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  OUT AT THE INN

  A Novel by K’Anne Meinel

  Kindle Edition

  Published by:

  Shadoe Publishing for

  K’Anne Meinel on Kindle

  Copyright © K’Anne Meinel January 2014

  OUT AT THE INN

  Kindle Edition License Notes:

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  K’Anne Meinel is available for comments at [email protected] as well as on Facebook, her blog @ http://kannemeinel.wordpress.com/ or on Twitter @ kannemeinelaim.com, or on her website @ www.kannemeinel.com if you would like to follow her to find out about stories and book’s releases or check with

  www. ShadoePublishing.com or http://ShadoePublishing.wordpress.com/.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Leah probably would never have seen the staircase if it wasn’t for D.O.G. and Speck playing around on the beach among the rocks that had fallen from the cliffs over the years. She had hiked this stretch of beach dozens of times in the past but had never noticed the nearly hidden staircase leading up the cliffs. Looking at what they were avidly sniffing at she wondered if they had found some more sea grass or crabs or something dead like a fish, she wrinkled her nose in distaste at the thought as they snuffled around at the cliff base and she looked up in astonishment. As she examined it she realized how expertly it fitted into the various nooks and crannies of the cliff, effectively camouflaging it against the stone, she wondered where it led. It had to be pretty old by the weathering she saw on the wood that was left but then anything left exposed to the elements on a beach weathered quickly. She realized the last ten feet or so had been washed away, probably from high tide, surf, or the many storms that hit this section of the coast. In fact none of the staircase should be here she thought as she examined it and yet she realized the builder had taken advantage of the natural overhang of the cliff to protect and hide it, using the natural stone whenever possible and unless you knew it was there it wouldn’t be found. She found it clever, and intriguing.

  It was the intriguing part that had her hesitating. No one knew she was here except for the dogs. She wanted to climb up and find where the staircase led to. That meant the possibility of danger. It also meant hauling the dogs up the side of a cliff on a staircase that who knew was how old or creaky, stable, or dangerous. She sighed. She hated having to think it out, she was more of a spur of the moment kind of gal and she wanted to explore where this led. It was a path she hadn’t known was there and she wanted to see where it led. The child in her, the adventurer, was very captivated.

  She sighed again and just then D.O.G, pronounced deeooogee showed up to see where she was. He spotted her staring up at the climb between the bottom of the stairs and the beach where they had been walking. Speck saw D.O.G. locating their human and trotted over to see what was interesting them both so much, not wanting to be left out. They watched their human to see what new adventure they would be participating in soon, and they knew they would be participating, Leah never left them out. Whether it was a walk on the beach, they were always up for that, or a ride in her Jeep with the top down, they were partners in crime. They obeyed her of course but she wasn’t too bossy a human to cohabitate with and they loved her dearly. Both of the dogs could see the stairway but didn’t think too much of it, it was a human thing and why it was ten feet off the ground didn’t make sense to their canine brains but then humans could be confusing.

  Leah knew she couldn’t resist. Even though she didn’t have climbing tools, even though she didn’t have any gear other than her sweat shirt jacket, jeans, and sports shoes, she was going to make that climb, and find where these steps led. Something was compelling her to do it. Something was telling her that this was a path she had to follow. Gear and safety be damned! It wouldn’t be the first time and she was certain it wouldn’t be the last time either. It was her day off and she had been enjoying it with her two fur kids, this path had come into her otherwise complacent life for a reason, and who was she to ignore it? Besides she wasn’t sure she could find it again. She examined the crumbling rock from the cliff face and realized a path she could climb to the steps with relatively minor discomfort, she also realized that the two dogs would probably follow her and be able to climb the same path just as well which would alleviate the lifting of two full grown and heavy beasts.

  Taking a deep breath, a delighted one at the challenge, she began to walk towards the crumbling stones and decide where to put her feet as she began to ascend towards the staircase. Slowly she moved forward and upward as she made her way, both dogs were delighted in this new and different adventure that their human had decided on, they didn’t care where they were going, they were going to go together and that was what mattered. D.O.G. in his usual exuberant and indomitable way attempted to get ahead of the group and climb but found his way blocked by stones too high to climb easily, he had to turn back. Speck laughed at him in his own canine way with his tongue hanging out and his tail wagging, in canine language he was saying ‘see you should have waited for our human to show the way, you fool!’ and laughed joyously to see his partner in crime getting stuck and having to return.

