A Ghoulish Midlife (Witching After Forty #1) - Lia Davis Page 0,14

when I saw the name, I answered with a cheery voice. “Hello, Uncle Wade.”

My husband’s uncle claimed me as his adopted daughter at mine and Clay’s wedding and had stood by me during the funeral. Plus, he came over frequently after Clay’s death to make sure Wallie was taken care of and that I ate and didn’t grieve myself into a grave right beside my husband. It was close at times. If it hadn’t been for Wade and Wallie, I would have willed myself to die. Not to mention Sam, who called me every day for the first two years. Then cut back to every other day. I was annoyed, wanting to be left alone. Now, I was glad to have all my annoying family and friends.

“How’s Maine?” His booming voice filled my office and warmed my heart.

“Exactly the same as it’s always been. How are you?”

We chit chatted for a few minutes about nothing and everything, mostly how he was hating retirement while enjoying sleeping in. “How is the house?”

I moaned, rolling my eyes. Then I realized he couldn’t see the eyeroll, so I had to use my words. “It needs so many repairs. Then when it’s done, I’ll list it. I might be here longer than I thought.”

He must have heard my frustrations in my voice because he said, “Take advantage of your time there. Enjoy it like a vacation. Plus, it’s a great time to get back to your roots, find yourself. You must be happy to have Sam so close, right?”

I smiled. Wade knew Sam was close to both Clay and I, but mostly that Sam was like a brother to me. “Yeah, that’s nice. Oh, I got a job at the bookstore in town. And I’m writing. So, there is that.”

“See. Going home isn’t all bad.” He paused, then asked, “But how are you really doing?”

With a sigh, I sat back in my desk chair and decided to be honest. There was no use lying to him anyway. The man always knew. “Being in Shipton is bringing back memories I buried a long time ago. Part of me wants those memories to stay buried. But I’m okay, though my emotions are a bit wonky.”

He chuckled. “Wonky is understandable. Want me to come help with the house?”

There was hope in his tone. Uncle Wade was a handy sort of man. He’d worked for a construction company for years, doing electrical work. I seriously considered his offer. It would be nice to have family close, and the free labor. But I couldn’t pull him away from his home and his newly retired life. “If things get any more complicated, I might just do that, but for now I think I’ve got it covered.”

We talked about Wallie for a few minutes. He’d been checking in regularly via email and was so far loving being at college, as I’d known he would. By the time we disconnected, I felt full of love from the best non-dad I’d ever had. It also made me miss Clay.

Okay, none of that. Back to writing.

I got two sentences typed when something deeper in the house shattered, like glass breaking. It had happened a few times since I got back home, but I never found the source of the sounds. I had my suspicions that were solidified when I got downstairs and saw two of the workers nearly clutching each other in fear. Their eyes wide as they stared at the floor a few feet from them.

Nothing seemed amiss in the living room, though. “What’s wrong?” I asked with a sinking feeling in my stomach. I opened my senses to see if there may be a ghost in the house. There wasn’t one. At least that I could sense.

“A vase flew across the room and hit the wall,” one of them said. He was one of the youngest of the crew and I bet he hadn’t been working for the company long.

I narrowed my eyes and looked around. “I don’t see it.”

The room was clean and fresh, the way I’d left it the other day when I’d used my magic to freshen it. “I’m sure it was the wind or something,” I said, trying to convince them they’d lost their minds. “You both couldn’t have seen something fly across the room that disappeared, could you?”

They laughed nervously and walked shoulder-to-shoulder to the door. Were they leaving? They couldn’t leave. “Where are you going?”

“Leaving. We can’t work anywhere where there's a ghost attacking us.” They