Because You're Mine

by Colleen Coble

  She ran her fingers over the smooth wood again. Practice was what she needed today. Playing her fiddle with her mates would get rid of this unsettled sensation she carried.

  Her door opened, and Barry thrust his head in. “What are you doing with that, Alanna?”

  She turned with a smile that ebbed when she saw his dark expression. “I heard it playing last night and found it in an abandoned room. I quite adore it, Barry. My sister had one like it. In fact, I was wondering if it might be the same one. How did it come to be here?”

  “It’s been here as long as I can remember. I’ve never asked where it came from.”

  “Do you recognize the tune?”

  “No.” He stepped in. “It needs to be returned to the room where you found it.”

  “Please let me keep it?” she coaxed. “Who can enjoy it otherwise?”

  His attempt at a smile was more of a grimace. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, sugar, but I can’t let you keep it here. Feel free to listen to it in that room anytime though.”

  “You don’t really believe there’s a banshee, do you?”

  He didn’t answer as he reached past her and closed the lid to the music box. The abrupt cessation of the delightful sound pained her. He lifted it in his hands and took it out. Alanna followed him, still disbelieving that her doting husband would deny her something that meant so much to her.

  When he disappeared around the corner, she decided to see if he might take it to the padlocked room Grady had shown her. Her bare feet made no sound on the floor. When she reached the place where the corridor branched off, she saw Barry disappear around another bend. She followed him through the twists and turns of the halls until she was thoroughly lost.

  She saw Barry pass the padlocked door and return the music box to its original location. She paused and leaned against the wall by the padlock until Barry exited the bedroom and shut the door. He stopped when he saw her standing there.

  “I neglected to ask how you’re feeling this morning,” he said, his smile breaking out.

  “I’m a little sore, but I will soon be to rights when I get a chance to practice with my mates,” she said. She turned and yanked on the doorknob. “Why is this locked? None of the other rooms are.”

  He took her arm and pulled her away. “It’s just got my business papers in it. I don’t trust Grady not to meddle, so I lock it up.”

  His tone held tension under the casual words. She realized she didn’t believe him. As far as she knew, he’d never lied to her before, but somehow she knew he wasn’t telling her the truth. It made her more determined to see what was inside that room. But judging by the way he moved her along at a fast clip, she knew better than to ask for admittance. Maybe later.

  Right now she needed her band, her music. And she needed to be finding out what Jesse was doing at the estate last night.

  She tugged her arm out of Barry’s grasp so he would slow. “I’ll be meeting Ceol in Charleston today to practice. What car do you want me to take?”

  He stopped walking and stared down at her. “I’ve got a conference call that will last several hours. I can perhaps take you after my business is concluded.”

  “I’m perfectly capable of driving myself. I’ve gotten quite used to cars on the opposite side of the road. I need to practice most of the day.”

  He frowned. “You shouldn’t drive in your condition, Alanna.” His gaze swept her bare feet. “And certainly not without shoes.”

  She smiled up at him. “But the nail polish is such a beautiful color.”

  His stone-faced expression didn’t recognize her attempt at humor. “I really don’t want you driving the cars. It’s tricky driving on the opposite side of the road. If you listen to the radio or get distracted in any way, you’ll veer to the wrong side.”

  “I’m not a lass, Barry,” she said. “I’ve been driving fifteen years.”

  He took her elbow and led her down the corridor again. “Things are different here in the South, sugar. I’d rather drive you. I’ll come find you when I’ve finished my conference call. You had a fall yesterday. Practicing all day would be too arduous anyway. Remember the baby. You don’t know your own limits.”

  Maybe he was right. Liam had also said she pushed herself too much. Every muscle still ached, and she needed to guard the baby.

  “Take a nap,” he urged. “I can see you’re limping. I doubt you slept very well.”

  “No. No, I didn’t.” She allowed him to lead her to her bedroom door. “Thanks for taking care of me.”

