LITMIR.BIZ

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But more American than anything. I’d never tell him, but I liked it.

      “I traveled a lot as a child. Parents?”

      “Do you need to know where I was on the night of the eighteenth? I’m surprised you’re not blinding me with a hot lamp.” I trod on with a nice view of his back.

      “Talking about yourself seems to come so naturally. I figured you wouldn’t mind telling me about them, too.”

      He set fire to my blood and not in a good way. What a piece of work.

      “My father was disabled in a factory accident, but if you ask me, the only thing disabling him is cheap beer. He lies around all day, burning holes in a recliner that outdates me. Mama works from sunup to sundown, trying to keep clothes on our backs. My sister is a stripper, though she told Mama she did volunteer work down at the hospital on night shift. I can still hear Mama’s voice in my head. ‘Why, honey, I’m just so glad you’re spreading yourself throughout the community. It’s generous that you would put that much of yourself out there for another person. I just wish you could get paid for it.’” I laughed.

      Cole grinned for the first time. In a pleasant way.

      I could see why he was upset with me, I guess. It had been ridiculous to wander where I wasn’t familiar. And anyone in their right mind would have been protective of their dead loved one’s belongings. And now, he would probably get chewed out when we got back home, due to some lawyer nitpicking every little thing he and his uncle did for the next month, whatever that was about.

      “I’m not in this for the money. I really came to please my mother. She wouldn’t hush till I came to clear up this misunderstanding.”

      He stopped and turned to me. What now?

      Cole stepped closer, his eyes dark and serious in the filtered moonlight. Clouds were rolling in.

      “If that is true, and you do end up staying here any length of time, it would probably be in your best interest to remember some ground rules. If I warn you away from something, I have good reason.” He sounded much wiser than his age. His dark green eyes mesmerized me. They twitched, and his hard features softened for a fraction of a second.

      “You said rules as in plural. Are there more?”

      “I’ll inform you when I come up with more.” Cole shuddered as his dark pupils locked onto something inside me. His voice was strangely hollow. Silence. He regarded me thoughtfully, the anger slipping from his face. His chest rose and fell faster.

      The sounds of the night disappeared, my heartbeat replacing them.

      Cole’s features hardened again, his face pinched in anguish. He took a step closer. Through a clenched jaw, he said, “You’re beautiful.”

      The statement sounded like he’d added it to a list of reasons not to like me.

      What did you say to that?

      What did you say to anything this guy said?

      “Um.” I shook my head. “I’m sorry?”

      Cole stepped in closer, only inches between us. His heart beat loud enough to hear. Or maybe that was mine. With a wild look, he surveyed my face, letting the back of his fingers brush my cheek. His hand slid down my arm. He took my hand and flipped it over to inspect the bandage. His dark gaze raked back up my face, and he leaned in. “How are we going to explain this? I should have found a way to keep you from falling. He already thinks the sun rises and sets in the crack of your—never mind. If that gets infected, I’ll be banished from the house for the remainder of your stay.”

      Wow. I really thought that would go somewhere different. I wagged my head, steamy heat filling my cheeks. I wasn’t so good at reading guys, apparently. “He can’t blame you for something that’s not your fault. I was being careless. You couldn’t have known I would take a tumble down that bank.”

      Cole stepped back, ignoring our previous closeness. He nodded toward the road. “Come on. We’re almost there. Can’t say I’m looking forward to this little reunion.”

      “I’ll explain what happened. Surely, he won’t be too mad.”

      “You don’t know my uncle. And on that note, you also don’t know how people can turn into vultures when someone dies. Be careful who you associate with after the will is read. You’ll have money, and not being too hard on the eyes will make you an easy target. I don’t have all day, every day to devote to you, but if anybody gives you trouble, let me know. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry about the trailer park remark. It was a little out of line.” Without further hesitation, he led me down the lane.

      I followed silently.

      We walked for what seemed like miles, but I floated the whole way.

      “The gate is just ahead.”

      Probably miles ahead. His legs wouldn’t feel it, but when I sobered from the flattery, my legs would be spongy.

      “Tomorrow, when you decide to go on some more of your little treks, don’t go into the apple orchards or the catacombs under the house, at least not without an escort,” Cole said in his renewed aggravated tone. “Given your clumsy nature, you’re liable to trip on a twig and break something.”

      This place had catacombs? Instant intrigue. “You can’t tell a ‘troublemaking girl’ like me about something that mysterious and expect me to stay away. That’ll be the first thing I venture into.”

      “How did I know?” He raked a hand through his hair.

      “Why are there passages?”

      “Mr. Rollins put them under the house in case the Northern soldiers tried any more of their shenanigans.”

      We walked on a bit.

      The fence was exactly like the other half I’d driven by from the other direction in the daylight. Tonight it was a little more menacing with Frasier firs thickly lining it from the inside.

      “What’s the need for all this fence?”

      “Privacy. Gypsies used to come through this area, and Mr. Rollins didn’t like them squatting on his land. Said they made a big mess and never cleaned things up when they left.” Cole sniffed with distaste.

      “You sound like you knew him.”

      Cole tensed. “May as well have. I’ve heard all the stories.”

      “I’ve only been here a few hours, and I’ve heard some myself. Why do you think people died on the fourth floor?”

      “They didn’t die on the fourth floor.” Cole’s expression hardened to stone. His jaw worked as he walked. Faster. “They fell and died in the flower bed.”

      “You didn’t actually witness a death, did you?”

      “Do you always ask so many questions?” His jaw worked harder.

      “Only when I feel someone’s not being truthful.”

      “Another rule. When it’s not your truth to know, keep your nose out of it. Now could you hurry? This isn’t a leisurely stroll. I might work for you, but I am off the clock right now, and this is my time you’re wasting. Some of us have to eat, you know.”

      “Do you have to be so mean?”

      “Yes. It keeps unwanted attention at bay.”

      “Seems to me you’re masking a semi-decent personality with a masculine I-don’t-need-anyone front. That has to be lonely.”

      “Just the way I like it. We’ll cut through and go in the back way.” He nodded toward a long stretch of fence. He pushed three vine-covered bars inward, causing an awful metal on metal moan. A hidden gate. Cole disappeared through overgrown foliage, leaving me behind.

      I followed and jumped at the rattle and clash of the gate slamming, with me barely through it.

      “You

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