Mirror of Shadows (21 page)

“He is?”

“Yes. Marlin found him down at the shelter and brought him home with him. He’s staying up in the studio over the garage.”

“Really?”

“Really. So now that you know where he is, what are you going to do about it?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t do anything and give him the time and space Marlin suggested.”

“I suppose you could do that, but what do you REALLY want to do?”

“I really would like to tell him how incredibly stupid I was and how sorry I am.”

“And?”

“How much I miss him. God, I miss him so much. I didn’t know I could miss a person that much.”

“So what’s stopping you?”

“I’m scared.”

“Scared of what, dear?”

“That he won’t forgive me—that he can’t and won’t ever be able to.”

“That is a scary one, not knowing. But what if…going there and telling him all these things you’re telling me started the process of patching things up? What’s the harm in trying?”

“The harm is it could be too soon and I could push him further away,” Ella said.

“True—that is a possibility, but isn’t love all about taking chances? Throwing yourself out there in hopes they feel the same about you? It’s all about taking that leap of faith.”

“Wait a minute. We’re friends; we’re not in love,” Ella corrected.

“Aren’t you? From where I’m standing it sure looks a lot like love to me,” Meme stated. “Think about it; either way—love or ‘just friends’—you’ll never know unless you try.” There was a pause as Ella considered this. “So you will let me know what you decide or if you need to talk some more?”

“I will,” Ella assured her. “Thanks, Meme.”

“Anytime, sweet-pea, anytime. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

*****

Meme had brought up some good points and also some surprising possibilities. What better way to sort things out in her head than take a walk through the forest as she had attempted earlier before Matt’s unexpected arrival.

Knowing where Jeremy was and that he was safe with the Howards was a huge relief. She had been so worried about where he was she hadn’t really thought what to do when she found him.

Should she do what Meme had suggested and try and apologize again? She thought on this as she made her way through the woods heading to the ruins of Willow’s old home. Meme was right about one thing; if it didn’t go well, she could always try again after some more time had passed. At least she would have tried, and that would let Jeremy know just how awful she felt about what she had said.

But it was the latter part of the conversation that kept creeping back into her thoughts. Was she in love with Jeremy? Had she only dated Matt to get a rise out of Jeremy—maybe to make him jealous? It was quite possible. She had always had a feeling that she and Matt would never really amount to a lot. She hadn’t planned on being hit in the parking lot by Matt, but it had been that very day that she had been so hurt by Jeremy’s declaration about dating.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized she might very well be in love with him. The problem was whether it was one-sided or could he have feelings for her too? That was the million-dollar question. Sometimes it felt as if he truly cared about her beyond friendship, but then other things he did and said made her feel as if he were pushing her away.

By the time she made it to the ruins she was emotionally exhausted. It was late in the afternoon and if she did this quickly, she could be back at the house before it got too dark to find her way in the woods. She stepped into the perimeter of the stone foundation and made her way to the hearth. She spied the indentation and touched it with her good hand, feeling the design around it.

She slipped the necklace off over her head and set the pendant into the indentation, pressing it slightly. She heard the rough grinding of rock sliding against rock and then looked under the keystone of the opening of the fireplace. Lo and behold, a piece had moved; she pulled at it and it slipped into her hand. Only being able to use one hand, she set the piece of stone atop her cast like it was a little holding table and then felt within the secret place. She felt a piece of paper and pulled it out.

She only had the use of the tips of her fingers on her other hand, so she pinched her forefinger and middle finger in the cast to hold a corner of the vellum looking paper. It had an impressive wax seal with a red ribbon coming out the bottom of the wax. It looked very official. The calligraphy of the document was beautiful but it was the title of the document that caught her attention—
Deed
.

This was it. This is what she had seen Willow read in the mirror. This is what Willow wanted her to find, but why? What did it matter now that her children were gone, and why was it so important for Ella to be the one to find the deed?

The questions puzzled her as she quickly made her way back to the house with the deed tucked in her sling. Maybe if she and Marlin put their heads together they could come up with the answers.

*****

Marlin made a call on his cellphone to Jeremy as he headed for the airport.

“
Jeremy, it’s Marlin,” Marlin said.

“Hey. What’s up?”

“I need to ask you to do me a favor.”

“Anything.”

“I need you to tail Matt and keep an eye on him, especially if he looks like he’s going to Ella’s. I have to fly to Redding tonight, but I will hopefully be back by noon tomorrow if all goes well.”

“Redding? California? Why?”

“I need to check on something and if my suspicions are right, Ella might just be in more danger.”

“What’s Matt got to do with it?”

“I think he has everything to do with it, but I need proof.”

“And you think you can get this proof in Redding.”

“Yes, so will you just keep an eye on him and keep Ella safe?”

“Definitely. Why do you think he’ll attempt something now?”

“Meme called and said that Ella and Matt broke up and from the sound of it, it was Ella doing the dumping. I’m not sure how he’s going to react to that.”

“If his ego has anything to do with it, then she is in trouble. I get the impression he’s done most of the dumping in his past, not the other way around.”

“That is my worry,” Marlin admitted.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on things while you’re gone, but I sure would like to get more of the details when you get back.”

