Looking down at my feet to avoid watching his backside, I followed him at a brisk walk. The chirping birds, pounding woodpeckers, and whispering leaves were all that we heard as we hiked back to the parking lot without another word passing between us.
Chapter 14
A huge log mansion loomed through the trees up ahead as Xander guided the truck around a tight hairpin turn on the private road. I glimpsed the house in the distance between the dense leafy trees as he pulled to a stop in front of a black metal gate. After rolling down his window, he punched a code on a number pad. The single panel gate swung inward, opening wide enough for the pick-up truck to clear the stone pillars on each side. I couldn’t help wondering why it was needed. Security systems weren’t used in our town, at least they hadn’t been until Ryder had been snatched from his backyard.
As Xander continued along the driveway, I turned to see the black gate close automatically behind us. When I twisted around to face forward, we drove around another turn and the trees suddenly parted.
The log mansion directly ahead appeared even larger up close. Cedar logs lined its high walls and framed each window.
A porch spanned across the front of the house with two Adirondack chairs centered between the wooden railing and the log wall. Double doors with ornate stained glass windows were positioned behind the two steps leading up from the slate sidewalk.
Xander eased the truck to a stop in front of the garage. “Here we are,” he announced, shutting off the engine and lifting his sunglasses off his face. “Home sweet home.”
“Nice place,” I said, my eyebrows raised.
I didn’t know what else to say, but calling the enormous log mansion nice didn’t do it justice. I was certainly impressed, but I was also grateful that he had explained what his father did for a living. I had been expecting something grand and completely unlike the modest homes we had in town. Needless to say, I was not surprised.
“It’ll do,” he said flippantly.
As he jumped down and walked around the front of the truck, I remained in my seat, captivated by the house. I suddenly wondered if I was completely underdressed for lunch with Xander’s father. Stop worrying so much. It’s not like you’re here as Xander’s dinner date. It’s a casual unplanned drop-in visit so that he can look at your necklace, I reminded myself.
When Xander opened the passenger door, he curiously looked up at me. “Are you just going to sit there? Come on. I’m starving.”
My lips twitched into a pensive smile. After unfastening my seatbelt, I climbed down from my seat with my fleece jacket in one hand. As soon as I stepped onto the pavement, I started to slide my arms back into my jacket sleeves.
“What are you doing? You can’t possibly be cold.”
“I’m feeling a little self-conscious meeting your dad when I’m half dressed in these work-out clothes,” I whispered, glancing about the driveway to make sure his father hadn’t come outside to greet us.
“Don’t worry about him. The only thing he will notice is what’s hanging around your neck. I, on the other hand, will thoroughly enjoy the view of your cute ass in those pants,” he said smugly, much to my chagrin.
My face flushed with embarrassment as I looked up at his teasing blue eyes. “Then I really need to wear this. I would never forgive myself for flaunting something you can never have.”
I smiled knowingly, pulling my jacket up over my shoulders, thankful that the bottom of it reached below my hips. As I stepped away from the truck, I tugged my ponytail out from underneath the collar.
“We’ll see,” he said, not willing to let me have the last word. He shut the truck door and then turned to me, a smile gleaming on his face. “This way.”
I followed him to the sidewalk of slate rock. As we walked toward the front porch, I noticed the meticulously pruned bright green shrubs planted in the mulch beds surrounding the house. We marched up the steps to the porch and Xander slid his key into the lock. After a soft click, he opened the door. I entered the house, gaping in awe at the two-story entry hall, a wrought iron chandelier hanging overhead. The hardwood floor was shiny and polished, the log walls rustic and campy. As I looked around, Xander stopped and punched a code into a key pad on the inside wall next to the door.
“I thought your dad was home,” I mused as I wandered past him.
