“I’m sorry,” I said.
“Me too, but it wasn’t your fault, Suzanne.”
I knew that the fact that Jake had been driving when the accident had happened was a constant source of torture for him, and I had realized a long time ago that no matter what the police report said absolving him of any wrongdoing, he would always feel responsible for his late wife’s and his unborn child’s deaths. “It wasn’t yours, either.”
“I know that in my head, but my heart refuses to believe it even now,” he said softly. I glanced over and saw a tear track down his cheek. Why had I had to pursue it when I knew how raw the emotions were inside him?
At that point I knew that anything I said would only make it worse, so I put my hand on his arm and left it there as a reminder that I was there for him, now and forever.
After a few minutes more driving, Jake pointed to a sign saying “Balsam Bluff” that was barely visible off the steep road’s incline. “This is the turnoff,” he said as he quickly wheeled the truck off the highway onto the gravel.
“Your friend needs to get himself a better sign,” I said as Jake had to abruptly brake and pull his truck onto a narrow lane.
“Don’t tell me; tell him,” Jake said as he focused on the dirt road, if you could call it that. To my amazement, the pitch continued to climb toward the sky, and I could see a few small impromptu streams off to the side of the road where they had started to carve grooves into the mountain. We’d gotten quite a bit of rain lately, and there was more was in the forecast. I hoped the road would eventually get better before we arrived, but those aspirations were dashed as it continued to get more and more treacherous the farther up we went.
After what felt like a hefty chunk of forever, we finally topped the road and came out into a large gravel clearing in front of a real showplace. I would have liked more time to take in the scene, but Jake gunned the truck and headed for the parking area, narrowly skirting what appeared to be a rather dramatic drop off on one side. There were four cars already parked near the front of the brand-new home, and Jake maneuvered his truck expertly to join them.
As we got out and started to grab our bags from behind the seat, an older man sporting silver hair, faded blue jeans, and an old bomber jacket rushed out to greet us.
“Jake Bishop, as I live and breathe. It’s been too long,” he said as he embraced my husband. Jake let his bag drop and returned the hug, ever so briefly.
“Killian, it’s good to see you. You haven’t aged a bit.”
“When did you start lying, old friend?” Killian asked with a grin before turning to me. I didn’t have a frame of reference as to whether he’d gotten older or not, but the man looked exhausted, though he tried to hide it. Then again, it must have been grueling building a home on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere, not to mention stressful to boot. “You must be Suzanne,” he said as he took my hand in his. For a second I suspected that he might kiss it, but he pulled up short at the last second and then released it. “It’s an honor to meet you.”
“The honor’s all mine,” I said as I looked around. “I can’t say that I care much for your road or the sign that marks the turnoff, but this place looks amazing!” I stared openly at the structure, overwhelmed by its architecture. The massive building offered all kinds of competing and contrasting angles with walls of glass, wood, and stone everywhere. I wouldn’t have been surprised if it had leapt directly off the pages of Architectural Digest onto the mountain.
Killian laughed. “You were right, Jake. She’s a straight shooter, all right.” Then he turned to me. “The permanent sign has been on order for months, and the gravel trucks couldn’t get up the hill after the rains we’ve been having lately to work on the road. After the construction crews left, I decided to recut the access road. Believe it or not, the pitch was even worse before! That might have been a mistake, but they’ve promised to put down a layer of gravel as soon as these blasted rains let up. Come on folks, let me take you on a tour of the place.”
“It’s kind of you to offer, but we don’t want to take you away from your other guests,” Jake said as Killian tried to wrestle our bags from our hands. He might have been feeling weary, but it was clear that he wasn’t going to let that stop him from playing the perfect host. Jake and I insisted, though, so he graciously, and maybe even a bit gratefully, gave in.
“Everyone gathered here is either a family member wanting something from me or a former business associate trying to force me to go back to the grocery business with my tail between my legs. Sadly for them, they are all going to be out of luck. I’m done with the grocery business, and I’m finished giving handouts to people who aren’t grateful for them.” He reached for our bags a second time, but we again pulled them away.
“We’re more than happy to get our own bags, Killian. Are you going to try to run this place all by yourself? Surely you have someone here to help you,” Jake said to him.
“I have two employees coming tomorrow. There was a misunderstanding on when exactly they were supposed to start work, so there’s nothing I can do about it. For tonight and tomorrow morning, I’m afraid that we’re going to have to make do with my cooking.”
“I’d be happy to make dinner myself,” I volunteered.
Killian shook his head. “Nonsense. You are here as my guests.”
“Well, at least let me be your sous-chef,” I said. “I’m a whiz at cutting and chopping.”
Killian was about to refuse—I could see it in his quick glance at me—when he shrugged and smiled. “Why not? Having some company in the kitchen again would be nice. My wife and I used to cook together all of the time before she passed away.” He turned back to Jake. “You’ve got yourself a winner here, my friend.”
