The Other Twin

“Did you ever hear noises in the carriage house?” Cheryl asked Abby.

Noises? He paused. Nathan should let them know he was listening, but he didn’t. What was Cheryl up to?

“Lots of creaking,” Abby replied. “Why? Has great-aunt Persephone been trying to scare you?”

Persephone was the mansion’s ghost. Pop had worked on Fitzgerald House for years. When Nathan and Daniel were small, they would come to work with him and try to find the ghost who haunted the old mansion.

“I hope not,” Cheryl replied. “Does she visit the carriage house?”

“No.” Abby laughed. “Are you worried?”

“I...” There was a pause. “The drunk getting into the River Street apartment shook me more than I thought.”

“Gray and I are right next door,” Abby said.

“I guess...it’s nice knowing there’s only Josh and me in the building.” Cheryl’s words gushed out.

What the hell? She was sabotaging his request before he’d even made it. No way! He pushed through the door.

The screen slapped shut and Abby turned. “Hey, Nathan.”

He moved to the counter, narrowing his eyes at Cheryl.

Cheryl’s mouth formed a little O. She slid away from him. “Josh, breakfast.”

The kid tucked his stuff into his backpack and headed to the table, snaking a wide path around Nathan.

“What’s up?” Abby asked him.

“I wanted to ask you something.” He raised his eyebrows at Cheryl.

“Sure.” Abby pulled a pan from the oven. “Can I get you breakfast?”

“I wouldn’t say no.” He leaned against the wall as she cut into the egg casserole. “Smells great in here.”

After dishing him a generous helping, Abby sliced the rest into squares.

Cheryl took the pan and put it on a cart along with other dishes and baskets of muffins. As she backed out the door, she shot Nathan a guilty look. “Josh, eat up. The bus will be here soon.”

Nathan took a bite of the egg dish and moaned. It was a Mexican fiesta in his mouth. “How come Gray isn’t fifty pounds overweight?”

Abby laughed and handed him a cup of coffee. “I won’t let him.”

He took a sip. Time to get down to business before Cheryl returned. Staying on-site was the perfect way for him to work long hours without anyone knowing. “I checked out the other carriage house apartment.”

Abby’s glance shot to Josh as he plowed through his breakfast. “Did Cheryl hear you this morning?”

“Maybe.” Yes. “I want your restaurant to shine. I’d like to be on-site, keeping everything on track. What do you think about me renting the apartment?” The words tumbled out of his mouth. He didn’t even worry that they might not be the right words or in proper order. “I’d be on top of everything.”

That might be a first.

“No one’s stayed there in years.”

“I checked the water. It works.” A little rusty, but that was from lack of use. “I could patch and paint the place for you.”

“You want to live and work on-site?” She picked up a wicked knife and cut melon slices. “In a place that’s been empty for a decade?”

“You live next door in the Carleton carriage house.” He nodded to Josh. “Now Cheryl’s in the Fitzgerald carriage house.”

Josh looked up at the mention of his mother’s name, daggers in his eyes. Or maybe they were lasers. Who knew what weapons kids used nowadays?

“I like the idea.” Abby hacked off the top of a pineapple. “I’ll talk to Dolley and have her work on a lease. Maybe with you next door, Cheryl won’t worry.”

Nathan doubted that. Maybe he should have talked directly to Dolley. She was the sister in charge of contracts. But Cheryl might have sabotaged his request if he’d waited.

A timer dinged. Abby patted his back and moved to the ovens. “Can I interest you in a muffin?”

“Sure.” He checked his watch. “I’ll take it with me.”

Cheryl hustled back into the kitchen. “Almost done?” she asked her son.

“Yup.” Josh scooted off the chair and took his dishes to the dishwasher without anyone reminding him. “Thank you, Miss Abby.”

Abby ruffled his hair. “You’re welcome.”

Cheryl handed him his backpack. As they headed out of the kitchen, Nathan followed. “Got a minute?”

Her back stiffened. “Josh needs to catch his bus.”

“One minute.” He wanted to see her reaction when she heard the news.

“Josh, wait on the porch. I’ll be right there.”

The kid stepped between Nathan and Cheryl. “It’s my first day of summer camp. I don’t want to miss my bus ’cause it’s only for two weeks.”

“You won’t.” Cheryl guided Josh down the hall. Then she turned and crossed her arms. “What can I do for you?”

He almost smiled at her belligerent tone. “I wanted you to be the first to know. I’m your new neighbor.”

Her face went pale. “I...I...”

“You’d hoped your conversation with Abby would keep me from moving in?” He pointed a finger at her. “She thinks you’ll feel more secure with me living there.”

“It wasn’t that.” Her gaze swung away from him. She was lying.

“Nice.” He shook his head. “Guess I won’t be expecting a ‘welcome to the neighborhood’ from you. I don’t know what I did to rile you up and I don’t care. I’ll stay out of your way. You and the kid stay out of mine.”

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