Chapter Three
"Holy crap! You weren't kidding," Dean said as he leaned towards the steering wheel, trying to see the outside of the house for the first time.
"I told you," Grace replied, as she and Dean got out of the car, "We should rent this house out to film horror movies in."
They had left some lights on in the house so it wouldn't be so creepy when they came back but the effect of the light pooling around the covered porch may have made it worse.
Hope had fallen asleep on Sam's shoulder as they drove to the house.
"Hope," he said, trying to wake her gently. She lifted her head and looked at him. "We're here."
She blinked a few times and looked out the window. When she saw the house she seemed to sober up some. Her breathing began to quicken and Sam decided to get her moving before she had a full blown panic attack.
"Come on, let's go check it out," he said, opening his door.
He climbed out and held a hand out to her. She took it and followed him to the trunk to grab two duffel bags and then they headed into the house.
"Boy, you weren't joking about just moving in," Dean said, tugging at one on the sheets that was covering the furniture.
"No, we literally just arrived and got cleaned up so we could go get something to eat."
Dean started walking through the house checking things out while everyone else followed. He walked thru the dining room and into the kitchen then out the side door and across the hall. Sam hung back in the kitchen and started opening cabinets.
"What are you doing?" Hope asked.
"Looking for salt," he replied.
"Oh. Well, we haven't gone shopping yet so there aren't any groceries here."
"I know but salt doesn't really go bad so I thought maybe there would be some left from your aunt." He continued opening cabinets.
"What do you need salt for?"
He reached up and pulled a can of salt down smiling. "It helps keep ghosts away," he said.
"Wait, what? How do you know that?" Hope's heart hammered in her chest.
"It's kinda my job to know," Sam replied reluctantly.
"What do you mean it's your job? You said you were a consultant," she said suspiciously.
"Sort of. My brother and I are hunters."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Hope asked confused.
"Not like regular hunters, we hunt monsters."
"Monsters?" Hope stared in disbelief. She ran her fingers thru her hair, turned and walked out of the kitchen the way they'd came. She was suddenly finding it hard to breathe.
"Hope, wait," Sam said following her. He reached out and caught her arm, turning her back around. There were tears in her eyes.
"Hope, what's wrong?" He reached to wipe them away
"I knew you were too good to be true," she cried.
"Hope." He paused and blew out a breath, this was the part of his life he hated, "I'm sorry I lied to you, it's just that most people are better off not knowing about the things we know about."
"So that's how you knew how to look it up on the Internet? I must sound pretty pathetic to you."
He tilted her chin up to look at him. "No, you sounded scared. That's what got my attention. This is what we do. We protect people from stuff like this."
"So, you're like those Ghostfacers?" She asked.
"No!" He said adamantly, "Those guys are idiots."
She laughed, "They are pretty stupid."
"Come on, let's go check out your room and get you settled in for the night." He said wrapping an arm around her.
Grace follow Dean across the hall into the library. He stood in the center and turned in a circle taking everything in. The interior wall was floor to ceiling bookshelves complete with a rolling ladder to reach the vaulted ceiling. There were hundreds of dust covered volumes. It would take Grace forever to go through them all. She walked over to the closest shelves and ran a finger along the bindings as she read some of the titles. Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, Treasure Island on one shelf and Farmer's almanacs on another, books of Maps, history, science on another. As she walked along the wall she came to a shelf with no titles on the book. She pulled out the dusty leather bound book and opened it.
"Planted potatoes in the north forty today. Corn crop is already sprouting and will hopefully be a good crop this year. We are going to need more feed for the cattle to survive the winter.
Eliza told me today that she's in the family way so we'll have another baby come February." Grace read aloud. She replaced the volume and pulled another. It was a newer one. She flipped to the middle and began reading aloud again.
"Grams says trouble's coming. The eclipse last night was a ill omen."
Dean walked up behind her and looked over her shoulder. His musky smell distracting her slightly.
"She told me to go to the storm shelter before sunset and stay put till daylight. She won't tell me what's comin. But she got mad when I told her I'd just lock up the house."
"How old is that one?" Dean asked.
Grace flipped to the front "1990."
The color drained a little from her face. Dean stepped around to face her.
"I knew Aunt Marge was a little eccentric but I didn't realize she was crazy."
"What makes you think she's crazy?" Dean asked.
"Marge was my great aunt. In 1990 she'd have been in her early 80's. But she refers to Grams talking to her."
Dean's mind raced. Perhaps Hope was right and there was a ghost. The house was certainly creepy and he hadn't seen any evidence of a ghost but he didn't have his emf reader either. He looked back at Grace. He didn't want to freak her out tonight, perhaps it would be better to discuss Hope's suspicions in the daylight.
"Well, maybe she just lived alone too long. You did say she was a spinster and she probably just had an imaginary friend."
A terrible screeching noise filled the room and Dean raced for the door, Grace was right behind him. The sound was coming from upstairs.