At first glance, the home resembled a ski lodge. The foyer opened up into a living room with a gray stone fireplace that crawled up the two-story cedar log wall. A dark brown couch and two matching chairs with ottomans surrounded a wooden coffee table that sat upon a red oriental rug covering a large section of the hardwood floor. As I studied the room, I quickly noticed that Xander’s love for the ocean hadn’t been left behind in California. A bright yellow surfboard had been mounted above a row of windows. Below it, mountains of pastel green rolled out in waves below the powder blue sky outside the glass.
“He keeps the alarm system on even when he’s home,” Xander explained.
I barely heard him as I noticed a gold-framed photograph hanging at eye level on the wall. In it, Xander stood on his surf board, riding a wave as the white foam crest behind him splashed his black wetsuit. The clarity of the photograph was remarkable. Each drop of the wave’s spray was dotted, as if frozen in time. Xander’s clear blue eyes were several shades lighter than the sapphire ocean surrounding him as he focused straight ahead. His broad frame and toned muscles rippled beneath the shimmering wetsuit. His knees were slightly bent, his arms raised out to his sides. I pointed at the picture, careful not to touch the glass. “Where is this? California?”
Xander approached behind me. I didn’t need to turn around to know that he was only inches away. My heart caught in my chest as I heard him sigh wistfully. “Nope. Hawaii. We go there a couple times a year for a few surfing competitions.”
“Really? So you’re pretty good, huh?”
He didn’t answer me right away. After a moment of silence, I turned to see him staring thoughtfully at the photograph. When he finally moved his gaze to me, he smiled. “Sorry, I was just remembering the day that was taken.”
“Boy, your dad must have been really mad to take you this far away from the ocean. I can tell this is your passion. You must be crushed to be here.”
“I told you earlier, it’s not that bad.”
“Are you planning to go back to California for college?”
He shook his head. “No. I won’t be going to college.”
“Really? Why not?”
“I’m going to work with my dad. I already help him out on weekends and in the evenings after school.”
“Lucky,” I muttered under my breath.
“It’s not as glamorous as it sounds.”
“Let’s see, making diamond necklaces for movie stars to wear on the red carpet or hitting the books for a career that might pay for a tiny house after making a huge student loan payment every month? Sorry, but I have to disagree.”
Xander looked at me, his smile gone and his eyes sober. “I don’t have a choice, Laken. This is what I’m destined to do. Lock myself away in an old wine cellar that’s been converted into a workshop day and night like my father.”
As he spoke, a door opened and closed, followed by the sound of soft footsteps on the hardwood floor. “Oh, I don’t know, Xander, it doesn’t sound all bad,” came a deep voice laced with jovial sarcasm.
A man about Xander’s height came into view behind him. He wore a white T-shirt under an open white button-down shirt, both smudged with black soot and wrinkled. His dusty jeans were torn and frayed at the knees. His disheveled salty-gray hair desperately needed combing and a haircut, and a shadow of gray stubble dotted his chin. He smiled at me, his brown eyes warm and welcoming. For a moment, something seemed awfully familiar about him, but I couldn’t put my finger on what. I noticed the hint of a resemblance between him and Xander, but that wasn’t it.
The man clamped a hand over Xander’s shoulder. “Don’t mind my son. He sometimes forgets how fortu
nate we’ve been over the years.”
Xander rolled his eyes. His solemn expression softened as he spoke. “Hi, Dad. I want you to meet Laken Sumner. Laken, this is my dad, Caleb.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Payne.”
Caleb grinned at me. “Nonsense, my dear. The pleasure is all mine.” He extended his hand to me. I reached out to take it, expecting a friendly handshake. But he lifted my hand to his lips for a quick gentle kiss. “Xander has told me a lot about you. You’re even more beautiful than he described.”
I raised my eyebrows at Xander, noticing a faint blush in his tanned cheeks.
“Okay, Dad, thanks a lot,” he said softly.
As I watched the awkward moment between them, I thought that Xander’s father couldn’t be farther from the truth. I was a mess after our hike. Loose strands of hair had escaped my ponytail, tickling my ears and face, and I hadn’t put on any make-up before leaving this morning.
