Chapter 3

“Exactly,” Griffin agreed seriously, making Daniel wonder if he had a clue about the commercial years back that played off that phrase. “I should leave you now,” Griffin said. “I suspect you have plenty to keep you busy.”

“Not sure about that, but if you’re hunting your dinner you won’t find it standing here talking to me.”

“True enough.” Griffin smiled, turned to go, then asked, “What’s your first name?”

“Daniel. I thought you knew, since you know my last name.”

“I was aware that your grandfather had died and he told me once that he was going to leave the house to his grandson, but he never actually mentioned your name.”

“You were friends?”

“Acquaintances. He allowed me to hunt on his land in exchange for some of what I killed.” Griffin smiled. “He was partial to rabbits for stew. And quail.”

“Maybe I should make the same deal with you.”

“If you wish.”

Daniel thought about it, but then made a face. “I’m not sure I could handle skinning and gutting a dead animal, so I’ll pass.”

With a laugh, Griffin replied, “You area city boy.” And then he left, fading into the shadows between the trees.

A strange man, but he seems nice enough. I wonder if he really does live as rough as he implied or if he was just playing me. Chances are I’ll never find out, since from what he said he lives pretty far from here.

Daniel returned home, stopping at the edge of the yard to look at the house. The contractors were working faster than he’d expected. They’d already removed the parts of the walls between each set of windows to create two large ones. The space was, at the moment, covered with heavy plastic, awaiting the new window frames and glass.

It’s going to be perfect for what I need. A couple more days and I can start a new painting. And Griffin would be a wonderful subject. Presuming I see him again, which is probably unlikely, maybe I’ll ask him to pose for a few sketches. I can see him as a medieval lord out hunting. Make his hair longer than it is now, put him in a tunic. That could work. Won’t happen though, I’m sure

By then he was at the back door. He let himself in and hurried upstairs to find the construction crew was finished for the day and cleaning up the last of the debris. The carpeting was gone, revealing a hardwood floor, and the wall between the two bedrooms had been taken down, with only two studs remaining. The foreman told him those would be removed the next day, and the finishing work done to the ceiling and floor to eliminate any indication where the wall had been. “The windows will be in as well,” the man informed him. “We put a rush on getting them since the weather is supposed to turn colder within the week.”

“Thank you!”

“No problem. One of the joys of living in the mountains, we get the cold well before they do down on the flatlands.”

“Denver’s hardly flatlands.”

“Compared to here, you bet it is. Anyway, we’ll be back at eight in the morning to finish up.”

The crew took off, and after changing into sweats, Daniel went downstairs to fix supper.

* * * *

Daniel shivered, looking up from the book he was reading.

There it is again. The feeling that something is off. Mellie’s ghosties and goblins? As if. But still…

With a hard shake of his head, he returned to his reading, but he couldn’t rid himself of the notion that something wasn’t right. Probably because I’m still not used to being out here in the wilderness, so to speak, even after having been here for the last two weeks.“Get used to it,” he said aloud. “This is my home now and it’s exactly what I want. Peace and quiet.” He snapped his fingers. “Maybe. Yeah, that’s got to be it. No city noises. No horns blaring, no sirens, no noisy neighbors at eleven at night.”

Closing the book, he went to turn down the thermostat and then took the book with him up to his bedroom and set it on the nightstand. He walked to the window, pulling back the sheers to look out at the moonlit side yard and the trees that lined its edge. For a second he thought he saw something moving between the trees and his pulse spiked. Then he laughed softly. “A deer, perhaps? Or one of the bears Griffin mentioned, looking for an open trashcan? I guess that’s why Gramps kept it in the garage rather than by the back porch. Good thing I didn’t move it.”

He watched for a moment longer, looking for what he thought he’d seen, but to no avail. Whatever it was, it was gone now. Giving up, he undressed and went to take a shower. When he finished, he put on flannel pajamas and a robe and went downstairs to make certain all the doors and windows were securely closed and locked. Then he made a cup of tea to ward off the slight chill he was feeling and returned with it to his bedroom. Turning on the bedside lamp, he shut off the overhead light and, impulsively, went to the window again.