A little nervously, Leigh held out her hand and let Lucky sniff for a second before timidly stroking his broad head. A long wet tongue swiped at her hand in response.
“Why, you big fraud. You’re a lover, aren’t you?”
“You’ve got his number.” R.J. ruffled Lucky’s fur and the dog grinned up at him. “He’s a pussycat at heart. All size and no threat to anything more dangerous than a recliner.”
“Where’d you get him, R.J.?”
“In an abandoned well on a job site I was working. The cover had rotted away and Lucky must have fallen in. The vet thought he’d been stuck in there for several days. He had two broken legs and some pretty bad lacerations, but he was alive and happy to be rescued. No one came forward to claim him, so I paid the vet bill and we’ve been buddies ever since, right, Lucky?”
The dog woofed happily at the sound of his name while the stubby tail wagged agreement. But when R.J. called him to leave, Lucky sat down next to Leigh with the air of one who had no intention of going anywhere.
“It’s okay, R.J. Lucky can stay with me if he wants.”
The truth was, she was happy to have the dog’s company. She didn’t like being alone in the house even if it was filled with workers. Lucky followed her back downstairs and into her grandfather’s office. Thumbing through her grandfather’s Rolodex, she found a business card for the landscaper who had put in the fountain and the sprinkler system. He answered her call personally, and offered to stop by and give her an estimate within the hour since it was on his way to another appointment.
Relieved, Leigh hung up and smiled at Lucky. “Come on, fella, let’s stretch our legs.”
Her grandfather’s desk used to be neat and orderly, but now it was a jumbled mess. Leigh had to hunt through the messy drawers to find a pad of paper and a working pen, but as soon as she did, she began going from room to room, making notes of what needed work or replacing.
She was surveying the living room when the prickly sensation of being watched gradually demanded her attention. Lucky lifted his head alertly, as if he was studying the balcony. His very stillness was scary. She tried to determine where he was looking.
Leigh could hear workers talking to each other above the loud radio station they were playing, but there was no one in view. Yet the sensation intensified. Someone was watching her. Lucky whined softly. He moved to stand against her legs. Laying her hand on his head, she scanned both rooms closely.
The overhead skylights filled the rooms with sunlight, yet somehow the balconies still lay mostly in shadows due to the darkly paneled walls that encased them. Was there a way to access that area? Could someone be standing in one of those shadows, watching her? The shadows appeared deeper near the corner where the two rooms met. Was it her imagination, or had there been the slightest of movements in the darkness up there?
Lucky growled low in his massive chest. The hairs on the back of her neck lifted. In the front hall, the main door opened.
“Leigh?”
“Gavin!” She turned and ran toward him, but Lucky beat her there. “Lucky, no!”
Gavin braced himself as the animal leaped. Staggering back under the animal’s weight, he ruffled the dog’s fur, even as he pushed him down.
“Hey there, Lucky, how ya doin’, fella?”
Leigh came to a halt. “You know Lucky?”
“Sure. R.J. and I play on the same softball team.”
“You play softball?” The image was so unexpected she shook her head.
“Some of my teammates might argue that point, but you shouldn’t look so surprised. You haven’t even seen me play.”
“No. I mean, I…well…I just never thought…”
“I was a team player?” he provided wryly, stroking the big dog’s head affectionately. “People do change, you know, Leigh. What are you doing?”
“I think someone’s in the house again.”
“Several someones from the sound of all that noise.” Then he seemed to recognize her tension. “What’s wrong?”
Leigh lowered her voice, even though no one could hear much over the hammering and the country-western song blaring away.
“You were right. There must be a way onto the balconies. I think someone is up there right now.”
His features tightened as his gaze lifted. “Where?”
“I’m not sure, but I think something moved in the shadows between the two rooms. Lucky was looking up there and growling right before you came in.”
“Lucky’s been known to growl at leaves, but let’s have a look.”
Anxiously, she followed him back into the living room. The area near the corner no longer looked as dark as it had, and the sense of menace was gone.
“I think they’re gone.”
As if in full agreement, Lucky ambled over to the nearest love seat. After sizing it up, he gave a surprisingly graceful leap and settled himself across it with a loud doggy sigh of satisfaction.
“At least he isn’t eating it,” Leigh said.
Gavin’s lips quirked in amusement. “There is that. Wait here.”
“Where are you going?”
Gavin didn’t answer. He strode back out the front door. Lucky raised his head, but decided action on his part wasn’t called for and he settled back down.
“Some protector you are,” she told the contented animal. “R.J. was right. You’re a pussycat at heart.”
Gavin returned with R.J. and a large extension ladder.
“You aren’t going to climb up there, are you?” she demanded.
“It’s too high to jump.”
“That isn’t funny. You’re crazy. He’s crazy,” she told the dog. Lucky sighed and went back to studying the insides of his eyelids. Gavin had stripped off his suit coat and tie outside, but he still wore dress slacks and a white shirt.
“You’re going to ruin those pants,” she warned as the men propped the long ladder against the balcony railing near a marble support column.
“They’ll dry-clean.”
