🎄Tiktok- Podcast- Stories by the fire (Multibook)

December Nineteenth - Episode 1

Gather around the fire, kids. This new podcast will delve into the paranormal, mysteries, and just weird or interesting stuff. This podcast will be posted weekly starting at the end of January. Then I will post a new update every week. If you want to read anything beforehand, you can visit the blog w w w dot my crazy life again dot com.

But for today's story, did you know that one old Christmas Eve tradition was to tell ghost stories? Back in Victorian England, long before a cute and cuddly Christmas, families would gather around the fire and tell ghost stories. A Christmas Carol came from the Christmas-time stories. 

These stories did not stay around long in America, even before we became a country, due to Americans' views on witchcraft and magic.

But never fear, it is the year twenty twenty five, and you can still watch ghost movies and read paranormal stories anytime you want. So no matter what you do this Christmas, be safe, be merry, and I hope you have a little bit of spooky along with your Christmas.

🎄Grandma's House (5 book series)

The first thought I had when I woke up was how I got here. Sitting up, I realized I had no clothes on, and lying beside me was a man I did not know. Waking up, he turned over and looked at me and said, "Who are you?"

"Who am I?" I asked. "Who are you and why are you in my Grandma's bed? Where are our clothes?"

He looked around and got a look on his face as he said, "I know this is going to sound weird, are you a virgin?"

I chuckled and said, "No. It has been a while, but no."

"Are you sore?" He asked. "I am not a pervert, but I am a bigger guy down there, and if we did anything, you would be sore. My ex-fiancé used to complain."

"Could you turn around and close your eyes," I asked.

Climbing out of the bed I ran into the closet and came out wearing a pair of jogging pants and a tee shirt. I handed him some clothes that used to be my grandfather and said, "Thats the best I could find."

"Thank you," He said. I turned around and a moment later he said, "I am dressed."

"What is the last thing you remember?" I asked.

He thought about it for a moment and said, "I opened my apartment door and then nothing. What about you?"

"I had went to my Grandma's craft room and then nothing," I said.

He looked around and asked, "Should I expect your Grandma to walk in?"

"No," I said. Tearing up I said, "She passed away a week ago."

Rubbing my hands over my face I felt a ring rub over my cheek and looked at it. Grabbing his hand I saw he had a matching wedding band. We looked at each other and he said, "What the hell?"

There was a knock at the door and I said, "Come in."

A gentleman walked in and said, "Good Morning!"

"What is going on," I demanded.

"Calm down Massie," He said. "I do not like this any more than either of you will, but you both have been set up. I couldn't stop it. Please let me explain."

"Ethan I am sorry your parents did not want to wait for you to find the right one," He said. "So they found the one for you."

Turning to me, he said, "Massie, think back to when you were a child spending time with your grandma here. You might remember me."

I sat thinking and said, "Mr. Sims."

He looked relieved and said, "Good. Now sit down, you two. This is where things get bumpy. Massie, your parents want to take the mansion from you. You know your Grandma was a hoarder and a packrat, and the treasure of ages could be here, but you wouldn't know because of how packed the house is. The house is paid off and you were left with $250,000. Part of your Grandfathers will said that if you could not make a profit of three million dollars in the first two years, you would forfeit your inheritance and the estate goes to your parents. Your Grandma wanted you to keep it without your Grandfathers stipulations. She left a lot of cash all over the house but she had to be sneaky. There is an acount set up at first national bank with $5000 as a start up amount. The items in this home were things that your Grandma had collected all her life, items from vacation homes, and estates she had inherited. I do not know how much cash is around the home. But you have to keep items in the home and make it a home. I have a list of buyers for various items. The second part of his stipulations was you needed to keep the mansion as a mansion and it cannot be cleared out. So selling everything would put you in default."

"How do I play into it?" Ethan asked.

"Massies parents think your sudden wedding will cause scandal," Mr. Sims said. "Especially since she was seeing that donkey's ass and had ended it a month ago."

"Ethan your parents are friends with Massies and you know you must stay married for two years to recieve your inheritance from your Grandfather if you do not then you lose that and your position as CEO of the company. Everything will default to your Grandparents. I broke into your apartment and grabbed your clothing along with things you will need. They are in suitcases in the hallway. If you need anything from there take Massie with you. Your families are going to try to sabotage everything. The marriage license was signed by both of you when they drugged you last night. It was filed at seven this morning. If either of you fights this, you will lose everything."

Ethan took my hand and said, "So what do you say, Massie, do we make a go at this and destroy our families in the process. They messed with the wrong people."

Nodding, I squeezed his hand and said, "Damn straight."

"There is one more thing," Mr. Sim's said. "You need to sleep in the same room. They will be sending spies, you need to make this look real. Any questions?"

"Can I donate items," I asked. 

He smiled and said, "Charitable work like your Grandma. Yes, but check their value first. I will check on you every few days since I have to be the documentor of this whole shibang. That was one thing that both families agreed to. But they will want you to have dinners and get togethers, and you need to make this look and be real."

Ethan said, "Well, wife of mine, how about we go find the kitchen and get some coffee, getting to know each other."

"Food," I said quietly.

Mr. Sims said, "Don't worry Massie, I went food shopping and got stuff to start you all off. You just got back into town this week and I know you have not shopped yet."

He handed me an envelope and said, "That is the deposit forms and the home information. Included is also your bank card attached to the account we will be tracking. A ledger for your records, and keep the ledger accurate. Inside the ledger is a list if buyers. When you both settle in and get to know each other. We will meet up in a week."

Going into Grandpas dressor I grabbed some socks for Ethan and I, I said, "Lets see what Mr. Sims brought us for breakfast."

Going to the first floor I stopped to make sure the front door was locked. Ethan looked around in amazement and asked, "How big is this place?"

Smiling I said, "It is on a corner of two of the busiest roads in the city. It is five floors not including the basement. One hundred and thirty-six rooms."

"Well Shit," He said."Which roads?"

"Bayshore and Martin," I said. 

He laughed and said, "I never thought this was a mansion. I honestly thought this was a hotel."

I chuckled and said, "Wait till you see the views from the house."

Going into the kitchen, I saw a pile of non-perishables on the table. Looking through the bags, I found the coffee and filters. Once the coffee was made we sat at the table and Ethan said, "Tell me about you?"

"I am the youngest of three. Basically I was an oopsie," I said. "My parents was very blunt on that. My Grandma was my lifeline. While everyone saw me as a oops she saw me as a shining star. She would have me here unless my parents needed to me to be seen somewhere. When I was in highschool I started a blog filled with stories and writings. She encouraged me to self publish and I did. Slowly I started to gain a following and since I was sixteen I wrote twenty two books. They sell and I do well with it. I was in Europe when my Grandma got sick. My belongings are in her closet. I stayed with her when she was dying sleeping in the sitting room. After she died I was devestated. The will reading happened after the funeral and my parents were livid. I was able to stay here during probate and when it was over yesterday I was given the title to the house. I did not know about the stipulations. I am sorry they pushed us together, however since we are married I promise you I will be a faithful wife. I broke up with Jonathan because he cheated after 2 years together. What about you?"

Ethan chuckled and said, "How can I follow that up. Well I was told at twenty four my Grandpa passed away and I was made CEO of his crisis management firm. He solved all the fires in the business world and I trained with him since I was sixteen. Now at twenty seven I lead the most amazing team of people. I was engaged to a woman named Francesca until she decided to cheat as well. I heard about the marriage clause and thought they were joking. I promise you I will be faithful to you and who knows in fifty years we can tell our grandkids about this. On a side note I love to paint as a hobby. I guess I will be spending more time at home now."

Smiling I said, "Grab your cup and come with me."

He stood up and said, "Whats going on?"

"You'll see," I said. "This is a condensed tour ending with something you will love."

He looked skeptical and said, "Alright."

I took his hand and said, "This house is a four square, that means each floor has wrap around hallways. The bottom floor is for entertaining and work. Then living quarters on floor two three and four. The fifth floor was the old servant quarters."

We hit the roof and said, "But the top floor has some of the best views of the city. Especially at night." 

Walking onto the patio he said, "This is amazing. We need to come up here tonight and watch the lights."

"We can," I said. Leading him dowm the hall I opened the room and said, "This room is stocked with supplies and your welcome to use what you would like. Remember if you find any treasures please let me know."

"You're worried about turning a profit," Ethan said. "It will work out, I promise you that."

"If I knew my Grandma," I said. "She has cashed stashed all over the place. As long as we do not have any major disasters in the next two years we should be okay. I will burn the place to the ground before I let my parents or siblings get this place."

Ethan led me to a chair on the patio and asked, "You have a plan?"

"Yes I do," I said. "Write a few hours a day and then work through the house restoring it. She needs fresh paint, carpets, etc. Each room needs a good cleaning. I will be starting with our suite. I know those rooms like the back of my hand, it will be a bit of time though, as I will be searching every pocket, bag, drawer, and box. All my things are in the sitting room and my laptop is on the table. I think though. If you work from home at all you can use the office until I am ready to start there."

We walked around the floors and Ethan said, "I see a lot of crates. You were not kidding by the pack rat statement."

"No I wasn't." I said. "How will things work with your job?"

"Well our story will work a bit more since I have been working from home a bit lately," He said. "Francesca is the daughter of one of my managers. She would come in a bit after we split, trying to get back with me. My job requires me to travel sometimes, will you be alright with that?"

"Of course," I said. "How long are your trips normally?"

"Mostly two to three days," He said. "However, they can go for up to a week. You can join me on them whenever you want."

"That would be fun," I said. "I added pictures and articles to my blog and I could always work when you are working."

"But we do need to do something today," He said. "I have to go to the office and get some paperwork as we will be on our honeymoon for the next two weeks. Then I need to get some things from my apartment."

"Well then why don't we go to your office," I said. "Then we can go get brunch at Felimios."

"You need reservations for Felimios," He said.

Smiling I said, "I know people."

"Okay," He said. "The office, my apartment which is in the same building and then Felimios. We need to sell our being head over heels for each other."

I got close to him and kissed him. When the kiss was over he said, "Yeah we will be able to sell it. I am also open to all type of marital activity."

"That part we may have to take a little slower," I said. "There is stuff we will talk about when we get to know each other more but Jonoathan messed me up mentally when it comes to intimacy."

He stroked my cheek and said, "At your pace and you can tell me anything when you are ready. Lets get ready."

We went to the suite and he went to shower first while I picked the perfect honeymoon sundress out. When he came out, I jumped in the shower and came out in my sundress. He looked at me and said, "Massie you look amazing."

"Thank you," I said straightening his tie. "You look amazing yourself."

"How are we getting to my office?" He asked.

"Do you know how to drive a stick shift?" I asked.

"Yes I do," He said. 

"Good lets go to the garage," I said. Leading him to the garage, he saw all the vintage cars and said, "Be still my beating heart. Do they all run?"

"They sure do," I said twirling in a circle, "Which car would you like to drive?"

He saw the 1967 chevy impala and said, "Oh my god. We are taking her."

I got the keys out of the box and tossed them to him. He opened my door and got in after hitting the garage door opener. When we pulled out, we made sure that the door closed without anyone going in and Ethan drove us to his office. I said, "What is your last name?"

"Miller," He said. "You will be Massie Miller unless you want to keep your last name. It is up to you."

"Can I think about it?" I said. "At your office, I can be known as Mrs. Miller."

We pulled up to his private parking spot and he came around to open my door. Kissing my forehead he said, "Showtime."

Taking my hand he led me to the elevator and wrapped his arm around my waist. When we got to his floor we stepped off and everyone stopped short. A man in a suit came up to us and said, "Ethan we thought you were off the next two weeks?"

"Massie you remember my brother Ben," He said.

Catching on I said, "Hello Ben, it's great to see you again."

Ben came in for a hug and whispered, "I am sorry they did this to you both."

Ethan laughed and said, "Ben no stealing the bride. Let's go to the office and I can get my stuff so we can head to our honeymoon."

As we neared his office we heard, "Ethan how about we go to lunch."

