Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

Her mind was reeling from what Gage just told her. And if she was following the conversation correctly, it was because he had used the address when he bailed her out.

Janet never mentioned anyone living in the old house. She also never mentioned that Gage bought it from them. She just assumed that when they left, they left everything behind.

That clearly wasn't the case.

Knowing no one lived there made her feel marginally better. It was the rest of what he told her that was screwing with her head.

"Dig into any connections between those working at the county jail and members of the Hell Raisers. I haven't used that address for anything except the bail paperwork in over fifteen years. That can't be a coincidence." He thanked whoever was on the other end of the conversation and hung up.

"Your mother never mentioned you owned their house."

She hadn't meant for the statement to sound accusatory, but it did even to her own ears.

"It wasn't something we ever talked about after I did it. They weren't happy when I purchased it. I think they wanted to forget our hometown as much as I did."

"So then why did you buy it?"

It made no sense. Why would he spend his hard-earned money on a house he never liked?

"I'm not sure. It was an impulsive decision at the time. We fought about it, but in the end they respected my decision and we promised never to talk about it again. And we haven't."

It still seemed odd to her, but she would drop it. Based on the look on his face, Gage didn't want to be questioned any further on the topic.

"You think it was the Hell Raisers?"

"I don't see how it could be anyone else. No one knew about me owning my parents’ place, and in the seventeen years since I've owned it, nothing has ever happened. Then suddenly I use the address on the bail paperwork and that night it gets shot up? Happenstance? I think not."

"Did you want to go check the house out?" she asked.

It was the middle of the night but she was wide awake. There was no hope she would get back to sleep anytime soon, not when she’d slept so well already. Gage's muscular thigh was surprisingly comfortable, even if that wasn't how she planned the night to go.

She remembered nodding off and leaning over onto his shoulder somewhere around the halfway point of the movie. She tried to move when she realized what she had done but Gage gently pushed her back down and made sure the two of them were comfortable. Clearly she fell into a deep sleep after that because her head was in his lap when his phone woke the two of them up.

"No, I'll send a cleanup crew to check it out and see if it's salvageable. If not, I'll have it torn down like I should've done years ago. I would prefer we stay here."

"I agree, but do you think there's any chance we could at least go to my car so I can get my stuff?"

While she appreciated the owner of the house providing the basic toiletries, she wanted her own clothes and deodorant. The simple things.

Gage cursed. "I didn't even think about your stuff. I'm so sorry."

She figured that was the case. A lot had happened since she called him; emotionally they had been through the wringer since getting back into each other's lives. It was understandable that her belongings weren't his first thought.

"It's okay. This place has every basic necessity a person could need, but I prefer my own clothes." She pulled the shirt she assumed was Gage's away from her body slightly. Not that wearing his clothes was a bad thing, she did it a lot as a teenager, but it was a level of intimacy she wasn't sure they were at yet. She didn’t want to jump to conclusions when they were still on rocky ground.

"I'll send someone to get your car this morning."

A dozen questions popped into her head, starting with who were these magical people he was calling upon and how did he know them? Gage hadn't stepped foot in Pennsylvania since he moved away, as far as she knew, and yet, he appeared to have unlimited resources available. How was that possible?

The questions would have to wait though because he was on the move.

"Where are you going?"

"I've got calls to make. Why don't you try to get some more sleep?"

Fat chance of that happening.

"I'll find something to keep me busy. If I go back to sleep now, I'm going to wake up cranky."

Gage smiled at her. "Some things never change." He walked out of the living room before she could pull her jaw up off the floor and give him a response.

It was such a small detail for him to remember after all these years. And the fact that he did made her feel like maybe there was hope for them. His attitude had changed so much in less than twenty-four hours but she wasn't ready to set her expectations too high. They still had a lot of things to work through, and they needed to do it when emotions weren't all over the place.

Dani considered going outside to sit on the front porch. The swing was one dreams were made of, but after Gage's reaction yesterday, she thought better of it. It was clear someone was after her, and while she figured this place was safe, she wasn't about to push her luck.

She decided to explore the first floor a little more. Besides the living room, kitchen, and bathroom, she hadn't taken the time to see what other rooms were here. Everything about the house seemed new. Just like with her bedroom upstairs, the rest of the house was meticulously decorated in the latest farmhouse fashion. She wanted to ask the owner who the designer was so that she could hire them in the future.

Not now obviously, since she was between homes. If one could call the apartments she bounced between “homes.” It wasn't that she didn't want to settle down but she had yet to find where that would be. Nothing felt right. She would get restless after a few months and feel the need to move on to a new place.

Janet said it was normal, that not everyone was meant to live in the same place their entire lives. She wasn't so sure. Back in high school she had known exactly what kind of house she wanted for herself when she was ready. But those plans were made with Gage. Maybe that was why nothing felt right. He was the missing piece.

Dani wandered into a small room off the mudroom. One wall was nothing but floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out into the backyard and the opposite wall was lined from wall to wall with books. She pulled a book from the shelf expecting it to be nothing more than decoration but was surprised to see the creases in the spine that hinted at someone spending quality time actually reading it. And it wasn't the only one. She walked from shelf to shelf and they were all the same.

The rest of the house might look like no one lived there but this room told a different story. Someone spent a lot of time with these books and it made her wonder who that person could be. Who could just leave them here while others used the house?

The books were separated alphabetically by author. She ran her finger along the G's and was surprised to find her favorite indie author among the list. Not a lot of people gave independent authors a chance.

She snagged the well-loved book off the shelf and moved to the oversized chaise lounge. It was the kind with super soft upholstery that felt like a blanket. An actual pink chenille blanket hung decoratively across the back and side. It gave the off-white chaise the perfect pop of color.

Dani snuggled up in the corner of it and pulled the blanket around her. If she had to describe the perfect reading corner in a house, this would be it. When things settled down, she was calling Gage's boss and asking him who routinely stayed here. Then she was going to beg that person to be her friend so they could have their own book club. Whoever it was had great taste.

It didn't take long for her to get lost in the world of reading and shut everything else out. And that was exactly how Gage found her hours later when he finally re-emerged.