“Leigh has a point,” R.J. told him. “You aren’t dressed for this. I’ll go up and take a look around. I’m used to ladders, not desk chairs.”
“I may not be part monkey like you, Monroe, but I think I can manage to climb a ladder,” Gavin retorted.
Leigh held her breath as he mounted the rungs quickly while R.J. braced the ladder for him. The balcony was a good fourteen to twenty feet above them. If he fell, Gavin would break his fool neck.
He didn’t fall. He paused to survey the balcony before he swung a leg over the railing with a lot more grace than she could have managed.
“Be careful,” R.J. cautioned. “I haven’t checked the soundness of the flooring up there.”
Gavin stamped his foot. “Feels solid to me. There’s dust around the edges of the carpeting, but this has been vacuumed in the not so distant past. That means there must be a way in and out. But, if someone was up here, they’re gone now.”
He moved away from the railing.
“Can you still see me?”
“Yes,” she called out nervously.
He moved deeper into the shadows.
“That white shirt’s pretty easy to spot,” R.J. added. “No. Now you’re out of sight.”
“But you aren’t,” he said. “Whisper something.”
“What?”
“Whisper something.”
“What do you want me to whisper?” Leigh asked very softly.
“The acoustics are something else. I think I could hear a pin drop on the carpeting down there.”
“The paneling may be acting like a funnel,” R.J. told him.
“Gavin? What are you doing?” Leigh asked.
“Looking for a door.”
“I’m coming up,” R.J. called out to him. “Hold the ladder for me, Leigh.”
Before she could protest, he scaled the ladder with a speedy nimbleness that made her blink. Lucky raised his head to watch. Seconds later, R.J. also disappeared from view.
Lei
gh fretted, unable to hear even their footsteps. The idea that someone had been able to stand there all these years and watch everything that happened down here was disconcerting. The men reappeared several minutes later, arguing. She gripped the ladder as R.J. swung back onto it and started down. He in turn held it for Gavin.
“There has to be a door,” Gavin grumbled. “Even an expert isn’t going to climb that high carrying a vacuum cleaner.”
“I agree, but it’s well concealed. I’ll go up later with a light and have a look around,” R.J. told him. “I figure the door has to be built into one of the wood panels, but I need light to spot the seam and I don’t want to turn on the main power until we finish gutting the place.”
“Can’t we use your generator?”
“Yeah, but I’ll have to rig something up first.”
They all turned as the front door opened again and Hayley and Bram walked in. The two of them stopped at the sight of the men pulling down the extension ladder.
“What’s going on?” Hayley asked.
“They were checking out the balconies.”
“Leigh thought someone was up there,” Gavin added.
“How would they get there?” Bram asked.
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”
Hayley interrupted, looking over her shoulder out the open door. “There’s a van that says Franklin Nurseries pulling up outside. So is a large flatbed trailer with a big container on back.”
“Gotta go,” R.J. said.
Lucky uncurled himself from the couch, gave a shake of his massive body and jumped down to greet the newcomers.
“Ohmygod! What is that?” Hayley demanded.
“Meet Lucky,” Leigh told her sister. “He belongs to R.J.”
“What is he, part bear?”
“Could be, but don’t worry. His taste runs to furniture—or so I’ve been told. Listen, I wasn’t expecting Gavin to get here so early. Would you do me a favor and show Mr. Franklin what needs to be done out back while I talk to Gavin for a minute?”
“Sure.”
“Come on, Lucky,” Bram said.
The dog followed them outside and she turned to Gavin. “You said you wouldn’t get here until noon.”
“Mrs. Carbecelli decided not to change her will after all. How sure are you that someone was up there?”
“I’m not sure of anything. I couldn’t see anyone, but I felt like I was being watched. Then the dog started growling. Did you find anything?”
He fished in his pocket and held up a gum wrapper.
“That could have been there forever.”
“I don’t think so. You can still smell the spearmint on the wrapper. Know anyone who favors spearmint gum?”
Leigh shook her head.
“Last night when we were leaving, I thought I heard a door close up there.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
“Because I thought it more prudent to get you away from here at the time. Let’s finish that tour we started.”
“What about Mr. Franklin?”
“Hayley can handle him, can’t she?”
Of course she could, but Leigh’s nerves were jumping.
“Obviously, you and Hayley didn’t know about the balcony access,” Gavin said. “Who do you think did besides your mother and grandfather?”
“I don’t know. Maybe Mrs. Walsh and Kathy.”
“We definitely need to have a talk with them. What about Eden and Jacob?”
“I don’t know about Eden, but I don’t see why Jacob would know when we didn’t.”
“Have you talked to either of them since that meeting at my office?”
“No. Why? Do you think it was one of them up there?” She didn’t like thinking of Eden standing there spying on her.
“Anything’s possible,” he said as he started up the main staircase. “What about Jacob’s father? Does he have any contact with the family?”
Leigh hesitated, debating how to answer the question.
“It’s a simple question, Leigh. Yes, no, or I don’t know.”