  He brushed his lips across her forehead. “I’ll try not to be long,” he whispered. He caught a strand of red hair in his fingers and kissed it before letting her go with obvious reluctance.

  She closed the door behind him, then sat on the edge of the bed. Though her body ached, she wasn’t sleepy. A nap didn’t sound appealing. She’d rather find out what Jesse was doing wandering the estate last night. She rang Ciara and told her what had happened.

  “I don’t believe Jesse would hurt you,” Ciara said after a long pause.

  “Then what was he doing here? He’d left with you, then came back. And he appeared right after someone shoved me down the hill.”

  “I don’t know, but I’m sure there’s a good reason. The main thing is you’re all right. The baby is okay?”

  “The ultrasound showed him doing cartwheels,” Alanna said.

  “What about practice?”

  “Barry will bring me in later today.” She didn’t know what to be making of his aversion to her driving. They needed to get that straightened out. She’d not be living as a prisoner in this place, her movements subject to Barry’s discretion.

  “Lass, we’ve got to get cracking on getting ready for the tour.”

  “I know,” Alanna said.

  “Where are we practicing today?”

  She chewed on a hangnail. “I thought we might just work at the hotel.”

  “There’s no room. It has to be at your house. The living room there is huge. Or we could even set up on that veranda again. I could get the girls together and grab Jesse.”

  Alanna had an idea of what her mother-in-law’s expression would look like with the music ringing out on the lawn, but right now she didn’t care. “Righto then, get them together. I’ll tell Barry not to bother running me to town.”

  “We’ll be there within the hour.”

  Alanna put her phone away and went to find her husband, but the office door was shut and she heard the murmur of his voice behind the door. He’d already started his phone conference. She’d have to make sure they set up where the noise wouldn’t disturb him.

  The living room would be too close. So was the veranda. Maybe one of the upper floors would work, though they’d have to haul everything up there.

  “Good morning.”

  She turned to see her mother-in-law standing in the living room entryway. “Good morning. I hope you slept well.”

  “Very well, thank you. I just made coffee. Would you care for some?”

  “No thank you. I have to avoid too much caffeine.”

  “Oh, of course, the baby. I just made muffins though, and they’re still warm. Come along to the kitchen.” Patricia turned toward the kitchen without waiting for a response.

  Alanna followed her. Patricia’s attitude had done a major readjustment overnight, but she was wary of the sudden hospitality. “The muffins smell delicious.”

  “Chocolate chip.” In the kitchen Patricia put one on a plate and carried it to the table. “Milk?”

  “Yes, please.” Alanna accepted the muffin, then slid into a chair. She took a bite of the warm bread. “Very good.”

  Patricia put a glass of milk in front of Alanna. “I want to apologize for my behavior last night. I was overtired and very rude. I do hope you’ll forgive me.”

  “Of course,” Alanna said. “I understand.” In truth, Patricia’s attitude still puzzled her. She thought it best not to bring up the baby again.

  “What a
re you going to do today?” Patricia asked with a bright smile. She sat across from Alanna and took a bite of her muffin.

  “My mates are coming out to practice. Our tour starts in a few weeks, and we’re quite unprepared.” She took a sip of the cold milk. “I’m trying to figure out where we might practice. Somewhere that the sound doesn’t carry to the office. Barry is on a conference call.”

  “I know just the place! The ballroom on the third floor would be perfect.”

  “I’d thought of it, but we have quite a lot of equipment to haul up.”

  “There’s a dumbwaiter for that type of thing. I’ll show you when you finish your breakfast.”

  The idea of using the top floor grew on her, and Barry had even said it might work once he helped her clear out the rubbish. “What’s the condition up there?”

  “Boxes of things not in use and old furniture are stored up there, but you can have Grady move them to the attic. Or just shove them to the walls. There should be plenty of space.”

  Alanna gobbled the last few bites of her muffin, then stood. “I’d quite like to see the dumbwaiter now if you don’t mind.”

