Harkham's Corner (Harkham's Series Book 3) Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  More Works

  Coming Soon

  Author Bio

  HARKHAM’S CORNER

  Third and final book in the Harkham’s Series

  Chanse Lowell

  Copyright © December 2014 by Chanse Lowell

  This work is copyrighted. All rights are reserved. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior written permission of the author.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with others, purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and you did not purchase it or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  CONTENT WARNING — This story contains scenes of an explicit, erotic nature which included sexual acts such as rimming, oral sex and masturbatory activities, and is intended for adults 18+.

  Cover illustration by Mayhem Cover Creations © 2014

  Acknowledgments

  Edited by: Marti Lynch

  Prereaders: Sarra Benaissa, Angela Bohr, Analiz De Jesus Lopez, Peggy Dewachter, Lisa Hoeppner, Nance Leathead, Connie Lema, Tricia Lockwood-Smith, Tanya Manning, F.S. Meurinne, Anya Smith and Andi Roane-Wiley

  Chapter 1

  Three years later . . .

  “Adam, piano latte,” he heard.

  His eyes flew open.

  “I hate how spongy my head feels after you hypnotize me,” he complained.

  “You’ll be glad we had another one of these sessions when I tell you what I learned this time,” Dr. Harkham said. She rubbed her hands together like they were cold.

  “Tell me before I fall over,” he said, his tone short. His head throbbed.

  “Okay, but I know your dad wants to see you before you go,” she replied.

  He rubbed at his temples. It usually helped to relieve some of the pressure.

  “So, here’s what you said—I had to go really deep into your memories.” She took a deep breath. “Your sweet tooth?”

  He nodded, ready to hear more.

  “It seems it developed because in your biological father’s quest to mellow you out, he put a lot of the drugs in soda, so you couldn’t taste it. And your mom bribed you to be good with donuts, cookies and candy bars. Samara—I think she could tell something wasn’t right because when you had the sweets your mom was giving you, it triggered a reaction from when you were a kid. Instead of calming down, you became really hyper. You also said it was the only time your mom would let you sit on her lap and she’d hold you for a long time to quiet you down and get you to stop being so energetic.”

  He groaned and rubbed harder at the sides of his head. “So sugar wasn’t making me have ADHD like Sam thought?”

  “No. It was only when your mom gave it to you. You talked about how you’ve had all of those sugary foods since you’ve met Mari, and when she gave it to you, it was fine.” Amelia smiled. Her hands linked together.

  He sighed. “I feel really drained, but this is good to know.” He stood up and dragged his way over to her for a hug.

  Amelia held him tight, told him she was proud of him for being so open today, but he felt silly.

  He never felt like he could control it, but Amelia said it was similar to how some people could control their own dreams.

  It was amazing to think people could do that—in fact, he was married to somebody that could.

  Amelia taught Mari the principles so she could get rid of the nightmares.

  It worked seventy percent of the time.

  “Thanks, Amelia,” he said, and she walked him out of her makeshift office.

  When was his dad going to finish converting it for her?

  And when where they going to get married?

  He hadn’t even asked her yet.

  It was unfair in some ways—Adam knew they were having sex without being married, but his father had forbid him to do that with Mari three years ago.

  Well, those days were over.

  He had sex every day unless she was ill. They both needed the constant touch.

  Choppy had a little dog cushion at the foot of their bed so she wouldn’t interrupt them when they were being intimate. That’s how important sex was to Adam.

  “Your dad’s in the garage, working on his BMW,” she told him, leaving him at the door.

  “Okay, great,” Adam said.

  He opened the door, leaving Amelia behind. Knowing her, she’d have sandwiches, chips and drinks ready for all of them in the next few minutes.

  “Hey, little one, time to go inside,” his dad said to the little girl with curly auburn hair sitting in the car.

  “She being your helper?” Adam asked. His dad shut the hood of the car, grabbed some hand cleaner, then wiped his hands on the towel he had nearby.

  The little girl bumped along on her diapered bottom to his dad. “Bopbop, up, up!”

  His dad picked her up and kissed the top of her head as she grabbed at his goatee.

  Amelia made him grow it out because she was tired of whisker burn.

  “Is Mopmop making us lunch?” his dad asked her, his voice higher than usual.

  “I’m sure she is, but she didn’t say for certain,” Adam answered. “She told me I had to see you before I leave. What’s going on?”

  “Oh, not much. There’s an opening in my office, is all. I know you’re not nearly done with your studies, but I told them you—”

  “No thanks, Dad. I’m not going to do that to Mari. I need to focus only on school and home life so I can get it done as soon as possible. She’s gonna start her student teaching soon.” Adam watched the little girl pat Bopbop’s cheeks.

  His dad beamed at her.

