Shadow of Suspicion (Haunted by the Past)

by Danielle Rose-West

  Jason paused and propped his buttery knife against his plate. “Are you plugged into my brain? That was what I wanted to chat with you about. I guess I may as well tell you, now that you’ve brought it up.” He cleared his throat. “I have a suggestion, but I’m not sure how you’ll take it.”

  Callie cocked her head to one side. “Go ahead.”

  “I should start by saying that I contacted Jenna.”

  Jason had finally told Callie the entire story behind Adam’s death and Jenna’s breakdown. After everything Callie had come through, his past didn’t seem so bad anymore. He’d gathered his courage and tracked Jenna down. It had been way past time for him to apologise and explain that he hadn’t ever blamed her.

  “Really? What did she say?” Callie leaned against the kitchen counter.

  “To be honest, I wasn’t sure she’d respond to my email, but she called me today. It was really terrific talking to her again. I’d forgotten how great she is.” Jason smiled. “Would you believe she’s had her own haunted experience?”

  Callie clasped a hand over her mouth. “No!”

  “She bought a haunted house, no less.” Jason recanted the tale that Jenna had told him, while he and Callie finished making their food.

  Callie sat at the table and bit into her sandwich. She chewed and swallowed, a thoughtful expression on her face. “This is amazing. I can’t believe what she went through. I would love to talk to her. I think we’d get a lot out of speaking to each other.”

  “I agree.” Jason blew on his hot tea and sipped it. ”I think you and Jenna would be great friends. She lives in Cornwall now, with her husband. I mentioned my garage burnout and she has told me of a garage that has just come on the market right where she lives. It’s up for sale for a really great price because the owner is retiring and wants a quick sale.”

  Callie leaned her elbows on the table. “Go on.”

  “I was thinking of putting in an offer for the garage.” Jason studied her face carefully, but he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. “Jenna told me that her husband and his friend are starting work on a big renovation project soon and have several more lined up. As I told you, they’re builders. She thinks they would love to hire a permanent interior designer for their project work. She’s going to talk to Kyle about it, if you are interested.”

  Callie cast him a side long glance. “So, you’re suggesting we move to Cornwall together? What about your dad and Fay?”

  “I would ask them if they would move with us. Dad needs to get away from here as much as we do. It would be a fresh start for all of us. What do you think?” Jason held his breath.

  Callie tapped her lip with one fingernail. “I can’t believe you’ve cooked this all up in one afternoon.”

  Jason held his hands up. “It’s not cast in stone. We can change plans if you want. I haven’t even discussed it with my family yet, but I’m hoping they will jump on board.”

  Callie jumped up from her seat and launched herself at him. Jason caught her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She squealed in his ear, almost deafening him.

  “You are so on my wavelength!” she exclaimed. “All I want to do is get the hell away from here. I was going to speak to you about it and you’ve already found a solution. This is amazing. What an exciting adventure.”

  Jason laughed, relief flooding through him. “What about London, though. And your friend, Jade.”

  Callie sighed and sat back down. “She’s not exactly happy with me right now. She didn’t appreciate me keeping her in the dark about everything.”

  “Surely she can understand that you didn’t want to worry her.” Jason shoved another bite of sandwich into his mouth and chewed slowly.

  “I think she does, but I’m all Jade has. It gave her a terrible fright to think she’d come so close to losing me.” Callie fiddled with her mug.

  “Won’t she be upset if you tell her you’re moving to Cornwall with me?” Jason didn’t feel comfortable coming between Callie and the friend he knew meant so much to her.

  “Jade isn’t like that. She was thrilled when I told her about you. She’ll understand that I want to make a new life.” Callie didn’t look entirely convinced to Jason. She had a little worry crease in-between her eyebrows.

  “Are you sure? We don’t have to do this or we could ask her if she might like to move down with us.” He desperately wanted this new start, but he wouldn’t do it without Callie being totally on board.

