Ever After

  Hallie took her time dressing. She got out the new clothes she’d bought at Zero Main and spent a lot of time with her hair.

  While she was dressing, she remembered her dream of the Tea Ladies. Usually, dreams faded from memory, but not this one. She remembered every second of it. As she used her curling iron, she thought of the drawings that had fallen behind the dresser.

  She had to see Jamie! Had to tell him about her dream and they had to pull the big cabinet out from the wall to see if the drawings really were there.

  When she was dressed and started down the stairs, she could hear voices and laughter. Had more of the Montgomery-Taggert family arrived? But, no, the same beautiful men with the two children were in the kitchen, with one addition.

  Jamie was sitting at the table looking as though he was working hard to control his temper. Beside him was a man Hallie had never seen before, but she already knew he must be a Taggert. He wasn’t as tall as Jamie but did look somewhat like him, though he was heavier and not nearly as good-looking.

  When Adam saw Hallie, he stopped talking and stepped back. Ian, then Raine, did the same thing. The children clung to Raine, watching Hallie in absolute silence. They formed a path so she could get to the table and the two men sitting there.

  What in the world is going on? she wondered as she walked forward. Jamie wasn’t looking at her.

  When she reached the table she stopped. The new guy was looking up at her in question, as though waiting for something.

  “Hi,” she said. “I’m Hallie, and you are—?”

  “Todd,” he said and stood up to shake her hand. “I’m Jamie’s brother.”

  After that, everyone started talking at once. Except for Jamie, that is. He got up on his crutches and without even a glance at Hallie opened the door into the pantry and went inside, shutting the door behind him.

  Hallie wanted to go after him and tell him about her dream, but she was surrounded by gorgeous men whose only goal in life seemed to be to please her. She was asked what she wanted for breakfast. As they began to make it, she saw that her fridge had again been filled with food.

  One by one the men told her about ailments and injuries they had and asked her advice on how to treat them. She was asked what she charged for a massage.

  After breakfast the men—except for Todd and Jamie—escorted her to the gym so she could begin working on them. They were a happy trio and she enjoyed their company, but at the same time she kept wondering where Jamie was.

  At lunch she managed to catch Cory as the child was running through the garden. “Where is your brother?”

  “Which one?” the little girl asked. She had a wooden sword and was waving it about in the air. “I have five of them.”

  “Really?” Hallie asked. “Jamie. Where is he?”

  “With Todd. They’re always together.”

  “Could you please find Jamie and tell him we need to work on his knee?”

  “He won’t come,” Cory said. “Todd won’t let him.” She went tearing off through the garden.

  Hallie saw that the big red gate had been propped open so the family staying at the B&B could come and go easily. Ian told her that guests were also staying at Kingsley House, Toby’s house, and at various hotels all over the island. He said all this as though it were something ordinary, but to Hallie, with her one and only non-blood relative, it was anything but. When she remembered Jamie’s jokes about how he knew all about cousins and could supply relatives of any size, gender, age, etc., she couldn’t help laughing.

  At the time, Adam was on his stomach on her massage table, his long, beautiful body stretched out and covered only by a small white towel over his behind. He was a nice man, with a dry sense of humor, and he’d complimented her on how she’d helped relieve the tension in his shoulders.

  “We saw the kitchen implements on the sheets outside,” he said. “Did you find them in the house?”

  Hallie’s mind filled with all that had happened before finding the artifacts. It would be too much to tell about a couple of matchmaking ghosts and her vivid dream about them. Besides, that was something she and Jamie shared.

  Instead, she told of the locked doors and how Dr. Huntley had given them the key and they’d found a dirty room inside.

  Adam turned onto his back, again with only the towel over him. “And you and Jamie cleaned the place? Did you enjoy doing it?”

  “We did,” she said, smiling as she ran her oiled hands over his chest. He was in good shape, she thought, probably ran as well as did some sort of martial arts. His muscles were relaxed; he didn’t hold the tension that Jamie did. He was an easy man to work on, to talk to, and probably to get to know.

