Page 23 of Rise of the Melody
My heart kicked. My mom. I recalled the Stevens guy spreading rumors about her singing that night.
“He made you?” Ronald’s voice rose. “That son of a bitch. What happened had nothing to do with you.” Aunt Lorna was quiet for a moment and Ronald asked, “Are you okay?”
“It’s my head.” I imagined her grabbing her temples.
“Here sit down.” A chair scraped, and I couldn’t stop my feet from moving forward toward the black and white checkered floor of the kitchen. She was having an episode.
“Oh, Letty!” Her face was scrunched in pain. “There you are. What do you think of the view?”
“It’s crazy gorgeous,” I said, spotting her kit of essential oils on the counter. I took one out and sat next to her at the round, wooden kitchen nook. Then I opened the vial and tipped it to my finger, dabbing peppermint oil at my aunt’s temples.
“Thank you.” She patted my hand. “I just need a good night’s sleep.”
“I’ll bring in the luggage and let you two get settled in,” Ron said. When I stood to help, he waved me off. “Nah, you stay with her.”
I sat and looked at my aunt. I wanted to know everything they’d been discussing. But she appeared exhausted and in pain.
“Does Ron know?” I asked. “What I am?”
She shook her head. “No. The less who know, the better.”
I nodded, hating the secretiveness.
“He knows about the kelpie, though, because of the murders. They’ve been trying to track it.” A chill skated over me.
Ron took two trips to bring everything in, and I met him in the foyer to carry my things up. Aunt Lorna and I followed him up the stairs. I felt like I was at some grand Bed and Breakfast, not that I’d ever been to one, but I imagined the good ones were like this. A musty, cedary smell filled the air—old, but not unpleasant.
“There are four bedrooms,” Aunt Lorna said. “One on the bottom floor where I’ll stay, and three up here. But I wanted to show you to your room before I go to mine.”
Mine was at the very end of the wall-papered hallway where the turret was.
“Oh, my gosh,” I whispered as we entered. “Is this real?”
Aunt Lorna chuckled. “I knew you’d still love it.”
I walked to the far window, which had a thick rectangular cushion in the sill for sitting. It looked out over the forest. If I leaned forward I could see part of a glass building out back.
“Is that a greenhouse?”
“It is,” she said. “We’ll explore tomorrow.”
At the front corner of the room was the turret area with a custom circular cushion and windows overlooking the sea. My insides were buzzing. All this time we’d had this incredible house. Had I sat in this window as a little girl? I must have. It was so perfect. Magical.
The moment I thought that, the sky over the trees lit up and I gasped. “The fireworks!”
The three of us huddled together and watched the display, an energy of contentment between us. And though I knew I shouldn’t have been excited for what was to come, a sense of rightness and adventure overcame me as we watched the dazzling explosions.
When the show was over, I turned and admired the tall, squishy looking queen sleigh bed. “This is all so nice.”
She ran her hand over the smooth wood of the footboard. “When you were a toddler you had a canopy twin bed here. They updated all of the furnishings for the rental, though.” I nodded and Aunt Lorna took my cheeks, tilting my head down to kiss my forehead.
“We’ll talk in the morning, okay dear?”
We definitely would. I thanked Ronald for bringing up my things, and they left me. CooShee leapt gracefully up onto the bed and I raised my eyebrows.
“Oh, just making yourself at home, huh?” He let out a tired huff. I went over and checked his feet to make sure they weren’t muddy but they were shockingly clean. All of his fur was too. He side-eyed me as if offended while I did my check, not bothering to raise his head.
I tugged off my boots, socks, and leggings, leaving them in a pile on the floor as I climbed up into the bed in my sweatshirt. I needed a shower, but it wasn’t happening tonight.
