“You can call me Layla,” she replied, taking his proffered hand. It was cool and smooth, and clamped onto hers with a firm grip.
“I understand you’re looking to rebuild the old Redcastle House.”
“Redcastle?” Layla looked to Millie, confused.
Millie nodded, “Oh yes! Joan was going through her grandfather’s things… Remember, the bricklayer? And look what she found!” She went to her desktop and picked up a yellowing photo, holding it up. Layla came closer to peer at an image of three workmen dressed in overalls, posing in front of the house that she knew only from her dreams. Faded handwriting on the border of the photo read “Redcastle House”.
“Why would he call it that?” Layla asked.
“Maybe it was because of all the brickwork,” Conrad suggested. Layla looked up to see him studying her with unabashed interest.
“I suppose that makes sense,” she agreed.
“Aunt Millie was just showing me some other pictures of the place… It’s a classic example of Plantation-style architecture… Did your family come from the south?”
“I have no idea,” Layla said.
“Her mother was orphaned in the fire that destroyed the house,” Millie interjected.
“Didn’t she tell you anything about her family?” Conrad pressed, curious.
“No,” Layla said quietly. “She died when I was little.”
“What about your father?” he asked, honestly curious.
Layla shook her head no, uncertain of what to say.
“I’m sorry,” he said. Looking into his blue eyes, she could see that he was sincere.
There was an awkward silence and Millie broke it by announcing, “I’m afraid I can’t get away from the office right now… Why don’t you two go along to lunch without me?”
Layla looked to see Millie’s eager anticipation, and suddenly realized that she’d planned this all along. She took a step back. “I– I… I don’t know…” she stammered.
“You can tell Conrad all about your ideas for the building,” Millie urged. Layla stood wavering, shifting from foot to foot.
“Why not?” Conrad interjected, “I’d love to hear all about your plans.”
Layla scrutinized him for a moment before answering. He seemed safe and polite, and truth be told, he was really good looking. There was nothing about him that set off any alarm bells. Cali was right, she thought; she was going to have to take a chance sometime.
“I guess so,” she nodded. “Where?”
Conrad shrugged, looking towards Millie. “Is there anyplace decent around here?”
“Of course there is!” Millie scolded. “Betty’s diner right across from the post office!”
Conrad smiled at Layla, “What do you say?”
“Okay.”
Conrad held the door for her, and they decided to walk the two blocks to the restaurant. Conversation flowed easily, and they kept it light, talking about the beautiful weather and the history of the town. He seemed sincerely interested in her plans to recreate the old house, and asked her about the location. It was refreshing to spend time with someone who didn’t question her motives– as a matter of fact, he respected tradition, and applauded her decision.
When they reached the restaurant they were led to a padded booth alongside the window and handed laminated plastic menus with pictures of the food. Conrad looked at the seat like he thought it might be dirty, finally sliding in gingerly.
“Have you eaten here before?” he asked, watching her studying the menu with a confused look on her face.
“No,” Layla replied, looking up. “Never.”
“This place is kind of a dive,” Conrad said, looking askance at the surroundings.
“Dive,” Layla repeated, looking down to study the menu. She had no idea what he meant. Professor Reed and Max both had expensive tastes, and she’d only ever been to places like this with Cali.
He sighed with resignation. “I guess it’s the best we can do in this town.”
She looked up from the menu, asking, “What is a patty melt?”
They both ended up ordering club sandwiches and ice tea, and while they waited for the food Conrad told her about his work with a local builder. He had designed and personally overseen the construction of everything from posh vacation retreats to live-work spaces in the newly revitalized section of a local town. Layla thought about what Millie had said about fate and had to agree that it finally seemed to be operating in her favor.
“I’d like to show you the site and get your opinion. I need someone who can draw up the blueprints for me, but everyone seems to think I’m a little crazy to want to build in the original location. It’s a bit remote.”
“Do you want to live there?” he asked.
Layla hadn’t thought very much beyond the re-building of her mother’s home, and she wasn’t quite sure how to explain her urge to recreate the house, so she looked into his blue eyes, sending him a light dusting of placid, compliant lilac. “Maybe. I think so.”
“It sounds like a very interesting project. I’d be glad to take a look at it for you,” he answered, easily diverted.
“Good,” she smiled. Piece of cake, she thought.
He studied her like he was looking at a painting. “I’ve never met anyone with two different colored eyes before. They’re really very beautiful.”
She looked down, self-conscious once more. “Thank you.”
He laughed, “You know, when I showed up for lunch and Aunt Millie told me she had a girl she wanted me to meet, I wasn’t too happy about it.”
Layla’s cheeks flushed as red as her hair. “I had no idea she was going to do this.”
He went on, smiling, “She said you were a good looking girl, but I was skeptical. I almost took off before you showed up.”
She nodded. “I don’t blame you.”
“I’m glad I stayed,” he added.
Layla raised her head to see him smiling at her. He was friendly, interested, and she could see no bad intent at all. She returned his smile. “Me too.”
