t.

  “I’m not sure what the restaurants are like around here, it being Halloween and all.”

  “Take out?” Priory’s voice held a touch of desperation.

  “Why?”

  “Why what? We’ve got to eat. I’m just offering—”

  “What are you offering? What’s going on here?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Stop it! Just tell me so I know where I stand.” Had she gone too far? Would Priory answer the question?

  Priory sat on a kitchen chair and looked at the table. Jacey filled the coffee maker, then leaned against the countertop. She would wait.

  Finally, Priory looked up at her. “This house has made me realize how empty my life is. I’m thirty-five, Jacey. Time is marching on, and this house is all I have to show for it.”

  “Some people don’t even have that at thirty-five.”

  “And some have a wife and a family. Someone to come home to at the end of an exhausting day. Someone to snuggle up to and to lean on for strength. Do you know how lonely my life sounds?”

  “Yeah,” Jacey murmured, “yeah, I do.” Her gaze met Priory’s. “What has that got to do with me?”

  “Don’t you get it?”

  “Yeah, I do, but I won’t let it happen.”

  “At least tell me why.”

  “I think you know why, boss … Priory. On Monday, this weekend will be a memory, and it will be boss and employee again.”

  “It doesn’t have to be.”

  “Yes, it does. It’s either that or I resign. It won’t work.”

  “You don’t know that for sure.”

  “Are you saying you can carry on being a … a….” She couldn’t say it.

  “Bitch?” />
  “You knew?”

  “Being in my line of work, you have to be hard or you’ll be fish bait. I didn’t want anyone hurt by the boys’-club mentality at that place. It’s not enough to be smart or savvy in that job; you have to be heartless. It’s not something I enjoy, but it is what it is because it’s better to be called a bitch than wear a target on my back. I’m sorry for the times I treated you badly.”

  “If something happened it will never be the same at work. I think we both know that.”

  “But I don’t know if I’m prepared to give up a chance of—”

  “Being happy?”

  “Love.”

  Jacey blushed.

  “Come on, Jace. We’ve known each other three years. Did you think this was a spur-of-the-moment decision?”

  “So this weekend was all a ruse?”

  “No, but I’m not going to lie about it. I want to take this opportunity and see where it takes us.”

  Jacey wasn’t convinced. “This is asking for trouble.”

  “Maybe I’m in a trouble-making mood.” Priory smiled.

  Jacey snatched up the car keys and left the room. Getting Priory moved in quickly was now a priority. She flung open the door on the U-Haul and began unpacking.

  “Hey! Slow down. This isn’t the Olympics.” Priory jogged after and stopped next to the trunk of the SUV.

  “You wanted to get move in, so let’s move. We’ve wasted enough time.” Jacey opened the trunk and grabbed a box.

  “Wasted? Oh, my little nap.”

  Jacey stood there with her hands on her hips.

  Priory continued, “The damned house was fighting back. It shut the door on me, Jace. I was this close to calling you, then the door opened. And then it closed again and I had to climb in through the blasted window. Then the lamp wouldn’t work and the magazines flipped open. It was driving me nuts.”

  Should Jacey tell her what Tim found out before the highlight on her mental checklist turned green? “I think I can answer that—”