Shadow of Suspicion (Haunted by the Past)
Page 26
Callie stared in wonder at the pendant in her palm. “She kept her promise too,” she whispered. She closed her eyes and hugged the pendant to her chest. “Thank you, Grandfather. You have no idea what this means to me. I will treasure it always.”
“I knew you would. I almost felt as if Sophie asked me to give it to you.” He patted her arm. “Well, I must be off. Have a safe journey to Cornwall. I will look forward to hearing from you. Just know, you will always be loved by me.”
“Thank you, Grandfather.” Callie leapt to her feet and wrapped the old man in her embrace. He hugged her close and kissed her forehead.
“You make sure that young man of yours takes good care of you.” He patted her cheek before he turned and ambled out of the churchyard.
Callie watched him leave. She turned to Sophie’s grave and saw the little girl perched on the headstone, her small face lit up in a smile. Callie gasped and reached a hand towards her sister. She drew in a shuddering breath, so grateful to have this moment with Sophie. She hadn’t thought she’d see her again.
“Thank you for everything,” Callie whispered.
Sophie smiled and blew her a kiss. “I love you for always.”
Callie choked on a sob. “I love you forever too.”
Sophie reached out a hand and touched Callie’s cheek. The icy cold didn’t bother her in the least. “Don’t cry. There are only happy things for you from now on. You have such a wonderful life ahead of you, I promise. We’ll see each other again one day.”
She faded from sight. Callie lingered for several moments more, her mind a jumble of thoughts. Finally, she turned and left the cemetery. Jason stood outside the walls. She smiled, unsurprised he’d guessed where she’d been. He was always so in tune with her thoughts.
“Are you ready to go?” he asked her, holding out his hand.
“Yes. I’m finally ready to leave the past behind.” She gripped his hand tightly in her own.
“Wow, look at that, sweetheart.” Jason pointed back the way she’d come.
Callie followed his finger. A rainbow arched across the sky, right above the churchyard. Little sparkles of light danced around Sophie’s grave. Love filled Callie until she thought her heart would burst. She blew a kiss towards the heavens.
“I think my beautiful sister just became an angel.” She didn’t know how she knew, but she did. Deep in her heart, she just knew.
Jason squeezed her hand and they slowly walked away towards the happy future Sophie had promised them.
Author’s Note
I hope you enjoyed reading Callie and Jason’s story. It was a complete joy and pleasure to write. As you may have already guessed, Jade has her own mystery to solve that will be told in a future book. Keep your eyes on my blog and Facebook page for news about this story.
My next book will be the third instalment of The Fairy Tale Match, called Phoenix Rising. Rhys has waited long enough to tell his story! Again, keep your eyes on my blog and Facebook. I will be posting news and teaser excerpts as the book is written.
Thank you for reading this book. If you enjoyed it, I would really appreciate a review on Amazon. As any author will tell you, we really need your reviews.
You can read below for excerpts from my previous books. Happy Reading!
You can contact me in the following ways:
Email: danielle.rosewest30@gmail.com
My blog: http://daniellerosewest.blogspot.co.uk/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Danielle-Rose-West/451370021626958
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DRoseWest
Amazon Author page:
https://www.amazon.com/author/daniellerosewest
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/daniellerosewes/pins/
Hidden in Shadows – Excerpt
Stumbling along the coast road, she slumped down on a bench that overlooked the sea. Her gaze failed to register the waves as they tossed themselves onto shore. Kyle had wanted to buy her house, not once but twice. He’d lost out to the previous owners and then to her. She remembered Tiffany telling her how the Perkins had left terrified. Had Kyle been responsible for driving them away? Was he doing the same to her?
She thought of all the things that had happened, her lips thinning as her fury rose. It had to be. Kyle was trying to drive her away so he could buy the house when she put it back up for sale. Well, not in this lifetime! Shooting up from the bench, Jenna marched home. The pounding of her feet sounded like the beat of a drum preceding an army into battle.
She flew into the house, dropping her bag and the paint thinner to the floor before she stomped into the study. She barely registered the huge man working in the room with Kyle. Her whole attention riveted upon her tormentor.
“Why did you say nothing about having wanted to buy my house?” she demanded, her hands curled into fists.
Kyle spun around from the wall he’d been stripping. His shocked expression would have been comical in any other situation. Jenna didn’t find anything funny about it now.
“Who told you that?” he finally got out.
“Does it matter? It’s true isn’t it?” Jenna demanded, anger nearly choking her.
“Yes, it’s true. I didn’t tell you simply because it wasn’t important.” He clutched the scraper in his hand tighter, his knuckles turning white.
“Not important?” Her brow rose in question. He frowned at her deadly tone, his eyes full of confusion. “I would say it was more likely you didn’t want me to know so I wouldn’t guess what you were up to!”
“What the hell are you talking about?” He planted his hands on his hips, staring at her as if she’d lost her mind.
“Don’t deny it!” Her voice rose with increasing tempo. She waved her finger in his face, one hand firmly planted on her own hip. “Don’t you dare deny what you’ve been doing to me! I know your game. You did it to the Perkins too, didn’t you?” She stalked forward, practically shoving her face into Kyle’s increasingly confused and angry one.
“Look here, I haven’t the foggiest notion what you’re talking about!” He stabbed a finger towards her chest. “You need to sort out your facts before you go accusing people of things.”
“Really?” she snarled. She began ticking points off on her fingers. “Fact One, you wanted to buy this house, but was beat to it by the Perkins. Fact Two, they were driven from their home in terror, forcing them to sell. Fact Three, you wanted to buy this house again, but I beat you to it. Fact Four, odd things are happening here and I would bet money on it you’re behind them.” She glared at him triumphantly.
