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audrey-carr1 · 2 months

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The Heiress and the Lady of the House (part 3)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

A/N: I have been wracking my brain trying to figure out where I want this story to go. I think I have an idea now. I have also decided to switch to first person, I find it way easier to write that way and hopefully you all find it easier to read. I am going to switch over the other parts as well. We even have two new characters to join the fun!

word count: 3k

warnings/tags: fem!reader, original characters, usual shenanigans, mentions of hetty/trevor

End of November- end of month 1

Hetty's been avoiding me. It's been two weeks since we danced and kissed, and she hasn't spoken a word. Now she'll barely look at me, and if she does it's like she sees straight through me. I notice her hang around Trevor more. Whilst at first, I thought it was Hetty being her usual cryptic self, I notice that her touches on him linger more than she usually does. Recently, thought I saw Trevor checking her out. Yet again it’s Trevor he checks every girl within the Woodstone property line out, so I’m not sure I can look into that entirely.

“What is wrong, you have long face like horse,” Thor asks.

“Oh nothing, just silly girl stuff,” I say

“Would you like to talk about it? Thor really good at listening and giving advice. If you have enemy, I show you how to crush skull. Very easy,”

“She’s not having enemy trouble, she’s having love trouble.” Sass interrupts

“Shush!” I say hoping he lowers his voice.

“Am I wrong?” Sass says with a know-it-all all smirk.

My lack of answer causes his smirk to grow into a smile.

“I appreciate the concern, but I feel like I should talk to Het-” I catch myself, “I should talk to the person who is giving me a long face before I go sharing my feelings,”

“Nice save,” Sass says before leaving with Thor. I groan inwardly.

I don’t have much time in the day to talk to Hetty as I'm constantly tied up with guests. The upcoming holidays have brought a larger amount than what I had initially thought, so I feel like I’m being pulled in hundreds of directions. I barely have time to spend with the ghosts, let alone any time to myself. Thankfully Sam and Jay had the insight to allow me to hire a little holiday help. A couple of friends from university have been wanting to meet up with each other, so I offered them seasonal positions. It’s like killing two birds with one stone. Before they arrive, I sit the ghosts down to tell them of the upcoming changes.

“Everyone I want to let you know that I will have a couple of friends helping me to keep this place running. They do know that I can see ghosts, and they as of recently know about you. They will only be here until after the New Year, then it’ll be just us all over again,” I explain, “My friend Nadine is going to stay with me in my room while my friend Riley will be staying at my house. This way we don’t lose any rooms, and I do not have to have any shenanigans from trying to bunk you people up. Nadine is a chef, so she’ll help me with the cooking. Riley is my jack of all trades so he’ll do anything I ask.”

The ghosts nod their heads in agreement and simply go about to milling around as they usually do.

“y/n can we help with decorations? Now that we have you around, we can help get the house all festive since we can touch things!” Flower suggests.

“I love it! That’s a great idea Flower!” I say.

“What is?” Flower questions

Oh, Flower. “Alright, I should have expected that,” I say before going off to the basement.

Soon the ghosts and I begin to bring out the holiday decorations. Instead of putting up a commercial tree, Thor and I went out to the forest to cut down a pine on the property and brought it back to the house. Pete and Trevor string the lights while Flower begins to sort through the ornaments under the guidance of Sass. Alberta and Isaac string together the popcorn garland, and Hetty oversees the entire operation.

“Aren’t you going to help Hetty?” Isaac asks

“As Lady of the House, I am helping! By supervising,” Hetty says nose slightly in the air

The front door chimes before a familiar voice yells out “Hello!”

I gasp, quickly leaving my post at the popcorn bowl to go to the lobby.

“Nadine! Riley!” I practically squeal.

I first run to Nadine, we exchange kisses on the cheek before embracing in a hug. Then I go to Riley who picks me up and spins me with ease.

“Oh, it’s been too long!” He says squeezing me in his arms.

“Alright, you can put me down, stronghold,” I laugh as he places me back down on my feet. As he puts me down, I happen to look in the direction of the room I just left. I see the ghosts peering their heads around the corner like children before quickly going back into the room. The only one who does not move positions and stands in full view is Hetty with an unreadable expression. I assume it’s Hetty being curious, and I shoot her a wink before I take Nadine and Riley into the kitchen.

“How have you been since graduation?” Nadine asks while she and Riley sit at the table

“The same, honestly just trying to find my place in the world. Now that I’ve become a heiress, I feel as if I’ve been operating on autopilot,” I reply. I grab a snack tray from the fridge before making my way to them

“Yeah, how come you never knew your grandmother was super loaded?” Riley questions before popping a grape in his mouth.

“Honestly, we never talked about it. She always made sure I knew the importance of hard work probably so when I became an heiress I wouldn’t act like an entitled one. My parents said they saved for me to go to any school I chose. The money I received from their death went to an account I only used to pay for my car and rent. Now I work to keep myself busy, and this isn’t bad gig. I have 8 forms of entertainment plus guests to keep me busy ” I say

“Speaking of 8 forms of entertainment, what about that ghost you said was cute,” Nadine asks.

