Shadow of Suspicion (Haunted by the Past) (27 page)

Sandra’s chest heaved with her rising
emotions. “He could at least have heard me out and let me explain our side of
things. He owed me that much.”

Callie could see nothing she said
affected her mother. She threw up her hands. “I am wasting my time here. You
are completely blinkered! You seem to be unable to see things from other
people’s points of view. You want everyone to agree with your relationship with
Max. It’s not right to expect that.”

“And what right do others have to
inflict their narrow viewpoint on us?” Sandra cried bitterly.

Callie’s shoulders sagged under the
weight of the situation. She couldn’t see a solution. “You’re right in one way.
How you live your life is totally up to you and Max. I just can’t be part of it
and that’s my choice. You’ll simply have to understand that and let me go.”

Callie walked slowly to the door of
the sitting room. She turned to Sandra, one hand on the door handle. “This will
have to be goodbye for us. I’m sorry, but there is really no other option for
me.”

Callie stepped into the hall and shut
the door behind her. She heard Sandra’s wails rising up from inside the room.
Callie closed her eyes and pushed down the guilt that surged forwards. She had
to follow what her own conscience dictated, but she wasn’t sure Sandra and Max
would accept her decision.

Callie was relieved the B&B project
would be finished here soon. It was the last tie to the town that she had. She
just didn’t know what came after it. She needed to speak with Jason. Staying
here was not an option. She hoped he felt the same.

Jason lit the candle and placed it on
the table. He tugged at his shirt collar and hoped Callie would appreciate the
effort he’d gone to. The delicious smell of dinner filled the flat. He owed his
sister big time for helping him to prepare it. Flowers graced the table along
with the candle and everything was set for romance.

Nerves clawed through his stomach. He
thought of the phone call he’d received. He had no idea what Callie would say
to his news. Tonight was a big night. The beginning of the rest of their lives
if all went well.

Jason glanced at his watch. He
wondered how long it would be before Callie returned. He knew speaking with her
mother would not be easy. He hadn’t liked the idea of Callie meeting with
Sandra, but he couldn’t very well stop her. Callie had wanted to help Mitch,
and he could understand why. He hadn’t wanted his young friend to languish in
jail either.

He heard the key in the door. Callie
swept in, her face pale. She stopped short when she saw the table. Tears filled
her eyes and she clamped a hand to her mouth.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Is this
inappropriate?” Jason fiddled with his collar again. “It’s just I had some
things to talk with you about, and I thought you might need cheering up after
speaking with Sandra.”

Callie held up her hand to halt his
words. “It’s wonderful. Perfect! Just like you.”

She crossed the room and kissed him
deeply. Jason held her tightly against him, relishing her warm body pressed to
his. He slipped his tongue into her mouth and she moaned. Jason’s breathing
grew ragged. He pulled away and gazed into her passion filled eyes.

“Maybe we’d best stop there or dinner
and conversation won’t be on the agenda.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Callie smiled, but her eyes were sad.
“I’m sorry. I know we haven’t exactly cemented our relationship physically yet,
it’s just that……”

Jason placed a finger on her lips. “There
is no rush. We have the rest of our lives. I love you, Callie Price. Your
happiness means far more to me than anything else.”

Callie hugged him hard. “You are
incredible. And to think I thought you were rude and boorish when we first
met.”

“Me?” Jason cried in mock horror.
“You mean my natural charm didn’t win you over straight away?”

Callie laughed. “Let’s just say you
grew on me.”

“You make me sound like mould,” he
teased.

She slapped him playfully on the arm.
“Hardly.” Her wide golden eyes regarded him seriously. “You are my rescuer and
the love of my life. However did I get so lucky as to have you come to my aid
when I broke down? Heaven surely smiled down on me that day.”

“Actually, I rather think it’s you
that saved me,” Jason replied seriously. “I didn’t know what love was until you
came along. I’d been existing in a relationship that was nothing but a lie. I
know this has been hard for you, but I am selfishly so glad that you came here,
Callie.”

Callie’s eyes shimmered with unshed
tears. He kissed her again, cupping her face in his hands. The sound of the
smoke alarm broke through the air. Jason jerked. Their dinner!

He sprinted across the room and threw
open the oven door. Big, thick clouds of smoke flooded out. Jason wafted a tea towel
in front of the oven door. He pulled out the beef joint he’d been cooking to
Fay’s instructions. It sat on the rack, a perfect impersonation of a lump of
coal.

