You Shouldn't Have Done That

Eva's dream to own a bed & breakfast is finally coming true when she finds the perfect manor in Maine. But as she attempts to start the repairs on the old manor, she begins to realize that sometimes those things that go bump in the night are actually real.

Now, with the help of her hunky new friend, Jakob, Eva must unlock the mystery behind the manor before the dolls manage to reclaim what's theirs.

Eva had to beat her time. It was her last chance before her marathon this weekend. She checked her phone for the timer and frowned at the new text message. Strange.
She’d just gotten her new number that morning. She shook her head and shoved her phone back in the pocket of her leggings. There’d be time to deal with that after she shaved another thirty seconds off her time.

Two more hills and then the rest would be on a slope back to her car. She could do this. As long as her lungs didn’t give out on her first. Eva coughed and picked up her pace. It wasn’t a good time to get a cold. This lame rainy weather wasn’t
helping anything.

The first hill wasn’t too bad, and Eva grinned as she reached the top. Her legs burned, but otherwise she was fine. A good sign that she was getting in better shape all the time.

It was at the next hill that Eva’s foot slipped on the slick blacktop. Eva held out her hands to catch herself, but managed to keep her balance. She drew a deep breath of relief and froze as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Movement caught her eye, and she squinted into the darkening woods next to the
road.

She didn’t move—couldn’t move. She was sure something had been there. Small, but quick enough that it seemed unnatural. Part of her wanted to go check it out. After all, it could have been an animal in trouble. But her fear stopped her,
begging Eva to run away as fast as she could.

Breathe.
In. Out. Everything was fine. She was just being paranoid.

Once the feeling had subsided, Eva checked her phone one more time and took off running. She was off on her time, never mind whatever had distracted her. Ammon would be
ticked if she didn’t shave off the time. He’d been hesitant to let her join his team. She was short, which meant her legs had to do twice the work.

Darkness came quickly as Eva headed down the slope and adrenaline kicked in, sending her
into a sprint. She hated the feeling that something was out there in the dark. It was a feeling that plagued her even as a child. She was always sure there was someone behind her. Of course, it was never the case, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t happen at some point.

The fear pushed in on her and Eva gasped for air by the time she reached her beater car and climbed inside. Stretching could wait until she was home. There was no way
she was going to spend one more minute out in the open.

It took a second for her car to start, but it was just enough to help catch her breath. The fear hadn’t quite left her, but at least she wouldn’t hyperventilate on the
way home. The crunching of the gravel under her tires seemed louder than normal as she peeled out of the parking lot. She turned her music up full blast and forced herself to sing along.

Relief washed over Eva as she made it into the small Maine town that was now her home. She’d fallen in love with it as soon as she’d arrived. The brochure she’d received in the mail about this place hadn’t done it justice. The perfect coffee shop, diner, and adorable city center had sold her on the decision to
move the moment she stepped into town.

Right out of a story book. Those were the words that had been used in the brochure. And like most stories, Eva had a feeling there was more to this little place than what she could see on the surface.

Eva pulled off the main road and cringed as she hit the pothole filled with rainwater. Didn’t matter how many times she reminded herself, she always hit it. Her muddy car and dented bumper were enough to attest to that.

She still found herself counting the houses as she went. She told herself it was habit, but Eva had to admit it was in anticipation of seeing her new
house. Muñeco Manor from what the site had said. She couldn’t find much
else on it, but the pictures were enough to fall in love with.

No matter how many times Eva pulled into the driveway of the old mansion, she couldn’t help the thrill of excitement that ran through her. This was hers. And as soon as she fixed the leaky roof, holes in the walls, and faded wallpaper, it would be just perfect for the mini bed and breakfast she had planned for it.

Then she could hang up her realty license and do something she’d been dreaming of her whole life. It was the reason she’d gone into real estate in the first place. Finding the diamonds in the rough meant she had first dibs on the home that spoke to her. And this one seemed to say her name.

“Eva . . .”

She froze. She hadn’t meant it literally . . .  Eva shoved the key into the lock and twisted, cursing as it refused to unlock. Not again. The house seemed to have a mind of
its own sometimes.

“Come on. You worked this morning.”

The key turned and the door opened as if it had never stuck. Eva rushed inside and slammed the door shut.

Eva . . .

No. She was imagining things It had to have just been the wind. No one else was out
there, and she hadn’t met most of her neighbors yet. The lights flickered for a moment before
coming on. That was something else to fix. The knob-and-tube wiring hadn’t been redone since it was built the late 1800s, which meant it would cost a fortune to update it. As soon as she got the check for her last home sale, she’d hire someone. No need to fix the walls until they knew what repairing the electrical
would entail. Perhaps she should have had them do the repairs before she’d moved there . . .

But then who would have packed up what was left behind?

The architecture was beautiful, and she was definitely going to keep the furniture. It was in surprisingly good shape for how old it was. And the grandfather clock. Her mom would have drooled over it.

 The rest, however . . . She glanced to where
the boxes sat in the corner. They were covered in cloth until she could get
them sent to the local shelter. Hopefully the girls who stayed there would like the dolls in those five boxes.

Eva shuddered.

Normally she liked dolls. She had her own collection at home. But it was the way they were lined up on the shelves in several of the bedrooms that was just plain creepy. It was most likely the faulty lighting in the house, but she could have sworn the dolls watched her every move.

They were the first thing she packed up. She just hoped the shelter wouldn’t be surprised by mice in one of the dolls or something. Each one had been inspected, but late at night she could swear she heard scratchings coming from that corner.

“Get a grip, Eva.” She shook her head. Maybe she shouldn’t go running at night anymore. Her imagination was bad enough as it was.

She made herself a grilled cheese sandwich and poured a glass of milk before turning out the lights to go to bed. It took a second to rearrange the plate and glass in her hand so she could get her phone out, but the bright light of its flashlight was refreshing.