Shadow of Suspicion (Haunted by the Past)

by Danielle Rose-West

  “What difference does it make?” Doug sounded impatient.

  “You’re not going to like this.” Jason swallowed hard. “I picked Callie up yesterday after she broke down. Her car is in the garage as we speak.”

  “WHAT!” His father’s shout made several heads turn in their direction…..including Mitch.

  “Keep your voice down!” Jason hissed and shot to his feet. “Do you want to draw attention to yourself? Mitch will be asking me all kinds of questions if you carry on like this.”

  Doug blew out a breath. “Sorry. It’s just things can’t get much worse. What am I going to do? If she turns up here and Mitch gets suspicious, I’m done for. Sandra specifically didn’t want her nephew finding out.”

  “I’m sure it will be fine. Callie doesn’t exactly take after Sandra all that much in the looks department. Why would Mitch have anything to be suspicious about?” Jason patted his father’s arm. An incredulous expression crossed Doug’s features. He stared at Jason as if he’d just sprung another head.

  “Are you kidding me? Have you ever seen a picture of Sandra’s mother when she was young?” Doug had turned a nasty shade of grey.

  “Of course not.” Jason frowned.

  “Callie has inherited a lot of her grandmother’s attributes, especially her colouring. If Mitch sees her, there is no way he won’t be suspicious. He’ll stick his nose in and what’s to stop Callie from telling him who she is?” Doug looked as if he wanted to throw up.

  “What the hell do you want me to do about it?” Jason threw his hands into the air. “I can hardly get rid of Callie’s car and I can’t order Mitch out of the garage. This whole thing is ridiculous. Why can’t Sandra simply tell her family about her daughter? It would solve everything.”

  Doug shrugged. “I have no idea. When I suggested as much last night, I thought she was going to have a fit.”

  “Don’t you think it’s a bit odd?” Jason leaned against the filing cabinet next to him. “Sandra isn’t a teenager any longer. She shouldn’t be so bothered by what her family say. Why is she in such a twist about this?”

  Doug held up his hands. “I have no idea. I’m through meddling. I just want to keep Callie out of this garage and find a way to persuade her to go home. You have to help me with this, or things could be over between me and Sandra. I really couldn’t handle that.”

  Jason glanced out of his office window and groaned. A familiar red headed female charged along the street with a determined stride. Unsurprisingly, she was headed straight for his garage. This just wasn’t his week!

  “Ah, Dad? I think it may be too late.” He pointed outside.

  Doug swivelled his head around and clapped a hand to his face with a panicked shout. “We have to get out there and stop her.”

  Doug whipped past Jason and sent him tumbling backwards against the filing cabinet.

  “Dad, for heaven’s sake!” Jason rubbed his back where the corner of a drawer handle had dug into his flesh.

  His father didn’t even turn around. He was already out the door and charging through the garage like a mad bull. Jason sighed heavily and followed in his father’s wake. He heartily wished he’d never set eyes on Callie Price!

  Chapter Nine

  Callie stepped down from the bus and pulled the collar up on her coat. The day had been a long one, but very productive. She’d viewed the entire B&B from top to bottom. Several rough pencil drawings graced her sketch book with hundreds of notes she’d quickly scribbled down as inspirations occurred to her. She was excited about drafting out her ideas and presenting them to Mr Cunningham when he came back to Devon on the weekend. She had no doubt he would be impressed.

  Her stomach growled, loudly demanding food. Callie ignored it. She had to sort out her car’s repairs as top priority. It would seriously mess up her schedule for work if she didn’t have a way around town that didn’t involve public transport. Car rental was out of the question until she knew the cost of the repairs and if her insurance would cover it.

  Callie glanced up and down the street, trying to remember the directions the bus driver had hurriedly spouted at her before she’d alighted the vehicle. She finally spotted the shop that he’d told her to watch out for. She headed towards it and turned left down a small side street.

