Hoaley Ill-Manored (6 page)

Dirk smiled at Edgar. “I can’t thank you
enough for giving me the tour. I really enjoyed it.”

“You’re more than welcome. Now that Mr.
Hoale is here I’ll let him show you around the rest of the place.
I’m afraid these old bones don’t have the stamina they used
to.”

Adam patted Edgar on the shoulder. “Maddy’s
in the kitchen. I think she’s got some tea brewing for you.”

Edgar’s wrinkled face split in a wide grin.
“That sounds lovely.” He tottered off and Adam and Dirk stood
together in uncomfortable silence for a long moment.

Finally Dirk said, “This is a real gem,
Adam. I can’t wait to see it when it’s finished.”

Adam frowned. “I think I just realized what
a huge responsibility I’ve taken on here. This place needs to be
recreated carefully, lovingly. It’s going to take a lot more money
than I’ve budgeted.”

Dirk touched Adam’s face. “I know you’ll do
a wonderful job, Ads. You always do.”

Adam stepped away from Dirk’s magnetic
touch. “You promised not to contact me again.”

“Nope. I promised not to call. I came as
soon as I could get away.”

“How’d you find me? No…never mind. I know
how. Peter told you didn’t he?”

“Don’t be mad at him, Ads. I tortured him
until he gave the information up.”

“Let me guess, you offered him a weekend in
Las Vegas for two?”

“Don’t underestimate the loyalty of your
employees, Ads. He held out for four days and two shows.”

Adam swore softly. He started walking, not
knowing where he was going, but suddenly too restless to stand
still. “You wasted a trip. I’ve told you before, Dirk, I can’t deal
with the stress and worry anymore.”

Dirk grabbed his arm as Adam reached for the
handle to one of the veranda doors. “There’s a very simple
solution, Ads.”

Adam shook off Dirk’s touch again and
wrenched the door open, nearly diving through the doorway. Panic
sluiced through him. He didn’t think he could stand the pain of
another break up.

“Adam, for god’s sake, will you just stop
and listen for a minute?”

Adam whipped around, pushing his face into
Dirk’s. “No! Because there is no solution, simple or otherwise. You
just don’t have it in you to be faithful…monogamous…whatever you
want to call it. And I can’t be anything else. We’re not
compatible, Dirk. We never were. I’m just getting too old to fight
it.” Adam stalked across the slate tiles of the veranda and down
the steps, heading across the rough cut expanse of grass toward the
lake.

Dirk fell in beside him and they covered the
distance to the lake in silence. As they approached the gazebo Mike
the swan did his whole, “Halt! Who goes there!” shtick, spreading
his wings and bobbing his elegant head in a patently aggressive
manner. But when they ignored him he gave up and returned to
pecking at the grass along the water’s edge.

Adam stepped into the gazebo and dropped
onto the bench, feeling suddenly numb. Dirk leaned against the
frame and looked at Adam, his expression tight with emotion. The
silence between them was uncomfortable but Adam didn’t want to be
the one to break it so he stared at his shoes and waited.

“You could trust me.”

The words were spoken in a pain-filled
whisper that cut through Adam like a knife. He closed his eyes and
held his breath, waiting for the pain to stop slicing his heart to
ribbons. “It sounds so easy doesn’t it?”

“It does, Ads. Because it is. I know you
think I’ve been catting around in California. I’ve told you I
haven’t. I never would. Because I love you. All you have to do is
trust me enough to believe that.”

Adam’s laugh was bitter. “Is that all?”

Dirk finally moved inside to sit beside
Adam. The heat of his muscular thigh drove right into Adam, making
his own muscles clench in response. Dirk’s wonderful scent engulfed
him. Their shoulders touched. Adam’s cock filled, inspired by
Dirk’s overwhelming presence. He finally gave in to the need to
soften and let his head lower to Dirk’s broad, hard shoulder. “I
think I hate you a little bit right now, but I’m glad you’re
here.”

Dirk wrapped an arm around Adam’s shoulders
and drew him in, kissing his temple in a soft, lingering touch.
“That’s a good place to start, Ads. Let’s not promise each other
anything right now. No pressure. Let’s just take it a day at a time
and see if we can get you to understand, once and for all, that I’m
in this for the long haul with you. ”

Adam sighed, his fists finally unclenching.
“I’ll try.” He lifted his head and turned, finding Dirk’s handsome
face mere inches from his own. “How long are you back?”