She paused at the top of the stairs and looked around. There was no one in sight. “Actually, it isn’t that simple. Hayley asked Jacob about his father once. Jacob said he died when Jacob was a baby.”
“But?”
“His father isn’t dead. I’m not sure if he knows that or not. The only reason I know is because there was a disturbance in the front hall one day. I was about twelve, I think. Eden and my grandfather were arguing with a man I’d never seen before. Eden was shouting that he’d signed away his rights to Jacob before the boy was born and she didn’t owe him anything. My grandfather told him if he didn’t want to go back to prison he should stay away from everyone connected to Heartskeep.”
Gavin frowned thoughtfully and she wished she hadn’t said anything.
“I shouldn’t have told you. I never even told Hayley.”
He laid a hand on her arm. “I won’t repeat it, Leigh. I’m trying to get a feel for anyone who might be connected to Heartskeep.”
“You don’t have to worry about Jacob’s father. The first year we started college I overheard Eden telling Marcus that Jacob’s father was back in prison where he belonged. She said he’d be an old man before they let him out again this time.”
“Interesting.”
Feeling guilty for revealing something so private, she sought for a change of topic. “Gavin, what are we doing up here?”
“I want to have another look at that linen closet.”
“You think the entrance is through the closet?”
“Seems like the perfect spot to hide an entrance to me. What kid’s going to pay attention to a linen closet?”
The idea sent her heart pounding. She’d seen Kathy go in and out of the two side-by-side closets on numerous occasions and never gave it a thought. He opened the first door, which was lined with shelves full of linens. The door next to it held cleaning supplies and paper products.
“Did your grandfather own stock in the toilet-paper industry?”
“We do have something like thirteen bathrooms in this house,” she reminded him.
“See, I told you it was a ready-made inn.” He poked past the vacuum cleaner, mops, pails, plungers and related items. Near the back, a small cart, similar to those used in most hotels, blocked the back wall. Gavin shoved it to one side, tossing her a look with raised eyebrows.
“So we grew up in a hotel,” Leigh said. “Sue me.”
“I’d rather kiss you.”
Her heart gave a funny little flip, but he didn’t even look at her. His attention seemed focused on the back wall and she decided she must have heard him wrong. How could he say something so outrageous and then act as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened?
“Bingo.”
“What did you say?”
He turned around to face her. “I said, bingo.”
“No, I mean before that.”
Everything changed. She felt it in every fiber of her body. He regarded her steadily while her pulse jumped crazily.
“Surely you aren’t surprised I’d like to kiss you?”
Suddenly, the closet felt a whole lot smaller. Her mind went blank and her lungs forgot to inhale.
“You had the softest lips I’ve ever tasted.”
“How can you say that?” There was nothing soft about his lips. She remembered them being bold and firm—like the rest of him.
“Because it’s true.”
“I’m sure you’ve tasted plenty for comparison.”
Flecks of amusement sparked in his eyes.
“Jealous?”
“Hardly.”
She took an uncertain step back and bumped into the vacuum cleaner.
Gavin told himself not to be a fool. So what if thinking about her was keeping him up half the night? He was not going to act on the attraction, even though she stared at him with such guileless yearning that his body hardened in instant arousal.
His hand
reached out to lift her chin before he could stop himself. Her lips quivered in silent invitation. He ran his thumb over her bottom lip and they parted.
Slowly, deliberately, he lowered his face and covered those lips with his own, even as he told himself not to be so stupid.
He meant to keep it simple—a chaste kiss. Something to take the edge off the tension that had been building inside him since the moment he saw her again. But his body filled with hunger the moment he tasted her.
Her eyes closed and she leaned into him, sliding her hands around his neck to draw him closer. Need coiled inside him. He felt the press of her breasts against his shirt, desire in the dart of her tongue as she opened her mouth and invited him in. The kiss deepened, turning hot and hungry as his resolve melted away.
Someone called her name in the distance. His mouth located the sensitive spot below her ear and he was rewarded with a mew of pleasure that blocked the sound completely as she kissed him back with greedy fervor.
“Gavin? Leigh?”
Her fingers fumbled at the buttons of his shirt.
“Leigh? Where are you?”
Hayley’s voice shattered the powerful urgency hammering inside him. Gavin pulled his mouth from hers and raised his head. They were necking inside a linen closet. Workmen were only a few yards away. A radio belted out a song of longing. Gavin shared the sentiment.
“Leigh? Are you up here?”
Her expression of dazed desire made it almost impossible not to ignore everything else and take what they both wanted so badly.
“She probably can’t hear me over this racket,” Hayley called to someone. “I’ll be right down. Let me check her room.”
Gavin released her. He watched as awareness replaced the mist of desire that glazed her eyes. Leigh dropped her arms with a stunned expression. She tried to step away and tripped over the vacuum cleaner. Mops and brooms clattered to the floor.
He reached for her as she flailed to keep from falling. He caught her against his chest, all too aware of the firm yet soft skin beneath his fingers. She was shaking. Wide-eyed, she stared at him in confusion.
“Easy,” he said gently.
The Second Sister Page 9