Back Home (Flash Fiction)

Image credit: unknown

Back Home

by Carol

382 words

So, it’s true, Casey thought as she drove past the old Cagney place, seeing the light in the window. Jake is back.

Inside the house, Jake surveyed the progress he had made. It wasn’t much. He’d have to stay at a hotel tonight, probably the next week, maybe more, until he could get at least one room livable. The house would require so much time, work and love, but he was committed. He remembered being a child, walking down the street, fascinated and frightened by the haunted house. Even then, the house seemed to be waiting for him. As a kid, he had never dared break-in, and although plenty of his friends had boasted about being inside, he never believed them.

He left Miller’s Creek immediately after he graduated high school, knowing that there were few opportunities in the small town. He and a friend had started a security agency that became very successful. They provided all around protection, alarm systems, security guards, even personal body guards when needed. He had started feeling restless though, needing a new project, and when he had heard that the Cagney mansion was going to be torn down, he came home. Here he was, definitely in over his head. He had the time and the money, but he would be learning the skills as he went

Okay, Jake decided, it’s time for a break. He’d head over to Lancey’s for a quick drink and then on to the hotel. Tomorrow, he’d get a look at the place in daylight, make lists of jobs and supplies, get organized. And maybe Casey would be at the bar. As far as he knew, she was still working there in the evenings. Jake couldn’t wait to tell her the new. He knew she would be able to see the potential in the house if anyone could.

As Jake pushed open the bar’s door his eyes were immediately drawn to the woman behind the bar. He would have known Casey anywhere. He sauntered up to the bar and sat on a stool, trying to project a confidence he didn’t feel. She watched him, smiling as if she had been expecting him. She sat a beer in front of him, leaned over and kissed his cheek. “You can’t stay in that house.”

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Dottie at Tink’s Place has a Monday Morning Flash Fiction challenge that I’m enjoying. Each Monday a new picture prompt will be posted and if you choose to participate you post your story on Friday – 350 words, give or take. This week’s picture was just calling for a horror story, but that’s a genre I tend to avoid.