Finding Julian (12 page)

Chapter Eighteen

It was quite a walk
from the bus stop back to the estate. My feet were on fire and I was drenched
in sweat by the time I reached the main gates. A car pulled up just as I was
about to enter. It was Seven.
Damn it
. I sure wasn’t flattering right about
now. Why did it matter anyway? He regretted kissing me.

Seven rolled down his window, the cool
air seeped out of the car.

“Where’ve you been?” he asked
nonchalantly, trying to keep things casual between us.

“Just out,” I walked through the gates,
hinting I didn’t want a ride to the entrance.

Seven drove past me and parked in the
driveway. He got out and stood by the car, waiting for me to come up.

“Aunt Bev said you’ve been traveling to
Jamestown in between helping her with the magazine project,” he said as I got
close.

I wiped sweat off my forehead. “Yeah,
so?”

Seven edged closer to me, filling the
distance. “I could drive you wherever you want to go, Jules, instead of you
taking the bus and walking around in this heat.” His eyes radiated with
sincerity. He actually seemed worried about me.

“I don’t want to be a bother,” I
whispered, moving past him in the direction of the side steps.

He reached for my arm and pulled me
back. “You could never be a bother to me, Julian.” Seven enunciated my name in
such a way, I wanted to rush into his chest and press my lips to his. I was
driven by so much desire it scared me. If our kiss was a mistake, then he
needed to stop giving me mixed signals.

Slipping out of his grasp, I eased
backward to create space between us. Being that close to him had me feeling
like I was trapped inside of a furnace. My vision started to blur, my head got
dizzy. It was as if I was floating in midair.

“You okay?” he sounded far away.

“I’m…okay…” the words came out slowly as
I slithered to the ground.

Seven moved quickly to catch me. He
picked me up into his strong arms and I rested my head against his chest. I
wasn’t too out of it to inhale his hypnotic scent.

He carried me all the way to the
guesthouse and into my room, gently placing me down on the bed. Brushing the
loose strands out of my face, he whispered, “I’m going to get you some ice
water.”

Rushing out the room, Seven returned
just as quickly with a bottle of water and an ice pack. He rested the pack on
my forehead and eased me up to drink some water. Every drop cooled my body. I
still felt a little wobbly though.

“Seems like you were having a heatstroke
of some sort,” he said, peering at me with worry in his eyes.

“I guess so,” my words were like
whispers. “I’ll go take a shower to cool down more.”

Getting off the bed, I nearly fell on my
face when Seven caught me. “I’ll help you. Just relax,” he implored.

I flung my arm around him and let him
help me to the bathroom. He steadied me by the sink to turn the shower on. When
he spun around and stared at me again, the memory of his mouthwatering, naked
body quickly flashed through my head. It startled me so much I had to break my
eyes away from his.

“Thanks,” I said, cueing him to leave.

He wiped his hand in the towel by the
sink. “Okay, well, holler if you need me.” Oh, I needed him bad. More than he
could ever know.

Seven walked past me and out of the
bathroom. Before closing the door, he peeped in to say playfully, “Try not to
faint in the shower.”

I smiled at him and nodded as he closed
the door, grateful he’d left. If Seven stayed any longer I had no idea what I
would’ve done to him.

After a cold shower, I was feeling a
little better. I slipped into one of the summer dresses Seven bought me and
went to the kitchen to fix myself something to eat.

When I came through the arched doorway,
Seven was there, arranging a plate on top of the counter with sliced
pineapples, strawberries and grapes. Then he filled a jar with iced tea. I walked
over as he brought the plate to the table, setting it down before he went into
the fridge for something else. He didn’t know I was watching him.

“That looks good. You seem to like
eating healthy,” I said, coming over to the island.

Seven turned and raised an eyebrow.
“Huh?”

I nodded towards the plate of fruits. He
laughed broadly—showing off his perfect white teeth—then he closed the fridge
door.

“That’s for you.”

“Oh.” I bit down on my bottom lip,
feeling silly yet overjoyed he took the time to do all this for me.

Seven pulled a chair out and urged me
over to sit down at the table. He settled in the one across from me.

“Thank you,” I muttered, before picking
up a slice of pineapple.

He shook his head. “Don’t mention it. I
made a promise, remember?”

There was an unexpected ache in my
chest. He was only taking care of me because he felt obligated, not because he
truly wanted to. I could kick myself, hoping for anything more. Seven and I
were from two different worlds after all.

“Feeling better?” he asked as he poured
us some iced tea.

“A little.”

“So,” he took up a strawberry from my
plate. “What’s in Jamestown?”

He seemed so curious. Seven had me
thinking back to Mr. Douglas acting funny out of the blue, and the information
I’d received from Ms. Vaughn earlier. There were two separate wills, and I was
unsure which one my father intended to have read after he died. Suspicions
about his death were also coming back to me. I wondered if Mr. Cornwell’s
murder had anything to do with it.

