The Line That Binds (16 page)

“Ben does seem cool, though,” Gavin stated.

I peeked up at him. He winked at me, his squinty expression nearly the same as when he was five and he asked me to teach him how. I shook my head and dropped it again. I couldn’t believe he was trying to talk to me about dating.

“What? You don’t like the gardener type?”

I groaned. I didn’t want to talk about this with him. Why was he suddenly interested in discussing my dating life?

“Okay, okay. I’ll drop it.” He chuckled.

Other people shuffled around the kitchen, hardly noticing us. They buzzed with energy that made my head spin faster.

“I’m sorry that took so long,” Ben said. I peeked through my fingers and stared at his work boots for a moment before lifting my eyes to him.

He set a bottle of orange juice on the table behind me. “Here,” he said, handing me a white, heart-shaped cookie. “The caterer isn’t here yet. This is all I could find.”

“Are you sure? The happy couple might get a little pissed about this.”

“Don’t worry, they won’t miss one. We usually keep a stash of leftover baked goods given to us by clients, but someone already pillaged the back refrigerator.”

“Thanks,” I said before taking a bite. It wouldn’t win a prize for healthiest breakfast, but it was delicious.

Gavin smirked at me then turned to Ben. “So what’s the deal with this place?” he asked, pushing to get through the history lesson.

Ben looked around the kitchen then stepped aside for a couple of guys with black vests and white waist aprons carrying boxes of wine bottles. “Maybe we should move. Are you okay to walk?” he asked me.

“I think so,” I replied before downing the rest of the juice. The dizziness was gone and the headache had weakened enough for my mind to focus on other things.

Ben led us into the ballroom. It held two more tiered chandeliers like the one I’d seen Monday. The room was larger than I’d previously thought, opening nearly as wide as its length. There were sections of staggered round tables, each set for eight people, at either side of the room. The center was left open for dancing, and the head table and a carved marble fireplace sat at opposing ends of the empty floor space. Elongated mirrors were set inside indents of the wood-paneled walls with curtains of white lace hanging loosely around them. The setup gave the illusion of more windows and the reflected light brightened the classic antique room. The elegance and décor easily rivaled some of the reception halls I’d seen inside of major Las Vegas casinos.

“How much do you know about your ancestors?” Ben asked, eying both Gavin and me.

Gavin shook his head. “Not much. Mom really didn’t share anything about her family aside from basic info. She told us that her own mom died long before she met our dad, and she also mentioned how crazy Aunt Janine was a few times.”

Ben pressed his lips tightly together and he glanced around the ballroom. “I’m not sure how well your mom knew Janine, but I can tell you that she was a good woman. Her illness wasn’t her fault.” His eyes traveled back to me and I noticed sadness in them. He’d known her far better than us.

“How long have you lived here?” I asked, suddenly curious of his connection to Janine and the property.

“Since I was ten,” he replied. His brown eyes softened with a small smile.

I immediately wanted to know more. “Why did you move in with your grandfather?”

His smile widened, though it was stiff with annoyance. I wasn’t sure if he was annoyed with me or with the topic. “I had some issues with my father.” He didn’t elaborate further. Instead, he walked into the hallway and turned toward the back exit. He opened one of the doors and swung his empty hand, motioning us in front of him.

We moved outside to the courtyard. Slatted folding chairs were lined in long rows alongside the circular lily pond. More white lace billowed down the sides of the iron trellis, decorated for tonight’s reception and tomorrow’s wedding.

“Back to the history lesson,” Ben said, closing the door behind him. “Since you don’t know much about your family, I’ll fill you in. Your house and my grandfather’s place were both built early-nineteenth century, before the Civil War. The farm estate was a gift to Sam Stockton from his father, who got his wealth from the coal industry. Sam and his wife, Margaret, had one son, Charles. The event house was built years later when Charles married his wife, Sarah.

