Blooms Bones and Stones Box Set

by Olivia Swift

  Katarina stood inside the door and took a deep breath. She heard him walk away and then the sound of the engine fading into the distance. Her mom opened the door to the living room and asked if everything was all right. She took her daughter’s hand and pulled her into the room.

  “He’s a bit special, this one, isn’t he?” she asked. Kat sat down and nodded. ”You can let the sensible front down and admit it, you know,” her mom added and was rewarded with a radiant smile. Bev Jones still looked like her daughter’s sister instead of her mom and still favored the slightly hippie style of clothes that she had enjoyed in her own dating days. She knew Katarina was the strong and sensible type in reaction to her parents’ slightly offbeat lifestyle. Kat felt that she had to be the grown up in the household but loved her parents dearly.

  “We New Agers, who still think that love and peace are the best things around, can tell about these things,” Bev said.

  “I never told you about the strange stones, Mom,” Kat said as she remembered that her mom would be interested in anything slightly magical. Bev was intrigued immediately and listened to the tale of the cream stones with the green streaks that had markings on them.

  “Where did they come from?” Bev asked, and when the answer was beside the waterfalls, she went and pulled out a book from the shelf. She flicked through several pages and then handed over the book to Kat.

  “Once upon a time, there were houses in the rock face,” she said. “I think he has some serious history in that pile of stones.”

  “Why are the houses not still there?” Kat murmured as she scanned down the page. “Rockslide,” she said and looked up. “The houses were in a rockslide. I wonder if anyone was in them at the time?”

  “There must be people around who can remember the rockslide and the houses before the slide. It wasn’t that long ago. The photographs prove that,” Bev added.

  5

  Ben picked up Kat at her mom’s the next morning, and true to her word, Bev had packed a picnic in a huge basket and added blankets to sit on and folding chairs if they wanted those as well.

  “Thanks for finding that picture in the book,” Ben said to her. “The archaeologists were interested as well.”

  “It always seemed such a shame that the houses were wiped out by a simple rock fall when they must have been there for thousands of years.” Bev answered. “Maybe you can work out a sort of—I don’t know—memorial to them, or something. Maybe local people would like to know about it as well,” she added. “Enjoy the trip anyway. The waterfalls are beautiful.”

  Kat kissed her mom as Ben stowed the picnic items in the truck and then they set off on an adventure of sorts. They both were secretly happy that the dates were continuing but both had their sensible hats on and refused to get carried away.

  “Sort of like an investigation—this picnic,” Kat said.

  “Good idea of yours,” Ben replied. “I haven’t been on a picnic in years.”

  The spot was truly breathtaking as the mountains reared up majestically, and the water came through the aperture in the stones and spread out into a curtain of about seven different cascades. The water gathered in a large pool before wandering off between the trees. It was a well-known beauty spot and some rustic tables were set in various spots, but they were the only people there.

  “This is just spectacular,” Kat said as they walked to the edge of the viewing area. The ground sloped away after that, and it was possible to walk right up to and actually behind some of the waterfalls.

  “Let’s lock the car and have the picnic later. We can go down and actually look at the stones behind the falls.” Kat said. It was a gentle walk down the slope, but they had to scramble over stones and find their way across the streams to reach the rock face. Kat held out her hands.

  “We’ll get soaked with the spray, but I’m willing to risk it,” she said, and he nodded and stepped out first and then held a hand for her to follow. They reached the side of one of the cascades and looked at the rock face behind.

  “Just natural bedrock,” Ben observed. They moved on across the width of the falls and found nothing more than the everyday stone that you would have expected to see in the landscape.

  “No creamy magic stuff,” Kat said and looked up. “I could do an Evan and get up there,” she said and grinned. “Dare you.” He took no extra asking, and they scrambled inelegantly bit by bit until they stood above the edge of the falls. Stones rose behind them and the view back to the truck was sensational but a little bit scary at the same time.

  “Stay away from the edge,” he said and held her hand. It was safer to stand back and look from a more comfortable place. Kat pulled out her phone and started to take pictures of the view. He was standing against the rock face as she did it, and she swung around and snapped him standing there against the rock wall.

  “Keepsake,” she said.

  “Let me do the same,” he asked, and she moved against another section for him to take a shot. As he moved toward her holding out the phone to let her see the picture, his eyes fastened on a spot above her head.

  “Kat,” he said. “Look.” She turned and saw that he was pointing at—a very slim line of creamy rock sandwiched between layers of the local stone. It was a slim section but without a doubt the same as the pieces in the pile at his land.

  “Meghan said there was just a small amount,” Kat said and reached up to touch it. “So, we do know that this stone could be local. Maybe there was more of it before the slide happened.”

  “Success,” he answered. “We found it.”

  “Photos,” she said and took some of the stones. “Now we only have to get down again.” They looked over the edge. It was quite intimidating until Ben pointed out that farther along it was not quite so steep. They walked together to the easier-looking spot, and he scrambled down first and then held out a hand to let her follow. It took a little while but they made it down and stopped to get back their breath.

