by Layne, Ivy
The size of the Heartstone Manor project had nothing to do with the reason all three brothers had come to Sawyers Bend. They’d come because Griffen was part of their family and they wanted to see for themselves that he was okay. I already liked them after my trip to Atlanta. I loved them for that.
The group of them filled the front hall of Heartstone, making the room seem almost normal-sized.
Savannah met us there. “I’ve arranged to serve dinner in two shifts. The rest of the family is about to eat. There’ll be drinks and appetizers in the office for all of you, then dinner as soon as the first group has cleared out. I thought you’d prefer that.”
“That’s great, thanks, Savannah,” Griffen said.
With a satisfied smile, Savannah continued, “I have rooms for the four of you,” she nodded at the Sinclair brothers and Hawk, “but I understood you’d be bringing a team?”
“They’ll be here tomorrow,” Cooper said. “Six total.”
“We can put them up at the Inn, maybe, if we don’t have room,” I suggested.
Evers laughed. “In this place? Not have room?”
Savannah and her cleaning team had spared a few hours for the front hall, and while it wasn’t up to its former glory it no longer looked derelict and abandoned. She smiled. “You’d be surprised. Heartstone has plenty of rooms but not all of them are in decent condition. And speaking of—” She looked to Hawk. “Long-term, you’ll be in the gatehouse. I’m sure you saw it as you drove in. At the moment it’s not entirely habitable. It seems a family of mice made themselves at home and we’re working on getting rid of them.”
Griffen added, “Welcome to Heartstone. We have the space, acres of it. We don’t necessarily have working plumbing or anywhere to sleep in a lot of the bedrooms, but the roof doesn’t leak and we mostly have electricity. Savannah has been working on the more central rooms. Guest rooms haven’t been at the top of the list.”
“I think I can handle accommodations for six,” Savannah added, “but if I can’t, I’ll let you know by morning.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Cooper cut in. “We’re already going to soak Griffen for the security set-up. I don’t want to add lodgings to the bill. My team will take whatever you have for them.”
Savannah nodded. “Then, if you’ll follow me? You can leave your things in the hall. They’ll be delivered to your rooms by the time you finish with dinner.”
Knox settled his bag on his shoulder. “Will you carry them upstairs or is there a footman lurking around?”
Savannah only smiled. Evers picked his bag back up and gave her a charming grin. “Why don’t you show us where our rooms are? We’ll drop our own stuff off, then I’ll be ready for a drink and some food.”
“Hope and I will show you,” Griffen said. “Thanks, Savannah.”
Griffen led us up the main stairs. Cooper fell into step beside me. “It’s good to see you, Hope. You look great.”
I gave him a shy smile, feeling the heat of a flush on my cheeks. Cooper and Alice were tight, and I could guess he probably knew more of the details of our shopping trip than I’d like. It didn’t matter; he was a nice guy, and he was Griffen’s friend. “Thanks.”
“Alice wanted to come, but given what happened yesterday with Griff, I didn’t want Petra here, and Alice didn’t want to leave her behind, even with Lily. Alice made me promise to tell you that as soon as I feel like the house is safe, we’re coming back for a visit. All of us.”
“That’s good news. And I completely understand. It’s one thing for us to choose to take the risk of being here, another to bring Alice and Petra when we’re not sure it’s safe. But when you think we’re ready, I’d love to have all of you back.”
We followed Griffen down the hall to the left of the stairs. I hadn’t spent much time here since we moved in. Just a quick check with Savannah to see that most of the rooms were in various states of abandonment or disrepair. She’d managed to get the four best guest rooms cleaned and ready, but another six would be tough. If anyone could do it, it was Savannah.
Bags stowed, we all tromped back down the stairs and settled in the office. Savannah had trays of hors d’oeuvres on the coffee table by the couch, armchairs, and a fire burning merrily, chasing off the early spring chill. The small bar by the built-in bookcase was stocked and everyone but me fixed a drink. I hadn’t slept well the night before. If I had a drink it was possible I’d fall asleep in my soup.
