Chapter 5

Later that night, Sam brooded in the living room while Ashley put Kimberly to bed. He wanted to be there too, but Kimberly had emphatically said no. That hurt. She didn’t want him with her. He agonized on the couch wondering how he could repair his relationship with his daughter. He didn’t know where to begin because he didn’t understand what had happened.

Ashley finally came into the living room and plopped down next to him.

“How is she?” Sam asked.

“Upset.”

“Maybe it was a bad idea sending her out alone. We should get to know the parents first.”

“They called her a witch!”

“Maybe they said bitch. Does Kimmy know that word?”

“Why would they call her that?”

“Look, it’s a small town. Maybe they don’t take to outsiders.”

Ashley sat up straight and turned toward her husband. “You think that’s the problem?” she asked with a shocked expression.

“Yeah. What do you think?”

“Kimmy is scared.”

“Because those kids scared her.”

“Don’t you get it? She’s scared of the house.”

“That’s crazy.”

“You should have been with her just now. She was pale as a ghost. She didn’t want me to leave her alone. That’s why I was there so long. It took forever for her to fall asleep.”

“It’s a new house. And it’s a really big house. She’s only nine so everything scares her.”

“It’s more than that. You should have seen her look around the room. At every corner. At the ceiling. Like a monster was going to jump out. She even made me look under the bed before she would even go into the room. She was trembling the whole time. She’s sleeping with the light on. Not a night light. The room light. She made me promise not to turn it off. I think we made a mistake. We should sell this house and move back.”

It was Sam’s turn to bolt upright. “You know we can’t. Our entire savings is in this house. We did that because the town is going to pay off my medical school loans. That was the deal the town council made to get me here. Without our savings, I can’t make the payments on the loans. That would be a financial disaster. Our credit would be ruined. We’d have collectors hounding us.”

“Then let’s sell the house.”

“Who knows if we can. The previous owners sold it for such a low price that I’m now guessing they couldn’t sell it. Remember how they jumped at our offer?”

“So we’re trapped here?” Ashley asked.

“We discussed it before I took the job and we bought the house. We knew we were making a commitment. We thought living in a small town where I was the small-town doctor would be fun and a good place to raise Kimmy.”

“We were wrong.”

“We’ve been in the house for only two days. Let’s give it a chance. Not that we have a choice. Let’s give it a chance.”

“What about Kimmy?”

“I’ll be the town doctor. People will get to know me and trust me. Then we won’t be outsiders. We’ll be one of them and they’ll treat us differently. Kimmy will make new friends. She’ll get used to the noises the two-hundred-year-old house makes. If she doesn’t, we’ll sell the house and find something newer and smaller.”

“Maybe you’re right.” Ashley let out a shoulder-raising sigh. “But I know one thing for sure.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s almost Halloween and I’m not dressing Kimmy up as a witch.”

Sam gawked at his wife, and then the two burst out laughing.

“Shh, you’ll wake Kimmy,” Ashley said when she finally controlled her laughter.

“She is way upstairs. She can’t hear us.”

Ashley glanced at the stairs and said more to herself, “I guess not. It’s a huge house.”

Sam wrapped an arm around Ashley and pulled her to him. “It’s nice being alone,” he said. “We’ve been so busy with the move and the house that we haven’t had any time to ourselves. It’s nice just to sit here like this. Maybe soon things will be normal again.”

Ashley snuggled against him. She purred. “I missed this.”

They sat like that for a while, enjoying the feel and warmth of one another’s body. Sam stroked Ashley’s hair. She purred. It had been a long time since they were able to just relax and hold each other. They both missed the intimacy.

“Nervous about work tomorrow?” Ashley asked.

“Why should I be?”

“It won’t be like working at the large hospital. You’ll be a one-man show.”

“Don’t you think I can handle it?”

Ashley leaned back and stared at her husband. “Of course I do.” She gave him a peck on the lips.

“Everything will be fine,” he said, stroking her cheek and staring into her eyes.

Sam leaned in for a kiss and, when their mouths met, Ashley parted her lips. Sam’s tongue slipped through the space to find her tongue waiting. He cupped the back of her head as he kissed her passionately.

“Oh, I missed this too,” Ashley said, panting when their mouths separated. “I love you so much.”