“Don’t I know it,” Jake said as we walked into the home through the grand entrance. The floor was dark rough-textured fieldstone, the walls were stuccoed a cream color in the few places glass didn’t expose the outside world, and the lighting fixtures were all hand-forged iron. What wasn’t stone or glass or iron was deeply polished oak and mahogany. “This place is pretty spectacular,” I said in awe of what it all must of have cost in time and materials.
“I’m glad you like it. Leandra helped me design it.”
“How is your daughter, by the way?” Jake asked him.
“She’s barely holding on, I’m sorry to say,” Killian said, the smile instantly vanishing from his lips. “She wanted to be here to thank you again in person for what you did for us both, but I’m afraid the doctors are insisting that she can’t leave the house anymore.”
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know,” Jake said, his voice faltering.
“We didn’t either, until it was nearly too late. Cancer is an insidious thing, my friend. It killed my mother and my wife, and now it’s got her in its clutches.” He paused for a moment, and then he shrugged. “I hate the thought of losing her, but I’ve had her for more years that I should have, all because of you. I wouldn’t be here right now if she hadn’t insisted that I come up for a few days to get away from everything. When Leandra makes up her mind that something is going to happen, I’ve found it best not to fight the tide.” He turned to me and added, “Suzanne, did you know you were married to a hero?”
“As a matter of fact, I did, but he just told me about what happened with your daughter on the drive up. I’m so sorry, Killian.”
“Thank you,” he said, nodding, though clearly without hearing me. The man was obviously lost in his own thoughts for a moment about what had befallen him, but who could blame him?
“So, do I call you Killian?” I asked him almost as an afterthought. “Is that your first name or your last?”
“You know, it’s been so long since anyone’s called me anything else I swear I don’t remember myself,” he said with a hint of a smile. “Killian will do just fine.”
“Then Killian it is,” I said.
The owner led us upstairs to the first landing that housed several rooms, and then
he opened a massive mahogany door held in place by forged straps of iron. I saw an engraved plaque on the door announcing that we were staying in the Tree Line room, and it was easy to see where it had gotten its name. Killian used an old-fashioned brass key and put it on the dresser as he walked in.
“Here you are,” he said. “This is one of the best rooms in the place.”
I tried to take it all in the moment we followed him inside the spacious room, but the truth was that it left me speechless, which for anyone who knew me was a rare thing indeed. The floors were polished quarter-sawn oak, as were all of the furniture pieces except for a luxurious sofa covered in a rich burgundy material and an easy chair beside it that matched. A massive oak table with live edges sat heavily in front of them both, but they weren’t the most spectacular features of the room. That had to be the massive bank of windows that showed off an incredible view to the mountainous horizon and the land far below. I stepped closer to the glass to get a better look and saw that the back of the building abruptly dropped precipitously down. “Wow, that would be quite a fall,” I said.
“That’s why there aren’t any balconies on the rooms facing this side of the mountain. I fought the building inspectors on it, but that was one battle I lost. They said we’d never be able to build here at all, but you can see that I won the war. Balsam Bluff will be here long after all of us are gone.”
“I can see how the place got its name,” I said. On the drive up we’d seen tons of balsam trees mixed among the rest of the woods, and we were certainly poised on a bluff.
“Sometimes the obvious answer happens to be the best one,” he said with a shrug.
Killian was about to add something when a man burst into our room without knocking. “Uncle K, I need downstairs.”
“Jasper, can’t you see that I’m busy?” he rebuffed his nephew. Jasper was a pale, weak looking man with a nearly nonexistent chin and a fading hairline, though I doubted he was much past thirty. There was a sallowness to his complexion that told me he rarely spent much time in the sunshine.
“It’s Beatrice. She’s threatening to leave again, and this time, I think she means it.”
“We’ll just see about that,” Killian said huffily before turning back to us. “Will you two excuse me?”
“Of course. When do you want to get started on dinner, Chef?” I asked him.
“Give me half an hour and then meet me in the kitchen,” he answered as he headed for the door. “Come on, Jasper. By the way, it’s customary to knock before you enter someone’s room.”
“I didn’t have time for niceties, Uncle K,” Jasper protested.
“There are always time for manners, something you would do well to remember,” he said, scolding his nephew yet again.
And then they were on their way out, but I could swear that I’d caught a momentary look of hatred in Jasper’s eyes toward his uncle when he hadn’t realized that anyone was watching him. With family like that, who needed enemies?
“Can you believe this place?” I asked Jake as I walked around the expansive room after the door was shut again. I couldn’t keep myself from touching things. It all hardly even seemed real. Was it possible that just that morning I’d gotten up and started my day making donuts as usual, and now I was in a mountain retreat that we could never have afforded? It seemed as though it had been weeks since the day had started, not just a handful of hours.
“It doesn’t surprise me one bit,” Jake said as he slumped down onto the couch. “I can’t believe Leandra’s dying, though. Killian’s putting on a brave face, but it must be killing him.”
I sat beside Jake. “Of course the man’s in pain, but he’s right about one thing. If it hadn’t been for you, he would have lost her a long time ago.”
“That’s true enough I suppose, but it’s clear that he’s wrecked about her condition.”
