ScandalandSin (23 page)

Bella nodded.

“Did he kill Laura Cummins?”

“Don’t say anything, Grandmother.”

Everyone turned at the sound of Rufus’
voice. He barreled into the room, fists clenched at his sides. “You don’t have
to tell them anything.”

A scowl crossed Bella’s face. “Do
not
tell me what to do, Rufus.”

Rufus pointed at the Colemans. “They’re
trying to pass the blame for something their great-grandfather did onto our
family. I won’t allow that.”

Rye tensed, as if he were about to stand
and confront Bella’s grandson, but her words stopped him. “Rufus, it’s time for
the truth to come out. It should’ve come out a long time ago.”

“Grandmother, you—”

“Shut
up
, Rufus.”

With a huff, he sank down in a wingback
chair across from the couch and crossed his legs.

Alaina gently touched the back of Bella’s
hand. “Take your time. No one is going to rush you.”

Releasing her pearls, Bella clasped her
hands together in her lap. “It’s true. My father killed Laura Cummins, after he
raped her. I saw him do it.”

“Why didn’t you tell the sheriff?” Rye
asked gently.

“I couldn’t turn in my father. The scandal
would have destroyed our family.”

“So you let an innocent man be hanged for a
murder he didn’t commit.”

She looked at each of the Coleman brothers.
Alaina could see the regret and sorrow in Bella’s eyes. “I loved Raymond with
all my heart. But he married someone else and I was betrothed to another. I had
to be my father’s alibi. I had no other choice.”

“There’s always a choice, if a person is
brave enough to take it.”

“Okay, that’s enough.” Rufus scowled at
Rye. “You do not take that tone with my grandmother.”

Dax scowled right back. “You afraid if the
truth comes out, you’ll lose your inheritance?”

“You’ve already lost Stevens house,” Rye
said. “Although I don’t understand why that house mattered so much to you that
you offered Alaina three times what she paid for it.”

“What?” Bella asked, the surprise evident
in her voice. Her gaze whipped to her grandson. “Why did you do that?”

Rufus waved away her questions as if he had
better things to do than answer them. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It does to me. Talk to me right
now
,
Rufus Edward.”

He blew out a heavy breath. “Okay, fine. I
intercepted a letter meant for you about a gas lease for the property around
Stevens House. That lease would be worth thousands of dollars every month for
years.”

“You stole my mail?”

“I didn’t
steal
it. I just read it.”

Bella’s face turned red. Alaina shifted
closer to her. She was afraid the woman would have an attack of some kind from
her anger.

Instead of yelling at her grandson, Bella’s
voice was calm and clear. “Get out. I want you out of my house now.”

Rufus couldn’t have looked more surprised
if a two-headed monster appeared in the middle of the living room. “You don’t
mean that.”

“I mean every word I say. Do not come back
unless I call you.”

Rufus stared at his grandmother another
moment, then rose from his chair and stormed toward the door. Rye caught up to
him halfway across the room, grabbing his arm to stop him.

“What do you know about the fire set in
Stevens House last night?”

A cocky smile tilted up Rufus’ lips. “I
don’t know what you’re talking about.” He jerked his arm away from Rye. With a
final look at his grandmother, he left.

Rye returned to his place on the couch next
to Bella. Alaina smiled at him, hoping to cool off his anger. She knew he
didn’t doubt for a moment that Rufus set that fire, or paid someone to set it.
But without proof, they could do nothing.

“Did you find the knife?” Bella asked in a
low voice.

“Yes,” Griff said. “The paintings led us
right to it.”

“Did you take it, Mrs. Olinghouse?” Rye
asked. “After the murder?”

“My father’s clothes were bloody after…what
happened, from Laura’s blood and his own. The hilt of the knife broke when he
st-stabbed her and he cut his hand.”

Alaina moved up to the couch beside Bella
and slipped one arm around her shoulders in support.

“He had no idea I was hiding in the back
hall and could see him. He stripped off his shoes and clothes, down to his
underwear, and bundled the knife in them.”

“Wait a minute,” Rye said. “I thought our
great-grandfather was found at the murder scene with the knife in his hand.”

“That’s what Miriam wrote in her diary,”
Alaina said.

Bella released a heavy sigh. “That’s the
rumor that traveled around town. My father told the sheriff that he’d walked in
on Raymond standing over Laura’s body, holding a bloody knife. The sheriff
believed everything my father said.”

“But there would’ve been an investigation,”
Griff said.

“There was. Raymond’s house was thoroughly
searched. Of course, no one ever found the knife since he never had it.”

Rye ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t
understand how our great-grandfather could have been convicted of murder when
no weapon was found.”

“My father’s word was law in this town. No
one questioned that he’d seen Raymond with the knife. Everyone assumed Raymond
had gotten rid of the knife after he ran out of Stevens House. He was convicted
and found guilty by the people of Lanville before he ever went to trial.”

“Why was he there in the first place?” Dax
asked.

“My father hired Raymond to build more
shelves in the library. Or that’s what he told the sheriff. I don’t know if
that’s true. Maybe he planned the rape all along and used Raymond as the
scapegoat.”

“What happened after your father took off
his clothes?” Alaina asked.

“He changed into clean ones and carried the
bundle out to the woods in back. There were many more trees back then than
there are now. Many of the oaks died over the years from disease.”

“I’m going to plant more.”

“I hope you do.” Bella drew in a breath and
released it slowly. “He buried the bundle beneath a tree. I waited until he’d
left and dug it back up. I took the knife and buried the clothes again. I
wrapped the knife up in a kitchen towel I’d brought with me.”

“Why did you do that?” Dax asked.

