by Lynn LaFleur
“Why did you do that?” Dax asked.
“I wanted the truth to come out someday. The new living room fireplace was being built, so I slipped the knife between the rocks while the mortar was still wet. No one knew I did it.” She gestured at the landscapes on the table. “I painted those hoping they would someday lead to the knife and Raymond would be cleared of the murder.” She clasped her hands together in her lap again. “I was hoping I’d be dead by then and wouldn’t face going to prison at age eighty-nine.”
“You don’t have to worry about going to prison, Mrs. Olinghouse,” Rye said. “Dax, Griff and I will say we found that knife while remodeling, which is true. There’s no reason your name even has to come up.”
Tears filled Bella’s eyes. “You would do that for me, after what I did?”
Dax and Griff both nodded. Alaina squeezed her shoulders. “The sheriff will send the knife off for DNA testing. Raymond Coleman will be cleared. That’s what’s important.”
“I’ll pay for any costs. It’s the least I can do to help.”
“We appreciate that.” Rye looked at his brothers. “Guess we’d better get back to Stevens House and go to work.”
Dax and Griff gathered up the paintings and replaced them in their plastic covering. Alaina offered a hand to help Bella from the couch. She accepted it and followed them to the front door. Her eyes glittered with tears as she looked at the brothers.
“You’re all such good young men. If I’d had the courage to stand up to my father and admitted my feelings to Raymond, I could’ve been your great-grandmother. I would’ve liked that.”
Each Coleman kissed Bella’s cheek. Alaina thought it was the sweetest thing she’d ever seen.
*
Rye wouldn’t let Alaina remove the blindfold until he’d lit the last pillar candle. “Okay, you can take it off.”
Alaina removed the scarf from her head and blinked. Her lips parted, her eyes widened. “Oh, Rye. This is wonderful.”
Rye had sent Alaina on a list of errands while he let his mother loose in the turret. Several blankets covered the floor, making a cushioned spot for their picnic. Candles sat on the window seat and circled the blankets, casting their soft glow around the area. A feast of finger foods had been laid out on the blanket, next to two crystal wineglasses and an ice bucket holding a chilled bottle of chardonnay.
“I can’t take all the credit. My mom put everything together for me.” He sat down and held up a hand for her. “Join me?”
She placed her hand in his and dropped to her knees beside him. Her lips met his in a gentle kiss. “Thank you.”
“I could’ve had her do this at my house, but I thought you’d like it better here.” He looked up at the ceiling. Rain pattered on the roof. “I like the sound of the rain.”
“So do I.”
Rye removed the plastic wrap from a bowl of bite-size pieces of roasted chicken. He held up a piece for Alaina to take from him. She chewed slowly, released a moan of pleasure.
“Yummy.”
Rye took a bite for himself. The chicken was moist and tender and delicious. “Told you my mom’s a great cook.” He removed the wine bottle from the ice bucket and picked up the corkscrew. “I have cousins who own a winery near Fredericksburg. This wine is from their vineyards.”
Alaina took a sip from the glass he handed to her. “Very nice. I want to serve my guests locally grown food when possible. Maybe your cousins would like their wine featured here.”
“I’ll talk to them about it.”
He watched her as he sipped from his glass. She looked so lovely in the candlelight. He’d known her less than three weeks, yet had no doubt that he wanted her in his life for many years to come.
Taking her free hand, he tugged her closer to him. Smiling, she came willingly until she leaned against him, his arm around her waist. He kissed her neck, the curve of her ear, before his lips settled over hers. He kissed her slowly, tenderly, in no hurry to rush past their meal to lovemaking. They had all evening to love each other.
Love. A strong emotion, one that he’d felt for few people in his life. He’d thought he’d loved Alesia. Now, holding Alaina in his arms, he knew that what he’d felt for Alesia had been based more on lust than love.
This—what he felt for Alaina—was the happily-ever-after, forever kind of love.
He deepened the kiss ever so slightly, tickling the seam of her lips with his tongue. Her moan urged him to deepen the kiss even more.
Cold air washed over him. Rye jerked back at the same time that Alaina pulled away from him. She held up one arm, showing off her goose bumps.