  “I can ask her, but I doubt she’ll do it. Jade is a loner. She wouldn’t be comfortable with so many people suddenly springing up in her life.” Callie reached over and squeezed his fingers. “Don’t worry about her. She’s a strong, independent person. She’ll visit and as long as I’m happy, she’s happy too. It’s not like we’re moving to the other side of the world.”

  “If you’re sure.” Jason cocked an eyebrow at her.

  “I’m sure.” Callie raised her mug. “To our new future together. May it be long and happy.”

  “I’ll drink to that.” Jason clinked his mug to hers and gulped his tea.

  “I think I’ve eaten enough.” Callie sighed and patted her stomach. She cast him a flirtatious glance through her thick lashes. “You know, I think we ought to take this celebration somewhere much more comfortable.”

  Jason raised an eyebrow. “Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”

  Callie nodded and slipped out of her seat. She kicked off her shoes and unbound her hair, shaking it free of the knot she’d had it pinned up in.

  “Are you sure you’re ready, Callie?” Jason didn’t want her to rush into anything. She was far too important to him.

  Callie smiled and held out her hand. “I love you, Jason. I can’t see any reason to wait any longer. I want my life to be with you. That’s never going to change.”

  Jason sucked in a breath and climbed to his feet. He drew Callie to him and ran his fingers through her silky hair.

  “I love you too, Callie. You are the light of my life. I can’t wait for our new adventure to begin. How long will it be before you finish with Cunningham’s B&B?” He nuzzled the soft skin of her neck.

  Callie squealed and giggled at the same time, pushing at his shoulders. He glanced up at her with a lopsided grin.

  “I think I can be finished in about a month,” she laughed breathlessly.

  “Then I’ll start making plans. Jenna has said she’ll help us. She’ll contact the owner of the garage and put in a good word. Apparently he’s a good friend of theirs.” He swept Callie up in his arms. “Right now, though, I think it’s time to concentrate on other things.”

  “I quite agree.”

  Callie wrapped her arms around his neck and Jason carried her into the bedroom. He kicked the door shut with the back of his heel and laid her on the bed.

  He stared down at her. Never had he seen a more beautiful woman. She stole his breath from his lungs. Callie smiled up at him and squirmed on the bed.

  “What are you thinking about?” She blushed and propped herself up on her elbows.

  “I was thinking how incredibly lucky I am.” Jason leaned over her and kissed her deeply.

  She sighed against his lips. “I’m the lucky one.” She pulled back and gazed deep into his eyes. He felt as if her golden gaze touched his very soul. “I promised myself that if you ever blessed me with your love, I would cherish it every day of my life………and I will. I will never betray you, I will never leave you, and I will love you forever. That’s my promise to you, Jason.”

  Jason’s throat tightened at her declaration. He unbuttoned his shirt halfway and pulled it over his head. “I promise you, my fair Callie, that I will always take care of you and protect you. You will be my heart, my love, and my life, forever.”

  Callie sniffled and wiped away a tear that slid down her face. “I feel like we just said wedding vows.” She blushed and glanced down at her hands.

  Jason knelt down in front of her and brought her palms to his
lips, kissing each in turn. “I feel the same. You are my wife in my heart, Callie, and it won’t be long before I make it so in the eyes of the law. If you’ll have me.”

  “That’s a resounding yes!” Callie wrapped her arms around his neck. “Now make love to me, my beloved husband to be.”

  “As you wish.”

  Jason covered her body with his own, her soft sigh music to his ears. How thankful he was that he’d met her that fateful day on the road. He had a sneaking suspicion he had a certain ghostly child to thank for that, as well as so much else.

  He sent a prayer of gratitude to Sophie silently before he was swept away in a sea of passion with the love of his life.

  Chapter Thirty

  One Month Later

  “Would you grab that box next, please?” Callie called to Jade. She pointed to a large box standing by the door. “It needs to go out to the van next.”

  Her friend turned to Fay. “Tell Callie that I’m still not talking to her!”

  She picked the box up anyhow and marched out of the flat with her nose in the air. Callie sighed.

  “She’s not really still mad at you, is she?” Fay asked with a worried glance at Callie.

