The Life & Death of Jorja Graham Read online

  As the crowd began to murmur, I explained exactly what they should do and moved to the base of the stairs to grab the basket filled with paper and pencils. “Please take one of each of these and enjoy the tour. The auction will begin back here in an exactly one hour. If you have any questions, please feel free to find me or one of the staff to help you.”

  Everyone began to disperse, taking off in different directions but all chattering about how magnificent the place was and wondering why the house itself wasn’t up for auction. I gave myself an inward hug.

  “You surely did an amazing job with this, Jorja. Are you nervous now that it’s about to begin?” Paxton's thick southern drawl coated the humid air.

  I turned to see him dressed in a three piece ivory suit with a matching cream and black fedora and a black bow tie. I think he relished the idea of coming to the auction dressed like an old southern plantation owner, even though I knew he abhorred anything to do with slavery.

  “This wasn’t supposed to be a costume auction, Paxton.” I teased.

  “No, but this is Rhetta Rhyland and you gotta add a little humor to that don’t-cha think?”

  I laughed and then patted Paxton on the shoulder. “Enjoy the auction.”

  “Oh, I intend to,” he said as he stared over my shoulder. When I turned to see what he was looking at, I saw my aunt Vivian talking with the young couple that had stopped into the shop the other day. “Go get her, Paxton.” I winked.

  He started to walk away but then stopped abruptly. “I almost forgot.” He pulled out an envelope out of his front pocket. “Here are the updated papers for the house. Corbin said you wanted to buy it and not receive it as a gift so he came up with a fair sum.” He beamed at me. “All you need to do now is sign and all this is yours.”

  I reluctantly took the envelope and opened it. As I unfolded the papers, I read down the page to see what price Corbin considered “fair” and shook my head when I finally found it. “He’s kidding right?”

  “Jorja, nothing about that man implies kidding. He said that is his final offer and that there would be no negotiation.”

  “We’ll see about that.” I folded up the papers and thanked Paxton before I moved through the crowd to find Corbin. I found him near the bar, once again flanked by the Flannigan sisters looking thoroughly annoyed. I thought about letting him suffer but decided I’d save him instead. I waved the white envelope. “Do you have a minute? I have a few questions.”

  “For you beautiful, I have a lifetime,” he replied as he stepped away from the two women’s grasp.

  The Flannigan sisters hissed and if looks were daggers, I’d have been dead at least three times over. “Sorry ladies. I have some business concerns to talk over with Mr. Holbrook.”

  “Oh, I bet you do,” one of them mumbled under her breath.

  “We’re all formal again? Even after I’ve made you scream my name in ecstasy?” Corbin replied with a roguish grin.

  I took hold of his hand and led him down the hall and into one of the rooms not included on the tour. “You cannot sell me this house for five dollars.”

  “Yes, I can.” He stepped closer.

  “No, no you…” My words were cut off as his lips crushed against mine, his body enveloping me. We remained locked like that for several moments before Corbin pulled back. “You are not playing fair. I’m trying to have a serious discussion here.”

  “Do you have any idea how maddening it’s been envisioning you in the lingerie that matches those shoes?”

  “Corbin, I’m serious.”

  “I’m sure you are but that is my final offer. Take it or leave it and if you chose the latter, I will let this home sit empty and fall into disrepair until you finally come around.”

  I closed my eyes and sighed. “That's really not fair.”

  “Anything is fair when I’m trying my level best to get you to fall in love with me. You’ve trapped me in your web, Jorja. All I can do is spoil you until you realize how good I am for you.”

  “I don’t need you to spoil me for that, Corbin.” I pulled open one side of his jacket and gently tucked the envelope into the pocket. “We’ll finish this chat later; the auction is about to start.” I kissed him gently on the lips and walked away from him but just as I reached the hall, I turned back to see him watching me. “Oh, and if we’re NOT playing fair, then maybe you should know I’m not wearing any underwear.”

