Glancing up at the house, he saw a curtain drop quickly into place. Eden, Marcus or Paula Kerstairs?
Or was someone else inside Heartskeep?
“LEIGH?”
“Hayley? Is that you?”
“Yes.” She tried to inject her voice with enthusiasm. “How’s your visit going? The woman I spoke with earlier said you wouldn’t be back until late.”
“We just stopped back to change clothing. This connection is terrible. I can barely hear you. Can you hear me?”
“Yes. I can hear you perfectly.”
“Must be on my end, then. Is everything okay?”
“Of course,” Hayley lied. “I just wanted to say hi.”
“Oh. Well, I’m glad you called. We were talking about you this afternoon. I wish you had come with us.”
So did Hayley. “Next time. Leigh, do you know a man by the name of Bram Myers?”
Her sister fell silent. Static or no static, Leigh must have realized the question was important.
“No,” she said thoughtfully. “It’s an unusual name. I’m pretty sure I’d remember a guy named Bram. Is he cute?”
Hayley gripped the receiver more tightly. “Cute isn’t a word I’d use to describe him.” Sensual, incredibly masculine, dangerously sexy, but never cute.
“Hayley? You sound funny. Should I know him?”
“No! Not at all. I just wondered. He made a wrought-iron gate for Heartskeep.” She decided not to mention the rest. “His work is brilliant.”
“But?”
“No buts. I just wondered if you’d heard of him, that’s all. Marcus hired him.”
“Darn it, this static is terrible. Did you say Marcus hired him? He’s putting up a fence around our house?”
“Basically, yes.”
Leigh’s voice changed. Hayley pictured her sister worrying her lower lip. “Do you need me to come home, Hayley?”
More than anything.
“Of course not. I want you to take a ton of pictures to show me.”
“I miss you, too.”
“Thanks. Speaking of pictures, I found an old one of you the other day. I’m not sure where it was taken—”
“Hayley? Are you still there?”
“Leigh? I’m here.”
“Hayley? Can you hear me? Darn it! Look, if you can still hear me, I’m going to hang up now. All I can hear is static, and the girls are waiting. I’ll call you when we get back tonight. Maybe I can get a decent line out then. Okay? Darn this thing. Love you. Bye, for now.”
“Bye,” Hayley whispered, clutching the receiver against her cheek tightly before setting it down. She felt more alone than she ever had in her life.
“Was that your sister on the phone?”
Hayley whirled. Jacob stood there, though she hadn’t heard him enter.
“Yes,” she snapped.
He took a hasty step back, a hurt expression on his face. “Hey, sorry. I just wondered. Is everything okay? You look upset.”
Adrenaline still poured through her body and her nerves felt raw. “I’m fine. I just miss Leigh, that’s all. If you’ll excuse me—”
He held out a hand, stopping her when she would have risen from the desk.
“Wait! I was looking for you.”
“This isn’t a good time, Jacob.”
“Please. It’s important.” He shifted nervously. “Look, maybe I shouldn’t be sticking my nose in your business, but…well, I just saw your buddy Bram leaving the house.”
“We were talking.”
“Yeah? Well, did he happen to mention his wife while you were ‘talking’?”
Bram was married?
But he’d told her he wasn’t. He’d lied to her? Hayley didn’t want to believe it, but that would certainly explain why he didn’t want to talk about himself.
She found she had braced her hands against her grandfather’s walnut desk. The polished wood showed its years of use. If she lifted the heavy blotter, she could probably still find the spot where she and Leigh had tried to carve their initials with their grandfather’s silver-and-malachite letter opener.
“I see he didn’t tell you about her. I went into town this morning and talked to a few people.” Jacob eased into the green leather chair across from her. “Mom was uneasy about this guy so I didn’t think it would hurt to do some checking. I mean, your father isn’t… That is, Mom says…”
“Dementia or not, Marcus probably wouldn’t have done much checking once he decided to hire Bram,” Hayley agreed. “What else did you learn?”
