CHAPTER 10CHRISTMAS SPIRIT
The truth was, there wasn’t much that did spook Ryan. But on occasion, the house sure could.
It wasn’t spooky per se, but it was a rambling 160-year-old former farmhouse, and its age, its echoic spaces, its creaky knotted-pine floorboards, its slanted upstairs hallways, and its oil-craving nineteenth century door hinges gave it the potential for a spectral feel at night, or when occupied alone. To further the effect, the house was surrounded by imposing trees that, on moonlit nights, cast cavorting shadows upon the walls through warped, oversized windows. Certainly, the girls never ventured out of the family room or kitchen without sisterly or canine escort. No matter how creepy it could be, though, the house demonstrated supreme competence in hosting Ryan and