  But he wasn’t Jamie.

  After lunch—eaten outside with Adam, Ian, Raine, and the children—she set to work on Ian. He was in as good a shape as Adam and as likeable. Whereas Adam had an intensity about him that was almost intimidating, Ian was all smiles and laughter.

  At three Raine got on the table. By that time Hallie was frustrated from her failure to find Jamie. She hadn’t seen him or his brother since before breakfast.

  She smiled at the sight of Raine’s big body. It was more like Jamie’s. “Where is he?” she asked as she began trying to get deep down into his muscles. She didn’t explain who “he” was.

  “With Todd,” Raine said. Of the three men, he talked the least, but she had an idea that he saw and heard the most.

  “Is he hiding from me?” she asked, her hands paused in their work.

  “My guess is yes,” Raine said.

  “And the lot of you are trying to keep me entertained so I don’t notice?”

  “Yes,” he said simply.

  Hallie wanted to think that she wasn’t hurt by Jamie’s behavior, but she was.

  “Jamie has—” Raine began.

  She knew he was going to say “problems,” but she didn’t want to hear it. “Bad manners,” she said and felt a chuckle from Raine.

  “Very bad,” he agreed.

  She did the rest of the massage in silence, mostly because she needed all her energy to dig into Raine’s thick, heavy muscles.

  The men insisted on taking her out to dinner and they all went to Kitty Murtagh’s. It was like an old tavern and Hallie enjoyed herself, but she missed Jamie.

  At that thought she wanted to bawl herself out. Every female in the restaurant was looking at her with envy. With the way the children went from her to Raine and back again, it looked like they were a married couple and the kids were theirs. In fact, more than once she caught Raine looking at her from under his lashes in a way that made little chills run up her spine. Of the whole group of gorgeous men she’d met, he was by far her favorite. She liked his quietness, his humor, and the way he listened. In other words, whatever about him was like Jamie, that’s what she liked.

  By the time they got back to the house, the men were discussing who was going to sleep on the cot downstairs. At first she thought perhaps they believed Nantucket was a dangerous place, but then she realized that they were worried about Jamie’s nightmares.

  Maybe they were being protective of him or maybe of her. Whichever it was, she didn’t like what they were saying.

  Against their protests, she ran them all out of the house. The two Montgomerys seemed ready to stay anyway, but Raine led them away.

  When she went upstairs she hoped Jamie would be there, but he wasn’t. The house was eerily quiet and she didn’t like that. He had been there since the first day. It was their house, not just hers.

  As she took a shower, she tried to get herself under control. She’d known from the beginning that Jamie Taggert wasn’t for her. All day his cousins had mentioned schools and countries and events, even sports, that she’d only read about. Once Jamie’s leg was healed he’d get on the family jet and she’d never see him again. At best, she’d get a Christmas card.

  When she got out of the shower, she put on a pair of pajamas instead of her usual big T-shirt and headed for her bed
. But she wanted to know if Jamie had returned. His bed was empty.

  All her resolve left her. “Damn you, Todd!” she said aloud, then told herself to calm down. The main question was why she was so upset that Jamie wasn’t there. It wasn’t as though they were a couple. She’d told his cousins that and it was true.

  She went back to her own bed and was asleep almost instantly. As had become a habit, she awoke at two A.M. and lay there listening, but she heard nothing. No moans or groans. She turned on the light and went through the sitting room to Jamie’s bedroom.

  His nightlight was on, but his bed was empty. On impulse she opened his closet door. Had he packed and gone back home to Colorado? Would she get a card from him saying thanks, he’d had a good time?

  But his clothes were still there, mostly sweatsuits big enough to cover up even him, and the one nice outfit he’d worn to dinner.

  On the back of the door was one of those big terry cloth robes and she put it on, pausing for a moment to snuggle it around her body. Barefoot, she went downstairs and it too was empty. He wasn’t sleeping on the narrow cot.

