The Way Home

by Eliana West

  The kitchen and back bedrooms were in ruins and the destruction on the second floor above that side of the house was significant. Thankfully the small parlor and the hidden room escaped with just smoke damage. It was still a great deal of damage and would complicate the restoration efforts.

  Nate closed the file folder and clasped his hands in front of him. “I’m sorry for both of you.”

  Jo reached out and grabbed his arm. “Nate, there’s nothing to be sorry for. You saved Taylor’s life and that’s all that matters.”

  “I know it’s early but do you folks know what you’re going to do?”

  “Rebuild,” they both said in unison.

  Taylor smiled at Jo and she slipped her hand into his and gave it a squeeze. It was a relief to know that he felt the same way she did.

  “As soon as the house has been cleared for you to go back in I’ll let you know.”

  “Thanks for everything, Nate.”

  They walked Nate out and sat out on Uncle Robert’s porch, enjoying the last of the afternoon sun.

  Jo sighed. “I’m not sure what we’re supposed to do next.”

  “There’s nothing much we can do until we’re allowed back into the house and we can see the damage for ourselves.”

  She closed her eyes and felt a tear roll down her cheek. Taylor pulled her out of her chair and into his lap, wiping her tear away with his thumb.

  “I’m okay, I’m just tired.”

  He nodded and pressed his forehead against hers.

  Uncle Robert came out to check on them. “You two look dead on your feet. Y’all need to go to bed. There’s nothing you can do tonight. Rest while you can; there’s going to be plenty of long days ahead for you.”

  He was right. Once they were cleared to go back inside the house there were going to be long hard days of rebuilding ahead. She climbed into bed and snuggled up to Taylor’s side. Within minutes they were both fast asleep.

  *

  The next morning they took the colonel’s will, the journal and the rest of the papers to the library. Callie invited Judge Beaumont to look over the documents that Taylor had found.

  When he finished reading the will Judge Beaumont removed his glasses and looked at the two of them. “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to see this document. Miss Martin, if you would like I can officially certify the will and put the sole ownership of Halcyon into your name.”

  Jo reached out for Taylor’s hand. “No, that’s okay.”

  “Wait,” Taylor said. “Jo let him do it. This way Tessa’s ownership in the house becomes void. Halcyon will be in your hands and it will be safe.”

  “I don’t want to take it away from you.”

  He reached up and cupped her cheek. “You aren’t. This is the way it was always meant to be. I’m making sure the colonel’s word is kept.”

  “Do you…do you think this will heal the breach?”

  “I think it’s the right thing to do.”

  She promised Ada Mae she would get her house. She didn’t expect it to happen this way but Taylor was giving her a way to make sure she fulfilled her promise as well as protect Halcyon.

  She held his gaze and nodded. “Okay.”

  She turned to the judge. “Thank you, Judge Beaumont, I would like it if you would do that.”

  The judge got up and came over to shake their hands. “You know, I wasn’t sure if I made the right decision when I split the house between the two of you. I have to say I’m pleased you found a way to work together.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Taylor said.

  “I’ll get these to the state archives so they can be properly photographed and copied. And then you can decide what you want to do with them,” Callie said.

  “I’d like to figure out a way that we can share them with people when they come to the house but I think we should keep originals with the other letter and Ada Mae’s freedom papers in the safe deposit box just to be safe.”

  “I think that’s a good idea,” Callie said.

  She felt a pang of loss leaving the library without the letters. Jo knew they would be well cared for with Callie but it was hard to let them go after what they went through to find them.

  “Jo, are you okay?” Taylor asked.

  She slipped her arm around his waist. “I’m okay. It just feels strange… It’s funny—at first, I was okay having half of the house because I figured it was better than losing it altogether and now I have it all and…I don’t want it to just be me. I liked it better when it was us.”

  He stopped and pulled her against his chest. “Jo, it will still be us. It will always be us.”

  When his mouth met hers the truth of his words was in his kiss. The rest of the world disappeared and it was just the two of them.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Taylor quickly physically recovered but the two of them were still emotionally fragile from the fire. He had a hard time letting Jo out of his sight and she was the same way about him. He glanced down at their joined hands. They were walking to Halcyon from Uncle Robert’s. Today would be the first time they were going into the house since the fire. They were silent, walking shoulder to shoulder. He needed this contact, the reminder he wasn’t alone. She glanced up at him and gave him a slight smile but there was concern in her eyes. They were both anxious about what they were going to see.

  It took more than a week before they were allowed back into the house while the county fire marshal completed their investigation and certified that the house was structurally sound for people to go back in. Nate had given them a brief report on the damage but now they could finally see it for themselves. A lump formed in his throat, thinking about how much had been lost in the fire. Was it too much? Was Halcyon beyond repair?

  Soot and debris crunched under their feet as they made their way through the rooms. The acrid smell of burnt wood and smoke still filled the air and there was a layer of ash over everything. Jo looked up at the hole in the ceiling above the dining room at the blackened ceiling of the floor above.

  “Where do we even begin?”