Jacob arched his eyebrows in surprise. “You’re taking this pretty good. I was worried you’d be mad at me. You know, for sticking my nose in or something? But I don’t like the way he acts all possessive around you. So when I found out…”
“That he was married,” she finished for him when he shrugged uncomfortably. A numbness settled over her. Having a foggy brain was actually a relief at the moment. If this was shell shock, she was all for it. Her emotions seemed to have retreated to some safe haven, as they’d done when she’d realized her mother wasn’t going to come home ever again. Sooner or later they would ambush her, but for now, she could handle whatever Jacob had to say. And it was obvious there was more to come.
“I thought you’d be upset. I guess maybe you will be when I tell you the rest. I don’t know what Myers did for a living before, but he and his wife used to live in New York City, so I’d say it’s a safe bet he wasn’t always a blacksmith. His wife was related to the Peppertons.” He named one of the area’s old, socially elite families. Everyone knew of the Peppertons, of course. They were very active in breeding and racing horses, but Hayley didn’t know the family personally.
“Was?” she asked.
“She’s dead. So is the baby.”
Amazingly, Hayley’s mind processed those blows, as well. Only the fine tremor of her fingers betrayed any emotion at all. She lowered her hands to her lap, out of sight.
He hadn’t lied, but it came as a surprise that Bram had been a husband and a father.
“According to my sources,” Jacob continued, “Bram’s wife showed up at The Inn one day. She was real pregnant. She moved in with her cousin, Betty Pepperton, and made an appointment with a local OB.”
“Marcus?” Hayley made an effort to control her breathing. If she wasn’t careful, she’d hyperventilate, which would destroy this artificial calm.
“Beats me, but I wouldn’t be surprised, given he was the closest local OB-GYN back then. And it might explain a lot, if any of the wilder rumors are true. I mean, uh…I don’t know if, uh, you’ve heard any of the stuff people say in town. You know, about Marcus?”
Jacob shifted restlessly and the supple leather chair made soft noises of protest.
“I never listen to gossip, but nothing anyone says about Marcus would surprise me,” she assured him.
“Oh. Well, you know how people like to talk. Most of the stuff you hear isn’t true, anyhow.”
“Jacob, just spit it out.”
“Yeah. Okay. Well, they say Marcus lost more than one infant during a delivery. The nastier rumors say he may have lost some on purpose. Now, I’m not saying it’s true, but lots of women wait too long to do things about a pregnancy. You know, women who don’t want another kid?” Jacob shrugged again, looking even more uncomfortable.
“Are you saying Marcus killed Bram’s wife and child on purpose?”
“No! Of course not! A few people might want to think that, but Helen Myers delivered in a hospital and everything. Someone would have noticed if he’d done anything wrong on purpose. Most of the stuff I heard was about babies he delivered that didn’t make it to the hospital. But heck, the people in town don’t…you know, really like Marcus. He isn’t exactly considered a good doctor, if you know what I mean. They say he graduated last in his class. I mean, if that’s true, I don’t imagine he’d be particularly good if there were complications during a delivery. And from what I heard, Myers’s wife had a lot of complications. S
he had to have a cesarean section and there was trouble getting the baby out. Then she went and bled to death. Some people say he cut something he shouldn’t have, but who knows?”
Hayley tried not to shudder, but was only partially successful. “Bram wasn’t with her?”
“He showed up the day her cousin drove her to the hospital, but she was already dead when Myers got there. He went berserk. They say it took four security guards to calm him down.”
Hayley drew in a sharp breath.
“You know the worst part? The baby lived for almost four days. A lot of people wondered if it was really Bram’s baby, but I guess it must have been because he stayed with it the whole time. Everyone thought he’d go ballistic when it finally died, but the guy I talked to said Myers just sat there holding the little thing. He didn’t say a word for a long time and he wouldn’t let them take it away until he was good and ready.”
