Listen to Your Heart

by Irene Brand

  Angrily and defiantly, Kevin Cooper stared at them and didn’t answer.

  Micah pointed to the security cameras focused on the scene. “You don’t have many choices,” he said, “because we have you dead to rights. You have about two minutes to make up your mind. If you don’t want to talk to us, I’m calling the police. And we may still call the police even after you talk. We’re making no promises.”

  Kevin stared at Micah, quick anger rising in his eyes. His features hardened, and between clenched teeth, his curt voice lashed at Micah. “I can’t see that it’s any of your business what I’m doing at Oaklawn.”

  “It’s my business when someone harasses the woman I love.”

  With a contemptuous shrug, Kevin looked at Laurel, his nostrils flaring with fury. She’d known this man for over twenty-five years, and Laurel had never suspected that such a volatile personality lurked beneath his sophisticated demeanor.

  “What do you say, Laurel? Are you going to turn me over to the police just because you found me in the cellar? Truth to tell, this estate belongs to me more than you. I’m Jason’s nearest male relative, and my uncle told me he wanted me to have Oaklawn.”

  Laurel’s temper flared, and she said, “What you’re doing tonight comes second to some other things I want to know. Why have you been calling and sending those intimidating notes?”

  “Prove it,” he said maliciously. “I’d like to see you prove it.”

  Laurel glanced sideways at Micah, and he shook his head slightly. She didn’t know what his signal meant, but her temper was in control now, and she stormed, “I don’t have to prove it, but I’m sure that once you’re locked up in jail, the phone calls will cease. And as for Micah, we’re getting married, and we’ll be living at Oaklawn, so if he asks you a question, answer it.”

  Kevin squirmed around in his ropes, and Micah knew the man was uncomfortable, but he wouldn’t untie his bonds yet. Kevin might be armed, and he wasn’t taking any chance on Laurel being hit by a bullet.

  Laurel moved to confront him. “And you tried to kill Debbie!”

  She lifted a hand to slap his face, but Micah caught her hand, as Kevin protested, “I had nothing to do with that. Do you think I’d hurt her?”

  “You’ve tried to steal her inheritance. Why wouldn’t I suspect you?”

  “I didn’t do it!”

  Laurel didn’t know if he was telling the truth, but she’d prefer to believe that the man she’d trusted for so long wasn’t guilty of attempted murder.

  “As for proving you’ve been tormenting Laurel this summer,” Micah said, “it won’t be difficult to trace it to you. We’d have done it before, but Laurel didn’t want any scandal before Debbie’s wedding.” He turned to Laurel. “Watch him, but keep your distance so he can’t kick you. I’m going to take this shovel and dig in the fruit cellar and see if I can find what he’s been looking for. That’s the only earthen floor in this basement.”

  Micah turned so he was facing Kevin and Laurel, who both watched his every move. Kevin watched in rage, Laurel with anticipation.

  Micah picked up a three-foot-long quarter-inch pipe that he’d leaned against the wall earlier in the day. He started pounding the pipe into the ground. His first four soundings went easily into the solid earth, but on the next try, when he had driven the pipe a foot, a crushing sound reached their ears.

  “Stop! Stop!” Kevin said. “You’re ruining priceless artifacts.”

  Micah flashed a look of triumph toward Laurel. Lazily, he came out of the cellar and smiled sardonically at Kevin.

  “How do you know?”

  “My arms are going to sleep tied up like this. Untie me, and I’ll tell you.”

  “You tell us, and then we’ll talk about turning you loose,” Laurel said. “To think that you’ve pretended to be my friend and have been so deceitful. Advising me to borrow more money than I could afford to, thinking I’d get so far in debt that I’d have to sell Oaklawn. When that didn’t work, you had the nerve to ask me to marry you so you could get your hands on this property. As far as I’m concerned you can stay tied up.”

  Knowing Laurel’s temper, Micah figured Cousin Kevin would have been better off to trust his judgment rather than hers.

  “Go ahead and dig, Micah,” she said.

