Amanda awoke with a yawn. It had been almost a month since the incident with what she now called a dog. She had agreed with Betsy that her mind had been playing tricks on her that night. There were often times when she was sure she felt eyes on her, and she would turn in one direction or another, looking. What she was seeking, she didn’t know, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she just wanted to know if the eyes she had seen that night had been real or just part of her dreams that evening. She was still so uneasy about it that her walks seemed to get earlier and earlier each evening.
She was just about to walk out the door when her phone started ringing. She quickly grabbed it and pushed the button to answer it.
“Hello.”
“Ms. Walker?”
“Yes?”
“Hello, Ms. Walker, my name is Ernest Montgomery. I am calling to tell you that your aunt has passed away.”
“My aunt? But I don’t have any family. You must have the wrong Ms. Walker.”
“No, ma’am. Your father was Joshua Walker, correct? Mother Maureen Walker?”
“Yes.”
“Then, I have the right Ms. Walker. It is your father’s sister I am referring to. She unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack. I am very sorry for your loss.”
“Oh, my gosh! I never knew I even had any family. I am very sad that I didn’t get to meet her.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m sure. She was a nice woman. I have also called you to see if you can meet with me. I need to go over her will with you.”
“Her will?”
“Yes, ma’am. Your aunt was a wealthy woman.”
“Oh? Um, okay. When would you like to meet?”
“The sooner, the better.”
“Okay. How about today?”
“That would be great. I am in Slatesville, in the valley. ”
“Oh. Okay. That is just forty-five minutes from me. I can be there in a couple of hours.”
“Sounds good, ma’am. I am at the Montgomery Law Firm. I am the only attorney in the town.”
“Okay. Thank you, sir. I will see you soon.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be waiting.”
Amanda fell back on the couch, stunned, for what seemed like forever. Everything was pushed to the back of her mind as she thought about what she had just learned. She had a family. Well, she did have a family. Now her aunt was gone. Could there be others in her family who she knew nothing about? She didn’t know, but she did know one thing. She wasn’t going to find out sitting around here, twiddling her thumbs. She needed to get going fast.
Amanda headed for the kitchen. She wasn’t surprised to see that no one was there. Of course her roommates weren’t home. They were either in class or with their boyfriends.
Smiling, she made a cup of coffee and drank it slowly, thinking about what she might find out. Then, with a deep sigh, she made her way to her car. She looked at the small Honda with pride. It was a pile of junk to some, but it held a special place in her heart. She hadn‘t been able to get rid of her father’s car. Instead, she had sold her own.
She looked down at the small picture he had taped to the dash near the speedometer. She was about six in the picture, and she had been holding her mom‘s cheeks in her hands as she kissed her.
She remembered the day like it was yesterday. They had just got to a cabin they vacationed in. She had enjoyed herself so much. The little cabin had one bedroom with a queen-sized bed where her parents slept and a set of bunk beds for her. They had stayed up late roasting marshmallows as her father told her scary stories about wolves and vampires. She had ended up in their bed, snuggled between the two of them. They had spent the next day hiking and walking trails and seeing tons of waterfalls and animals.
She had loved it and had never forgotten. It soon became a family tradition to go camping every year. After some of those trips, they didn’t return home. Instead, they moved on to a different location. The constant moving had been hard on her as a kid, but she would have never told her parents that. She had felt like they were hiding something from her. Of course, she had been young back then and had blown it off as childhood curiosity. Now, with this new family member, she wasn’t so sure.
Her parents had been very quiet people. They seemed cautious of everything going on around them and were even a little jumpy at times. Maybe there was more going on here than she thought. She needed to find out.
She wiped away a tear and go in the car. The car had a huge dent in one side and was almost fifteen years old, but it got her where she needed to go. She slid the car into drive and smiled to herself.
“Dad would be proud that his car was still running so good, wouldn’t he, Trixy?” She and her father had named the car together.
Amanda turned onto the next road and made her way down the narrow two-lane road that led into the mountains. She had never been this way because her parents always went the long way around the mountains. They said they liked to take the scenic route.
She came to a small wooden sign that said Slatesville—Welcome to your home away from home. She smiled at the welcoming sign and kept on her way to the town. As she drove, she was amazed at how beautiful everything was. The low-hanging branches of the trees scraped the roof of the car every once and a while.
She was amazed at how many animals she saw. Deer acted as if they weren’t afraid of her car. Raccoons were plentiful, and she jumped when a large black snake slithered across the road. There were people all around, and they watched her car curiously as she made her way down the street.
The town reminded her of a long lost western ghost town. It was a little spooky, and she caught herself checking the doors to make sure they were locked. The men nodded at her as she moved forward and many of the people smiled, although they held themselves back a little.
Amanda finally saw the sign that said Montgomery Law Firm. She pulled into one of the many vacant parking spots and slowly got out of the car. A handsome man leaned against the building she was about to enter. His brown eyes had flecks of yellow and orange in their deep depths. She smiled slightly, and the man just continued to stare as he looked her over slowly.
