Genuinely happy to see him, Caroline jumped into Trevor's arms. He hugged her back and seemed happy at first, but then he let his arms fall. She backed up to see his handsome, but solemn face. "What's wrong? Is everything okay? Why are you here?"
He walked out to the front porch, his back to her, and she followed. What prompted his surprise visit and why didn't he tell her he was coming? Even more, why wasn't he happier to see her?
"Where have you been, C?"
"Down the trail in the woods. Why?"
"By yourself?"
"No, I went to visit a friend who lives in one of the outbuildings. What's this about, Trevor? Why do I feel like you're interrogating me?"
"Would this friend be male?" He still had his back to her and she didn't like his tone. Her heartbeat pounded in her head from her rising temper.
"Yes. The guy I told you about before, Cade. He works for my dad and has been the only friend I've made down here besides Claire and Remy."
"Uh-huh. Why do you suppose that is, Caroline?"
"Oh, for cryin' out loud, Trevor! Just spit it out. What are you implying here?"
He whirled around with anger emanating from his body. "I'm implying that maybe the reason you haven't made any other friends is because you have been spending all of your time with Cade!"
"What do you want me to say, Trev? Huh? You are the one who wanted me to spend the summer down here. You are the one who wanted me to come meet my dad and clear the air. This was all your idea! What. . .now you suddenly don't trust me?"
Fury swirled in Trevor's eyes. What was he angry about? Her blood chilled when his glare focused on her left hand.
What she expected next was not what she got. She expected a lecture, shame for not wearing his ring, a guilt trip. As she prepared in her mind what she could possibly say that wouldn't sound like a pathetic excuse, he shocked her.
"Caroline, have you. . .been intimate. . .with this guy?" He spat out the words with bitterness.
"Intimate? Is that what this is about? You're down here because you think I've slept with him?"
"Have you?"
She laughed in disbelief. She assumed this was about their engagement and her commitment issues, jealousy for paying attention to everyone but him. But this was Trevor. Everything was about sex. She should've stopped there and apologized for any misunderstanding, but of course. . .she didn't. She would antagonize him to the breaking point.
"Why, Trevor? Are you worried somebody else dipped their spoon in the honeypot before you could? Is that what this is really about?"
In two strides he immediately glowered over her. His fingers dug into her shoulders as he pushed his words through clenched teeth.
"You are mine! This is about you sleeping in the same bed doing God-knows-what with another man while wearing my ring on your finger!" He yanked her left hand up to her face. "Or not! Where the hell is your ring, Caroline? Are you too ashamed to wear it after your behavior?"
How did he know about sleeping in the same bed with Cade? Who could have told him? Realization came crashing down. April. She took Caroline's cell phone that weekend, which explained why it miraculously reappeared the same time they returned. That conniving hussy. April had it out for Caroline. No wonder Trevor was livid. She glanced up at the second floor window that belonged to her wicked stepmother. The curtains rustled. April was watching.
"Your silence is deafening, Caroline." He dropped her hand with a slight shove in disgust. "So it's true?"
"You don't know what happened. I can explain if you'll calm down and just listen."
"Calm down? You want me to calm down? Seriously, Caroline, how could I possibly do that, knowing all the times you stopped me dead in my tracks? All those times I had to take cold showers to calm down because you weren't ready to make love to me. All those frustrating times I apologized for pushing you too far. Then you come down here and sleep with some guy you only knew for what. . .a week? Then you lie to me about it! How is that supposed to calm me down?"
"Trevor, I did not have sex with him! And I did not lie to you!"
Their shouts echoed across the courtyard.
"Sure, Caroline. I'm just supposed to believe what you say now? If I had known you were going to come down here and whore around I would never have encouraged you to do this!"
She slapped his face. Trevor shoved her back against the house where Caroline tripped over a potted plant and hit her head on the porch beside the rocking chair. Normally, Trevor would come rushing up to apologize for hurting her, for not knowing his own strength, but this time, he simply walked to his rental car. Caroline jumped up, ignoring the blood dripping down her temple, and ran after him.
