Brian approached the staircase. “So what about each floor. Wouldn’t you have to divide them up somehow?”
“I could do that. Maybe create a hallway on each level and have three or four rooms apiece. I might even keep it that way, until I come up with a creative way to use the space.”
They climbed up to the first floor and Ashley pointed at the trap door toward the front of the barn. “We could do something fun with that. Have a trampoline below.”
“For safety’s sake we might have to pad down the door and edges. That’s another thing. We’d probably have to get a liability insurance quote. Something like that wouldn’t be covered as a homeowner.”
“I didn’t even think about that.”
“We should do that first, to make sure it’s feasible and run it by Danielle.”
“I agree,” Ashley answered as they made their way down the wide staircase.
“That doesn’t happen very often,” Brian murmured.
“Yes, I know,” she admitted. “Just don’t get used to it.”
Brian laughed softly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
“Ready to turn in?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah,” she answered, looking down at the ground as Spook mysteriously appeared from somewhere in the shadows. “Hi there, Spook. Did you find any mice?”
“Meeow,” he answered, sounding disagreeable.
“I guess not,” Brian observed as they made their way out from the barn.
Since they’d parked their trucks inside earlier, Ashley slid the barn door closed and the three of them headed toward the house.
Chapter Twenty
They developed a routine during the next few weeks. They’d leave for work at the same time, and Brian would work in his office during the morning through early afternoon and meet Ashley for lunch, where they would discuss the upcoming festival, of which the plans had been approved.
In his own office, Brian would make cold calls to local businesses and schedule appointments to try and get as many owners on board with approving paid advertising for the festival as well as hosting one of the pivotal locations for scavenger hunt participants. Ashley and Brian also scheduled lunch meetings at local restaurants to take care of business at the same time.
Although there’d been too many fingerprints found in Brian’s office and apartment to be of much use to Jake Loughlin, he was having all of them run through his data base anyway just to be able to rule certain people out. They probably didn’t even have the actual fingerprints belonging to whoever had broken in, Jake had said, because more than likely the culprit had been smart enough to wear gloves.
The bugs discovered in the office were easily available for purchase at retailers carrying computers as well as numerous places online. The most useful piece of information discovered about the bugs is that whoever was listening would have to be located within a half mile radius. Of course, since they were voice activated, all conversations were more than likely being recorded.
Although they communicated daily via email, Brian had kept his distance from Jeff Barton since running into him at the grocery store, because after getting to know each other again, apparently he and Michelle were becoming serious quickly. Jeff had admitted he’d never stopped loving her, but Michelle’s experience after leaving Crystal Rock had been rather traumatic.
According to Jake, she had yet to be told that her father had not committed suicide. In fact, Jeff and his parents had never been told either.
But Michelle had a surprise planned for Jeff and the entire community was going to participate. Jeff had moved into the house that he was helping her restore for the benefit of the state historical society. It was hard to believe that Jeff, who’d originally intended on going to college and getting a business degree, had ended up as an assistant architect and an expert on historical restorations.
But apparently, Jeff was into growing things too, and had started to rebuild the working greenhouse which had once been part of Michelle’s grandparent’s family business. Michelle’s lawyer had been able to locate some of the trust fund which had been stolen from her by her mother, and instead of using those funds for restoring the house, she would finish rebuilding the greenhouse instead.
But not just for Jeff’s benefit. Michelle had taken a job as a working assistant for the children at Crystal Visions and had decided she wanted two greenhouses constructed on the property. The old greenhouse would be available to provide therapy for the mentally and physically disabled children from the school and could become a source of potential funding for the school if the greenhouse became reestablished – they could grow seasonal plants and decorate Christmas greens to sell. A smaller greenhouse was being built near the house for Jeff and Michelle’s personal use.
But with the help of Jeff’s family, Michelle had tricked Jeff into following her to Boston, where she was signing some paperwork for her lawyer. Michelle was planning on asking Jeff to move in with her, according to Ashley, who was also communicating with Michelle via email. Michelle would keep Jeff away during the week, so when they came home, she would be able to surprise him with the greenhouse, along with a new patio, porch, and landscaping, with pathways that were even wheelchair accessible for the kids.
Even Danielle Loughlin would be pitching in with the work, since as a successful landscape design company owner, Danielle had actually come up with the plans for Michelle.
Brian was amazed by Ashley’s expertise with power tools. He could barely wield a hammer himself, so watching her take charge of rebuilding the deck for the porch – well it was sexy as hell watching her slink around in those skinny jeans with the tool belt slung low on her waist.
Brian frowned, watching Wade Davis making a pass at Ashley as he assisted her with the decking. He was her boss at the Dragonfly Pointe Inn, and Brian had never liked him very much, even back in high school. True, part of the reason was because it had been obvious that Wade had a thing for Ashley, but there was something off about the guy.
