Return to Autumn House, a Halloween Serial - Chapter Two - Teri Wilson

Return to Autumn House – Chapter Two

Teri Wilson

We have to get out of here. It’s not safe.

Hallie’s chest grew tight. She couldn’t seem to breathe. Or even think straight. The noises in the house grew louder. Whoever was inside was coming closer. And closer.

It’s not safe.

She could run. She should run. She should turn right around, climb back into her pumpkin orange roadster and drive far away. She should forget she’d ever heard of Marshmallow, Maine. Let them condemn the place. Why should she care what happened to Autumn House?

Maybe because this is where Kane kissed you for the very first time.

Kane.

He was the reason she couldn’t bring herself to turn tail and run. He was hurt. Hurt and bloodied. Something terrible had happened to him. She couldn’t just leave him here. She’d never be able to forgive herself if she did, even though she’d never seen him after the Halloween night so long ago when he’d kissed her on this very front porch. He’d been dressed as Superman, with a red cape and a big S on his manly chest. She’d been Lois Lane. They hadn’t planned on matching costumes. It had just happened. She’d thought it was fate. She’d thought it meant they were destined to be together.

She’d never been so wrong about anything in her life, except maybe the time she’d tried pumpkin spice potato chips. (They were horrible. Almost as horrible as being kissed within an inch of her life by a man who'd never deigned to speak to her again.)

But that didn’t mean she could leave him here. Not when something sinister was just on the other side of the front door to Autumn House. Whomever…or whatever…was coming for them had grown so close that Hallie could hear it breathing heavily just on the other side of the door.

A shiver ran up her spine.

“Kane. Wake up. Please wake up.” She gave him a little shake and tried not to think about how handsome he looked, even with a bloodied forehead.

But it’s such a nice forehead. So Clark Kent-esque.

She sighed.   

Focus, Hallie!

“Hmm?” Kane’s eyes fluttered open. “Lois? I mean, Hallie?”

Good. He was awake. If she could just get him to the car…

The door to Autumn House creaked open, and Hallie froze. It was too late to flee. Time had run out. She held onto Kane’s limp form for dear life while something hulking and black leapt toward her in the dark. A monster.

She squeezed her eyes closed and prayed for a miracle.

Then something wet and cold hit her on the side of her face. It almost felt like the monster had licked her. She opened her eyes.

Laugher bubbled up her throat. It wasn’t a monster at all. It was a dog. A big, clumsy dog. And from the looks of its wagging tail, it was friendly.

“Hallie, we have to get you out of here.” Kane sat up. “I told you it wasn’t safe. You’re severely allergic to dogs.”

He remembered. How sweet. How…super. Hallie had the sudden urge to kiss him right then and there.

But wait. Why was he all bloody? Why had he ignored her for so many years? Who did this giant dog belong to? And why was Autumn House on the verge of crumbling to the ground?

A kiss was the last thing she needed. What she needed most of all were answers. And maybe some Benadryl.

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.

FEATURED BOOK AND INTERVIEW: A Western Christmas-Yuletide Reunion by Louise M. Gouge

A New Family Makes the Perfect Christmas Gift  

Yuletide Lawman by Renee Ryan 

A Christmas to remember—that's what Ellie Wainwright wants to provide for Sheriff Caleb Voss's little girls. But she can't agree to a marriage of convenience. Ellie wants nothing less than real love. Caleb long ago gave up on love, yet sweet Ellie's kindness to his children could make a believer of him again. 

Yuletide Reunion by Louise M. Gouge 

Emma Sharp's family needs to rebuild their barn before Christmas. All help is welcome—even if it comes from the handsome neighboring rancher who jilted her two years ago. Can Jared Mattson prove that he wants to build not just a barn with Emma—but a bright future together?

Interview:

How exciting to have Jared Mattson, the hero from Yuletide Reunion from A Western Christmas anthology, written by Louise M. Gouge, an October 2015 release from Love Inspired Historical Romance.