  “No. Jade just likes to make sure I’m very, very sorry for not telling her about my troubles, so that I’ll never do it again.” Callie quickly taped up the box she’d just packed and marked it ‘kitchen things’ with a marker pen.

  Dumping the tape on the table, she hurried out of the flat. She caught up with Jade at the removal van.

  “Can we talk?” Callie clasped her friend’s arm and moved them to one side of the street. “Are you really still angry with me, Jade? I’d hate for us to fall out. You mean far too much to me.”

  Jade blew a strand of hair out of her eyes. “You know I’m not. I’m just going to miss you big time.”

  Callie squeezed her arm. “Why don’t you come with us? We’d all love to have you. Fay positively worships the ground you walk on already.”

  Jade rolled her eyes. “Nah. I’ll pass. It’s your adventure and new life, Callie, not mine.”

  Callie blinked back tears. “I’ll miss you so much. Are you going to stay on in the flat in London?”

  Jade shrugged. “I don’t know, but you don’t have to worry about me. I’ve known for a while that our lives would be taking a different route.” She patted Callie’s hand, a mysterious smile on her lips. “I told you that this trip of yours would change everything. Remember?”

  “So you did.” Callie remembered the conversation they’d had before she’d left for Devon. It seemed like another lifetime.

  Jade regarded Callie with a serious expression on her face. “I am glad you found your answers, Callie. I’m just sorry they weren’t the ones you would have wanted.”

  Callie smiled sadly. “Thanks, Jade. It means a lot. Maybe one day you’ll find the answers to your own mystery.”

  Jade shuddered. “Heaven forbid,” she whispered, a haunted look in her eyes. She shook herself. “Let’s not dwell on these things. We have a van to load up. Where is that other half of yours? He’s leaving us to all the work. Typical man!”

  “I heard that!” Jason’s indignant voice sprang up from behind them.

  Callie laughed. She spun round and hugged him hard. “Where have you been?” She kissed him deeply.

  Jade pulled a face. “Erh! That’s too much lovey, dovey stuff for me. See you guys later.”

  “Sure.” Callie waved a hand at her departing friend and turned back to Jason. She raised an eyebrow and repeated her question.

  “I went to say a final goodbye to Mitch,” Jason said in a soft voice.

  “Oh. How is he?”

  Callie had seen her brother only once since everything had happened. He’d thanked her rather grudgingly for getting him out of prison, but he’d made it clear he didn’t want to know her. He couldn’t help but feel she was partly responsible for his mother’s death. Callie understood his feelings, but it hurt nonetheless.

  “He’s moving away too. He can’t hack the gossip any longer, and it’s only going to get worse.” Jason hesitated a moment. He drew a deep breath and continued. “Apparently, Max and Sandra are in the process of emigrating to America together. They are planning to live as husband and wife. I don’t even want to tell you what that’s doing to Mitch.”

  Callie closed her eyes and shook her head. “Unbelievable!”

  Her parents had tried several more times to contact her, but Callie refused to reply. She had no desire for either of them to play a part in her life. Now she knew she’d made the right call. As far as she was concerned, she only had one set of parents and she was very much looking forward to seeing them when they visited her in Cornwall.

  “How are we doing here?” Jason asked.

  “Almost done. Is Doug nearly packed up?”

  Callie was glad the older man seemed to be moving on from Sandra. He’d stopped drinking and had thrown himself into the move. He was making big plans to go into business with Jason. Callie was glad. She couldn’t bear for Max and Sandra to ruin someone else’s life.

  “He’s done. He texted me a short while ago that he’ll swing by soon to pick up Fay.” Jason stared up at the window to his flat. He sighed and wrapped an arm around her waist.

  Callie squeezed him tight. “Are you going to miss this place?”

  “No. It’s just bricks and mortar, Callie. Wherever you are is home to me.” He smiled down at her. “Are you ready for our new life, love?”

  “Almost. Do you mind if I have a few minutes to myself. I have something I really want to do.”

