Midnight Rose (35 page)

“Watch the molding,” Martha barked as the movers hoisted a sofa through the front entrance. “The last thing we need is a gouge mark in that newly painted wood.” Kate paused on the landing, a duffel bag on one shoulder and a garment bag on the other, watching the furniture’s departure with a bittersweet ache in her chest. In the foyer, the Persian rug had been rolled and loaded into one of the massive moving vans, the naked slate floors scrubbed clean.

The house stood like an empty shell, resounding with whispers of the past.

She started down the stairs, then glanced back at the hunt scene. The hounds were bounding in the opposite direction now, playful and tumbling over each other, all predatory intent forgotten. The hunters had turned their horses toward home, postures dejected. With a charge of satisfaction, Kate realized that in whatever netherworld they dwelled, their wily prey had escaped, unscathed.

It baffled her why the new owners of Sister Oaks would insist that the painting be included in the purchase of the estate. Then again, Martha said they were strange people, pale and ghostly and silent.

Maybe they were vampires. Kate didn’t even blink at that possibility. The painting would probably suit their decor just fine.

“I’m putting the last of the luggage in the car,” she told Martha as she reached the foyer. “I looked for Jude to let him know it’s nearly time to leave, but I couldn’t find him.” “He’s running around the grounds like a stray mutt,” Martha said dryly. “Now that those supplements have made him impervious to the sunlight, he thinks he’s impervious to everything else, including adult direction.” Kate chuckled and continued outside into the warm June sun. Who could blame Jude for wanting to run wild his last hours in the country? Soon they’d be settled in a high-rise penthouse condominium in Washington, D.C., and though the boy denied it, eventually he’d miss the rolling Virginia hills.

After packing the Audi, she returned to make a final round through the empty rooms downstairs. The tap of her sandals on the bare floors echoed through the cavernous dining room. The billiard room sat vacant and steeped in gloom, and Kate hurried through, rejecting the surge of ghosts that rushed her as she pictured Delilah lurking behind the bar. The only positive thing that had risen out of that strange and disastrous night was Jakome’s friendship. He would be a positive influence in Jude’s life one day, Kate was certain. Jakome might be a nightwalker, but like Gideon, he’d lived in search of morality and struggled with his dark nature. Jude would have the same battle eventually, and when time came, Jakome’s friendship and knowledge would be invaluable.

Sunlight flooded the conservatory, scared off the shadows as Kate stepped into the bright, circular room. All that remained was the magnificent Steinway, the other item the new owners had purchased with the house sale. It looked so forlorn, so forgotten in its graceful niche.

Time to say goodbye.

Cracking her knuckles, Kate seated herself on the bench, lifted the lid, and stared at the gleaming ivory keys. The only tune that came to mind was “Heart and Soul.” Using a single finger, she plunked out the melody, and the solitary notes reverberated, sharp and lonely, through the room.

“Again,” said a soft voice behind her.

Kate startled, heart lurching, then settling in relief. She hadn’t heard Gideon enter the room. He still moved as silently as a phantom, a lingering trait of his shadowed past.

Scooting over to make room for him, she gazed at his profile. He’d come so very close to death, lingering in a coma for almost a week after that bittersweet morning they’d all gathered around his bed.

But something magical had happened in those five silent, melancholy days. Gideon had been restored.

Without a doubt, love, and love alone, had drawn him back from the brink. The doctors could offer no explanation for his miraculous—and abrupt—recovery, but Kate knew, and the instant his lashes lifted and consciousness returned to his face, her own life had begun again.

A delighted smile spread across her lips now as she watched him arrange himself on the bench beside her. His skin was ruddy from working in the sun, as he had for the last two weeks, trying to salvage what he could of his rose garden. He could sustain normal sunburn now. A few silver strands gleamed in the dark hair at his temple; laugh lines crinkled at the corners of his eyes. Beautiful traits of a man in the prime of life.

“Top or bottom?” she inquired, a helpless smile creeping across her lips.

He studied the keys. “I like the top. It’s so satisfying. But since you’ve already started without me, I’ll take what I can get.” He began the bottom accompaniment with his left hand, while his free fingers crept up to caress her hair, sifting through the thick strands at her neck.

Kate shivered and closed her eyes, breathing in the clean, healthy scent of a man’s exertion and reveling in his beloved presence. Joy this potent should be classified an illegal substance.

