Free The Ghostly Hideaway by Doris Hale Sanders

buy the old Coy place after Cliff died?" Mr. Tinsley
asked.
    “No,” Ed explained. “Mr. Coy was my wife’s uncle.
After his heart attack, the place passed to her.”
    “Mr. Wroe has been doing a lot of work to the old
house. You’d hardly know it was the same place. Right now, he’s
putting in new kitchen cabinets. He does beautiful work." Johnny
knew Ed was sort of looking for odd jobs to do and he had also
heard Frank say that he needed new kitchen cabinets.
    “I’d love to see what you’re doing, Ed. I’ve been
wanting some new kitchen cabinets, but I don’t have the tools or
the knack for it." Mr. Tinsley took the bait just as Johnny figured
he would.
    “Well, why don’t you and your family come over this
afternoon and see what I’m doing and stay for supper. We’d love to
get to know our neighbors. I think Uncle Cliff was almost a hermit;
but we would really enjoy company." He hoped Penny wouldn’t kill
him for inviting them without giving her much notice. “You may
come, too, Johnny. You won’t let me pay you for your help so the
least I should do is feed you." Of course, that suited Johnny just
fine. Maybe he and Chrissy could squeeze in some time in the front
porch swing.
    Penny was quite pleased to have company and she
fixed a delicious meal. She fried some pork chops, made mashed
potatoes and gravy, put together a wonderful salad and Chrissy
baked a fabulous angel food cake for dessert.
    Frank and DeDe (her name was Cordelia but she
insisted on the shorter version) were delightful guests. Penny
remembered seeing them at the graveside service for Uncle Cliff but
they hadn’t stayed around after the service was over. Their son,
Devon, was eight and while somewhat boisterous, was still nice.
Two-year-old Maria was absolutely a joy. Her sweet personality made
everyone fall in love with her.
    Frank fell in love with Ed’s cabinetry, too, as did
DeDe.
    “Ed, do you think we could get you to give us a bid
on fixing some cabinets for us?" The Tinsley’s seemed extremely
excited about the possibility.
    “I’d be glad to,” Ed told them. He was excited, too.
He had made a good-sized dent in the funds from selling their house
in North Carolina and he needed to make some money.
    “What type of wood do you want your cabinets made
from?" Ed knew that would have to be part of the bid estimate.
    “How about if I furnish the materials and you
provide the labor and expertise? I work as a logger. I could get
some lumber sawed and planed for the project and you have the tools
to do the rest. It would likely be oak or walnut. We’re working
virgin woodland, right now, so it could probably be my choice.”
    “That would be perfect.”
    “Hey, you know what? I could get some lumber for you
pretty cheap, too, at least compared to lumberyard prices. Would
that be something you’d be interested in?”
    “Of course. There are still several projects around
here that need to be done. I could use some good lumber.”
    While the men talked business and drank coffee in
the dining room, the women went into the family room and Johnny and
Chrissy wandered out to the front porch swing.
    “I enjoy listening to the way you talk, Johnny. Is
that an Irish brogue?”
    “My father was Irish. He met my mother, Janet
Thorne, when he came through here with a crew working on electric
lines. They stayed in this area a little over six months and when
it was time to move on, he found he couldn’t leave my mom. He asked
her to marry him and when her folks said, ‘no’ they eloped. They
came back a couple of years later to see Grandmother when
Great-grandpapa died but she had become terribly bitter at Mom. So
they left again and went back to Ireland. I was born there and
that's where I grew up. A couple of years ago, I decided I would
come back and see if I could mend some fences with Grandmother. She
tolerates me but she still can’t forgive my mother. When things got
too unpleasant up there at Grandmama’s, I’d come down