Wild Fire – Excerpt
He stared at her hand, then at her face. “Who the hell are you?” he snapped. “And why are you talking to me like we’re best friends? Guests don’t book in here, they book in at the customer care cabin over by the guest cabins. Kerry can direct you. In future, I’ll thank you not to intrude on our family home again. We always make it clear that main house is off limits to guests. We do need a private life you know!”
Her smile faltered. “But I’m Laura Hamilton,” she stammered out, puzzled. She could understand he thought she was arriving the next day, but she’d already explained she was early. What was wrong with him? He’d seemed so nice in his emails. “You told me to come straight to the main house. I’m supposed to be staying here in your home with you for three weeks! You said you were looking forward to it” She tried not to get upset, but could feel herself on the verge of tears. She was tired, the drive and jet lag were beginning to creep up on her and now Jake Carter was acting like he’d never heard of her. It was all too much!
“I beg your pardon? What the hell are you talking about?” he snarled at her, losing his patience. Without even waiting for an answer, he turned to his sister. “Who the hell is this lunatic and why did you let her in the house instead of directing her to the guest customer service cabin? Although, on second thought, I’m not sure we want this crazy woman staying on the premises. Perhaps it’s best to refund
her and send her home. She probably escaped from some nut house anyway!”
“How dare you!” Laura huffed, angry now. If he’d changed his mind upon seeing her, he could at least have the good grace to just admit it instead of making out he had no idea who she was and that SHE was crazy. “You asked me here for three weeks. I have the emails on my phone to prove it.” She began fumbling in her bag for her phone. “I would never have come had I known what a rude, grumpy man you are, instead of the sweet guy you pretended to be! Really, you could just say you’ve changed your mind, instead of this ridiculous charade. Honestly, why join a dating agency if you weren’t happy to meet someone. It’s not my fault that agency won’t work with photos. You must have known it was a risk, being sight unseen!”
Jake held his hand up to stop her tirade, refusing to take the phone she was trying to thrust in his face. “Hold up there. You have the wrong place. I have not, nor would I ever join a dating agency. You must have driven to the wrong address.” He shook his head in relief.
“But, this is the Twisted Tree Ranch and you are Jake Carter, are you not?” Laura asked, wondering why he was insisting on this pretence of not knowing her. A strangled sound from behind her drew her attention.
Laura turned to look at Kerry, who was still standing frozen by the front door. Her face held a look of horror and guilt, as she looked from Jake to Laura. A sinking feeling came over Laura. Something was seriously wrong with this picture.
Forever You – Excerpt
Getting up from the bed, her legs shaking, Erica slipped her arms into her robe and headed barefoot to her bedroom door. She listened at the door, trying to hear if anyone else was up, but everything was silent. Turning the handle, she slowly opened the door and crept to the stairs. Carefully, she tiptoed down them and into the main living room, ignoring the cold seeping into her feet.
“What are you doing out of bed at this time of night?” The sound of a voice coming out of the dark at her made Erica cry out in fear, as she tried to dive for cover. She landed up hitting her back against the wall and banging her head on the stair rail. Slumped over, she rubbed her head and tried to still her shaking body. It wasn’t Pete, she told herself, but she still found it hard to calm her nerves.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” Strong hands gripped her arms and helped her to her feet. She found herself staring through the shadows and into the handsome face of Darius. For a moment, he took her breath away. The closeness of his body to hers made her tremble. She was all too aware she wore only her thin nightie and robe; not much of a barrier between her body and his. Her heart hammered in her chest, desire beginning to uncurl from its long forgotten hiding place inside her. Horrified, Erica pulled out of his grip and put some distance between them.
“What did you expect when you’re sitting in the dark? I had no idea you were there!” she hissed angrily, put on the attack by her unwanted feelings. She hadn’t seen him since he’d left to answer his phone call earlier. She’d been horribly disappointed when he hadn’t come back, which she insisted was because she hadn’t been able to question him on what this plan was that involved her. It had nothing to do with actually missing his presence, she assured herself.
“I just wanted some quiet time to sit and think,” he told her, heading back to the sofa he’d vacated to come to her assistance.
“And you couldn’t do that in your own room?” she snapped, folding her arms over her chest. She still felt far too vulnerable and knew she was becoming haughty again, but she simply couldn’t help it. She always got behind her defences when she was especially frightened or vulnerable. And this man made her feel vulnerable, only in a different way to any other. He made her scared of her own feelings.
“This is my home Princess, I can pretty much do what I want in it without your permission.” He sounded cross again. “I should be asking you what you’re doing skulking around my home at this hour.”
No way could she tell him what she was really doing! “I wasn’t skulking. I came for a glass of water,” she improvised quickly. “I was thirsty and couldn’t sleep.”
He snapped on a side light, making her jump again. She blinked a few times, trying to get used to the sudden light. He swept his arm towards the kitchen. “Be my guest,” he smirked, anger still glinting in his amazing eyes.
Sticking her nose in the air, Erica walked on jelly legs to the kitchen to fetch her water. As she headed back into the living room, she saw him still sitting on the sofa, deep in thought. She wondered if it was anything to do with the plan she’d heard his grandmother mention. He seemed distracted and unhappy. Not that she cared if he was happy, but she did have the right to know if he was playing her in some way.
“Actually, I’m glad I’ve caught you,” she said with steely determination. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something, but you disappeared right after dinner and I didn’t get the chance.”
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
Chapter Thirty
Author’s Note
Hidden in Shadows – Excerpt
Wild Fire – Excerpt
Forever You – Excerpt