“Thank you,” I said before quickly changing the subject. “Mr. Payne, you have a beautiful home. When did you move in?”
“Please call me Caleb. We only moved in, what...” He glanced at Xander. “...a week before school started?”
“Yes, Dad.” Xander paused, looking at me before he continued. “We barely had our boxes unpacked by the first day of school. But seriously, Dad, Laken didn’t come here to stand in the entry hall and hear about our move. I promised her you would look at her necklace, and I’m starving. Can we please move this conversation to the kitchen?”
“Yes, of course.” Caleb stepped aside as Xander led the way through the living room and around a corner. He gestured for me to follow him.
Their kitchen was immaculate with oak cabinets the same color as the log walls, speckled black granite countertops, and wrought iron pendant lights that hung above the center island. The appliances were stainless steel, and a six-burner stove stretched out under a stainless steel hood along the wall. A round table sat in an enclave surrounded by floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the mountains.
“Have a seat, Laken,” Xander said as he circled the island on his way to the refrigerator. “What happened to lunch, Dad?”
“You know me. Always working,” Caleb answered with a grin.
Xander flashed me a knowing smile before pulling deli meats, cheese, and condiments out of the refrigerator.
I eased onto a bar stool at the island as Caleb approached me. “Now let me see this necklace of yours.” He stood beside me, studying it. He was quiet for a moment, his eyes focused on the pendant. “Oh, yes, that’s quite lovely.”
He shot a knowing glance at Xander, and their eyes met as if they knew something I didn’t.
“What?” I asked as I reached up to touch the pendant.
Caleb looked at me. “You wanted to know what it’s worth, isn’t that right, dear?”
“Yes, but only out of curiosity. I don’t plan to sell it.”
“Very well, then. I’d like to take it downstairs to my shop where I can get a good look at it under my microscope. Do you mind?”
“Not at all.” I reached up behind my neck and unfastened it. As soon as I handed it to him, he left the room without a word.
As Xander set the food out, silence hung between us until I heard a door shut down the hall.
“What would you like on your sandwich?” Xander asked, leaning his hands on the edge of the island.
“Lettuce, tomato, and cheese.” I chose everything he had, aside from the meat. “And mayo, please.”
“No ham or turkey?”
“No, thank you. I don’t eat meat.” I watched as he spread mayonnaise on two slices of wheat bread. “I like your dad. He’s nice.”
“He’s eccentric. I’ve always thought of him as an acquired taste. It could be why he’s been alone since my mom died.”
“Is that what you’re going to be like in twenty years?” I joked.
Xander didn’t answer me immediately. Instead, he loaded up my sandwich exactly as I had requested while silence came between us. As he looked down, he shook his head. Even with his head at an angle, sadness could be seen lurking in his eyes. “No way. I don’t want to be alone. He’s kind of a hermit.”
“It’s probably not hard to be one in his line of work. He’s reminds me of an artist.”
Xander patted the top piece of bread into place on my sandwich. Ignoring my comment, he said, “We have potato chips, and what would you like to drink?”
“Water is fine, unless you have some sparkling water.”
“We do.” Xander dumped a handful of potato chips out of a big bag onto the side of the plate and slid it in front of me. “Do you want ice?”
“Yes, please.” He grabbed a bottle from the refrigerator and filled a glass with ice. After handing them to me, he started preparing his own sandwich.
“So other than working alone, why don’t you want to make jewelry like your dad?” I asked quietly.
“It’s not that I’m not interested in it or I don’t like it, because I actually do. And I realize it has afforded us a particularly nice lifestyle. But it’s about choice. I might want to go to college like a normal guy my age, but it’s not in the cards for me.”
“I’d trade places with you any day,” I admitted. “There’s a huge stack of college brochures waiting for me at home on our kitchen table.”
