“You analyze everything, don’t you?”
“I do now that I’ve been told I’m needed to face something big and bad,” I told him. “Plus I trust my gut – it’s never got me in trouble.”
“I think from now on I’m going to trust your gut, too,” he smiled. “Any idea as to what may have caused it, between you and me of course?”
“I have no idea, but I doubt it’s a “What” I think it’s more like a “Who”.”
“What makes you think that?”
“If it was a demon or a creature, then surely it would want us dead, and it would have no problem attacking us itself. I can’t see something like that being scared of us, can you?”
“I guess you’re right. Shall we get out of here?” he said, motioning to the car.
He opened the door for me and shut it once I was in. He was such a gentleman. He got in and started the engine.
“Can I have you to myself a bit longer?” he asked.
“Yes, but can we go somewhere we can talk? There’s something I need to get off my chest.”
“I know the perfect place.”
Chapter 11
Bonding
We drove for about fifteen minutes, heading back in the direction of the town, but turned off down a country road. Then he parked and we walked for about five minutes. He still wouldn’t tell me where we were going. As we were walking I started to hear what sounded like waves crashing, then I noticed the sea.
“Here we are,” he smiled.
We were on top of a cliff overlooking the sea just a little further up from the harbor. I could see all the boats again, but at a much further distance, and some of the streets in the town. The view was beautiful. I stood there for a moment taking it all in.
“Is this quiet and out of the way enough for you?” he asked.
“It’s perfect.”
He sat down on the grass not too far from the edge of the cliff, so I went and sat in front of him.
“OK, first, do you remember the second day we met, once you knew who I was?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Remember when I started to say something about my dad and then stopped?”
“Yes, you said you wanted to make sure of something before you told us what you were going to say.”
“You have a good memory,” I told him.
“I just listen well.”
“Well, the thing is this,” I started, “I told you my dad went away the day after I got my power.”
“Yes.”
“I know at first he didn’t think I would get anything. He was waiting for a son, but to cut another long story short my mom was told she couldn’t have any more children, so he would only have me. When I was about eight, I started showing signs. If I got annoyed things would throw themselves of the table or the shelves. Sometimes the electrics would mess up too. That’s how he knew I would get them.”
“Who told you that?”
“My granddad, but you see this is what’s bugging me. About a week before my tenth birthday he made a will. A few weeks later he died. He was only thirty-four and had no health problems. He obviously had the power in him to keep himself safe and yet he still made one.”
“So you think he knew he was going to die?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes.” I said seriously. “Then when I was at my granddad’s I saw him sitting in his chair with a picture of my dad in his hands. He kept saying he would find them.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know. I was ten years old. I thought he meant a drunk driver or something.”
“And now you think it was something more?”
“Oh think about it. Thirty-four years old, his whole life ahead of him, suddenly he makes a will, leaving his daughter whom he now knows is going to get the power everything he had apart from the house and cars. They were left to my mom as well as the bit of money in their joint account. He dies in a car accident which he would have had no problem avoiding. My granddad saying he would find them. Doesn’t it all sound a little strange?”
“I admit it doesn’t sound normal,” Lucian said, deep in thought. “So what exactly are you thinking?”
“I think something killed him, something that may have something to do with what our granddads told us.”
“There were a lot of “Something’s” in that sentence,” he smiled.
“I know, but do you understand me?”
“I do, and I agree with you – the whole thing seems off.”
“I’m glad it’s not just me that thinks it,” I said, relieved. “There’s something else I want to try and find out.”
“OK.”
“Why my eyes go white.”
“Maybe it’s because you’re female.”
“I doubt it.”
“Keira, the thing with this power is you just never know.”
“And if the power was meant to be passed to the first-born son, then surely the bloodline should have stopped at my dad,” I said. “That would make more sense.”
“I understand what you’re saying and I really wish I had the answers for you.”
We both went quiet for a moment. Both of us were staring out at the sea.
“Do you still want to see where the supposed witches were hung and the new church,” he asked.
“Yes, I do.”
“We can go tomorrow if you like. It’s a bit late in the day to start heading there now.”
“That would be great, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all, I like spending time with you.”
“Good,” I said with a smile.
“So come on then. Let’s have some light-hearted conversation for a change. Err, what do you look for in a guy?” he asked going slightly pink.
“Hmm, nice-looking, great personality, funny, caring, serious when needed, oh and someone with hair – I hate guys with really short cropped hair or none at all.”
“How about you, what do you look for in a girl?” I asked, smiling.
“I like girls who know their own mind, who don’t need everything done for them. I want her to have her own opinions on things but without forcing them on others. I’d like her to be easy on the eye, smaller than me; I don’t like girls who are taller. Long dark hair, big eyes, caring, lovable, fun to be with and who I can have a decent conversation with.”
“You don’t want much, do you?” I laughed.
“Do you fancy going for a few drinks tonight?”
