Page 31 of Camera Stays On

“Me?” he asked as he reached for the now-full pot of brown liquid. He poured two mugs and brought one over to me. “I’m heading over to the haunt to organize and clean some more.”

“Can I come with?” I scooted my chair back and went to the fridge in search of that creamer. I found it on the bottom row of the door, and when I turned back, I saw him staring at me oddly. “What?”

Asher scratched his head and looked away sheepishly. “Uh, you’re not wearing pants.”

Oh my God.

Heat flooded my face as I yelped and tugged on the shirt Asher had given me to wear. It was long, but bent over—

“Sorry. I’m still half asleep.” I cringed.

“Don’t be sorry, I enjoyed the view,” he quipped. I rolled my eyes, poured the creamer into my cup, and thrust it at him. He smirked and put it back for me.

“So, do you mind if I tag along?” I cleared my throat in an attempt to move on. “I’m excited to see the space we’ll be filming in.”

“Sure. I’ll grab another broom. We can knock out twice the dirt.”

“I’ve already showered, so we’re ready when you are,” Asher said.

“We?”

He nodded to the dogs eating their breakfast. “I take them along whenever I can. They love the space outside.”

I finished my coffee and set the cup in the sink, then turned to leave the kitchen. “Give me ten to clean up and change back into my clothes.”

After putting on the same outfit I had worn yesterday, I joined Asher and the dogs. We got into his truck and left to go to his haunt.

“Just hold her tight. Blair slides a lot,” he said, throwing the truck into drive. I held the pup close, and she snuggled against me. I’d never had pets growing up. Pets meant permanence, and my mom never liked the idea of that. Sure—we’d stayed in that house next door to the Delambres from the time I was seven until I graduated high school, but we never hung photos, we never emptied all the packed boxes, and we never got a pet. She wanted to make sure that if we had to leave on a whim, we could.

“You okay over there?” Asher glanced over at me as we drove.

I blinked, not realizing how lost in thought I’d gotten. “Yeah, just...enjoying the ride. I like your dogs.”

A half hour later, we made it to the woods just outside Collingwood. Large oak and pine trees filled the area, so thick you could hardly see through the leaves. A single, wide path led through it, and we started down it toward the property. The trees had grown in so tightly that hardly any sun was coming through to the dirt floor. Squirrels and chipmunks ran amongst the trees, ignoring us completely. I rolled the window down and inhaled the smell of leaves just starting to die with the early autumn weather.

As much as I scoffed at country living, I missed stuff like this.

“Two cars will be able to get through, one for leaving and one for coming in,” Ash explained. I stared out the window, admiring the tall, dark forest. By the time we made it to the clearing, I was nearly bouncing in my seat, excited to see his house.

“Holy shit.” My mouth dropped open.

“I know, right?” Ash laughed. “It’s pretty fucking cool.” He parked, and I threw the door open. Toby bolted out, and Blair began to wag her tail excitedly. I climbed out and carefully set the smaller dog on the grass. As they took off to play in the wide yard, Ash came over and tossed his arm around me. My heart did flip-flops, matching the butterflies in my belly. My thoughts went to last night. Asher had almost kissed me. I’d wanted it to happen, and I’d been so disappointed when Sawyer walked in on us. But the disappointment was overshadowed by the nervousness over my growing feelings. Being with Ash, with his arm around me, shouldn’t feel as good as it did.

We stared up at the massive house. It was a two-story Victorian, with so much detail my mind didn’t know where to focus first. The porch was high, with a dozen steps leading up to it. It wrapped around the entire front of the house, with large columns every few feet supporting the second floor. The windows were tall and arched.

The siding was dark, although I wasn’t sure if it was because the wood had been left to rot or it was that color originally. While the house was gorgeous, there were visible signs of decay. Parts of the roof caving in, broken rails on both floors, and other small but noticeable flaws. It was a fixer-upper, but not a total lemon.

“Soon, one day, this is going to be the best haunt Michigan has ever seen,” he boasted. I looked up, and he shrugged. “Well, this county. Come on, I’ll give you the tour.” He whistled to the dogs, and they made their way back to us. He hooked their collars to large tethers so they could still play without running off into the woods. Once they were secure, Ash took my hand and led me up the stairs to his mansion.

“Luckily, the bones of this house are still mostly intact. What needs the most work is the roof and a few walls here or there.”

I swung my head from side to side as we walked through the large house. It was so pretty. Marble floors, large animal statues, gold plating on everything. The furniture had sheets on them, so I couldn’t see what was underneath, but if it matched everything else, the pieces were probably very extravagant.

“What is this place?”

“I know right? It feels like it was taken from another world and just plopped here in the middle of the woods.”

“It’s so big,” I said, sweeping my gaze all around. “This is so odd.”