“I looked at pictures,” Evers said, “but I still wasn’t prepared. This place is like a castle. I stayed in Rycroft Castle for a job when Summer and I got together, and I thought that was over-the-top, but it still has nothing on Heartstone Manor.”
“Yeah, well, Rycroft was a good try, but it’s still not a genuine Gilded Age mansion,” Cooper reminded him. “Most of the houses like Heartstone Manor have been abandoned or opened to the public.”
“That was one the conditions of my father’s will,” Griffen said. “He left us money to maintain the place, and God knows we’re going to need it, but one of the restrictions is that we can’t, as he said, ‘turn it into a tourist attraction’. He was an asshole, but he loved this house.”
“It’s amazing. It’ll be even better when you have it back in shape, but it’s going to be a nightmare to secure,” Knox said, getting straight to the point.
“I’m aware,” Griffen said, wryly. “We’ll walk the house and the property tomorrow, but I’m already thinking Hawk is going to need help.”
Hawk hadn’t said much since he’d walked in. His dark eyes were alert, taking in everything. Thick dark hair fell across his face as he studied the French doors to the sunroom. I had a feeling everywhere he looked he saw a potential security breach.
Lifting his face to look at Griffen, he said, “Calling this place a nightmare to secure is an understatement. I’m going to need at least two more on-site. Four would be better. We can make up some of that with electronic surveillance.”
Griffen pulled a pad off his desk and sat with his whiskey, leaning forward to take notes. “I’ve already thought of that. I agree a team of four would be best. I need to check with Harvey—our lawyer and the one who holds the purse strings on the house budget—but I already said I’ll cover what we need out of my own pocket if I have to.”
“We’re not draining your savings account to keep you from getting shot in your own house,” Cooper said with annoyance.
The nonchalant way he mentioned Griffen getting shot sent a chill down my spine. I suddenly wished I was having dinner with the rest of the family. I wasn’t sure I was up for hanging with these guys who threw around the threat of a bullet like it was no big deal.
Griffen shrugged. “My whole family is here, and we have no fucking clue what’s going on. Someone has it out for us. We don’t know why or what they want. I don’t know how long it’s going to take to get to the bottom of it, but until we do, I don’t care how much it costs. I want my family safe.”
“Harvey will free up the money,” I said quietly. “I’ll call him tomorrow morning and get specifics.”
Griffen smiled at me. “Thanks, Buttercup.”
Knox snorted at the endearment, but Cooper and Evers just smiled. Hawk looked vaguely annoyed. Griffen wrote something on his pad and then said, “So, here’s what I’m thinking —”
I zoned out as they ran over ideas for security. It sounded like it would take years to install. Sensors on every window and door, motion detectors, cameras everywhere. A room on the lower level would be repurposed for surveillance, and there would be someone walking the grounds and someone on cameras twenty-four hours a day. Just the idea of that made me feel safer. If Harvey balked at the budget, whatever it turned out to be, he’d have to answer to me. I’d make it my mission if I had to.
By the time dinner was ready, all I wanted was bed. I hadn’t slept well the night before, visions of Griffen dri
pping blood waking me over and over. He hadn’t been hurt aside from some bumps and bruises and the cut on his head, but when I’d walked in, there had been so much blood.
I knew I’d fallen for Griffen all over again, but I hadn’t realized how hard I’d fallen until I saw him dripping blood and thought I might lose him. In the night, as he slept beside me, I stared at the ceiling and came to a realization.
Our marriage had a time limit.
Fine. Everything in life has an ending.
At least I knew when ours was.
But Griffen was mine for now, and miracle of miracles, he seemed happy about it. I wasn’t his true love, I was the wife he’d been forced to marry, but he cared about me. He was sweet, and kind, and fun, and a better husband than I’d imagined he would be—and trust me, I’d imagined a lot back in the day.
I had five years with him before it was over. I was going to make the most of every one. If leaving felt like ripping out my heart, I’d deal with it then. For now, I was going to enjoy every day like we didn’t have an expiration date.
