Gabe glanced at Esther through the rearview mirror. “We’d love to stay for dinner.”
Carly nodded as she set her gaze out the window. The sun hadn’t been out much today, but was just starting to peek through the clouds, leaving a sparkle of light on the Great Lake. “Wow, it really is beautiful here.”
“I can’t argue with you there,” Gabe said. “I guess if I had to grow up in a small town, this isn’t the worst one on the planet.”
“You grew up here?”
“Yeah, I’ve lived here my whole life.”
“We both have,” Esther chimed in. “Born and raised. Like we said, we don’t get many transfer students.”
“I can’t imagine living in the same place my whole life,” Carly admitted. “We’ve moved around a lot, especially when I was a kid.” She paused as Gabe pulled up to Grant Manor, which, at three generous stories, was much more a mansion than a house. “I’m assuming you’d like to start with a tour?”
Gabe cut the engine. “I don’t know about Esther, but I’m dying to see inside this place.”
“Then let’s go,” Carly said, and led the way into the vast foyer. “I hope you aren’t allergic to cats, because we have three.”
“Gabe and I are cool with animals,” Esther told her.
“Cool,” Carly said, heading down a long hallway to the chef’s kitchen. “I thought we’d grab a Coke before I show you around.” She walked over to the fridge and pulled out three cans, handing one to each of them. “What do you think of the house so far? Is it what you were expecting?”
“It’s…” Gabe started, his eyes wide as he studied the wall of windows overlooking the North Shore. There was a long oak table that seated sixteen parallel to it, and a matching island across the room. Stainless steel appliances lined the wall opposite the windows, including gourmet double ovens.
“Really cool to finally be inside this place,” Esther finished for him. “It’s huge.”
“Thanks,” Carly said. “I’ve spent the past two weeks painting, and there’s still more to do. But I have to admit, it’s starting to grow on me.”
“You’ve been here two weeks already?” Gabe questioned.
“Three.”
“But I haven’t seen you around town or anything.”
Carly shrugged. “Like I said, I’ve been painting. What do you want to see first?”
“The basement,” Esther was quick to answer. “Definitely the basement.”
“All right,” Carly agreed. “The basement it is.” She gave them a thorough tour of the entire house, including all eight bedrooms and six bathrooms, finally ending with her attic bedroom on the open third floor. She crossed her arms over her chest as she waited for their reactions. So far, neither of them had been that easy to read. “Well, what do you think?”
Gabe gazed over the east wall, which was entirely covered in bookshelves containing Carly’s handpicked collection of novels, films, LPs and CDs. “You really are into music.”
Carly stepped up next to him, looking over his face until he noticed her staring. Maybe staring wasn’t the best move. “I grew up listening to Bob Dylan, Creedence, AC/DC, Willie Nelson, Madonna, and pretty much anyone else my mom was into. She’s the one who started my obsession with music, and some of this is her collection. She’d listen to pretty much anything, and I guess I kind of inherited that from her.”
“She just gave you all of this?” Gabe asked. “I’ve got a pretty decent collection, too, and I definitely wouldn’t give it away. I’d be open to sharing, of course, but I’m not ready to part with anything.”
Carly bit at her lip. She didn’t want to get into this now, but figured it was better to just tell them before they started asking questions. “My mom, um, she passed away in the spring, so having all of this in here reminds me of her. It’s the only way I can think of to keep her alive.”
“I’m so sorry,” Gabe blurted out. “I—”
“It’s okay, really. She wouldn’t want me to waste my time mourning her. I mean, she was all about living life to the fullest. I guess that’s what I want to do, too.”
“Is that why you moved here?” Esther asked. “Because your mom passed?”
“And because my dad lost his job,” Carly explained. “He was a professor at a private college in the Twin Cities. Their enrollment’s been down for a few years and, according to my dad, they didn’t quite see eye to eye on everything to begin with. When they decided to do some downsizing, my dad was the first to go. He looked for other jobs, but my mom had just passed away and it was already so late in the semester… I don’t know, he got a call from the school here, and I guess it was like fate or something. I wanted to stay in the city, but here we are.”
“Did your dad apply for the job?” Gabe pried. “He must have, right?”
Carly shook her head. “He’s an alumnus—both he and my mom. Someone tracked him down, I guess. I don’t know how it all happened, but before I knew it, we were packing up the house and on the road to Sterling. I mean, it’s not so bad here. I absolutely love the sound of waves right outside my bedroom window. I just really miss my friends.”
Esther flashed a small smile. “Well, now you have new friends.”
“Yeah, I guess I do.”
“Kiddo?” Howard called up the staircase. “Carly, are you home?”
She turned around just as Howard stepped into her bedroom. “I brought some friends over, and I’ve invited them to stay for dinner. I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s more than okay,” Howard said with a gleeful grin. “Mr. Hutchinson, Miss Crawford, it’s nice to see you both.”
