Haunted Heritage: Secrets of Covington Corner, #2

By Dani Wade

She'd prepared to be flooded in during the storm, alone…she didn't plan on being stranded in a haunted house with him.

With an antebellum home to protect, Olivia doesn't waste any time in her preparations. She'd promised her employer she would take care of the place while she was in the hospital. No power and no exit route is par for the course this far from town.

But her plans didn't include a sexy PI who seems intent on digging into her employer's every secret. Isolated by rising flood waters, Olivia can't get away from his questions or the heated attraction he evokes. Still she can't shake the feeling he's hiding something.

Will the old trunk in the attic reveal a new kind of storm? Will his investigation into a long lost heir destroy the very love they've both been longing for?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dani Wade
• Release date: Sep 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393436157

Dani Wade

Author Dani Wade started her writing journey in a childhood spent in the rural south where her favorite form of entertainment was imagining herself in the roles of romantic heroines. She now juggles her writing obsession with a patient hubby, two lively kids, and a day job. Life is crazy, but she attempts to navigate the potholes with her trusty To Do List and half a brain. Her contemporary category books are published through Harlequin Desire, and her Independently published sexy romantic suspense can be found at various online retailers. Dani Wade loves to hear from her readers! She can be contacted via e-mail ([e-mail]) or through her website. She also enjoys blogging weekly on her Dani Wade blog. A sign up for her occasional author newsletter can be found on her website. She is active on Facebook and loves for readers to friend both her author page for official news, and her profile page just to chat. She’s also on Twitter as @daniwade1.

Book preview

HAUNTED HERITAGE

SECRETS OF COVINGTON CORNER

DANI WADE

Blurb

She’d prepared to be flood in during the storm, alone…she didn’t plan on being stranded in a haunted house with him.

With an antebellum home to protect, Olivia doesn’t waste any time in her preparations. She’d promised her employer she would take care of the place while she was in the hospital. No power and no exit route is par for the course this far from town.

But her plans didn’t include a sexy PI who seems intent on digging into her employer’s every secret. Isolated by rising flood waters, Olivia can’t get away from his questions or the heated attraction he evokes. Still she can’t shake the feeling he’s hiding something.

Will the old trunk in the attic reveal a new kind of storm? Will his investigation into a long lost heir destroy the very love they’ve both been longing for?

Praise for Secrets of Covington Corner series

I quite enjoyed this introduction to the new series. It has all the angst and atmosphere of a dark Gothic romance with the charm of the modern south locale.

~Goodreads reviewer

The first book in the Secrets of Covington Corner series a well written story that kept me turning pages.

~Goodreads reviewer

Also Available from Dani Wade

Backstage Pass Series

Finding Her Rhythm

Settling the Score

Striking a Chord

Goin’ Out Solo

Small Town Secrets Series

Beneath the Surface

Behind the Scars

Snow Bound

Louisiana Legacies Series

Entangled with the Heiress

Reclaiming His Legacy

Savannah Sisters Series

A Family for the Billionaire

Taming the Billionaire

Son of Scandal

Mill Town Millionaires Series

A Bride’s Tangled Vows

The Blackstone Heir

The Renegade Returns

Expecting His Secret Heir

Other

Reining in the Billionaire

Unbridled Billionaire

His By Design

For more information, join Dani’s

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Copyright

Copyright 2020 Katherine Worsham

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Cover Art Design by Bethany Cagle

Editing by Lea Schafer

Dedication

Creativity itself doesn’t care at all about results – the only thing it craves is the process. ~Elizabeth Gilbert Thank you for taking me on many, many journeys…

Chapter One

Everything’s ready.

Olivia Lanford glanced around the empty room, cataloguing her efforts.

Flashlights—check.

Lanterns—two.

Generator—gassed up.

Firewood—in the boxes to dry out.

Miss Della had taught her to be self-sufficient and prepared. Olivia wouldn’t let her down, even if her employer couldn’t be here right now. Thunder boomed outside, shaking the hundred-year-old house around her. Olivia breathed deep. Everything would be fine. She’d stayed in Miss Della’s house plenty of times during storms. The fact that this was her first time doing it alone shouldn’t make any difference.

The lights blinked; then the room went dark.

You did that on purpose, didn’t you? she asked aloud.

It was as if the house itself heard her thoughts and was determined to prove her wrong. Or maybe it had been Mr. Mason—Miss Della’s long-dead husband. The elderly woman was convinced her husband still inhabited the house, stroking her hair as she went to sleep most nights. The idea kind of freaked Olivia out, but she’d only had to deal with some unexplained slamming doors herself. That she could handle.

She reached out in the dark to turn on one of the lanterns. No sooner did the eerie white-gray light ignite, than the phone on the counter rang. The jangling noise made Olivia jump. As her heart beat in the base of her throat, she gave a little laugh. At least there was no one to witness her jitters.

Hello? she said after clearing her throat.

Hey, girl! It was her friend, Piper. I wanted to check on you.

I should have known you’d be the one to call. In truth, Olivia relaxed a little at hearing her friend’s voice. Anyone would be rattled in this big old house, alone in a thunderstorm. Right?

It’s my day, Piper said with a laugh. We didn’t want to overwhelm you.

Olivia smiled, though her friend couldn’t see it. Her close group of girlfriends had been checking on her since Miss Della had gone to the hospital and she’d been staying here. I appreciate it, though.

Well, we all know what it’s like to be alone.

Olivia swallowed back a surprising surge of emotion. They did. All of them but Cara had lost their families. They’d supported each other through the losses and continued to watch out for each other, including an in-person coffee every Saturday at Covington Corner. The oldest corner to grace the downtown square had seen many changes, but now housed a cute coffee shop and outdoor seating area with a fountain. Perfect for them!

I know the phone can go out at any minute, Piper said, so I’ll keep it short. Since you probably don’t have reception right now, the weatherman is saying the worst of the storm will be overnight and tomorrow early, then steady rain for several days. Watch that bridge. If the phone goes, you could be flooded in without contact for several days. Check in when you can, okay?

I will—

Before Olivia could finish her sentence, the line went dead.

She stared at the receiver for a moment before putting it back on the old rotary base. That was probably her last conversation for days, as it would take a while after the storm was over for repair crews to make it this far from town. The silence settled around her for a short moment before the sounds of the storm crowded in.

Instead of letting her earlier nerves press forward, Olivia went to light the fire in the sitting room and secure the house for the night. The sound of the rain beating against the sides of the antebellum house and tin roof reverberated in her ears even though she was on the ground floor. The lantern created moving shadows on the walls as she went from room to room, never quite reaching the corners.

Olivia had loaded the woodbox earlier, here near the fireplace and on the back porch. Because she’d prepped starter in the fireplace, all she had to do was set a match to it. The days weren’t too cool this far into spring, but the nights could be, especially with the old heating system cut off. Besides, a fire would help her feel warmer…less alone…more settled, maybe?

Twenty minutes later she had a growing fire, warm pajamas, no bra, and her own comfy nest on the sofa. The flickering flames created points of light that shimmered off the fireplace bricks, golden picture frames on the walls, and the edges of the antique furniture. Olivia smiled over her fluffy blanket, hot chocolate, romance novel…everything inside of her relaxed.

She’d only read a couple of paragraphs, just enough to commiserate with the heroine’s bad first impression of the hero when an odd noise caught her attention.

Olivia cocked her head to the side. Was that more thunder? A tree falling?

No.

The repetitiveness of the