  “Don’t think that I am a natural mountaineer,” she said a bit shakily, and he wrapped his arms around her.

  “Me neither,” he said, “but I had to prove I was a big, brave man.”

  “And you are.” She smiled and reached up to kiss his cheek. “Let’s have the picnic and then look for where the building was demolished.” Hand in hand they took a stroll back up the slope and brought the food out of the cab.

  Sitting on the blankets, they enjoyed the chicken legs and sandwiches that Bev had packed and drank the cold drinks. They had chosen a spot beside a large tree and sat with their backs against the trunk.

  “Where do you think the buildings were demolished?” Kat asked, and he pointed away to an area that was slightly downriver.

  “I think it might have been a water mill or something that used the water in the river,” he said and took her hand. “I am quite happy here for the time being.”

  “Me too,” she said and lay against him. “When will you start work on the stone for the garden?” she asked, and he said that he was taking a couple of days more and then starting on a garden for someone else.

  “I have a backhoe booked for tomorrow and will move the big stones into position. Once I know where that is going and how much space it will take up, I can map out the next part.”

  “If I can help, just let me know,” she said.

  “Once the big stuff is moved, I might well need another pair of hands. The water has to be channeled into a pool like it is here, and that pool has to be lined. It’s always a job for two or three people.” She settled against him and felt his arm around her shoulders.

  “This is just so peaceful.” And she wrapped an arm around his waist. Then she half sat up.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked, and she said that someone was coming. Ben listened but heard nothing, and a few seconds later the sound of an engine grew louder. The vehicle did not come to where they were parked but seemed to stop on the other side of the trees and parking area. Nobody appeared, and after two car doors slamm
ed, they heard nothing more.

  “You must have really good ears to have picked that up before it was near,” he said, and she smiled but it was an uncertain smile. She took a breath.

  “I admit to being a bit of a freak. I know when the phone is going to ring, and in this case, when people were going to arrive. I didn’t actually hear the car. They could have been on horseback for all I knew.” Ben looked at her.

  “You are not joking. You can actually do this?”

  “I’m sorry. I wouldn’t want you to think I was a crackpot, or crazy, or something. I never tell anybody, and I never use it.”

  “The sensible image is like a disguise?” he queried, and she started to get up and pack away. Tears threatened to make themselves visible and she brushed at her eyes.

  “Whoa. Whoa,” he said and caught her arm. “Come and sit down for a second. I don’t have to be psychic to know when you’re upset.” He pulled her onto his knee. “This is me. I think you are wonderful. I think having something extra like that is a gift. You should not worry about it. It makes you extra special.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and let a few tears fall.

  “You are all right with it?” she asked quietly.

  “Katarina Jones, you are sitting here on my knee and I am ecstatically happy. Whatever makes you who you are is fine with me.” He laughed. “You want to know about big, brave me? I was terrified you would laugh when I asked you out for a meal. Shaking like a leaf and trying not to let it show.”

  She kissed his lips and cried at the same time. The kiss deepened into something very special indeed and he let her know that he meant what he said. When they pulled apart he wiped away the wet on her cheeks.

  “Thanks for telling me,” he said.

  “My mom can do it as well, and she knows I keep it under control and have this sensible, no-nonsense image.”

  Then she put a hand on his arm.

  “They are coming back to the car.” They heard muffled voices and the two doors close. The motor started and then the vehicle drove away.

  “They went down toward where the buildings were demolished. Let’s go and take a look,” he said, and they packed away the picnic. A small trail led to another part of the parking area where the other car had stopped, and then a track that must have been for the buildings at one time meandered down alongside the river and led them to a sheltered spot on the bend where the water channeled into a narrower creek.

  It was pretty obvious that there had been a building on the spot because the foundations were still making a pattern on the ground. There were scrape marks from the backhoe that had scooped up the stone and truck tracks to one side.

  “I think it was here to use the force of the water through the channel,” he said. “And I am sure there must be a record of it somewhere.”

  “The bedrock has been dug out.” He pointed. “And the stones from the building have been moved.”

  “But why were the special stones with markings included in this old stone building?” she added, and they both looked around for inspiration but none came.

  They stepped onto the foundations and tried to figure out what sort of place it had been.

  “Might just have been a big barn,” Ben said. “The main part is just one big area.” Kat nodded but looked a bit worried.

  “Ben,” she said quietly. “I know this sounds dramatic, but I don’t think this was a good place.” She moved beside him and held his arm. “I don’t like the feel of it and it feels—this sounds as if I really am crazy—like there is something sort of reaching out to grab me.” She shuddered, and he simply picked her up and carried her away from the foundations of the building.

  “Thanks,” she said.

  “Enough is enough,” he said. “I am going to take you to a diner and buy some good strong coffee in a nice, normal atmosphere, and then we can plan how to get those unusual stones away from the garden. There is something weird about them.”