She could see the scene in her head. Those strong, capable hands holding that tiny infant. How he must have hurt. She ached for him. For all three of them.
“Afterward, he just got up, walked out and disappeared,” Jacob was saying. “No one saw him again. Until now. I think you have to agree it’s real strange, him turning up here like this. I mean, working for your dad and all?”
Hayley forced herself to concentrate on his words. “You think Bram came back here for retribution?”
Jacob shifted, looking toward the window at her back instead of meeting her eyes. “Like I said, you know how people are. They like to talk. Especially when a socially prominent family is involved. There were lots of rumors flying around back then.”
“About Bram?”
Jacob hesitated. “You sure you want to hear this?”
He threw up his hands at her impatient scowl. “Okay, okay. There was talk about Myers. You know—was it really his baby, did his wife pick a doctor who might screw up, hoping to get rid of the child? That sort of thing. Other people wondered if she came here to have the baby because she was afraid of Myers. He’s a big guy, and she was a small woman, from what I heard. And it is pretty strange that she left her husband when she was so pregnant and all. They eloped when her family demanded she stop seeing Myers. She was only eighteen at the time. Lots younger than him, you know. People figured he married her for her money.”
Hayley twisted her hands together tightly in her lap.
“Anyhow, what really surprised everyone was that no lawsuits were filed over their deaths. Even her family didn’t sue anyone.” Jacob shrugged. “Apparently, the Peppertons blamed Myers instead of the doctor. Chester Pepperton caused a big scene at the hospital after his sister died. Security threw him out.”
“Threw Bram out?”
“No, Pepperton. They say Myers just stood there like a stone and let him yell. Security had to drag his wife’s brother out.”
Hayley’s hands were now clenched so tightly she could no longer feel her fingers.
“The thing is,” Jacob continued, “I’m not sure if Marcus was Helen’s doctor or not, but after I heard all this stuff, I got to wondering, you know? I mean, it strikes me as real odd that Myers would come back here for any reason. When you introduced him around at The Inn, a few of the old-timers remembered the story and started talking. I started wondering if maybe he had decided to get some of his own back from Marcus. I mean, he was real upset about the baby, and if Marcus was to blame…”
There was a buzzing in her head. Vaguely, Hayley wondered if she was in danger of passing out again. Since she was sitting down, at least she wouldn’t have far to fall.
“I’d ask Mom about it, but you know how she is.” Jacob shrugged once more. “Patient confidentiality is a religion with her. Still, the more I heard, the more I thought you ought to know about these rumors. You need to be careful around him, you know? I mean, it’s possible he’s playing up to you in an effort to strike back at Marcus.”
“Thanks,” she muttered weakly.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have told you. You aren’t mad at me, are you? You look sort of upset.”
Devastated would have been a better word choice, but it wasn’t Jacob’s fault she’d fallen for a man who might be using her to get revenge against a father she didn’t even like. Talk about irony.
Hayley shook her head. “I’m glad you told me. How long ago did this happen?”
“I’m not sure, exactly. Around ten years or so.”
Hayley stared at him. She would have been thirteen, wearing braces and just starting to take an interest in clothes and makeup. She’d considered most boys jerks, and she wouldn’t have looked twice at someone as old as Bram back then.
But she’d lived here ten years ago, and even though she and Leigh went to a private school, she would have thought she’d have heard about a scandal like this. Of course, her mother and grandfather always went to great lengths to shelter them, and that was the summer they had gone to camp, wasn’t it?
Hayley realized Jacob was regarding her oddly.
“Maybe Myers really did come here for revenge.” He scooted forward to the edge of his seat.
The room started closing in on her. Dizziness hovered on the edge of awareness. She focused on Jacob’s worried expression in an effort to keep the room from reeling.
“No one would wait ten years to take revenge for something like that,” she said.
“Sure they would. There are people who plan their revenge for years.”
“Only in movies.”