  Jason kissed her gently. “Of course not. You take all the time you need.”

  Callie kissed him again before she wandered down the street. She glanced around at the town as she moved through it. The place held some terrible memories for her, but it had also given her the love of her life. She would always be grateful for that.

  Callie reached the cemetery and slipped inside. She wandered through the graves until she reached the one she’d found only a couple of weeks ago. Sophie’s name stared up at her. She knelt down in front of the grave, heedless of the stones that poked into her knees. Callie placed a kiss on her fingertips and pressed it to the cold stone.

  “I want you to know, my precious sister, that I will never forget you.” Tears sprang to her eyes. “You will always live in my heart.”

  “Well said.”

  The gravelly voice from behind her gave Callie a fright. She spun round. An elderly man approached her. Despite his age, Callie recognised him. She’d seen pictures of him in Sandra’s album when he’d been so much younger.

  “I don’t mean to interrupt,” her grandfather said as he stepped up to her side. “I’m your grandfather, Max Fuller sr. I heard you were leaving today and I just wanted to spend a few moments with you before you go. I was on my way to Jason’s flat when I saw you coming here.”

  Callie stared at him, shocked and unsure what to say. “Why now?” she finally choked out. “I thought you must be………..”

  “Dead?” He cocked a grey, bushy eyebrow at her. “Not quite yet, although it’s a wonder I’m not after everything my children have put me through.” He shoved his hand in his pockets. “I wanted to see you, Callie. Believe me, staying away was hard.”

  “Then why did you?” Hurt welled up inside her. Was she always to receive shocks where her birth family were concerned?

  “To be honest, I stayed away because I would have told you the answer to anything you asked. I believed you deserved the truth, but neither my wife, Max, nor Sandra wanted you to know.” Her grandfather reached out and touched Sophie’s gravestone. “It was such a shock when we found out who Sophie’s real father was.” He stared into her eyes. “But I want you to know, I loved that little girl with every breath in my body. It didn’t change when I knew the truth.”

  Tears slipped slowly down Callie’s cheeks. She wiped them away with one hand. “She was special, wasn’t she, Mr Fu
ller?”

  “It’s Grandfather to you,” the old man admonished softly. Callie gasped, and her mouth dropped open. Her grandfather laughed. “Did you think I wouldn’t love you, just as I loved Sophie?”

  “But you brought Sophie up until she died. You’ve never known me.”

  He shook his head. “Not true. I knew you here.” He pressed a hand to his heart.

  “Why didn’t you come and see me sooner?” she wept. Her heart ached so painfully, she clasped a hand to her chest. “I’m leaving today. I would have liked to spend time with you.”

  He smiled grimly. “After everything the rest of the family have put you through, I didn’t think you’d want to know anymore.”

  “I thought so too, but it would seem that’s not true.” Callie clasped his hand. “Can we stay in touch?”

  He squeezed her fingers. “I’d like that. Give me your address and I’ll write to you.”

  Callie released his hand and scrambled in her bag for a pen and paper. She quickly scribbled down her new address. She’d already memorised it so she could re-direct her mail and give it to her clients. Tearing out the paper from her notebook, she handed it to her grandfather.

  He slipped the paper into his pocket. “I’m so glad we had this chance to speak.” He touched her shoulder. “I actually came to see you to give you something.”

  He rummaged in his other pocket. “Hold out your hand.”

  Callie hesitated then slowly held her hand out. Her grandfather dropped something cold into her palm. She glanced down. A gold, heart shaped pendant stared up at her. It sparkled in the sunlight.

  “It’s beautiful,” she breathed.

  “It was Sophie’s,” her grandfather informed her.

  Callie gasped and glanced up at him. “I can’t take this from you.” She tried to give it back, but he curled her fingers around the pendant and pushed her arm towards her body.

  “She would want you to have it,” he assured her. “She loved you so much. She used to sing to you while Sandra was pregnant with you. Did you know she made a promise to always take care of you? She was so young and yet so earnest when she said it. I really believe she meant every word.”