Control yourself, Allie. And remember, he hears you. I sighed. I can’t help it. I so hope this trip and all the things we’ve learned about the twins can help us. I want forever with him. And if I can help it, most days I want to lock him in my bedroom.
Cole’s glare disappeared. He looked at me with wide eyes and then nodded to the girls.
“Yeah, we all heard it. You might as well say it out loud.” Shelby slammed on the brakes behind a row of parked cars on the interstate. “Great. What the heck is this all about?”
“The other side of the interstate is moving just fine,” Anna Marie said.
Cars crept up behind us.
I hated when the traffic stopped abruptly. I was terrified that the cars behind me would crash into the vehicle I was traveling in. That fear had been born in me from all the years of riding with my half-drunk father. He almost rear-ended every vehicle he rode behind.
“So Eliza left all her witchy stuff in the old house. This could be good.” Cole rolled his head over to look at me. He twirled his finger in my palm. It was soothing.
“My thoughts exactly. Let’s hope she left a single strand of hair. We looked through all her belongings at the house and didn’t find even one that could have been hers. Her brush had been raked clean. Other than that, we’ll need to get some chicken blood. There was something to the part of your story where Grace spilled all those innocent chickens’ blood. She did that as a way to cover up getting a gallon jug of their blood.”
“Why do you need Eliza’s hair?” I said.
The traffic lurched forward.
“We found a spell that might help us put Grace to rest, but we need one strand as part of the ingredients.” Anna Marie yanked one of mine out.
“Ouch! What was that for?” Holding my head, I turned.
She eyed the hair with a mischievous grin. “We might need one of yours too.”
I slapped at her but she lunged back with a giggle. “We might need about ten of yours.”
It was nice to have fun with the girls in light of the whole situation. Ten of my hairs would never be enough for Grace. She wanted it all. My whole life.
Something about the atmosphere when I was with the girls and Cole gave me the sensation that I was wrapped in a protective blanket that nothing, no matter how hard it tried, could cut through.
Chapter 13
Shelby stopped at a stoplight and stared down a slim girl walking on the sidewalk. She could have easily walked out of a magazine. “Would you look at that? All these scrawny girls fitting into whatever clothes they want, and here I am all my-milkshake-brings-all-the-boys-to-the-yard.”
We all laughed.
“If you’d lay off the milkshakes, you might not be hauling all that around the yard. Just sayin’.” Kaitlyn smirked.
“I’m only ten pounds heavier than you. Shut up.” Shelby turned the radio on. “Just for that, I’m listening to boy bands the rest of the way.”
Kaitlyn’s nose pinched and she propped her head on the armrest. “Not over volume six you’re not.”
The green trees blurred as we passed by. The clouds were pregnant with the promise of rain. Thunder rumbled overhead.
“That’s always a great precursor to a horror movie,” Anna Marie said over the boy band crooning a love song.
“I hate storms.” I shivered, though the air conditioner did good to keep me cooled off in the thick summer heat.
Cole scooped me closer. “I’m here. Close your eyes and pretend it’s sunny.”
Shelby finally turned off the CD. “Or you could take her mind off it the way you did last night.”
“Shut up.” Cole knocked her seat.
“I’m driving. Could you stop trying to wreck us,” Shelby said.
In minutes, a two-story house less than a quarter of a mile away poked into the darkened sky. Lightning struck somewhere behind it.
“Like I said, you girls are crazy. This house looks like it needs a straight jacket.” Cole held me closer. “I think we’ll stay in the car.”
Shelby pulled up to the front entrance.
Hedges were overgrown, grass grew crowded out the flower beds, and old dead leaves carpeted the sidewalks. Curtains inside the house were half drawn and leaves from last year were caught in old spider webs draped over the corners of the windows.
“It’s definitely a fixer-upper.” Kaitlyn frowned.
“I feel demon possession coming on just looking at it,” Cole sneered at Anna Marie.
“Make fun, Mr. Amityville Horror.” Anna Marie snapped his seatbelt.
“I’m definitely going in. I love old houses.” I said it more for the flash of green insolence in his glare than my nagging curiosity.
“I guess I’m going in after all.” Cole leaned over me and opened my door. He stopped close to my face. “I don’t like this new influence you seem to have over me. I’m giving in way too easy lately.”
“Aww. Chivalry isn’t dead.” Anna Marie climbed from the back seat.
“Not yet. But the twins are trying to get us all killed off.” Cole stiffened up and opened his door. He looked up the high wall of the house. “This thing gives the Bates Motel Homestead a run for its money.”
The group stood outside the house, staring up at the vacant windows of the second floor. Bushes rustled in the wind and leaves scratched the sidewalks.
“I figured it would have no electricity, so I brought you candles.” A creepy woman stepped from around the side of the house. Her high-collared black dress stopped at her knees. Over nun-looking socks, her laced up patent leather shoes had long ago lost their shine. The tight bun that secured her hair did nothing to flatten out her pasty wrinkles.
Shelby and Kaitlyn stepped up the broken cement steps and took three candleholders from her. “Thank you. I didn’t think you’d be here so soon. We just called this morning.”
