Kelpie Boyfriend: Ciaran (special preview)

Your grandfather was a secretive man, had been all his life. He often vanished for days at a time, sometimes months, only to return with some sort of fortune on his hip. He used to have all sorts of stories for how he came up with the money, but no one ever believed him. It was just the belief of the family he was a gambler and wouldn’t come home without the jackpot.

So when he died it was kind of a shock, everyone had figured he would always die during one of his trips and never come home. But he died at home, in his bed. People came out of the woodwork then, and not in the good way. Lots of relatives who had written him off showed up, hoping for a piece of his jackpot. You and your brother were worried about this, but you knew the will was ironclad, your grandfather had made sure of that after your grandmother died. What he did with his will was the only concerning thing.

To your surprise, your grandfather left everything to you and your brother. He left each one of his properties, which you had no idea about, as well as sharing his savings right down the middle. You were glad your new place was out of the way, because already the relatives were beginning to swarm. So you and your brother left one night, heading to your property which your grandfather called the Loch House.

The place was hidden, going down an overgrown road to get to it, which turned into rough dirt. The Loch House was built on stilts near the water’s edge. There was even a marker for where to park the car so the water from the late never reached it. The Loch House looked nice, but it was evident the place needed repairs and remodeling. It looked like your grandfather only ever used the place to fish from the porch.

Your brother decided he should go see his property as well, just in case. If it needed work, he wanted to get started on it now. He helped you to get started on renovations and a few days after meeting with the crew, he left to go to his new place. You’d not lived alone since you and your brother moved in together to help take care of your grandfather, so it was a bit strange being in the place alone.

You started cleaning and going through the house. Everything was so out of date and you had brought only the bare necessities with you. Luckily, with the money your grandfather left you, you had made a giant online order for decorating. You packed up things into boxes and began taking them down to your car. You were already cursing the stairs, but all this up and down was making it worse.

Sitting down on the bottom stair, you take a breather before you have to go up again. You sigh heavily, looking out over the lake that stretches before your house. That’s when you see him, a tall gangly fellow, slightly slouched, with long dark hair, looking up at the house, nearly hidden by one of the beams. Jumping up in alarm, you prepare yourself to run upstairs.

“Hello?” Your voice squeaks.

The man turns, looking pale and exhausted. He tilts his head to the side. “Hello?”

You swallow and take another step up. “Are you one of the contractors?”

He looks around, blinking slowly. His hair looks very wavy and shiny, falling off his shoulder into clumps of joined curls. “Nah, I live nearby.”

You take another step going up. “Wasn’t aware there were neighbors nearby.”

He yawns, covering his wide open mouth with his long, lanky hand. “Close enough. It’s been a while since someone was here.” He scratches at his cheek. “Got curious was all.”

You still felt nervous about this stranger on your property. “Well I am kind of busy. Maybe we can talk more another time.”

He looks up at you and the sun catches his eyes, making them sparkle bright green. “Do you know Stanley?” He asks.

You stop from moving up and look back at the gangly man. “Yeah,” you say in surprise. “He was my grandfather. How did you know him?”

“Was?” He turns more towards you. “That’s not good. What happened?”

“Passed away,” you say simply. “So how did you know him?”

The gangly man sighs and puts his hands into his pockets. He has poor posture, slouching as if he’s too tall for the world. “Knew him when I was young. Sometimes he let me spend my summers here when my family was too-” He drifts off, looking out towards the water. “Well, I kept the place safe for him anyways while he was away. It’s been a while since I last heard from him.”