“Should we leave, Jake?” I asked him impulsively. “If our presence here is bringing back bad memories for him, we can be home before midnight if we head out right now.” I wanted to stay at Balsam Bluff more than I could express, but if it was too much for my husband’s friend to take, I’d head home without a single glance back. Where we were really didn’t matter. After all, I’d rather live in a tent with Jake than in a palace without him.
“What? No, of course not. Killian obviously needs us here; that much is clear. It sounds as though his family and his business associates aren’t offering him much comfort.”
“Then we’ll just have to do it ourselves,” I told him. “In the meantime, we have half an hour until I have to start helping out with dinner. Come on. Let’s explore.”
“Is there really much more we need to see in this room?” he asked me. “The bathroom’s through that door, and I’m sure it’s just as spectacular as the rest of the place.”
“I’m talking about the rest of the building and the property itself. I want to look around outside before it gets too dark,” I told him, knowing that this time of year, night came quickly, arriving even faster in the mountains than it did at home. I shuddered slightly before adding, “The truth is that I’m glad we’re not making that drive up or down the mountain at night. Can you imagine?”
“I don’t even want to think about it,” he said. “You’re right, though. Let’s go see what we can see while we still can,” he added as he stood and reached out his hand to pull me up.
“I’m right behind you,” I said as I took it. I grabbed the key off the dresser where Killian had left it and tucked it into my pocket. This was a heavy, substantial thing made of brass that felt more real to me somehow than a normal key. There was a TL engraved on its face, and as I slid it into my pocket I was happy there wasn’t a fob attached to it as well.
Otherwise it might not have been able to fit.
Chapter 3
JAKE STARTED DOWN THE stairs when I heard raised voices below us. “Beatrice, you agreed to stay four days, and I’m holding you to it,” Killian said calmly. There was a hint of anger in his voice, but somehow he managed to keep it mostly in check.
“I don’t care, Uncle K,” Beatrice said. Through the handrails, I saw a lovely young woman with long curly chestnut hair cascading down her back. Even though she was clearly unhappy about being there and scowling quite a bit, her looks were undeniably lovely. “You can keep your money.”
“If you leave, I’ll be forced to do just that,” Killian said. “Are you going to be able to manage the rent on that palace of yours in Nashville without my little gifts?” He asked it with a hint of malice in his voice, and while I’d just seen the jovial side of the man earlier, there was clearly another side to him, perhaps one that didn’t tolerate anyone going against his wishes. I’d seen rich people use their money like clubs before, and I didn’t like it, but I reminded myself that I didn’t know the circumstances behind their arrangement, so it wasn’t my place to judge either one of them.
“Fine, but I’m staying under protest,” she said. I couldn’t believe it but she actually stamped her foot like a petulant little child, though she was clearly just a few years younger than her brother. So far, I hadn’t been all that impressed with the Killian clan I’d met.
“Come on. Let’s sneak upstairs while we can,” I whispered to Jake as Beatrice started in our direction.
“Most likely there’s nothing up there but more rooms,” Jake protested.
“Maybe, maybe not, but we’ll never know if we don’t go see for ourselves,” I told him. I truly did want to explore, but more than that, I didn’t want to meet Beatrice after her confrontation with our host. If we gave her time to settle down, maybe things would be a little more tranquil later.
It was worth a shot anyway.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Jake said as I grabbed his hand and pulled him up the stairs. “I just hope her room isn’t up there. How are we going to explain our presence then?”
“We’re exploring, remember?” I asked him. “That should forgive all sorts of sins.”
“
I didn’t realize you had sinning in mind,” he said with a grin as he followed me up the stairs. “Now you’ve got my attention.”
I started to laugh, but then quickly stifled it. We made our way up the stairs and past another floor of rooms.
I kept going.
“More steps?”
“Come on, it’s a good workout,” I chided him. I really did want to see what was at the top now.
“It’s probably just Killian’s suite,” he said, but it wasn’t. Instead, the staircase opened up onto a large room that was more of a turret in actuality. There were couches and chairs laid out in a square, all of them facing outward. And why wouldn’t they be? From that vantage point you could see amazingly far, even down the so-called road we’d climbed earlier. It was a bird’s-eye view in every direction, and as I glanced up, I saw that there was even a clear skylight on top showing nothing but the clouds above us. It was an amazing spot, and I found myself wishing that it was a guestroom, too, and that we’d been lucky enough to land it. That was just plain greedy, though. This way, everyone on the property who was capable of climbing three flights of stairs could enjoy it. I kept going from window to window, taking in the points of the compass and marveling at what I could see. “This is my favorite part of the entire place,” I told Jake.
“How can you say that if you haven’t seen it all yet?” he asked me with a smile.
“Okay, my favorite so far, then. Come on, let’s see what else there is to see.”
“Can there really be anything more spectacular than this?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” I said as I took his hand again.
“I’m game if you are,” he promised, but as we left the room I found myself glancing back at it one last time. I found myself hoping that a storm would roll in while we were staying there. That scene must be spectacular.
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