Gabe shoved his hands in his jeans pockets, some of the confidence slipping from his stance. “Are you sure it’s cool if we stay for dinner? We don’t want to impose.”
“We’d love to have you. I thought I’d make pasta with chicken. That is, as long as you both eat meat.”
“Yeah, anything sounds great.”
“I’ll get started then,” Howard decided, his gaze glimmering as he turned for the door. “Did you show them the secret passage yet, Carly?”
“Secret passage?” Esther repeated, raising an eyebrow. “Now that sounds like something I need to see.”
Howard let out a laugh. “I’ll leave you to it then. Dinner will be ready in half an hour or so.”
Carly stepped over to her stereo, pressed play, and the Wilco album she’d been listening to that morning erupted through the speakers. She couldn’t seem to go too long without having some kind of music play or her thoughts would run away with themselves. “I didn’t know if you guys would be into something like secret passages.”
“Are you kidding?” Esther replied. “I knew this house had to have something as cool as a secret passage.”
“What about you?” Carly asked Gabe, her breath catching as their eyes met. She still hadn’t quite reconciled the fact that she’d never met anyone like him before. “Are you up for it?”
Gabe broke into a smile. “We’ll just have to find out.”
Carly walked back across the room to the top of the staircase, turned to the wall opposite the stairs, and pressed her thumb into the details of the elaborately carved wainscoting. The wall popped open without a hitch, just as it had when Howard had first shown her the passage. “We’ll need a flashlight. Esther, can you grab the one from my dresser, please?”
Esther picked up the small, black flashlight, and joined Carly and Gabe at the mouth of the opening. “Where does this lead? Please tell me there’s a dungeon somewhere down there.”
Carly took the flashlight and clicked it on. “Nothing quite so cool. It just goes down to the basement. Please be careful on these stairs. They haven’t been as well maintained as the rest of the house.” She led the way into the passage, struggling to adjust to the dark. “It spirals down here. So, like I said, watch your step.” They reached the first small landing on the second floor, another landing on the first, and finally hit the basement. Carly fumbled for the swi
tch on the left side of the wall, and the secret door popped open.
“So?” she asked, stepping free of the passage into the dimly lit basement. “What do you think?”
“This is so ridiculously cool,” Esther answered. “I’d kill to have something like this in my house.”
“Gabe?” Carly questioned, noticing he was still in the passage. “Aren’t you at least a little impressed? Gabe…?”
He remained transfixed on the wall. “Carly, what’s this?”
“What’s what?”
Gabe pressed at whatever had his attention, and the wall slid back, unveiling the entrance to yet another passage.
Unlike the others, this was a surprise to Carly. “What the hell is that?” she gasped, popping her head in to get a good look. But it was much too dark to see anything.
“This is your house,” Gabe reminded her. “I figured you’d know.”
She brushed past him, shining the flashlight into the passage. “What the…?”
Gabe rested his hand on her shoulder, odd warmth forming under his palm. “You really had no idea this was here?”
Carly shook her head, much too aware that he was still touching her. “I really had no idea.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Esther asked, nudging Carly’s arm. “We have to see where it goes.”
“Maybe I should take the lead?” Gabe suggested, freeing his fingers from Carly’s shoulder.
“Why, because you think I can’t handle it?” Carly challenged.
“No, because we have no idea where it leads. Look, I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
Carly contemplated that for a moment before she handed him the flashlight. “You’re right—it would be much better if you got hurt.”
Gabe grinned as he stepped into the passage. “I think it winds north. This must lead away from the house.”
“How far away from the house?” Carly wondered, trotting after him.
Gabe glanced over his shoulder, his once blue eyes glowing gold in the dark. Carly blinked, certain she was seeing things, but when she opened her eyes once more, the glow was gone. That was… strange.
“I’d say we’ll have to find that out for ourselves,” Gabe replied.
“S-sure.” Carly walked close behind him, hoping he would look back at her again. Was there something wrong with him if his eyes had glowed like that? Or had she been imagining things?
“We’re definitely heading north,” Esther confirmed. “And do you smell that? It’s…”
“Sulfur,” Gabe finished.
“Sulfur?” Carly repeated. “That’s weird.”
“Not really,” Gabe said. “There are caves not far from here that smell the same. If this leads to them…”
“That would be weird,” Esther said. “Why would your house lead to the caves?”
“I have no idea?” Carly replied. “I didn’t even know there were caves around here.”
For some reason, Gabe came to an abrupt stop. Carly walked right into him, and Esther into her. Gabe sniffed at the air as Carly took a step back to make some room between them.
“What are you doing?” Carly asked, reaching for Gabe’s hand to steady herself. She must have gotten a shock somehow, because sparks sizzled between them as she pulled her fingers back. “Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Gabe told her. “And I’m deciding which way to go.”
Carly didn’t know what to make of any of this and was starting to feel claustrophobic. “Look, maybe we should go back.”
“Yeah,” Esther agreed. “We should… Gabe?”
He let out a heavy sigh. “Okay, fine, we’ll go back.”
