middle-aged receptionist turned from her computer to welcome Janice and Brooke with a smile. The woman’s black suit obviously hadn’t come off the bargain racks where Janice bought her clothes. She felt ill at ease in such affluence.
“I’m Dot Banner,” the receptionist said. “What can I do for you today?”
“I’m Janice Reid. I have an appointment with Mr. Santrock.”
A somber look replaced the woman’s smile. “Mr. Santrock couldn’t be in the office today, and we didn’t know how to reach you. Did you come far?”
Irritated at this turn of events, Janice said bluntly, “Yes, I did. It’s a four-hour drive from Willow Creek, and I have to return in time for work tomorrow morning. This really puts me in a bind.”
Gesturing helplessly with her hand, the receptionist said, “I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too,” Janice replied, her irritation evident in the tone of her voice. “I made this appointment two weeks ago to discuss my inheritance. Now that I’m twenty-one, Mr. Santrock said he’d have the papers ready to transfer the property and bank accounts to me today.”
“The papers are ready, but you’ll have to see Mr. Santrock to finalize everything.”
Discouraged at this delay, Janice sat down uninvited in one of the upholstered guest chairs and motioned Brooke to another one. “I have to return to Willow Creek tonight, so I’ll call in a few days to make another appointment. I would like to see the house though. If you’ll give me the key, I’ll take a look at it.”
“I have no authority to give a key to you. You’ll have to see Mr. Santrock. He’s a stickler on seeing that everything is done legally.”
Janice had the feeling that she was being given the runaround and she couldn’t imagine why. Her uncle had died three years ago. Santrock had had ample time to know when she’d take control of the property. If he couldn’t be in his office today, he should have contacted her.
“I don’t suppose I’ll break any law if I look at the property,” Janice said tersely. “Surely your boss won’t mind if you tell me where to find the house.”
“Oh, you won’t have any trouble finding the Reid property,” the receptionist said smoothly, apparently choosing to ignore Janice’s sarcasm. “It’s the last house on the right side of the highway as you leave the city limits. If you see a sign that says, ‘Leaving Stanton,’ you’ve gone too far.”
As they left Santrock’s office, Janice reasoned that with the setbacks she’d had in her life she shouldn’t be surprised that this venture had fizzled out. When they reached the street, the scent of food from a nearby restaurant reminded Janice that she was hungry.
“How about some lunch?” she asked.
“Yeah!” Brooke gave Janice a thumbs-up, and her brown eyes shone with merriment. They walked across the street to Brooke’s favorite chain restaurant.
Brooke ordered her usual hamburger, fries and glass of milk. Janice chose an Oriental fruit and vegetable salad and iced tea.
As they ate, Brooke talked excitedly about having their own home. “Wonder if we can have a big, big Christmas tree? And outside decorations, too?” she added hopefully.
“Since it will be the first time in our own home, I think we can afford to celebrate,” Janice agreed, before she added cautiously, “but I can’t promise until I know exactly how much money I’ve inherited. Our uncle was very cautious—he left matters in the hands of his lawyers until he assumed I’d be old enough to handle money.”
Since Christmas seemed to be a high priority with Brooke, Janice intended to have a good holiday season to make up for all the ones they’d both missed as children.
After living from hand to mouth most of her childhood, Janice had dreamed of having a home of her own. Since she’d heard that John Reid had remembered her in his will, Janice had been anticipating living under her own roof. She’d nightly thanked God that her bachelor uncle had chosen her to inherit his estate. The legacy included the Reid family home and several thousand dollars, but she didn’t know the exact amount. Any amount would seem like a fortune to Janice, who’d always had to save up for everything she’d had. She thought that her life had taken a turn for the better when she inherited her uncle’s property.
Following Dot Banner’s directions, Janice rounded a curve in the road and had the first look at her house, situated on a hill about a quarter of a mile from the highway. Although stunned into disbelief, she was alert enough to glance in the rearview mirror before she slammed on the brakes and pulled off the highway. Her dream had suddenly turned into a nightmare.
“Is this it?” Brooke asked, blinking with disappointment.
“I’m afraid so,” Janice said. “There’s the sign Miss Banner mentioned, and this is the last house on the right. Besides, I’ve seen a picture of the place. This is it.”
The Reid home, Mountjoy, the same name as the family’s ancestral home in England, was a two-story frame house with an upstairs balcony on the front of the building. Untrimmed rhododendron and laurel bushes, as well as a tall evergreen hedge, obscured the first floor.
At one time the weatherboarding had been white, but the paint had peeled off, leaving it a dingy gray. Some of the windows were broken and strips of curtains dangled through the holes. Weather-beaten green shutters hung askew. Janice assumed that the first floor looked as bad as the rest of the house.
“Can we live here?” Brooke asked in a frightened voice.
“Not right away. I can see why the receptionist was amused when I asked for a key. It will take a bulldozer to clear a path through that wilderness so we can reach the house.”
Janice’s great-grandfather had built this house in the late nineteenth century with money earned from the coal industry. He had accumulated vast wealth, and his sons and grandsons had squandered most of his fortune, but Janice had no idea that the family home had fallen into such disrepair. John Reid, their uncle, had lived in a house in Stanton for several years prior to his death. From the looks of things, nothing had been done to the property since he’d moved to town.
Not only was Janice disappointed in her legacy, but as she glanced around the property, a flutter of apprehension played a staccato rhythm up and down her spine. She’d experienced plenty of fear when she’d lived in her parents’ home, but after she’d landed in the sheltering arms of VOH, she’d had no reason to be afraid. So what had caused her sudden jolt of terror? A shock so powerful that Janice wondered if she should forget about moving to Stanton and return to Willow Creek where she still had a job, as well as friends and acquaintances. Cutting ties with the past might not be the sensible thing to do. Should she ask Mr. Santrock to sell this property and transfer all the assets to her banking account in Willow Creek?
But during the uncertain years of her childhood, Janice had developed a hardness of spirit and self-reliance that had kept her going when most girls her age would have given up. After she’d survived long days and nights alone as Brooke’s only caregiver, to preserve her own sanity, Janice had learned to overcome her fear.
She put the car in gear and moved forward until she found a place to turn around. Brooke huddled beside her, a fearful expression on her face. Janice had thought that relocation would be good for Brooke, as well as for herself, but now she was uncertain
