by L. L. Muir
He ran his fingers over it again. “Is it?”
Her breath caught. “Isn’t it?”
“I’m not sure. Hand me the light.”
She did so, and he shined it on the spot, his big body blocking her view. “It looks like a keyhole, lass.” He breathed out the words.
“What?” Shock froze her in place.
He took the key from around his neck, reached up, and pushed it in. He turned it with a click.
A crack appeared in the back of her closet, and a gust of musty air filled the space.
She sucked in a breath, her hands going to cover her mouth. “Oh, my gosh! Did that just happen? Is this really happening?”
Alan pushed and the back wall opened with a squeak of protest.
“Alan!” She could barely breathe as he shined the light inside a small room. “I can’t believe this! I never knew this was here! I don’t think Grandma knows about it either!”
The two of them stepped over shoes and blankets and into the room.
A square box of a space, half the size of her closet, it was completely empty.
Alan shined the flashlight around to reveal dust, cobwebs, and old wooden walls.
Her heart seemed to hammer too loudly in her chest. “There’s nothing here.” For a wild moment, she’d been brimming with hope, visions of treasure filling her mind.
She watched as Alan checked over every square inch of the small space, using one hand to feel the walls as if checking for another hidden keyhole.
He finally stopped and let out a breath. “There is naught.”
He turned toward her and the light spilled in from her closet casting gloomy shadows. Alan looked as sad as she felt. “Lass, this looks like it might have been the perfect place to hide a treasure. ’Tis in the master bedroom, behind the closet.”
She glanced around, the crushing feeling of disappointment almost overwhelming her. “If there ever was a treasure here, it’s long gone by now.”
“Mayhap one of yer relatives found it many years ago, said naught to anyone, and simply spent it.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Probably Amos Leach.”
He nodded. “Mayhap.”
She blew out a breath. “Well, it would make a nice panic room. Maybe the bank can use it as a selling point for the house.” She hadn’t meant to sound so bitter.
“Panic room?”
“Somewhere to hide from bad guys.”
“There’s nae need for ye to hide while I am here.”
She shot him a small smile. His assurance was unnecessary, but at the same time, it made her feel better, highlighting the connection she felt to him. “I know.”
“In the morn, we’ll check Miss Celia’s and Olivia’s closets.”
“Good idea.” She wasn’t holding out much hope.
They went through the closet again and he shut it. Walking through her room, they stopped by her bedroom door. She reached out a hand to touch the back of his. “Alan, thank you for everything you’ve done. You’ll probably think it odd, but I feel like I’ve known you forever.” She averted her eyes, not quite daring to say more. “I think I’ll have a shower and go to bed. Good night.”
He nodded, looking as upset as she felt. “Good night, lass.”
When Lilith’s eyes opened the next morning, she felt reinvigorated. Granted, it was over. She accepted that the treasure was long gone and at some point, between last night and this morning, she’d relaxed about the whole thing.
They would lose the house.
But their goal to go out with a bang had been achieved, hadn’t it? They’d had a party to beat all parties: a ghost had shown up, a grave had been discovered, police, a hunt, and she’d had the most attractive and fabulous man at her side throughout it all.
And then in the middle of the night, a secret room.
With a squeal of excitement, she threw back the covers. She couldn’t wait to show Grandma and Olivia! She jumped out of bed and quickly dressed.
She found Alan sitting at the top of the stairs, waiting. They exchanged a grin. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who was excited. “Is Grandma up?”
“I heard her moving about.”
“Did you keep searching last night after I went to bed?”
“Perhaps a bit.”
“Did you get any sleep?”
“I’ve slept enough over the years, lass.”
She smiled at him. “Oh, that’s right. You were a ghost at Culloden Moor.”
His smile didn’t falter. “Ye doonae believe me, then?”
She moved forward, almost against her will. For some reason, she wanted to kneel down and hug the man, but didn’t quite dare. She reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder. “You feel real enough to me.”
He placed his hand over hers and chuckled. “Ye’re awfully sassy first thing in the morn.”
They were still grinning at each other when Grandma opened the door behind them. “What are you two doing out here?”
“Hold that thought! Let me get Olivia.”
She ran to Olivia’s room, and dragged her sleepy daughter out of bed. The startled kitten went scrambling, and the bird chirped loudly in its cage. Olivia wrapped her arms around Lilith’s neck, and her legs around her waist, and Lilith whispered to her, “Do you want to see a secret?”
That got Olivia’s attention and she opened her eyes wide. “Yes!”
“I thought so.” With her daughter in her arms, she joined the others. Grandma still waited expectantly, “What’s going on?”
“You’ll see.”
She led the way into her bedroom with Grandma following, and Alan bringing up the rear.
Everything was still pulled out of her closet, and she turned to Alan. “Do you want to do the honors?”
Alan quickly moved forward, opened the closet door, and flipped on the light. He lifted a flashlight he must have gotten from the kitchen and shined the light up high. He inserted the key into the knothole and, once again, there was a loud click and the wall opened a crack.
Grandma and Olivia gasped.
