Free Dreamscape by Rose Anderson Page A

years before. “Get lost, Lanie, you bitch.” Lanie, his Lanie, was the little black-haired girl who’d tried to stop them from vandalizing his house and for her troubles got sorely abused. Remembering her childish vow at the gate his heart swelled. You did buy the house after all.
    Knocking on the doorframe, Max said, “Hello?”
    Lanie turned to the voice. Pulling the nails from her mouth, she set the hammer down. “Hello. Can I help you?”
    The man smiled. “You have quite a busy place here. I install gutters and driving by here today I was wondering if you’ve had your gutters checked recently.”
    “I just moved in actually. I hadn’t considered the gutters needed replacing or cleaning.” The thought distracted her. Was there more to do outside?
    “A lot of people don’t give the gutters a second thought, that is, until they get an ice jam up there and it damages the roof and ceiling.”
    Lanie frowned. She was so close to being done, the last thing she needed was damage of that sort. “Okay, then how about you look around and give me an estimate?”
    His smile widened. “Alrighty.” He pulled a small yellow pad from his back pocket. “Is there access to any of the smaller roofs from the inside?”
    “Yeah, there’s a narrow stairway off the kitchen that leads up to the old servant’s quarters. That will take you to the cupola...”
    “I noticed a room on the second floor. The window is open, the only one open as far as I could tell. The porch gutter is just below that. Any way I can go out that window to see what’s what?”
    Jason narrowed his eyes. He’s talking about our bedroom. The thought froze in his mind. When did his bedroom become their bedroom? He willed Lanie to remember this Max , this dangerous bully who’d kick and spit on a small girl. Chances were that type of character defect would last throughout a lifetime. Remember, Lanie.
    “How about I check the porch gutter first?”
    Lanie cautioned. “Yeah okay, follow me, but please be careful.” She pointed to the bunched runner. “Watch your step on the stairs, as you can see I’m still tacking the runner down.” When she was done with this guy she’d better refer to her list. She had the oddest feeling she was forgetting something important.
    The man looked up the long winding staircase and laughed. “Wow, that’s no small job!”
     “No kidding. I’ve been at it all morning and I’m only halfway up.” Pointing to another lumpy stair she said, “Watch your step here, too.”
    Jason immediately popped onto the second floor landing and what he saw from his new vantage point made him seethe inside. Max’s eyes were focused on Lanie’s derriere.
    Inside her bedroom, Lanie rushed to pick her dirty clothing and towels up off the end of the bed. She’d started to sort laundry earlier but got distracted by a phone call from Zack.
    The black thong fell unseen to the floor at her feet. Lanie stuck her head out the window. “Len, I’ve a guy here who’s checking the gutters.” She called to the man on the scaffold just outside.
    “Okay, Lanie, I’ll watch for him.”
    “Please be careful,” she told him.
    “Don’t worry, ma’am, I’m a pro.”
    Just then a crash came from below. “Oh what now?” she said in exasperation. Things were just off today. “Please excuse me.” With that she ran down the stairs.
    Jason watched the man pick up the black panty and hold it to his nose. His fingers curled into fists as Max chuckled and stuffed the bit of cloth into his pocket. Several minutes later Max met Lanie on the stairs. “I’ll have to come back tomorrow, got a call from the office.” He patted his pocket in illustration.
    Jason clenched his jaw. No such call had come.
    “All right, Mr.…”
    “Cady. Max Cady, from WeatherAll Siding and Gutters,” he told her, making his way to the door. I’ll bet those panties smell half as good as the real thing. Behind his back Max laid a piece of tape over the lock to