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“If you’ll excuse me.” Nate jogs up the winding front stairs. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Would you like to look around?”
Yes, but I’m afraid there isn’t going to be enough time to see everything this house has to offer. Still, I take Brian up on his offer and he shows me around. When Brian gets distracted by something other than me, my natural curiosity has me going further and further away, opening every door to find out what is in the next room and the room after that.
I open one door after another until a feeling rushes over me and I walk even further down the hall, this time not opening door after door. It’s like something is calling me, pulling me, to a small door at the end of the hall on the third floor. I lay my hand on the knob and a cold breeze causes me to shiver. I turn the knob and push the door open and peer inside.
And find a nursery. A white crib sits against one of the walls while the others are covered in fairy tale settings. This isn’t like normal fairy tale sketches put on baby walls. The pictures are old ones and have such deep rich color that the paintings look more like they came out of an ancient tome instead of something a child would have anywhere close to them.
The crib has an ornate tree on the side of it at the back, the branches and roots reaching out and twining along the edge and down so that most of the baby bed is covered in carvings of ivy and vine. It’s like something out of a fairy tale itself. I put my hand out just needing to touch it when something dark and small rushes out and comes straight at me.
My mind is so wrapped up in the fairy tale quality of the room -the whole house really- that my first thought is elf or maybe house troll. But when the thing comes flying at my face and I catch it I quickly realize this creature is firmly rooted in reality. In my hands is an enormous ball of fluff and fur in the darkest of blacks with the biggest wide blue eyes I have ever seen…on a cat!
“Where did you come from, pretty kitty? Where did you come from?”
“I see you’ve found Shadow.”
At the sound of Brian’s voice, I jump and let out a little yelp that has the kitty pouncing out of my arms and running from the room.
“I…I’m sorry. I…”
“You’ve found the nursery.”
“I…does Nate have a baby?” This room looks ready for a baby. It looks like it’s in use, ready for a sleeping babe to be laid down soon.
Does Nate have a family no one is talking about? And why would everyone be talking about him looking for a wife if he already has a…baby momma?
“No, ma’am. The master is entirely alone. This is the room given to all the Magnus babies. At one time even Nate was in here.”
“But…it looks…like it’s just been used.”
“It’s the house ma’am. It shows you what it wants you to see.”
“What?” I turn and find all the furniture in the room draped in Holland cloth. Instead of a low, soft light coming from the corner of the room from a lamp perfect for reading bedtime stories to a little one, there is only darkness and shadows. “What the hell?”
“Come.” He leads me out of the room. “There is nothing I would love more than to know someone is here to take my place once I’m gone to love and care for Nate. He needs someone soft enough to hold him when things become too hard and strong enough to keep the town at bay when he’s had too much of their needs and demands.”
“So…Nate is looking for love?”
“He’s ready for just the right woman to come find him and fill the house with babies and light again.”
A thought takes shape in my mind. It nestles inside all during the meal at the Pink Cauldron when people come up and tell me how great Nate is and what a good catch he will make for some woman. And once I hit my room I go straight for my computer and write my piece on the Stone Island witch. It’s perfect. By the time I sit back and reread what I’ve written I am satisfied this is the article I will send my boss.
I go into the ensuite bathroom and celebrate with a long, warm bath. Sweet-smelling bath salt goes a long way in soothing my frayed nerves over what happened in the nursery. I’m sure I let my imagination get the best of me and I dreamed up the whole image of the nursery in use. Surely that’s what happened. I lean my head back along the rim of the big ornate tub and think about all of the things that have happened in the past two days. It’s damned hard to believe that it's just been three days since I first met Nate, first came to the island, and had the world’s worst Friday the thirteenth. Would it have felt like touching Nate if I had gotten to touch the crib? What is the weird electric shock that happens when we touch? Does it happen to him too, or is it just me?
I step out of the bath and dry off but don’t put my nightgown on just yet. Instead, I air dry as I step towards the bed and ready myself for the conversation I am going to have with the douche that sent me here. My hip hits the edge of my computer, and it blinks on. Instead of letting my body dry naturally I spin and throw clothes on not even caring that my blouse is sticking to me or that the skirt I put on doesn’t match it.
My temper has never been as riled, never been so close to becoming a murderous rage as it is now. I am furious. Hurt and furious. And if I somehow stumbled upon the person doing all the killing right now, they wouldn’t have a problem with the person any longer. It would be me committing murder. No, running into a killer is not what is scaring me right now. Because anyone who gets between me and that coward of a witch is fair game. What has me scared is how mad I am and the fact hurting someone doesn’t sound like a horrible idea to me. That’s the only scary thing haunting me right now.
Chapter Eight
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Nate
I feel her coming. I can tell when she comes through the gate. The fact it opens for her is something I will think about later, especially since it only opens to the people who are supposed to be here. Only to family. For now, I work on keeping my emotions in check and remaining centered. She doesn’t knock. She just barges right in. Another surprising thing since the house is very much like the gate.
Even Brian can’t slow her down. “Ma’am?”