  I quickened my steps and filed in behind two elderly gentlemen who were standing to the left of the podium. Corbin stepped up behind me and growled as he reached for me, the sound startling the two men in front of us. “Do you want me to claim you right here in front of everyone?” He spoke into my hair just above my ear, causing a tingle to run up my spine. I laughed but ignored him.

  “It’s not too late for me to stop this auction, you know,” he said, trying again to elicit a response from me. I held firm; still smiling, still ignoring, and loving that the combination was driving him mad.

  “You’ll pay for this later,” he whispered as he nipped at my ear.

  I finally looked over my shoulder and stared into his eyes, wanting nothing more than to indulge in everything he had in store for me. He too, simply stared, the silence drawing out. He reached for my hand just as a shrill scream came from upstairs. Corbin found Lucas standing on the opposite side of the room and flicked his wrist at him. Within a second, Lucas climbed the stairs, reaching the landing with a thud.

  The crowd stood frozen, making it easy for Corbin and I to navigate our way across the room. By the time we reached the other side, Lucas had appeared on the landing carrying a young woman in his arms, her body limp and lifeless. He shrugged down to Corbin and I turned to face the stunned audience.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, if you can please remain calm…” I no more got the words out of my mouth before chairs began to screech on the wood floor, some toppling to the ground with a thud. People were pushing and shoving one another, screaming that it was Rhetta, her curse to anyone who dared to look, much less buy her belongings. In less than ten minutes, the only people who remained were Corbin and Lucas, my aunts and I, Paxton and the woman who’d passed out. The auction was ruined and I was too shocked to speak.

  The girl finally opened her eyes and stared at us all wide-eyed. “Are you okay, what happened?” I asked.

  Her lip began to quiver and she moved to stand, her legs wobbly beneath her. “I saw them, I saw her…this house…we’re not alone…she’s here.” The rest of her words were just incoherent babble as she ran out the front door.

  I looked over at everyone and then around the room. I bowed my head and then walked upstairs. My aunts called out to me, as well as Corbin, but I ignored them all. This place would need to be cleaned up and my current outfit wasn’t going to cut it. I unlocked the closet, pulled out my duffle and slipped off my shoes. Who knew the legend of Rhetta Rhyland would have come to fruition. No one would ever step foot on this property again and no one would ever touch any of these antiques for fear her “ghost” would get them. This was a disaster and all of my making. Just fucking great.

  c h a p t e r

  FIFTEEN

  The past forty eight hours had been horrific. The chatter and gossip was rampant and there was an overabundance of snide comments, “It was bound to be a failure, I mean really, Rhetta Rhyland?” or “Jorja bit off more than she could chew with this one,” and my personal favorite, “That poor Mr. Holbrook, maybe now he’ll see that she’s not good enough for him, she couldn’t even manage an auction.” That doozy came from the Flannigan sisters, but even so, the sting of it lingered as my mother’s words of inadequacy began to mingle with all that had been said. I tried to ignore it but couldn’t, even Cat’s tongue lashing/pep talk quickly fizzled into a smoldering flame once we hung up.

  I'd tried to think of a viable theory as to why the young woman would’ve passed out, but every time I came up empty. There had to be a logical answer as to why she collapsed, but when I'd tried to find her
to speak with her about it, she was just gone. Was she a plant? Had someone wanted me to fail and knew just how to make it happen? I sighed heavily as I read the morning paper and drank my second cup of coffee. Thankfully today’s headline was focused on the nation’s politics, but when I flipped to section 3f, there was another commentary on the Rhyland Auction and the question everyone wanted the answer to, “What would happen to the house and all the belongings now?" Oh for God’s sake, this is insane.

  I grabbed my phone and texted “Five dollars is unacceptable. 250k? Which I still think is too low.”

  His response came within seconds. “No.”

  Dammit. I huffed. What could I offer that he’d accept? “100k?”

  “Lower.”

  “50k?” Minutes passed and nothing. Was he considering it this time? “Come on Corbin, this is nuts,” I said as I shook my phone.