I bit into a potato chip as I pictured them. I couldn’t help thinking how ironic this was. Here I was avoiding the subject of college, and Xander was telling me he’d like to go when he knew he never would. “Have you sent in any applications yet?” Xander looked up from the sandwich he was stacking with turkey, ham, and cheese.
“No.” I shook my head. “I’ve been putting it off, but my parents are starting to bug me about it.”
“Aren’t you behind schedule?”
“Yeah. Brooke and Ethan have already started sending their applications in.”
“What’s stopping you?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.” I sighed, catching his eye as he finished making his sandwich and added a pile of chips to his plate.
“You don’t know? Sounds like you do.” He took a bite of his sandwich.
“Well, it’s kind of childish, but this is the only place I’ve ever lived. I don’t want to leave,” I admitted slowly. Without telling him about Dakota who was really what I didn’t want to leave, I was sure I sounded like a sheltered little girl scared to move out on her own.
“So take a year off,” Xander said after he swallowed the bite in his mouth.
“You mean don’t go to college?” I bit into my sandwich, chewing thoughtfully.
“I mean just don’t go right away. It’s not like you can’t start classes a year later. Get a job and see what it’s like to work. I knew a lot of kids back home who did that. They were pretty burned out by graduation.”
“Really?” I asked. “That’s not a bad idea. I wonder if my parents would agree to that.”
As I took another bite of my sandwich, I heard the basement door open and close. Caleb’s footsteps shuffled along the hallway floor to the kitchen. Xander and I turned our attention to the entrance as he appeared with my necklace in his hand. He nodded his head at Xander like they had some kind of unspoken language.
“Laken, this is quite a remarkable piece. It is very old, possibly dating back to biblical times.” He approached the island, holding it out to me.
I nearly choked on my sip of sparkling water. “What?” I gasped in disbelief. “How can you tell?” I reached for it and fastened it around my neck.
“There’s a tiny hallmark on the back. I sketched it on a piece of paper so that I can look it up on the internet, but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen that symbol before.”
“But what’s it worth, Dad?” Xander asked abruptly between bites of his sandwich.
“That’s hard to tell. The diamonds are very small, and that can take away from the value. But if it is a rare artifact with some historical significance, it could be extr
emely valuable. I need to do some research on it.” He looked at me. “I hope you don’t mind dear, but I also took some pictures of it.”
“No, of course not. I want to know what you find out about it.”
Caleb smiled warmly. “Good. That will give Xander an excuse to bring you back here again. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must be getting back to my work. It was truly a pleasure to meet you, Laken.” Without another word, he disappeared out of the kitchen to return to his cellar workshop.
I looked down at the silver pendant hanging against my chest. It sparkled in the light. “I don’t understand how it could be that old and still be so shiny. Wouldn’t it be tarnished by now?”
Xander gazed across the island at me. “I don’t know.”
Before I realized what he was doing, he reached his hand out to touch the pendant. As he lifted it, his fingers grazed my skin and my breath caught in my throat for a quick second. He looked up from the necklace to meet my gaze as he touched me.
Suddenly, he smiled with a twinkle in his eyes. “Maybe it’s a magic necklace with special powers,” he joked. “You better hold on to it. You never know. Maybe it will keep anyone who wears it young forever.” He eased the necklace back against my chest without touching me this time.
“Yeah, right,” I scoffed, blowing off his remark and taking another bite of my half-eaten sandwich.
As we ate in silence for a few minutes, I stared blankly at the cabinets across the kitchen. What if he was right? Not about staying young, but about the magic. After all, I could talk to animals with my mind, communicate with them in ways that only existed in fairy tales. Could this necklace somehow be connected to my unusual talents?
“What are you thinking?” Xander’s question broke through the silence and my thoughts.
“Just that we should probably hurry up and finish our lunch. I really should get home soon.”
“Yeah. I guess our little outing this morning went longer than expected. I’ll take you home as soon as you’re done.”
Shadows at Sunset: Sunset Trilogy ~ Book 1 Page 20