“Now, don’t get too excited,” Lilith warned. “There is no treasure. You need to know that right up front.”
Alan pushed the door open and stepped inside, running the flashlight around the small room.
Grandma walked past the clothing, shoes, and blankets, and into the small space. “Oh, my goodness!”
Lilith followed, grinning widely. “I know, right? The best Alan and I can figure is there probably was a treasure here at one time, and someone found it. It doesn’t do us any good now, but it’s still exciting, isn’t it?”
She watched Grandma a bit anxiously, hoping the good night’s sleep, and this new discovery, would cheer her, even if it wouldn’t save her house.
Grandma walked around the room. “My goodness. This has been here the entire time.”
Olivia wiggled to be put down, but Lilith held her tight. “The floor is dirty, sweetie. Once you get some shoes on, you can get down.”
Olivia stopped struggling and simply looked around, wide-eyed.
“I checked the other bedrooms last night,” Alan said. “And didn’t find anything in the closets. We thought we might check yours and Olivia’s this morn.”
Grandma finally turned, and there was wonder in her gaze. “Oh, my dear. Let’s do!”
They quickly checked Grandma’s closet, then Olivia’s, but there were no more secret doors to be found.
Lilith sighed. “It looks like the master bedroom closet was the only one with secrets.”
Even though there was no treasure, Grandma was as excited as Lilith had hoped, chattering and running to phone friends.
Alan headed outside, and Lilith went into the kitchen to wash the platters and straighten the kitchen as she tried to decide what to do next.
She supposed now that they knew for sure there was no treasure, she could start packing again. But not yet. Right now, she wanted to do one of her favorite things. Cook.
O
nce she started cooking, she didn’t stop. This would probably be their last nice breakfast in this house. Why not go all out?
She started French toast, bacon, hash browns, and then decided, why not a quiche? She sliced fruit, baked muffins, and made Grandma’s favorite muesli cereal.
After a while, Grandma and Olivia came in and sat down. “What’s all this?” Grandma asked.
“One last chance to make great memories here.”
Grandma didn’t say anything.
Lilith glanced around. “Where’s Alan?” She had a flash of panic, suddenly wondering if he’d disappeared as quickly as he’d appeared. She hadn’t really had a chance to tell him how she felt, how she was hoping for more.
“I don’t know, dear. Do you suppose he went back to sleep?”
“I guess he could have.”
At that moment, the kitchen door opened, and Alan came in holding a small black dog.
She was relieved and happy to see him, but confused about the wiggling, shaking dog. Before she had a chance to ask about it though, Olivia screeched with joy.
“Poor beggar had a scare out on the road.”
Lilith looked between Alan and her daughter. “We can’t keep him.”
“Mommy, please!”
Alan sighed. “I just thought we might offer him a bit of comfort, and perhaps a bite to eat. The wee mite has been through a bit, it seems.”
Alan settled the dog into Olivia’s outstretched arms.
Lilith sighed, but gave in. “Of course, we can offer him comfort.”
She watched the kitten stumble across the floor, the little dog settle in Olivia’s arms, and remembered the bird upstairs.
For that matter, Alan was new to this scenario too.
For someone about to move, she was starting to collect quite a menagerie.
In this house, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
In a tiny little apartment, that just wasn’t going to work out.
She was relieved Alan was still here though, and decided she didn’t want to give him up. If she somehow let Olivia keep her pets, could she keep Alan too?
Chapter 10
Alan carried the kitten and the dog, and helped Olivia get settled in the room under the stairs, watching cartoons with her new pets.
Lilith put the baby monitor in with her, and took the receiver to walk around with.
“Would ye like to continue the search, lass?” He’d already looked everywhere he could think of, but if she wished to continue, he would help.
“I don’t think it’s here anymore, do you?”
He wouldn’t think so, but if it wasn’t, why would Soni send him? To fail? That didn’t make sense to him, either. “It could be.”
She looked doubtful. “Well, we’re out of time. If it is here, I guess the next owners may be the ones to discover it.”
“Couldn’t ye get more time?”
She shrugged. “I guess I could talk to George Porter at the bank, tell him about the secret room we found, and see if that can’t buy us just a little more leeway.”
“Do ye think that might help?”
“Couldn’t hurt.”
The only problem was, time was the one thing he definitely did not have. Soni had promised to return him to the moor after two days. As far as he knew, he was the first one she’d made that offer to.
The thought of leaving the three females, alone and without his protection, didn’t set well with him at all. If he asked the witch, could he buy more time there as well? Would she perchance leave him here instead?
These females needed him far more than his brothers.
But what good would that do? He’d be a ghost once more, and knew none of them would see him if he were there. It would be bittersweet, indeed.
They wouldn’t be here, anyway, would they? They’d be in a tiny little apartment in town, which was completely ill-suited to them.
They belonged here.
He belonged with them.
Once again, he felt the added stress of knowing Soni would be coming for him soon. He needed to tell Lilith. If he simply disappeared …
He didn’t even wish to think about that. He couldn’t let Lilith down in such a way. “Lilith, I’ve something I need to tell ye. I’ve a friend coming to get me later. In just a few hours, in fact. A young witch.”