  The phone buzzed as if on cue. “25k and you have a deal. I’m not happy but I’m certain you can make it up to me. I want to see you.”

  “When?”

  “Open your front door.”

  I shook my head and slid off the bar stool. This man was something else. I swung open the door and he just stared at me, scanning my body as lust filled his eyes. “If you were right outside, why didn’t you say that in the texts?”

  The corner of his mouth tipped up. “Because I wanted you to finish your negotiation and I knew if I were in front of you, it might be harder for both us to be reasonable.”

  He continued to let his eyes roam, stopping to stare at my tank top and low slung pajama bottoms. “Can you please stay focused?” I said as I dragged him inside to close the door.

  He extended his hand and shifted his demeanor into business mode. “Twenty-five thousand and we have a deal. The house and all its belongings are now yours.” I squinted but shook his hand and agreed to his terms. “Was that focused enough?” he teased.

  I nodded and he kissed my hand. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” He pulled me into his arms and kissed me, slow and deliberate, before pulling away. “I have to head back to New Orleans for a bit, but I won’t be gone for long, just a few business deals to handle and then I’ll be back.”

  My throat clenched. I knew Corbin would leave at some point but I hadn’t really thought about it much lately. We’d spent almost every day together; hell, we’d even gone so far as to chat about making plans for a long weekend. Whether it be for him to take me back to New Orleans, or for him to extend his time here in Savannah, but we hadn't confirmed or attached any specific dates to what we'd discussed.

  I shrugged and he pulled me closer. “I know we’ve danced around the topic of what this is between us but I want to clarify a few things.” My body tensed and he paused to kiss me. “I know it scares the hell out of you for us to make sense this soon, but Jorja, I don’t need months or years to recognize what we have.” I bit the inside of my lip––hard, and he smiled. “You are all I need, all I want, so please know that everything I’m doing right now is to secure our future together. You are the one I want by my side.”

  I reached up and grasped the sides of his face and pulled him down to me. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

  He lifted me into his arms and walked up the stairs. “I’ll happily spend the rest of my days explaining why you do if you’ll let me.”

  We’d spent the next few hours with one another before he finally left. I hadn’t realized in his earlier conversation that he meant he’d be leaving today, but by the afternoon, I no longer feared our future, quite the opposite actually. I still wanted to take it slow but I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I didn’t want to be without him.

  Corbin made some calls before he left; one was to Paxton to explain our final agreement for the sale of the estate. Another was to a moving company to make arrangements for them to pack and move anything I wanted over to my new home, and the last was to Lucas, explaining what he wanted handled in detail before they left at dusk. I loved how structured and efficient he was but beyond that, I loved how much he cared for me. He made me feel like I was the only woman in the world. I hated to admit it, but I loved being “his world”…his words, not mine.

  I called Cat after Corbin left but all I got was her voicemail. So I dialed my aunts after I cleaned up my makeshift dinner to tell them the good news, sans the details I planned on telling Cat of course. I wanted to know if they wouldn’t mind coming with me to the house tomorrow to decide what I should move over there. Rhetta’s home was considerably larger and it would definitely take some getting used to. Besides, I loved my townhouse and wasn’t sure I was ready to put it on the market just yet. I felt the need to see how things panned out with Corbin and me over the next few months before I made any rash decisions, there was no need to rush anything.

  My aunts decided to make a day of it at Rhetta’s and completely closed down the shop. In all the planning and renovations, we’d never really had a chance to just tour the grand home without there being a mad rush to get things done. But now that it was mine, we could go through it with a fine tooth comb. I knew right away there were some things I didn’t want and since no one around here would buy them, I made a few calls to some out of town antique shops I knew would be more than happy to take these pieces off my hands.

  Corbin had texted me at least three times before lunch to see how I was and to tell me how much he missed me. I missed him already too, which again was just so out of character for me, but I guess this was what the great poets of the world meant about finding your soul mate…you just knew. Still, it would take some getting used to.