  Carrying her cup of coffee, Patricia led Alanna to the pantry. There was a white door tucked away in a corner. She opened it and revealed a deep metal lift and a system of pulleys. “Plenty of room even for the drums.”

  “Fantastic,” Alanna said. “Thank you so much. I’ll run up the stairs and check out the ballroom now.”

  Patricia glanced at her watch. “I’d come with you, but I’ve got a hair appointment in half an hour and just have time to get there. Follow the hall to the back. You’ll find another flight of stairs to the third floor.”

  Alanna said good-bye, then did as her mother-in-law suggested. She found the stairway at the back of the hall. Dust coated the stairs. There were no prints to suggest anyone had been this way in quite some time. She reached the landing of the third floor and gasped. The ceiling towered at least sixteen feet over her head. Elaborate moldings detailed the ceiling painted in cherubs. The wood floor was smooth and tight. It would be a dream to dance here.

  Lovely old furniture occupied part of the space as well as several trunks. Alanna went to the nearest one and lifted the lid. Colorful dresses lay inside, mostly silk and satin. They appeared to be from the turn of the twentieth century. She held up a cream one detailed in handmade lace. “Lovely,” she murmured. She thought it might even fit her.

  She’d have to have a try on sometime, if the fabric wasn’t too delicate. Shoving a few of the lighter pieces of furniture aside, she thought they would have room to set things up. On the way back to the stairs, she saw the van arriving and hurried down to meet her mates.

  Fiona hugged her when she met them at the entry. “You look blooming wonderful. Marriage must agree with you.”

  “Love your new necklace,” Alanna said, eyeing the polished amber stones strung around her friend’s neck. She hugged Ena, whose usual morose expression had lightened to a faint grin at the sight of her.

  Ena fingered her pink hair. “Is Grady around?”

  “Somewhere.” There was definitely interest between them.

  Ciara emerged last from the van with Jesse in tow. Alanna went still when she saw the man. There would be time to interrogate him later. She hugged Ciara, then beckoned them all to the house. “Grab your things and come along. I’ve got the perfect space.”

  By the time the creaky old lift had transported the instruments to the third floor, the band’s voices had risen with the excitement of being together. The harp had to be carried up the main staircase by Jesse and two of the women. “We can be as loud as we want up here.”

  She watched Jesse set up the drums. He arranged them exactly as she’d seen Liam do a thousand times, and her irritation grew. He tested them in the same order as Liam too. Gritting her teeth, she set to making sure her fiddle was in tune.

  “Let’s get to practice,” she said. She dragged her bow across the strings, then broke into a reel.

  “Go, Alanna!” Ciara yelled. She pulled her chair closer to her harp.

  Ena lifted her pennywhistle. “What first?” she asked.

  “‘Last Rose of Summer,’” Jesse said. He started the drum intro.

  Alanna nodded and followed his lead. Before the drums faded to the softer part of the song, Barry stood red-faced at the top of the stairs.

  “What’s going on?” he shouted. “The sound is piped directly into my office.”

  Staring at her husband’s angry face, Alanna realized Patricia had to have known how the sound carried. She’d been set up.

  Twenty

  Let’s get to the bottom of this.” Barry took Alanna’s arm and marched her down the steps. “Mother just came in from a hair appointment. She is cooking lunch.”

  “Did the noise interrupt you?” Alanna asked as she struggled to keep up with her husband.

  “The house is designed so music wafts into the office. My great-grandfather designed it that way on purpose so he could monitor what was going on in the ballroom even if he had to be attending to business. So yes, I had to end my call prematurely.”

  They reached the first floor. The aroma of she-crab soup hung in the air. Barry led her across to the kitchen where they found a flushed Patricia stirring a pot at the stove.

  Patricia glanced up with a smile that quickly faltered when her gaze lit on Barry. “What’s wrong, son?”

  “You tell me.” He dropped his grip on Alanna, then folded his arms over his chest. “Why did you tell Alanna to practice in the ballroom when she told you I needed quiet for a conference call?”

