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“What does it say?”
I quickly scanned the sheet. “He tells how the curse was created and the rules for the Curse Keepers. Nothing new to me.” When I finished, I handed the page to David. “But this means he really did write things down and that there are probably more hidden around here somewhere.”
We spent the next half an hour looking in every nook and cranny in the living room and dining room without finding anything else. We searched the rest of the first floor until about midnight, when I started yawning.
David leaned his shoulder into the door frame to the dining room. “We should call it a night and go to bed.”
His words sent a flutter through my chest.Not together, Ellie, I reminded myself. “Yeah, it’s been a hard day.” I couldn’t help wondering if Collin had managed to evade Tom.
“Are you ready to go upstairs?”
I nodded, suddenly feeling self-conscience. Why was I so nervous?
David followed close behind as we climbed the stairs, and my anxiety increased with each and every step. His bag was still at the top of the stairs, and he picked it up, noticing my own bag outside the bathroom door. “Why didn’t you put your bag in your room?”
“I was waiting to see which one you picked.” Why did I say it like that? Did he think I was waiting for an invitation to his room?
“Why didn’t you just put it in your old room?”
“Because you slept in my old room before you moved into my apartment. I thought you might want it again.”
A soft smile warmed his face, and he walked down the hall to my room, standing just inside the doorway. “I wish I’d known this was your room when I was staying in here.”
“Would it have made a difference?”
He shot me a wicked grin.
My insides turned to liquid fire and I forced a laugh. “I’ll take that as a no.” I brushed past him as I entered the room, every nerve in my body alive and begging for more contact. I turned on the lamp on the nightstand and sat on the edge of the bed. “I haven’t slept here in years.”
David dropped his bag inside the doorway and watched me with a grin. “I’m trying to picture you as a little girl in here. Or you as a little girl, period.”
“That seems so long ago.” I looked around the room. All hints that it had belonged to me had been removed, and it looked like a generic guestroom. But the dresser, the bed, and the full-length mirror in the corner were all mine. My fingers brushed the comforter. “I couldn’t wait to leave home.”
“That surprises me given how close you were with your father and the good relationship you have with Myra.”
“It wasn’t them.” I scooted farther back onto the bed and crossed my legs. “I don’t think I ever felt comfortable here after Momma’s murder. And after we broke the curse and I started having those dreams…well, I couldn’t even come in here.”
“You’re in here now.”
My lips parted, and I stared up at him in surprise. “You’re right.”
He moved to the bed and sat on the edge.
“Maybe it’s because you’re here to protect me,” I teased.
His smile faded. “I only wish I could.”
I leaned forward and grabbed his hand. “David, youareprotecting me. Or trying to. If you weren’t here, I’d be completely alone.”
Sadness flickered in his eyes. “But you wish you were with Collin.”
Did I? I had to admit that his comment wasn’t without a grain of truth. But David had been the one to stand by my side and help me find answers. Even though Collin probably had some of the answers, he refused to give them.
I stared into the hazel eyes of this man who was offering me hope and support, and more importantly, absolute trust. In that moment, I knew that David would be there for me until the end, whatever that turned out to be.
“No, David.” I reached for his cheek, my fingers trembling as I touched his skin. “I wantyou. There’s no one else I’d rather be here with now.” The truth of it hit me like a lightning bolt.
His hand covered mine as he searched my eyes, hope flickering in his gaze.