Jake Loughlin did extensive background checks before hiring his employees, so Brian figured he had trouble liking Wade because he was jealous.
He shrugged it off, returning to work with the pavers they were using to create the walkways.
A few hours later, they were ready to quit for the day. He and Ashley would return in a couple days when Michelle came home with Jeff from Boston and revealed the surprise, and then there would be a big party and open house the following day, not only for everyone who had helped make the plan possible, but for the kids from Crystal Visions who would be participating in the new vocational program.
When Ashley approached, Brian looked her over from head to toe.
She paused, looking down. “What?”
“You look really hot wearing that tool belt,” he answered, waggling his brows.
“Is that all you ever think about?” Her reply was belied by her smugness as she elbowed him in the ribs.
He didn’t care how many people were around when he pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately.
She looked slightly dazed when they drew apart, and Brian grinned.
But then Brian suddenly noticed the look on Wade Davis’ face, as he stood near the back porch watching them.
It was probably stupid, but Brian suddenly felt a sense of unease, because the only word he could think of to describe Wade’s expression was diabolical.
“What’s next do you think with the haunted house?” she asked, not noticing Wade’s stare.
“Paint. Debbie gave me a list of the colors she needed,” Brian answered.
“Why don’t we stop after work tomorrow, and while we’re at it, we can buy paint for the basement? Have I ever shown you what I’ve been doing down there?”
“I can’t believe I’ve never even been down there since I moved in. What are you planning to do with it?”
“I’ve thought about renting it out.”
Brian frowned. He didn’t like the idea of that at all, especially if A
shley was willing to let him move in permanently.
That was his plan, anyway.
“How about we talk about that on the way home?”
She gave him a side glance. “Alright.”
Within a half hour, they were on their way back to the house, which was only about a fifteen-minute drive, even though Jeff and Michelle’s place was on Crystal Rock Lake.
“Ashley. You know this relationship is serious on my end?” He gave her a quick reproving stare, before turning his attention back on the road.
“I do.”
Frustrated, Brian groaned. “Is that all you have to say?”
Surprisingly, she laughed. “I’m serious too. What is this about?”
Brian felt like banging his head against the steering wheel.
“Ashley,” he growled.
“Oh. Do you want me to ask you to move in with me for good?” She had that mischievous smile on her face again. “Why do you suppose I gave you an entire dresser to use and a third of the space in my closet, despite all the clothes I own?”
“Then we don’t need to rent out the basement. We can turn it into a family room.”
“Alright,” she answered.
He looked at her suspiciously, because she’d agreed so readily, but then turned again to the road since they were nearly home.
Home. Suddenly, he realized what that meant, and looked at Ashley, who was smiling widely as he turned into the driveway.
Chapter Twenty-One
They’d had a pretty intense make out session after arriving home a few hours ago, and now Ashley was with Brian in the basement, where they were trying to figure out how to best use the space.
“I got rid of the furniture that was down here. You know, what I remembered thinking when we first saw this space, was that it gave me the creeps. So I put in some windows to let in some light during the day and got rid of all the old paneling and replaced it with new insulation and drywall.”
“It looks a heck of a lot better, Ash. You could turn it into a workout space for now,” Brian murmured. “We’ve been so busy out in the barn getting that display ready, I haven’t even been through the entire house yet.”
“It’ll be a while before I can work on the other bedrooms and bathrooms, even with your income helping us out.”
“There’s no hurry,” Brian said. “So what have you done with the rooms down the hallway?”
“I’m considering turning that one storage room into my laundry room and moving it from upstairs. After all, we do have that hidden staircase. I still haven’t decided how I’m going to handle the heating yet, but as long as I have heat and water upstairs, I won’t worry about it until next year.
Brian walked with her through the hallway and paused. “I noticed you removed the padlock. What was behind this door?”
“Would you believe nothing? Go ahead and check out the inside.”
Brian walked inside and turned on the light, just as she had, after using bolt cutters to remove the padlock. All that was inside were a bunch of empty metal shelves resting against the exterior wall.
“Weird,” Brian murmured, looking puzzled. “I wonder what they stored in here?”
“I don’t have a clue. I guess that’s what I’ll use it for too. Maybe something important was in here, although I can’t imagine what.”
“You still have a lock at the end of the stairway?” he asked.
“Yes. As well as on the second floor and in our bedroom. I’m trying to save that side door which you have the key for and refinish it, and the doorknob is bolted in, so I lock the door at the top of the staircase leading into the kitchen like I would an exterior door now. After you walked in a few weeks ago, I realized there could be several keys out there for that old lock, because there were multiple sets in the office when I snatched the one I gave you.”
Brian studied the hallway. “You haven’t found any other hidden passageways?”
“One on the second floor that leads into the kitchen pantry. I’ll show you sometime.”