  “That sounds good to me,” she said and took his hand. “Let’s go.”

  They drove into town with music on the radio and found a popular diner with cheerful sounds and good coffee.

  “You see, it all seems nonsense when you are back in a real place,” she said. “It is frightening when the feeling is there.”

  “Put me on speed dial” he said, “And all you have to do is call.” She put her hand over his.

  “You are a man in a million,” she said and smiled. It did something very sensational indeed to the heartbeat inside his chest.

  6

  Ben drove up to his land early the next morning and went straight to look at the spot where he had stacked the stones. They were still in place and nothing was moved. Sighing with relief, he went to look at the pile of delivered rock and tried to assess how many of the unusual stones were in the heap.

  “Where can I put them out of the way?” he said out loud and gazed around. “If they upset Kat, then maybe I will dump them in the river.” He started to move the ones he could see and realized that the ones he was looking for were all, more or less, in one place. There was not really a huge number, and he soon had most of them together. The rest of the delivery was normal everyday stone or building material. He knew in his head what he would do with the natural stuff.

  “But where can we put you guys?” he asked the stones as he added the ones from beside the trailer. The sound of the backhoe arriving stopped any further thoughts. The driver unloaded the machine and climbed into his workmate’s van. Ben started up the backhoe and let himself enjoy being in charge of a big piece of machinery for a few minutes and then trundled it over to where the biggest pieces of natural stone were waiting. He scooped up the first one fairly easily and took it to the spot in the garden. He dropped it into place, pushed it around to face the right way and went back for more.

  In an hour he had made the outline of the rocky gorge. It sat into the slope of the land beautifully. He was using the backhoe scoop to gouge out the pool at the bottom of the gorge and dumping the material to make a slope for planting when Kat’s car drove up, and she stood and waited for him to finish what he was doing.

  “Hi, beautiful,” he said and kissed the top of her head.

  “Mornin’, handsome,” she replied while smiling and pointed to the gorge. “That is fantastic. I’m glad we were there yesterday. You have replicated it in miniature.” He pointed out where the water would run away from the pool and form a small stream that would feed around into another garden before coming back to start the cycle all over again.

  He pointed over to where he had left the unusual stones.

  “If these upset you, we can just get rid of them.” She walked over to the creamy pieces of rock and picked one up.

  “It’s not the stone that makes me feel strange. It was standing on the foundation of that building. It was the building, not these stones,” she said and smiled. “And I don’t need to go back there.”

  “Just the same, since I’ve got the backhoe, I think I’ll put these into a hole and cover them over. If I need them, I’ll know where they are. What do you think?”

  “Well it can’t do any harm,” she agreed and helped him carry the pieces over to the dip in the ground that he had pointed out.

  “This is a small hole I dug when we were drilling for the water supply,” he told her. They proceeded to dump the stones unceremoniously into it. He brought over the backhoe and filled in the hole with loose soil.

  “That feels better,” he told her. “I can just think about the normal stones now.” He offered to make her a coffee. She laughed, and said great minds were thinking alike again and produced custard doughnuts from her car.

  Over the coffee and doughnuts, she wondered if they should find out what the building had been used for.

  “There must be records in the library, and newspapers, and places,” she surmised.

  “Probably find it online,” he answered. “We could meet up tonight and do a search.”

  “If I b
ring takeout would that count as me paying?” She laughed, and he said he was happy with that.

  “I’ll do the drinks, and you can provide the food. I’ll get this heavy moving finished this afternoon, and they can take the backhoe away again. Then I’ll go home and get changed.”

  “Meet about six thirty?” she asked, and he agreed.

  “Back to work for the time being,” she added and kissed his cheek before heading back to the car. He watched her drive away and thanked his lucky stars that she seemed to be enjoying the dates and being with him.

  Using the backhoe, while he had it, meant that he had moved a lot of stones before the man came to collect the machine. Ben was well pleased with the progress. He looked at his plan in the trailer and then looked outside. It was coming together. The pond was dug out, and that was a big job out of the way. The liner was ordered, and then he would start hand moving all of the smaller stones into place. Anyone arriving where the entrance gate would be would have a lovely view of the miniature landscape and then, when they walked towards it, there would be a distant view of the mountains.

  He rushed home, showered, changed, and went to buy a bottle of something fizzy to add to the meal. Her car was already parked when he got there, and she was looking at the newly made rock garden.

  “Ben, this is fantastic. It is the gorge scaled down and made to look real.”

  “Glad it’s doing what I wanted it to do. Where the stones go off at the side, they will change into a wall and hide the next garden as you walk around.”

  “If that is the modern one, I can’t wait to see it.”

  “And jump through the water spouts like a kid on vacation,” he joked and she agreed.

  “Why not have fun with something as well?”

  She told him the takeout was in the car and went to collect it. He opened up the trailer and they piled the Chinese food on the table. Ben found plates and cutlery, and they helped themselves while it was hot.