“Is everything okay?” Callie called
out to him. He could hear the laughter in her voice.

Jason slammed the roasting tray onto
the work surface. Disgust rolled through him. “How do you feel about a take
away?”

Callie slipped her arms around him
and rested her head on his shoulder. She eyed the lump of beef. “A lot better
than charcoaled beef joint.”

“Oh, ha, ha!” Jason tickled her ribs.
She swatted his hands away, her laughter echoed through the flat. Jason picked
up the meat with two meat forks and dumped it in the recycle bin. He surveyed
the table he’d laid, disappointment lodged in his chest.

“This was supposed to be special.” He
grimaced. “Whatever you do, don’t tell Fay about this. She helped me a lot to
put this together. She was going to stay until I served, but I told her I could
handle it by myself. I’ll never live it down.”

Callie bit her lip, but he could
still hear her struggles not to laugh. “My lips are sealed. Your secret is safe
with me.”

“Highly unlikely. I’m guessing this
is going to be used against me as blackmail for years to come,” Jason joked.

“How well you know me already.”
Callie grinned. She glanced at the table and grasped his hand in hers.
“Seriously, this is wonderful, but I’m actually not that hungry. I’m fine with
just a sandwich and a cup of tea. Sandra kind of knocked the stuffing right out
of me.”

Jason rubbed the back of her hand
with his thumb. He sighed. “I’d hoped to make this evening special. I’ve had
some news today. I’d planned to discuss it with you over a candle lit dinner
for two.”

“I’m intrigued.” Callie raised an
eyebrow. “Care to share?”

“All in good time. We’ll make that
sandwich you wanted first, eh.” Jason grinned. He grabbed the loaf of bread
from the breadbin and pulled two plates out of the cupboard, handing one to
Callie. “How did things go with Sandra?”

Callie grimaced. “Not well.”

She quickly filled him in on their
conversation as she pulled two slices of bread out of the bag. Jason shook his
head. “I am so glad my father is out of that relationship. I just hope he can
see it one day. He is still so cut up. I think he needs to make a clean break.
Living in that cottage is doing him no good.”

Callie grabbed the butter from the
fridge. “Talking of clean breaks and things to discuss, I actually wanted to
talk about something with you.” She cleared her throat. “I will finish the Lazy
Boy project soon and I think we should contemplate what happens after that.”

Jason paused and propped his buttery
knife against his plate. “Are you plugged into my brain? That was what I wanted
to chat with you about. I guess I may as well tell you, now that you’ve brought
it up.” He cleared his throat. “I have a suggestion, but I’m not sure how
you’ll take it.”

Callie cocked her head to one side.
“Go ahead.”

“I should start by saying that I
contacted Jenna.”

Jason had finally told Callie the
entire story behind Adam’s death and Jenna’s breakdown. After everything Callie
had come through, his past didn’t seem so bad anymore. He’d gathered his
courage and tracked Jenna down. It had been way past time for him to apologise
and explain that he hadn’t ever blamed her.

“Really? What did she say?” Callie
leaned against the kitchen counter.

“To be honest, I wasn’t sure she’d
respond to my email, but she called me today. It was really terrific talking to
her again. I’d forgotten how great she is.” Jason smiled. “Would you believe
she’s had her own haunted experience?”

Callie clasped a hand over her mouth.
“No!”

“She bought a haunted house, no
less.” Jason recanted the tale that Jenna had told him, while he and Callie
finished making their food.

Callie sat at the table and bit into
her sandwich. She chewed and swallowed, a thoughtful expression on her face.
“This is amazing. I can’t believe what she went through. I would love to talk
to her. I think we’d get a lot out of speaking to each other.”

“I agree.” Jason blew on his hot tea
and sipped it. ”I think you and Jenna would be great friends. She lives in
Cornwall now, with her husband. I mentioned my garage burnout and she has told
me of a garage that has just come on the market right where she lives. It’s up
for sale for a really great price because the owner is retiring and wants a
quick sale.”

Callie leaned her elbows on the
table. “Go on.”

“I was thinking of putting in an
offer for the garage.” Jason studied her face carefully, but he couldn’t tell
what she was thinking. “Jenna told me that her husband and his friend are
starting work on a big renovation project soon and have several more lined up.
As I told you, they’re builders. She thinks they would love to hire a permanent
interior designer for their project work. She’s going to talk to Kyle about it,
if you are interested.”

