“No,” she lied.
He studied her face with concern for another moment, then kissed her and rose, heading for the bathroom. When she heard the water running, she was tempted to race in and join him. Maybe that would wash away the remnants of the dream, still clinging to her like a miasma of fear.
Her foot itched, and she reached down to scratch it. Her fingers touched something gritty, and she looked down.
Her feet were dirty, as if she had been running around barefoot on raw earth.
In a cemetery?
Without further thought, she ran in and joined Aidan in the shower. He might have been surprised, but he certainly didn’t protest. She slipped into his arms and let the water beat down on them. When he held her, she could forget the dreams in the magic of reality.
It was good just to stand in the hot shower, wet flesh sliding against wet flesh, knowing nothing but the sheer physical pleasure of making love.
Eventually they had to get out. He got dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, and headed downstairs to meet the workmen, while she dried her hair.
As soon as he was gone, she reached into her bag and found the diary she had stuffed in it when she packed.
She could tell by the aroma wafting up the stairs that he had made coffee. She went downstairs, poured herself a cup, then headed up to the attic and the rocker where she had liked to sit and read when Amelia was alive.
Jeremy and Zach arrived just minutes after the workmen. Aidan met them downstairs, and they looked over the contractor’s schedule again. The electricity would be off all day Monday, as would the water. By the end of the week, though, except for a bit of detail work, the house would be done according to the work plan. A new kitchen, something they would want eventually, would take another week, at least, at a later date, since all the appliances, counters and cabinets would have to be special-ordered. And a cleaning crew had been scheduled to come in and spiff up the stables, which were being called into use for the party.
Just as they finished speaking, a car came up the drive. Aidan, shielding his eyes from the sun, saw that Vinnie was driving, accompanied by another member of the band and Mason.
“Good, you’re all here,” Vinnie said, hopping out of the car. Mason followed, looking up at the house, and the other guy—Gary, Aidan thought—came last.
“What are you three doing out so early?” Aidan asked, walking over to them.
“We’re not trying to be pains in the ass,” Gary said quickly, shaking Aidan’s hand and grinning at Jeremy and Zach. “We just want the gig.”
“The gig?” Zach asked.
“Playing for the benefit,” Gary said.
Vinnie’s face had gone a slightly mottled shade of red, but he spoke quickly. “I asked Aidan about it last night. He said it was your call, Jeremy.”
“And I said they should come ask you right off,” Mason said with a shrug. “Strike while an iron is hot, you know?”
Jeremy looked at his two brothers. “Why not?”
“Best band on Bourbon Street,” Zach agreed.
Vinnie just stared at them. “That easy?”
“Yeah, that easy,” Jeremy said.
“Cool,” Vinnie breathed.
“Told you,” Mason told him, setting his arms around his friends’ shoulders.
“Yeah, you told us,” Gary agreed. He looked around. “Where do you think you’ll want us to set up? You guys going to have a haunted graveyard or anything like that?”
“No,” Aidan said sharply. Maybe too sharply. “We’ll limit events to the stables, maybe the downstairs of the house. But since there hasn’t been a horse around in years, the stables will be the best place.”
“Great,” Vinnie said, then pumped their hands one by one. “It’ll be great. You have to sit in with us, Jeremy. And the publicity we’ll get from this, well, it’s priceless. Thank you.”
Aidan couldn’t help it. He still felt a slight reservation. Had he been right to erase Vinnie from his mental suspect list? Even though Vinnie hadn’t lied about taking Jenny back to her B and B, what was to say that he wasn’t the person she’d gone out to meet later?
Then there was Mason. Always at the store, always at the bar. And now studying the house as if he’d never seen it before. Aiden knew he’d been out there, so why stare at it now…unless he was looking for something that might give him away?
“The place looks great,” Mason told them.
“First time you’re seeing it?” Zach asked.
“Oh, hell, no,” Mason said, laughing. “Vinnie and I both used to come out here with Kendall. You know, when she was staying with Amelia.”
“Right,” Aidan said.
At that moment Kendall suddenly came tearing out of the house, brandishing a book. “I’ve figured it out!” she cried.
They all turned to stare at her.
“Hey, guys. Hi. What are you doing here?” she asked, her glance moving from Vinnie to Mason to Gary.
Vinnie picked her up and spun her around. “It’s official! We got the gig!”