I turned to see a stunning brunette saunter over to us and Ethan put hi arm around my waist pulling me close as he said, "Francesca I told you not to come up here and I am sorry my wife and I are heading out for our honeymoon."

She stopped short and her smile faltered, "Did you say wife?"

Curling against Ethan, I said, "He did. We are so happy we do not have to stay in the shadows to keep people from feeling hurt. But we knew it was meant to be so we locked ourselves in and tied the knot."

She looked between us and Ethan said, "Excuse us Fran I had to get some paperwork together and we are on our way out."

Going into the office with Ben than shut the door and Ben said, "She has been stalking the office man."

Ethan said, "It's okay. Hopefully, she gets the hint. But we are on our honeymoon and working only an hour a day while we are away."

Ben nodded and said, "I will handle things here and when you all get back I would love to have dinner. Did you guys decide where you are going to live?"

"Yeah," Ethan said. "We will live at Massies house at the corner of Bayshore and Martin."

Ben looked confused and said, "Th hotel."

"No my families estate," I corrected.

"Damn Ethan you lucked out," He joked. "Well if you want I will sublet your apartment once you get your stuff out. I need out of Mom and Dads house after all this craziness."

"Let us have our honeymoon and once we are back I will move out my personal stuff and you can move in," He said.

Ben said, "Thank you."

Ethan filled his briefcase with his files and a laptop. Then he took my hand and said, "Let's go to the apartment and then to brunch."

We walked out of th office and Ben said, "Massie I cannot wait to see the house and have dinner. I hope you cook better than Ethan."

Laughing I said, "Oh I am sure I can."

Ethan laughed and said, "My takeout skills are the best."

Back in the Elevator we went down two floors and took a tram to his apartment. Going in I looked around while he packed a suitcase. I said, "You do not have much stuff."

"No I do not," He said. "I was clearing out things when I broke it off with Fran. I decided I liked the minimalistic look."

"I agree it is much cleaner and I hope to be able to do the same in the mansion," I said. "At least as much as I am allowed."

He calle dout and said, "Can you see if my phone is out there?"

Looking around I saw it poking out from under the bench in the hall way.  I called back, "I found it."

Coming out he pulled up a contact and blocked a number. He said, "Fran has no shame and will double down regardless if i am married. I am stopping her from doing so."

"Well I removed jonathan from my phone," i said. "she was a bit forward."

Looking around he added a phone charger to his backpack and said, "Brunch i am starving."

"Same," I said as my stomach growled.

We both laughed and headed back to the car. When we got to Felimios, we parked and walked in. The owner came out and said, "Massie love I am so sorry to hear about your Grandma. Who is thos lad you have with you?"

"Bernard this is my husband Ethan," I said.

Bernard touched his heart and said, "You did not wait for me, my heart breaks."

"its our honeymoon," I said. "we married yesterday."

He clapped and said, "Congratulations, you both. We have a table on the garden terrace."

He led us to the terrace and handed us menus. A waiter came with two glasses of champagne and said, "A gift from Bernard. I will be back in a few moments to answer any questions and take your order."

After we placed a large amount of food and sat talking. I said, "I think it will be a great day to swim in the pool."

Ethan asked, "Is the pool heated? I love to do laps as a way to destress."

"Well, the pool is good for laps," I said. "The cover is great, and I love to float."

Ethan took my hand and said, "You float, and I will swim laps."

The server came out with our food and said, "Coffee?"

We both said, "Please."

We spent almost two hours eating and talking. We got boxes and when we asked for the bill the server said, "Bernard took care of the bill as our present to you as a wedding gift. We also have a few bags of food for you to take with you. Enjoy your honeymoon."

We got back in the car and headed home. Seeing Ethan relaxed driving, I asked, "What kind of car do you drive?"

"I will be honest with you," He said. "I normally borrow a company car when I need to go places."

"Well, you can use the cars we have at the house," I said. "There are quite a few. I will add you to the insurance when we get home."

"Really," He said. "I feel like you have done so much for us and I have done so little."

"We have been married less than twenty-four hours," I said. "This is not a competition it is a partnership."

He took my hand and kissed it. When we drove past the front of the mansion, we saw reporters waiting by the door. We opened the garage, pulled in and shut the door before any of the reporters could try asking us questions. I was already calling Mr. Sims as we got out of the car. 

He answered on the first ring and asked, "Massie is everything alright?"

"We have a front step full of reporters," I said. "What shoule we do?"

"I will be there in twenty minutes," He said. "I will come in the kitchen entrance."

When he hung up I said, "Since we have to put this in the fridge. Mr. Sim's said he will come in the kitchen entrance in the next twenty minutes."

Ethan said, "I think this is what he was warning us about when we spoke this morning."

We walked through the house and went to the kitchen. Ethan put the food in the fridge and I started a pot of coffee. When I couldn't sit still I started to move the groceries that Mr. Sims left for us into the pantry. Ethan chuckled from the door and said, "I appreciate that he brought us groceries to hide out here, However, It seems your grandma had this place fairly stocked."

"That she did," I said. "She discovered grocery delivery a few years ago and always overordered. Although I will check to see what is good still as we eat through this. I normally like to rotate the items and I do not think her staff did." 

Going into the kitchen I looked around and Ethan came over and hugged me as he said, "It will be alright you know."

Looking up at him I said, "We are a team and I guess figuring this out will be interesting."

A voice behind us said, "Yes it will, but that is why your grandma made sure I was here to help you."

Ethan said, "We are going to make this work. We don't agree with what our parents did, but we both are determined to make this work for us and who knows in a few years you may see some kids running around the halls here."

Mr. Sims smiled and said, "It will be a story for your grandkids for sure. I did make a few calls and apparently your parents made a joint statement to the social columns about your suprise marriage. You are on your honeymoon. I will go out and field questions. You did the right thing by going to your office today and being in public. Before I do, though, go ahead and freshen up, as I will have you come out and wave at the end. You will not have to make any statements."

We walked up to our suite while Mr Sims helped himself to some coffee. I brushed my hair, and Ethan said, "I think he wanted us to give him a moment. Eventually, we will have to come up with a story of how we met and why we moved so fast. But we do not need to do that anytime soon."

We went downstairs and waited in the hall. Looking around, I said, "Once we clear out the ballroom, we should have a party. To really drive the marriage home. That and to shove it in our parents face that we are not going to let them win."

Ethan nodded and said, "Well, I will be glad to help you with anything you need. But I think making the bedroom our own first would be the best thing."

Mr. Sim's answered questions al we watched from the window. He moved towards the door and Ethan wrapped his arm around me and said, "Round two."

We walked onto the stairs when Mr. Sims opened the door. We heard questions being shouted at us. The first question was, "Massie how does it feel to be married to Ethan."

Looking up into his eyes I said, "I feel blessed. I could never imagine that I would have found such an amazing partner."

Someone called to Ethan, "How is married life treating you Ethan?"

He pulled me closer and said, "I am in awe of having such a compassionate and loving partner who understands me."

Another reporter called out, "Should we expect a baby anytime soon."

Ethan chuckled and said, "Not yet. We want to try later on, however, we want to start our marriage spending time together and preparing for when the time will be right. Kids are definitely in the future though."

He leaned down and kissed me. Flashes went off as the reporters took pictures. I said, "Thank you for your interest, however, we are on our honeymoon and plan to spend this time together. Take care everyone."

We walked inside and Mr. Sims said, "Great job you both. Now I have a dinner date with my wife, and I will talk to you at the end of the week."

When he left Ethan said, "I know we said we would go for a swim, but I am tired. How about you and I have a date in bed with the TV."

Stiffling a yawn I said, "That sounds great."

We both started laughing and headed upstairs. We layed in bed with a old movie on and fell asleep fast. I woke up a few hours later and Ethan was nowhere in the room. Going to the top floor I found him swimming laps in the pool. I sat on a loungechair and watched him until he realized I was there. He swam to the edge of the pool and said, "You were sleeping soundly when I woke up, and I didn't want to wake you."

"No need to apologize," I said. "I think the drugs they used on us are still working their way out of our system."

"I was thinking," Ethan said. "Why don't I order us a pizza for dinner and we come up here to watch the sunset."

"That sounds great," I said. "Did you want to do more laps?"

"Would you mind," He asked.

"Not at all," I said. "I am going to go change into something warmer and grab a box and look through my closet."

He nodded and said, "I will find you."

Laughing I said, "The house has an intercom. It's the brass panels in most rooms."

He said, "I was not sure if it was decorative. See you soom."

Going inside, I headed to the master suite and changed into jogging pants and a sweat shirt. I placed to boxes next to the closet and started to sort. My Grandma and I had different tastes but she did have amazing tastes. Going through I kept things I know I liked and could use as Grandma and I were the same size. However, of the items, including the fur coats were definitely things that I did not want. I made sure I checked all the pockets as I looked at each and every piece. Chuckling to myself I started to find money in some of the pockets and bags. Grabbing a cup from the bathroom, I placed all the money I found into it. When Ethan found me some time later he saw the pile of clothes in the first box and saw the cup. 

I said, "I have found close to three thousand so far and I am not even a quarter of the way through this closet. I am guessing I am going to find a lot of surprises in here. I also found some jewelry I placed in her old jewerly box."

He said, "It is a big treasure hunt. What is that box there?"

"Clothing I am not going to keep," I said. "Grams and I had different tastes and I did keep more than what I thought I would. I will call the buyer once I get through the closet."

He asked, "Do you have formal clothes? My company does many charity and business banquets. Most are formal affairs; if you do not have dresses, we can get you some."

"Would you be morally opposed to formal wear that is vintage?" I asked.

"I honestly do not know what vintage is," He said.

Smiling I went into the closet and came out a few minutes later wearing a 1920s formal gown from Coco Chanel. Ethan whistled and said, "Wow."

"This is a prized dress I bought at a charity auction a few years ago," I said. "It is from the 1920s. I have a few more like this, and I know that there are more around the house. When I look in the dressing room and sort those closets, I know I will find plenty to wear to any and all charity events, business events, and even cocktail parties we can go to. Old dresses are becoming quite popular again. My Grandma had money, but boy, would we spend a day out shopping at thrift stores."

Walking around me and said, "Massie when you wear dresses like this out I will have to keep you on my arm because I would be afraid someone would try to steal you from me."

Coming over to him, I hugged him and said, "They could try to steal me, but I will make sure to point at my handsome husband and tell them I am yours."

Hugging me back, he kissed the top of my head, "Go get changed. I will always be surprised by what you wear."

Running into change I came out to him ordering pizza for delivery. He said, "The pizza will be here in an hour, will we hear the door?"

"Yes," I said. "We will hear it from the intercom."

"Good," He said. "How do you feel about working till they get here. You can continue with what you're doing, and I can answer some emails. That way, I do not go back to work in two weeks, swamped."

I said, "When we work in the morning, I will have to answer emails as well. Do you want to work in the office?"

Looking thoughtful he said, "No there is no reason for me to lock myself away. If you do not mind me muttering to myself, I willsit on the bed and you can continue on what you're doing."

Ethan opened his laptop and I continued on with the closet. I made sure to hold some clothes for any of Ethans events. He made a few calls while on his emails and I heard him say, "What the hell."

Looking up, I asked, "Everything okay?"

"I recieved an email from one of our businesses we deal with in Japan called Yan Sa Distributions," He said. "The sent an email congratulating us on our wedding and they want to host a dinner for us in their US office. The way the CEO is talking this was not a are we willing to allow them to throw us a party."

"Well," I said. "Tell them we are honored by their best wishes for our future. However, if they would like to throw us a celebration, we would be honored, although their best wishes are more than enough."

Ethan said, "That is a great reply. He asked me to call him. Can you listen for the doorbell?"

'Of course," I said. Ethan went through the door to the sitting room, and I heard him speak to the CEO. Then he graciously accepted as he came back in to look at his calendar. He looked at his calander and said, "September 1st, let me make sure Massie has no business plans one moment."

I gave him a thumbs up, and he said, "She said she has no business that day. We can be in New York for the banquet. Thank you, sir and reach out to me directly with anything we will need to know. Oh what does Massie do for a living? She is a talented writer and blogger. Her website is myinnerthoughts.com. Yes, I am very proud of what she does as it makes her happy, and she has quite a following. Of course, she would love to talk about her books with you in the future. I will speak with you soon."