  When she noticed a light on in the tea room, she opened the door. In the far corner of the room was a tall, gray-haired man wearing an elegant blue silk robe and slippers. He was sitting on the old couch and reading.

  “Ah,” he said when he saw her, sounding as though she was the person he most wanted to see in the world.

  “You’re either a ghost or Uncle Kit,” she said.

  He put his book and reading glasses down and stood up. “How perceptive of you, and tonight I feel that I may be both of them. The tea is hot and I find the accompaniments delightful. Perhaps you’d join me.”

  “I would love to.” She sat down on one of the chairs while he poured and served. Hallie tucked her feet under her and looked around the room. She hadn’t really looked at it since she and Jamie had cleaned it. In the dim light from the table lamp, the room was quite pretty and very atmospheric.

  She looked back at Kit. “I guess we should exchange proper introductions. I’m Hyacinth Lauren Hartley, better known as Hallie.”

  “And as you deduced, I am Christopher Montgomery, commonly referred to as Kit.” He smiled. “Or Uncle Kit. There, now that that’s done, why are you wandering about at this time in the morning?”

  “Looking for Jamie. Why aren’t you sleeping?”

  “I’m sure my nephew is with Todd, but where they are I don’t know.” He put his teacup down. “As for my inability to sleep, may I confide in you?”

  “Please do.”

  “First of all, I must apologize for trespassing. Sometimes I find the boisterousness of my family more than I can abide. When I was told that you had run everyone out of your house, I felt I’d heard of a kindred spirit.”

  Hallie smiled. He was a very handsome man, sixtyish, and there was something about him that made her feel safe and comfortable.

  “I found the door to this room unlocked and came in here and slept.” He nodded toward the window seat, where there was a pillow and a blanket. “But I was awakened by a dream of—”

  “Let me guess,” Hallie said. “Two fabulously beautiful young women with Playboy bunny bodies.” She sipped her tea. “Just a guess.”

  For a second Kit looked astonished, then he laughed. “My life has been such that I’m not easily surprised, but you have done so. I am intrigued. Have you too dreamed of them?”

  “Yes, but I’ve also heard their stories. Perhaps…?”

  “Perhaps I would like to hear? Oh, yes, very much.”

  It took Hallie nearly an hour to tell all she knew about the ladies. Kit asked a question now and then.

  “Has Jamie heard from his mother about her research?” “And you say it was a box that hit your head? What was in it?” “Are the drawings actually behind the dresser?”

  The answer to each question was “I don’t know.”

  “How very interesting,” Kit said when she’d finished, and poured them more tea. “Don’t you think it’s also interesting that after over an hour the tea is still hot and the cakes and cookies are still plentiful?”

  “It’s always like that. We’d come into the house to find that our neighbor had set up a lavish afternoon tea for us. Jamie eats a lot, but there was always enough, and yes, the tea stayed hot.” She looked at him. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t allow you to tell about your dream.”

  “It was quite simple. There were two beautiful young women and one said, ‘You must find Leland’s cousin.’ I felt she was speaking to me. That was all. The total of it.”

  “I wonder if that’s the cousin Leland was going to introduce Hyacinth to?” she said, referring to her own dream.

  “I’ll have to ask Jilly to look into that. She’s the family’s genealogist. Ah, but wait, this is her wedding. No doubt she’ll be quite busy. Have you met her?”

  “No. I have been surrounded by men all day. Raine said they were keeping me entertained so I wouldn’t notice that Jamie wasn’t around. But I did notice!” She said the last with such vehemence that she was embarrassed. “Sorry. It’s just that I need to treat his knee.”

  “Yes, of course.” Kit was smiling. “May I give you some advice?”

  “Please do.”

  “My family isn’t for cowards.”

  She waited for him to expand on that comment, but he didn’t—and she had no idea what he meant.

  “Now, my dear,” Kit said and his tone was dismissive, “I think we should try to get some sleep before dawn. I’m sure Cale’s youngest hellions will escape and be here as early as possible. They seem to be fascinated with the ‘exercise lady’ who has all the young buck cousins coming over here.”