  “No!” Kevin shouted. “I’ll tell you—just don’t destroy a lot of things. Can’t you at least loosen this rope?”

  Micah looked at Laurel and she nodded. But before he loosened the rope, Micah frisked Cousin Kevin, found a gun in his front left pocket, and removed it before he gave Kevin enough slack to sit down on a bench.

  “The Cooper gold and silver that disappeared during the Civil War is buried in the cellar.”

  “I don’t believe that,” Laurel said. “According to Grandfather Cooper, it was supposed to have been buried in the peach orchard.”

  “It was buried in the orchard, but during Reconstruction, our great-grandfather decided he could keep better watch over it in the house. I found an old diary of his when I was visiting at Oaklawn once, and I borrowed it to read. But I didn’t get around to reading it until last winter.”

  “Why didn’t you just come and talk to Debbie and me about it? We would have shared it with the family.”

  “But Laurel,” Micah said, “he wanted all of it.”

  “As the only male Cooper in our family, it should be mine,” Kevin said defiantly.

  “Laurel, I don’t think we should do any digging until we have some witnesses. Let’s call the sheriff.”

  “Yes, it’s time. I’ll go upstairs and phone.”

  Micah rewound the video and handed it to her. “Put this in a safe place.”

  Laurel walked up the stairs assailed by a terrible sense of bitterness. Her anger had faded now, and she was disillusioned by Kevin’s deceit.

  When she came back downstairs, Kevin, still bound, was lying on a cot staring at the ceiling. Micah met her at the foot of the stairs and they quietly made plans. When he approached Kevin again, Micah said, “The sheriff and his deputy are coming to witness our excavation. Laurel has also called Pete Howe to come and help dig up the treasure.”

  “We have your confession on tape, but we hope we won’t have to use it,” Laurel said. “To prevent a family scandal and humiliation to your daughters, we’re going to release you. As far as the sheriff or anyone knows, the three of us were searching for the treasure based on what you’d read in that diary. Whether or not we reveal what we’ve learned about you depends on your future conduct.”

  Kevin made no comment, and Laurel looked at him pityingly. She motioned for Micah to remove the bonds that held Kevin. She was over her anger, and she was saddened by the end of the friendship with Kevin. She couldn’t number how many times he’d visited in this house since she’d been in the family, but she didn’t figure he’d ever come again. Even if she forgave him, some breaches couldn’t be repaired. Her anticipation of what they’d find in the cellar was tempered by the sadness of the ruined relationship. Debbie had few relatives, and it would hurt her to lose Cousin Kevin and possibly his children, if they ever learned what their father had done.

  Pete and Brenda came as soon as Laurel called them. Several other neighbors, who had police scanners and had heard the call for assistance at Laurel’s house, had gathered on the portico before the sheriff and his deputy, sirens blazing, drove up. Some had come out of curiosity, others to offer their help. Knowing he would have to get used to the local Pony Express, Micah decided to grin and bear it.

  The sheriff ordered the curious neighbors to keep out of the basement. Micah had locked the outside basement door, and the small group involved went through the grand hall and down the inside steps to the basement. After they were on their way, Laurel also locked the other doors so no one would sneak in.

  Brenda and Laurel sat on the steps, where they had a good view of the door to the fruit cellar. Pete took off his jacket and worked in T-shirt and jeans, while Micah wore his customary denim shorts
and a polo shirt as they attacked the dirt packed down from years of use. The sheriff, his deputy and Cousin Kevin watched from the background. After clearing away two feet of dirt, the men unearthed two badly deteriorated medium-sized trunks. Before they opened the trunks, Micah motioned to Laurel, and she jumped off the steps and hurried to his side.

  The sheriff lifted the lids of both trunks and all of the spectators crowded close together to see the treasure. Laurel had figured, if there were any precious items, that after almost a century and a half, nothing would be salvaged. An hour later, she knew she’d been wrong. All of the items had been carefully wrapped and had suffered little damage during their long interment in the ground.