  “Won’t Mopmop get mad if you get car oil on the princess’s outfit? I’m sure she bought it at some boutique.” Adam chuckled and settled his hands on his hips. It was fun watching them together.

  “She won’t notice. When this little one’s around, it’s like nothing else exists,” his dad replied.

  “If you say so.” Adam opened the door to the house and waited for his father and the little one to go through first.

  “Oh, you two. Always expecting me to feed you,” Amelia said when they walked into the kitchen. His dad handed her the little girl, and he headed over to the sink, then washed his hands.

  “Dustin, she’s filthy. I just got her this outfit,” she complained.

  “Yeah, and probably two others in different colors exactly like it,” he said, smirking.

  She smacked his arm and laughed. “Yeah—yellow and green. So what?”

  “So? It’s not your job to spoil her worse than anybody else,” his dad teased.

  He rinsed and dried his hands, then took the little girl back in his arms.

  “How’s Mari doing?”

  “Good. She’s sick of
school and feeling so yucky, but it’ll be over soon.”

  “Well, it’s your fault. You never give her a break. Pace yourself, Adam—pace,” his dad said, bending his knees and bouncing a little for the little one’s enjoyment.

  The little girl smiled, and her face lit up from the movement.

  “It has nothing to do with pacing and all to do with good genes,” Adam replied.

  He took the sandwich and ate it as fast as he could so he wouldn’t have to share his food with the little curly-haired girl. She was a two-and-a-half-year-old bottomless pit. Mari said it was a miracle there was enough food in any one house to keep her happy.

  He agreed.

  “Is it almost naptime?” his dad asked. The little one yawned and rubbed her eyes with her fists.

  “Yeah, it is,” Amelia answered.

  “Okay, I’ll hurry up and go,” Adam said.

  She yawned again, this time really loud.

  He shoved a few chips in his mouth and drank them down fast with a Sprite.

  “Bye, sweet one,” Adam said, hugging the little girl and kissing her forehead. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”

  The little girl was half out of it, so she barely whimpered and blinked.

  “Bye,” his dad whispered to him and rocked her the rest of the way to sleep.

  Adam snuck out the door, careful to keep quiet so she wouldn’t wake up.

  * * *

  Adam stepped into his favorite class of all—the one he didn’t really need but refused to give up.

  World Literature was interesting, and it broadened his horizons—or so he was told that was what it would do.

  A brilliant smile flashed at him as a hand patted his seat.

  “How was she?” Mari’s sweet voice asked.

  Kisses first, answers later.

  He pulled her into his arms as close as he could get.

  “She was great. No tears this time,” he said.

  “When did you say you’d pick her up?” She pulled out her phone and checked it. This was a nervous habit she’d developed over the last several months.

  “I didn’t, but they know we’ll be back for dinner,” he answered.

  He pulled her phone out of her hand, set it on the desk in front of them and held her hand. “She’ll be fine. She was good last time.”

  “Yeah, but the time before that it took me an hour to calm her down after we got home. I can’t keep doing that to our little girl.” Mari rubbed her slightly bulging belly. “And when this one comes, she’s going to flip out. Megan can’t even stand it when I hold Zach’s little nugget.”

  Adam winced. He never called his niece, Jill, or his daughter that. It was best to avoid all things related to Samara. After he stopped using that nickname for his little sister, he preferred no one use it at all.

  Plus, Lorraine didn’t like it either—though Zach seemed to ignore it every time Lorraine rolled her eyes when he said it in reference to their daughter.

  Zach and Lorraine’s marriage was good, even though they seemed to fight a lot. And they doted on their child endlessly.

  Adam would never understand why they argued so much. He and Mari rarely fought about anything. He loved her too much to see her angry or upset.

  “That’s because she doesn’t see her every day.” He caressed the outside of her hand with his thumb. “It’ll be different when it’s a sibling around Megan.”

  “I worry about her all the time when we’re here.” Mari sighed, changing the subject. She sat stiff in her chair.

  “You know I’ll go straight back there after class if you want me to.” He smiled at his beautiful wife.

  “Yeah, that would be . . . Thank you,” she said, relaxing into her chair.

  He squeezed her hand. “Sure. She missed me, too, you know.”

  “I know she does, but you get to do the bulk of your classes online and be home with her most of the day. I’m jealous—I wanna be with Meg all day, too.” She fanned herself with her free hand. Mari was always hot now.

  “Don’t even talk about dropping your classes again. You’re almost done. And when this baby comes, you’ll be done with student teaching, and you’ll get to be the one to stay home with them.” He hesitated to share this next part with her, but he had to be truthful. “My dad offered me a job in his office today.”

  “He did?” Her voice went up with her eyes.

  “Yeah, but I turned him down. I need to be there for you and Meg. The timing’s all wrong,” he answered. A pit settled in his gut. They needed the money really bad. Their one-bedroom apartment was cramped. It was time they moved into a bigger place, but they lacked the funds.