“Charles inherited the estate not long after, when his father passed. I think he had two sons. I mostly remember that timeframe because your house was the main house, and my grandfather’s house was the servant house. They were both used as safe houses, or stations, in The Underground Railroad.”

“No way.” I breathed out, looking over the courtyard’s wall toward my house.

“They had English servants, not slaves. I can’t remember the servants’ names right now.”

“So you’re saying that our family members were abolitionists?” Gavin asked.

I looked at Gavin curiously. He wasn’t exactly known for his use of educational terms. His conversations usually only included gamer vocabulary such as head shot and noob.

“What? I might not like history, but I remember some stuff. Abolitionists fought against slavery,” he replied to me with a shrug then looked back at Ben, who was smiling.

Oh, was he smiling.
I couldn’t contain my own smile as I stared at his dimples.

“I guess you could say they were, though I’m not sure to what extent,” Ben agreed then moved toward the courtyard’s exit.

“I had no idea,” I said as we walked out onto the back grounds. “I can’t believe Mom never told us.”

“Really?” Now Gavin looked at
me
curiously.

“You’re right. I guess I can believe it.” Mom wasn’t really a family person. She was distant long before she started dosing.

Ben looked at us both as we crossed the grounds. He seemed to want to join our personal conversation, but chose not to. “I guess that covers some of the history. You could probably find more information if you wanted to, especially in Janine’s house.”

“I’m good. It’s cool and all, but there’s no need to dig up the past,” Gavin said and shook some of his longer hair off his forehead.

Unlike Gavin, the history lesson actually interested me. I wanted to know more about the family, especially Janine. Most of the property would be mine soon, and that alone was reason to learn.

When we reached the barn, Ben slid one of the doors open and Gavin weaved around the tractor and lawnmowers to get to the bikes. “I’ve watched Supercross on TV. Do you race or are you freestyle?”

Ben rested a hand on the handle bars of the bike that had Honda written on the slim, red seat. “I trail ride mostly. My friends and I race sometimes around here. We made our own track along the edge of the property, but we need to fix it up.” He glanced at me as Gavin inspected his bike.

“Is the track on your section of the property?” I asked.

“Yeah, actually,” he replied.

I silently scolded myself for the way the words sounded out loud. “I didn’t mean it like I’m worried that it’s on my part. I was just curious about the divides.”

“Since you brought it up, my part is back in the corner. One of the turns banks over my grandfather’s property line and into yours a bit, too. I was going to talk to you about it.” He squeezed the brake lever on his bike, but his eyes remained locked with mine.

“Oh,
I
see.”

“You see what?” His brows pinched together inquisitively.

“The real reason you wanted to hang out today. What if I say no? Maybe I don’t want my property getting ripped up,” I deadpanned.

His head kicked back, looking around the barn with an amused smirk. “Well, I guess I could say that since the property isn’t yours for several months, I don’t have to worry about getting your permission.”

I smirked back at him, fidgeting with the bandage around the base of my thumb. “True. Not sure if the manager of the estate would agree with you altering part of the grounds that are in trust to someone else though,” I teased.

“I’m in good with the manager.”

“Really?” I asked. “I didn’t think anyone could be in good with her.”

“Simone is okay, once you get to know her. She’s a hardass, and she expects a certain work ethic from all of her employees, but she gets the job done. You’re right though. She wouldn’t want me to touch your property without permission.”

“Good thing I can give you permission then.”

He backed away from his bike and tucked his thumbs into the front pockets of his jeans. “Just so you know,” he said, looking down at my bandaged hand. “Asking permission about the track wasn’t the reason to hang out today. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

The words rolled over me as smooth as his voice. My heart beat quickened. “Really? I’m not sure I can believe that.”

“You don’t believe me? How can I prove it?”

“Hey, I’m still right here. Could you at least wait until I’m gone to flirt? It’s kinda weirding me out,” Gavin said while he continued caressing the bike like it was a girlfriend instead of a machine.