“As long as it takes.” Dirk leaned in,
touched Adam’s lips in an emotion-drenched kiss that made Adam’s
cock jump to full attention, his nipples peaking hopefully. Despite
Adam’s best intentions he opened to the kiss, welcoming Dirk’s
questing tongue in to dance with his.

When Dirk finally broke the kiss, Adam
sighed. He was still stressed, but Dirk’s promise not to pressure
him did make him feel better. Time was what he needed. Time to
figure out if he was strong enough to try with Dirk again.

Adam looked toward the lake. “Where are you
staying?”

“Here, with you.”

Adam’s head whipped around. “Are you
kidding? Did you see the condition of that house? I think there’s a
fairly decent hotel in Ashville.”

Dirk shook his head. “Not a chance. If you
can stay here so can I.”

Adam was torn. After the scare he and Walter
had the previous night he would be glad for the company. But Dirk
wasn’t exactly the camping out type…and then there was the whole
enforced closeness thing. “You’ll hate it, Dirk. You’re not used to
roughing it.”

Dirk stood and reached for Adam’s hand,
pulling him to his feet. “You let me worry about what I can stand,
okay?”

Adam shrugged. “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t
warn you.”

They walked around the outside of the house
and Walter came running up to greet Dirk, tail swishing in
greeting. Adam wished his life could be as uncomplicated as
Walter’s. Anybody who talked nice to him, fed him, scratched his
belly, or played with him was a friend. So simple.

Dirk picked up a stick and threw it and
Walter went loping off, tongue lolling with unrestrained joy. “I
think Walter missed you too.”

They shared a smile.

The front door slammed and Bud came trotting
down the steps toward them. The big man had a plain, ruddy face and
graying brown hair that curled around his head. As usual, he was
all business as he approached them. “Pete just called, he’ll have
the crew out here in the morning. We’re going to start the easy
stuff that doesn’t need a permit.”

“Good. I’ll head into town this afternoon
and get the paint. As soon as Maddy finishes with her design
plan.”

The two men shared a long-suffering look.
Maddy was notoriously negligent about completing her reports.

Bud glanced at Dirk. “Welcome back.”

Dirk shook the big man’s hand. “It’s nice to
see you again, Bud.” And the way Dirk looked at Adam’s foreman, Bud
believed it. Adam fought a quick jolt of jealousy. Dirk was used to
dealing with the public, and he treated everyone with kindness and
gentle interest. It had made him very popular with the fans who
continually approached him. It was also one of the things that made
Adam so damn insecure.

Bud addressed Adam. “You need to come up in
the attic with me. There’s something you have to see.” Bud’s hazel
gaze held Adam’s. It was filled with something that made Adam
uncomfortable.

Adam glanced toward Dirk. Remembering the
sounds he’d heard the night before, Adam had a bad feeling about
what Bud had found in that attic. He held his lover’s gaze for a
moment, wanting to dissuade Dirk from accompanying them. The last
thing he wanted was for Dirk to decide it was too dangerous there
and try to drag him away.

Dirk returned Adam’s look with a direct one
of his own and said, “Good. I haven’t seen the attic yet.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Thank heavens, at least there wasn’t a noose
hanging from the rafters. Adam’s gaze slid to the thick, center
beam high overhead as soon as he climbed out of the stairwell and
entered the large, unfinished attic.

The space was stifling, despite the fact
that Bud had opened a couple of the high, small windows which Adam
had thought were purely for decorative and illumination purposes. A
warm breeze filtered across the wide, open space, sending dust
mites spiraling in the sun-drenched air.

Aside from the usual detritus of a long
abandoned building scattered across the rough, wood floor, the
attic room was empty. A few scraps of insulation littered the dusty
surface, and bird poop painted the walls and floor in thick, white
drops. In one corner, nestled into the shadows, a couple of animal
traps lay rusting. After Edgar’s stories, Adam’s eye sought the
slight difference in wood grain and color of a large rectangle in
the very center of the space, just beneath the center beam of the
roofline. When he looked up, he thought he could still see the
faint marks of rope rub in the age-darkened wood. He knew that had
to be his imagination working overtime.