  “Jorja, I think the kitchen is fine. I mean, I am not a fan of the wallpaper but that’s just aesthetic, you can change it whenever.” Vivian remarked as she open and closed the cabinet doors. “But personally, I think you should choose the rooms you’d like to paint and do that before you move in, because removing old wallpaper is a pain in the butt. Besides, I can only imagine what these walls look like under here,” she said as she dusted off her hands.

  “Yeah, you’re probably right. I wouldn’t want to breathe all that centuries old dust either.” I pulled out my phone. “Should I call Julina’s and see if they’re available?”

  “They’re not. They just took on the Masterson estate and will be booked until after the first of the year,” Heddie commented. “Call Yates Interiors instead, they do amazing work. They’re a little more expensive but the father is meticulous about restoration.”

  I frowned. “You think anyone will come out here after all the crap? Maybe I should just do it myself.”

  “I’m sick and tired of hearing this town’s petty bullshit. Not everyone around here is ignorant, Jorja. Just call them. The worst they can say is no,” Heddie snapped.

  Vivian and I just stared at her. Heddie very rarely cursed but whenever she did, she was flaming mad. Neither one of us said anything in response because it was the general consensus among the Graham girls that all the gossip surrounding this house was indeed bullshit. I scrolled through my phone and found the number and dialed. Mr. Yates answered and we talked for about fifteen minutes before we settled on a time for him to come over and give an estimate.

  The bell rang and the three of us looked back and forth at one another. Who could that possibly be? I reluctantly went to the door, expecting a reporter or someone looking to cause trouble but when I opened the door, I sighed. “Paxton, you scared the crap out of us.”

  He chuckled. “My apologies. That was not my plan I can assure you.”

  “Please come in.” I closed the door behind him as he walked into the foyer and took off his hat. “What brings you out here?”

  “Corbin actually.” He smiled. “He asked me to drop by the papers for you to sign but I really think it was his way of having me look in on you. He must’ve reiterated five times that he’d be back to Savannah within the week.”

  Now it was my turn to smile. “I appreciate you taking the time to drive out here, esp
ecially at dusk. I know that entrance can be a bit ominous. I really need to get an electrician out here to add some more lighting.”

  “I agree but I think all that can wait until Corbin returns.” He put his hands in the air when the three women in the room began to glare at him. “Now, now, I am not saying that you cannot handle this on your own, but with all the garbage being spewed about this estate, I think that it would be best for Corbin and that giant of a driver of his to do a bit of intimidating if you know what I mean.”

  Our scowls turned to knowing smiles at his comment. Corbin certainly did have a way with people and I’d yet to see anyone not give Lucas a wide berth when he walked by. “He’d certainly put a plug in the scandal, that’s for sure. They wouldn’t dare pull their crap with him,” I jested.

  “Besides, darlin', you know he’d love nothing more than to help you with whatever projects or renovations you want. Maybe you should just wait until he gets back,” Heddie said as she looked out the front window.

  “Well, now that matter is settled, may I take you beautiful ladies to dinner?” Paxton offered.

  Vivian spoke first. “Oh Paxton, that’s not necessary.”

  “It would be my pleasure though.”

  Heddie and I watched the flirtatious interaction and tried to not laugh, but they were just too cute, pretending as though they were only friends. Vivian tried to appear nonchalant, but her body language spoke volumes.

  “She’d be happy to have supper with you, Paxton,” I interjected.

  “What about you ladies?” Paxton countered.

  Heddie accepted, saying she was starving, but I declined. I still had a few things I wanted to do around here and I wasn’t really hungry or maybe I just wasn’t interested in being out among the masses.

  Vivian and Heddie grabbed their things and walked towards the front door. “Don’t stay here too late, Jorja. Tomorrow’s another day and not everything has to be decided all at once,” Vivian said as she kissed me on the cheek. Heddie winked at me as she tossed her coat over her shoulder.