When he hung up he looked at me and said, "I am so sorry I offered for you to speak with him about your books. He is very interested in books and travel."

"Ethan," I said. "You did not overstep. I am sharing my calendar with you now so we can track events. Do you need me to arrange the airfare and hotel?"

"No," He said. "I added in the banquet information and shared my calendar as well. We can see everything now. I do not see anything on your calendar except your annual doctor's appointment. You show as pink, and I show as blue."

"Perfect," I said. "You can do a purple color for things we need to do together, or events or trips you want me to attend with you."

"Great idea," He said. "I added the banquet in purple under a tag of us, along with the trip days. I will edit it when I get more information. He explained that in Japan, when a couple has been married for a month, they have a celebration. That is why it's a month out. Some families have small celebrations; however, ours will not be small."

The doorbell rang, and Ethan went to answer the door. I straightened up the mess of clothes in the pile next to my closet. I grabbed the jar and straightened the money when Ethan came in with the pizza box and two containers from the fridge. In the bag he had plates and drinks for us. He said, "Now we can watch some TV and eat some dinner. I still feel tired and sluggish. How about you?"

"I feel like I am pushing myself as well." I continued handing him a set of keys, "This is a set of keys to the front door, garage side door, and the kitchen door. Please make sure you keep the doors locked or people will try coming in to rent a room."

Taking the keys, he added them to his key chain and patted the bed. "Let us eat. What would you like to watch?"

We started flipping through the channels and found a documentary on Bigfoot. We ate and discussed what we were watching. After we ate Ethan ran the food back to the kitchen and when he climbed back in the bed we turned off the lights and settled into bed. Yawning I said, "We can let the TV play and fall alseep to it."

"Sounds good," He said. A few minutes later we fell asleep.

Chapter 3

When I woke up the following morning, Ethan was already up and in the sitting room with a cup of coffee looking out the window.

August 28-September 3rd- NY Wedding Celebration

Massie and Ethan--- Bayshore and Martin- 

myinnerthoughts.com

Felimios- bernard

Mr. Sims- Grandma's friend and lawyer

Jonathan- ex

Francesca- ex

Ethan's company associates- Yan Sa Distributions

First floor- 1. entry 2. coat room 3.Hall 1 4. Hall 2 5. Hall 3 6. Hall 4 7. Ballroom 8. Ballroom storage 9.Ballroom mens room 10. Ballrooms ladies room 11. Kitchen 12. Butlers pantry 13. Kitchen bathroom 14. pantry 15. Breakfast room 16. Dining Room 17. Banquet hall 18. Office 19. Office closet 20. Dining room storage 21. Dining room bathroom 22. Office bathroom 23. Stairs up 24. Landing to the second floor 25. Stairs to basement

Basement- 26. Laundry room 27. laundry storage 28. Storage room 1 seasonal 29. Storage room 2 household items 30. Storage room 3 furniture 31. Workshop 32. Workshop storage 33. garage 34. Garage storage 35. tool storage 36. hallway

second floor- 37. Master bedroom 38. master bedroom sitting room 39. master bathroom 40 master bedroom dressing room 41. Master mens closet 42. master ladies closet 43. hall 1 44. hall 2 45. hall 3

46. hall 4 47. Guest bathroom 1 48. guest bathroom 2 49. Mens lounge 50. ladies sitting room 51. Playroom 52. library 53. library closet 54. craft room 55. craft closet 56. Atrium 57. Lounge 58. lounge closet 59. stairs up 60. landing to third floor

third floor- 61. Nannys suite 62. nannys sitting room 63. nannys bathroom 64. nannys closet 64. Cleaning suppliy closet 65. nursery 66. childs room 1  67. childs room 2 68. childs closet 1  69. childs closet 2 70. childs room 3 71. childs closet 3. 72 chidrens bathroom 73. nursey closet 74. childrens library 75. childrens library bathroom 76 childrens library bathroom 77. stairs upstrairs 78. landing to fourth floor 79. guest bathroom.

fourth floor- 80. Library 81. library closet 82. library bathroom 83. guest suite 1 84. guest suite 1 bathroom 85. guest suite 1 closet 86. guest suite 2 87. guest suite 2 bathroom 88. guest suite 3 closet 89. guest suite 3 90. guest suite 3 bathroom 91. guest suite 3 closet 92 Mens smokeing room 93. ladies sitting room 94. hall 1 95. hall 2  96. hall 3 97. hall 4 98. TV room 99. tv room closet 100. tv room bathroom 101. landing to fifth floor

fifth floor- 102. Servant room 1 103. servant bathroom 1 104. servant bathroom 1 105. servant room 2 106. sevant closet 2 107. servant bathroom 2 108 Butler suite 109 butlers bathroom 110 butlers closet 111. butlers sitting area 112. hall 1 113. hall 2 114 hall 3 115. hall 4 116. game room 117. lounge 118. staff common room 119.staff common room bathroom 120 staff common room closet 121. hunting room 122. stairs to top floor 123. landing to top floor

Top floor- 124. Spa room 125. Pool 126. pool storage 127. indoor garden 128. Patio 129. rooftop bathroom 130. rooftop lounge 131. rooftop atrium 132. bar 133. bar bathroom 134. painting room 135. painting storage 136. painter room bathroom.

(needs 3,000,000)

$5000 Start up 365+365 (aug 1)

🎄The Beachhouse! (5 Part series)

As I went through the mail in my apartment, which I shared with my husband, there was a letter from a law office. Opening the letter, thinking I had forgotten a bill for something, I read that my great Aunt had left me a beach house in Central Florida. Reading the letter, I read the address for the beach house and discovered it was only thirty minutes away from our apartment. I called the law office, and I made an appointment to speak with the lawyer about the letter. They made an appointment for the following morning. I knew of the beach house from visiting my great Aunt when I was a child; however, I never thought she would leave it to me, as it had been years since we had seen each other.

I started to feel excited and looked forward to my husband Mike coming home so I could tell him about our luck. When Mike walked into the apartment, he looked like he was having a bad day, and I thought the news would cheer him up.

He looked at me and tiredly asked, "Why are you so cheerful?"

"Well, I have some news," I said. "Babe are you alright? You seem a bit down?"

He gave a sigh of annoyance and said, "You are making something out of nothing. What is the news?"

"Do you remember my Great Aunt Edna?" I asked.

He thought for a moment and asked, "The one who dyed her hair the weird colors?"

"That is the one," I said. "Apparently, she passed away and left me a beach house."

"So what are you going to do?" He asked. "Are you going to sell it? Or are you going to keep it and move us there so you can kick me out when you're in a mood?"

"Mike, where is this coming from?" I asked. "I thought we could use it as a weekend retreat. Or since it's thirty minutes away, we could move there and not have to pay rent. You have been working yourself to exhaustion, and this will give us wiggle room. Have time to send with each other and not have to pay ungodly rent anymore."

He went into the bedroom muttering under his breath, "Why would I want to do that?"

I got up to follow him, and he shut the door in my face. Turning, I sat on the couch. After a few minutes, he came out and said, "I have to go out for work."

Before I could say anything, he left, and I sat there thinking for a few minutes. I picked up my phone, and after the second ring, she answered. She laughed and said, "Mandy, I was going to call you. You must have been reading my mind."

I chuckled and said, "Lex, I need your advice."

"Sure, Mandy," She said. "This sounds serious."

For the next thirty minutes, I explained everything about the beach house and told her about Mike's reaction. She sat quietly for a moment and asked, "Did you ever change the prenup that he forced you into?"

"No," I said. "It still states that if either of us cheats, the other has to pay a hundred grand, and any inheritance received stays with that partner in case of a divorce."

She was quiet for a moment and asked, "Could he be having an affair?"

"I want to say no," I said. "But after tonight, it is a possibility."

"I will be there in twenty minutes," She said. "We are going out."

When Lexi arrived, she asked me, "Did you ever take the Find My Device location when we had to pick Mike up when he broke down?"

Looking at my phone, I said, "No, his device is listed."

"Where is he?" She asked.

Pulling up the location, I noticed it was at a house ten minutes from ours. I said, "Not at a restaurant."

She took my phone and said, "Alright, let's go."

We pulled up in front of the house, and Lexi asked, "You know this is not a business dinner."

I took a breath and said, "I know."

We watched, and I took my camera on my phone and started a video. In the windows, Mike appeared and a few seconds later a young woman wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. I said, "Well, he is going to be very unhappy." 

Setting up a text message, I sent it to Lexi and him. The label said, "Well, I guess Mike was not working all this time. At least we have the pre-nup."

Lexi got out of the car and checked the mail box. She took a picture of a letter in it, then she pulled away from the house, and a few moments later, Mike called. He was mad as he yelled, "You followed me."

"Not at first," I said. "But you lied to me. How long, Mike?"

He laughed and said, "This will never hold up in court."

"Do me a favor," I said. "Thank Misty, for the two hundred thousand dollars. I get my 100,000 back, and I get the money you put in for cheating. I would suggest you stay away for a few days."

"WHat proof do you have," He yelled.

"We took pictures and videos," I said. "Also, I downloaded your locations for the last month. We have pictures of you both and her name and address. So, Mike, we can be civilized, or we can do this the hard way it is up to you."

He laughed and said, "You can't touch me."

"But I have the pre-nup, which I filed when you forgot to," I said. "I figured you were busy; however, since you pushed so hard, I figured it would be smart. You get what you brought in and all your inheritances, I get what I inherited from my parents, aunt, and grandparents. If you want the apartment, I will be glad to remove my name from it. We have no kids, and all our accounts are separate. It can be an easy divorce, Mike. There is no going back from this."

After i hung up, Lexi said," I will stay in the guest room in case he comes home."

Nodding I asked, "What did I do to cause this?"

"Nothing," She said. "He is an asshole."

We get back to my house and went inside. Putting on some pajamas, we watched some tv and ate icecream from the container. when we both started yawning and I went to my room and Lexi went to the guest room. Laying in bed I thought to myself that my life was going to change forever.

Chapter 2

The next morning I woke up to Lexi making breakfast for us. She handed me a cup of coffee and asked, "How did you sleep?"

Sitting in a chair I said, "Horribly."

"What are your plans for today?" she asked.

"I have to meet with the lawyer about the inheritance," I said. "I might as well ask if they offer divorce services."

"Do you want me to go with you?" she asked. "I can call out from work."

"I cannot ask you to take off a day," I said.

She smiled and said, "Tough, I already did and told them a family emergency."

"Well the appointment is in an hour," I said. "We need to get ready and out the door."

We each took our plate and went to get ready. Twenty minutes later we were heading out to my car. Heading to the lawyers office we found parking and headed inside. When we walked in the receptionist took my name with a smile and said, "It will be a few minutes."

We sat talking and a few minutes later a elderly man came out and said, "Mandy I am sorry for the delay I had to take a call, I am Mr. Jenkins an old friend of your aunt."

Standing up I shook his hand and said, "Mr. Jenkins it i apleasure to meet you. I was surprised to get your letter. This is my friend Lexi."

We sat down and he looked at us and said, "You have known each other a long time. I remember your aunt mentioning the chaos you two would cause."

We both chuckled and Lexi said, "Our reputation proceeds us."

"Before we begin Mr. Jenkins," I said. "Does your office offer divorce lawyers."

He gave a warm smile and said, "I can help you with that as well. Please tell me you have a pre-nup."

"I do," I said taking a copy of the document out and handing it to him. "I discovered that my husband has been unfaithful and that is a deal breaker for me."

He read the document and he said, "This was filed at the courthouse correct?"

"Yes," I said. "He forgot and I did file this a week after we married. The funds are in an account with the courthouse as well. He thinks that it will not hold up in court. Can you please give me some good news."

He looked at me and said, "Give me a moment."