“I wanted the truth to come out someday.
The new living room fireplace was being built, so I slipped the knife between
the rocks while the mortar was still wet. No one knew I did it.” She gestured
at the landscapes on the table. “I painted those hoping they would someday lead
to the knife and Raymond would be cleared of the murder.” She clasped her hands
together in her lap again. “I was hoping I’d be dead by then and wouldn’t face
going to prison at age eighty-nine.”

“You don’t have to worry about going to
prison, Mrs. Olinghouse,” Rye said. “Dax, Griff and I will say we found that
knife while remodeling, which is true. There’s no reason your name even has to
come up.”

Tears filled Bella’s eyes. “You would do
that for me, after what I did?”

Dax and Griff both nodded. Alaina squeezed
her shoulders. “The sheriff will send the knife off for DNA testing. Raymond
Coleman will be cleared. That’s what’s important.”

“I’ll pay for any costs. It’s the least I
can do to help.”

“We appreciate that.” Rye looked at his
brothers. “Guess we’d better get back to Stevens House and go to work.”

Dax and Griff gathered up the paintings and
replaced them in their plastic covering. Alaina offered a hand to help Bella
from the couch. She accepted it and followed them to the front door. Her eyes
glittered with tears as she looked at the brothers.

“You’re all such good young men. If I’d had
the courage to stand up to my father and admitted my feelings to Raymond, I
could’ve been your great-grandmother. I would’ve liked that.”

Each Coleman kissed Bella’s cheek. Alaina
thought it was the sweetest thing she’d ever seen.

* * * * *

Rye wouldn’t let Alaina remove the
blindfold until he’d lit the last pillar candle. “Okay, you can take it off.”

Alaina removed the scarf from her head and
blinked. Her lips parted, her eyes widened. “Oh, Rye. This is wonderful.”

Rye had sent Alaina on a list of errands
while he let his mother loose in the turret. Several blankets covered the
floor, making a cushioned spot for their picnic. Candles sat on the window seat
and circled the blankets, casting their soft glow around the area. A feast of
finger foods had been laid out on the blanket, next to two crystal wineglasses
and an ice bucket holding a chilled bottle of chardonnay.

“I can’t take all the credit. My mom put
everything together for me.” He sat down and held up a hand for her. “Join me?”

She placed her hand in his and dropped to
her knees beside him. Her lips met his in a gentle kiss. “Thank you.”

“I could’ve had her do this at my house,
but I thought you’d like it better here.” He looked up at the ceiling. Rain
pattered on the roof. “I like the sound of the rain.”

“So do I.”

Rye removed the plastic wrap from a bowl of
bite-size pieces of roasted chicken. He held up a piece for Alaina to take from
him. She chewed slowly, released a moan of pleasure.

“Yummy.”

Rye took a bite for himself. The chicken
was moist and tender and delicious. “Told you my mom’s a great cook.” He removed
the wine bottle from the ice bucket and picked up the corkscrew. “I have
cousins who own a winery near Fredericksburg. This wine is from their
vineyards.”

Alaina took a sip from the glass he handed
to her. “Very nice. I want to serve my guests locally grown food when possible.
Maybe your cousins would like their wine featured here.”

“I’ll talk to them about it.”

He watched her as he sipped from his glass.
She looked so lovely in the candlelight. He’d known her less than three weeks,
yet had no doubt that he wanted her in his life for many years to come.

Taking her free hand, he tugged her closer
to him. Smiling, she came willingly until she leaned against him, his arm
around her waist. He kissed her neck, the curve of her ear, before his lips
settled over hers. He kissed her slowly, tenderly, in no hurry to rush past
their meal to lovemaking. They had all evening to love each other.

Love. A strong emotion, one that he’d felt
for few people in his life. He’d thought he’d loved Alesia. Now, holding Alaina
in his arms, he knew that what he’d felt for Alesia had been based more on lust
than love.

This—what he felt for Alaina—was the
happily-ever-after, forever kind of love.

He deepened the kiss ever so slightly,
tickling the seam of her lips with his tongue. Her moan urged him to deepen the
kiss even more.

Cold air washed over him. Rye jerked back
at the same time that Alaina pulled away from him. She held up one arm, showing
off her goose bumps.

“I felt it too, Alaina.”

“You did?”

“Yeah.”

The air shimmered in front of the windows.
Rye pulled Alaina closer to his body. He knew she wasn’t afraid of Laura, but
he didn’t know what would happen next. He gulped when the ghost formed a few
feet in front of them.

“Holy shit,” he muttered.

After Alaina found three paintings in the
house, Rye had no choice but to believe that she had help from Laura Cummins’
ghost. Seeing it for real made his head spin. He was thankful to be seated.

“That’s Laura,” Alaina told him over her
shoulder.

“Yeah, I figured that out.”

Alaina moved as if to stand. She relaxed
back into Rye’s arms when Laura motioned for her to remain seated.

“We found the knife,” Alaina said to Laura.

The ghost nodded and smiled. Then she
waved.

“Wait. Are you leaving?”

Laura nodded again.

“Will you be back?”

This time Laura shook her head. She blew a
kiss to Alaina and disappeared.

The cold vanished, the temperature in the
turret returning to the low seventies as it had been before Laura’s appearance.
Rye blinked his eyes, knowing that Laura had actually been here but still
having a hard time believing it.

He looked at Alaina. The sparkle had faded
from her eyes. “You okay?”

“Yes.” She turned to face him and shrugged.
“I know this is silly, but I’ll miss her.”

“It isn’t silly. She’s probably at peace
now, since her murderer was revealed.” He pushed her hair behind one ear. “I’ll
admit I’m more comfortable knowing she won’t be around while we make love.”

The sparkle came back to Alaina’s eyes.
“Are you planning to have your way with me after our picnic?”

“Absolutely.”