Chapter 2

“Are we there yet?” Kimberly shouted while bouncing on the back seat of their SUV.

“Soon, Kimmy,” Ashley said one more time, no longer bothering to look over her shoulder when answering.

“Why not?”

“You know the house is a little ways out of town. You’ve been there every day.”

“But today we are moving in. Today my bed will be there and my toys and all my clothes and...” Kimberly sucked in the air her lungs had been denied by her frenzied outburst, “ ... everything.”

It was a sunny and unusually warm October day. Sam drove past trees with red and yellow leaves in front of houses that lined both sides of the road. Large houses, but nothing compared to the one he bought. And although the houses were on lots set back from the road with large spaces between them, it was nothing like his house. He stopped at the end of the street. It was sort of a square cul-de-sac where the street went on for another fifty yards. Well, not the street. That was his driveway.

Ignoring his daughter’s impatience—or not hearing it any longer—Sam continued at a crawl’s pace, savoring the magnificence of the structure. The two-story house towered into the sky, having the illusion of three stories because of the large windowed attic. The rooms had high ceilings that made each room taller and therefore the house taller. Twenty-foot ceilings on the first floor and fifteen on the second where the bedrooms were. Houses weren’t built like that anymore and its architecture was one of the many reasons Sam cherished the house. The roof’s pitches were architecturally beautiful and displayed many fireplace chimneys. The two-hundred-year-old house was built before central heating or air conditioning, or even electricity and indoor plumbing. Thankfully, all of that had been taken care of by previous owners. And, thankfully, they had preserved the original architecture. The other houses in the neighborhood had probably been like this one years ago, but they must have been torn down over the years to build the modern houses he had passed on the road.

Sam liked the feeling of the old house, at the exquisite craftmanship no longer found, but he needed modern day comforts. He hadn’t even enjoyed the one camping trip he had taken with Ashley. Too primitive for him. He may be changing from a big city doctor to a country doctor, but he was a twenty-first century man used to twenty-first century conveniences.

There were no houses on either side of Sam’s new house. His lot was carved out of the forest that surrounded his property on three sides. In the back, past the good-sized back yard, was a forest with his own private lake. The saying “if it’s too good to be true...” filled him with dread. This time it wasn’t worrying about all his savings being put into the large house, but that the previous owners had sold it for such a low price. Sam had never met those owners. The realtor had avoided providing information on them. But when Sam had made the only offer he could afford, an offer he had been sure would be rejected as an insult, it was immediately accepted. Why had they accepted his ridiculous offer? What was wrong with the house?

Of course, Sam had the house inspected by a local. The man had seemed uneasy being in the house, like it was going to collapse on him or something was going to jump out at every opening, but he had said it was in great condition. And Sam was handy. He had entered college in the engineering program before switching to medicine. He had come to the same conclusion as the man he hired to inspect the house. It was in fine shape. So why had he gotten it so cheap? Too good to be true, and all that. The thought nagged him.

“Daddy, why’d you stop?” Kimberly asked from the back seat.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize I did.”

Sam continued on and, when they pulled up in front of the house, the SUV’s back door swung open before Sam even turned off the engine. Kimberly flew from the vehicle and sprinted to the double front doors. She latched onto the handle and pushed and pulled with all her might.

“Hold on,” Sam shouted as he exited the car more slowly. “It’s locked.”

“Hurry up! Hurry up! I wanna see my room!”

Sam rushed to the front double doors and unlocked them. His nine-year-old daughter pushed the door the rest of the way open and dashed into the house and up the staircase leading to the bedrooms. Watching her fly up the stairs, Sam smiled. When Ashley joined him on the front porch, he scooped her up in his arms. Ashley shrieked in surprise before wrapping her arms around her husband’s neck. He carried her into the house and kicked the front door closed.

A pouting Kimberly reappeared at the top of the stairs.

“Where’s my bed?” she asked.

“The moving truck isn’t here yet,” Ashley said.

“I want my stuff!”

“It’ll be here soon.”

Kimberly plopped down on the top step and crossed her arms. “I want it now!”

“Kimmy, it—”

A rumble came from outside the house, followed by squealing brakes.

“I think they’re here now,” Sam said.

He lowered Ashley to the floor and opened the door. The moving truck was there. He went outside to greet the movers.

As soon as the movers were given a tour of the house, life became chaotic. Sam and Ashley were directing the movers lugging furniture and other items. The boxes were labeled, so once the movers were told what number was for which room Sam and Ashley weren’t bothered. Except when they made a mistake. The biggest problem was Kimberly. She was constantly in the way.