“I could have sworn my grandfather told me there was a passageway leading into caves that opened up on the edge of the lake because of the smuggling.”
“I think I remember you saying something about that, but I haven’t run across any other passages.”
“They could very well have been closed off by the new owner years ago,” Brian admitted.
“I might end up discovering them when I begin doing more extensive renovations. The floor plan is pretty strange in this house.”
“Well. It gives us something to do and look forward to during some of those long winter months.”
She smiled from ear to ear. “Among other things.”
“Speaking of which…” He turned her toward the staircase. “Let’s hit the sack.”
“But we never figured what color we wanted to paint the basement walls,” she muttered.
“Tomorrow,” he growled.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jeff had definitely been surprised when he and Michelle had returned from Boston the day before, and Brian had to admit that he had been too, seeing the transformation that had taken place since he and Ashley had been here three days earlier to assist.
“Maybe we can eventually do some pretty landscaping like this ourselves,” Ashley said. “I love the terraces they’ve added, winding along the path down to the lake. I’ll bet it looks beautiful from the lake.”
“I’d like to get another boat,” Brian admitted. “But a boathouse would be a pretty big expense for us right now, and we’d have to store the boat and equipment if we didn’t build one.”
“Maybe we can afford one in a couple years,” Ashley reassured him.
At the end of the day, they found themselves celebrating alone with Michelle and Jeff after the festivities ended.
“We’re going to be working on restoring the old study which used to be my dad’s office next,” Michelle said, giving them a tour of the house. “I’d love to have your input, Ashley.”
“You know, our place is a hodgepodge of building styles since the house was pieced together through a hundred and fifty years. The kitchen was added later, and the tower room was actually part of the original structure. Jeff could probably tell us more about it than I can. What I know was told to me by my grandfather when I was a kid,” Brian admitted.
When they walked inside the study, Ashley started investigating the mahogany built-ins lining the walls. “Michelle? I worked in a house in Eau Claire similar to this, and we found a bunch of hidden nooks and crannies throughout the shelving. There was even a wall safe hidden behind a sliding panel.”
“Really? I love the idea of taking a day and searching through the shelves,” Michelle answered. “This place has always been in the family. It would be exciting to find something hidden by one of my ancestors.”
“Well, when you’re ready to start, and you want me to show you what to look for, give me a call,” Ashley said.
Jeff groaned. “I’m dreading pulling out and packing up all of these old dusty books.”
“It’ll be fun,” Michelle said, smiling. “The floor in here really needs to be refinished, along with some of the woodwork. The windows were so old, they were leaking around the frames and it ended up messing up some of the flooring too.”
Ashley stared down at the floor. “The good thing is, if we have to take some of it up, the flooring that was used in here should be fairly easy to replace.”
“We?” Brian asked, raising a brow.
Ashley grinned. “We don’t have much of a budget left for our house this year. It would be fun to help out here.”
“Your house?” Jeff asked, looking at Ashley first and then at Brian.
“We’re living together,” Brian confessed.
“Permanently,” Ashley added.
Jeff laughed, shaking his head. “When I think of the way you two used to go at it when we were kids.”
“Foreplay,” Michelle murmured, studying the centered carving in
the middle of the wall of shelving. “I wonder?”
She gripped the protrusion and slipped it to the right.
There was a snap, and the edging of the wood lining the shelf popped open.
“How did you even see that?” Jeff murmured.
“There was a gap behind the carving,” she answered, pulling out a small book from inside the nook. “I wonder what this is?”
Michelle thumbed through the book, looking puzzled. “Names, dates from not that long ago. Not even fifteen years.”
Jeff took it from her hand, glancing inside at the front cover.
“Michelle, this belonged to your dad.” He stared at her face. “I think it’s a list of people who invested in Ashley’s father’s business venture.”
Ashley went pale, and Michelle looked like she was ready to cry.
“Let’s put it away for now,” Brian said, taking it from Jeff and putting it back into the nook. “If you don’t mind, I’ll talk with Jake Loughlin about it?”
“Why?” Michelle asked, looking confused.
Ashley went up to Michelle and pulled her into her arms. “Because it’s time things were cleared up as much as possible. I think we all realized back then that something strange was going on. Even though Brian and I have been privy to some of the details, it’s time that the two of you were too.”
Jeff heaved a sigh. “My parents know something more than what they’re saying, and Dad talks with Jake regularly.”
“You never mentioned that,” Michelle said.
“I never really put it together until now,” Jeff admitted. “Jake Loughlin has been holding us and our families together, with job opportunities and friendship, and I know he’s a former special agent.”
Brian looked at Jeff. “A not so former special agent, actually.”
Jeff looked taken aback.
“Okay guys. We’ll be on our way,” Ashley said, patting Michelle on the back. “I’ll give you a call tomorrow after I talk with Jake. Okay?”
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