“Jules?” Seven prompted.

I peered up from the plate and gazed
into his searching eyes. They made me feel safe. And out of everyone mentioned
in the will—whichever one was accurate—he seemed like the one I could trust.

“Seven,” I started, folding my wrists on
top of the table. “There’s something I want to tell you. Promise me you won’t
say anything to Aunt Bev, or Marlene, or Mackenzie—”

“I get it, Jules. I promise I won’t tell
a soul.”

My throat felt dry even though I drank
some of the iced tea. “Well, first off, the reason why I was going to Jamestown
is because I found this lawyer that could help remove my name from the will and
explain the legal process in turning my inheritance over to Mackenzie.”

Seven fell back in the chair. He scowled
at me. “Why would you do that, Jules? I thought you’re going to stay here.”

“I only said I’d stay until I found a
way to give it all to my sister. I never said anything about staying for good.”

He shot me a look of utter
disappointment. “I thought…” he held himself back. “Never mind. I was wrong.”

I was confused. “What’s the big deal?
You said it was a mistake. Why are you getting upset now?”

His eyes softened at my words, realizing
I was talking about the kiss. Gazing away from me, he said in a calmer tone,
“Sorry.”

 The air turned tense, awkward.
Still, I wanted to finish telling him everything. “I brought Mackenzie with me
to Jamestown this morning and Mr. Douglas, the lawyer I found, said he couldn’t
help me after all.”

Bringing his attention back to me, Seven
appeared relieved. “So, it’s not possible to change the will?”

“That’s just it. Mr. Douglas had
everything ready; he even had the papers for me to sign. So it was kind of a
surprise when he changed his words.
And
he seemed so weird when we
stopped by his office.”

“Weird, how?” Seven leaned forward.

“I don’t know, almost like…” I trailed
as a thought occurred to me, then I whispered it out loud, “Like he’d been told
not
to help me.”

“I don’t get it. Why would anyone
threaten him for helping you contest the will?”

“No idea. But here’s another thing
that’s really strange. When I went to Wickford after—”

He threw his hands up in the air. “You
went to Wickford? You’re seriously one busy girl.”

“Just listen. I wanted to see if there
was a way to get into Mr. Cornwell’s office to find out more about his murder.
Only, his secretary was there. She told me something really interesting.”

Seven cocked his ears. “What did she
tell you?”

Peering around the room, I lowered my
head and nudged him closer. “She said that—”

“There you are!” Aunt Bev’s voice echoed
throughout the room as she walked in the front door. “Julian, I’ve been calling
your phone for a while now.”

Straightening, I took up the plate from
the table and brought it over to the sink. “Sorry,” I smiled at her. “My phone
battery died and I forgot to charge it when I got home.”

Aunt Bev walked over to the island,
regarding me and Seven. There was a suspicious look in her eyes. “Well, it’s
nothing too big. I just wanted to ask you something about the project.”

Seven brought the jar of iced tea over
to where I was standing and cleared his throat, hinting for me to tell Aunt Bev
about seeing another lawyer.

“Something wrong?” she asked, glancing
back and forth between us.

He brushed my arm and I glared at him. I
didn’t want to tell Aunt Bev about Mr. Douglas because of what Ms. Vaughn told
me. Then again, how would taking myself out of the will affect Aunt Bev? And if
she had anything to do with switching the will, why didn’t she put herself down
to inherit everything instead of me?

“Um...” I began. Aunt Bev widened her
eyes in anticipation. Just then, the front door opened and Claire walked in.

I looked over at Seven. He stiffened and
started out of the kitchen.

“Going for a walk on the beach,” he said
dryly.

“I’ll go with you.”

I was out the door before he or Aunt Bev
could mutter a word to stop me.

Chapter Nineteen

 
“Why don’t you want to tell
Aunt Bev
about your decision to turn your inheritance over to
Mackenzie?” asked Seven. We sat on the sand, watching the fiery orange and
sweltering red sunset dazzle over the ocean, giving way to the lonely moon. Sitting
next to him made me appreciate these things more. I would like to spend my days
like this, with him.

I drew a long breath before answering
him with a question of my own, “Why didn’t you confront Claire about what you
saw and get her fired?”

His head hung over after hearing my
words. It twisted my insides. I wanted to take them back. “Sorry,” I muttered
when he pressed his eyes shut.

Shaking his head, Seven looked up at me
again. “It’s because she’s not the first. And I guess…I’m just tired, Jules.
He’s never going to be the man I’d like for him to be.”

Feeling bold, I raised a hand and
squeezed his shoulder. In the most sincere way I could, I murmured, “I’m so
sorry, Seven.”

He shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. Life
goes on.”

Only a girl with a cold heart wouldn’t
feel the way I did for him. Everything about Seven made it so easy to fall for
him, and I definitely was falling—truly, madly and deeply. Still, he didn’t
have the same feelings for me. Seven probably wanted friendship; he was living
up to a promise he’d made. A girl like me would never experience the joy of
kissing those sugary sweet lips again.

With the moon barely peeking out behind
the clouds, darkness engulfed us on the beach. Getting to his feet, Seven
reached down and helped me up. We walked to the guesthouse.

“Oh,” he came to a stop, looking back at
me. “What else were you going to tell me before Aunt Bev came home?”

I shook my head, “Nothing.” I’d figure
it out on my own.

*

My room door burst open, startling me
out of sleep. Sitting up in bed, I saw it was Marlene.

“What the hell—” I started to yell.

“Give me the will.” Marlene walked
around the bed and stretched her palm out. “Now. My lawyer wants to look at
it.”

I blinked in my astonishment. “What?”

She rolled her eyes and tapped her heels
on the floor. “Hurry up, Julian. I don’t have all day.”

Tossing the sheet aside, I got out of
bed and went over to my bag on the table, taking out the will. I handed it to
her. “Here.”

She snatched it from my hand, flashing
me a nasty glare as she made for the door.

“That will isn’t accurate, anyway.” The
words slipped out. I didn’t know why I said anything to her. Marlene could be
involved in the switch. Then again, I enjoyed seeing the confusion plastered on
her face when she twirled in the doorway.

She slowly walked back. “What are you
talking about?”

I crossed my arms. “Nothing.”

Marlene eyeballed me. There was so much
hatred on her face. After a few seconds she decided to ignore my remark and
darted out the door.

I walked over and slammed it shut. That
was the old will with an adjusted date, Ms. Vaughn had said. And whatever
papers Marlene would get from her lawyer I wouldn’t sign them. My only concern
now was finding out what really went on before my father’s death, which
reminded me, I had to check my email for that original copy from Ms. Vaughn.

It was a little past eight so I feared
Seven had already left for work. Either that or he was in the shower again. I
knocked on his room door then pressed my ears against the wood, listening for
the sound of running water. There was nothing but silence coming from his room.

The door opened suddenly and I toppled
into him. His shirt was unbuttoned so my face brushed against the smoothness of
his chest. I wanted to stay there forever.

Seven cleared his throat and I snapped
out of the trance and remembered why I was at his door to begin with.

“Morning,” I breathed, steadying on my
feet.

“Morning,” he replied. “What’s up?”

I tugged on the loops of my jeans as I
asked, “Can I please use your laptop to check my email? Also, could I print
something?”

Seven buttoned his shirt as he answered,
“You’re in luck. I have both.” He stepped aside and invited me into his room. I
kept my gaze clear of the bathroom, trying not to remember the arousing
encounter I experienced a few days ago.

“Over there,” he pointed towards his
desk.

I walked over and sat down as he typed
in his password so I could use his laptop. Seven moved away to let me do my
thing. I clicked on the browser and opened Gmail. While waiting to log in, I
rotated in the chair and eyed Seven at his closet, rifling through all the ties
he had. He was trying to find the right one to go with his white dress shirt
and black pants. It seemed like today was a major day in the office.

“Going to a big meeting or something?” I
asked.

“Yeah, presentation day.” He looked over
at me, holding a tie in each hand. “Which one?”

Twisting my mouth in deliberation, I
pointed to the navy blue tie in his left hand. “I like that one.”

“Cool.” Seven walked before his mirror
to fix the tie around his neck.

I turned back to the laptop and skimmed
through my inbox, loaded with mostly spam. Then I spot a message from Dana
Vaughn with ‘Here you go’ in the subject line. Below her email was another from
an unexpected sender: Clyde.

Collapsing in the chair, I heaved a long
sigh. It drew Seven’s attention.

“You okay?” he asked, coming over.

I hurriedly clicked on a mail from some
online college. “Nothing,” I replied, “Just tired of all the spam.”

“Yeah, they flood your inbox sometimes.”

Seven picked his keys off the desk and I
eased off the chair, having the natural urge to fix his tie for him. He
straightened and raised his chin as I did, touching my hands lightly as I
finished and started to pull away.

He lingered his touch, rubbing his thumb
across my fingers. I gasped at the sensation that began to stir within my
stomach.

Smiling, he released my hands and said,
“Wish me luck?”

“Good luck.”

Seven left me in his room alone and I
went back to the message from Ms. Vaughn, ignoring the email from Clyde. He
didn’t even put anything in the subject line to highlight the purpose of his
mail. Though, there was nothing good enough to make me forget what he’d done.