After lunch he walked her to her car. “Can I see you again?” he asked. “I’d like to take you to dinner sometime… Someplace nicer…”
“We don’t need to go anywhere special to discuss business,” Layla replied.
“It’s not business… It’s personal. I’d like to get to know you better.”
“Oh,” she said. Her first impulse was to flee, but she calmed herself, smoothing her dress and reminding herself to breathe. “Alright... Okay… Sure. That sounds nice.”
Cali will be proud of me, she thought.
~
Caledonia got in from the store with a bag, rushing upstairs to find Calvin sprawled across the bed with the dog, remote control in hand. He was clearly miserable, trying to distract himself by flipping through the channels of the television mounted on the wall across the bed.
She sat down by his side to brush the hair back from his forehead. “How are you feeling?”
“Rotten,” he groaned, showing her the red bumpy patches of skin that had risen up on his arms and neck. “It itches like hell.”
She reached into a bag and pulled out a pink bottle. “I got you some Calamine lotion.”
“Will it make it go away?” he asked hopefully, taking it and reading the label.
“Not right away, but it’s supposed to make it itch a little less.”
“Let me,” she said, reaching for the bottle.
He drew his hand back, “No way! Don’t touch me!”
She shook her head. “You can’t catch it from the rash– Only from the plant. Now take off your shirt.”
When she saw how the rash had bubbled up on his arms she moaned, “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. You warned me to stay out of the brush.”
“You wouldn’t have been doing any of this if it wasn’t for me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I wanted to help,” he said, and he meant it.
Calvin had
stopped getting insecure every time Caledonia started to feel guilty about something. He finally realized that she’d spent her entire life dealing with things all by herself, and if he wanted to stay with her, he was going to have to grow a thick skin and dig in his heels.
He smiled at her calmly. He was dug in deep.
Calvin liked the new life they’d begun to piece together. He got along well with Layla and Michael, and the four of them were starting to feel like a real family in an odd sort of way. He was getting reacquainted with the charm of living in the country, remembering happier times visiting his grandparents with his mother. He liked the idea of settling there for good.
In the year he’d spent with Cali he’d never tired of her for an instant. Being around her made everything fun, and he truly enjoyed spending time hiking and dirt biking in the woods, just the two of them. She wanted to protect the wildlife on the property, and he was determined to stay by her side and help her realize her dream. If only the looming threat of the grower’s return was gone, life would be nearly perfect.
He lay back and watched her as she poured some lotion on her palm and rubbed her hands together. She smiled sympathetically, and he sighed with relief before she even touched him. She applied the chalky lotion to his arms and chest, frowning at every little itchy patch with remorse.
“Oh dear…” Caledonia cooed. She started feeling guilty again, taking the blame as usual. “I should have made you take a shower right away when we got home. I was so focused on my father’s journal… I wasn’t thinking…”
“Jarod called,” he said, changing the subject.
“How’s he doing? How’s the business going?”
“Everything’s good.”
She could hear the smile in his voice, and she looked at him with narrowed eyes, “Are you going to tell me?”
He feigned innocence, “Tell you what?”
She rolled her eyes at him. “The news. What did he say?”
He chuckled, because he knew that she could see right through him. He was starting to think that surprising her might be virtually impossible, but he would never stop trying. “They got married.”
“Who, Jarod and Crystal?”
Now it was his turn to roll his eyes at her. “Who do you think?”
“Really? When?” she asked.
“Yesterday. They drove out to Reno and they decided to go for it. They want to have a party next Saturday to celebrate. Michael and Layla are invited.”
“Why so suddenly?” Caledonia wondered.
Cal shrugged, “I don’t know. They’ve been together for a while now.”
“What do you think about it?”
“Crystal’s nice… She’s good for Jarod. They’re working together at the shop and everything, so I guess they just wanted to make it official.”
Caledonia was perplexed. “That doesn’t seem like Crystal at all. No wedding? No big white dress?”
“Jarod said Crystal could care less about that stuff.” He studied her for a moment. “Do you?”
She ignored him, continuing, “No big cake… No bachelor party?”
“Jarod could live without that,” he chuckled. “Me too.”
“And miss all the fun?” she teased him, thinking of all the crazy revelry they’d seen during their time in Las Vegas.
“I have plenty of fun right here,” he said stroking the back of his fingers up and down her arm. She smiled and finished applying the lotion, recapping the bottle and getting up to rinse off her hands in the sink of their small attached bathroom.
She stood in the doorframe absentmindedly drying her hands on a towel. “It’s funny how things changed so fast. Last year Crystal was happy to have a drawer in his room and now they’re married and working together.” She smiled at the thought of how quickly Crystal had gotten everything she wanted.
She came over to sit down by his side. “Are you sure you don’t mind living here? I mean, would you rather be working with Jarod and your dad at the shop?”
He shook his head no, answering her for what seemed like the hundredth time. “The last place I wanna be is hanging around a garage all day. Working on bikes was always Jarod’s thing, not mine.”
“And what’s your thing?”