  “Oh, okay,” she said, eyes half-closed like she was tired of all of this.

  “But if you want me to, then I will—I’ll tell him I’ve changed my mind,” he offered.

  “Well, is it part-time?” She shifted in her seat.

  “I didn’t ask.”

  She exhaled slowly, and her chest puffed out. “You know what—never mind. You’ve gotta get done with school.”

  “I shoulda never taken on a double major—music and medicine don’t mix well.” He tried to look away from her face, but she was still so damn gorgeous, even when she was exhausted like today.

  “They mix well when you’re brilliant.” She crossed an ankle over her other leg.

  He placed a hand on her belly and received a kick in return. “Was he keeping you up all night with his kicking?”

  “He’s got music in his veins. I think he’s a drummer,” she mused.

  He rubbed her belly and kissed it.

  The professor began the lecture, but Adam ignored it. He kissed his wife on the neck, let go of her hand and ran his fingers up her thigh.

  Choppy wagged her tail from under Mari’s seat. Adam had been rude, ignoring his pal.

  But Mari sounded unwell this morning.

  “What’s really going on, sweetie?” he whispered in her ear. “Why are you so sad?”

  “Tomorrow’s our annual visit to their graves,” she said, swiping a tear out of her right eye.

  “You don’t have to go. I’ll take Choppy with me,” he said. “Besides, Dad will be with me, and Lorraine never goes, so no one will think badly of you for not attending.”

  “It’s just so sad, you know? Why’d they do it? Why’d they commit suicide?”

  He shook his head. “Maybe they thought things would be easier, and they could find a way to be together? It didn’t seem to work much for them here.”

  “Yeah . . . You’re right,” she said.

  “I know I am.” He gave her a brilliant smile, because he was feeling particularly numberlicious today. That’s what she called it when he was particularly smart without the numbers.

  He hadn’t seen the numbers since Megan got really sick one time, and he lost it when she was unresponsive. It looked like she’d lost her soul—it scared him to death.

  Other than that, he never worried about it anymore.

  Oh, yeah, and at their funeral two years ago—he saw the numbers then, but it was minor, and they didn’t take over.

  “Decide tomorrow, ‘kay? You’ll know better tomorrow if you can handle it or not,” he said.

  She gripped his hand and laid it in her lap. “Just don’t let go—not right now.”

  “I won’t—ever.”

  It was easy to promise, because he rarely did let go, even when he was holding their little one.

  * * *

  “She’s sleeping—let’s be fast,” Mari whispered in the car.

  Adam nodded.

  “I’ll stay inside the car with her. You don’t need me,” Zach said.

  They both nodded and left.

  The cemetery seemed almost completely empty.

  “Do you think we’ll ever see them again?” Mari asked.

  “I don’t know—and I don’t know if I’d want to even if I could,” he answered. “I was glad when they left, but sometimes I wish maybe things could’ve been different
.”

  His dad and Amelia exited their car.

  “The only thing I understood about them was that they knew they were soul mates. I know that feeling.” Mari rested her head on his shoulder as they walked quickly.

  “It’s family day,” his dad said. “You’re coming over after, right? Amelia prepared a huge dinner.”

  “Because Zach’s coming, not because of—” Adam stopped talking abruptly.

  “Stop joking about how much I eat,” Mari teased, chuckling.

  “I wasn’t talking about you, I was talking about how we need to have a lot of choices for their picky grandkids,” Adam answered. “Let’s get this over with.” He halted in front of the first gravestone.

  “Little nugget,” his dad said, tears in his eyes.

  “Yeah.” Adam’s eyes watered.

  “Tell me once more . . . Do you think we’ll ever see your parents again?” Mari asked, changing the subject.

  “I doubt it. After I hit him at the funeral two years ago when he asked how I was doing, he probably understands I’m really done with them in every way.” Adam swung his foot and kicked at the grass below him.

  “Not even with us having their grandkids?” Mari asked.

  “Why? I already feel like I have too many parents between your mom and Amelia, and . . . My head hurts,” he said, squinting. The sun seemed really bright today. “I’m glad we didn’t bring Meg to the funeral. He would’ve seen her as a baby and I would’ve been even more upset with him if he’d said she looked like him or something like that.”

  “If I had my dad back in my life, I might’ve found a way to have him around in a limited way. I never thought I’d ever think that, but with children of our own, it kind of hurts to not have that option.” Her left hand rested on top of her belly.

  He inhaled and tucked that air into his diaphragm. Breathing was painful when his heart hurt like this.

  She was always right. He needed to think about this carefully.

  They all said a few words next to Samara’s headstone, then walked over a few markers to find Daniel’s.

  “I have no idea how they found the money to pay somebody in jail, and in that institution, to kill them at the same, exact moment,” Mari whispered, leaning into Adam.