Picking up his phone he made a call. He gave the document number and started to smile. He asked the person on the phone to check the money that was submitted and ensure that the account is put on lockdown, as well as the prenup, and the soon-to-be ex-husband was trying to get out of the agreement. When he hung up, he turned back to us and said, "The account with the funds is locked until your divorce is completed. Your husband tried to have the documents removed and the account emptied. The clerk explained you would have to come in and state you wanted to end the prenup and empty the account. You're a lucky gal, your aunt paid ahead and left a retainer for me to handle what you would need. So before we get to the inheritance, let us get this divorce started. I do need to ask though, are you sure you want this?"

"Yes," I said as my phone rang. "Lexi, you know my house set up, can you answer some questions for me?"

Standing up I walked to the back of the room and answered the call,"Hello?"

"Good morning miss is this Mandy?" The voice asked.

"Yes it is," I said.

"Oh good," She said. "This is Mary Ellen at Branches Credit Union. Your husband is in the bank trying to withdraw a large amount on his emergency card. Did you authorize this?"

"I most certainly did not," I said. "Please deny this and any transaction from anytime after eight last night. We are in divorce proceedings, and he is trying to steal from me. I was going to remove him from everything when I got home from the lawyer's office."

"I will lock all your accounts from here," She said. "Please start all the removals now, as he seems to be in a rush. I will follow up with you later today."

I hung up and walked to my bag, grabbing my tablet. I said, "He is trying to steal everything now."

I had a folder labeled accounts and started logging into each one and removing him from the cards he had emergency cards for. Mr. Jenkins said, "If you find charges that are not meant to be there let me know we will add that to the divorce decree."

Calling the storage facility that held my parents estate I explained to the worker that I needed to change the code immediately due to someone trying to steal from me. She said, "I changed the code and will send it to your phone now."

After she confirmed my phone number and put a lock on the account so only I could get information on the account. When I was finished removing him from all my accounts I said, "I see some charges that are not mine. So far I think its around four thousand in charges."

"You will send me a list of those charges," Mr. Jenkins said. "I will help you sort them. If they are not true emergency charges then he will have to pay you back."

After another thirty minutes and said, "I will have this divorce filed later today and will submit all the evidence that you have on the infedelity. Since you do not own a home together, have no children and your car is in your name you should have no issues with a quick divorce. There is only a thirty day cool down period which will start today."

He called in his assistant and said, "I need these divorce papers drawn up immediately. Please make sure everything is ready in the next hour or so. This gets moved to the front of your work."

He nodded and said, "Sure thing boss."

When he left the room Mr. Jenkins said, "Now for the fun stuff. Let us talk about your inheritance."

My phone rang again and I noticed it was my work. I said, "I am so sorry."

Answering it I said, "Hello?"

"Many it is Scott are you alright?" My boss asked.

"Physically yes," I said. "Heart broken though. Whats going on?"

"Scott was at the resort today trying to use your discount with a young woman," He said. "But your employee account shows he was removed. I know you do not work till later this week, so I figured I would check in."

Giving Scott the abbreviated version of what was going on, he let out a low whistle and said, "I will handle it on our end. Let me know if there is anything you need. We are a work family here, and we don't tolerate this stuff."

We ended the call and said, "He tried taking Missy to the resort. This man has no shame."

Mr. Jenkins said, "Well he will not be at your beachhouse, nor will he be able to touch the rest of the estate your Aunt left you."

"Estate," I asked.

"The beachhouse was just the beginning," He said. "You also inherited 3.4 million dollars and four storage containers of items from the various homes she owned, plus an investment account in the amount if 1.5 million. Plus two cars and a boat."

"Oh my god," I said. "The beach house, though, did it get damaged from the last hurricane?"

"No," He said. "The home is along a river with a beach and is raised. The water did not breach the bottom floor of the home. You are thankfully inland enough that the water took the beach for a few days, but the home was fine."

He handed me a set of keys along wth a folder and said, "Mandy, you are officially a homeowner. The insurance has a five-year credit courtesy of your Aunt. This envelope contains all the information you need for the home and accounts. Only you can sign for the accounts. When my assistant is done with the divorce papers, I will need you to swing through and sign them."

I said, "I think we are going to check out the house and see what needs to be done. That way I can start packing everything up I am keeping in the apartment."

Mike called me while we were in the office and I picked up and said, "What Mike."

"Pack my belongings from the apartment," He said. "I am moving in with Missy."

"I am not your maid Mike," I said. "I am at my Lawyers office now and have to go to the beach house to get an idea of where I am moving to. I have blocked all your access to my accounts and as you made some rather large purchases that were not for emergencies, you will have to pay me back. My lawyer will be handling all of the amounts to present to the judge."

"The prenup will not hold up in court," He said. 

"Yes it will Mike," I said. "It was notorized and filed within thirty days of our wedding. In our state, it is valid and you cannot touch anything I inherited. I filed for the divorce and I would suggest you get a lawyer because they are on the way to the courthouse."

"I thought you wanted kids and a family," He said.

"I did when I thought you were a faithful husband," I said. "I know this affair has been going on for over three months, and there are no second chances. She can have you, and I will begin packing up the house when I am free. All contact should be limited through our lawyers."

"Well," He said. "I hope you are ready to lose everything."

"By Mike," I said.

Mr. Jenkins said, "I read the pre-nup, and he cannot take it from you. The only sections were where you keep your inheritance, the items you purchased on your own, and your own financial accounts."

We left and I drove us to the beachhouse. Pulling up in the driveway I said, "It looks empty."

Going up the stairs to the front door, I opened the door, and we walked in. There was a stack of boxes leading to the stairs that said, "Belongings of Edna. I was instructed to empty the drawers, cabinets, and closets and pack away the belongings until you wanted to look through them. The only things in the rooms are furniture. Mr. Jenkins."

Lexi looked at the note and said, "That will make it easier to move in."

Going upstairs, I found a large master suite and two bedrooms across the hall with a bathroom in between. In the hall was a large storage closet with shelves and a linen closet as well. At the end of the hallway there was a door that led to the second-floor screened patio. going back downstairs I looked around the living room, A large kitchen, pantry, office, bathroom, laundry room and another screen porch that connected to the wrap-around porch. I said, "This place is perfect to start over at."

We went to the side door that held the garage. Going down the stairs I saw it held a truck and jeep. Outside the side door, we saw a pontoon boat that was sitting under the carport.

Lexi said, "This place is move-in ready. You do not have to worry about anything."

Smiling I said, "I guess we go into town and get some lunch while we wait for me to sign the divorce papers."

Opening the folder Mr. Jenkins gave me I saw the note for the debt card on the account listed, mad money and the amount from the most recent statement. Putting the card in my wallet I said, "Lunch is on Aunt Edna and I believe a shopping trip to Target is in order to personalize the house. I know I will be bringing my things, but I want to start with new things here."

Lexi said, "Oh a shoppin trip will be fun."

Going into the office, I placed the folder in the top drawer of the desk and found the key that locked it. When we headed back to town, I called the leasing office and asked what it would cost to cancel the lease. Explaining to the worker about the divorce and the move, she said, "If Mike comes in to sign paperwork that he is leaving as well we will not charge a fee. As it's the end of the month I see you already paid for next month, so you have till the end of next month to move. The sooner you are out the sooner we can paint and clean the carpets. Some personal advice, I know you do not use the storage locker for your apartment. Place Mike's belongings in it so he cannot start a fight with you. Once you sign you are moved out and we see the apartment is empty, he will be charged rent until the storage for your apartment is emptied. We also take pictures when you leave, in case there is an issue."

When I hung up Lexi said, "Cracker Barrel for lunch, as you love the store. Target is also in the same plaza as well as the Dollar Tree. We can go from place to place until Mr. Jenkins calls you. If we have to check out and go back, we can. Then we can bring everything to the house and start putting it away."

We ate lunch and then I looked around the gift store picking up some things for the new house. When we got back to my car Mr. Jenkins called to say that the papers were ready. We headed back to his office, and he walked me through the papers and had me sign where I needed to. When I was done, he handed me a copy of everything I signed and said, "We will call you when we get a date. I am going to push to have it done soon."

When we left we headed back to the Dollar Tree, we grabbed everything I would need from there and went into target. We had just started filling the first cart when I heard, "Mike, you should make her buy your groceries, it is the least she could do when she block you from your money."

Behind us was Missy and Mike. I smiled and said, "Well, Missy, the cards he has been using were all mine and he had no money in there to use. Mike wastes his money, which you will soon find out, and although he does work he spends a lot on himself. If you will excuse me I am trying to shop for my new house. Also, Mike, I spoke to the apartment complex. I will be packing starting tonight, and all your things will be moved into the storage unit next to our apartment. If you do not sign the papers, YOU will be charged for the rent as they will take pictures once I move out."

Walking away Lexi and I had a system, we would fill a cart and then after I checked out Lexi would bring everything to the car. We did this three times and I loaded down my SUV. When we headed back to the SUV the last time Mike approached me and said, "Spending my money?"

"No," I said. "I am using some of my inheritance from Aunt Edna. Worked out great as I cannot wait to move into my new home, it is perfect. Now excuse me I have to go unpack this and pick up boxes for the apartment. I want to be out as soon as possible."

We loaded the remaining items into my SUV and left with Mike staring at us. After picking up some cold drinks we spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking and setting up the house. Before dinner, we had everything unpacked and headed back to my apartment after picking up a bunch of boxes. Lexi went to go home and told me she would call me later. I sat down at the kitchen table and made a list of what needed to be done.

Master bedroom, masterbath, mikes closet, my closet, guest room, guest clost, gameroom, gameroom closet, kitchen, pantry, bathroom, dining room, living room, living room closet, hall closet, linen closet, laundry room, laundry room closet, patio.

Then I started to change my address on all my accounts to the beach house. When that was done, I heated up a frozen pizza for dinner and changed my address with the post office. Taking the boxes into the game room I removed my PS 5 and boxed it up, along with all of my games. Once that was done I Started a new box labeled living room for my place and Mike on the other. I emptied the drin fridge we had and placed that next to the dining room table along with my PS 5. I made sure all of Mikes stuff was packed and in the storage closet when I filled boxes. Moving everything as I cleaned. No second guesses or regrets. When sleep started catching up with me, I made sure I placed all of Mikes things into the storage unit and sent a text, "I started with the game room. Your items are in the storage closet, same key as the apartment. I will be packing all day tomorrow. Please come get your things when you can."

Looking around the game room I was pleased with how much I got done. I went to the laundry room and packed the items I washed and switched the wash load of things I had from the bedroom to the dryer. Placing the box on the dining room table labeled linen closet I went to take a shower. By the time I got out and double checked the locks I was falling asleep. Putting the TV on to listen to a show as I went to sleep my phone alerted that there was movement infront of my video camera. Looking at the screen, I saw Mike and Missy there getting Mikes belongings out of the storage unit. Staying awake until they were done. I made sure to copy and time-stamp the video and save it in case he tried to start something. Then I fell into a deep sleep.

Master bedroom, masterbath, mikes closet, my closet, guest room, guest clost, gameroom, gameroom closet, kitchen, pantry, bathroom, dining room, living room, living room closet, hall closet, linen closet, laundry room, laundry room closet, patio.

Mandy- Main

Mike- husband (Missy- Mistress)

Lexie- Best Friend

Mr. Jenkins- Lawyer

🎄Is my life a Reddit Story? (3 book series)

I, a thirty-seven-year-old female, feel like my life is a Reddit story. These stories are why I feel like my life is a Reddit story. These stories start from when I was a child, through my life until now.

Chapter 1- It started when I was a child. 

How old were you when you found out that the favoritism was strong in your family? When I was eight, my parents told me that I was going to stay with my Grandma. I was dropped off at my Grandma's house, my parents dropped my duffel bag on the floor, and they went to leave. 

My Grandma said, "Wait a second."

My Mom turned around and said, "What?"

She turned to me, "Sweetie go play in the room you stay in."

I took my teddy bear and walked to the room. Shutting the door behind me, I started to listen, I heard, "How long this time?"

My Mom sighed as my Dad said, "Does it matter?"

"Your taking the other two with you," She said. "The bag is pretty full and I saw the boxes at the bottom of the stairs. So be honest with me."

