by Dawn Kirby
“Raine.”
“It suits you.”
So this was the guy David wanted to see when we got back. I honestly expected someone older. Raine was closer to my age.
“What do you mean?”
“You smell like a storm,” I told him. “I love that smell.”
“I didn’t know that was possible. Kale can smell people, but he smells pheromones,” he said. He scooted over closer to me. “What is it about people you smell?”
“I think it’s their character,” I told him. “Honestly, I haven’t quite figured it out for sure yet. Emotions are a lot easier to decipher.”
“What do you mean by that?” He was so intrigued his eyes looked like lightning storms had been trapped inside them. I wasn’t positive, but I thought that might be a good thing.
“Some people, when they feel something strongly, have a haze around them. I haven’t figured out all the colors yet, but I’ve only been able to see them for a few years. If I see red it usually means someone is mad. Orange tells me they’re frustrated.”
“Do I have one?” he asked clearly fascinated.
I watched him a second before I answered. So far the blue glow around him hadn’t faded. I could only assume his might be permanent. That would be a first.
“Yours is different. Usually, I only see it now and then. I saw yours the minute I opened my eyes and it hasn’t faded yet.”
“What do you see?”
“Dark blue,” I answered. “That’s the color I see when someone is worried or afraid. But, I know from listening to your heart you’re neither of those.”
He leaned back on his elbows and looked out the window. It was great to see he wasn’t freaked out by what I’d told him. Those were the two things I’d kept from everybody. David suspected, like Mom had, but I hadn’t been brave enough to tell them exactly how it worked.
“I can handle being a one of a kind,” he said, smiling at me. “Kale was right. You really are something else.”
“A little strange might be the words he was looking for,” I offered quietly.
After last night any one would. Not many girls go around sniffing blood and finding bodies every time they turn around. I am, without a doubt, not normal.
“No more than me,” he said, staring at the floor. “Or anyone else in this house for that matter. You made quite an impression on him last night. Granny finally had to make him go to sleep.”
“I didn’t realize I did all that much.” All I’d done was point out something Kale would have found anyway.
“He told us you could pick the blood apart.”
“All I knew about the blood was that it was male. I didn’t know it was JD’s until later. Kale figured it out before he got to my house.” I wanted to give credit where it was due. Kale knew a lot more than I did.
“He said he lost his focus after he smelled the blood on your hand,” Raine said. He sat up and looked at me. “It took your calm head get him to refocus. How you were even able to think straight is beyond me.”
Kale had seemed so confident last night. I thought he’d nearly crushed my hand because he’d been surprised by the smell on it. It was hard to believe it had made him lose his concentration; much less relied on me to get him back on track.
“The dog threw me too,” I told him honestly. “I still don’t understand how that happened.”
“If you hadn’t mentioned smelling a man it would have taken him hours to find something useful. When he gets agitated or excited he can’t concentrate.” He sounded a little annoyed with his brother, but his eyes were soft and sympathetic towards me. “Even after finding Mia the way you did, you still figured it out.”
“You’re giving me way too much credit,” I argued. “I only told them what I could.”
“Which turned out to be the identity of one of her killers,” he said firmly.
“I didn’t know that until JD fell on me,” I admitted. That was a stupid mistake on my part. “That’s when I figured out he was the one in the store. Kale already knew that and more. The thought that someone else was in the store with him never crossed my mind.” “Why would it?” He put his warm, rough hand on mine. That small action sent tiny shocks through my hand. “Until two days ago, you didn’t know about any of this.”
“I still don’t,” I told him. “I know people are looking for me, but I still have no idea why.”
“Don’t be in such a hurry to find out,” he suggested. His cloudy eyes shifted to the window. “You may not like what you hear.”
“Do you know?”
“I do,” he said solemnly.