1.  Jared Mattson, tell me the most interesting thing about you.

            First of all, I’d like to thank you for inviting me to chat with you all today. Then I suppose you’ll be interested in knowing I’m the fourth of five sons of a cattle rancher in Riverton, New Mexico. We don’t have any women in our house because our mama couldn’t stand the harsh life and returned back east many years ago. Then my oldest brother’s wife did the same thing. Makes it kind of hard for my brothers and me to know how to treat women. Odd thing is that our youngest brother, Cal, has a way with women and plans to marry one of two sisters on a neighboring ranch. Maybe one day the rest of us Mattson men will have to take lessons from him.

2.  What do you do for fun?

            Life on a ranch involves an awful lot of work, and we don’t have any time to waste. Fun comes in the form of helping out neighbors because it gives us a change of pace. This December, we’re helping our neighbors rebuild their barn before Christmas Eve because they’re hosting the annual Las Posadas celebration, a Spanish Christmas tradition. The new barn will be the only place large enough to hold all the neighbors for a big party, which is meant to bring together the Americanos and Mexican folks who live around Riverton.

3.  What do you put off doing because you dread it?

            This is hard to answer, and it will be hard to do. I owe a big apology to my sweet, pretty neighbor, Miss Emma Sharp. You see, I was courting her a few years ago, but I got cold feet and jilted her. Mind you, I had good reasons. What with my mama and sister-in-law deserting their husbands, I figure women were all alike. But that didn’t make my actions any easier on that sweet little gal.

4.  What are you afraid of most in life?

            I’m afraid that even if I summon up the courage to apologize, Emma won’t forgive me. Actually, I don’t blame her. Guilt sits on my shoulders like an oversized saddle on a little pony.

5.  What do you want out of life?

            I want a place of my own, a cattle ranch I can build up from scratch. Whether the Lord will grant that prayer, I don’t know. But I know He knows best.

6.  What is the most important thing to you?

            Doing God’s will. Only trouble is, sometimes it’s hard to figure out exactly what that is. I’m beginning to think I should have prayed more before I started courting Emma. And I sure should have prayed more before I jilted her.

7.  Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?

            You’re going to think this is pretty strange for a cowboy, but I have a pet cat. She’s one of our many barn cats, and we made friends a few years ago. You’ll have to read my whole story to find out how that happened.

8. Can you tell us a little interesting tidbit about the time period you live in?

            As I mentioned above, our community will be celebrating Las Posadas. Here’s a little bit of history about that celebration: For hundreds of years, Mexicans had settled in the land we now call New Mexico, then known as New Mexico Territory. After the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, new boundaries were drawn, giving the territory to the United States. The Mexicans living there were given the opportunity to move to Mexico or remain on their land. Numerous families remained. At this time, many “Americanos” moved into the area, and animosities sprang up between the two groups. In the idealistic, fictional community of Riverton, the pastors of two different local denominations decide to set the example and bring their congregations together, concentrating on their common belief in Jesus Christ instead of their differences.

What We Are Writing

 By Margaret Daley

Author: Lorraine Beatty

Title: Beth and Noah’s story (working title)

Hero and Heroine: 

Hero: Noah Carlisle single dad whose moved back to his small home town of Dover Mississippi to start his own structural engineering company.

Heroine: Bethany Montgomery. A principal ballerina whose career has ended due to injury. She comes home to Dover and reunites with old boyfriend only to find he’s never forgiven her for choosing her career over him. 

Line: Love Inspired contemporary

Paragraph working on:

“I’m not finished. Beth loves you and if you don’t come to your senses you’re going to lose her again. You listen to me, I know you’re protecting your heart from being broken again. But that’s not your job. You’re not strong enough to do that alone. You’re supposed to give your heart, all of it, to the Lord so he can heal it and return it to you able to love again.”

Due Date:  December 1^st

Word count today: 2,244

Research unusual discovery: the term Balletomane. It means a ballet enthusiast. Are you a balletomane?

Also: If a building inspector examines and clears a building and a safety issue later develops, he or she could potentially be held liable, as could the government office which authorized the construction.

