Return to Autumn House--A Halloween Serial--Chapter One--Lenora Worth

Return to Autumn House

(A Halloween Serial)

Chapter One—Lenora Worth

     She’d never planned to return to this house. But Hallie Cyder didn’t have a choice. She’d received the letter three days ago:

     You have inherited a piece of property located on Autumn Road. Immediate attention needed. Property could be condemned.

     There was more to the letter. Her great-uncle Macintosh Appleton had left her his summer home, located on the coast of Marshmallow, Maine. She was now the reluctant owner of Autumn House.

     The letter had been signed Kane Cornelison.

     Kane was a lawyer now. Her great-uncle’s lawyer. Obviously successful and settled here in this quaint coastal town. Probably married with children.

     As the thunder clashed, Hallie caught sight of the dark mansion hanging along the high bluff like a broken box. Autumn  House had once been a lovely Victorian house with wraparound porches and lush gardens.

     Now it stood abandoned and lost, the wind and rain pushing at it with a strength that could make the whole thing topple into the crashing sea below.

     “What am I doing here?” she asked.

     Too late to turn back now. She didn’t have anywhere else to go. So she drove her pumpkin orange roadster up the curving drive and stopped in front of the house. Kane had indicated she’d find a key underneath the fake rock by the front door.

     But there were a lot of rocks surrounding what was left of the flower bed. When she reached down to the first rock, a hand grabbed hers.

     Hallie screamed and tried to get away but the man tugged her down and she toppled over him, her eyes meeting his.

     “Don’t move.”

     Lightning clashed and spears of cold rain slashed across her skin. “Kane?”

     Blood dripped down his temple. But beyond that, he still was the best looking man in the world. Reddish-brown hair as rich as cider and eyes as icy as the ocean. He was more tempting than candy corn. She couldn’t believe he was here and hurt.

     “What happened?” she asked as she stared down at him, memories of candied apples and hayrides flashing through her mind.

     He held her wrist. “Hallie? We have to get out of here. It’s not safe.”

     Then he passed out.

     Hallie heard a crash from inside the house.

     Someone was coming for them.