“Yes, I would like that. Do you want it to be just us or can we invite Jake and Lily too?”
“Either way is fine by me, just as long as we can say it’s a date.”
“Then it’s a date,” I smiled.
We stayed on the cliff another half-hour or so. We watched the boats returning to the harbor and he pointed out a few shops and buildings he knew. When he looked at his watch it was 4 p.m. so we headed back to his place. I collected my car and told him Lily and I would meet him and Jake at Rusty’s at 8 p.m. When I was on my way back to the motel, I pulled over and called Lily to let her know what was going on. She was on her way back now too and got all giddy when I told her Lucian wanted it to be a date. I got giddy myself and told her I’d see her when she got back. For the rest of the journey I had a permanent smile on my face.
***
I had only been in the room for five minutes when Lily and Jake walked in. Both of them looked so happy and they were holding hands again.
“Hey,” they both said.
“Hey, you have a good afternoon?” I asked.
“Yes, thanks,” Lily said in a bubbly voice.
“How was your afternoon with Lucian?” Jake asked me.
“Very nice, thanks.”
“Good, I’m glad. Anyway, I’d best be off. I’ll see you later,” he said, walking to the door. He kissed Lily on the cheek and then left. She shut the door and then fell on to her bed in a dream-like state. I stood in the doorway smirking at her.
“Oh he is soooo nice,” she said.
>
“I’m glad you’re happy. He seems like a really nice guy.”
“I am happy. He said he’s opening his own music store in town and he’s asked me to run it with him. You know with me being experienced, so I said yes.”
“Sounds great, but where are you going to stay?”
“I never thought of that,” she said, the smile falling from her face.
“We’ve been here a week already tomorrow. We’ve only got tonight left in this room unless we pay for longer.”
“Then I’ll pay, I don’t care, I don’t want to go back to West Chester. I’ve never been happy there, not like I am here. And you can be yourself with people here,” she said in a panicked voice.
“Lily…”
“Don’t say it! I know what you’re going to say and I don’t want to hear it.”
I walked out of the room and sat down on the sofa. I pulled the deeds to the house out of my bag and read through them. Not only did I own the house, I also had eighty acres of land to go with it. They used to be in Evelyn and Michael’s name – as they had been handed down the names had been changed by magic accordingly. Michael had now changed them so my name was on them. All I would have to do is fix the place up. Money wasn’t a problem. I had more money than anyone could spend in ten lifetimes, never mind one. That was the joy of being born into a family with old money. I wanted to stay but I was worried that I was jumping into things too fast. Everyone else seemed eager for me to move there and stay close to them. I heard Lily move and I put the deeds back into my bag. She came and sat next to me and laid her head on my shoulder.
“Let’s have a good night tonight, OK,” she said. “I’ll tell him we’re leaving tomorrow and that we want a good send-off.”
“OK.”
We got up and made something to eat then started to get ready. We both looked really nice. I had a short black skirt on, with my knee-high boots, a nice red strappy top and my long leather coat on. I had my hair pulled up in a really high pony so that it fell down the sides of my face. Lily had a short blue dress on with her black strappy shoes, her knee-length blue velvet coat and her hair down which I straightened for her. We locked the place up and jumped in the car to go to Rusty’s.
We parked around the side of the bar and walked in. Lucian and Jake were at the bar waiting for us. They looked so smart. Lucian wore jet-black jeans with his boots, a gorgeous red silk shirt and a black jacket. Jake had dark-blue jeans on with his black shoes and a blue shirt. All his hair was gelled and I think Lily fell in love when she looked at him. They both looked over at us with big smiles on their faces. We walked over and they ordered us both a drink, then we went and sat at one of the tables at the back of the bar. It was quite busy in there, but it was a Saturday so most people wouldn’t have to be up early the next day.
“You’re turning a few heads in here, Miss Jameson,” Jake told me while smirking at Lucian.
“Oh well, shame I’m not interested then, isn’t it?” I told him.
I saw Lucian smile out of the corner of my eye. Every time he smiled I melted – he was gorgeous.
“I remember the last time we were in here,” Lucian said, looking at me. “You pinned us to the seats.”
“Yeah, and if you’re both not extremely nice to me and Lily tonight, I’ll do it again,” I laughed.
“OK, the drinks are on us all night,” Jake added.
Both Lily and I cheered. I wasn’t drinking alcohol as I was driving but I still got my cokes free.
We stayed in Rusty’s most of the night. We all got up and danced and had a really good night together. At just before midnight we sat down again to finish our drinks off. Then suddenly Lily’s face went from one of happiness to complete sadness.
“What’s up?” Jake asked, putting his arm around her.
“We’re…we’re leaving tomorrow,” she told him.
“What!” he looked mortified.
“I thought you said you couldn’t leave,” Lucian said.
“I know, but your fathers are OK and we know we’re just being messed with. Plus we only booked the motel for a week,” she told them both.
