Facing him once more, she waited in silence. The humour was gone from her face, her gaze steady.
Sobering, Adam reached up to tug a lock of her blonde hair before sliding the tip of one finger across her chin, smiling inside when she unconsciously rubbed her cheek against his finger. “You’re not the same girl you were all those years ago. You’ve matured, your attitude has changed. You’ve become a loving, caring person. You know that.”
“Yes.” It was almost a whisper. “But how can you separate me from who I used to be? When I hurt you so badly?”
“I won’t say it was easy.” Relentlessly, he forged onwards, ignoring her flinch. “When you first got here, all I remembered was what you’d done, yet as time went on I could see the changes in you. I know who you were, and I know who you are now. It’s who you are now that I’m attracted to.” He paused. “That I want.”
“Yes, but…”
“But what?”
Sighing, she shook her head and shoved her free hand through her hair.
“Barbie.”
“How do you do that?” She cast him a sideways look.
He arched one brow.
“Go all deep and commanding and shit?”
“Practise.” He continued regarding her steadily.
“Huh.” Looking down, she fiddled with a button on her dressing gown.
Not prepared to let her close up on him, Adam shifted closer, taking her chin, tilting her head back and around, gently but firmly forcing her to meet his gaze. Then he simply waited.
“I’m just…” When she faltered, he didn’t say a word, just kept looking until she finished in a rush, “I’m worried that if we get into an argument, you’re going to see the girl I was.”
Both his eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“It could happen,” she muttered.
Women. Christ. “Barbie, we probably will argue, people do. I’m not expecting you to be a saint. I’m not a saint. So we argue, big deal. I’m not going to just turn on you like a rabid dog and start accusing you of being someone you no longer are.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Studying her face, Adam let her stew for several seconds to make a better impact when he finally answered clearly, “Because I’d never have made love to you if you hadn’t changed to be the wonderful woman you are now.”
She blushed, smiled, ducked her head.
Watching her, he felt warmth slip through him when she shifted a little closer. That was good.
Peeking up at him, she whispered, “Adam?”
“Yeah?” He lowered his head towards her.
Barbie leaned a little closer. “You really think I’m wonderful?”
“Hell yeah. You can give a blow job brilliant enough to blow a man’s brains right out of the top of his head.”
Her eyes widened before she started laughing.
Unable to resist, Adam kissed her, dropping his mouth over hers, swallowing her laugh.
Tasting her.
Releasing her hand, he slid his arm around her, drawing her up against him.
So soft, so warm. She nestled into him, her tongue playing along his lip until, with a growl, he swept inside to take her mouth.
One taste wasn’t enough, one kiss. Hunger rose in him, the need to be closer to her surging upwards.
In one move he stood, his arm drawing her up with him as he continued kissing her.
They were in such a hurry, so caught up in rising lust that they both tripped on the step and nearly fell off the veranda.
Giggling, Barbie clung to him for balance.
“Shit.” Adam laughed. “Let’s go somewhere more comfortable.”
“Or at least where there’s more light to see by. Imagine if I had to explain why you were sprawled at the bottom step of my veranda with a broken ankle and wearing only a pair of pants?”
“Baby, I’m so hard right now my dick could act as a crutch.” He pinched her bottom, making her squeal.
Grinning, he followed her into the house.
He didn’t leave until the next morning. Walk of shame? Hell, no. Walk of victory? Hell, yes.
And he didn’t care who saw.
~*~
“So, did Adam enjoy his massage?” Ali asked.
Barbie grinned into the phone. “Yep.”
“Ease some of his tension?”
“Oh yeah.”
After a few seconds silence, Ali burst out, “Tell me about it!”
“Not happening.”
“Why not?”
Because I did something very unprofessional. “Client confidentiality.”
“Aw, what? What’s so confidential about a massage?”
“The kind you booked him in for.”
“Shoulders and back? What’s so confidential about that?”
Barbie shook her head. “Nice try.”
“‘Nice try’ what?’