Dad said, "If you do not take her, I will send her to my Great Aunt Mary's house."

"You know that there is no place for her at Mary's house," She said. "How long?"

Mom said, "We do not have a time frame. Is that a problem?"

Grandma said, "You have papers for me?"

Mom pointed to the table and said, "We had custody papers signed at the courthouse, and all her information is there."

"Where are you going?" She asked.

Mom said, "We really do not want to share that."

My Grandfather came in from work and said, "Leave and do not come back. She is better off with us."

My Dad said, "Gladly."

I opened the door and came out as they left. My Grandparents looked at me, and I said, "They did not say goodbye."

Grandpa said, "Do not worry about that, sweetie. Why don't you go to your room and let me and Grams talk for a moment and I have to bring the rest of your things up."

Grandma said, "Frankie don't send her back in there. Sweetheart, you're going to stay with us. We do not want you to worry at all."

Grandpa went outside and brought in two boxes and another garbage bag of things. He said, "They kept all the good gifts she was given by the family for the other two."

Grandma said, "We should go to their apartment and get her things."

I said, "They will not be there. The apartment is empty. Everything went into a tow behind except for my things. They were telling my sisters that they had to wait in the car so they could leave right away."

Grandpa said, "Let's go to the fishing dock, kid. We can see if the hotdog guy is still there."

Grandma nodded and said quietly to him, "I will make some calls."

Grandpa and I went to the fishing dock and although the hotdog guy was not there we found a ice cream truck and sat on a bench eating some ice cream. Grandpa said, "You know this is not your fault right?"

"They seemed happy I was not going with them," I said. "Dad said he was happy to get rid of this burden."

Grandpa muttered something under his breath and then said, "You are not a burden. You are to young to understand everything now, but when you're older, we will explain everything to you. Do not worry, you have Grandma and me, and we will make sure you have a good life."

We sat watching the fisherman for a while, and as the sun started to set, we headed back to the house and found Grandma cooking dinner. She said, "Dinner will be done in about ten minutes."

"Did you make calls?" Grandpa asked.

"Yeah," Grandma said. "I will explain what I can during dinner. Age appropriate."

When I came out from washing my hands, my Grandparents stopped their conversation and we sat down to eat dinner. Grandma made chicken, potatoes and green beans. When we sat down and started eating Grandma said, "After you left I called your Great Aunt Mary and she had told me that she had spoken to your parents and had told them that they could not take you as they have a small home. I called your Grandma Irene next, and she said your parents needed to be responsible and also declined taking you because of her work schedule. Sheeven tried to drop you off at your AuntKay's house but your Uncle Mike said no because they did not agree with what they are doing. So Grandpa and I nowhave full custody of you. It works out since I work at the school. You will have to go to school earlier with me, but it will be okay."

Grandpa said, "What about doctors and such?"

Grandma became irritated and said, "Well, I have to take Abbie to school tomorrow and re-enroll her as her parents removed her from the school last week. I already called my boss and explained I needed coverage until I was finished in the office. They were more than happy to cover for me. Why they did that is beyond me."

We ate and Grandma had me go take a shower. When I came out she was sorting through my clothes and making a pile in the corner of the room. I asked her, "What are you doing?"

Grandma said, "A lot of these clothes are much to big for you. I will have to sew a lot of these to fit you right. I picked out an outfit for you for tomorrow already, its on the chair with tights and your shoes."

Grandpa asked from the doorway, "What does she have that fits here correctly?"

She pointed to two drawers with very little in them and a few outfits hanging up and said, "Not much. I should be able to work on the clothes that are to big on her and do something with the stuff that is to small as well. I have one last bag to go through and I will bring this to my sewing pile while we watch some tv later."

"Let me know what she needs, we will go this weekend to the shops on Saturday," He said. Picking up my shoes, he said, "She needs new shoes right away."

Grandma smiled and said, "Well, Abbie, it looks like you will be having your first trip with us living here."

After twenty minutes, Grandma picked up two baskets of clothing, one with clothes that were to big and one with clothes that were to small. Grandma looked at my closet and drawers which did not have much in either and said, "You get some sleep. Did you take anything out of your backpack since you were pulled out of school?"

"Mom went through it and took stuff out," I said.

She picked the backpack up to take with her and said, "I will sort it out."

She came back a few minutes later and tucked me in. I said, "Mom never came back in to say goodnight. I do not think she ever came into my room. She normally told me to go to bed and that was it."

Grandma pulled the blankets up and kissed my forehead saying,"Don't worry about things like that you are here now. We love you Abbie."

Curling into my bed I said, "I love you too."

When I woke up the next morning, I saw some of the shirts that were to big for me were back in my closet and they were now dresses. I also saw some of the shirts that were to small and short for me were also made into dresses as well. Now that I am older, I realized she took the shirts that were too small and had them split, and new material was put in the split section along with the dress skirt. I got dressed, and found Grandma in the kitchen making breakfast. That was the day that my new life started.

🎄The In-Laws (5 Book Series)

Ben took my hand and said, "We do not need to go to my parents' house. I know they have been way too much lately."

Squeezing his hand, I said, "No, let's go. But we will be firm on our boundaries."

He sighed and said, "I was hoping you would have said no. Let's stay at home and watch a movie."

Chuckling, I said, "Ben, it's your Grandpa's birthday. We have to rescue him from the madness."

Now, let us back up a bit. My name is Ashley, and I met my Fiancé Ben five years ago while I was a senior in high school. We would sit in the school courtyard and talk about everything. One day, I asked him, "Are you going to ask me out?"

He explained that yes, he wanted to date me, but he was scared I would not be able to take the abuse from his family. His exact words were, "They are crazy and will try to interfere with our relationship."

I reassured him that I was strong and we would be fine. That weekend, Ben picked me up for our first date. We went to dinner in a town over, and then we went to an evening town market. We spent the night talking, and when he dropped me off, he kissed me and said, "One day we will tell our kids and then Grandkids about our first date." 

But as our relationship progressed, his family tried to interfere with everything we did. My family adored Ben, and my parents treated him like one of their own. When Ben mentioned his car was acting weird, he spent the day with my Dad, and they fixed his car. Ben adored my parents. 

When we went to prom, my parents took so many pictures of us for their photo album that they started labeled Ashley and Ben the early years. I finally said, "Mom, we have reservations for dinner."

They hugged us and told us to be safe. When we got into the car, Ben said, "My parents want us to stop by. We have enough time to say hello."

"It is only right," I said. 

We drove to his parents' house, and when we walked in, his parents looked us over. His Mom said, "Where did you get the dress dear? It looks like you got it from a thrift store."

"Mom," Ben warned.

Placing a hand on his arm I said, "It is a vintage 1940's Coco Chanel that my Grandma wore to an awards dinner when she worked for the governor's office. It is not a thrift piece. There are only three of these left, one in Channels main offices in Paris, one in the Smithsonian, and this dress."

She shut her mouth and his Grandparents walked in. His Grandpa smiled and said, "Look at you both. Ashley, you look beautiful. Come do one of thse self pictures with me I need to show all the guys at the club how you both look."

Ben and I flanked Frank and I took a series of selfies with him. When we were done I showed Frank the pictures and he pointed to the ones that he wanted. I sent them to his phone and asked his parents, "Would you like to take a picture?"

His Dad said, 'No we are good,"

Ben took my hand and said, "We have reservations for dinner so we do need to leave."

Frank followed us out and opened the door for me. I climbed into Ben's car and Frank shut the door. I saw Frank say something to Ben and then Frank stuffed something into Ben's pocket before he climbed into his truck to head to the VFW. When Ben got into the car, he said, "Grandpa insisted that he pay for dinner. I am sorry my Mom was such a bitch to you."

Taking his hand I said, "Its alright, Your Grandpa made up for it."

We headed to the restaurant and met our friends there.

🎄Ghosts and Monsters I met along the way (4 book series)

As a child, I grew up in an abusive household. One night when I was lying in bed listening to my parents fight, I saw an arm reach out from under my bed and shut my door to dampen the noise coming from up the stairs. I quietly said, "Thank you."

As the fight became louder downstairs, the creature under my bed handed me my teddy bear. As I heard banging downstairs and glass breaking, I climbed out of my bed and lay on the floor. The monster under the bed took my hand and held it. I fell asleep, and when I woke up the following morning, I was back in my bed with the blanket over me. When I got up to use the bathroom, I found the door had been locked. 

Walking downstairs, I found my Mom sitting at the kitchen table. When I walked in, my Mother looked up and said, "When you get home today, please clean the dishes and try to stay out of your father's path."

I nodded and went to get cereal out of the pantry, but I did not find any. My Mom said, "Go ahead and get some things out of the fridge. You can eat it for breakfast. Take this money and get lunch. Hurry up and get ready to go to school."

Making a sandwich, I ate that and some chips for breakfast. Then I went back to my room and got ready for school. hen I was dressed I heard the front door slam open and my Dad yelled at my Mom, "Why are you not at work?"

She was quiet, but said, "Abbie was here, we can't leave her alone. I called my boss and explained I was going to be late. They were alright with it."

"Where is she then," He asked.

"She is almost ready and I am going to drop her off at the school first then head to work," Mom said. "Can you pick her up? I can stay late to make up the time if you can."

"No, I will not pick her up," He spat. "That is a woman's job. I only came back because I forgot my tool belt."

The door slammed again and Mom knocked on my door. She came in and said, "Let's go, sweetie."

As we walked to the school, Mom asked, "Abbie, would you mind if we went to stay with your Grandparents?"

"We are leaving Dad?" I asked.

"Yes," She said. "We cannot keep going through this."

🎄the zoo (3 part series)

I inherited a zoo! That's correct, you heard me right. My Great Uncle Sam had owned a zoo in northern Maine. Since I had completed my Veterinary degree, he had decided that I would be the perfect person to run and maintain his zoo when he passed. I was shocked when his lawyer approached me at the funeral. He asked to speak privately with me, and once we were settled in an office, he said, "This is a letter from your uncle."

Opening it I read,

My dearest Maggie,

I want to say how proud I am of you for completing Veterinary college. You are not expecting this, but you are the only person receiving an inheritance. You are the first person in our family to graduate from college, and you're a Doctor to boot. Dr. Margaret Bower DVM. That has an amazing ring to it. 

Now for your adventure. You have inherited my home and zoo located in northern Maine. There are over 250 Species in my zoo. It also contains a complete veterinary clinic with state-of-the-art equipment. My staff was briefed before my passing that you would be taking the reigns. The zoo's old vet Doctor Milly Shepard DVM was going to retire; however, she is staying on to help you find your feet and settle in at the zoo. She does rent the rooms above he garage as part of her pay. Give her grace when she goes to retire, as we are the only family she has. She has been watching your progress and I have shared all of your accomplishments from the letters you sent me. Those letters meant everything to me. You wrote me with nothing more than communication. You never asked for anything, even when you had to take out loans for school. Do not worry, those have been paid off as of this morning if Marty did his job.

This zoo can be an amazing future for you. The animals are all animals that have been rescued from horrible circumstances and they are here at the zoo known as The Sanctuary. The vet office attached to the zoo is the only clinic and emergency office in 150 miles. You will succeed with this just like you did with college. I will be watching over you from wherever I end up on the other side. 

All my love, 

Uncle Sam

I was crying when I finished the letter. Marty took my hand and said, "It takes a lot to run the zoo. I will teach you how, and Milly will help you run the clinic. You have this."

"He trusts me to care for all the animals," I said. "I will not let him down."

"You need to know that in order to keep the zoo running you have to run the clinic and see animals for all around. The zoo is only open to the public on good weather days. Your uncle left you an account with five million dollars in it. We have greenhouses and raise fish to offset the cost of the zoo." He said. "But a good portion of the zoo is funded by the veterinary clinic. It is very busy and we will need to bring on new vets soon enough."

"My family is going to be pissed," I said. "Well some of them."

He stood up and handed me a folder, "It has all the information for the zoo and the money he left you. Also, the receipt is in the folder for your student loans being paid off. You can verify it and make sure it is all paid off."