“I felt it too, Alaina.”
“You did?”
“Yeah.”
The air shimmered in front of the windows. Rye pulled Alaina closer to his body. He knew she wasn’t afraid of Laura, but he didn’t know what would happen next. He gulped when the ghost formed a few feet in front of them.
“Holy shit,” he muttered.
After Alaina found three paintings in the house, Rye had no choice but to believe that she had help from Laura Cummins’ ghost. Seeing it for real made his head spin. He was thankful to be seated.
“That’s Laura,” Alaina told him over her shoulder.
“Yeah, I figured that out.”
Alaina moved as if to stand. She relaxed back into Rye’s arms when Laura motioned for her to remain seated.
“We found the knife,” Alaina said to Laura.
The ghost nodded and smiled. Then she waved.
“Wait. Are you leaving?”
Laura nodded again.
“Will you be back?”
This time Laura shook her head. She blew a kiss to Alaina and disappeared.
The cold vanished, the temperature in the turret returning to the low seventies as it had been before Laura’s appearance. Rye blinked his eyes, knowing that Laura had actually been here but still having a hard time believing it.
He looked at Alaina. The sparkle had faded from her eyes. “You okay?”
“Yes.” She turned to face him and shrugged. “I know this is silly, but I’ll miss her.”
“It isn’t silly. She’s probably at peace now, since her murderer was revealed.” He pushed her hair behind one ear. “I’ll admit I’m more comfortable knowing she won’t be around while we make love.”
The sparkle came back to Alaina’s eyes. “Are you planning to have your way with me after our picnic?”
“Absolutely.”
“Then we’d better eat fast.”
Rye laughed, but his laughter quickly faded when he thought about what he wanted to ask her. Setting down his wineglass, he took Alaina’s hand in his. “Do you have your heart set on living here in the house?”
A suspicious look crossed her face, as if she wasn’t sure why he would ask such a question. “Why?”
“I was thinking maybe you’d move in with me.”
Surprise replaced her suspicious look. Rye hurried to give her all the reasons why it would be a good idea before she could say no. “It would leave this room free to rent out to guests. That’s a plus. Once the house is done, there won’t be a reason for us to see each other all day, so that would give us more time together. And we—”
He stopped when she laid her fingers against his lips. “Yes. I love you, Rye Coleman, and I want to be with you for as long as I’m breathing.”
Rye turned her hand over and kissed her palm. Emotion tightened his throat, making his words husky when he spoke. “I love you too.”
He sealed their love with a tender kiss.
The End
About the Author
Lynn LaFleur was born and raised in a small town in Texas close to the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Writing has been in her blood since she was eight years old and wrote her first “story” for an English assignment.
As well as writing at every possible moment, Lynn enjoys reading, scrapbooking, photography and learning new things on the computer. She’s a software junky and loves
to try out new programs, especially anything to do with graphics.
After living on the West Coast for 21 years, Lynn now lives 17 miles from her hometown in Texas. She’s a romantic at heart and can’t imagine ever writing anything but romances. A full-time writer, she spends her days creating stories of people who find their happily ever after, sometimes with the help of an alien or psychic or vampire.
Lynn welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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Also by Lynn LaFleur
A Cupid’s Work is Never Done
A Wish Granted
And Best Friend Makes Three
Capsized
Coopers’ Companions 1: Rent-A-Stud
Coopers’ Companions 2: Michelle’s Men
Coopers’ Companions 3: Almost Perfection
Door Prize
Ellora’s Cavemen: Legendary Tails I anthology
Ellora’s Cavemen: Seasons of Seduction IV anthology
Happy Birthday, Baby
Lavender Lace 1: Business and Pleasure
Lavender Lace 2: A Date with Mr. Wonderful
Lavender Lace 3: Two Lovers for Molly
Mirage
One Night of Pleasure
Premonition
Soft Focus
Tarot Café: A Different Path with Randi Monroe
Tarot Café: Turning Point with Randi Monroe
Tarot Café: Whispered Surrender with Randi Monroe
Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer ebooks or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.
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