  Taylor wrapped his arms around her. “We’ll just have to go one step at a time. Salvage what we can and rebuild the rest.”

  She was feeling overwhelmed but in Taylor’s arms she believed they could accomplish anything. They continued through the house, picked their way through the rubble going from the front of the house to the back where the worst of the damage was. Jo averted her eyes going past Taylor’s room, the woman that was found inside still hadn’t been identified. A shiver went up her spine thinking about the things she said to Taylor when he was locked in the room.

  The pretty teal color on the walls of her room was now an ugly shade of blackened blue streaked with water from the fire hoses. Her eyes flickered to the chandelier Taylor had bought for her in Memphis and she fought back more tears.

  “I think we can have it restored,” he said.

  “This may sound corny but it was the first present you ever gave me.” Jo wiped her eyes.

  Overwhelmed she turned and buried her face in Taylor’s chest.

  “I don’t care about the chandelier. Every time I think about how close I came to losing you I…” She choked back a sob.

  Taylor held her face in his hands. “We’re both okay and I love you—that’s all that matters.”

  His kiss was slow and deliberate, and sent a different kind of shiver down her spine. They were interrupted when Adam called out, “Taylor, Jo, are you here?”

  They rushed to the front of the house and found Adam and Chloe with a group of young men and women wearing work clothes, gloves, and goggles. Some carried shovels while others had brooms in their hands.

  “Adam, what’s going on?” Jo asked.

  “These are some of my classmates from the trade school. We came to help you start the cleanup.”

  “Thank you,” she cried, looking out over the smiling faces.

  Taylor cleared his throat. “I… Thank you.”

  She move
d closer to Taylor’s side and wrapped her arm around his. She knew Taylor was just as touched as she was by the gesture.

  “I called and ordered a dumpster. I hope that’s okay. Chloe said you wouldn’t mind if I said they could bill you,” Adam said.

  Taylor shook his head. “Of course it’s okay—thank you for taking the lead.”

  “We’re a bit overwhelmed right now, but we’ll go change and come back and help,” Jo added.

  “Nah.” Adam shook his head. “We’ve got this. You guys come back when you’re ready.”

  Taylor put his hand on the young man’s shoulder and looked him in the eye. “You’re in charge and thanks again. I don’t know what we would do without you.”

  Adam drew himself up. He turned and shouted to the students. “All right, y’all, we’ve got work to do. If you have any questions I’m in charge.”

  They stood by and watched while Adam organized everyone into groups and started handing out assignments.

  “He’s a great young man. I’m so thankful he came back and asked to work with me again,” Taylor said watching him with pride in his eyes.

  They walked hand in hand back to Uncle Robert’s, drawing up short when they saw the sheriff’s car in front of the house. Isiah and Nate stood on the porch talking to Uncle Robert.

  “Jo, Taylor.” Nate nodded in greeting. “How are you folks holding up?”

  “We’re good thanks,” Jo said.

  Jo eyed the manila envelope in Isiah’s hand. “This isn’t a social visit is it?”

  The sheriff frowned. “I’m afraid not.”

  “Let’s take a seat at the table and get this over with.” Uncle Robert held open the door for everyone.

  When they were all seated at the kitchen table Isiah pulled a photograph out of the envelope and set it in front of them. “We’ve ID’d the woman we found in your room. Do you recognize her?”

  Jo gasped. The woman in the picture was the same one who had approached Taylor in the parking lot at the salvage store in Memphis.

  Taylor’s hand shook when he picked up the picture. “I don’t know her but she approached me when Jo and I took a trip to Memphis. She was pretty aggressive but I… It happens with fans sometimes.”

  “It turns out she’d been sending emails and letters to you at the network for months. They escalated recently. Didn’t anyone forward them to you?”

  “Tessa usually took care of fan mail—anything threatening she reported to the authorities.”

  Isiah and Nate shared a look of disapproval. “These weren’t reported,” Isiah said quietly.

  Jo put her hand on Taylor’s arm. He pushed the photo away. “I see.”

  It was petty, and by not reporting the new threats Tessa had put Taylor in danger. Jo wanted to wring Tessa’s neck for her selfishness.

  “I’m sorry she didn’t have anyone around her who could see how unstable she was and try to get help for her,” Jo said, after Nate and Isiah left.

  Taylor had just finished making calls to his lawyer and the network, all the while furiously pacing on Uncle Robert’s porch as Jo watched his growing anger with concern.

  He hung up the phone with a muttered curse, running his hands through his hair. Jo came over and wrapped her arms around him. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

  He kissed the top of her head. “Not really—can we just sit for a while?”

  Jo led him over to one of the rocking chairs that lined the porch and pushed him down. She climbed into his lap resting her head on his shoulder. “I’m not going anywhere. When you want to talk I’ll listen.”

  They rocked for a while, listening to the birds start to sing their evening song and the shadows lengthen over Uncle Robert’s yard.

  “I’m scared,” he said after a while. “I had such a clear vision of what I wanted, or what I thought I wanted when I came here, and now everything is different and it’s good but it’s also overwhelming.”

