Carly Phillips - Lucky Break

She still hadn’t heard from him, but now that she knew there’d been a fire in the house, she was certain he’d received her message and targeted the electrical box. Unfortunately he hadn’t been smart enough to use a decent accelerant. At least she’d chosen gasoline to set fire to The Wave. Unfortunately she’d been so beside herself worrying about her grandmother losing the election, she’d had a breakdown, causing her to get caught red-handed.

Beth clenched her teeth so hard her jaw ached. She still couldn’t believe she hadn’t been able to hold it together, but that was the past. In the lucid months she’d spent in here, she’d realized she was the sole remaining Perkins who believed. It was a huge responsibility. One she’d live up to. She’d never make such a foolish mistake again.

Success depended on planning. And Beth had a plan. With the construction on the new wing complete, she couldn’t count on seeing her lover again. She had to get in touch with him one last time. Because he had to get her out of here.

She was reaching her breaking point and she didn’t know how much longer she could keep up the catatonic charade. She thought she’d covered her shock over seeing Jason Corwin. She wasn’t so certain about her reaction to Lauren’s news about the hidden diary.

Why hadn’t her grandmother told her about the journal? Grandma had made sure Beth knew about the diamonds, so if she ever needed a safety net, she had only to find the valuable family jewels.

Oh well. Beth couldn’t figure out the mind of a dead woman, but that journal might contain more of a clue than Lauren realized as to where the diamonds were hidden.

The heart of the house.

What the hell did that mean? Beth had to figure it out, and to do that she needed to get her hands on that journal. She didn’t know where Lauren was keeping it, but it had to be in the house.

She definitely didn’t trust him to find the diary for her. She needed to read it herself, to see if she could make sense of the words. And she needed to solve the mystery and find the diamonds first. Before her too-curious sister got herself involved in something she couldn’t possibly handle.

LAUREN THOUGHT she knew what exhaustion was, but not even the manual labor on the house could compare to the mental drain from visiting her sister with Jason by her side. Her cheeriness had been even more forced than usual. Her stories more intense.

And all the while his focus hadn’t been on Lauren. He’d been eyeing her sister, watching her intently. The pressure of wanting Jason to accept Beth, weaknesses and all, had worn on Lauren in unexpected ways.

Why did she care what he thought?

She was afraid to explore the reasons too deeply. Because she already knew. In the end, that reason played to her deepest fear.

Rejection.

Lack of acceptance.

By now she should be an expert at letting such things roll off her shoulders. Mother, father, sister, grandmother. All had turned their backs on her in one way or another. Which was why Jason’s earlier question had hit her where it hurt most. In the heart she no longer let anyone get close enough to touch.

He was right. No one in her family would do for her what she’d done for Beth.

Lauren wished like hell the truth changed her perspective but it didn’t. She still felt responsible for pushing Beth into her grandmother’s clutches and she’d do whatever she had to in order to make up for that. She already had.

And she’d survive her time in this town, her time with Jason, by regrouping. Wrapping her independence around her like a shield. If that meant distancing herself from him, so be it.

When he pulled into the driveway, she turned to him, wondering how to tell him.

“I appreciate you taking me with you.” He stretched his arm over the back of her seat and leaned in close.

The sympathy in his eyes unnerved her, making it more difficult to find that distance she needed. “I just wanted you to see for yourself.”

He inclined his head. “I’m glad I did.”

Without warning, a thud sounded and they both jerked their bodies in the direction of the sound.

Trouble had landed on the hood of the car and curled up in a ball.

“Silly cat. Look how he glares at us.” Lauren watched the feline, who stared back through golden eyes.

Jason cut the engine. “Speaking of staring, I watched your sister carefully today.”

Lauren bit the inside of her cheek. “I noticed.”

“But when you talk to Beth, you don’t look at her.”

He’d caught that? “Because it hurts too much. Can you blame me?”

His expression softened. “Of course not.” He brushed her hair off her shoulder, toying with a few strands. “But maybe there are things you’ve been missing.”

Wariness crept through her. “Such as?”

“She does have reactions.”

“I know. And I told you what the doctors said. It’s her body’s normal response.”

His hand grazed her shoulder and remained there. “What if it’s more than that?”

“I don’t know what you’re getting at, so can you stop beating around the bush and get to the point?” She already sensed she wouldn’t like what he had to say.

“It seemed to me that Beth responded to specific things you said. They weren’t just random movements.”

“Such as?”

He drew a breath. “It started when you brought up the diary. Facial tics and gestures. It got worse when you started to talk about looking into what kind of offerings were used to place the curse.”

Lauren’s throat swelled with emotion as his words proved what her heart feared. “I’m really disappointed in you, Jason. You only saw what you wanted to see. A crazy woman reacting to that damn curse.” Her arms suddenly felt as if they weighed a ton and it was hard to lift them. Her entire body hurt, she realized.

“I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Lauren shook her head. “That’s okay. You’re entitled to your feelings. Besides, you just reaffirmed what I was about to tell you.”

He drew back his shoulders, stiffening in preparation. “Go on.”

“I’m tired. I want to go inside and take a nap.”

Relief crossed his handsome face. “You want to take the afternoon off? That’s fine.” He checked his watch. “There’s not much left of the day anyway. Let me send my guys home. We can relax and order in dinner and pick up work tomorrow when you’re feeling better. I’ll even give you a massage,” he promised in a suggestive, teasing voice.