It turned out that was easier than I thought.
For one thing, we were so busy there wasn’t time to worry about the future. I’d been right about the security install. It took them two days to work up the plans. By Friday, the Sinclair brothers were on their way back to Atlanta with promises to come back for a long weekend sometime soon. Hawk had set up a cot in the guest house, claiming he liked mice more than people anyway. Savannah didn’t argue much. She had her hands full, and if he wasn’t complaining, neither was she.
I managed to talk Harvey into the proposed security budget, including the team of four under Hawk’s command. He grumbled and reviewed some numbers, but when I reminded him that if Griffen got killed he’d see everything but the house fund drained by Bryce, he’d agreed that Griffen’s safety was the priority.
Considering that so far, even Sinclair Security’s crack investigator hadn’t been able to find a shred of evidence on Prentice’s real killer, caution seemed wise.
Griffen spent his mornings with me in the office handling anything I couldn’t do on my own. We had lunch together, usually at the desk, and then he was off with the security team and Hawk working on the install: running wires, setting up cameras, sometimes disappearing with the team for hours to hike the property.
He’d come back for dinner most of the time, and we’d fall into bed at night exhausted. Exhausted, but never too exhausted. If I’d known what sex with Griffen would be like, I might have jumped him right after we said our vows. He was endlessly inventive, never too tired to peel off my clothes and make me dizzy with orgasms.
I’d waited a long time to have sex, but I was making up for it. In bed, in the shower, on the velvet couch in our sitting room, over our desk. On top of our desk. Once in the woods against a tree, out of range of the cameras. We were busy, but never too busy for sex.
I didn’t see much of Griffen’s siblings over those next few weeks. They were hit or miss at dinner. Usually, Parker and her husband were there. Sometimes Finn, and almost always Sterling. The rest of them worked late more often than not. The will said they had to live in Heartstone, not that they had to be there every spare moment.
Savannah made progress on the house, getting the breakfast room cleaned and set up, the extra staff housed, and eventually chasing off the mice in the gatehouse thanks to an exterminator.
I can’t say Sterling never had a drink, but there hadn’t been a repeat of her sprawl on the steps or the rest of it. She’d finally cleaned out her room, and it had taken six trash bags to empty out the junk. According to Savannah, she was even managing to keep it reasonably clean.
March eased gently into April, bringing warmer weather most days, though a cold front had blown in. The lawn around Heartstone Manor was frosted with a thin layer of snow, making everything look like a wonderland. The main house was deserted for once, empty of staff and quiet. Fat, lazy snowflakes had begun to drift from the sky, making me wish for hot chocolate and a roaring fire. For a snuggle under a blanket. Or in bed.
Looking down at the contract I was reviewing, I forced myself through the last page before I closed it, making a note on the section I wanted Griffen to take another look at. Griffen. He hadn’t joined me in the office that morning or for lunch. If he wasn’t too busy he might be interested in my snuggling in bed plan.
He wasn’t answering my texts, wasn’t in our room or anywhere else I’d looked. I made my way down to the lower level to see if Savannah had seen him. I found her in the kitchen refereeing a fight between Finn and the cook. She stood between Miss Stiles and Finn, arms held out as if trying to physically keep them apart.
Yikes. Miss Stiles’ cheeks were flushed with temper, Finn’s blue eyes sparking with anger. I hadn’t talked to Finn much one-on-one, but we’d all heard the comments under his breath at meals. The eggs were too dry. The chicken was salty. The cook didn’t know the meaning of al dente.
I didn’t hear Finn’s last words, but Miss Stiles’ face went beet red and she screeched, “Get out of my kitchen! Get out!”
He ignored her, his hand darting forward to grab a carrot and take a bite, wincing as it hit his taste buds. “What did you do? Soak it in syrup? I know we’re in the South, but that doesn’t mean you have to deep fry or sugar coat everything you serve us.”
