Page 22 of Strangers She Knows

“I learned it in the wine business.”

They grinned at each other.

Rae and Luna came back through the door at a run. “Come on, Mom!”

Kellen, Rae and Luna looked for the stairs to the attic.

It proved a greater challenge than either of them expected. A Gothic mansion? More like a Gothic maze: long corridors of windows and paintings, stairs that got progressively narrower as they went up and, now and then, large ballrooms and small bathrooms. They kept getting lost and having to turn back, and one time they went around in circles along a dim corridor lit only by windows along the top of the wall. Doors opened only into murky closets stacked with linens and cleaning supplies. The floorboards creaked as they walked, and Kellen experienced a terrifying sense of claustrophobia. When Rae finally spotted the narrow doorway that had led them into this loop, and they at last returned to a more traveled part of the house, Kellen had to stop and breathe slowly and deeply. She couldn’t speak; her throat was constricted and her chest tight.

Rae waited patiently, looking more than a little unsettled herself. “It feels like Hogwarts,” she said. “The stairways and doors change when you’re not looking.”

Kellen nodded, and when she could speak, she said, “If you don’t have a nightmare about that, I will!”

“That’s okay, Mommy.” Rae put her hand in Kellen’s and smiled up at her. “You can come to my bed and sleep.”

Kellen smiled back. “I might. Now let’s pay attention to where we go. We have to get back from this adventure.”

The last flight was steep and constricted, and ended in a narrow attic door that had once been painted white. It was now a sort of yellowish color, and creaked like the ominous warning in a scary old movie.

“Mommy, you go first.” Rae stayed close to Kellen’s back.

But nothing ominous lurked behind the door. Here they found a large, airy, white-painted room with casement dormer windows set into the sloped ceiling. Spacious window seats loaded with squishy cushions, two couches upholstered in faded maroon flowered material popular in the fifties, and a worn maroon easy chair with an ottoman. A large bookshelf held well-read paperbacks and hardcovers.

Rae lost her trepidation, gave a delighted gasp, dropped the picnic basket, and ran to one of the west-facing window seats. She crawled in and pulled a throw over her legs.

Luna ran with her and wagged her tail.

“Can she come up?” Rae begged. “Can she? It’s not really furniture.”

Because Luna wasn’t supposed to get on the furniture, except on Rae’s bed when Rae was in it, and not even then…but that was a battle Max and Kellen had chosen to ignore. “Invite her up.”

Rae patted the seat next to her.

Luna leaped and looked out the window, wagging her tail, then turned to face the room. She curled up at Rae’s side, and kept an interested eye on Kellen as she explored.

Luna’s innate loyalty was one of the reasons Max and Kellen elected to let the dog on Rae’s bed; they had not a doubt Luna would protect Rae with her life.

The problem was—with Mara Philippi on the loose, they knew there was a chance Luna would be called on to do her duty.

When Kellen and Rae had together gone on their perilous adventure into the Olympic Mountains, Rae had proved to be stalwart and loyal. Should Kellen now ignore Max’s wishes, take matters in her own hands, and tell her about Mara? Should she warn her of the need to be always vigilant, to be suspicious…to be afraid?

For Mara was a thing to fear. When Kellen first met her at Yearning Sands Resort, Mara had been the spa manager, a pretty, shallow, fit young woman who seemed committed to nothing more than winning the International Ninja Challenge. The image she’d created for herself convinced Kellen, and the whole staff, of her superficiality. Mara had set herself up as rival and friend to Kellen, but when the winter turned dark and storms isolated the resort, Kellen discovered the horrifying truths, and those truths had almost killed her.

She remembered the threat Mara had sent her.I’ll take everything from her, the way she took everything from me. I’ll make her sorry she betrayed me.

Mara was still far away, so whether or not Max agreed, perhaps this was the moment to set Rae on her guard. As Kellen searched for the words, Rae said in a dreamy voice, “I can hear the rain on the roof.”

Kellen looked at her daughter staring out at the showery sky and sea and clouds. With a pang, she realized Rae the child was becoming an adult, a painful process of confusion and wildness, that would someday result in a poised, beautiful young woman who didn’t need her anymore.

But not yet. Right now, Rae did need her mother, and Kellen didn’t have the heart to destroy Rae’s delight in this moment and this place. So Kellen dismissed her dark memories, and looked around for something to entertain them.

Unframed paintings covered the far wall, colorful works of crashing waves, soaring gulls, stands of redwoods and one rather sad portrait of a young man in a World War II US naval uniform, gazing out to sea. “Someone lived up here,” she decided, “and not just one of the servants.”

Rae rested her forehead on the windowpane. “I’d like to live here. It’s a wonderful place.”

Kellen ran her finger along the shelf’s edge. When it came away barely dusted, she said, “I never thought the housekeepers would get this far. They did a really good job. You could live up here.”

Rae turned. “Really?”

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