  Hawkes garage should be just a short walk on the right hand side, or so she’d been told. Callie’s heart lurched in her chest at the thought of seeing the handsome mechanic. She attempted to squash the small thrill of anticipation that wormed its way through her insides, but somehow she couldn’t quiet the part of her that wanted to see him again.

  He has a girlfriend, she reminded herself firmly. Not that they’d seemed terribly happy the previous evening. The atmosphere had been so tense between them, Callie swore she could have cut the air with her knife.

  Even after Jason had left the pub, Lucinda had continued to flirt outrageously with Mr Cunningham. Callie had thought the woman was only behaving that way to make Jason jealous, but apparently not. Still, it was none of her business. She had more than enough of her own problems without sticking her nose in someone else’s.

  Her gaze caught sight of the garage just ahead of her. She hurried towards it. The sooner she sorted things out, the quicker she could buy dinner.

  “Don’t go there.”

  Callie gasped and her head snapped to the side. Her eyes widened at sight of the small child she hoped to never see again. The girl shook her head, her curls bouncing around her chin.

  “Leave…..now! Before it’s too late.” Her eyes darted over Callie’s shoulder.

  Callie turned and realised that the girl was staring toward Hawkes’ garage. Her stomach clenched and she turned back towards the child. The girl had vanished! Callie gasped and stared all around her. She clutched a hand to her head. Was she going crazy? Who was the girl she kept seeing, if she was in fact seeing anyone at all?

  Callie’s vision spun and she suddenly felt the need to sit down. She doubled over and drew in several deep breaths. Her bag slipped off her shoulder and flopped to the ground. Callie’s mind whirled. Could she be so anxious over the events that had drawn her here that she’d manifested her worries into the child she kept seeing? That had to be it. What other explanation could there be? Regardless, it worried Callie that she’d had so many of these episodes. It wasn’t normal.

  Straightening up, she hefted her bag back onto her shoulder and stared at the garage. She had no idea why her subconscious would have such a problem with her entering the building ahead of her. Maybe it was to do with her attraction to a certain mechanic? It didn’t really make sense. She’d seen the girl before she’d even met Jason. Then again, nothing about the encounters made any sense.

  Callie bit down on her lip and let the slight pain snap her back to reality. She threw her misgivings aside and continued towards her destination. She couldn’t afford to let her overactive imagination stop her from achieving her goals. Work had to come first. Her reputation was second to none and she wasn’t about to let that slip because she had personal issues!

  Loud banging and male laughter drifted outside the garage and wrapped around her as she approached the forecourt. The normal sounds calmed her nerves. Callie stuck her head around the corner of the large doors that stood open. The smell of oil, petrol and grease mixed together, assaulting her nostrils with their pungent odour. The familiar scent grounded her firmly back to Earth and she let the strange encounter slide from her shoulders as easily as her bag had slipped to the ground earlier.

  She scanned the garage. There were two men working on a couple of cars, but neither one was Jason. Callie tentatively entered the forecourt. The sound of pounding footsteps drew her attention. Her eyes widened at the sight of a large figure bearing down on her. She’d barely registered Doug’s white face before he grabbed hold of her arm and pushed her out of the garage.

  “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” Callie shouted. She tried to pull her arm from his grip, but he tightened his hold
.

  “Keep your voice down,” Doug hissed. He manoeuvred her around the corner of the building. Callie nearly tripped on a loose stone, but Doug held her up. She was not grateful!

  “What the hell is going on?” She twisted out of his grip and glared at him. Callie rubbed her arm where his fingers had dug into her flesh. She was going to bruise, she just knew it. Her skin always turned black and blue at the slightest knock.

  “Dad! Stop it. You’re making matters worse with this carry on.” Callie’s jaw dropped at the sound of Jason’s deep voice. “There was no need to be so rough. None of this is her fault.”

  “Keep out of this, Jason.” Doug didn’t even flick his gaze behind him. He glared at Callie with a fierce scowl. She was quite taken aback. He’d seemed so gentle at the B&B that morning. What had changed?