“It’s just…” Carly hoped Gabe would turn around so she could see his eyes again. They couldn’t have really been glowing before, could they? “I just don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
Esther snatched the flashlight away from Gabe. “We should go. Carly’s dad is calling for her.”
“He is?” Carly asked as she turned to follow Esther back toward the house. “But I can’t hear… anything.” Just as they stumbled into the basement, Howard’s strained cries reached her ears. Esther had really heard that from all the way inside the passage?
“Carly?” Howard hollered. “Are you down there? Dinner’s ready.”
“Coming!” Carly called back, and turned to watch Gabe close up the hidden door. His eyes wandered to hers, nothing significant about them. Well, aside from the fact that Carly found them mesmerizing. “Are you hungry?”
“I’m always hungry,” Gabe informed her, nodding toward the staircase. “Ladies first.”
three
“Any news on that car?” Carly asked as Howard pulled into the Sterling High parking lot the following morning. “Not that I don’t enjoy riding to school with you or anything, I’m just curious.”
Howard guided the Taurus into his reserved parking space. “I’m working on moving some things around, and then we’ll talk about a car. I’m glad you had some friends over last night, sweetheart. That Gabriel Hutchinson sure is a nice boy.”
“It’s not like that between us, Dad. Seriously. Gabe is just a friend.”
“Like Ross was just a friend?”
Carly sighed at the mention of her ex-boyfriend. She’d broken up with him a week before her move, not in the mood to handle a serious long-distance relationship. Now they were just friends, although she was having trouble replying to any of his texts.
“Dad, just… trust me,” Carly pleaded, reaching for the door handle. “I’m not looking for a boyfriend.”
“That doesn’t necessarily matter,” Howard replied. “Sometimes the boys come looking for you.”
Carly rolled her eyes as she jumped out of the car. “Goodbye, Dad.”
“Carly, hey!” someone called from across the lot.
She eyed the blond she’d met the day before, Abel, as he joined her at the school entrance. “Morning.”
“Good morning,” he greeted her. “I was hoping I’d run into you today, since we didn’t really get a chance to, you know, connect yesterday. Which is a shame, because I was hoping you’d let me show you the ropes around here.”
Carly avoided his gaze as she walked into the lobby. She’d known guys like Abel before, and they were nothing but trouble. She wasn’t looking for trouble. “Yeah, that’s a shame. Later.”
Abel caught her on the shoulder, and added, “Look, it seems like we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot. If you think I’m some kind of jerk or something—”
“Yes.”
He pursed his lips. “That wasn’t really a question.”
“Here’s something else that isn’t really a question—I’m not interested.”
“But you don’t even know me.”
“Let’s keep it that way, shall we?” She glided past him and headed down the hall for homeroom. The classroom was empty, except for Gabe. “Good morning.”
Gabe looked up from his book, sliding his long legs beneath him as he sat up in his chair. “Good morning.”
Carly walked over to his desk and stole the paperback from his hands. “Fahrenheit 451, huh? Is this legal here?”
He snickered as he snatched the book back. “Yeah, this one’s okay.”
“Is there really a banned books list, or was that just an excuse to talk to me?” Carly asked as she took the seat behind him.
Gabe twisted around to face her. “No, there really is a list, but maybe it was an excuse to talk to you.”
She wasn’t sure what to say to that, so she changed the subject. “What’s the deal with Abel?”
“Why are you so interested in Abel?” Gabe replied.
“He was waiting for me outside this morning. It was kind of creepy. I think he likes me or something.”
“Yeah, I’d definitely say he likes you. Why, do you like him?”
“Yeah, right,” Carly muttered. “I mean, I don’t even know him. I’m just wondering if there’s anything wrong with him.”
“Whe
re should I start?”
“You two aren’t friends?”
“Not exactly, no,” Gabe answered.
“But Esther’s one of your best friends,” Carly pointed out. “Don’t you end up hanging out with Abel because of that?”
“I end up hanging out with him way more than I’d like to, yes,” Gabe affirmed. “Look, Carly, you can like whoever you want, but I’d just… get to know Abel a little bit better before you make up your mind about him.”
“Relax, Gabe. I already told you, I’m not looking for a boyfriend.”
His gaze flickered away. “Yeah, I caught that.”
Carly cleared her throat. “It’s just… I broke up with someone before I moved here, and it sucked. You know, having to let someone down like that. I guess it made me realize that it’s best not to get attached.”
“What’s wrong with getting attached to someone?”
“Because they leave, Gabe. Everyone leaves.” Her mother had left, and if Carly couldn’t have her back, then what was the point of having anyone else in her life? Ross hadn’t understood that, and that’s why she’d broken up with him.
“Good morning, guys,” Esther greeted them as she bounced into the classroom. “Carly, I was thinking we could go to the caves this weekend, maybe figure out how they lead back to your house. What do you say?”
Legacy: Bloodline Book 1 Page 2