I noticed there were two documents
attached to Ms. Vaughn’s email. One that said ‘the copy’ and another said ‘last
message’. I downloaded them to Seven’s laptop and quickly read through her
email:

Julian, I found the copy of the will you
wanted. Also, Mr. Cornwell saved something on my backup drive a day before he
was killed. It really alarmed me so I showed it to Detective Walters to help
with the investigation, and since it concerns your family I thought I’d share
it with you as well. Be careful, dear.

D. Vaughn

Be careful
?
I opened the one marked ‘last message’ first. Her email had me curious since
she even told the police about it. Once Microsoft Word came up, I braced myself
for what Mr. Cornwell had written. Taking a deep breath, I began reading it:

Dana, if you’ve found this then that means he
went through with killing me. And maybe I deserve it for betraying my friend
the way I did.

After that day when Cole came to me asking to
take his sister out of the will, I tried to convince him otherwise because he
thought she was trying to take all he had. He was wrong about her. Monroe only
wanted to confuse him. Still, Cole wouldn’t listen to me. That’s why I changed
the will in front of him to make him happy, but then I switched it to the old
one after he left, changing the date instead.

All I can do now is ask that you warn his
daughter, Julian Rowell. There’s someone in that house keeping tabs for Monroe.
Someone who helped him kill her father.

Cole kept Julian in his will because he
believed she was the only one he could trust. Can you believe that? A daughter
he didn’t even know well. But it seems Monroe has taken a liking to her. He was
even following her around in Manhattan. Please warn her for me, Dana. He’s
going to come after me for telling her I think her father was killed. I just couldn’t
bear the guilt anymore. And I’m sure if she remains in Narragansett for long
she’ll probably be next, especially if she tries to give her inheritance to her
sister.

Tell her to transfer the money her father
left her and leave Narragansett as soon as possible. I don’t know what he’ll do
next, but I do know he’ll do whatever to keep his plan intact.

I collapsed in the chair and let out a
gasp. I couldn’t believe what I’d just read. Mr. Cornwell had clearly identified
his killer as a Monroe. And since Seven was with me during the time he was
killed, Mr. Cornwell was obviously talking about Anthony Monroe.

“Oh my god,” I whispered, quickly
printing out both Mr. Cornwell’s last words and the will. Then I began searching
around the desk for something to save them on. I had to remove both from
Seven’s laptop.

I opened one of the top drawers in the
desk and spotted a flash drive. After checking to see if he had anything
important on it, I cut and pasted the documents from his laptop seeing the
flash drive was empty.

If Detective Walters had already
received Ms. Vaughn’s email then he would surely question both father and son.
I could only imagine the look on Seven’s face when the police showed up at the office
and hauled him off to the station.

Even though my father felt apprehensive
about her intentions, I wanted to believe I could trust Mackenzie. She was the
only one I felt like I could tell all this to aside from Seven.

Hurrying from my room, I saw Claire in
the kitchen washing breakfast dishes as I passed by to go out the front door.

“Good morning,” she said, giving me a
cagy look.

I slowed at the door. “Morning, Claire.”

Then I thought back to what Mr. Cornwell
said in his last words, that Monroe had someone in the house working with
him—someone who obviously kept an eye on the Vandersons. She was Anthony’s
lover, so it made perfect sense.

Claire was hired by Aunt Bev to work in
the guesthouse, that didn’t mean she had no access to the main house. There was
no way of questioning her without sounding suspicious though. If she was
involved in all this, then she could be dangerous.

“Is something the matter, Julian?” her
troubled voice zapped me out of my thoughts.

“Oh, nothing.” I waved her bye then walked
out of the guesthouse, treading across the lawn. Hopefully, Mackenzie was at
home and hadn’t already left.

When I entered from the deck and stepped
into the kitchen, the house was dead quiet. Walking into the living room, I
browsed the area, checking for their housekeeper. Seeing there was no one
around, I went upstairs in search of Mackenzie’s room.

I knocked on every door I passed and
peeked inside, trying to locate hers. There was one door locked and I assumed
it to be Marlene’s bedroom. Then finally, at the end of the passage, I came to
the last room on the right.

“Mackenzie,” I called out softly,
opening the door halfway. The room was much bigger than the guestroom I’d been
staying in. The walls were painted in light green and the dark wood furniture
created a modern atmosphere. It was sophisticatedly decorated. I instantly
thought how Mackenzie had nice taste.

A soft moan came from the bed and I
walked over and shook her body lightly. “Mackenzie.”

Rolling on her side, she squinted at me
in confusion then shot up on her elbows. “Why are you in my room?”

“I have something I want you to see.” I
unfolded the papers and reached them out to her.

Mackenzie glanced at my outstretched
hand then up at me. “Look, if this is about the will, Mom said she’ll take care
of it soon enough so you can get out—”