  Leah slowly made her way up, it had really crumbled here and the footfalls were many, so were the chances of slipping off a rock and breaking her ankle or worse, her leg. She managed to get to the bottom stair but found it would be better to climb a little more and take the next one, the last one must have been from a set and was ready to fall to the beach at any moment. Once on the stairway though she found it to be sturdily built and the handrail was part of the cliff as well as interspersed with thick sturdy wood. Who would have built this and why? She began to climb the stairs with two dogs that had made the climb with her trotting up and passing her to see what they could find before her and in competition with each other. They were soon up the next flight and the next before her. She called, “No fair, you have four paws and I only have two!” Both dogs glanced back to see if she was calling them back but as she continued to carefully climb the steps towards them and check her footing she ignored them and they turned as one and continued their ascent.

  Leah looked back and could clearly see the stairwell leading down to the beach, she could also see why it had been hidden from the beach the way it wound into the cliff face as a part of the rock and not on the outside of it, whoever the builder had been they had been genius in their use of mother nature. In fact periodically she could swear there was some sort of planter’s boxes or what she assumed were planter’s boxes since there was nothing in them but debris and most were rotted clean away. She really admired it until her foot went through one of the steps and brought her mind back to the present and the fact that she was climbing this ancient thing and should really pay attention. Who knew how old this thing was or whether it really did go the whole way up, she might find another ten foot section missing when she got to the top of this thing. She wasn’t looking forward to that idea but the staircase continued and she was pleasantly surprised when it came out by some low boulders on the top of the cliff that were weather worn but sturdy.

  She looked around; the dogs were sniffing out some bushes and trees, making their marks. She was surprised at how profuse the foliage was, normally this section of the coast was beaten down by the storms and the winds and then she realized it had all been planted, not a lot of native vegetation was growing here. It was all very
overgrown though, of that she could see. It was sadly neglected too. She called the dogs to her thinking that there were probably rattlesnakes or tarantula’s in that mess and she didn’t want to walk alone through it as they explored, she and the dogs would be in it together this way. And they would explore it, she was too intrigued to find out what this planted mess was hiding.

  She realized that there had been some type of lawn under these trees at one time and that the bushes, some of them in flower, were not native to the Central Coast. They all needed massive trimming and she became more intrigued when she found no set path to follow as they explored.

  She was getting irritated by the high grasses and low branches and imagining spiders and snakes around every bush and tree, she had decided to head back when she spied among the foliage the outline of a house. She wracked her brain to remember what house was situated along this section of the coast and couldn’t for the life of her remember any such house, this was a long stretch of nothing that had stood here for thousands of years with nobody but cows, sheep, or whatever grazing on it. To find this little oasis of overgrown abundance had been a surprise but the house that stood hidden among this jungle was astonishing… and interesting.

  Leah looked at it, it was dark and dreary and nearly hidden with vines, trees, and branches covering it as mother nature attempted to take it back to the Earth. Someone had built a fine house of native stones and then left it. That alone fascinated her romantic heart. Something was niggling at the back of her mind as she took it all in but she suppressed it as she gazed in wonder at the three story edifice before her. It was pretty large but the warm climate and the unchecked growth of the trees, bushes, and grasses had taken over. She could see where a couple of branches had broken in windows on the second and possibly the third floors. Slowly she made her way up small hills and around the house. She could see only slightly inside, the windows were filthy with time, dust, and debris. It only captivated her further. The dogs were enjoying themselves immensely snuffling in the leaves and grasses that had accumulated for who knew how long. Leah still looked around wondering if they would see any wildlife and hoped that no spiders or snakes were about. When the dogs scared up a couple of birds it frightened the hell out of her and she jumped. The house and it’s eerily quiet foreboding presence was giving her the hee bee jee bees.

  When she got around to the front of the large house and it seemed to take forever she was pleasantly surprised to find it looked like something out of the Walton’s with its wide welcoming porch that spanned the entire front. The wood was aged and its patina beautiful, the native stone against the house complimented the two different materials giving the front porch a cool, come and sit look. The huge windows had a wonderful view of what must have been a delightful and unique view of the Santa Lucia Mountains. Now it was just as overgrown as the backyard and she couldn’t see the upper stories at all from the growth. Leah could see where a circular driveway had once stood and she wondered when this place had been built and why it was abandoned. Off to one side she could see what was a large carriage house or barn; she couldn’t be sure which with all the rich growth hiding it from view. She turned back to the house and wondered if she should go in. Something inside of her was encouraging her to do so. Logically she knew she was trespassing, but the something was pushing her to look more, to see more, to explore and she hadn’t seen any signs warning her away from the property, perhaps they were out front, wherever that was along this stretch of the coast. She glanced up at the sky, having to look practically straight up to see the position of the sun, she knew she had plenty of daylight left but she didn’t have a flashlight and didn’t want to stay too late and the thought of using those steps in the dark did not appeal at all.

