Fated, A Timeless Series Novella (A Timeless Series Companion Novel) (24 page)

I closed my eyes and hoped the time would pass quickly.

“Bye, Colt!
” Shelly waved as she
walked out into the arrivals lounge
.
I managed a reluctant smile, then turned back to
Callon who was pushing our luggage cart
.
I’d spent most of the flight pretending to be asleep, much to her dismay, though we’d gotten stuck together
in
immigration. She
’d been
sweet
and everything, but I just wasn’t interested.
Not this time.

Hey,
who’s the hottie
with the blonde hair
?

I spu
n around. Daniel was
waiting for us, wearing his trademark fedora.
Callon sto
pped
beside him,
and folded his
arms
.

Shelly, wasn’t it?
Callon’s
lips twitched with amusement.
Though it seemed you didn’t capitalize on your good fortune.

I snorted.

What’s
that supposed to mean
?
Just because she didn’
t give me her number…

Daniel’s eyes widened.

W
hoa
, seriously? You’re losing your touch, Colt!

I grabbed the cart
and pushed it
towards
the exit
.

Oh, knock it off, both of you.
She wasn’t my type.

Daniel snorted.

Pfft, since when? Every girl is your type…

Though I
grinn
ed in reply
,
I knew Daniel wasn’t far wrong.
Had I met that woman back when I was traveling, I’d have happily flirted with her
, maybe even treat
ed
her to a dinner or something
.
But things
had become
different
since I’d met Cheyenne
. It was as if
no one
else
would ever meet my expectations anymore. I didn’t want a meaningless fling, or a bit of harmless fun.
For the first time
in my life
I’d
forged
a strong friendship with a girl, and it had changed everything. Cheyenne
had become
a part of me, something I could never erase. And that day I’d left her,
I’d caught a glimpse of what the future could hold for
us.
I wanted that vision here in the present.

And once this week was over, I was going to make it happen.

It was a long, quiet drive to the O’Shea estate.
Callon had been silent, his eyes closed as he sat in the front.
Both Daniel and I hadn’t attempted to make conversation since leaving the airport, unsure of what was going through his head.
He
had been
gone
a very long time, but even then I knew how powerful memories could be.

Especially Callon’s.

By the time we entered the gates, a
small patch of sunshine
had
slipped through the clouds.
I tensed, waiting for the short-lived jolt of the enchantment to hit me, but oddly it never did.

I can
’t feel the enchantment anymore. H
as it weakened that much?

Daniel
kept quiet, concentrating on driving. I frowned. He’d sounded so desperate over the phone,
begging
us to come
over
as soon as we could. I
had to
wonder what he’d been up to in our absence.

The manor loomed, its aged exterior drab and lifeless.
Even with the vines trimmed back, the trees pruned and the marble fountain spotless, the place had no vibrancy.
It was an old forgotten building,
filled with a chilling emptiness, and not at all the warm, welcoming house I’d grown up in.
How Daniel had
been able to
stay here all th
e
se years was a mystery to me.

That would have to change,
though,
and I knew Cheyenne would help with that.
Her loving spirit would lift the dark grief that had plagued our ho
use
, and we could start everything afresh.
Sure, we’d have to protect her and limit her freedoms, but she wouldn’t be lonely.
And maybe at last we could leave the past where it belonged and move on.

Callon
remained
quiet as
Daniel parked the car in the front turnabout
. Without a second glance he opened the door and stepped out
onto the gravel
. I followed, joining him
next to the massive fountain. The
trickle
of flowing water was soothing
,
and I
caught a small chip at the bottom
of the stone
. It brought on a grin. That had happened a while ago, when Callon and I had had a wrestling match
to prove who was strongest
.
Somehow he’d still beaten me, though I’d had the last laugh when I’d pushed him into the water.
Dad had been less than pleased…

“I’ve been getting
the place completely
renovated
,” Daniel said
, nodding to the front door
. “
Should still feel like
home
, though.”

Callon nodded slowly
.
His silence unnerved me.
Back during those horrible years after Dad’s death, he
’d
been exactly like this.
And he was always so unreadable. You could never tell what was going through his mind.
That had proven almost fatal that night when Daniel and I had found him in his room, unconscious.
I definitely didn’t want to go through any of that again.

As Cal
lon stood there, staring, I clas
ped his shoulder.

You okay?

C
allon didn’t answer right away.
E
ventually he sighed.

I’ll be alright.
Give me a minute.

I nodded and let my arm drop. I could only imagine what was going on inside his hea
d
.
He’d vowed to never set foot here again, to lock away the guilt and sorrow that had almost drowned him.
Now he’d returned, the head of the O’Shea household and leader of the Consilador, and had to face those darkest moments once more.
I
didn’t
env
y
the amount of responsibility he had to bear.
I just hoped
it
wouldn’t be too much.

Suddenly Callon strode towards the door, his back straight and shoulders squared.

“
Let’s do this,” he said.

Daniel and I nodded at each other, then followed in his step.

Callon
pushed the black door open, and the
comforting
scent of wood and citrus brushed past.
The place seemed in good condition.
I dropped my bag near the staircase and looked around.
There were new carpets and
furniture
, but some of the original
paintings and mirrors were
still around.
The chandelier hadn’t changed, either, alt
hough it had electric lights
instead of candles.

“You’ve done a good job, Daniel,” I said.

“Well, Ryan did most of it,” Daniel admitted. “I
mostly
set things up for Cheyenne’s arrival.”

“Oh?” Callon asked, inspecting the fireplace. A new grate had been fitted and the
charred
bricks replaced.

“
Of course!” Daniel pointed
towards the sitting room. “I
got
stuff for her room, and
even pulled down the instruments from storage and had the piano tuned.
She’ll love that.
”

Callon muttered
something
to himself, but I didn’t quite catch it.
He continued to wander around, as if to re-orientate himself.
Daniel and I followed, unsure of what to expect.
He seemed alright so far. At any rate he’d dropped the teasing routine, which was a relief. It really didn’t suit him.

Daniel walked ahead, leading us to the kitchen.

“The builders are almost done with the remodeling here,
too,
” he said, gesturing to the black granite worktops and
mahogany
cabinets.

“Wow,
looks sleek
,” I said; I remembered when we had the
veneer
look
from the nineteen thirties
.

“It was pretty bad,” Daniel said, leaning on a worktop. “
We
still had the workbench and coal pit. Kinda out of place next to t
he microwave and fridge. So they’ve installed
a new oven,
an
eight-kn
ob gas cooker, and replaced the cast iron stuff with stainless steel.”

“You
’ve lived here in the last twenty years, and you
never thought to get
this
sorted
out
before
?” Callon asked.

Daniel rubbed the back of his neck.

“Well, I
lived on
take-outs
most of the time
,” he said. “Didn’t really th
ink to get the
place modernized.
Aside from the microwave, of course.
”

Callon sighed.

“At least it’s done,” he said.
He stepped towards the terrace doors. “Now
then
, care to tell me how you destroy
ed
the enchantment?”

I blinked.
Where had that come from?

Daniel paled.

“I-I didn’t…”

“Daniel,
don’t lie.”

“
But
I didn’t mean to
!” Daniel protested. “I
t was an accident, I just…”

Callon held up his hand, and Daniel fell quiet.

“
I don’t really care
about your excuses
,”
he
said. His voice was
level
.
“
The enchantment can only be broken by one of our family’s blood, and last I checked, you were the only O’Shea here.”

Daniel gulped.

“I’m sorry Callon, I was only trying to take some of the burden off you. You’ve been under so much stress and I know you never wanted to come back
, so
…”