The Haunting of Blackwood House by Darcy Coates Read Free Book Online

apartment if I’d wanted it. But I’ve been saving instead. I wanted my own place. The more money I spent on useless things like televisions and curtains and… I dunno, white-picket fences or whatever fancy housewives spend their money on… the longer it would have taken to buy a house. I was comfortable. Don’t you dare feel sorry for me, Neil. I’m finally getting everything I’ve wanted, all on my own efforts, and I feel damn good about it.”
    Neil studied her eyes, testing for honesty, then nodded. “Okay. Let’s get you to that new house, then. Do you need help packing?”
    “Hang on a second.” Mara pecked his lips a final time then ducked out of his grip, picked an empty cardboard box off the foot of her bed, and went to the window ledge. She’d arranged Neil’s gifts there to brighten her room, and she swept them into the box in a smooth motion. “Grab the wardrobe, and we’re ready to go.”
    Neil hesitated. “You don’t want anything else?”
    “Nah. It all sucks. C’mon. I’ve got a somewhat larger but equally sucky house to move into.”
    Finally, Neil smiled. It was what Mara had been waiting for, and she felt all of the tension melt away. He picked up the cardboard wardrobe in a fluid motion, braced it against his shoulder, and followed her out of the door. This time, Mara didn’t bother kicking it closed.

CHAPTER EIGHT: Compromises

    “Holy crap. I don’t think I could buy a boyfriend as good as you are.” Mara, nestled in the car’s overly large passenger seat, dug through the brown paper bag Neil had given her. She found it impossible to choose just one item. She pulled out both the chocolate and the meat pie and began alternating bites of each.
    “There’s some muffins Mum baked, too,” Neil said, not trying to disguise his delight as he watched Mara out of the corner of his eye. “And there’s a really nice apple-and-walnut salad—”
    “Dear, sweet Neil. Will you never learn?” Mara found the salad container and smiled at it fondly. “You can eat this later.”
    She tossed the plastic packet into the backseat then turned as it made a strange thudding noise. “Hey, what’s with all the boxes?”
    “Just some equipment.”
    “From work?”
    “Mm-hmm.”
    “Thanks for picking me up so quickly, by the way.” Mara returned to the chocolate with gusto. “Did you have to cut your shift very short?”
    “Not too badly. Autumn’s usually a slow time of year anyway, so Joel doesn’t mind me reducing my hours.”
    Neil was a partner in his carpentry business and had a small crew working under him. Mara had met the other partner, Joel, a few times and thought he was a little too affable for his own good.
    “So…” Neil drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.
    He was trying to sound casual, but Mara knew him too well. She narrowed her eyes. “What is it?”
    “Oh, nothing. I was just thinking…”
    “Give it to me straight. I’m a big girl.”
    Neil chuckled, and the tension dropped from his shoulders. “I can’t hide anything from you, can I? All right. I know how important being independent is for you. And I really, really like that. But—”
    “But you want to help.” Mara took another large bite of the meat pie to hide her smile as Neil exhaled deeply.
    “Yeah. We’ve been together for a while. I want to be able to do things for you once in a while.”
    Mara dropped the uneaten food back into the bag and folded the top over. “You already do way more than you should. You’re constantly buying me food—it’s going to make me fat, by the way—and you’ve already offered to help with the house’s repairs. I’d say that’s plenty.”
    “The house is kind of what’s bothering me actually.” Neil kept his eyes fixed on the road, but Mara could tell he was distracted. The speedometer was hovering slightly over the legal limit.
    “Go on.”
    “It’s a mess, Mara. The roof is collapsing, it’s full of rotting furniture and dead bugs, and