Ugh!
My face burned again and my palms started sweating. Ben smiled before he turned to Gavin.

Suddenly, the headache returned full force accompanied by high-pitched tones, deafening my ears. The throbbing and ringing pricked tears in my eyes. I closed them tight and pressed my fingers into my lids, hoping to dull the pressure. Through the ringing, I heard a soft voice. It was undeniably Gavin, though, when I opened my eyes to him, his lips were still. The voice whispered again and I strained to hear it clearly.

“I wish I had the confidence to talk to girls the way he does,”
Gavin’s voice said, but the words were not formed from his lips.

I shook my head even with the pain and stared at him again. The pitches diminished and my head started to calm.

“Can I take this for a ride?” Gavin asked Ben as I stepped beside him.

“This bike is a bit big since you’re new. My friend Spaz has an older bike that you could probably learn on, but I think you’d have to ask your dad first. It’s not really my call,” Ben responded then glanced at me. His eyebrows knitted.

Gavin turned his face directly into my staring eyes. “What? Do I have a booger? Wait … Are you okay?”

I grabbed his arm and he recoiled, shocked by my forceful contact. He probably thought I was insane. Hell, I thought I was insane. “Did you just say something?”

He confused eyes looked into mine. “I asked if I could ride the bike.”

“No, before that,” I said, squeezing my hands around his arm.

“LJ,” Ben said, tearing my focus away from Gavin. He ran over to the lockers and grabbed something off of the nearby desk. When he rushed back, he held a tissue to my face. “Your nose is bleeding.”

I took hold of the tissue and pressed it to my nose, tilting my head back.

“What’s up?” Gavin asked me.

I stared at him, wondering the same thing. “I don’t know.”

“You need to sit down before you pass out,” I said while Gavin pulled LJ over to the desk beside the lockers. I tossed a greasy pair of coveralls off the empty chair before he sat her down.

“What’s with the nosebleeds?” Gavin asked, letting go of her arm.

“Is this something new?” I asked as my stomach dropped. Thoughts of the curse flooded my mind. I remembered seeing Janine’s nose bleed a few times.

LJ kept her head tilted back when she responded. “I haven’t had a nosebleed since I was little. Not sure why I’m getting them now. Could it be the humidity?”

“I’ve gotten them from the dry air in winter and from physical trauma, but I don’t think the humidity ever caused one,” I responded. “Tip your head forward so you don’t swallow too much blood.” I pulled another folding chair around the desk to sit in front of her.

She did as I instructed, still pinching her nose. “Do you have any Tylenol? My head is killing me.”

“Not out here. I can go get some from my house.” I stood up, ready to leave.

“I’ll get some. I’ve got to piss anyway,” Gavin said then shot me a head tilt.

“Nice, Gav.” LJ shook her head at him as he walked out of the barn.

I laughed at his bluntness and her reaction.

“It’s you,” LJ said, her voice squished from the pinch in her nose.

“What do you mean, it’s me?”

She smiled. The tissue hid most of her mouth, but I watched the corners of her lips shift, pressing her cheeks up under her big green eyes. It was nice to see her smile. “I think he’s trying to impress you.” With her head still tipped down, her shiny hair hung forward, curtaining her face in the most alluring way. She swept one curtain back behind an ear.

“Really? Why would he try to impress me?”

“He’s never been around
cool
older guys. I guess he wants you to like him.” Her eyes finally locked with mine, looking the perfect mix of angelic and sinful.

“No other
cool
guys have been around, huh?”

She smiled again with understanding. “There have been a couple of guys around, but they were of the douche variety. Not worth the time to impress.”

I choked out a laugh. “Yeah, well …” I looked around the barn, thinking about how badly I’d misjudged her. With the ability to spit nasty words, she was almost the exact opposite of the girl I’d pegged her as: pretentious and uptight. “I just might have my own douche qualities.”