She shook her head before she could take him up on his tempting offer. “I can’t. I’d rather…I mean, I need to be alone.”

He raised his eyebrows, surprise etching his expression. “Okay, I’ll finish work while you rest. Then-”

She jerked her head back and forth once more. “Please, just go home for the night. We’ll get back to work tomorrow.” She had to force out the words.

He reared back as if she’d slapped him. “Don’t do this. Don’t pull away. We can work through this together.”

Lauren clenched her fists, letting her nails dig into her palms, drawing courage from the pain. “Why are you so sure Beth is reacting to specific things? To the curse?”

“Because I saw her with my own two eyes?”

He reached for her hand but Lauren refused to let him touch her. “Beyond that. Why would Beth react to mention of the curse?” she asked, rephrasing.

Jason rolled his eyes. “Don’t make me go there,” he said in a firm voice.

“I have to. Answer the question. Why do you think that my sister Beth, my grandmother Mary’s granddaughter and assistant, would react to recent news of the curse and offerings?” Lauren pushed him.

She wanted to hear him say it.

“Fine.” He leaned in close. “Because she believes in that curse with every fiber of her being. Because she hates my family and wants the legacy of the curse to continue.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s a damned Perkins, that’s why,” he said, his voice raised. “Are you happy now?”

Lauren’s eyes filled with tears. No, she wasn’t happy. But she was right. He’d never truly be able to accept Beth. Which meant he’d never truly be able to accept Lauren, either.

LAUREN HAD BAITED HIM, Jason thought. And even knowing she was setting him up so she could push him away, he’d allowed her to manipulate him anyway.

“Idiot!” he said, stamping his foot.

Fred lifted his head and let out a lazy howl before laying his head back on the floor. As soon as his uncle saw Jason’s car pull into the pathway to the barn, Hank walked The Fat Man over.

Jason knew he was in trouble the moment he realized the old barn felt less like his home than the Perkins house. Things only went downhill from there. Sleeping with gas-producing Fred wasn’t the same as sleeping with Lauren and her snoring cat, and Jason woke up in a pissed-off mood.

When his doorbell rang, he answered without looking to see who was there. The freezing November air hit him as soon as he cracked open the door.

“Hey, cousin,” Mike said, walking inside.

Jason slammed the door shut behind him.

“I stopped by the house but Lauren said I’d find you here. So I left Amber there to help out and here I am.”

“What are you guys doing out here so early?” Jason asked, knowing Mike and Amber lived an hour away in Boston. Even Amber didn’t normally arrive until eleven on her day off.

“I have news,” Mike said. “I wanted to run that check for you earlier but I’ve been on a case and haven’t been able to breathe until now.”

Jason waved away the apology. “It’s fine. What have you got?”

“I didn’t want to tell Amber without you there.” Mike reached into his back jeans pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper. “Your plumber has an interesting background.”

Jason grabbed the paper, scanning the page. He didn’t have to look far. “Last job before JR Plumbing was at the Bricksville Correctional Institution.” Jason’s hands began to shake. “Are you kidding me?”

Mike shook his head. “He worked on the crew building the new wing. To do that he had to be prescreened. I ran a criminal check anyway and he’s clean. But-”

“I already know the but,” Jason said. “Bricksville is the facility where Mary Beth Perkins is currently being held.”

“Bingo. And the construction, which was recently completed, bordered the psychiatric wing of the prison,” Mike said.

Jason drew a deep breath. “I saw the wing yesterday when I went with Lauren to visit her sister.”

Mike let out a low whistle. “Visiting relatives? That’s something you only do for love.”

Jason shot his cousin a warning glare. “Let’s not discuss it, okay?”

Lauren had already decided her sister provided one very convenient barrier to any serious relationship. And now he had to go tell her their plumber friend, Brody Pittman, had ties to the same prison ward where her sister was being held. The same unresponsive sister Jason could swear had reacted to the subject of the Corwin Curse.

Coincidence?

After testing positive for drugs he knew he’d never taken, Jason no longer believed in the word.

CLARA FELT the evil before she reached the house. Poor Lauren. No wonder she’d looked so stressed and uptight. Her special herbal blend of tea would work wonders to help her relax, Clara thought. A cleansing ceremony might also fix what ailed both Lauren and the house. She’d have to judge once she stepped inside.

Lauren met Clara at the door with a warm greeting. As they entered the house, a black cat skirted past her. Clara watched him go, unfazed by superstition.

“That’s Trouble,” Lauren said, gesturing to the furry feline.

“I take it he’s earned his name?” Clara asked.

“And then some.” Lauren smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. Clara wondered if there was more than the stress of the house wearing on her. If Lauren wanted to confide, Clara would provide an opening and then a shoulder to lean on.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get over here last week like I promised but the shop got busy.” Clara shrugged off her coat and Lauren hung it in a nearby closet.

“That’s okay. We took an unexpected trip and we weren’t here. But I’m glad you’re here now.” Lauren shut the closet door. “Let’s go into the kitchen. Follow me.”

Clara did and found herself in a cheery room that defied the negative energy in the house. Yellow curtains hung on the windows, dark cherry cabinets and hunter-green granite countertops indicated the room had been recently redone. “I love cooking and this is a beautiful place to work,” she marveled.

Lauren nodded. “My grandmother didn’t spend much time in here but this was one of the few rooms she kept up. I think it was because she enjoyed having a cook prepare her meals.”