  She glanced over Doug’s shoulder to see Jason standing behind the older man, his thumbs hooked into the waistband of his jeans. Had he called Doug Dad? Callie’s gaze darted between them and she could have kicked herself. No wonder Doug had seemed familiar this morning. If she hadn’t been so fixated on whether he was her family, she would have realised he bore a striking resemblance to a certain mechanic.

  “Would you kindly explain this insanity?” Callie addressed Doug. She refused to back down in the face of his extreme rudeness. “You have no right to push me around! I won’t stand for it.”

  “This isn’t a game, young lady.” Doug’s voice was low and fierce. “If your mother finds out that you’re still in town, she’s going to blow her top. With me! I am asking you to please drop this job of yours and go home. There is nothing for you here. I’m willing to pay you whatever you’ll lose from ditching your contract.”

  “Dad!” Jason strode to his father’s side. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? You have no idea how much that could be! You can’t afford to throw money away like that.” He grabbed his father’s arm, but Doug shook him off.

  “You want to buy me off?” Callie stared at Doug in disbelief.

  “No, he doesn’t,” Jason injected, scowling at his father fiercely. Doug didn’t even acknowledge that his son had spoken.

  “If that’s what it will take to get you to leave……..yes!” Doug’s mouth thinned out, his determination shone from his eyes.

  Callie shook her head, a shocked laugh burst from her lips. “Just when I thought this whole situation couldn’t get any stranger, it does.” A thought suddenly occurred to her. “Is my mother in the garage? Is that why you don’t want me in there?”

  She quickly darted around the stunned men and dashed into the garage. The other mechanics stopped their work and glanced up at her sudden entrance. Callie ignored them. She scanned the darkened area as she moved rapidly through the space. She could hear Doug’s curses behind her, but she didn’t care.

  Disappointment surged through her. There was no sign of a woman anywhere. Tears stung her eyes, but Callie blinked them away. She hadn’t realised how much she wanted to see her mother’s face until that moment. Her heart ached in her chest and she hated it. How could one woman cause her so much pain? Maybe Jade had had a point when she’d said Callie was setting herself up for a fall. She should have listened to her friend.

  “I don’t get it.” She spun round and faced Doug. “Sandra isn’t here, so what’s your problem? Why did you push me outside if there was no danger of her seeing me?”

  Doug’s eyes flicked to the left, his face uneasy. Callie followed his gaze to a young man that stood beside a car, slowly wiping his hands on a cloth. He stared at her with a rather odd expression on his face. It was obvious he was listening to every word they said. Callie glared at him. Talk about rude!

  “I don’t know what you mean.” Doug sounded like he’d swallowed a cactus whole. Callie glanced back at him to witness a rather panicked silent exchange with his son.

  Jason stepped forward. “If you could come into the office, I’m sure we can sort this whole problem out. There really is no need for this upset.”

  She didn’t like his placating tone. Callie narrowed her eyes at him. She opened her mouth to argue, but Jason spun her towards his office. He placed his hand at her back and pushed her forwards. Before Callie knew quite what was happening, he’d shut the office door.

  “Does all this manhandling run in the family?” Callie sneered. She glared at him and planted her hands on her hips. “What is going on?”

  “Nothing that should bother you that much. My dad just doesn’t want gossip to get back to Sandra. He hasn’t told her you’re still here yet. It will be worse for him if she hears it from someone else.” Jason grinned at her, seemingly at ease. “One of my mechanics is the son of someone that’s very close to Sandra, so you can see his dilemma.”

  Callie stared hard at him. “I guess, but that doesn’t give him the right to push me around…………or you for that matter!”

  “I know.” Jason pointed to a seat against the office wall. “Why don’t you sit down and tell me what brings you here. I’m guessing it’s your car?”

  “You can’t seriously think to distract me with that?” Callie couldn’t believe his audacity. She wasn’t some stupid airhead. She knew there was more to this than he was willing to tell her. She could feel it in her bones.

