The Patchwork House Read Online Free

already moving off by the time we stepped outside to greet the newcomers. They stood in the driveway with their modest-sized luggage at their feet. Derek looked awkward while Chloe beamed with enthusiasm.
    I’d never met Chloe before, just seen her picture online. She was blonde, plain-faced and a little plump. She was so happy to see us it was like we were long lost relatives. She hugged us both tightly and thanked us over and over again for thinking of them and for inviting them to stay with us.
    Derek was more subdued. He was just as skinny as I remembered him, and didn’t seem to have changed much. True there was some grey showing through his brown hair and he carried heavy bags beneath his narrow eyes, but he hadn’t changed as much as I had expected. He seemed in a bit of a daze but he shook my hand and gave Beth a polite kiss on the cheek when I introduced her.
    As we took their bags inside, Chloe could not stop talking. Her positivity was infectious rather than annoying, and for Beth she seemed to rekindle that initial bubbly delight in our surroundings all over again.
    “Oh my God, it is amazing!” Chloe said as we stepped over the threshold.
    “Isn’t it?” Beth said. “It’s like something out of a fairy tale.”
    “This is so much better than Vegas.”
    “I don’t know about that,” I said. I happened to quite like Vegas.
    “Hey look,” said Derek to me as the girls left us trailing behind in the hall. “Thanks for getting me out of the dog house.”
    “No problem, mate, any time.” Already I was starting to sound English again.
    “I thought she was going to murder me when I showed her my passport.”
    “It happens to us all. At least you checked before you got to the airport.”
    “Yeah, could have been worse.”
    “Later I’ll tell you about the time I went to Nepal and left my passport on the plane. That wasn’t a fun day.”
    Derek didn’t seem particularly enthused to hear my story. We tagged along after the girls in silence. I struggled to find something else to say to him.
    I remembered that Derek had always seemed timid and soft spoken. He took time to warm up to people, but we’d known each other for so long it was odd that he seemed so awkward. Still, it was years since we’d seen each other, so maybe he just needed a chance to remember where we left off.
    I found the silence uncomfortable, so I filled it.
    “Hey, what do you think? My dad bought a haunted house.”
    “Pretty sweet. Always dreamed we’d see a real ghost someday. Maybe this is our chance.”
    I’d managed to get a positive response from him, so I pressed on. “We were talking with the groundskeeper earlier. He said there are three ghosts and we’ll likely see at least one of them.”
    “Can’t wait.” He spoke the words, but there was little enthusiasm in them. He gave a polite smile and then the awkwardness returned.
    Beth and Chloe seemed to be getting on far better than Derek and I. They were all smiles and Oh my Gods and isn’t this place just awesome. They returned to the hallway in a gaggle of glee.
    “So Chloe, on a scale from one to ten, how great is it to be away from the kids for a weekend?” I asked, grateful for someone keen to talk to me.
    “You have no idea,” she said. “Oh sweet Jesus it feels good to be free, even for a little while. Although…” She pulled out her mobile phone. “I should really call my mum and see how they’re doing.”
    “Relax, Chloe, they’ll be fine,” said Derek.
    “Shit, there’s no signal here.”
    “That’s okay,” Beth said. “I’m going into the village for food later. You should get a signal there if you want to come with me.”
    “Did you try the telephone?” Chloe asked.
    I said, “Yeah, it doesn’t work, sorry.”
    “Okay. I’m a bit worried that if something happens during the night, mum won’t be able to get hold of me.”
    “I’m sure nothing will happen,” Derek insisted, with a slight edge of frustration to his