The Guest House Hauntings Boxset by Hazel Holmes (novel books to read txt) 📕

Sam admitted that they didn’t agree with the couple’s decision, but that they did respect it. The topic of conversation turned to upcoming plans and excitement over the opening.

“Hope everyone left room for dessert,” Ezra said, surprising Clara. She didn’t think he could’ve possibly had time to make dessert, and judging by the look on his face, he was proud he did.

“I’m always ready for dessert,” Sam said as he leaned back in his chair. “Especially after the food you brought us. You’re an amazing cook.”

“Why, thank you,” Ezra replied, his pride was clear in his voice. “Clara, do you mind grabbing a bottle of sweet Moscato to go with it?”

“Of course not,” she replied, then turned to Brittany and Sam. “Are you okay with another bottle of wine? You’re welcome to spend the night here. We have most of the guest rooms ready.”

“We’d love that,” Brittany replied. “It’s been so long since I stayed here. I’m sure it’s a completely different experience now. But only if you’ll stay with us someday too.”

“That would be wonderful,” Clara smiled, already looking forward to spending the night at their beautiful property. “We’ll be right back.”

Clara and Ezra grabbed the dishes and empty platters before going into the kitchen together. They put the dirty dishes into the sink and turned to each other.

“That was a lot,” Clara whispered as she sank against Ezra’s chest for a sweet moment.

“It was,” he admitted. He kissed the top of her head as he hugged her. “But it’s nice to tell someone, isn’t it? It’s a relief to let someone else outside the house know what’s going on.”

“It is.” They kissed. “Speaking of which, I should probably get back to our guests.”

The lights flickered.

“Oh no,” Clara whispered. “Please don’t tell me they’re going to intrude on this.” Panic froze her. She didn’t want to deal with the ghosts and their tricks. She didn’t want to bring anyone else into the scary world she was forced to exist in.

“I’m sure it’s just the weather,” Ezra assured her. “I’m telling you, they’re not those kinds of ghosts. They’re not malicious.”

Then, everything went dark.

49

Clara gripped Ezra in a panic. She knew this kind of thing would happen when they had ghosts in their house. She knew they couldn’t be as nice as they seemed. They were ghosts. As much as Ezra tried to convince her they were kind and safe, she never fully believed it.

She felt awful for inviting Sam and Brittany over in the first place. She knew she shouldn’t have. It wasn’t safe for them to be here and she felt irresponsible roping them into this. It was something she and Ezra should’ve dealt with on their own. They should’ve sold the bed and breakfast and moved as far away as they could get.

“It’s okay,” Ezra assured her.

“It’s not okay,” her voice hitched. “I know it’s them!”

“Clara, we have to keep calm,” Ezra’s voice was quiet but firm and steady. “We have guests here who don’t know what’s going on. We must guide them and take control of the situation.”

“How?” Clara asked, lowering her voice to a whisper.

“We don’t know it’s the ghosts,” Ezra replied. “We haven’t seen them. It could still be the weather. It’s always storming around here.”

Clara scoffed.

“The first thing we should do is get everyone together,” Ezra continued. Then, he raised his voice. “Brittany! Sam! Are you guys okay in there?”

There was no response. That was when Ezra started to get worried. He still didn’t think the ghosts were malicious. They never even tried to hurt them before. But not hearing from their guests was concerning. “Brittany? Sam?”

Still no response.

“See,” Clara said, her voice rising in panic. “Something’s wrong. I can feel it.”

“Let’s go out to the dining room and see if we can find them,” Ezra said.

“I’m scared.”

“It’s going to be okay, I promise. I love you so much, Clara. I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you. I will keep you safe.”

Though it didn’t ease Clara’s fear completely, Ezra’s confidence made her feel a little safer. His voice didn’t waver. He was determined to protect her, and she knew he’d do his best. She trusted him more than she trusted anyone else. Even if she wasn’t fully convinced he stood a chance against a family of ghosts.

Her trust in him allowed her to move forward. They walked carefully through the kitchen, reaching out for objects to avoid running into them. Ezra was most familiar with the space, so he led the way into the dining room.

“Brittany?” he called out. “Sam?”

Clara was surprised the ghosts hadn’t made an appearance, but that only made things more terrifying. She was certain they had done something to Brittany and Sam, and she didn’t know what to do about it. How did you fight ghosts?

Even Ezra was starting to worry about them. He believed the ghosts weren’t out to get them, but what if they were? What could they do?

Finally, their fingers found the doorway into the dining room. They shuffled forward through it.

A cold touch landed on both of their backs. Before they could make sense of what was going on, fabric was shoved in their faces. They inhaled in a panic. They tried to twist away, tried to fight their attackers.

Before they could, darkness rendered them useless as they thudded to the floor beside each other.

50

Sunlight falling into Clara’s eyes woke her. Her whole body was stiff, especially her back, which ached against a hard, cold floor. She was confused. This certainly wasn’t her bed. Why did her body hurt so much? Where was she? She tried to stretch, but her hands and feet were bound.

Her eyes popped open to reveal she was lying on the attic floor. The exposed wood beams stretched above her head. Boxes crowded around her. The space that seemed so open before now felt tiny, suffocating. She strained against the ropes binding her hands and feet.

She was so shocked and panicked she couldn’t make