The storm ends and I flee the house. That’s right, flee. A house that I’ve crossed two states to reach. A journey that required me to bury my irrational fear of deep water and drive onto a ferry as the only vehicle on this morning’s crossing. This house where I will spend the next several months working alone.

Out here on the headland, my heart rate slowly returns to normal. I sit on the bench, the seat still damp from the earlier downpour and focus on the setting sun. The sky turns gold and pink and indigo as the clouds break up and the forest behind me turns to black.

I should call Bill and let him know that I’ve arrived out here at the End of the World. Bill, the only one to stick it out with me during my darkest hours. No matter how hard I push him away, he waits, determined to save me even when I don’t want him to.

I glance at the phone. No bars.

Apparently, the cell service at the house doesn’t extend out here to the far side of Cameron Lang’s private island.

And what would I say anyway? Hey, Bill, now that I’m here, I’m afraid to be on this chunk of rock sticking up out of the Salish Sea? Tethered to Salish Island by the narrowest of bridges. A bridge reputed to become submerged under the highest of tides, stranding anyone caught on the wrong side?

After Bill’s accident forced him back to the mainland, he’d put my name forward to the multi-millionaire homeowner as the only person capable of completing the job. Finish all the carpentry in a giant mansion designed by an architect who also happens to be the multi-millionaire’s missing wife.

Why did I think this was a good idea? Even with my grief spiraling out of control, I should have said no.

But let’s be honest, there’s nothing else. I’m drowning in debt, I’ve ruined my reputation in a career where word of mouth is everything, and carpentry is the only thing I’ve ever been good at. It’s the one job that might bring me back, and I owe it to Bill to try.

Tomorrow, I’ll rise early and organize my tools, and prioritize my tasks, and start on a project that could end up in Architectural Digest, launching me back into the black. Make my phone ring again. Give me a reason to get up the following day and use my hands to build something wonderful.

Maybe Bill is right, and this place can heal me. Ignore the sensation of being watched, the strange noises, the empty graveyard, the rumors of ghosts. I can do that. I promised Bill I would give this job my best. After all, ghosts aren’t real, and this entire island is empty except for me and my new boss.

And the house waits for me. I can feel it. Waiting. As if it knows that this is the last chance to pull myself up or let events drag me down, like a stone to the bottom of the sea.

I begin my walk back to the house, putting my useless cell in my pocket. And remind myself that there’s nothing out here that can hurt me. Bill’s accident was just that . . . an accident. The missing wife has no relation to me. And the footsteps behind me are just an animal or a bird, something small and harmless.

But I pick up my pace, as I step farther into the dark.

THE HAUNTING OF EMILY GRACE
Genre: Suspense
Release: November 2025
Format: Print, Digital
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

An eerie suspense novel, in which a grieving woman takes a job at an isolated mansion only to become wrapped up in the curse that seems to have befallen its eccentric owner.

Emily Grace has endured the worst loss imaginable. But can she survive a remote manor haunted by more than just memories . . .?

Drowning in grief, Emily Grace has lost everything: her home, her friends, her career. Only one lifeline remains—a job working for an eccentric millionaire. Along with his wife, he’s been building a mansion on a secluded island surrounded by a harsh and unforgiving sea. But when she disappears under mysterious circumstances, Emily Grace is hired to finish the project.

Locals believe the house is cursed, but their warnings go unheeded as Emily Grace works to rebuild her life. After what she’s been through, nothing can scare her—except perhaps the attention of a handsome man offering more than friendship. And yet, there’s something strange about this solitary fortress. Accidents. Mishaps. Ghostly whispers through the surrounding forest, footsteps when she’s completely alone . . .

Is there truly a curse or is the ethereal specter in the window an omen of something more sinister?

About the author
Elena Taylor is the author of the award-winning Sheriff Bet Rivers Mysteries. She also writes the Eddie Shoes Mysteries about a mother/daughter crime fighting duo under the name Elena Hartwell. Her short story Blood is available through Black Cat Magazine, or as a standalone eBook. The Haunting of Emily Grace is her first foray into suspense. When she’s not writing, she can be found working with other writers as a developmental editor for Allegory Editing, or spending time with her hubby and their dogs, cats, and equines at Paradise, just south of Spokane, Washington. For more information, visit www.ElenaTaylorAuthor.com.