“Can I help you, ma’am?”
“I am just here to see Mr. Montgomery.”
“Well, you’re in the right place, Miss…?”
“Oh, Amanda. Amanda Walker. And you are?”
Something changed in his eyes as he smiled at her and made his way to her side. He held out his hand to her. “Name’s Curtis Livingston.”
“Oh. Do you live here?”
“Yes. I’m one of the controlling partners here in Slatesville. Well, I have to be going. It was good to meet you.”
“You, too, Mr. Livingston.”
“Please, call me Curt. Everyone does.”
“Only if you call me Amanda.”
“That’s a deal, sweet lady.” She flushed all over when he raised her hand to his lips and gently caressed her knuckles with a brief touch of his mouth. She felt the rise in temperature in her cheeks spread across her upper chest. She stood there and watched as he walked away from her down the street to slip inside a store. She felt foolish and realized that she had been staring. She shook her head, trying to think straight and clear the thoughts that were running through her mind.
Amanda was always aware that she wasn’t the Barbie doll type of girl. Although she wasn’t fat, she wasn’t rail thin, which most men liked, either. Her waist and stomach didn’t look like a washboard, although it didn’t look like a bunch of bread dough either.
She instantly felt inadequate and quickly turned around to walk to the door of the attorney’s office. Knocking, she was surprised when the door instantly opened. The man who opened the door wasn’t what she expected. Mr. Montgomery was a short, pudgy man. He didn’t wear a business suit, and he didn’t seem stuffy at all. He was older and had a short goatee around his mouth. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail at the back of his neck, and he smiled when he saw her.
“You must be Amanda. You look just like your father, except for your eyes. You have your mother’s eyes. Let’s hope you didn’t inherit your father’s temper, though,” he chuckled.
“You knew my father?”
“Oh, why yes, my dear. We grew up together, Josh and I. Have to say we got into a lot of trouble as kids, and your aunt Mabel was always there to wag her finger and tell on us. You see, there were the three of us; Joshua, Jeremiah, and I. We were called the three musketeers. Mabel wanted to be the fourth, but you know boys. We would never let her, so she always ran and told on us to get back at us for not including her; the little minx.” He told the story fondly, and she instantly knew that this man held her family in the highest regard. She also knew he was her ticket to finding out the truth about her family.
“Do I have any more family that I don’t know of?” She held her breath, as though she were a child again, asking if Santa Claus was real.
“I am sure you do, my dear. Unfortunately, your aunt was the last of your father’s line. She couldn’t have any children, and most of the family was killed in a fire in ’90. I am sure there is still family on your mother’s side, though. However, I must warn you that they are not the kind of people you want to know. Now, if you will come in, I will tell you about everything that now belongs to you.”
“What?”
“Oh, my dear, you must know that your father’s family had a legacy. You are the only Traverse left to take over the family business.”
“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“They never did tell you who you really are, did they? Oh, you poor child. I am afraid you are going to learn some things about yourself that are going to be hard for you. You must still be a virgin as well.”
“I beg your pardon, sir, but I don’t see how that’s any of your damn business.”
“No, my dear, I do not mean to be crude. I was just saying that you have never undergone the Change. It will happen, though. You recently turned twenty-four, and everything changes now.”
“What change? What in the hell are you talking about?”
“They hid that from you, too? Oh my gosh. You don’t know? Oh, Lord. Okay, first things first. You are now the owner of your family’s estate.”
“Family estate? So I have a house.”
He smiled kindly at her. “Not just a house, my dear. It is what holds the legacy of your family name together. The estate has fifteen bedrooms with their own bathrooms and fireplaces, a kitchen, dining room, parlor, living area, office, library, Carolina room, staff quarters, wrap-around porch with two different sections screened in, pool, tennis courts and 300 acres. It was the pride and joy of your ancestor, Edgar. He was a distant grandfather of yours.”
“Oh my gosh.”
“Yes, ma’am. How about this? How about I get the keys and directions to the place? You go take a look at it, and then we can talk tomorrow about what you want to do. Stephan has been looking over things, and since your aunt’s death, he has given everyone time off until you arrive and decide where to go from there.”
Amanda wasn’t sure she had the energy to deal with all of this tonight. “Unfortunately, it is very late. Is there somewhere that I can stay for a couple days and then I can go from there and take the day tomorrow to go look at the place?”
“That is perfect. Just give me a second, and I‘ll find a place for you to stay tonight.”
Amanda sat quietly and listened to him talk on his phone. She didn’t even hear his words as she thought of what she was going to do.
“I have gotten you a little cabin to rent down the road,” he said, drawing her attention back to him. “It is in the woods a little but has electricity and such. On such short notice, I couldn’t find anything else. It is only about ten minutes away. The key will be under the mat at the front door. Just go on in and make yourself at home.”
“That is perfect. Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome, my dear, and we will talk tomorrow. Say ten o’clock tomorrow morning? We will meet here and go to see the house together.”
“Perfect. Thank you, Mr. Montgomery.”