“What? You’re leaving?”
“I dinnae wish to. I was given but two days to come here to help.”
“Are you talking about the Culloden Moor thing again?”
She obviously did not believe him, and it felt like a weight upon his chest. “I ken ye cannae believe me, but I need ye to know the witch is coming here. I cannae stay past this day. I’ll be leaving by tonight.”
Her expression told him she was hurt by his words.
“If ’twas by my choice, I’d stay forever.”
She simply shrugged. “All right. If you need to go, then go. I’m not stopping you. Don’t let me keep you.”
The hurt in her voice distressed him and misery slashed him to the core. The last thing he’d ever wished to do was hurt her. He was trying to keep her from being hurt when he disappeared.
Tears glimmered in her eyes and she spun and walked toward the front door.
Heart thundering, he panicked.
He still had today and he wanted every minute of it. He had to make her understand, make her believe he’d never leave by his own choice.
Mindless, panicked, he ran after her, spun her around and threw her over his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her legs, and hurried down the stairs.
“What are you doing?”
He rushed around the corner of the house, carefully set her down, took her in his arms and kissed her as if the connection of their lips could keep her with him, impart the depth of feeling he’d borne for her since the moment he’d laid eyes on her, and crush any hurt she felt.
When he ended the kiss, and looked into her face and, Lilith, breathing hard, stared at him in astonishment. “What was that for?”
“I didnae wish ye to think I want to leave. I wish I could stay forever. But I’m here now, and I’m at yer disposal. I’ll search, I’ll beg the banker for more time, or if ye wish it, I’ll help ye pack and move. I’ll do anything I can to make yer life better after I’ve gone.”
Held within his arms, she studied him, her beautiful green eyes searching. “Alan, I have to be honest. I could see myself falling for you in a big way.”
Anguish ran through him. “Why did ye have to tell me such?”
Hurt flashed again and she pulled away.
“Lass …” His grip tightened for a moment before he reluctantly released her. What could he say when he could promise her nothing?
She tried to compose herself as she ran her hands over her apron. “All right. I’ll get Grandma to babysit, and then let’s go try to buy some more time by talking to Mr. Porter. What could it hurt?”
Regret ate at him as he followed her inside. Somehow, someway, he had to make everything right before he left.
They pulled up to the bank and Lilith put the car in park and turned to smile at him. Once again, she was amused by how nervous he was about riding in cars.
They went inside and asked to speak to George Porter, and Alan took her hand in his as a blonde receptionist seated them.
She squeezed his in return, appreciating the support.
After what Alan had said earlier, she didn’t know what to think. Was he really going to leave? He acted more like a man who wanted to stay.
Mr. Porter came out to greet them. “Miss Clarke, Mr. MacBean.” He shook hands with them both. “How are you today?”
“Fine, thank you.”
“Verra well.”
He gestured them into his office. “Please, come in.”
After motioning toward two chairs, he sat across the desk from them. “Last night was a lot of fun.” The man’s words did not match his expression. He looked anxious and she suspected he knew exactly why they were ther
e.
Lilith clasped her hands over her knee, and began. “Something has happened.”
“Is Celia all right?” The man looked devastated.
“She’s fine. Last night after everyone left, we found a secret room in the master bedroom closet.”
Mr. Porter looked stunned. “What was in it?” The hope in his voice let her know how much Grandma meant to the man.
“I’m sorry to say it was empty. But it did give us hope there is something more to be found in the house. All these years, and we didn’t know the room existed. What else are we missing?” She leaned forward. “Mr. Porter, if we could just have a little more time.”
The banker looked agonized. “Lilith, I wish more than anything I could help. I would do anything to be able to delay the foreclosure. I don’t know how much you know, but I’ve already been able to get you a little extra time, but now, even that’s up. There’s nothing else that can be done.”
Though she’d expected nothing else, her heart sank.
Alan leaned forward and clasped his hands between his knees. “Just a few days more? Is there no one ye can talk to? There are women and children involved.”
“I’m sorry.” Mr. Porter looked wretched. “Lilith, you’ve been living on borrowed time for the last six weeks. If you’re not out by Monday night, the police will show up at your house and escort you out. At that time, it will be at the bank’s discretion whether or not to let you back in even to get your possessions.”
He shook his head. “I’m not on the account anymore. Because of my friendship with your family, it’s been turned over to someone else. You have to believe I would do anything to prevent any unpleasantness. I’ve already taken Monday off work to help you move. I’ve already lined up people in the community that will also help. Did you look at those apartments I recommended?”
She nodded. “I did.”
“Storage sheds?”
“Yes, I’ve arranged for some of those as well.”
“You’ll have plenty of help moving out on Monday morning, and I’m sure it will go fast with so many hands. I’m so sorry. If there was anything I could do, I would do it.”
He looked at Alan. “Last night … well, Mr. MacBean, I wasn’t sure if what you were doing was such a good idea, but I could see you really lifted Celia’s spirits. And finding the body that way … that was so strange. Anyway, thank you for being there.”