"Trevor, please! Please stop! I need to talk to you!" He stopped but didn't turn around. She stood right behind him and spoke again. "You have to believe me when I tell you I didn't have sex with anyone. I am engaged to you, and I do love you. My ring—it's hot and I knew I'd be sweating. . ." This wasn't coming out right. "I didn't want to mess it up or lose it. About Cade, he only helped me. I couldn't sleep and he—"
Trevor swung around, a storm of sheer rage. "I'm sure he was happy to help you sleep, you lying, cheating slut! I can't believe you would do this to me! You have disgraced me and my family."
She tried to put her arms around his neck to kiss him and prove she wanted to be with him, but he stopped her by gripping her forearms and squeezing them very tightly.
"No, Caroline, don't! Do not try to distract and manipulate me with your meaningless attempts of affection. It's not going to work."
Unsure if it was from his words or because he squeezed her forearms too tightly, tears sprang from Caroline's eyes. Her voice only a whisper. "You're hurting me." He didn't loosen his grip. "Trevor, please! You're hurting me! Stop! You're going to break my arms."
He let go in a shove, causing her to fly back and skid across the gravel driveway.
From out of nowhere, Cade appeared and the men erupted into a nasty brawl.
Caroline stood and yelled for them to stop. She couldn't have them beating each other to a bloody pulp over a simple misunderstanding that April instigated. But they didn't stop. They fought with equal measure of ire to the point of frightening her. Caroline had to do something, quick. She got her chance as they stumbled briefly apart.
Caroline stretched her arms out with one guy at the palm of each hand and gasped for air between sobs. They both sported bloody lips and noses. But honestly, Trevor looked worse than Cade.
"Will you two please just stop for a minute and shut up so I can explain?"
Furious and breathing heavily, they nodded in agreement. "Okay. Now then. . .Trevor, this is Cade. Cade, this is Trevor. Trevor, I have not had sex with Cade. He is just a friend, and I have to say he's been a respectable gentleman the entire time I've known him. I had experienced some very strange things in my room, and I asked him to stay in there with me until I fell asleep. That is all. Cade, Trevor did not hit me. Yes, he shoved me, but I lost my balance and hit my head on the rocking chair. My clumsiness made it look much worse than it was, that's all. I'm okay. Can you two please not fight with each other, especially over me? I hardly think any of this is worth a broken nose or a knocked-out tooth."
Trevor shook his head. "Caroline, can I please speak to you? In private."
She looked at Cade, who cautiously eyed her to see if that was what she wanted.
Cade vehemently shook his head while shifting his eyes back to Trevor. "I'm not leaving you alone with him, Caroline. I don't care if he's your fiancé or not.
"Cade, trust me. He won't—"
"Caroline, please don't ask me to leave you in such a vulnerable position. You know how I feel about this. I saw him shove you and I assure you it was no accident."
"I know. I know how you feel about it and I promise you he won't hurt me. We just got caught up in the moment and I tripped. Right, Trev?" She looked at Trevor who regarded Cade like he was a prowling tiger. Caroline couldn't tell if Trevor was more angry or worried.
"Trevor, tell him." His silence made Caroline want to scream. She was tempted to step back and let Cade finish what he started. If Trevor hadn't gotten physical with her in the first place, they wouldn't be in this position. "I think you owe me that much."
His glare pierced a hole in her heart. "I owe you? I don't think—"
"Trevor! Just tell him you won't hurt me." She silently begged him with her eyes to understand, and his shoulders sagged slightly. He reached for her hand and pulled her close.
"Of course I'm not going to hurt you." He glanced at Cade as he leaned in close and whispered. "You can call off the dogs now."
Caroline turned to Cade and gave a shy but reassuring smile, though she didn't think it did much good.
"Promise you'll call me if you need anything?" His serious gaze shifted to Trevor, but he still spoke to her. "I'll be around."
"Promise. Thank you."