  Most of the silver and gold pieces had been imported from Europe, as had the two sets of silver flatware. There were several cups, bowls and plates for infants. Most of the items were silver, but there were a few gold vases and figurines. Several of the pieces had the Cooper coat-of-arms. Two leather bags were filled with U.S. gold and silver coins, and since they had been minted before 1860, they were valuable indeed.

  After the sheriff had tallied all of the items, he said, “Mrs. Cooper, since these items were found in your home, they’re yours. What shall I do with them?”

  Micah and Laurel had already talked over what to do with anything they found, so she didn’t hesitate. “Since these items are undoubtedly priceless, I’d like you to take charge of them and put them in safekeeping. I don’t think it’s safe for me to keep them at Oaklawn.” She didn’t glance at Kevin when she said this.

  “Maybe I’m asking you to do something not included in your duties,” she continued, “but I’d like help in finding a reputable antique dealer or coin collector to look over everything and give me some idea of their worth.”

  “You can store them in the vault of one of the local banks,” the sheriff said. “If you want to sell them, the banks will be glad to handle the sale for a small commission.”

  Pete and Micah had pitched the dirt back in the hole while Laurel and the sheriff had been talking, and they helped the deputy carry the articles to the car. The sheriff had looked curiously at Kevin several times during the morning, obviously wondering why he was so silent.

  When Laurel, Cousin Kevin and the sheriff were left alone in the basement, wanting a witness to her proposal to Kevin, Laurel said, “Cousin Kevin, since these are Cooper heirlooms, I don’t want any of them. I will contact Debbie to get her approval, but if she agrees, after we get an estimate on the worth of the treasure, I’ll talk to Debbie. The items can be divided between Debbie and your daughters. If she wants to sell her share, you can give me a check for half of the value, which I’ll put in a trust fund for Debbie and her children. If your daughters and Debbie want to keep the heirlooms, we’ll divide the items, share and share alike, with one half for them, the other half for Debbie.”

  The expression on Kevin’s face hadn’t changed at all, and again the sheriff eyed him in astonishment.

  “Do you think that solution is fair, Kevin?” Laurel asked.

  After clearing his throat several times, Kevin said, “Yes, very fair.”

  The sheriff, in his booming voice, said, “I think it’s more than fair, because you’re not obligated to give anyone else any of this booty.”

  Kevin shook hands with Laurel, saying quietly, “Thank you. I’ll be in touch after you hear from the antique dealers.” The remorse in his eyes saddened Laurel, and she was glad she hadn’t had to reveal Kevin’s evil actions.

  “Don’t expect to see much of me during the next month,” she said. “I’m getting married and going on honeymoon.”

  Micah paused at the top of the stairs, his pulse quickening at her words. He turned and walked to the portico where they bade goodbye to the police officers, Kevin, the Howes and the curious neighbors, who went home happy, having heard the story of the buried treasure from Pete.

  Laurel and Micah spent the rest of the day restoring the basement to order. After they finished, Micah went to his apartment to check his e-mail and to take care of some correspondence. If Laurel planned to be married and return from their honeymoon within a month, there was a lot to be done.

  They met again on the portico later that evening. The sunset was gorgeous, and its rays painted the river crimson as it meandered down the broad valley. She greeted him with a shy smile, and her lashes dropped before his compelling eyes.

  “I heard you tell the sheriff and Kevin that you were going to be married soon. Am I invited to the wedding?”

  “Unless you’re having second thoughts about giving me this?” she retorted, waving her ring finger under his nose.

  “No second thoughts,” he said, pulling her loosely into his arms. “Shall I call one of the chapels in Gatlinburg and make arrangements? They’ll provide everything—tux, wedding dress, flowers and whatever.”

  She laughed up into his eyes. “I don’t want a formal wedding, and I know you wouldn’t like it. I suppose we would need witnesses, though.”

  “Let’s ask Pete and Brenda to drive over with us,” Micah suggested. “I’ll make reservations for our trip to Paris as soon as we set the date.”

  With all of the hectic things that had happened this summer, it seemed as if she had known Micah a lifetime, but now that the moment had arrived for her to become his wife, Laurel’s heartbeat skyrocketed.