  “Just out of curiosity, are there any females in your family? Other than Cory, that is.”

  “Actually, there’s a rather interesting assortment of females, and I’m sure they’ll start showing up soon. And Hallie, dear?”

  “Yes?”

  “Perhaps we should keep this”—he waved his hand to include the room—“to ourselves as best we can. However, tomorrow I shall harness the brawn of a few Taggerts to move the cabinet to see what’s behind it.”

  “And I’ll find the box that hit me on the head.”

  “And I’ll see what Cale has found out.”

  “But please remember that Jamie is in on this too,” Hallie said. “He’s to be told everything.”

  For a moment Kit looked at her as though trying to figure out something. “What do you like most about my damaged nephew?”

  “Among other things, he makes me laugh.”

  For the second time, there was a look of astonishment on Kit’s handsome face. “That is an excellent answer, and certainly one I wouldn’t have predicted.”

  Chapter Eleven

  By four that afternoon, Hallie was ready to lock the garden gate and put up a no trespassing sign. An endless stream of male wedding guests had come to her asking for appointments for treatments, advice about injuries, and massages. They had each paid her asking price and tipped her generously. But as far as Hallie could tell, they really just wanted to meet her.

  Why?! she wondered. It wasn’t as though she was ever going to be part of their family. Not that she’d mind that. All the men were very nice, good to look at, intelligent, educated, and very courteous. Except for Todd. She didn’t like him at all.

  She knew that some of the animosity between them was her fault. By the afternoon, her arms and shoulders were aching from one massage after another. At one point there were three young men sitting under the arbor, each one wearing nothing but a towel. They’d rinsed off in the outdoor shower, but rather than get dressed, they’d tied towels around their waists and waited for their turn on Hallie’s table.

  They were all so very polite that when she got to Todd, she was shocked by his attitude.

  As soon as he stretched his nude body out on the table on his stomach, he said, “What are your intentions toward my brother?”

  It was late
in the day and she was tired. “To kidnap him and steal his jet,” she said before she thought.

  Hallie knew Jamie would have laughed at that. But Todd didn’t. When she felt his muscles tighten under her hands, she sighed. “I have no ‘intentions’ of anything except rehabilitating his knee. He has now missed several sessions, plus his breathing exercises. He needs them!”

  “What does that mean?”

  Hallie frowned. Maybe his animosity came from jealousy. Todd wasn’t as handsome as his brother or as well built, and she was beginning to think that he didn’t have a whole lot of brains. She spoke slowly and distinctly. “Jamie hurt his knee skiing, he’s had surgery, and he needs to get his knee working again. I was hired to help with that.”

  “I mean the breathing exercises,” Todd snapped. “What are they for?”

  Hallie rolled her eyes. “To help him breathe.”

  “Why were you in bed with him?” Todd asked, his tone that of the law enforcement officer she knew he was.

  She had no doubt that he wanted to know about Jamie’s nightmares. Last night she’d realized that his family knew of them, but there was something in her that didn’t want to report on them. “Fabulous sex,” she said. “All night long.”

  Clutching the single towel, Todd turned over on the bench, sat up, and glared at her. “I don’t appreciate being lied to.”

  “And I don’t appreciate your attempt to use me as a spy. We’re done here.” She grabbed a towel, wiped her hands, and walked away. One of the men asked her if she was okay, but she just kept going.

  When she got to the house she went around to the side, to the tea room. Maybe it would be quiet in there.

  Somehow, she wasn’t surprised to see Jamie standing by a table that had one of the lavish teas on it. Had Edith come by in her little cart?

  “Where have you been?” she shot at him, anger in her voice.

  “You’ve had a bad day, haven’t you?” When he saw tears come to her eyes, he leaned his crutches against the wall, opened his arms to her, and she went to him. He held her, her face against his chest, and she could hear his heart pounding. His big, hard body was like an island of calm in the turmoil of the last two days.