“What would you know about it?” Miss Stiles yelled in outrage. “I’ve been cooking since before you were born and—”
“I trained at the Culinary Institute of America and spent a year at Cordon Bleu in Paris, not to mention cooking my way through some of the best kitchens in Europe and the States. Where did you learn to cook? A roadside diner?”
Savannah, Miss Stiles, and I stared at Finn, all three of us stunned silent.
Finn was a trained chef? And not just trained, but based on the shock on Miss Stiles face, a very well-trained chef. How did we not know that? And if he was, then why did we need a cook? It’s not like he was working.
Savannah narrowed her eyes on Finn. “If that’s all true, then what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in Asheville? Or working at the Inn with your brothers?”
“I’m here because I have to be. The second I get my money, I’m using it to open my own restaurant. In the meantime, I have to live in this house, but I don’t have to suffer through her mediocre meals.”
Miss Stiles shrieked and threw her syrup coated spoon at Finn’s head. She stormed out, shouting over her shoulder, “I quit, Savannah. I don’t have to work under these conditions.”
Savannah turned furious eyes to Finn, covering a smirk at the sight of the wooden spoon stuck to his thick, dark hair. Maybe Finn had a point. There was an awful lot of syrup on that spoon. Still, we needed a cook, and unless Finn wanted to do it—
“Do you want to take over her job?” Savannah asked with deadly sweetness, already knowing Finn’s answer.
“Hell, no. Do I look like a private chef? It’s bad enough I have to be here in the first place.”
“You don’t have to be here at all,” Savannah pointed out, stabbing her finger through the air at him. “You’re only here because you want the money your father left you. Don’t pretend you’re better than everybody else. You’re just hanging around waiting for your payday, thinking you’re too good to work like the rest of us. You haven’t changed since high school, Finn Sawyer. You were an arrogant snot then, and you’re even worse now.”
“Savannah—” Finn protested, taken aback. He tugged the spoon from his hair and held out his hand, but Savannah pushed past him.
“I don’t want to hear it,” she said, “I’m going to go find Miss Stiles and beg her to reconsider. If she quits, you’re in the kitchen until I replace her. And if she doesn’t quit you’re banned from the kitchens and storerooms permanently.”
She stormed out, leaving Finn staring at her retreating back with a bemused smil
e on his face. Looking at me, he shrugged a shoulder. “She’s right,” he said conversationally, “I was an arrogant snot in high school. But she’s wrong. Now I’m only an arrogant snot in the kitchen. If I cooked for you, you’d know why.”
I watched him stroll out and crossed my fingers in the hopes that we’d still have a cook when Savannah was done working her magic. That had been an interesting little byplay. I had to tell Griffen, but first I had to find him.
It didn’t take that long. I heard the clang of weights in the gym and opened the door to see Griffen on his back on an exercise bench, a loaded metal bar above him. Sweat gleamed on his smooth skin, his muscles corded and bunched with the effort of lifting the heavily-weighted bar.
He was ridiculously, seriously hot. Looking over and seeing me, he shot me a grin that sent my temperature skyrocketing. My head felt light as I crossed the padded floor to his side. Maybe it was the heat in the room, but I was pretty sure it was all Griffen. His sweaty skin, those muscles, that mischievous grin…
He racked the weights and peeled himself off the bench, holding me off with one hand. “I’m sweaty, Buttercup.”
“I like you sweaty,” I said, my head buzzing as he leaned in to press my lips against his. Everything went gray for a second, and I stumbled against him.
Griffen’s arm caught me and he pulled me close, kissing me again, murmuring against my lips, my cheek, “You okay baby? Did you get dizzy?”
I straightened, taking a deep breath and liking the salty scent of Griffen more than the musty smell of the basement gym. “I don’t know, I think it was just hot in here. Maybe I didn’t eat enough lunch. My stomach was off. I’m okay now. It’s snowing and I was ready for a break, then I couldn’t find you. And on the way here I found out something funny. Well, maybe not funny, I guess we’ll see.”
Griffen grabbed a towel and wiped off his face and chest. “You sure you’re okay?”