"Sam!" Dean yelled taking the stairs two at a time. "Sam!"
Sam came out of the doorway to the bathroom, as Dean hit the top of the stairs. He was shirtless.
"What?" He asked Dean, confused.
Dean stopped suddenly at the top of the stairs, surprised to see Sam so relaxed.
"What is that noise?" Dean asked.
"It's the pipes." Sam said indicating the bathroom, "I was just going to take a quick shower before bed."
"Fine, go take your shower." Dean said waving him back into the bathroom.
"I put your duffel in my room." Sam told him.
"Thanks," Dean said and turned to go back to Grace but she was standing right behind him. He grabbed her waist to keep from knocking her over. Grace's breath was ragged from racing up the stairs. She looked up into Dean's green eyes. He was so close their lips almost touched. She felt desire flash thru her heating her body. She quickly stepped out of his embrace and walked to her bedroom. She couldn't let herself get caught up with a man again, especially not one that wasn't planning on sticking around.
Dean followed her to the bedroom and leaned against the door frame. Grace busied herself pulling the protective sheets off the bed then moving to uncover the rest of the furniture. Dean strolled into the room and walked up behind her as she tried to fold up one of the sheets. He gripped her biceps to let her know he was there then slid his hands up to her shoulders and pushed her hair out of the way. His fingers kneaded into her stiff muscles as he tried to get her to relax. She let out a soft moan as her hands dropped to her sides. He worked a little on her neck before leaning down whispering in her ear.
"You look a little tense," he said before applying a soft kiss just below her ear. She moaned again. He slid a hand around her waist and pulled her back against him. She could feel his arousal. It both excited and frightened her.
"No, I can't." Grace said unconvincingly.
"Yes, you can," he whispered in her other ear.
She turned around to face him and gently pushed at his chest, realizing under his shirt he was rock solid. She knew she wasn't saying no completely. She smiled coyly at him.
"Now Dean, what kinda lady would I be if I just gave into you only hours after meeting you?" She took a step forward and causing him to step back towards the door with her hands still on him, the heat searing him.
"You're exactly the kinda lady I like." He said giving her a roguish smile.
She took another step towards him and he had to step back.
"No, Dean. I think I need to earn your respect and wait." She said pushing him thru the doorway into the hall.
"Trust me you have my respect." He said eagerly.
She smiled and closed the door on him, quietly saying goodnight. Dean stood in the hall baffled. This never happened to him. Sam came out of the bathroom just at that moment, only wearing a towel.
"Got shut down huh?" Sam teased.
"No, I just figured what's the rush, I mean I gotta fix that van tomorrow anyway." Dean said heading toward the stairs. Sam walked towards the little bedroom on the opposite side of the bathroom from Hope's. He grabbed Dean's duffel from inside the door and tossed it to him.
"Well, there's a bed in there," Sam said, pointing at the door opposite his.
"Great! Thanks!" Dean said sarcastically, huffing to himself as he stepped into the tiny room. He looked at the twin bed and sighed. He took the old sheet off and sat down on the bed. The springs creaked in protest. It made him smile thinking about the bed squeaking as he and Grace rocked it out. Dean shook his head to get the thought out. She was a challenge. And he was always up for a challenge.
Sam lay in the small bed staring up at the ceiling. The room he was in what had probably been a little girl's room at one time. The twin sized bed was framed with an antique white iron bed frame. At 6'4" he was a little too long for the mattress so his knees were slightly bent to try to fit on the bed between the head and footboard.
He had waited for Hope to get ready for bed then he had spread the salt around her bed to protect her. She still looked nervous as he left to have a shower but he reassured her that as long as she stayed in the circle of salt the ghost couldn't harm her.
He lay there trying to figure out why a ghost would be haunting the place at all. He wanted to get his laptop and do some more research but he'd left it in the car and he didn't want to wake the house.
The door to his room creaked open and Sam reached for his gun beside the bed.
"Sam?" Her voice was so small he almost didn't recognize it.
"Hope?" He asked setting gun back down and sitting up, "What is it?"
"I'm still scared," she whispered.
She wore a pair of pajama shorts and a plain pink tank top that hugged her breasts.
Sam swallowed, realizing he was staring, "Come here."
She quietly moved over to the bed. He pulled back the covers and held them open for her. She laid down her back pressed against his bare chest in the tiny bed. He covered them up, spooning up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She was trembling but he wasn't sure if it was fear or if she was just cold.
"I told you that a ghost can't get you in the circle of salt," he said quietly.
"I know, but I still can't sleep," she replied.
He smiled to himself. She'd been in that bed less than an hour so she really hadn't had a chance to fall asleep yet, but he was grateful for the excuse to hold her all night. She smelled good and was soft and curvy in all the right places. Hope's breathing began to even out and the trembling stopped so he knew she was falling asleep. He let himself relax and drift off to sleep as well.