  “I came here without any idea of what I was really doing. All I wanted to do was get away from my old life and the embarrassment of being fooled by Oliver. It wasn’t even about the house at first but then when I came here and saw Halcyon I just knew this is where I was supposed to be. I’m so glad I listened to Ada Mae. But I’m scared too.”

  Taylor kissed the corners of her eyes before any tears could fall. And then kissed each cheek, making his way across her face until he captured her mouth. They rocked and kissed until Taylor tore his mouth from hers, panting. “We need to figure out a place to live. As much as I appreciate Uncle Robert’s hospitality, I want to be able to make love whenever and wherever we want.”

  “We’ll figure it out.” Jo nuzzled his neck.

  *

  They took each day as it came, thankful that they could face it together.

  They worked in other areas of the house but they avoided the secret room. The memory of being trapped inside had given Taylor more than one nightmare over the last couple of weeks. Jo had been there for each one, loving him through each memory. That morning Taylor had announced that he was ready to go and look at the damage to the secret room. Adam had taken down what was left of the door and they would have it restored, but with a different mechanism so it could be opened from both sides. No one would ever be kept against their will at Halcyon ever again.

  Jo had a large flashlight with her. The room was even darker with the blackened mirrors. Everything was intact but covered in soot and it reeked from the smoke. She almost wept with relief when they learned that there was minimal water damage to that part of the house.

  “Where do you want to begin?” she asked.

  Taylor looked down at the rug they were standing on. “Let’s roll this up and we can send it out to get it cleaned.”

  They started to roll it up from one end revealing a patch of wood below that was untouched by the smoke and any sunlight. Taylor stopped and ran his hand over the boards. “Look at this color. It’s—” He stopped and frowned. “Help me roll the rest of this carpet up.”

  When the rest of the carpet was out of the way they could clearly see where a small panel the width of two floorboards and about a foot in length was. He pressed on the seam and Jo drew in a sharp breath when they heard a click. Whoever built the compartment must have been the same person who designed the door with the same spring-loaded mechanism. Jo handed Taylor the flashlight and looked over his shoulder as he looked inside. There were small canvas bags stacked neatly one on top of another. He reached down to pick the first one up and grunted from the weight. He set it down and pulled at the drawstring at the top.

  Jo gasped. “Gold coins.”

  “The taxes he put aside for Ada Mae,” Taylor said in an awed voice.

  “He said he put it in a safe place for her return to Halcyon.”

  “Jo, these are liberty coins. Each one can be worth more than a thousand dollars.”

  They peered down and started counting the bags. There were twenty that they could see.

  “That’s thousands of dollars’ worth of gold,” Jo whispered.

  “Maybe more.”

  They sat back on their heels and stared at each other in shock.

  “What do we do?”

  “We need to get it out of here and to the bank first and then you can figure out what you want to do with it,” Taylor said.

  “Me?”

  “Halcyon belongs to you, Jo. This is part of Ada Mae’s inheritance and now it’s yours.”

  Her whole body went numb. “I…” She shook her head. “I can’t believe this.”

  Taylor wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and drew her close enough to press a kiss on her forehead. “Do you remember what Ada Mae told you?”

  “This house is full of secrets,” she whispered.

  Taylor called out for Adam who came running into the room.

  “Everything okay?”

  “Adam, we need your help. I need you to get a wheelbarrow and then I want you to get Jo’s car and back it up to the
doors right here,” Taylor said pointing to the French doors leading out to the garden.

  Adam looked between the two of them with a worried expression.

  Jo waved him over. “Adam, the colonel said in his will that he left Ada Mae the money for taxes on Halcyon.” She put the flashlight on the bags in the compartment and then reached into the bag Taylor had pulled out and held out her hand.

  Adam’s eyes were as big as saucers. “Holy shit,” he whispered.

  “I want to get these out of the house and to the bank without drawing a lot of attention. If anybody asks we’re going to move the furniture out of the secret room so it can be restored,” Taylor said.

  Adam stood up and nodded. “Got it.”

  *

  They pulled fifty bags out of the compartment. The look on the bank manager’s face was priceless when Taylor and Jo showed him what they’d brought when they opened a bag in his office and told him there were fifty more.

  Ashton Beaumont stood in front of the open hatchback staring at the pile of bags. “Well, slap me silly,” he said.

  “You think you’ve got a deposit box big enough?” Taylor asked.

  Ashton shook his head. “It’s gonna take more than one, that’s for sure.”

  The three of them went to work loading the bags into the safe deposit room. When they finished Ashton brought in one of the tellers and they started counting. There were about two hundred and fifty coins in each bag in denominations of five, ten and twenty dollars. When everything was locked away Ashton offered to reach out to a bank customer who was a coin collector to get the names of some reputable coin shops who could take a look and help them figure out the value.

  Jo shook Ashton’s hand. “Thank you.”

  “Y’all let me know if I can do anything to help out at Halcyon. I’m not the best with a hammer but I’ll do what I can. A lot of folks around here were relieved to hear that you were rebuilding and not just tearing the place down. Everyone was worried you were going to give up and move back to Chicago.”