Trevor didn't say anything. He simply glared back at Cade. Caroline grabbed Trevor's hand and led him into the house. In her room, she explained everything about what had been happening. She told him about her crazy dreams and how things mysteriously went missing only to reappear a few days later. She even showed him the initials scratched in the window. She couldn't tell if he believed her because she thought she saw an eye roll when she mentioned a ghost, but he did apologize for overreacting and calling her such horrible names.
He kissed her head where she had hit the rocking chair, and kissed the scratches on her palms from pushing her onto the gravel and shell riddled driveway. Then he passionately kissed her lips. All the love she had for him flooded back as she lost herself in his familiar embrace.
He whispered in her ear as he held her tightly. "I've missed you, baby. It makes me crazy to think some other guy has been close to you the way I am. I get jealous thinking about you depending on another man for anything."
Caroline pulled her ring from her pocket and held it up. "Like you said. It's your ring on my finger. That has not changed."
He smiled her favorite crooked smile that she'd fallen in love with and slipped the ring back on her finger just as he had when he proposed. Then he asked her to take him to the place with the delicious gumbo.
"Dupree's? You got it. When do you have to go back?" She wanted him to meet her dad before he left.
"I go back tomorrow. Quick trip. I had to see for myself if you were cheating on me." He shook his head. "I didn't believe it."
"You must have believed in the possibility since you're here. I'm guessing you talked to April?" She rolled her eyes. It disgusted her to even say the tramp's name out loud.
"Yeah, she called me. She sounded genuinely concerned."
Caroline's eyebrows raised. "Genuine? Right. There's nothing genuine about that woman. She hates my guts, and it's obvious she's trying to ruin my life." Caroline stepped away from him and brushed her hand across the smooth wood of the antique dressing table, admiring the preservation of the fine furniture. She stared at it for a moment. Something was different, but what?
He chuckled. "Well, don't be too hard on her. When she spoke to me, she seemed to have your best interests in mind."
Caroline inspected the table and the ornate mirror trying to figure out what was different about it. "Trevor, you can't believe anything that woman says. She's a fake and has malice written all over her face. She's jealous and hateful and. . .just don't trust her—with anything. She's a horrible, heartless person, inside and out."
"Oh, come on, Caroline, don't hold back." The unpleasant, yet familiar voice coming from the doorway immediately cursed Caroline with a sinking, queasy feeling. "Why don't you tell him how you really feel about me? After all, I am the wicked stepmother." April stood in the doorway to her room, dressed for a red carpet event. All decked out as if she needed to impress someone. Caroline didn't appreciate her snarky little comment.
"April. What a surprise. Headed to a funeral?"
April ignored her, slithered closer to Trevor and smiled as she stretched out her bony hand to shake his.
"Hello, Trevor. I'm April Fontenot. It's a pleasure to meet you in person and put your handsome face with that amazing voice."
Trevor shook her hand. "Hello, April. Thanks for the heads up, but it seems it was all a misunderstanding."
April smiled like she'd won a bet.
"However, the next time you decide to intrude in someone else's life, you should first make sure you have all your facts straight. Though, I do appreciate you giving me an excuse to see my lovely bride-to-be."
April's smile quickly faded. Caroline flashed her a huge grin, and inserted a little snark in her own voice. "Thanks for your help, Mom, but everything's under control. You may go screw with someone else's life now."
Her eyes narrowed briefly before she turned back to Trevor with a smile. "Please, don't feel the need to rush out. You're welcome to stay for a few days or weeks, whatever you'd like. Anything you need, I'm sure I can accommodate." She gave him a sultry grin. April flirted with him. In front of Caroline. Bitch!
"Thanks for the invitation, but I'm flying out tomorrow. I have work to do."
"Suit yourself. You should take Caroline back with you so she doesn't cause anymore. . .misunderstandings." She referred to Caroline as his property. Like she wasn't standing in the room with them. Caroline fumed. April left and Trevor curiously looked at her.
"I can see why you think so highly of her."
"You have no idea. Let's go eat."
They were already outside when it dawned on Caroline she didn't remember seeing the antique jewelry box on the dresser. Someone had taken it.
Twenty-Seven