“The shoulders and back. What about the rest?”
“But we only booked shoulders and back. I booked it myself, remember?”
“Yeah, and Ghost rang about five minutes later and…” Barbie trailed off, a strong suspicion forming.
“Ghost rang?”
“Yeah. You didn’t know?”
“No. What did he ring for?” Suspicion was also heavy in Ali’s voice.
Oh boy. Barbie rolled her eyes. “Ghost asked if I did full body massages.”
“Oh shit!” Ali swore. “I will kill him! Barbie, I’m so sorry. Lori and I would never have put Adam in for a full body massage.”
“I get that now.”
“I should have realised something was up when Ghost jumped the fence to see Matt, leaving me and Lori at the house. I should have known that pair of miscreants was up to no-good!”
Barbie smiled. “It’s all right, Ali.”
“No, it’s not. How emba- what do you mean, it’s all right?”
“Adam got what was ordered.” With a little extra. Barbie smirked.
There was silence for several seconds before Ali started crowing. “Something happened! Something happened between you and Adam!”
She had no idea. “Yeah, he got a full body massage.”
“Sweet baby Jesus. Tell me everything.”
Barbie grinned. “Sorry, client confidentiality.”
“Did you two have sex?” Ali demanded.
“What dirty mind you have. I’m a professional.”
“You did! You two had sex!”
“I’m a professional. He got a massage.”
“Yeah, but after, you two had the great shag.”
“Client confidentiality.”
“What a crock of shit! Barbie Declan, you better start spitting out details.”
Amused, she fingered the roses in the vase. “Now why would I do that?”
“Because we set you both up.”
“Oh, really?”
“Uh…”
“So you deliberately booked a massage for Adam with the goal of we two having sex?”
“You make it sound so clinical.”
“You’re not even denying it?”
“Well…” Ali paused. “Client confidentiality.”
“What?”
“We actually paid for his massage, so technically that makes me a client, so I don’t have to divulge that.”
“Your omission makes it perfectly clear.”
“You know,” Ali said reasonably, “Ghost and Matt are actually to blame. Lori and I only ordered a back and shoulders. It was those scheming louts that went the whole hog.”
“Trying to distance yourself, Ali?”
“Too bloody right.”
Barbie started laughing.
“Ah ha!” Ali crowed again. “You’re laughing! Things did get hot and heavy between you and Adam, and you liked it!”
Barbie took pity on her friend. “Okay, to be fair, your plan kind of worked.”
“Yes! Details.”
“No details.” At Ali’s groan of disappointment, Barbie added, “Let’s jus
t leave it as Adam and I are seeing each other while I’m here.”
“Whoo hoo!”
Wryly, Barbie looked at the phone before putting it back to her ear. “Happy much?”
“Ecstatic!”
“Good.” A sound caught Barbie’s attention, and she glanced out the window. “Oh, Mr Parker and Mrs Hubble have arrived. I have to go.”
“For massages? Really?”
“They’re going to look at the old photos I have here, and hopefully Mr Parker will tell me some more about the mystery grave.”
“Creepy. Have you heard anything else weird during the night?”
“Last night I slept like a log.”
“I bet.” The smirk was evident in Ali’s voice.
“You have no shame.’
“That’s what Ghost says, but he likes it.”
Barbie laughed. “I gotta go, Ali. I’ll catch you later.”
“Bet your arse on it.”
Barbie was waiting by the door when Mrs Hubble and Old Man Parker came up onto the veranda.
Swinging open the door, Barbie held her hand out to Old Man Parker. “Thank you so much for coming, Mr Parker. I really appreciate it.”
He smiled, shaking her hand in a surprisingly strong grip. “My pleasure. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”
Mrs Hubble proffered a plastic covered plate. “Just a little nibble for afternoon tea, dear.”
“Why, thank you. So sweet.” Taking the plate, Barbie stepped to the side. “Please, come in. The lounge is on the right.”