The room was quiet for a long while after that. Even in the awkward silence, his hand never left mine. It felt like he was trying to comfort me with a touch. Whether he knew it or not it was working. Between the warm tingling sensations in my hand and his exciting yet calming smell, I was completely relaxed. So much so I started to really take in my new surroundings.
From the bed I could see huge trees going on for miles. It looked like we were in the middle of nowhere. There weren’t any other rooftops sticking up from the trees that I could see. It must be so peaceful out here at night. The sun wasn’t gone yet, but it wouldn’t be long.
“Do you want me to turn on the light?” he asked, turning his head to look at me.
“If you need it, you can,” I said, my eyes on his. “I can see you just fine.”
He raised an eyebrow and grinned slyly. “I take it your sight is as good as your nose.”
“Maybe better,” I answered. “Exactly where are we?”
“We’re about forty-five minutes from Weatherford.”
“Do you live here?”
“Kale and I both do, along with a few others. Granny lives downstairs in an apartment off the kitchen. You’ve already met her.”
“May is your grandmother?” I asked. I hadn’t made the connection when he’d mentioned her earlier. A soft smile graced his face when he nodded in answer. “Please tell her thank you for me. She was so nice to me earlier.”
He squeezed my hand and stood up. “I’ve got a better idea. Let’s go downstairs and you can tell her yourself. I don’t know about you, but I could use some food.”
Food sounded like a great idea. From what I could smell, it would probably taste just as good. I threw the covers off and remembered I was wearing my pj’s. This didn’t feel like the kind of house you could run around wearing your nighties in. If I could find my clothes, I could at least follow Raine’s lead and put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.
“I guess I really should change clothes.” I looked around the room. My bags were nowhere to be seen. I got up to check in the dressing room, but Raine grabbed my wrist before I got too far.
“You’re not gonna find them. She took it all downstairs to wash.” Apparently my open mouth amused him because he chuckled when he saw it. “She’s a grandmother. You’ll get used to it. Since you just bought everything she wanted them to be clean. Don’t worry it’ll only be the four of us anyway.”
“She really didn’t have to do that,” I told him quietly.
“As far as she was concerned she wasn’t doing enough,” he said casually.
“Why are you all being so nice to me?” I asked, searching his face for a good reason. “Judging by the body count so far, I’m pretty much a death sentence. How is my life more important than anybody else’s?”
“The people that are after you are dangerous. David can’t do this alone and we all know it.” His eyes were completely gray now. “He and Mia have always been there when we needed them. So when he asks for our help, we give it freely and without question.”
“I hope I can return the favor one day,” I said seriously.
When he finally let go of my wrist, I started to make the bed. The only time I didn’t make my bed at home was when I was dog-tired or I knew I was going to wash the sheets later. It always felt so nice to get into a neatly made bed every night.
“Leave it. Julie will get it l
ater,” he said, leaning on the post at the end of the bed.
Watching me obviously made him happy, his eyes turned bright blue and he had a big smile on his face. I couldn’t help but be a little self-conscious. Having a drop dead gorgeous man you’ve just met watch you work while wearing your pj’s tends to have that effect.
“Who’s Julie?” I asked, trying to mask the feeling of unease washing over me.
“She’s the housekeeper,” he answered nonchalantly. “She comes in and cleans up when we leave so she doesn’t get in the way.”
A housekeeper? This must be how Cinderella felt when she moved to the castle. After some thought, I assumed they must have a whole staff of help. The bedroom I was in and its adjoining rooms were huge. If every room in the house were this big there had to be more than one person doing the job.
“I guess there’s a lot I’ll have to get used to, isn’t there?”
“Unfortunately there is,” he answered somberly.
I could make out a hint of fear in his voice. It wasn’t enough to affect his blue shadow or the wonderful smell coming off him, but it was there. I found it hard to think of anything that could scare him.
“Raine, can I ask you a question?”
“Only if you say my name again,” he said. I checked his eyes for a sparkle but there wasn’t one. He was serious.
