Rumor has it the Rigby Mansion is haunted. The last owner was brutally murdered and now the house is on the market.Dr. Max Edison, a surgeon who has no time for such nonsense, wants to tour the manor as he wants a home outside the city. The firm listing the property sends him out with their newest employee, Stella McNamara, who is convinced the rumors are true. She has a sixth sense about these things….
This story was part of a group of stories with common elements by a group of writers. We had to have a character named Max and lost keys among other items.
This is a fall short story by Jillian Chantal. She was lucky enough to know a lot of her grandparents and great grandparents due to the longevity gene.
Her paternal great grandfather was Carver Fowler and he was a quiet man who loved to do wood-working. He also, as a young man, had a Model T and spent the whole rest of his life regretting selling it. Jillian always loved that his name was Carver and he did wood-working.
Mallie Phillips was her great grandmother and that lady was a pistol. She was sassy and fun and up until the week before she died, she would be in her yard with her cane in one hand and a rake in the other.
The year of the story is fudged as they would have been older than Jillian wanted them to be in the story if she used their real dates of birth.
Enjoy this free short story– just long enough to read while you have your pedicure. GET IT LINK
Blurb:
In 1924, Carver Fowler, a young man raised on his family’s farm in North Alabama, has long been in love with one of the girls who lives in town. Her name is Mallie Phillips. Mallie has always treated Carver as beneath her notice since in her opinion he’s nothing but a country yokel.
The county’s fall festival is soon and, as a joke, Mallie is dared by a friend to ask Carver to be her date to the party. Mallie takes her up on the dare and visits Carver to invite him to accompany her to the festivities.
In the midst of all the intrigue about whether Carver will be her date or not, a young man is killed and another is attacked. Carver becomes a suspect and Mallie begins to understand that Carver may not merely be the backwoods boy she thought he was.
As a Christmas gift to my readers, I’m offering my short Christmas tale called The Thirteenth Gate free on Amazon through the 22nd.
From a review: “The Thirteenth Gate was a wonderful short story of one young girls journey to a better life. Clarissa thought there was no hope for her until Jed came into her life and let her see that all was not lost, just trust and believe! Great story for this Christmas season.”
Jillian Chantal has the first chapter of Surfer Bride up on Renee Bagby’s First Chapter blog today. She’s giving away an e-book copy to one lucky commenter. Head on over and check out the first chapter. http://dreneebagbypresentsfirstchapters.blogspot.com/ and here’s the trailer for it.