Old Man Parker headed down the corridor and turned unerringly into it, a sure indication that he’d been in the house in the past. When Barbie and Mrs Hubble entered the lounge behind him, it was to find him looking up at one of the old photos on the wall.
Placing the plate of homemade cake on the table, Barbie came up beside him and pointed to one of the photos of a young girl with a slightly wicked smile. “I’m guessing that’s Great Aunt Penny when she was young?”
“Yep.” Old Man Parker nodded. “I remember Penny when she was young. A little wild, her poor mother trying to teach her the ways of a proper lady.”
Huh, maybe Barbie had more in common with Great Aunt Penny than she’d realised.
Old Man Parker moved to an old photo of a straight, unsmiling man with a handlebar moustache. “This was Penny’s father, Harold Declan. A strict, hard man.”
Barbie studied the photo while Old Man Parker moved around the room. Harold Declan looked like he’d never laughed a day in his life, so where did Great Aunt Penny get her wild streak?
“This is Penny’s mother.” Old Man Parker waited while Mrs Hubble and Barbie walked up behind him. “Sweet as they come, but she had steel in her spine when needed.” He smiled. “You didn’t want to cross her. I remember her berating me when I was climbing the tree and fell out into her daises. Scared the heck out of me.”
“Daisies?” Barbie looked at him. “I didn’t see any daisies growing here.”
“Oh, Penny was never one for up-keeping the garden once her mother passed away.” He grew serious. “Let the gardens go. When everything died, she simply hired some of the neighbourhood boys to rake it all up into a pile and burn it.”
“Wow. Seems a little extreme.”
“Penny did her own thing.”
“I know her brother didn’t stay in contact, some old family argument with her father, I think my Dad said.”
Mrs Hubble glanced at her. “You don’t know much about Penny, do you?”
“Dad told us a long time ago that the family drifted apart sometime before the First World War. That’s all we know.”
“The Declan line is very stubborn. Penny’s brother, Lance, had a huge row with his father to do with his choice of bride, and Lance left. Neither side attempted contact. Mr Declan never tolerated anyone crossing him, didn’t really know the meaning of the word ‘forgiveness’.”
“How sad,” Barbie murmured.
Old Man Parker ran one hand lovingly across the old piano. “Penny used to play this a lot. I could hear her whenever I rode past on my pushbike. Used to play in the evenings for her mother, then, when she passed away, she’d play for herself.”
That sounded even sadder. Barbie had a sudden mental picture of a lonely old lady playing on the piano, the music filtering through the empty rooms.
Remembering her manners, she gestured to the sofa and armchairs. “Shall we sit and have a cuppa?”
“Sounds lovely, dear,” Mrs Hubble replied brightly. “I’ll help you in the kitchen.”
It wasn’t long and they were sitting back down, Barbie in an armchair, Old Man Parker and Mrs Hubble on the sofa.
Old Man Parker sipped his tea, nodding approval as he took a bite of Mrs Hubble’s cake. “Ah, this is the life.”
Mrs Hubble smoothed a paper napkin on her lap before picking up her mug. “Percy, you’d live on cake and tea if you could.”
“Nothing wrong with that, Clare.”
Mrs Hubble rolled her eyes.
Old Man Parker looked across at Barbie. “I hear that Ghost told you about the graves and rose bushes?”
“Yes. He said that two of the graves belong to Penny’s Aunt and Uncle, who both died young.”
Old Man Parker nodded. “Yep. One died of pneumonia, the other of what they called a ‘fading disease’, which was probably a form of leukaemia or something similar. They couldn’t really tell back then.”
Mrs Hubble took a dainty nibble of cake. “One of the graves is a memorial to the young man who went missing in action in the war. Really upset Penny, didn’t it, Percy?”
Old Man Parker nodded slowly. “I don’t think she ever really recovered. Used to see her waiting at the gate on and off, just staring into the distance. Very sad.” He took a bite of cake, chewed thoughtfully and swallowed. “Many a young lad came here looking to court the pretty Penny Declan, but she never accepted any of them.”