Standing up, we went to the funeral, and I sat next to my Mom as Marty went to the front of the room. He said, "Welcome, everyone. Sam did not want a traditional funeral. He wanted me to address something, though, before we start a remembrance celebration, I must go over the inheritance."

Everyones head perked up and my Mom squeezed my hand. Looking at her I whispered, "Did you know?"

She winked at me and we turned back to Marty. He continued, "Only one person received an inheritance, and that was Maggie. Sorry, Dr. Margaret Bower DVM. Sam was so proud of her and the fact that she did not ask for anything anytime she wrote him, which was two to three times a week. She inherited the zoo he owned and the veterinary clinic that came with it. He bragged about his great niece, who was the first one to graduate from college and veterinary school. If you were here thinking you were going to get something from Sam, you can leave; if you're here to celebrate a loving and generous man, you can stay."

About half of the room stood up and walked out. Once they left, Marty said, "Let us celebrate the life of Sam Bower."

$5000000- zoo $1000000

Dr. Margaret Bower DVM---The Sanctuary

Uncle Sam- Doctor Milly Shepard DVM

Marty- Uncle Sams lawyer

🎄meal time (5 books)

Thinking back to the events that led up to this, I realized I had no choice. This small home was all we had, along with forty thousand in the bank. I inherited this home from my Grandma when she passed away. When we went to move in a month ago, I started to talk about packing the house, and when I said I could add my husband's things into boxes to share, he said, "Make sure our things are separate."

I asked him, "Why, babe?"

He gave me a smile and said, "Because I have to stay behind until they grant me the transfer. Remember, I still need my things till I can move to the new house." 

I smiled and said, "I hate that you will be here and I will be a two hours away."

"The time will go fast," He said. "Remember when you went up last week to get the house ready? You were there for seven days, and it went by fast. We should be thankful that I can stay at J's house in their garage rooms until I can get the transfer."

Nodding, I watched him get ready for work and waved when he walked out the door. Eli took his role of caregiver seriously, but what he did not know was that I had forty thousand in the bank. This was part of my inheritance, and it went along with the house. I also had a few thousand in cash at the new house in the office desk. I spent a week at the new house north of us in a little town that sat on a lake. I added the town sell group to my Facebook and posted that I was selling items from four to seven each night. I set up card tables and boxes in the garage and would open the garage door when I was ready to sell. The day before I left to come back home I packed all the boxes up along with the remaining items I decided not to keep in the house, the last day and stacked them along the empty wall at the end of the garage.

I labeled three boxes that morning: Eli's, What was in the box, and sell. Going into the guest room, I started to sort everything. A few hours later, Eli called and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I am sorting all the clothes I had in the old guest room closet. I had so much stuffed in there," I said. "I have more boxes for my sell pile than I do for my keep pile. I have already started loading boxes into the U-Haul."

"How long do you think it will take you to pack it up," He asked.

"A few days," I said. "When are you going to move the bed to J's, along with the couch?"

"I am off tomorrow so I will move some things then," He said. "Thank god we are getting rid of the old bed from the master bedroom. We need a new one for sure."

"True," I said. "Thankfully, the furniture in the house is practically new. I only sold a few pieces from the house. I like Grandma's newer things."

"Well, she did have great taste," Eli said. "I will pick up pizza tonight, so don't worry about cooking. I will go through the papers in the filing cabinet on and off this week so we can start fresh at the new house. I will send all but what I need for work in a side table in my bedroom."

"Sounds good," I said. 

"Talk to you soon," He said. "I love you."

"I love you," I said.

Going back into the guest room, I took a break from the closet and started pulling the art down from the walls. I wrapped everything that was being loaded into the U-Haul and moved boxes and items during the day. If I were keeping the items, I would write what room they were going into. If I were selling the items, it would say sell on the label. I was in the storage room sorting through my canning items that were stored in there when Eli came in with a pizza and a bottle of soda. He looked around and said, "You have been busy."

"I had to get out of the guest room for a while," I said. "I figured the storage closet would take some time, so I might as well start here before you get home."

"How about this?" He said. "It's early still. Why don't you work in the office, and i go through the filing cabinet at the same time so we can decide what needs to be kept and shredded. After dinner, that is."

"Okay," I said. "Why don't you change before we eat?"

Smiling, he kissed my forehead and went to the bedroom to change. When he came out, he was wearing shorts and a tee. Taking my hand, he pulled me to the couch, and we started to eat. We talked about the timeline for him to move. He pulled me to him and said, "I cannot wait to come home to the new house. But don't worry I will come up every Friday and stay till Sunday night. Also, this morning I do not want to keep a lot at J's. Just the essentials and something to do when I am not here with you. I thought about what I said this morning and felt it was rude."

"You're ok, Eli," I said. "I didn't even think about that. I wish they would give you the damn transfer already."

"Same," He said, standing up, he took the box and put it in the fridge. Coming back in, he took my hand and helped me up. We grabbed the boxes from the hall and went into the office.

Pointing to the bookcase, I asked, "Do you want any for J's house?"

He added four books to his box, and he said, "You know what pack the books you want and when your done I will choose what I want. The rest can go in the sell pile."few

He grabbed the paper shredder and started going through all the files. He added a few to his box and when I filled the first box of books, he ran them down to the U-Haul. We worked for another hour before we got to tired to continue. He looked through the books I did not want and added a few back to keep box. We put the rest in the sell pile. He added the files to the important box we created. I took the bags of garbage to the dumpster, and when I came back, he was filling our drink cups.

He asked, "Are you going to be alright with the nursery?"

"Yes," I said. "I may sell some of the things until we see if we can get pregnant again. Our families went crazy when we were only 8 weeks along last time. We did nothing wrong, and I know it happens in even the most healthy pregnancies. One day we will be parents. It has to be God's will."

Hugging me he kissed my forehead. He said, "You will be an amazing mom one day."

We went to the bedroom and lay down. Before long we fell asleep in each others arms.

Master bedroom- master bath- Eli's closet- my closet- guest room- guest closet- nursery- murserycloset- office- office closet- guest bathroom- kitchen- pantry- linen closet- storage room- patio- laundry room- laundry closet- dining room- dining room closet- entry closet- entry way- hallway- living room- living room closet

$40000 Checking $3800 cash

Mel- Main

Eli- Exhusband

🎄the private investigator (12 book series)

I work as a private investigator! However, I found out someone is starting to follow me. You read that right, I am a seasoned private investigator, and recently I found out that I have had someone following me while I am working. After I came back to my car when mymark was in a deli eating breakfast I found a note on my driver's seat. The note read, Do not trust anyone, they are using you and will be your downfall. It surprised me as I locked my car when I left it.

My current job, I was doing a surveillance job for a couple putting their son through college, and they believe they are paying for his expenses, but he is not attending classes. The parents were so proud of their son they even purchased a brownstone near the campus so he would not have to live in the dorm. I hope for this kids sake that he was going to school and doing well because I remember how much I had to pay when in college. 

When I first met with the parents, I asked them, "what will happen if he is not attending classes?" 

The parents said, "If he is not taking classes then he is going to move back home and they are going to rent out the brownstone."

🎄People Watching (5 book series)

Sitting in the library at the college I go to, I pulled out a book and watched people come and go. See, the problem is I have a phobia about interacting with people. I will shut down verbally and pretty much run away. So I watch people around where I am and make some notes and write them in a book. You may ask do I have a physical deformity that keeps people away from me? No, not at all. I have been told I am a beautiful person. However, I grew up in a physically and mentally abusive home until I was thirteen, and my Grandpa gained custody of me. My Grandpa is a saint and has taken me to so much therapy, and thanks to him I am able to now go out in public even if I cannot have many interactions.

🎄blurred lines (3book series)

Sitting on the bench in the park, I sat watching the people around me. I took out a notebook to take notes about the people I observed. Now you may ask, Why do you do this? It is because I have a website called Blurred Lines. I watch people and take notes about those around me. Basically, I watch people and write about everything around me. I am not nosy and get into people's business. I only write about situations and people I observe.

The Family In the Park

Watching a family that was having a picnic in the park on the grass, a bit away, I felt I could observe without being obvious. The woman in the scenario spread a large blanket out and placed the picnic basket onto it. The father looked bored and out of place. He placed the baby carrier onto the blanket and sat down. He seemed to want to be anywhere but there, and I caught him sneaking glances at his phone ever so often.

The woman chatted and took containers of homemade food out of the basket. She placed the food on the blanket and he picked at the food but did not seem to be enjoying himself. She reached over to the stroller and grabbed her phone out. She took the baby out of the carrier and took pictures of the baby. She would ask him questions and he did not want to be there. After twenty minutes, she said to him, "Go if you do not want to be here. I thought you may have wanted to spend time with the baby and me. Whoever keep texting you seems to be much more important."

He got up and walked away. She wiped tears from her eyes and picked up her eyes making a call. I watched her focus on the baby and tem minutes later a older couple walked up to her. She stood up and hugged them and I heard her say, "He didn't seem to care about being with us. Sit and eat with me and we can talk about what you offered."

The man sat down and he reached over and took the baby. He said, "Come here, sweetheart, and hang out with Grandpa while Mommy and Grandma make some plates."

The older woman and her made some plates, and Grandpa was having a grand time with his Granddaughter. The older woman took her daughter's hand and said, "This is not on you; you have done everything you could with him, and you deserve to be happy. We will help you do everything you need to make sure you and the baby have a great life."

Watching them a while longer the young woman started to smile as she and her parents chatted, took pictures and ate. As the sun started to set the young woman placed the baby seat in the stroller. They cleaned up their picnic and headed to places unknown. She was lucky to have such loving parents who are there for her and her baby.

🎄the mountain (3 book series)

Living at the top of the mountain, I have seen it all while trying to stay away from people as much as I can. When I moved here, I was escaping a horrible breakup with my ex-fiancé. I took the money I had saved for our wedding and bought a rugged piece of property with twenty acres, with a small cabin. The start of my property was a road and it was bordered by a river. The left and right sides of the property were lined by two-hundred-foot cliffs. The older man who had owned the property had told me that he had dug up gems and gold from the cliffs. The house had electricity and running water. I had to get Starlink internet as I freelance and write at home. But I was determined to make this cabin and land my future.

My family thought I was crazy for buying the land and cabin. Well most of them with the exception of my Uncle Bill. My Uncle Bill was an outdoorsman, and when the family went crazy because I bought the land and decided to end my engagement. After I purchased the land, Uncle Bill called me. When I answered, I said, "Hey, Uncle Bill."

"Hey, Lacey," He said. "How are you doing?"

"I am dealing with things," I said. "Are you calling me to tell me I am crazy because I left Justin?"

"Hell no," He said. "I was going to offer to go up to the property with you and look around."

Feeling relieved, I said, "How about this weekend. I am going to go up to look around and get things ready."

"I will come to your house at six in the morning unless that is to early," He asked.

"No, that sounds good," I said. "I have to figure out how I am going to get everything to the cabin as there is no path to it right now."

"It's okay kid," He said. "I will help you figure it out."

On Saturday morning, Uncle Bill met me at my house with a cup of coffee. We loaded into my jeep and headed to the property. We kept going up the mountain more and when we got to the first cliff face I said, "This is the start of the property."

I pulled up to the gate of the property and Uncle Bill asked, "The property slopes down?"

"Yes, it does," I said. "Mr. Criley said that the river does rise sometimes when the snow melts, or it rains a lot, and the slope protects the house. That and all of the rock ledges."

We grabbed out backpacks and I locked my jeep and we went through the gate. Uncle Bill followed me to a pile of rocks and I said, "You will love this."

We climbed up a rock pile and the view was amazing. Uncle Bill looked around and said, "Lacey this is amazing. I can see the cabin from here."

We climbed down and hiked to the cabin. When we got to the cabin I unlocked it and we went inside. The cabin had a wood stove which was a livingroom kitchen combo, a walk in pantry, laundry room, storage room, a full bathroom, covered porch and stairs that led up to a bedroom that had windows along the back wall, which looked over the river and property. I said, "We had an inspector come up and the house is solid. The pantry is free of holes or gaps, piping is new along with the roof. When Mr. Criley moved out, he left me a propane burner with a few cans of propane, a massive wood stove with an oven, the wood shed is half full of wood, he left a portable AC upstairs as well as basic furniture. I just need to bring up a mattress for the bed since the bed has a solid oak base and you should see the dressers with it. Even the dock is set back far enough that if the river was to rise I could still look over the river from the dock, as it's a multi-level dock."