Ascending the stairs just behind Adam, Dirk
whistled when he saw the room. “This has to be the biggest attic
I’ve ever seen.”

Bud nodded, “I came up here to see if there
was room to store some of our supplies while we work. As you can
see, once I cleaned out about ten years worth of junk and garbage
there’s plenty of room.” He grinned.

Adam’s phone rang. He glanced at the ID and
showed it to Dirk.

Dirk smiled. “Tell him hi.”

“CC, old buddy, what’s up?”

“Hoale. I heard you were flipping an old
wreck of a house near Ashville.”

“Detective Clandestine, you have absolutely
zero romance in your soul. Bilsworth Manor is approximately two
hundred years of pure, American history. She’s an elegant lady
whose skirts are currently slightly tattered…”

“Yeah, whatever. Is Dirk there with
you?”

Adam frowned as jealousy’s dirty fingernails
scraped down his spine. Though he knew perfectly well CC wasn’t
gay. “He is. He arrived this morning. Why didn’t you call him on
his
cell?”

“I don’t have his number.”

Adam handed Dirk his phone, lifting an
eyebrow in question.

Taking the phone with a grin, Dirk
whispered, “I got post-premier party tickets for him and his
girlfriend. I’ll explain later.”

Nodding, Adam looked at Bud. “What did you
want to show me?”

He jerked his head toward a back corner.
Adam saw a box he hadn’t noticed before. It appeared to be some
kind of wooden storage box with a hinged lid.

Bud pulled up the lid and Adam looked
inside. Folded carefully on top was a rough blanket of either black
or dark blue. It was hard to tell because the blanket was thin and
old, made of rough wool. Adam pushed it gently aside. Beneath the
blanket was a yellowed pillow without a case and a pair of really
large, scuffed boots. “Looks like our previous tenants left some of
their things behind.”

Bud reached in and grabbed the boots. He
turned them over and held them up for Adam to see. “You know what
that is?”

Dirk rejoined them, handing Adam his phone
back. “It looks like paint.”

Bud pointed to something light green and
feathery sticking out from the laces. “And this?”

Adam took the boot and carried it to the
light. “Moss?”

Bud nodded. “This boot was worn recently.
That moss would be dry if it had been in this box for two years,
which was when the house was last inhabited…legally.”

Dirk shrugged. “So you had squatters. Not
too surprising since the house has been empty for two years.”

Adam frowned. All he could think about was
the scratching and thumping he’d heard the night before.
What if
he hadn’t been alone in the house?

“Is it just me or does that paint match the
paint on the gazebo?” Bud asked.

Adam touched it and found it slightly
sticky. “This paint is fresh.” He looked at Dirk. “Shit. I heard
noises last night. I think this guy was up here.”

Dirk frowned. “We should probably call the
police.”

Shaking his head, Adam dropped the boots
back into the box. “No. Like you said, it’s probably just some bum
who’s been squatting here. He just needs to be told he can’t stay
in the house anymore.”

“You want me to get rid of this stuff,
boss?”

Adam thought about it. “No. Leave it. I’ll
go through it more carefully later. Dirk will be staying here with
me for a few days. Between us and Walter we should be able to keep
the house secure.”

“Have you changed the locks yet?” Dirk
asked.

Adam shook his head. “No.”

Dirk nodded, pulling out his cell. “That’s
the first order of business.”

Bud started out. “I’ll leave you to it then.
I have lumber being delivered in a bit. And I’m going to sit with
Maddy and help her finish her design report.”

Adam smiled. “Thanks, Bud.”

Adam replaced the boots in the bottom of the
box and pulled the blanket and pillow over them, uncovering a few
cans of soup, a battered pot, and some plastic ware in a plastic
bag. Nestled into the corner was a large bottle filled with water.
When he lifted the bottle he saw a ring on the bottom of the box.
Touching it, he discovered it was still wet.

“Looks like somebody made himself right at
home.”

Adam looked up, nodding.

Dirk touched his face. “You’re worried about
this, aren’t you?”

Adam closed the box and stood, wiping his
hands on his jeans. “I’m just a little spooked knowing the guy was
in the house last night.”

Dirk reached out and pulled him close,
sliding his hands into Adam’s back pockets and placing a tentative
kiss on his lips. “Tonight we’ll be alone.”