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Under the Rug
Mike and I left Susan on the second floor, getting ready to start with my room and Isaac’s, and went on to the third floor. The poor man halted at the doorway, gaping at the mess around, speechless. I walked in, looking around too. With the two big shelves up again, the work left was plenty but easier.
We decided we should start by clearing the furniture from the front half of the room, so we could pick up all the books Cristine had been throwing around and clean that side. Then we’d move everything over to that side to work on the other half of the study.
We’d been working for about twenty minutes, trading occasional comments, when I thought he might know something about the water diviner marks.
“D’you know if there was a well in the grounds? One that was dug shortly after the inauguration of the Manor?”
Our newfound trust made him take my question like one of my usual weird inquiries, surely related to the ghosts or s
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I followed Brandon without a word all the way up to the third floor. He made me walk into the study first and locked the door behind us. Okay, no interruptions whatsoever? What was going on?I was still looking around, amazed to see the large room completely restored in such a short time, when his arms showed up from behind me and wrapped around my chest. The warm touch of his lips brushing my ear caused me a chill.“Let’s talk now,” he whispered. “I wanna clear this outta the way.”I turned my face toward him and brought up a hand to run my fingers through his short hair, kissing him.“I love you,” I murmured.“Me too, kid.” He let go of me to go to the loveseats. “C’mon, let’s have a seat.”“Jesus, you sound awfully serious.”I didn’t dig the way he raised his eyebrows. “Because I am. Come.”Not like I had a choice. I s
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