We went outside and walked to the river and Uncle Bill said, "I am jealous of you Lacey. I would kill to be able to come up here and have a place."

"What is stopping you Uncle Bill?" I asked.

"You own the land," He said.

"Follow me," I said. We walked towards the left rock wall and I showed him a foundation near the cliff. I followed up, saying, "My favorite uncle is more than welcome to help me around here and get himself a small cabin started."

"Are you fucking with me," He asked. 

"Not at all," I said. "You can build it as you want. Or you can make it into a tent. That is up to you."

"Damn," he said. "I may set up my winter tent for now. Can I live up here full-time?"

"You sure can," I said. "We should still have about two months until the first snow falls. Plenty of time to get us both settled and your tent up. We will have to get a bunch of supplies up here because the weather can snow us in fast."

He nodded and asked, "How much do you have to pack?"

"I should be done by the end of the week," I said. "Justin and Mallory took the honeymoon fund and went away for two weeks. I want to be out of the house before he gets back."

"His family is alright with what he did?" He asked.

"God no," I said. "I am having lunch with Helen Tuesday," I said. "She wanted to talk with me."

"Well," He said. "Can I come up here with the tent to start readying it? I have to get it set up and get the wood stove in. I will bring my chainsaw up as well and get us more wood cut. I saw quite a few downed trees, and I think I will be able to figure out a path to the cabin."

"Will Miss Lizzie be mad your coming up here?" I asked.

"Nah," He said. "She has been hinting at selling her house and moving with her son. I will talk with her tonight. We will need to hit rural king, walmart and Murphy's Outdoors to get everything we need. How are you financially kid?"

"I own this outright," I said. "My writing makes decent money and I still freelance. When I told Grandma I was done with Justin and what I did she was happy for me and handed me a check for fifty grand."

"Good," He said. "You like being prepared, however I suggest you get yourself in the mindset of spending about two to three thousand on things to prepare for the winter. I will show you what you need and what can help you. Also I saw that you do not have a woodstove upstairs. I can help you put one in as you will want one. The one in the bathroom is not the best and you may want to replace it. I can do that for you." 

"Do they have them at Murphy's?" I ask as we walked back to the cabin to grab our backpacks.

"Yes," He said. "You want to stop on the way home, and I can show you some things there."

"Please," I said. "My plan is to pack everything up the SUV to about three-quarters of the way then to head to a store and get what I need to stock the house. I have a list of stores and things I want from each. That way, when the snow hits, I am good. Do you think I can get a chest freezer up here?"

"I would suggest getting two small ones for the back porch," He said. "That way, if the power goes out because of the winter weather, the cold will keep everything frozen."

Locking up the cabin we went back to my jeep and Uncle Bill looked at a piece of land inside the gate. He said, "There used to be a garage here. I am guessing you can put a large shed here to park the jeep in. I can ask a buddy who works for the county if that would be allowed. It would be better than letting your Jeep get covered in snow. Snow banks up here can be as tall as fifteen feet."

We headed back to Murphy's and when we went in we found the wood stoves I would need I also found a heavy-duty pull cart for shopping trips. After I dropped Uncle Bill of at his place I went to lowes and looked at two small freezers that had locks. I explained I could meet the delivery crew tomorrow, however, I would be getting them to the cabin as there is no clear path. The salesman told me to have a tip for them and they will get them to the porch.

Calling Uncle Bill I told him I would be shopping tonight and going to the cabin tomorrow to accept the delivery for the freezers. He said he had loaded up his tent, wood stove and the portable shed he used for a wood store loaded in his truck along with his tools and straps to hold the tent down. He will meet me there to help me with moving whatever I bring and setting up the wood stoves when I get there. Then I headed to the shed store as Mr. Criley had already told me that he used to have a shed set up tp protect his car and his snowmobile, but a tree fell last winter and hit the shed. Looking at sheds I told them i needed one that could hold two vehicles and possibly a snow mobile. They showed me one that would keep out the snow and promised to have it delivered on monday. I paid the bill and headed to the dollar tree to get what I would need. Three carts later I had everything I wanted to start with and went over to target to get totes to set up organizing the pantry and set up a mobile closet in the bedroom. Then I went in a purchased some supplies but would be back for a big trip later that week. I picked up a meal for dinner from ChicFila and  headed to the house I had shared with Justin.

When I came in I found the pile of boxes I had purchased the day I found out justin had cheated. He stayed at mandys house for two months while I found the cabin and purchased it. We had been together for two years when he brought me here and he told me he purchased this house for us to live in. He propsed that night andwe lived here for two years before everything imploded. I should have seen the signs earlier. We had never combined any accounts and last year when I mentioned it he said we should keep it separate. My phone rang and I looked at the screen, Justin.

Answering I said, "I thought you were going to Europe?"

His voice sounded warm and he said, "We are tomorrow I was calling to check in with you while Mallory is out buying the last of what she needs for the trip."

"What do you want me to say Justin?" I asked. "You have been cheating on me with her for a year. If you would have said you wanted to end things we could have remained friends."

"You're right,' He said. "Are you sure about moving to the mountains?"

"I sure am," I said. "I got the land and cabin for a deal. I own it free and clear. Don't worry I will be out by the time you and Mallory get back so you can move her in."

"Lacey," He said. "I am not worried about that. You know I wish I had done things differently."

"I know," I said. "But that is the past and we are on different paths now."

"Listen I stopped by earlier and I left you something in the top drawer of the desk," He said. "Do not reject it. I wish I wasn't a scared fool and did things differently. Don't go onto the office until we end the call please."

"Alright," I said sitting down.

"What is your plans this week?" He asked. 

"I have to meet the delivery crew from lowes at nine for the small freezers I bought for the cabin," I said. "Then the shed for my jeep and Uncle Bills truck is being delievered and set up at nine."

"Well knowing yoru uncle bill is going to stay up there with you makes me feel better," He said. "I respect him. Didn't you say that the cabin is a one bedroom though?"

"There is a foundation near the north cliffface," I said. "He is setting up his winterized tent he used when he camped in northern canada."

"Do you have starlink our there?" He asked.

"I do," I said. "When I finish eating I am going to start the pantry and see what I can fit into the SUV. I already changed my address to the post office PO box at the base of the mountain. We have about two months before the first snows begin to fall andwewant to be ready."

"Listen," He said. "Take all the food from the pantry and kitchen. Mallory is picky with what she wants to eat and cook. Most of the items in the house we picked out so you can take everything if you want. Its only fair."

"That is generous of you," I said.

"I messed up Lace and I can never tell you or have you understand how sorry I am," He said. "If I had been honest with you would have wanted to remain friends. My mother told me she will not accept Mallory."

"Well if we are being honest I am having luch with your Mom on Wednesday." I continued, "She said she wanted to talk with me about something. Do you know what she wanted?"

"No," He admitted. "She thinks of you like a daughter though and I know she misses you."

I yawned and Justin laughed, "Maybe only fill what you can fit in the SUV tonight and go to bed you sound exhausted."

Chuckling I said, "I was up at six this morning to go to the property and make plans. Remember to not be the annoying american when you go to Europe Justin."

"I will be the perfect tourist Lace," He said. "I learned that from our trips. But I have to go Mallory is almost here and she thinks its weird we are being so civil with each other."

I let out a laugh and said, "Well we should be an example."

"Can I get your new address," He asked.

"I already emailed it to you," I said. 

"Thank you," He said. "Takecare Lace."

He ended the call and I walked into the office, sitting at the desk. Opening the drawer I said, 'What in th world."

There was a letter and my old engagement ring, our wedding bands and a thick envelope. I opened the letter and in Justins hand writing it said,

Lace,

You deserve the moon and back. I spoke to the jewerly store that I bought your ring and our wedding rings at. They said you can return them and they will wire the refund to you. There will be a return fee, but you should get the money. Inside the envelope if another fifty thousand dollars to cover your expenses for the next two years. There is also a check for $100,000 as a gift to you to ensure you have a great start to a life without me. Don't say anything to anyone please as this is between us, as a gift from the man who will always love you, but fucked up and knows he made the biggest mistake in his life. Take whatever you want from the house. I hopeone day we can at least be friends again and I hope you will send me your books still as you are an amazing writer. There is one more surprise in the guest room. I had commissioned it when we were still getting married.

All my love,

Justin

I walked to the guest room and there in the middle of the room was a wood chest with a bow. Engraved on the top of the chest was a pile of books and it said, Lacey's books. Opening it I found it was lined with Cedar to keep the books preserved. I sat in the chair crying and took my phone out. Sending a simple text to him that said, Thank You. I pulled the chest on the wheels that it sat on to my SUV and loaded it in empty. Going inside the office, I packed up the fifteen books I had published already and added them to the SUV. While I was in the garage, I shifted everything around so I could add more things before it got too late. In the garage, I found my new mattress was delivered, justin must have brought the mattress in for me. I just fit it into the SUV, leaving some space in front of it and on the passenger seat to add what I could. 

My phone binged and I saw a text from Justin, "By the way since you liked mens clothes I took everything I wanted and you can take what you would like. I am glad you like the chest."

No mention of the money or rings. I took the money and put the cash and check in my wallet to drop to the bank before I head to the cabin. Going into the pantry I packed up all my loose mason jars and mason jar packages and placed them in the SUV. Then I went into the kitchen and packed up my cookbooks and that filled my SUV until I returned home. Going into the house, I took a shower and headed to bed.

My day started early the following morning. Getting up, I made coffee and headed to the bank. Depositing the money into my checking account, I headed to the property and found Uncle Bill had already arrived and was unloading his truck onto a cart like mine. Unce Bill came over and I said, "Lowes will be dropping the freezers between nine and ten. Then our new garage will be here between noon and one. There used to be one here, and a tree fell on it so Mr. Criely had it torn down for safety.its big enough to hold both our cars and a snowmobile."

"Well," He said. "I guess you wanted to be prepared. I see the foundation and the raised grown to get into the garage."

I took the cart down from the SUV's top rack and started to unload the first batch of things to unpack. Filling the cart I started a slow path to the cabin. I soon discovered there was a path, but it was covered in leaves and downed branches. Uncle Bill grabbed his blower from the truck and started blowing everything from the path. I said, "I want to build a raised path later on to make the walk easier but tht will be a while." 

He said, "Yell for me when Lowe's gets here. They should be able to get the freezers down here with no issue."

It took me seven trips and using not only the cart but the hand cart that Mr. Criley left, and I got everything into the house. I dragged the mattress and the chest upstairs. I placed the trunk at the end of the bed and placed the matress in place cutting open the plastic and watching the matress start to form. Since there was nothing else I could do for the matress until it fully popped I went downstairs with the garbage and started to organize what I had purchased. Taking the closet parts, I went upstairs and started to assemble everything. By the time that was finished, my phone rang and the delievery driver called saying they would be there in ten minutes. 

I walked to the gate and waited for them to arrive. The worker in the passenger seat asked, "Is there a path?" 

I said, "We discovered this morning there was."

I showed them the path and where the freezers were going to be plugged in. He said, "We will knock when we are done."

Going back inside I took the totes and baskets to organize the pantry. I moved all the mason jars, and oxygen tabs, placing them on the table. I placed the pack of permanent markers on the table. Grabbing three more totes I placed them in a pile in the middle of the store room. I unpacked everything I had brought with me, bringing the boxes and garbage to the SUV. Uncle Bill came up and said, "I am going to set up the stoves now. Also did you see the weather prediction from the weather channel?"

"Yeah, they are giving us thirty days instead of sixty," I said. "The weatherman says it is going to be a hard winter."

"I have the tent airing out now and will be putting it up after the garage is delivered," He said. "I am going to keep my wood pile in the tent. I would suggest that we get a tarp to block the snow and place wood on your porch sides to build up a stock of extra wood." 