“Can you keep your voice down? They’re dead, but they hear everything. They would never let me live that down if they found out,” I say feeling a blush on my cheeks.

“Have you told them how you can see them yet?” Riley asks.

“I haven’t spoken to anyone about it, besides my two trusted friends,” I say referring to them.

“They don’t ask questions?” Nadine questions

“Oh they are plenty curious, but I tend to avoid the subject as much as I can. We just figured out that I can do more than see them. Anything I touch, they can also touch,” I tell them.

“Oh, so they can eat and drink now?” Riley asks now sitting up in his seat.

“Not necessarily. We tried that, and it ended with a lot of food ending up on the floor,” I say remembering the memory of Sass trying to eat pizza and failing miserably.

“I guess you can say it goes straight through them,” Riley says knocking his head back in laughter. Nadine and I look at each other and roll our eyes.

“Oh come on guys, that was funny!” Riley says trying to get us on his side.

“Sure it was,” Nadine mocks.

“But back to before, how is it exactly that you can see them? We know that you had that drowning incident, but that doesn’t really explain how you can see them,”

“Well, it’s not like exactly read up on it. I just know that I had a near-death experience, and I guess since I was in between two worlds, I can see both sides,”

“Yeah, but you’re saying only the ghosts have powers. Your boss Sam sees ghosts, but she doesn’t have a power,”

“She was only clinically dead for 3 minutes. I had a full-blown Meredith Grey incident, and I was dead for a while,” I say.

“Well “Meredith Grey” maybe a part of you is still trapped on the other side, you never fully returned,” Nadine says

“I don’t know Nadine, like I said I don’t really read up on it. I just accepted that it happened. In fact this is the longest I’ve talked about the incident outside of therapy,”

“Sorry, we don’t mean to push,” Riley says putting his hand on mine

“No, I understand, I would be curious too,” I say turning my hand over and giving her hand a squeeze.

“Are any of them in the room now?” Nadine asks looking around for a sign of them

“No, in fact, I don’t hear them either. Let me check that they haven’t fallen in some hole or have been ghost-napped again,”

“Again?” Riley asks.

“Long story,” I say getting up from the table.

I turn the corner exiting to be met with 6 guilty faces. It’s like watching children getting their hands caught in the cookie jar.

“Oh, this is the kitchen guys, not the living room. Onward men…and women,” Isaac says as they hurriedly leave.

“I thought we were going to the kitchen to eavesdrop on the living to see if we could get any hot gossip,” Flower says before Alberta drags her along with the rest of the group.

“They were eavesdropping weren’t they?” Nadine asks.

“Oh most definitely,” I say chuckling to myself.

“Were they all there?” Riley asks.

“Most of them, Trevor and Hetty were missing, but they tend to go off a lot more often as of late,” I reply walking back to the table.

Riley and Nadine share a quick look before quickly returning their gaze to me.

“How about I give y’all a tour?” I ask.

Beginning of December - month 2

I turn the corner to go towards the lobby, and I almost trip over a left-out decorations box. Before I fall to the floor, Riley is there to catch me. Thor was right, I really need to watch my step around here.

“Watch it, Princess, would hate to break the merchandise,” Riley laughs as he steadies me on my feet.

“Oh, you two get a room already!” Nadine teases from the top of the stairs having seen the scene from the top of the stairs. She descends the stairs and goes out the front door. No doubt going on her morning run.

“Oh my knight in shining armor, you couldn’t afford me if you tried. I’m quite expensive with the most expensive tastes,” I tease back.

“Oh you wish,” Riley says picking the box and taking it to the basement.

I roll my eyes. “Oh, I most definitely do. I’d take a night with those muscles any day,” I say before he’s out of earshot. I turn back to my task, and I see Hetty.

“Hey Hetty,” I say giving her a smile.

“What is the relationship between you and this Riley?” Hetty asks looking me in my eyes.

“Um friendly? I guess,” I say raising an eyebrow in confusion.

“You guess?” Hetty’s eyebrow also raises in question. I try not to focus on the warm feeling I get when she looks at me like that.

“Riley and I are just friends, and we have been since my freshman year of university,” I tell her.

“So you recently saying you "wouldn’t mind a night with those muscles" meant nothing? ” Hetty questions

“Meant nothing,” I assure Hetty.

Hetty purses her lips, pondering my answer. She lets out a “hmph” before going on her way.

“Hetty?” I ask before she leaves completely

“Sorry, I have to meet with Trevor,” Hetty says without missing a beat

“Oh, I was going to ask if you wanted to go for a walk. The guests don’t check in for another couple of hours and-” I begin.

“Sorry dear, I simply must go,” Hetty says before trotting off.

I try to ignore the burn in my throat. I shake my head at the feeling of loss and jealousy.

I try to keep my mind focused on the guests and running the B&B as efficiently as I can. “No use crying over spilled milk,” I tell myself.