  Still, she was compelled to go on. Wicker furniture stood all over the front porch, as though waiting for someone to come and sit. Something had nested in one of the chairs; in fact several of the chairs as the padding had been pulled out and used. The dogs came to investigate and preceded her up the stone stairs to the wide porch. Both of them snuffled the nests they came across thoroughly. Leah put her head up to the window and cupping her hand above her face tried to see in. Faintly she could see into the dark rooms but there was too much grime on the windows and many of them on this level had shutters firmly closed. She tried and failed on each of the wide overly large windows. She hesitated and then tried the great front double set of doors but they were firmly locked. From the dust and blown leaves and things it had been a very long time since anyone had been here. It only stirred her imagination even more as she tried and failed repeatedly to look inside.

  It was on the far side of the house in what must be a pantry that she found a window that had been broken by a falling branch. The branch was pretty decent sized and still lodged halfway into the window with its other end resting on the ground. Leah tugged on it but it was very heavy and barely moved. She climbed it carefully much to the amusement of her canines and then they became alarmed when they realized she might be going someplace without them. Slowly she crawled up the leaning branch and could see slightly in the window but the branch was too large and filled the window, she couldn’t get by, there wasn’t enough room to squeeze in but she could see in, it was a small room which fortunately had a door that was firmly shut because apparently this room had been used by a generation of rodents of some kind or perhaps raccoons because a lot of debris had been hauled or blown in. It was a mess from what little she could see. D.O.G. attempted to balance on the leaning branch to join her and she ordered him down, he looked crushed but obeyed. She hopped down from her perch and realized she could have broken something very easily and she was pretty far from civilization.

  She looked around the entire house but found no loose window, open shutter, or unlocked door. She cursed whoever was keeping her from the place and then laughed; it was the whole point of a locked house wasn’t it to keep intruders out? It was a terrific looking house and she was intrigued. She wondered idly if it was for sale and then laughed at herself again. It was obviously abandoned but by whom?

  She made her way over to what proved to be an enormous carriage house, this was unlocked and she was able to swing wide the doors. She could see actual carriages inside, a bit dusty but still in their element. She was surprised to see a tarped car as well and pulling off part of it she recognized an old Model A or something of that sort, she had no idea, just appreciated the look of the antique. It was a burgundy colored model and the tarp had kept it very clean, she replaced it carefully. Looking around she could see the same well-built appearance of the house put into this carriage house. More wood had been used on it but the native stone in each of the corners as though a chimney had been built to hold it all together. It was beautiful and she appreciated it. It was also dusty and getting late so she reluctantly called off the interested and nosy dogs and closed it back up firmly leaving it as she had found it.

  Walking down what must have been a beautifully tended driveway at some point she came out of the jungle abruptly to see where a stream had cut across the drive and gradually over time had cut into the dirt and rock cutting off the drive from the rest of the long track that she could faintly see led towards the mountains. It was completely dry now. In between the drive and the mountains of course was Pacific Coast Highway which she could see must be beyond another mini jungle at the end of this drive. People must have noticed it from P.C.H. over the years but probably assumed this large field was held for cattle or something as those on the hills were. She looked around curiously wondering if she herself could spot it from the highway and probably had driven by here on her way to various hiking spots up in Big Sur over the years and never noticed it.

  The dogs looked like they wanted to cross the creek so she turned back to the jungle and made her way back to the house pushing aside branches along the track as well as ducking when necessary. She looked at the house a long time watching as the dogs pounced in their eternal hunt for whatever, she suspected a mouse at
this moment but didn’t worry about those in her excitement over discovering this abandoned house. Slowly she made her way back to the steps down the cliff, it seemed a very long time since she had discovered them with the dogs, more than the mere hours she had been up here, rather days and weeks. She felt like she had discovered more than an abandoned house, she felt like she had found something but it still niggled at the back of her mind and wouldn’t become a coherent thought.

  Carefully she made her way down the steep steps envying the dogs and their four legs at this moment. It was steep but well-made and she could see the workmanship that had gone into the making of this hidden staircase as well as the stairwell itself, some of it was carved out of the actual cliff stone, it showed incredible craftsmanship. It made her wonder why no one else had seen it but then she remembered how well hidden it actually was. Even she who knew where it was had a hard time seeing it again once she was on the beach. She carefully looked around memorizing where it was and trying to remember the rock formations where they had found it. She had a feeling it was like that movie called Brigadoon with Gene Kelly or something and it would all be gone tomorrow when the mists cleared, it only appeared once every 100 years or so.

  As Leah made her way back down the beach she felt kind of buoyant, almost as though she was floating on air and she wasn’t sure exactly why. She thought about the abandoned house over and over again and decided that since tomorrow was Sunday she would get an early start and try to find it from the highway. She made her way back to the Jeep, remembering at the last moment to put both dogs on their leads and pretend they had been on them their entire walk. As they walked up to where she had parked her Jeep on this windswept and remote part of the beach she saw no one around but it never paid to push the rules too much so she kept the dogs on their leads. Both of them heeled perfectly.