“I was nearby.” The woman turned with a handful of old keys and poked the exact right one in the keyhole.
Shelby faced me with a where-did-she-come-from look and handed me a candle.
With a quick lift of my shoulders, I shook my head.
The girls stepped a little closer together as Cole stepped back and stared at the woman in quiet speculation. He’d let us know if he thought the lady was too suspicious to continue into the house with.
“Hmm. I just thought you’d take a little longer. We were going to look around outside till you got here, but it’s a good thing you’re early. Looks like a storm is rolling in.” Shelby looked up at the sky.
The old door opened like a vault as the woman shoved it in.
“Welcome to Rotherwood Plantation,” she said. Her eyes were emotionless and her facial expression never changed. “Help yourselves while I light a few oil lanterns.”
“I have a bad feeling about this place. I can’t believe they’d even consider taking ownership.” Cole held me back with him.
I pulled him up the steps. “Just because our house has a resident ghost doesn’t mean all other old houses do too. Let’s go see what it looks like on the inside. I love the architecture.”
Cole sighed. He nodded to the side of the house. “The architecture is amazing.”
The entrance soared over our heads. Cole propped the heavy door with a stray rock from outside.
I looked on him with the sigh of a martyr. “Seriously?”
“In case we need a quick out.” He shrugged.
An elaborate staircase was the centerpiece of the room. It opened to the upstairs. Dangling lanterns shed broken patterns of light on eerie family portraits. Seemed a lot of people in the 1800s had paintings done of themselves. I’d have thought they’d look happier about having them done, though. Maybe the high cost of chartering an artist darkened their moods.
A painting of a woman in an austere black dress with a red pendant as the only color in the painting stood six feet tall beside the entrance. Various similar paintings lined the walls with well-d
ressed men, women, and children as their subjects.
Old tables with lanterns were placed sparingly through the vestibule.
Deeper in the house, on either side of the staircase, doors opened to rooms so dark they seemed to smother light.
The only light in the front rooms was what the windows allowed in through the dusty curtains and broken wooden blinds.
“Please let me indulge you in a grand tour.” The old woman stood in threshold of the front right room holding her own candlestick.
We exchanged disconcerted glances and followed her.
“In the far rear of the house, you’ll find a cook’s kitchen. It has all the latest turn of the century updates. As you can see, elaborate multi-course meals can be prepared with ease.”
She was kidding, right?
An old iron stove heated several burners with wood or coal and several baker’s cabinets with sifters, spice racks, and small cabinets, and an old rusted sink with one bin were the only things in the room other than a long island in the middle to cut meats.
“Out back is the outhouse. It’s the most modern plumbing as of yet.” She gestured out the window to the offset wooden shack with a crescent moon in the middle of the door.
Someone in our group smirked.
“You haven’t ever used one of those? They’re quite comfortable and a great place for catching up on the Sears catalog.” Cole chuckled.
“Didn’t you have to wipe with the Sears catalog? That’s gross.” Shelby pinched her face up.
“When we ran out of corncobs.” Cole grinned as she turned greener. “Youngsters these days.”
“Cute.” Kaitlyn stepped farther away from Cole, as if being close to him might allow some of his disgusting sense of humor to rub off on her.
The lady led us through service doors and off to the left side of the house in the far rear. “Here we have the formal dining room. The Walnut Renaissance Revival dining set can seat twelve people and comes with a grand scale sideboard and matching server with mirrors on each. The carvings are intricate and boast pictures of griffins. The tables are tiered griffins with clawed feet.”
“Wow. Those are expensive looking.” Kaitlyn nodded appreciatively.
“You don’t have indoor plumbing. That’s expensive.” Cole scoffed.
“I like it so far.” Shelby nodded with satisfaction.
The nun-lady took us through another large walnut door with intricate carvings on its sides. “Here we have the sitting room. The Louis the XVI design was one of the most popular and was Mr. Moss’s first choice as he decorated this room. The red upholstery stands out against the heavy gold wallpaper. The drapes were designed by his friend, Agnes Dills, the best window treatment designer of her day. They too match the red upholstery with tapestry design, boasting all the colors of the fifteenth century.”
“Okay, this is nice.” Cole nudged Shelby and nodded appreciatively. “He had taste, but she talks as if he is still here with us.”
Shelby stepped back from the woman and cut her gaze at her.
We followed her through the doors leading to the front room of the house on the left side. “Here is your library. Friends with the Biltmore family, Mr. Moss tried to keep up with him in his collection of books. As you can see, he imitated Mr. Biltmore on the design of the ceiling.”
Above us, a ceiling depicting Greek gods and people in different settings. It was immaculate in color. As if it had never faded.
“Okay, it’s worth buying if there are no spooks involved.” Cole nodded his approval.
“The other side of the house has a living room with two fireplaces. One on each end.” The lady went on about the furniture. It was just as grand as the sets in the other rooms we’d seen, but I couldn’t help but be caught up in the walls. More pictures of family members the woman didn’t even bother to mention were placed in perfect geometrical lines down each side of the rooms. The people’s eyes were closed.