“Raine,” I said, feeling a little silly, “why were you in here?” Instantly his face changed. His eyes turned stone gray and his smell vanished. Even the blue around him had faded to light blue. I hadn’t intended to hurt him. Now I had to think of a way to fix it and fast.
“I meant waiting for me to wake up,” I said quickly. “Surely you have better things to do. I’m pretty sure your girlfriend would probably be a little upset if she knew you were here babysitting me instead of spending time with her.”
I didn’t expect his reaction. He actually laughed. The blue-gray sparkle lit up his eyes again. His dark blue haze and heavenly smell came rushing back. He reached for my hand and put it in between both of his.
“First, I didn’t want you to wake up alone. Not after what happened last night,” he said, regaining some composure. “Second, David asked me to stay close to you. And third, I don’t have a girlfriend.”
I was relieved to hear he didn’t have a girlfriend. At least he wouldn’t be facing a firing squad later. He was right; I’d heard it myself. David told him not to let me leave his sight. Even so, it cut a little to hear that.
“On David’s behalf, I thank you,” I said coolly. “You’ve done your job.”
“You’re not a job, Leah,” he said firmly. His hands closed tightly around mine. “I want to be here with you. Not because David told me too, because I want to.”
When he said my name, I got chills. Maybe that’s why he wanted me to say his again. It was an exhilarating feeling. One I’ve never felt before. In fact, I couldn’t wait to hear him say it again.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized quickly. “I don’t know what got into me.”
“Don’t be. You may not want me anywhere near you later,” he said, snuggling my hand in the crook of his arm. “You may not even want to be in this house.”
I couldn’t imagine what could be so bad that I’d want to leave. Everybody I’ve met so far has been nothing but nice. At the moment, all I wanted to do was spend more time with him. I’ve waited this long to hear the secret, what’s a few more hours? David was nowhere in sight and I knew for a fact no one else would offer any information. I decided to put everything else aside and soak in the calm. For all I knew it wouldn’t last long.
“Then I guess I better enjoy your company now,” I said, smiling brightly at him. Later was still a ways off. “Why don’t you show me the kitchen? Dinner smells fantastic.”
With a smile on his perfect face, he led me out the bedroom door. The room I was in was at the back of a long hallway. The same plush beige carpet ran all the way down the hall. There were four doors on either side. Just looking at the length of the hallway, I figured the other seven rooms were as big as mine.
“That’s my room,” he said, pointing to the closed door directly across from mine. “Kale’s is right next to mine.”
Outside Kale’s door, I detected the unmistakable scent of a locker room. That was something I hadn’t got a whiff of since high school. I had avoided the field house at all costs just to keep the foul odor out of my nose. Obviously it wasn’t something that was strictly confined to teenage boys. The hideous smell was alive and well in that bedroom.
“Poor Julie,” I said. “It smells like a sweaty sock factory in there.”
He laughed a little. “Julie flat out refuses to go in there. She told Donovan she doesn’t get paid enough to clean up a pigsty.” “I don’t blame her.”
“That room there belongs to Raif, but we haven’t seen him since early Monday morning. The other one is empty.”
“What about this side?” I asked, pointing to the door next to mine. I was curious as to how many people lived here. So far I’d only picked up three heartbeats.
“The first one on the end was Judith’s,” he told me. Listening to the disgusted tone in his voice, it was obvious he cared as much for Judith as everybody else did. “The one next to it is Declan’s and the one next to yours is David’s.”
Excitement surged through me. Knowing his loving arms were right next door comforted me in ways I’ve never imagined. Now that I had him, there were so many things I wanted to ask him. Mostly, I wanted to be in the same room with him. I honestly didn’t care if we talked or not. After all these years his presence under the same roof was enough.
“Do you think he’d want to see me?” I asked not knowing if he was home or not. For all I knew he was out getting everything set up for Mom’s funeral.
“I’m sure he’d love too, but he’s asleep right now,” Raine said quietly.