  Micah’s eyes were full of love and tenderness, and she reached up to cradle his cheek. “I love you, Micah. God willing, I pray we’ll have many happy years together.”

  He hugged her to him, and kissed her again and again. As she returned his kisses, she rejoiced in his strength and the certainty that he returned her love. He released her. She moved to the edge of the portico and looked out over Oaklawn’s broad fields. She’d had many troubles and disappointments here, but also lots of happiness. Laurel looked forward to marrying Micah, but her joy was tempered with nostalgia. Silently she said goodbye to her life with Jason, her in-laws and Debbie. Micah was her future, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

  Sensing her mood, Micah stood behind her, put his arms around her waist and kissed the curls at her neckline. He listened to his heart and was overwhelmed with peace and satisfaction. What a difference four months had made! He glanced over Oaklawn’s fields and happiness filled his heart. He was at home.

  Five days later, Laurel and Micah, accompanied by the Howes, drove down a secluded country lane to a rustic log chapel at Gatlinburg. Micah wore a dark blue suit, white shirt and a blue striped tie. Laurel had chosen to be married in the dress she’d bought for Debbie’s wedding. Micah had a white rose boutonniere, and she carried a mixed bouquet of roses.

  Organ music swelled softly around them as Micah and Laurel took their places at the altar. They had asked for a short ceremony, and after the minister prayed and read a few Scripture verses concerning marriage, he took their vows.

  “Micah Davidson, forsaking all others, do you take this woman, whom you hold by the hand, to be your lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish as long as you both shall live?”

  Waiting for his reply, Laurel looked sweet and obedient, and smothering a grin, Micah remained silent. Still looking angelic, Laurel slanted a quick look at him, but Micah didn’t meet her eyes.

  “Mr. Davidson,” the preacher prompted, “you’re supposed to respond, ‘I do.’”

  Again Micah hesitated, and the minister peered over his glasses at him. When he started to speak again, Micah held up his hand.

  “I heard you, but I’m considering. This is a pretty serious vow. I want to think it over.”

  Pete smothered a snort. Brenda gasped. Laurel turned on Micah, seething with anger and humiliation.

  “Thinking it over! Micah, how dare you,” she said and hit him on the chest with her bouquet. She lifted her eyes to his and saw that they brimmed with mirth. His lips trembled as he tried to control
his laughter, which incensed her even more.

  She hit him again with the flowers and rose petals flew in all directions.

  “You did that on purpose, just to make me mad.”

  Laughing aloud, he said, “I couldn’t resist the temptation. The first day we met you got angry at me. Why not be angry on our wedding day?”

  Laurel’s anger faded as fast as it had flashed. She shook her head. Life with this unpredictable man would never be dull. Clasping her hand again, Micah turned to face the minister.

  “Yes, I’ll take her,” he said, “Temper and all.”

  Dear Reader,

  As I finished the fifth and final book in my MELLOW YEARS series, I’ve reflected on the writing of these books and the response I’ve had to them.

  The idea for the series was born in the year 2000 when I first discussed it with my Steeple Hill editor. It has taken four years to bring the full series to fruition. I’ve worked with five different editors on the publication of these books.

  The books are unique, in that the heroes and heroines are all in their forties. A large number of my readers fall into that age group, and have been able to identify with the struggles of my characters, yet my younger readers have also liked the books. I’ve received a lot of mail about the series, but one letter that encouraged me to know that my hard work is appreciated came from a reader concerning Love at Last, the first book in the series.

  In part, that letter said, “Your book blessed me. The Holy Spirit ministered to me, and I know that regardless, God loves me. Thanks for the encouragement to stand firm. Not everyone can be preachers, preaching from a pulpit, but you are indeed a preacher—preaching through your books.”

  Writing is hard work, but it’s worthwhile when I know that my books encourage those who read them.

  In His name,

  ISBN: 978-1-4592-0478-2

  LISTEN TO YOUR HEART

  Copyright © 2004 by Irene Brand

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.