Riley, Nadine, and I work quite well together. Riley is a great fit at the front desk charming the guests as they check in. Nadine has been a great help in the kitchen, she always seems to know exactly what it is that I need. I dip my tasting spoon into a new pasta sauce recipe I’ve been wanting to try.

“How does it taste?” Nadine asks

“It’s fine, I think I’m missing something,” I say.

“Here let me taste,” Nadine says. I hand her the tasting spoon.

“Taste like you need just a pinch more garlic and maybe a dash more of the red wine,” Nadine says handing the spoon back to me

I do as she suggests, and I moan in delight as I taste the now-perfected sauce.

“Oh this should be bottled,” I say.

“The heiress is going to start a sauce company? What will Ragu do?” Nadine laughs as she finishes dipping the dessert fruit in chocolate.

“You want some of the leftover chocolate?” Nadine asks dipping her finger into the bowl.

“Is the sky blue?” I ask turning my sauce off and putting it off the heat. I wash my hands and also dip my finger in the bowl. As I bring my finger to my mouth, a bit of chocolate falls on my chest. Before I can get to it, Nadine has reaches her finger over to grab the missed chocolate and brings it to her mouth.

Hetty enters the kitchen at the exact moment Nadine's finger swipes the chocolate from my chest and to her lips.

“Oh I see we just let everyone eat off of each other,” Hetty says in annoyance before exiting the kitchen. “She might as well just lick it off you the next time,”

“Nadine, excuse me for a moment. Ghost duty calls,” I excuse myself placing the dish towel in my hand on the counter.

“Oh yeah, of course, I’m going to finish putting up the small decorations if you don’t mind,” Nadine says untying her apron.

“No you go ahead, I’ll finish in the kitchen once I’m done,” I say leaving the kitchen to catch up with Hetty.

“Save me some chocolate!” Riley calls from the lobby.

I find Hetty upstairs living room.

“Hetty, what is going on? Your temper with me seems to be at a short fuse,”

“It has not,” Hetty says avoiding my gaze.

I hear Riley call for me, and I wish he had better timing.

“You might want to go see what your muscled desk boy wants,” Hetty says.

I nearly scream in annoyance and frustration, but I decide not to.

“This conversation is not over,” I say before I storm past Alberta heading down the stairs. Alberta heads into the living room with Hetty and blocks Hetty from exiting.

“Hetty what is going on?” Alberta asks

“I haven’t the slightest idea of what you’re talking about,” Hetty says

“You are driving that girl up a wall, and not in a good way,”

“I have not. I have been simply-” Hetty begins.

“Ignoring her,” Isaac says cutting Hetty off as he enters the room.

“Oh great another gossip,” Hetty says as she sits on the couch,” Please tell me what my other grievances are.”

“Hetty we are worried about you. When she first got here, you were so excited to have as you said “another woman of high status” to join you. Then you walked around like the cat who got the cream once you finally kissed her,”

“I did not,” Hetty says fidgeting with her hands.

“You most certainly did!” Alberta laughs, “ She must be some kisser because it was almost as if you sat on the washing machine again.

Hetty blushes at the memory, she hates her how her friends can see through her facade.

“Hetty what is it that makes you act like this?” Isaac says sitting next to Hetty

“That’s the issue, Isaac. I do not know! I haven’t felt like this since I tried to run off with that painter,”

It dawns on Isaac,” Hetty do you know what it means?”

“Obviously not,” Hetty says waiting for Isaac to enlighten her.

“Hetty, you two were practically inseparable. The two of you were practically finishing each other’s sentences, going on walks, and having movie dates,”

“Oh remember when you told me that you enjoyed how the sun made her eyes sparkle on your walks,” Alberta chimes in.

“Remember that one time, we caught them cuddled up watching Bodices and Barons?” Isaac adds.

“Oh, how could I forget they looked so cute! (y/n) draped over Hetty with Hetty’s arms possesively wrapped around her,” Alberta says.

“The both of you are absolutely incorrigible,” Hetty says in defeat.

“And you’re blushing and in love!” Isaac says kicking his feet in the air.

“I most absolutely am not,” Hetty says snatching her hands away.

“Hetty and (y/n) sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G,” Alberta begins to sing.

Hetty simply puts her face in her hands. Hetty was so out of sorts even her mannerisms were becoming too unladylike for her. Hetty decides it’s time to grab the bull by the horns.

“If you two are done acting so childly, I am going to go and find and talk to (y/n),” Hetty says rising from the couch. She blames the butterflies in her stomach on the sudden change of posture rather than nerves.

“Finally! Have fun and don’t come back until you look like you’ve had fun with the washer,” Alberta calls. This sends Isaac and Hetty in a fit of laughter.

Hetty leaves the room and goes to enter your bedroom. Hetty begins to debate on whether she should enter or not, and then on a whim decides to enter the room. Upon entry, she has to fight to keep down a gasp as she watches Nadine kiss you. She quickly leaves the room and feels the butterflies in her stomach turn to lead.

#hetty woodstone x reader #cbs ghosts #hettyxreader #hetty woodstone #isaac higgintoot #sassapis being sassy #flower being flower #alberta is here for the laughs

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