  Patricia pushed a lock of hair from her moist face. “Why, I never told her any such thing. I told her not to practice up there, whatever she did. That the noise would travel right to you.”

  The glib lie snatched away the protest in Alanna’s gaping mouth. Patricia’s expression was so disbelieving of her son’s accusation that for a minute Alanna wondered if she’d misheard her mother-in-law. Then she remembered the dumbwaiter. “That’s not true, Patricia. You even showed me where to find the dumbwaiter so I could get the instruments up to the third floor. I couldn’t be knowing where it was otherwise.”

  “Of course you did,” Patricia said. “I found you exploring it this morning. I warned you to be quiet up there.”

  Alanna’s jaw sagged. She’d never met anyone who could lie so convincingly. And she had no way to prove Patricia had set her up.

  Barry stared at his mother. “You’re lying.”

  “Of course you’d believe that little tart,” his mother spat.

  “I’ll not be listening to this.” Alanna started for the stairs. She blinked at the moisture in her eyes. Why was everyone so hostile?

  She marched up the steps to her bedroom. Nothing could convince her to remain in this house any longer. It would take only a minute to grab her few belongings and leave with her friends. She jerked her big suitcase out from under the bed, then went to the dresser and lifted an armful of clothing from the drawer. Her attempt to hold the tears at bay failed, and big drops slipped down her cheeks.

  “What are you doing?”

  She turned to see Barry in the doorway with his brows knit together. “I’m leaving right now,” she said, turning back to her packing. She heard his footsteps start toward her but continued to the closet to grab her hanging clothes. When she turned, she plowed into him.

  His arms closed around her, and he buried his face in her hair. “Don’t leave,” he whispered. “I need you.”

  Alanna struggled to maintain her anger. “You thought I’d lie to you.”

  “Of course I didn’t. I wanted her to admit she lied. I never doubted you.”

  She pulled away from him so she could see his face. “Why would your mother be such a blackguard?”

  His hand smoothed her curls. “There are always bumps in the road when you try to find your place in a new family.”

  His hand on her hair soothed her, and she kept her
head on his chest. “She hates me, Barry. We’ll never get along.”

  “Give it time,” he whispered against her ear. “You’re mistress of this house now. She’ll just have to get used to it.”

  His warm lips brushed across her neck, and she shivered, then turned her head to meet his kiss. Physical attraction wasn’t enough to base a marriage on, but it was enough to keep her head spinning. Still, what was physical attraction without the real intimacy she craved?

  The kiss deepened, and she let go of the morning’s pain. Snuggled against his broad chest, she could almost forget his mother’s lies and the recent argument. She could push away the memory of the alligator and the kitten. The time was coming when he wouldn’t be content to keep the bedroom door between them closed, and Alanna realized she was almost ready to let him past the guard she’d kept up.

  Without bothering to hide her reluctance, she pulled away. “I’d better check on my mates,” she whispered.

  “How about I use my cell phone to finish my conference call?” he asked with a teasing light in his eyes. He still hadn’t taken his hands from her waist. “I’ll go sit out in the car.”

  “It’s too hot,” she protested. The temperature was close to thirty degrees Celsius.

  “I can turn on the air occasionally. I’m used to this weather.” He brushed his lips across hers in a final, lingering caress, then turned toward the door. “I should be done in another couple of hours. It’s all for you, you know. I’m working on getting some new venues set up for the band.”

  Warmth spread up her neck. “Thanks, Barry.” She watched him close the door behind him.

  As she threw her things back into the chest, she noticed a small recorder. She grabbed it up, then went down the hall to find the room with the music box. She figured out the maze of halls and rooms and stepped inside the room. Maybe her mates would recognize the tune. It was a good place to start. She lifted the lid of the box and pressed the record button on the mini tape recorder. When the song had played long enough, she closed the lid and went to find the rest of the band.