The young man stared at the crap-hole that was to be his home. He frowned at the thought that this was a step up from what he was used to, however, the thought that he would no longer have to live the life of a drifter brought a smile to his face. Jack Winter had lived a hard life, one that thought him that to get ahead, he would have to drag somebody else down. Dragging somebody else down was not his intentions, however if it happened then so be it.

Jack entered the shack and frowned again when he realized that it was crawling with ghosts. “Boo!” The blue ghost shouted behind him, the spirit was taken aback when the young man turned and gave him a very bored look.“Boo? Are you serious? Look Casper, let’s get something straight here, this is my house now and it will be in your best interest if you would behave yourself. Just give me a couple days and I’ll be out of your hair.”

“See,” Jack continued, “I intend to get married, to a very rich lady.” Jack grinned. “It wouldn’t be long before she joins you though, I do not intend to spend the rest of my life attached to a woman, but her house and her car I have no issues with.”

The confused ghost watched as the new resident strode away. Scratching the back of his head he turned to the ghost sitting on the couch.

“We’ve already lived our lives, we should not get involved.” The female specter warned.

Jack marched up to the door and rung the doorbell with purpose, while he waited for the door to be opened he admired the large house and fancy car as if they were already his possessions. Agnes Crumplebottom. He had read that the already rich woman had married an equally rich man who was met with a spell of bad luck on his honeymoon. Jack knew that new widow on the rebound was his ticket off the streets. He acted quickly, traveling to Sunset Valley and finding a place to stay, and he refused to wait another day before meeting his future wife.

“Who are you?” The blond woman questioned as she walked up to her front door.

Jack paused for a moment, his heart thudded heavily against his ribcage. The black and white photo in the newspaper did not do the woman justice. He took in her shapely figure, her shiny lovely blond hair and those eyes which seem to look into his soul. Jack shook his head, no, he could not fall in love with her, she was just a meal ticket.

“I’m Jack Winter.”“Oh.” The woman gave him a curious look. “Come in then.” She invited, men had been showing up on her doorstep since her husband died and she wanted nothing to do with them. This one, she had all intentions of making him miserable until he ran away screaming, just like all the others.

As it turns out, this silver haired young man was different, Agnes had never laughed so hard in her life, he had his charm turned all the way up, his words were as sweet as honey and she ate them up. Jack told her that he liked to party and went on and on about the wedding party he intended to have once they were married. It was clear to Agnes that this one knew what he wanted and wouldn’t rest until he got it. Presistent, she liked that.

That night Jack dreamt about the house that would soon be his, he would finally live like a king and the white mansion would be his palace.

He dreaded the wedding though, he had commitment issues, committing himself to his mission was one thing, the payout in the end would be worth it, committing himself to a woman was another, they were unpredictable, demanding and downright crazy, three things Jack did not want to deal with.

The next morning found Jack holding a plate of burnt waffles. Jack prayed that Agnes could cook, that alone would be motivation to keep her around a bit longer. He started jumping ahead of himself again, considering the lovely little housewife he would turn the woman into. She would cook and clean and make sure he was comfortable, she would know her place and would respect him. Yes, perfect.

Later that day they met up at the beach for a date and again Jack tried to charm the panties off the woman. He was amused to find that she hung on to his every word and blushed bright red, he had her right where he wanted her. Or so he thought until he leant in for a kiss and she backed away, her face immediately showing her disgust.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” He said and grabbed her hands. “I’m moving too fast, it’s just…you’re so beautiful Agnes, I couldn’t help myself. I’ve never met a woman who moved me the way you do. I…I think I’m in love with you.”

Flattered Agnes gave his hands a squeeze. “No, it’s fine. I just…my husband…”

“I understand.” Jack said, perfectly masking his impatience.

Agnes pulled him in for a hug and hoped that he couldn’t hear her heart hammering inside her chest. She melted in his embrace, admitting to herself that although she didn’t even know him, she was head over heels in love with him. “I have to go now, but I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Jack smiled, “Of course.”

When Agnes left Jack sat down in front of the chess table. It was exactly the game he was playing except the most precious piece of the game was Agnes’ heart. He knew that he was very close to check-mate, he just had to continue moving his pieces correctly, this involved not being too pushy, he decided that it was time for him to sit back and allow Agnes to begin making the moves.

Two months later Jack sat in his small house, hopefully this would be the last time he called it home. He patted his pocket and felt the ring box and couldn’t help but smile. Things had progressed well with Agnes, he knew that his gave was nearly won, once she was legally bounded to him she would be his.

After a fun filled day with Agnes, Jack decided it was now or never, he dropped to one knee and opened the box, Agnes gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Jack proceeded to say a bunch of mushy things he knew he didn’t mean and ended it with, “Agnes Crumplebottom, will you do me the honor of being my wife, right now?”

“Right now?” Agnes questioned, if she’d been looking up she would have seen the anger flash in Jack’s eyes, but she was too preoccupied with the ring. She couldn’t believe she was going to do this again, and so soon. But she head herself screaming, “Yes! Yes! Jack Winter, right this instant!”

For Jack, the ring couldn’t slide onto Agnes’ finger fast enough. Jack’s hand trembled the entire time, eagerness almost made him mess up at the most crucial moment, it would have been awful if he had come this close to his goal and lost it.

Immediately following her quick ceremony, Agnes invited her sister over and made the big announcement. To say that Cornelia was shocked would be an understatement. “Married? To who?” Cornelia asked and peeked out of the kitchen at the man sitting in the living room. “Who the hell is he? Aggie, I can’t believe you did this, of all the irresponsible…” The older Crumplebottom woman took a deep breath. “How long have you even known him?”

When Agnes confessed that she’d only known Jack three months and started going on about how in love they were, Cornelia went off on her chastising her for marrying a man she didn’t even know.

The argument soon moved to the living room, each sister trying to scream louder than the other. Agnes downed her sister’s perfect life, telling Cornelia that she would never understand the pain of loneliness and heartbreak. Cornelia said that if anything happened to her younger sister, she would certainly learn all about heartbreak. Agnes demanded to know what her sister was suggesting of her new husband, screamed that Cornelia was just jealous despite how childish and stupid it sounded and then told her sister to leave.

A long, uneasy silence fell over the room. Cornelia stared at Agnes, Agnes looked away, staring at her new husband, the man she loved. Cornelia took a look at the man too, memorizing every detail of him in case he broke her sister’s heart and she had to hunt him down.

“I wish you two a happy life together.” Cornelia said without emotion and shouted for her husband who was upstairs at the chess table.

The man had heard the heated exchange from where he sat, those two never argued. On his way to the door he took a look at the cause of the argument, Jack Winter. The man’s icy blue eyes made him shudder as if he were standing naked in heavy snow. He decided that maybe it would be best for him to find out everything he could about Jack Winter.