"I agree," I said. "I also have two pool toy sheds for smaller branches from the wood order. They are placing them on the porch as well next to the freezers on each side. There will be enough room for both."

The deleivery man said, "We have both the freezers and sheds on the back porch installed. I hope you settle in and are ready for when the first snow falls."

I tipped each of the delivery drivers and my phone rang. When I answered the garage delievery driver said, "Morning Lacey we ar about twenty minutes out. I knw we are early but our first delievery was rescheduled."

"Do you need us to move our vehicles?" I asked.

"I would suggest you get them moved and the gates wide open to where the gate does not block the spot for the shed," He said.

"Sure thing,' I said. Hanging up I said to Uncle Bill,"They need to us to move the cars and open the gates wide." 

We pulled into the property on the opposite side of the garage and strapped the gates open. We were sitting on the back of his truck drinking coffee and talking when the delivery trucks pulled up. They set up the first side of the garage and then the second. Then they worked on joining the buildings and anchoring the buildings deep into the ground. I tipped all the workers when they were done. After they left I said, "I am going to check the freezers now that they have been cooling and head into town. I am going to pack up part of the SUV and see about shopping a bit to get one more run up here tonight. I am grabbing some Christmas lights to string along the trees on the path so I can see it at night. I will leave the front porch light on."

I went back to the cabin and grabbed my bag. I took the wagon and placed it on a hook on the wall. I also took the hand truck and placed it along the wall. I was about ready to leave when I heard a faint meow. I stood quiet and Uncle Bill said, "Did you hear that?" 

We heard it again and I walked to theback corner of the garage and between the wall and a beam was two tiny kittens. One was orange and one was white and orange. Picking them up they snuggled against me and I said, "Where did you two come from?"

They were tiny but string and Uncle Bill said, "It looks like Mom left them here while moving the litter and they had an adventure."

Looking at them I said, "Well I guess you guys hit the jackpot. How would you like to live with me here?"

They meowed at me, and I went into the cabin, grabbing a basket and a hand towel. Placing them in the basket, I said, "Let us go get you checked out."

Driving down the mountain I took them to the emergency vet. Walking in the woman said, "We cannot take anymore abandoned pets."

I said, "Well its a good thing I plan on keeping these two. They had quite an adventure and I want to make sure they are alright."

She looked into the box and said, "They are young. What kind of adventure?"

I explained moving to the mountains and finding them in the shed I just had delivered. I said, "We checked around and under the garage, and there are no more kittens. My uncle gave the owner of the property a heads-up up in-case Mama had more kittens. These two are starting a new life together."

She asked, "What are you naming them?"

"Danger is the solid orange," I said. "The orange and white is lightening."

"Fitting," She said. "Let's get these two into the vet."

The vet came in and checked out both the kittens who are boys. She said, "They are about eight weeks old. I would suggest you get a dog cage for now while you are moving. That way, they do not get underfoot while you are packing. You can use a large box at the house you are staying at for now and keep the cage at the cabin. They can ride in the same cat carrier for now. Also, most pet stores carry kitten boxes. The do seem hungry and we will see if they can eat in their own."

Opening a cabinet, she opened a can of kitten food and placed some of it on a paper tray. The kittens dove for the food and ate with a fierce appetite. While they were eating she gave them their shots. She gave me two folders with their names on them, with all their information. She said, "No need to give them baths as they are clean. I did not see any fleas. They each should eat a quarter of a can every four to six hours. Do yourself a favor and use paper plates until they switch to dry food when they are about thirteen weeks old. Here is a feeding schedule for you to follow and what you will need. The kitten boxes will be fine until they are older, and then you can use the large pet cage when they are older if you need to pen them up. I pen my two up if I will be out for the day. Especially since I have a fireplace and wood heaters."

I nodded and went up front to pay for the visit. The kittens both had full bellies and fell alseep as we pulled into the pet store parking lot. I placed the box in the baby basket, covering it with another hand towel to keep the wind off of them. Then we went inside. A salesperson came up and asked if they could help. I said, "I need two kitten boxes, a cat carrier with a warm bottom. two litter boxes, two small pet beds, cat toys, cat litter, and wet kitten food. That will do for now, since I found these two babies when I was getting my house ready to move."

I lifted the cover to show two sleeping kittens, and she said, "Oh, how tiny. Let me help you get everything you need for now. They are so lucky to have found you."

We headed to check out with everything they will need during the move. I took the kittens and transferred them to the carrier. They curled up in the soft bottom and went back to sleep. Since I had plenty of daylight left, I plugged the carrier into the SUV and left the kittens to nap while I ran into bath and bodyworks. I shopped both the homeside as well as the body side and filled two full shopping carts. When I was done shopping there I ran into the dollar tree again since the kittens were sleeping soundly and grabbed some paper plates, Christmas lights, and water dishes. Heading back to the cabin, I brought them in and ran out for the things I brought for here. I set up the kitten box and placed the blanket down, the cat bed, and the litter box. I filled a bowl of water and opened the kitten carrier, placing them in kitten box. 

Uncle Bill came in and said, "I will start the fires in the morning if you call me before you come up so its warm in here. Temperatures are supposed to start falling this week. How are they?"

"They had an adventure," I said. "They are eight weeks old and seem to eat just fine. The vet said they can have kitten milk in a bowl and wet food. They will be fine."

Going to the bags I placed on the table I handed Uncle Bill a bag. He looked in the bag and said, "You remembered my favorite body wash."

"I did," I said as placed a candle in the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen and living room," I said. "It is October twelth and the weather seems to be fighting to keep the snow away."

"After I get these two settled at the house," I said. "I will be starting the packing full force."

The kittens woke up and started exploring as I put away all the things I had purchased. I made sure that I had totes that were labeled and organized. I did discover I would need more of the totes I had purchased, and ordered some for delivery to the house. Smiling, I thought I could place a few orders this week for pick up. Noticing the time I decided tonight would be a frozen pizza night at the house and I loaded the kittens into their carrier. Locking up, I placed the wagon into the shed after I strapped the kittens' carrier into the SUV. Heading home I saw my totes at the front door. Going inside I placed the kittens in the living room and brought the totes in loading them into the backseat of the SUV. I grabbed the items I would need for the kittens and set them up in the bedroom. Setting them into the kitten box they started exploring.

Looking at the clock I saw it was only three in the afternoon. I set up my indoor security camera to watch the kittens while I am getting supplies. As I was heading to Bath and bodyworks I had a call from Justin. Answering it I said, "You know we talk more than we used to."

He laughed and said, "My phone binged when you set up the security camera. Imagine my surprise when I saw not one but two kittens living the good life in the living room."

"Don't worry they will be with me when I go to the cabin," I said. "They have the same setup in my room there. They were in the garage that was delivered to my cabin today. They were between the outer wall and a support beam. I am now the mom to two eight-week-old kittens."

"Well shit," He said. "They are currntly drinking something out of a bowl."

"Kitten milk and you are sure they are drinking it?" I asked.

"Yeah," He said. "They are going to town."

"Oh good," I said. "Then I can possibly hit up a few stores tonight. The only thing in the SUV is more totes for storage and we may have a problem up the mountain."

"Oh?" He said.

"The weatherman said two months before we had snow," I said. "We could have flurries by the end of next week. Uncle Bill had his tent set up when I left, and he was setting up the path lights from the cabin to the garage. Tomorrow I hit the ground running. Uncle Bill texted me that he will be there before I am with a load of his stuff, and he is going to spend two hours cutting down the downed trees for more firewood. Then he is going to get his remaining things and be moved in a lot sooner than I am."

I pulled into Bath and Bodyworks closer to the house and went inside, starting to shop. I spoke to Justin a bit longer, and then after we hung up, I loaded my carts full. When I was finished, I had two and a half full carts. The salesperson held the carts while I pulled to the curb. She helped me load the back seat that was up and the floors surrounding the seats. Gauging the space I had left I decided that would be enough for today and went back home.

When I came back home the kittens were calling out and I picked them up. They started looking for food. I poured them milk into their bowl while I prepared a paper plate of food. Placing the food in the box, I watched them eat. While they ate, I grabbed a box and went into my closet. I started to pack all my clothes. Since I now had more closet space then hanging space I removed hangers from the things I was now storing into the plastic drawers. I kept things on hangers that I would keep hung up and I stacked in the SUV. When the SUV was full I started stacking boxeses in the second carparking space. When my alarm went off at six that night I was almost finished with my closet. I preheated the oven and checked on the kitties who were curled up in thier bed. Going back into the bedroom, I finished packing my clothes with the exception of three outfits. Then I made sure all my shoes were packed except for my slippers, boots, and sneakers. I labeled all the boxes and placed the full ones in the garage. 

My oven beeped and I put the pizza into the oven setting a timer. Then I went into Justin's closet and looked through what he had left. I packed the items I wanted and shut his closet door. in our room I packd up the book shelf that had my books and nicknacks that I planned to place on the built-in shelves that are in the living room. Taking the shelving unit I planned to use for my small kitchen appliances i moved it to the garage. I went into the pantry and started to pack up the food. Using the smaller boxes to pack the cans and jars. I pulled the garbage can next to the door and tossed opened packages and ites that I thought were nolonger worth keeping. When my timer went off I sat down in the living room and started to watch TV. WhenI finished eating dinner I cleaned up my mess and went back to the pantry to finish packing what I would need. Emptying my seasoning carts I packed the seasonings I would not be tossing with the food and placed my rolling carts in the moving pile. When I was done, I shut the door happy I had another room done. Going into the hallway I took down the art pieces and decorations I wanted. Then I opened all the cabinets for the hall storage. I sorted and placed items into the labeled boxes. I made uick work of taking what I wanted from the hall storage. Shutting the last cabinet door and drawer, I moved the full boxes into the garage. I checked on the kittens and made sure they were alright. I climbed into my bed and fell into a solid sleep.

I got up twice during the night to check on the kittens, and they were doing great in the kitten pen. When they heard me come out, they started to meow for me, and I picked them up and gave them cuddles. Looking at them I said, "I am going to go to the cabin and bring the first load. You are going to stay here and eat until I come back. You are much too small to be out in the cold. I should be back after I drop everything off and unpack. Then I am going to the good stores, then come back here. The faster I get us packed and shopped for the faster we will be living in the cabin."

When I told them this they seemed to listen and understand what I was telling them. Walking into the kitchen with them in my arms I started me some coffee. Grabbing their food, milk and a paper plate I took them back to the pen. I filled the bowl with milk and placed them in the pen. They ran to the bowl and started to drink as I put the wet food on a plate. They ran to the plate and began to eat. I laughed and said, "Well, it seems that your adventure did not do anything to your appetite."

Getting up I walked into the room, dressing warmly. After I added sugar and cream to my coffee, I checked on the kittens who werein their bed settling in to take a nap. Getting into the SUV i headed to the cabin. When I arroved Uncle Bill was coming back with his cart. He saw my loaded SUV and asked, "Where are the little ones."

I took out my phone and showed him the live feed of them sleeping in their pen. He said, "Smart. It will make it easier for you to shop and unpack. Well let me help you get everything to the cabin and then I am going to the storage unit and will be moving more of my things over. The tent is very warm and toasty. I may take some stone and line the base with them to help keep the wind from edging around the base."

mbr, mbath, office, guestroom, guestroom closet, downstairs guest rrom, DGR bath, downstairs guest room closet, kitchen, garage, attic, basement, livingroom, lrc, diningroom, drc, pool, poolhouse, poolhousebath, poolhousecloset, shed, gamingroom, gamingroom closet,laundryroom, storage room, outside

dollar tree, fivebelow, hobbylobby, walmart, kroger, BJ's, costco, sams, kinders bulk, thrift shopper, rural king, lowes, home depot, bass pro, Wesly adventures, the winter shack, dailys new and used clothing, walgreens, family dollar, amish store, besleys canned goods, save a lot, aldi, kirks hunting, murphys, outdoor adventures. target, pet smart. jerewrly store

Lacey- $235365

Justin(ex fiance)Mallory-GF Helen-Mom

Uncle Bill