“Wow, that’s really sad.” Barbie looked from Mrs Hubble to Old Man Parker. “Did she have a photo of this lost love?”
“Not that I heard,” Mrs Hubble replied.
“Who knows?” Old Man Parker shrugged. “Penny never mentioned him after awhile.” He looked at his mug. “Could do with a refill, love, if you have any left.”
Barbie quickly replenished the mugs with fresh hot tea before resuming her seat on the armchair.
“You never heard about ghosts here, did you?” Barbie asked curiously.
“Mrs Hubble’s eyes grew round. “My dear, whatever do you mean?”
“Spirits,” Old Man Parker stated. “The departed.”
“Goodness me!” Mrs Hubble frowned at Barbie. “There are no such things as ghosts, dear.”
“I understand that Great Aunt Penny mentioned ghosts to Gus.”
“Gus? Pfft! What would he know? Biggest gossiper in town.”
That Mrs Hubble could make that statement with a straight faced amused Barbie. “You don’t say.”
Old Man Parker lowered his mug. “Well…”
“You’ve heard something?” Barbie queried.
“Percy, really-” began Mrs Hubble.
“Now, Clare.” He raised one hand to stop her protest. “Gus might run off at the mouth a little, but he was actually quite friendly with Penny, one of the few townsfolk she talked to. Now, I’m not saying this place is haunted, but I will say that towards the end of her days, Penny became rather…uh…eccentric.”
“Mad as a cut snake,” Mrs Hubble muttered.
Resting her forearms on her knees, Barbie leaned forward. “She told Gus she heard and saw things.”
“She refused to let Adam out here when he wanted to look around, instead she called in some weird priest type from somewhere and had the house exorcised.”
Mrs Hubble rolled her eyes. “Waste of time.”
“Granted,” Old Man Parker agreed. “Penny told Gus it hadn’t worked, she was still seeing things go past her windows, hear things outside.”
Even though it was broad daylight, Barbie felt a chill go through her.
“She told Gus she’d find windows open when she knew she’d closed them.” Old Man Parker studied Barbie. “You ever have that problem?”
“It was a broken frame.” Barbie gripped her mug a little tighter.
“See?” Mrs Hubble nodded. “Perfectly reasonable explanation.”
Old Man Parker looked thoughtfully at Barbie over the rim of his mug as he took another sip.
“I guess if Great Aunt Penny heard things outside and believed the house was haunted, she’d think the same of the inside, wouldn’t she?” Barbie asked.
“Have you heard noises, love?” Old Man Parker watched her.
“Oh, you know…” Barbie laughed lightly. “Old houses make noises.”
“In any particular rooms?’ he queried.
Her laugh died. “Are there particular rooms?”
His gaze was serious. “Library. The children’s old rooms.”
The cold chill shivered down Barbie’s spine. “Oh, the shelf fell down in the girl’s room. Old furniture.”
“All perfectly rational explanations,” Mrs Hubble announced in a no-nonsense tone. “Really, Percy, you’ll scare the girl to death.” Picking up the plate of cake, she held it out to Barbie. “Have another slice, dear.”
“Thank you, no.” Barbie smiled politely.
“Quite right.” Old Man Parker downed the last of the tea ion the mug suddenly. “Now, love, any other photos I can help identify for you?”
Relieved to change the subject from ghosts and unnerving happenings to something more based in reality, Barbie retrieved the photo albums and brought them back. They spent a happy and interesting time flipping through the photos, Old Man Percy and Mrs Hubble both able to identify most of the subjects, while Barbie carefully made note of the names, places and roughly the years.
“What are you going to do with the photos, dear?” Mrs Hubble inquired as they started upstairs so that they could see the photos on the walls.
“They’ll go home to Dad, he’s the family photo man. I’m packing them soon.”
“So you’re really not keeping the house?”
“It was never my plan.”
Old Man Parker gave the banister a good tug. “You’re getting a lot of work done.”
“It needs it.”
“It’ll make a real nice family home once everything is repaired and wallpapered.”
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