I put my hand on the knob to open the door, but he wouldn’t let up on my other arm. In fact, he’d pulled up a little so his grip got tighter. “I’ll wake him up. I’m sure he’s had enough sleep by now.”
“Leah, he’s impossible to wake up,” he said rubbing my arm gently. “Give him a little more time. I’m sure he’ll come and find you as soon as his eyes open.”
I dropped my hand away and followed him downstairs. Sadly, Raine knew him better than I did.
Chapter Eight
My room was impressive. The rest of the house was astounding. After descending the carpeted stairs, we walked into a large living room. Our whole house could have fit into this one room. The same soft beige carpet seemed to run throughout the house.
Every piece of finely crafted furniture was covered in dark brown leather or made of solid wood. All the tables and the staircase banister were stained caramel. Hanging from the dark red walls were several expensive pieces of artwork. Some of it looked extremely old. I never took art appreciation in school, but I knew enough to know I was looking at several well-known, rare works of art.
A gigantic entertainment center had been built to fill half the length of one wall. It housed every electronic known to mankind. Right smack in the middle of it was a 72-inch flat screen television. I was willing to bet it was a plasma screen. Or maybe even one of those new 3D TVs. All of that was topped off with the most expensive Bose surround sound system money could buy. “Wow,” I unintentionally whispered.
“It’s a little much,” he said, when he heard my whisper. “You’ll get used to it, too. Come on, I’m starving.” He tugged on my arm and I followed him to the other side of the room.
He pushed open the swinging door to the kitchen and I was pleasantly surprised. It was as cozy as our kitchen was at home. The light yellow walls made it feel warm and inviting. All the cabinets matched the soft maple color of the hard wood floor. There were café style checkerboard curtains hanging above the windows. This had to be my favorite room in the house so far.
The food I’d smelled earlier was laid out on the counter opposite of a hug
e stainless steel gas stove. A ton of steak, potatoes, corn on the cob, candied carrots, green beans, and dinner rolls covered the entire space. I found it hard to believe all this was for the four of us.
“Who made all this?” I asked him. Honestly, I expected to see a cook walk by any minute. “It must have taken them all day.” “Granny did,” he said smiling. “As long as she’s got someone to take care of she’s happy.”
“Only if it’s appreciated,” May said, smiling sweetly at her grandson. She closed the door to what I assumed was her apartment and patted him lovingly on the arm. “You look rested,” she said, turning her sweet smile on me. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I answered. “It’d be hard not to in a bed like that.”
“Honey, call me May. I’m not quite that old yet. You can thank Donovan for the mattress. He only believes in the best.”
“So this is his house?” I asked. ‘House’ seemed like an understatement.
“He calls it Serenity,” Raine said, waving me towards the table. He pulled my chair out for me as I sat down, and then sat beside me. “Never really understood why a house needs a name.” “The main house is too big for me,” she said, getting out some silverware. “My bones don’t take kindly to climbing up and down those stairs all day. Donovan let the boys build a little apartment for me off the kitchen on my seventy-first birthday.”
“That was five years ago,” he whispered in my ear before he got back up. May wasn’t quite tall enough to reach the plates.
I’d assumed she was sixty at the most. She looked great for a seventy-six year old woman. I had a sneaking suspicion she could probably climb those stairs a hundred times a day and never break a sweat.
“I hope I look as good as you do, if I live that long that is,” I told her. I’d meant it as a compliment. After seeing the way they were looking at me, I remembered why I was here. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I know what you meant, honey,” she said. “I knew Mia, and I don’t think you have anything to worry about. She looked more like your sister than your mother.”
I smiled when a picture of how she looked on Thursday night flashed through my mind. Unfortunately, it was swiftly replaced with the sight of her body lying on the floor the next night. Tears were threatening to fall, but I really didn’t want to cry. Not now. “How well did you know her?” I asked trying to keep the tremor out of my voice.