“Ahem,” he said after a moment of playing the bottom keys. “Jump in any time, Mrs. Renaud.”

“I seem to have lost interest.” She slid an arm around his neck and hungrily met his lips, and passion washed through her like a firestorm. Two months after their marriage, she still felt the shivery anticipation of a bride on her wedding night. Even looking at him across a room turned her knees to jelly, especially if he caught her watching and smiled that secret smile that spoke of intimacy and recognition.

“I know a better duet,” she said, nipping his jaw. “One we can play in the bedroom.”

“Too bad our bedroom’s in a truck, on its way to Washington.” He traced her brow with a fingertip.

“My wife. You’re always beautiful, but happiness renders you devastating.” Kate melted into his kiss, only half-conscious when the sound of footsteps approached behind them.

“Jeez, you two,” Jude said crossly. “You’re going to give me a complex.” He stooped to pick up Ferdinand, who, as a rule, followed the teenager wherever he went. “Dad, I have to ask you a question.” Gideon sighed. “I’ll do my utmost to answer it, Boy Wonder.” “I put the Franciscan’s book and the box with the vial in their own bag.” He pressed his nose against the beagle’s fur, his gaze hidden by a pair of reflective sunglasses. “I was worried it might get lost in the move. So should I pack it in the car, out in the open with my other books and stuff? It makes me so nervous. If anything happens to it…” “Just carry it with you,” Gideon said. “Keep it by your side. It’s your responsibility now, your one chance to choose a different path when time comes. Don’t let anything happen to it, and don’t let it make you crazy.” Jude set Ferdinand down and strode toward the door, then paused and looked back. “What if I don’t ever use it? Will you be disappointed in me if I choose to stay forever like I am?” Gideon’s hand tightened around Kate’s, but his reply sounded unaffected. “I won’t be disappointed, J.

Every man has to live his own life, seek his own happiness.” He glanced at Kate, his expression softening. “Your heart will guide you.”

“If you say so.” Jude let the dog out before him and added, “Martha says to come on, that the movers are done. She’s cranky, so hurry.”

When he was gone, Gideon ducked his head and tenderly brushed his mouth over Kate’s, a moment’s respite before the storm of change. “Ready to start a new life?” She drew a slow, deep breath and nodded. “You know me. Always ready for anything.” “That’s the very thing that made me fall in love with you.” She smiled. “You mean it wasn’t my instant affinity with the supernatural creatures around here?”

“I do have to admit it helped things along,” he said, sliding an arm around her waist. “That and the fact you like to swim naked in the moonlight.”

They sauntered through the empty house together and out into the summer morning, where Gideon could squint at the sun without the cover of sunglasses and revel in its warmth on his face.

As the first of two moving vans rumbled to life and rolled around the circular drive toward the road, he locked the door, handed the key to Martha, and said, “Thank you for seeing to the new owners when they arrive tomorrow. You’re priceless to me, Mrs. Shelton.” Martha hesitated, her eyes filled with warmth and affection behind the sturdy glasses she wore. “And now you will live as you were meant to, Gideon Renaud. Don’t look back, and have no regrets. Life is too short.” “Short and so very, very sweet.” He leaned to brush a kiss against her wrinkled cheek. “We’ll see you in Washington.”

With Kate’s hand clasped in his, Gideon headed for the car where his son sat waiting. And the future stretched out before him, paved with unknowns, promising nothing but Man’s capacity for joy and the radiant kiss of the sun.

The End

About the author:

Writing romance comes naturally to Shelby Reed and has flavored most of her work since she first fell in love with Jane Austen’s stories years ago. She strives to write about real women with contemporary issues, who manage to find love despite the trials and tribulations of today’s single female. When not churning out fiction, Shelby utilizes her B.A. in Art as a portraitist, works part-time as an editor, and considers herself a full-time author since she recently quit her day job to throw herself headlong into writing. She lives in the flavorful deep south with her husband, two rambunctious dogs, and a house full of manuscripts and artwork in various stages of completion.

Shelby welcomes mail from readers. You can write to her c/o Ellora’s Cave Publishing at 1337

Commerce Drive, #13, Stow, Ohio 44224.

Also by Shelby Reed:

A Fine Work of Art

The Fifth Favor

Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.

www.ellorascave.com