Author: Linda Goodnight

Title: Quinn's Redemption (working title)

Hero and Heroine: Quinn Buchanon and Gena Satterfield

Line: Love Inspired

One paragraph from the page you are currently on:

He slumped to the floor and, head on his upraised knees, began to sob. “It’s not fair. It’s not right. Everyone has a dad but me.”

Due Date: Nov. 15

Word or page count goal today: 8 pages

Something cool learned from research:  Not cool but interesting: Nearly two million Americans are addicted to prescription opioid painkillers like Vicodin. Many such addictions began innocently from a medical issue.

Author: Danica Favorite   

Title: Shotgun Wedding

Hero and Heroine: Jasper Jackson and Emma Jane Logan

Line: Love Inspired Historical

One paragraph from the page you are currently on: Since I’m doing final edits, I’m going to cheat and send my favorite paragraph. Well, at least the favorite one that doesn’t need a lot of context. J


If he kept up such actions, Emma Jane might very well find herself one of the giggling girls fawning over their fans at him. Perhaps it was just as well Jasper was chasing after bandits rather than spending time getting to know her. It wouldn’t do to find herself attracted to a man who couldn’t possibly fall in love with her.

 Due Date: October 14^th

Word or page count goal today: None, just doing the final read-through before sending my final edits to my editor.

Something cool learned from research: Back in the 1880’s, they did have bottles for babies. In this story, an orphaned infant plays a large role in the story. It occurred to me about ¾ through that I had no idea how people fed a baby whose mother had died, other than using a wet nurse. Were there other options for feeding the baby? Fortunately, as I researched the topic, I found an ad for baby bottles! Yes!! It’s amazing how sometimes, looking at ads from the days gone by provide the exact information we’re looking for. I hadn’t seen anything about baby bottles in the books I use for research, but open up to an old newspaper, and the advertisements provide a lot of great clues about the time you’re researching.

Author: Jean C. Gordon

Title: Claiming His Best Friend's Heart (The Donnelly Brothers Book 3)

Hero and Heroine: Josh Donnelly and Tessa Hamilton

Line: Love Inspired Romance

One paragraph from the page you are currently on:

Tessa and his father sat across from each other at one of the café tables, his father’s back to the door. An open bottle of wine and a glass stood in the center of the table. They each had a hand around the bottle.

Rage consumed Josh. He stormed over and yanked his father’s chair around toward him. “How could you? Haven’t you ruined enough in my life?” he shouted in his father face before looking across the table at Tessa, who held fast to the wine bottle, an odd sheen in her eyes. “Didn’t I tell you he’d do this?”

Due Date: November 2

Word or page count goal today: Revising

Something cool learned from research: AA and Al-anon groups generally stand when they say the Serenity Prayer.

Author:  Pamela Tracy

Title:  The Bluebonnet Bride, a novella in an The Lone Star Brides anthology.

Hero:  Daniel Starr

Heroine:  Amy Benjamin

Line:  Redbud Press

Word Count today: 50 words

One Paragraph from the page you are currently working on:  No One’s Fool gave a hefty leap, not bad for a bull weighing almost two thousand pounds, and Daniel Starr felt his legs raise a good two inches from where they needed to be: securely pressed against the sides of No One’s Fool.

Secure might not be an apt description. 

Something cool learned recently from research:  Bull riders don't think much about keeping their seat once the bull is moving. They kinda stand and use their legs to stay on.

Are you ready to ice skate on the beach?

I know, I know. It seems like Fall gets skimmed right over in all the hustle bustle of Christmas, doesn't it? In this wacky world of fiction writing, fall is the beginning of the holiday book avalanche and my newest book, Dangerous Tidings, is part of that onslaught! I will always have fond memories when I look at the cover, because hubby and I were fortunate enough to travel to Coronado Island in Southern, California where the book is set. There at the historic Hotel Del Coronado, we were amazed to see an ice skating rink operating a few yards from the beach! The hotel itself has hosted many famous people from Marilyn Monroe to L. Frank Baum. The classic movie "Some Like it Hot" was filmed on that very beach.

How cool, right? I would love to travel again to the Historic Hotel Del someday. In the meantime, I'll just have to enjoy the photos and memories! Are you planning to travel over the holidays? Do tell!