  Jason sighed, sounding exasperated. “For it to be a distraction, there would have to be something to distract you from. There isn’t.”

  “Do I have stupid tattooed on my forehead?” She marched forward and planted herself in front of him, toe to toe.

  His eyes narrowed onto her face. “You don’t really want me to answer that, do you?”

  Callie’s mouth dropped open. She poked his chest with her finger……….hard! “You are the most rude, arrogant, horrible man I’ve ever had the misfortune to run into. I wish I’d never laid eyes on you!”

  He leaned over her and snarled in her face, “Well, that makes two of us. I’ve had nothing but trouble since you rolled into town. Why don’t you do us both a favour and roll back out of it?”

  “Maybe I would, if my car wasn’t busted! Unless you fibbed about that particular problem?” She let out a startled shriek as Jason gripped her arms and hauled her face to within inches of his own.

  “You’re daring to question my work ethics again?” he growled. “Believe me, if I could fix your car and send you packing this minute, I would!”

  Callie forgot to breathe. Suddenly the only thing she could think about was his wide shoulders and his ruggedly handsome face inches from her own. She stared into his deep brown, angry eyes and felt like she was drowning in their depths. Her stomach clenched and her heart pounded in her chest. What the hell was wrong with her? He looked as if he’d like to strangle her and all she could think about was kissing him!

  Callie licked her lips and his eyes dropped to the movement of her tongue. Her body instantly ignited with heated desire. A throbbing ache between her legs shocked her into action. She darted away from him, her face so hot she wouldn’t have been surprised to see flames shooting out of her cheeks. Please God, let him think it was anger that caused her blush. The last thing she needed was for him to know she found him attractive. It was too humiliating.

  “I can quite believe that you and your father would love to see the back of me.” Callie kept her gaze on the floor. She didn’t dare look at the expression on his face. “I guess that means you will fix my car as fast as you can?”

  “Believe me, I’ll work on it around the clock!” She heard him moving away from her and risked a peep at him. His back was to her as he moved towards his desk and picked up a piece of paper. “I’ve nearly finished pricing up the quote for you. I just need to ring a couple more places to find the best price for a replacement engine. If you care to wait, I can sort it out in the next half hour.”

  The thought of being in the tiny space with him for another five minutes was more than Callie could stand. She stepped towards the office door and wrapped her hand around the long metal handle. The smooth coo
lness soothed her heated skin. She could feel his eyes on her back. They burned through her coat and set her senses tingling.

  “I don’t feel like dealing with this today after all.” She hated the fact that her voice trembled. Where was all her confidence and pride? It seemed to have dribbled out of her along with her good sense!

  Callie tentatively peeped at him over her shoulder. Jason’s expression was unreadable. She’d never seen a face as blank as that before. Had he not been affected by their encounter at all? Somehow that made it all the worse.

  She swallowed hard. “If it’s permissible to you and your father, I’ll come back another time to sort out my car.”

  “How about I drop the quote to you tomorrow? I have to swing by that area after work anyway, so it wouldn’t be a problem.” She caught a strange flicker in his eyes. Something told her that he wasn’t being entirely honest.

  Callie had the distinct impression he was hiding things from her. Anger warred with the sexual awareness still thrumming through her. She wished her emotions weren’t so messed up right now, but it was impossible to think straight. She didn’t trust herself around him. She needed distance and time alone to think things through.

  “If you’re sure it’s no trouble.” She didn’t really want to see him tomorrow or any other day for that matter, but the B&B might be safer. She’d talk with him in one of the public rooms. Hopefully there would be other people around and she wouldn’t make a fool of herself.

  “It’s no trouble.” Jason picked up the office phone. “I’d best make those calls so I can finish this quote for you.”

  Callie knew when she was being dismissed. Normally she’d go to town on someone for such a tactic, but this time she just wanted to get as far away from him as possible. She opened the office door and stepped through the portal. “I’ll expect you tomorrow then.”