He smiled his charming lopsided smile up at her. “You are.”
“Calvin… I’m being serious.”
“So am I,” he said. “I know how important this place is to you, and there’s no way I’m gonna let you be here without me.”
“What about going to art school?”
“First things first. When we get things all squared away I was thinking about maybe taking a few classes over at the JC in the fall… And looking for work in town. Me and Michael were talking about painting houses or something.”
“Sounds like a plan,” she nodded, laying her hand alongside his cheek to inspect the swelling on his face. She sighed. “I’m so sorry. I keep getting you into trouble.”
“Cali?”
“What?” she asked.
“Shut up,” he said.
She smiled, bending down to kiss his nose, “Okay, okay. Is there anything else I can do to make you feel better?”
She started to sit up, but he pulled her back down onto his bare chest, delivering a long, lingering kiss on her lips before whispering in her ear. “Are you positive that you can’t get it from me?”
“Uh huh,” her voice was husky.
“Then yes,” he started kissing her neck. “I’d feel a whole lot better if you took off your clothes.”
She sat up to regard him with a wry smile, finally unbuttoning her shirt.
“Anything to help.”
~
Chapter Five
DATE
~
“What if he asks me where I came from?” Layla fretted. “How much should I tell him?”
“Just… I don’t know… Start asking him questions about himself,” Caledonia advised. She was sitting on the bed, keeping Layla company and providing moral support as her cousin nervously primped and preened for her first real date.
“I suppose I could always make him forget what he was going to say,” she said, fluffing her brilliant hair in the mirror.
Cali almost said something, but she checked herself. It was quiet for a moment, and Layla turned around, placed her hand on her hip, and studied her cousin with demanding eyes.
“Spit it out,” she ordered.
“I was thinking that you should do your best to avoid doing that... It’s exhausting to have to change people all the time. If you really want to get to know him, you should try being honest with him.”
“But Cali,” Layla’s eyes were skeptical. “If he finds out too much, he won’t like me anymore.”
“Layla,” Cali said gently, “If he can’t handle the truth then he doesn’t deserve you.”
Layla turned back to the mirror, dusting her freckled nose with some more powder.
She imagined that it would be much easier to be Cali, because she didn’t really care what most people thought of her. Layla didn’t know how to maneuver in the world without manipulating people to get her way, and she suspected that she would never be able get along without her powers. She tossed her head defiantly. Why should she even bother trying?
Aside from their shared abilities, her cousin was completely opposite from her. As long as Caledonia was around a bunch of animals, she was happy, and Layla knew she would never be more like her. Besides, Cali already had everything she wanted, namely, Calvin wrapped around her little finger.
“I’ll try,” Layla sighed, but they both knew that she didn’t really mean it.
“I know you can do it.”
Layla paused again. “How did you know?” she asked Cali, “How did you know that Cal wouldn’t change his mind when he found out about you?”
“I didn’t,” she replied, “But sometimes in life you have to trust someone.”
The sound of a car pulling into the driveway made Layla’s stomach do a somersault
. “Do I look alright?” she asked nervously, adjusting her hair one last time.
“You look beautiful,” Cali reassured her, getting up to give her a quick hug just as the doorbell rang. “Ready?”
Calvin called up the stairs, “Layla’s date is here.”
Layla took a deep nervous breath and picked up her purse from the bureau, “Wish me luck.”
Caledonia followed her down the stairs to see a handsome man in a suit standing at the door with a bouquet of flowers. He was clean cut, with a freshly shaved face and neatly trimmed sandy blonde hair. From his grey suit and tie to the pocket square artfully arranged in his tailored jacket, he was the very picture of the perfect dream date. He smiled when he saw Layla coming down the stairs, holding out the flowers to her when she reached the door.
Layla flushed a vivid pink, taking the bouquet and standing uncertainly. “Uhm… Thank you.”
There was an awkward pause, “I’m Layla’s cousin, Cali,” Caledonia introduced herself with an outstretched hand. “And this is Calvin.”
The two men nodded at each other as Layla’s eyes flew open. “Oh! This is Conrad… He’s Millie’s grandson…”
Cali reassured her with a smile, reaching for the flowers. “Why don’t you let me put those in some water for you.”
Conrad looked at the enormous gold watch on his wrist, “We’d better get going… I have reservations for eight o’clock.”
Layla handed over the bouquet and stepped out onto the porch. A shining silver sedan was parked in the driveway. “Bye,” she waved a nervous little wave to Calvin and Cali.
Calvin called after them, “Have her back by curfew.”
Cali elbowed him in the ribs, calling out, “You two have a good time.” She pulled Calvin inside and closed the door. “I think she’s nervous enough already without you teasing her.”
He smirked, “Flowers? On the first date? Isn’t that kinda cheesy?”
“I think it’s sweet,” she said, taking them into the kitchen and rummaging in the cabinet for something to use as a vase. She finally settled on a juice pitcher, filling it with water and setting it on the kitchen table to arrange the flowers in it.
The Caledonian Inheritance (The Athena Effect) Page 4