“Well, tell them you need it longer,” Lucian said.
Lily looked over at me with sad but hopeful eyes.
“Have you two driven here?” I asked.
“I did,” Jake answered.
“Good, I want you to come somewhere with me,” I told them, grabbing my coat and bag.
They grabbed their things and followed me outside.
“Where are we going?” Lily asked me.
“Wait and see. Just follow me,” I said, looking at Jake.
To my surprise Lily got in with me.
I drove back into the old part of town and straight to the Putnam house. I pulled up at the side of it and got out of the car, bag in hand; the others followed behind. I walked up the wooden steps and on to the porch, then I turned to face them.
“Keira, you could live here. We would all help you spruce the place up. My parents have the deeds and…” Lucian began.
“No they don’t,” I interrupted, pulling the envelope out of my bag. “I spoke to your mom and she doesn’t have the deeds or the keys to this place anymore.”
“Keira, I swear they…”
“They don’t have them because I do,” I told him, pulling the keys out of the envelope and waving them in front of me. “This place is mine.”
I can’t describe the looks on their faces; it was a cross between happiness and shock. Lily ran up to me and flung her arms around me.
“Oh yeah, sorry,” I said, looking at her. “I meant ours.”
She hugged me again, then ran back to Jake. He picked her up and spun her around.
“And I’m holding you to the helping us part,” I said, looking at Lucian.
He walked up to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “I really thought you were going to leave us,” he told me.
“I wanted to surprise you all.”
He smiled then leaned forward and kissed my cheek, then hugged me tight. I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck and hugged him back.
“Are you going to let us in so we can have a look around?” Lucian asked me once he’d let go of me.
“No way! If you see the state of it you’ll change your mind about helping us…believe me on that. So I think you should just turn up here tomorrow ready to start. Then I can lock you all in,” I giggled.
“Can’t we just have a peek?” Jake asked.
“No,” I told him. “Come on, we all need to get some rest. We’ve really got our work cut out for us in there.”
Chapter 12
The Move
The next morning I went to see the receptionist and told her that we would need the room longer. Luckily she said we could pay day by day with the place being quiet. I paid for two nights – I knew we would definitely need those – then I went to update Lily before heading to the house to meet the guys.
***
When we pulled up we saw them sitting on the porch waiting for us. They were prepared, too – they had brushes, brooms and all sorts of supplies piled up next to them. As soon as I got out of the car Tyler and Danny dived on me. How I stayed on my feet I will never know.
“We’re so glad you decided to stay,” Danny told me as he squeezed the life out of me.
“So am I. Now will you let me breathe, please,” I said, struggling to take a breath.
“Sorry.”
“I hope you’re ready for hard work,” I addressed them all. “This place is filthy.”
“No problem,” Jake said.
“Now at some point this week I need to go back to West Chester and get all my things. The house is on a monthly lease so I can just pass the keys back to the landlord and get my deposit back.”
“You’re not going,” Lily said. “I’ll go. There’s no way you’re going back. You might try and convince yourself you need to stay there. I’m not having that. I’ll go and get everything and sort the landlord out.?
??
“I’ll come with you,” I wasn’t surprised to hear Jake tell her. “We can borrow my dad’s truck. Have you got furniture to bring back?” he asked me.
“Not really. Most of it was in there when I moved in. There are a few decorative things that were my dad’s and then all my personal stuff, like clothes, DVDs and CDs.”
“Don’t worry, Keira, I know what’s yours and what’s not – I won’t leave anything behind,” Lily assured me.
“OK, great. We’ll carry on with the house while you’re gone.”
“Will you be OK at the motel on your own?”
“I’m a big girl and I think I might just have a way of looking after myself,” I smirked.
“Oh shut up! I’m your friend and that gives me the right to worry about you.”
“Are you finally going to let us in here then,” Lucian asked, tapping the front door of the house.
“OK,” I said as I walked to the door. “If anyone tries to run away or get out of helping me they’ll be in trouble,” I turned the key and pushed the door open. “Welcome to the new Jameson and Tierney household,”
Against expectation, they all looked amazed at how well it had survived on its own for so long. Their eyes were darting everywhere.
“You weren’t kidding about the mess, were you?” Tyler laughed, running his fingers over the banister of the winding staircase. “Have you been up there yet?” he asked me.
“No, I’m not sure if it’s safe yet,” I told him.
“I’ll sort that out,” Danny said, his eyes turning black. “I’ll go and check the other floors out too.”
“You know, with the amount of power you have, you could fix this place up in less than a day,” Lily said to me.
“I know, but where is the fun in that? I’ll use it for some things but I like doing things like this.”
“My mom said you’re an interior designer,” Lucian said.
“I sure am,” I confirmed proudly. “And a damn good one at that, although I really don’t know what I’m going to use half the rooms in this place for. Four stories and God knows how many rooms…This is going to take some thinking about.”