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Zach and Braxton could look around at the mechanical, reconstruction side of things. They could work the electrical angle and worry over the pipes and plumbing. Their father had owned a construction company for years, teaching each of the boys the trade. Only Zach had taken to the work and turned it into a lucrative career. He was the most sought-after contractor in the town and surrounding areas. Apparently people didn’t care about the gruff exterior since he did such an impeccable job.
While Braxton knew quite a bit about construction too, Sophie figured he was walking through the house doing figures in his head and forming a budget. Braxton was book smart, business savvy, and extremely intelligent when it came to economics. With these two in charge, there was no way this resort wouldn’t take off.
Sophie just wished Liam was on board. She wished all three brothers would’ve joined together and completed this project for Chelsea.
She went from room to room on the main floor. She’d only seen Chelsea’s notes for a few minutes, but already her mind was spinning with ideas. By the time Sophie had used her phone to snap countless pictures of the entryway, formal dining room, kitchen, and the sitting area, she’d lost track of time.
She’d been there a little over an hour and hadn’t seen either of the guys. She’d heard movement a few times, but had been caught up in the nostalgia of the place. She couldn’t even imagine what had transpired between these walls. The fact that a family had lived here and had taken such a risk to house escaped slaves during the Civil War was amazing and beyond brave.
Which reminded her of the old tunnels in the basement. When she’d sold the house, she hadn’t gone through the tunnels. She had had an inspection done, and the inspector found the passageways to the two other cottages on the land to be sound. Now she wanted to explore.
She turned the old brass knob, and the door opened with a slight groan. She peered down the dark, narrow steps, sliding her phone out of her pocket to use the bright screen as her flashlight. She held tight to the rail as the familiar twinge in her hip kicked in whenever she did steps. Not painful, just there and enough to be annoying.
At the bottom of the stairs, she turned and spotted Zach. His flashlight roamed over the concrete walls, the furnace and water heater, pipes running along the ceiling.
Her tennis shoes shuffled against the grit and grime on the concrete floor as she made her way across the dingy space.
“You should’ve stayed upstairs,” he told her, not taking his eyes off the task. “The floor is uneven down here and you could fall.”
“How did you know it was me?” she asked, gripping her phone.
A grunt was her only response.
Warmth spread through her at his worry. Minor as it may be, she would take it. Not that she wanted his pity by any means, but the fact that he showed some caring emotion seemed like a step in the right direction in finding out if the old Zach still existed or if he’d died the night of the crash.
Sophie headed toward the old steel door that led to the tunnels. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind Chelsea had explored these spaces. Chelsea had lived for adventure of any type.
Sophie hadn’t seen the tunnels mentioned in Chelsea’s notes, but Sophie hadn’t gone through all of the notes either. Had her late friend planned on doing something neat with these secret passages?
“What are you doing?”
Sophie turned, shielding her eyes with her hand when his light nearly blinded her. “Am I under examination? Put that down.”
“Don’t go in there,” he warned in a firm tone.
She tugged on the old metal latch. The door creaked as it was freed from the rusty lock. “I just want to look for a second. Don’t you?”
“I will. I want you to go back upstairs.”
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“Why?”
His light shifted down, drawing closer to her as his work boots scuffed against the floor. “Because it’s dirty down here, it’s cold and it’s dark.”
Sophie ignored him and propped the door open, moving on into the narrow tunnel using the light from her phone. She wanted to see how long the tunnel was. She knew it came out at one of the servants’ quarters, but she didn’t know if it branched off in two different directions or if it led to just one of the homes and another tunnel led from that home to the second.
The eerie feeling that swept over her at all the memories, heartache, and fear held in this constricted space had shivers racing through her. Sophie couldn’t even imagine hiding just to save your life, protect your freedom, all because of the color of your skin.
“Would you get the hell out of there?” Zach yelled as he started in behind her.
Sophie turned. “What is the problem? I’m fine. The ground is level and flat in here. I’m not going to fall.”
She started to turn back around, but Zach grabbed her arm. “Maybe I want to look down here alone.”
She couldn’t see his face all that well, but his warm breath tickled her cheek, his strong hand held on to her bare forearm.
“Too bad,” she told him, tilting her chin. “I’m already down here and I’m just as much a part of this.”