“Fair is fair. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you then.”

*****

Jeremy saw the big black truck parked in front of a bar in town. Jeremy thought he should probably make sure Matt was actually inside and hadn’t just parked there for lack of another parking place. He had been in the bar before and knew the layout pretty well. The lighting was kept low and the front door could not be seen from the bar, so his plan was to slip in, confirm Matt was there, slip back out, and wait for him in his truck.

The problem was Matt wasn’t sitting at the bar so Jeremy had to make a sweep of the room. From the booth in which he was sitting, Matt spotted Jeremy. Matt had been drinking heavily and quickly confronted Jeremy by shoving him around.

“Well, if it isn’t the handyman,” Matt said.

“Matt,” Jeremy said.

“Why aren’t you up at Grey Manor getting it on with Ella?”

“You’re drunk. You need to back off,” Jeremy warned.

“You can’t make me do anything. You’re a nobody—you and that tease up on the hill,” Matt said, shoving Jeremy this time up against a table.

“Fine. We’re nobodies,” Jeremy said trying to be agreeable.

“That’s right. Nobody. You deserve one another,” Matt said just an inch from Jeremy’s face. Jeremy didn’t say anything, but he could see the bartender getting nervous and heading for the phone.

“She had the nerve to dump me today, can you believe it? SHE dumped me. Nobody dumps me and gets away with it. Nobody. She’s going to pay. I never liked that little psycho skank anyway.”

“Watch your mouth, Matt.”

“Why? Did the little tease turn you down too? To bad she didn’t die in those little accidents.”

“Shut up, Matt. I’m warning you.”

“
You’re warning me? What a joke. It must have really made you mad when you saved the little wench, but she’d always come running back to me.”

“Shut the hell up!”

“Or what? Are you going to hit me, wuss? You know she was all over me whenever you weren’t around, the whore. She’ll pay though, for dumping me…stupid bitch.”

That’s when Jeremy could no longer control his anger and his fist connected with Matt’s perfect cheekbone. It didn’t knock him down but it certainly surprised him.

“You hit like a girl,” Matt said with a smirk, but a second and third hit landed him on his butt and finally shut him up. The problem was that as the second punch connected, the police walked in so they saw the third one.

Crap
, Jeremy thought as two officers rushed over, cuffed him, and took him once again to the police station. How the heck was he going to keep an eye on Ella if he was in jail?

Chapter 22

Marlin looked over his notes and the photos he had taken of a portrait of Peter Grey in Redding. Marlin’s gut feeling had been right. Peter Owens had made his way to California, settling in Redding and changing his name. Having lived in the woods most of his life, he took up logging. Before long he owned his own logging company and became a tycoon of sorts. Why did he change his name? Because his plan was to make money, avenge his family, and get the land for which his family had died back from the Mortons. Peter Owens was the son of Willow Owens and the great-grandfather to Rose Grey McKaye.

Marlin had the proof he needed to stop the Mortons once and for all. Now he just needed to get back before the Mortons killed another one of the Greys—Ella.

*****

Jeremy knew Marlin was going to be furious with him, but what was done was done. He also knew that Marlin was out of town, so the only thing he could do was call Meme to hopefully bail him out so that he could protect Ella from Matt.

“
Mrs. Howard? It’s Jeremy.”

“Well, hello, young man. How are you?”

“Not well, I’m afraid. I need your help.”

“Of course, child. What can I do?”

“I need you to bail me out of jail.”

“Oh, dear me. What landed you there?”

“I was supposed to be keeping an eye on Matt to make sure he didn’t hurt Ella, but I accidentally ran into him instead and well, I punched him. Three times.”

“Did he deserve it?”

“I’m not sure anyone deserves to be punched, but he said some awful things about Ella and I lost my temper,” he said solemnly.

“Well, that’s good enough for me. I’ll be right down with my checkbook.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Howard.”

“I’ll see you in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. Bye.”

*****

Ella was emotionally exhausted. She headed to bed early with the journal that was in the box of things Marlin had given her. She had decided that first thing in the morning she would head to the Howards’ and try her luck with another apology to Jeremy. She would have done it that night, but she thought the next day could end up being emotionally exhausting if things went bad, so it would be better to go rested.

Her grandmother’s journal turned out to be most revealing and though she had gone to bed around eight that night, she was so engrossed with it that she finished reading around ten. It looked like it was meant to be given to Ella from the very beginning as it addressed her many times.

Rose informed her of a family gift, though some weren’t sure it was such, of seeing and sometimes communicating with the dead through reflective objects. Sometimes it was a mirror, sometimes water, or a window. At first it could be quite frightening, but Rose learned that it was a way to help those who couldn’t help themselves any longer. Her first experience with the gift was with the mirror in the hallway. With time and experience, she could use anything reflective, but she had become partial to the mirror and that is why it had been in a prominent part of the house.

She found later that her father had had the same capability, but he had never shared his experience with her and therefore with its commencement, Rose had been very frightened. It had been Rose’s wish to tell Ella about this gift through the journal so she would not be frightened if or when it happened to her.