Callie cast him a side long glance.
“So, you’re suggesting we move to Cornwall together? What about your dad and
Fay?”

“I would ask them if they would move
with us. Dad needs to get away from here as much as we do. It would be a fresh
start for all of us. What do you think?” Jason held his breath.

Callie tapped her lip with one
fingernail. “I can’t believe you’ve cooked this all up in one afternoon.”

Jason held his hands up. “It’s not
cast in stone. We can change plans if you want. I haven’t even discussed it
with my family yet, but I’m hoping they will jump on board.”

Callie jumped up from her seat and
launched herself at him. Jason caught her as she wrapped her arms around his
neck. She squealed in his ear, almost deafening him.

“You are so on my wavelength!” she
exclaimed. “All I want to do is get the hell away from here. I was going to
speak to you about it and you’ve already found a solution. This is amazing.
What an exciting adventure.”

Jason laughed, relief flooding
through him. “What about London, though. And your friend, Jade.”

Callie sighed and sat back down.
“She’s not exactly happy with me right now. She didn’t appreciate me keeping
her in the dark about everything.”

“Surely she can understand that you
didn’t want to worry her.” Jason shoved another bite of sandwich into his mouth
and chewed slowly.

“I think she does, but I’m all Jade
has. It gave her a terrible fright to think she’d come so close to losing me.”
Callie fiddled with her mug.

“Won’t she be upset if you tell her
you’re moving to Cornwall with me?” Jason didn’t feel comfortable coming
between Callie and the friend he knew meant so much to her.

“Jade isn’t like that. She was thrilled
when I told her about you. She’ll understand that I want to make a new life.”
Callie didn’t look entirely convinced to Jason. She had a little worry crease
in-between her eyebrows.

“Are you sure? We don’t have to do
this or we could ask her if she might like to move down with us.” He
desperately wanted this new start, but he wouldn’t do it without Callie being
totally on board.

“I can ask her, but I doubt she’ll do
it. Jade is a loner. She wouldn’t be comfortable with so many people suddenly
springing up in her life.” Callie reached over and squeezed his fingers. “Don’t
worry about her. She’s a strong, independent person. She’ll visit and as long
as I’m happy, she’s happy too. It’s not like we’re moving to the other side of
the world.”

“If you’re sure.” Jason cocked an
eyebrow at her.

“I’m sure.” Callie raised her mug.
“To our new future together. May it be long and happy.”

“I’ll drink to that.” Jason clinked
his mug to hers and gulped his tea.

“I think I’ve eaten enough.” Callie
sighed and patted her stomach. She cast him a flirtatious glance through her
thick lashes. “You know, I think we ought to take this celebration somewhere much
more comfortable.”

Jason raised an eyebrow. “Are you
suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”

Callie nodded and slipped out of her
seat. She kicked off her shoes and unbound her hair, shaking it free of the
knot she’d had it pinned up in.

“Are you sure you’re ready, Callie?”
Jason didn’t want her to rush into anything. She was far too important to him.

Callie smiled and held out her hand.
“I love you, Jason. I can’t see any reason to wait any longer. I want my life
to be with you. That’s never going to change.”

Jason sucked in a breath and climbed
to his feet. He drew Callie to him and ran his fingers through her silky hair.

“I love you too, Callie. You are the
light of my life. I can’t wait for our new adventure to begin. How long will it
be before you finish with Cunningham’s B&B?” He nuzzled the soft skin of
her neck.

Callie squealed and giggled at the
same time, pushing at his shoulders. He glanced up at her with a lopsided grin.

“I think I can be finished in about a
month,” she laughed breathlessly.

“Then I’ll start making plans. Jenna
has said she’ll help us. She’ll contact the owner of the garage and put in a
good word. Apparently he’s a good friend of theirs.” He swept Callie up in his
arms. “Right now, though, I think it’s time to concentrate on other things.”

“I quite agree.”

Callie wrapped her arms around his
neck and Jason carried her into the bedroom. He kicked the door shut with the
back of his heel and laid her on the bed.

He stared down at her. Never had he
seen a more beautiful woman. She stole his breath from his lungs. Callie smiled
up at him and squirmed on the bed.