The post mortem photo gallery was particularly odd. Each photo drew me into a dark mood, reminding me of how little time Cole and I had left.
Cole took my hand and squeezed.
“This isn’t creepy.” Kaitlyn pointed to a few of the pictures. “These will come down first thing.”
The woman appeared to not see the large morbid pictures, even though their framework was obviously mention-worthy. “Of course, when you retain the deed to the house, you’re free to change any and all furnishings that don’t strike your fancy.”
“I don’t know. I think they add character.” Cole ran a finger over one of the frames and came back with a row of dust.
Kaitlyn turned her back on the wall with folded arms. “We’re not keeping them and that’s final.”
“Upstairs, eight guest bedrooms and a master suite should be sufficient to accommodate a large number of guests.” The woman started up the stairs.
“Would you mind terribly if we inspect the upstairs bedrooms ourselves? We promise not to move anything.” Kaitlyn smiled sweetly as she held onto the banister.
We stood behind her in a huddle.
“Sure. You’re his grandnieces.” The woman stepped back down the stairs.
“Let’s go take a look.” Shelby bounced with excitement.
The girls held the banister as they bounded up the stairs with Anna Marie and me trailing close behind.
Cole stood on the vestibule’s marble floor. “Stay with the girls. I’m going to look around outside.”
Translated, he was probably going to head into the woods behind the estate for a mid-afternoon snack.
“Okay.” I blew a kiss.
“We’ll keep her safe. We always do,” Kaitlyn called over her shoulder as they went ahead of me.
Cole strolled out the front door. His muscles worked under his shirt as he moved, his model physique making it hard to focus on the job at hand.
For a second, scenes from that morning softened my knees. “We’re going to have a chance to be alone in a bedroom and you’re leaving me to eat? You must really be hungry.”
He looked back, left me with a sexy grin but not thoughts.
A chandelier with long melted wax drippings hung directly above us. It reminded me of ours at the manor, but it hadn’t been updated with electricity. That would be an expensive update too, but they’d all be worth it. This place was an antique museum.
At the top of the staircase, nine rooms surrounded the railing.
By choice, I took the right side of the house to investigate, and Anna Marie, Shelby, and Kaitlyn took the left.
Pointing at the spot between us, Kaitlyn said, “We’ll meet back here in a few minutes.”
The first bedroom was just as I suspected. No electricity with heavy drapes.
I drew the drapes back to allow in more light.
The room housed nothing but the bare essentials. A bed, a nightstand with an oil lantern, a wash bowl and mirror, and a heavy wooden wardrobe. The bedding on the heavy masculine bed was covered in a layer of dust. It looked to have been white with red roses. The red had faded to pink over the years, or the dust was so thick the colors couldn’t show through. The wardrobe was empty.
The next room was possibly darker than the first.
After placing my candlestick on the heavy wardrobe, I reached for the drapes to give my candle some assistance in lighting the room, but strong warm arms circled my waist from behind.
“Alone. Just the way I like it.” Cole’s voice tickled my ear as his lips caressed my neck.
“We’re supposed to be inspecting rooms.” I leaned into him.
“There’s a perfectly good bed over there. It hasn’t seen company in a hundred years.”
“I’m sure it doesn’t mind being left alone. It’s too dusty, anyway.” I wriggled under his cool touch.
“I can’t wait to get your clothes off.” Cole’s voice was deeper. His hands slipped up my shirt, but I turned in his grip before he could fondle me.
Any minute, the twins could walk into the room.
“You’re handsy today.” I kissed his nose.
He came around rested his forehead on mine, and his hair tickled my temple.
I dipped back, growing too involved in how he felt to focus.
“We don’t have much time. I’d like to make the best of it.” His eyes were darker green in the ambience of the candle’s glow and his lips were dark red as if they’d been painted on by the finest artist.
“That’s not a very optimistic view of the situation. We’ll have plenty of time. I have faith in us and the girls.” I pulled back from him.
“Don’t deny me. It’s just us.” Cole’s cool hands were suddenly hot on my sides as his fingers grazed my bra.
I groaned.
Cole normally was not this insistent at inappropriate times, but his impatience was intriguing. And hot.
“Allie. I think we found what we need,” Kaitlyn called from the other side of the hall.
“Let’s go see if they found something to brighten your outlook.” I used the girls as an excuse to untangle myself from the increasingly demanding situation. “We’re coming.”
Across the way, Kaitlyn’s happy face fell. “We? What are you talking about?”
From the vestibule, Cole walked up the staircase and glanced back and forth between us. “There are three barns out there. It’d be the perfect place to house horses.”
I shot around to look behind me. There was no one there!
Leaving the bedroom door open, I rushed to the other side of the hallway. With my arms wrapped protectively around myself, a chill jolted me.
Cole approached me, his eyebrows meeting in concern. “Are you okay? Your face is white as parchment.”
I jerked his hand to me and held it as if it were a rope thrown over a cliff from which I had been dangling. “Fine. Let’s just get this over with and get out of here.”
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