But, she conceded, Bram was the cautious, deliberate sort. She’d noticed that about him from the first, probably because she tended to plunge headlong into everything. Still, it would be in character for him to take his time and plan carefully if he wanted something. But to wait ten years to take revenge?
Hayley didn’t buy it. She could see where Jacob’s thoughts were leading him, but the explosive chemistry between Bram and her had nothing to do with Marcus or revenge. She was the one who’d been pushing Bram, not the other way around.
It seems to me someone’s playing a sick game with you.
Not Bram. Please don’t let it be Bram.
“Bram isn’t here for revenge.”
As soon as she said the words, she knew they were true. If he’d plotted to use her, he would have done his research. He would have known she was a twin. He hadn’t faked his surprise when she’d told him. Nor was his concern for her phony. She might be going crazy, but her instincts couldn’t be that far off base.
Jacob stood, leaning across the desk. “Geez, Hayley, at least think about the possibility. You didn’t fall for this guy, did you? I mean, he’ll only hurt you, even if the rumors have it all wrong. Myers is scary. He’s nobody to fool around with. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“It won’t.”
Hayley’s gaze swept the room and landed on a silent figure standing to one side of the library door. Like a wraith in a horror movie, Paula Kerstairs watched them intently.
Hayley lurched to her feet, thankful her legs were still willing to support her. “Can we help you?” she demanded harshly. Jacob twisted around.
“His mother wants him.” Paula inclined her head toward Jacob, then, like any self-respecting ghost, faded from sight.
“Geez! That woman gives me the creeps,” Jacob said.
Hayley knew exactly what he meant. “You’d better go.”
“Yeah. Okay. Look, I’m sorry I told you all that stuff. I probably should have kept my big mouth shut. You aren’t mad at me, are you?”
“Of course not.”
“Are you sure you’re okay, Hayley?”
“I’m fine.”
His expression altered abruptly. He looked her up and down with a smile that changed everything.
“Yeah,” he said huskily. “You really are fine. You’re a beautiful woman, Hayley. I’ll catch you later.”
“Later,” she agreed faintly. Much later.
Never once in all the years she’d known him had Jacob ever looked at her like that. W
atching him saunter from the room, she told herself she must have been mistaken. That couldn’t have been a gleam of sexual interest she’d seen in his eyes.
She liked Jacob. She always had. But she had absolutely no romantic interest in him. How could she, when all she could think about was Bram? Besides, Jacob had never given any indication that he was attracted to her.
Until last night.
Now that she thought about it, she remembered worrying about the way he’d touched her. Then there was that inexplicable animosity between Jacob and Bram. Had she been missing subtle signals for years? The last thing she wanted to do was hurt Jacob.
The rumors and innuendoes he’d told her about Bram were disturbing, but she didn’t believe for a minute that Bram had returned to town for revenge. Still, it was disconcerting to think Marcus might have been his wife’s doctor. Why would Bram come here to work for the man responsible for his wife’s death?
Why would Marcus let him?
There was only one way to find out. She’d ask Bram. But first, it was high time to start being proactive. She needed to talk to the lawyer and get some advice. Since she must have left his letter back in her apartment, she’d have to hunt through the local telephone book for his name. She was pretty sure she’d remember it when she saw it again.
Hayley pulled the phone book from the shelf across the room and returned to the desk. Exhaustion was pulling at her, but she was determined to do this now. She’d at least find his name and write down his phone number, then maybe catch a quick nap before she actually called him.
There were more legal listings than she’d expected. Was everyone in the county a lawyer? Her eyes were drooping when her finger literally landed on a small ad to one side of the page. Rosencroft and Associates. That was it! Ira Rosencroft had signed the letter.
Grabbing a pen, she opened the desk drawer for the pad of paper her grandfather always kept there. The usually tidy drawer was a jumbled mess.
Someone had been using her grandfather’s desk.
Annoyed, she delved inside, but the pad of paper was missing. The middle drawer was even worse. Envelopes and papers had been shoved inside with no order at all.
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