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“I haven’t had ti properly”
He took another step forward, encroaching on her space “There are even ru haunted since the war, at least if the old-timers down at Breezes Café are to be believed The mansion is a town icon”
She took a step back, alar haunted, especially after her strange sensations at the cellar door and stairs “If it’s such a gem, then why did it ever fall into such disrepair?”
He shrugged “Marian Foster turned it into a home for unwed mothers, and then she lived in it alone for years Ru it up when she could no longer care for herself”
“How long ago?”
“Ten years, easy It’s stayed vacant since then as Marian insisted that it remain untouched Soht word “Dementia, probably,” he said, quieter now “Not crazy Just not in the same reality, you know?”
“And now she’s left it to me”
“Seems that way” The tone of his voice made it sound like the fact only confirmed her aunt’s precarious state of mind
She aze honestly “Believe me, I’m just as confused as you are I never rand a sister The Fosters never saw fit to give her a red cent when she was alive, so leaving it toto say the least I didn’t even know Gram came from money God knoe could have used a bit of it from time to time”
“You could be the one to colory I’ up…”
“With your help, of course” She injected a fair dose of sarcasm into the words It didn’t escape her notice that he referred to the house as “her” Good grief
“Coripped her wrist, tugging her through the still open door and into the foyer
She shook his hand off “What are you doing?” She put her fingers on the skin he’d touched His hands were so big his fingers had dwarfed her tiny wrist What orse, she’d found it exciting, being tugged along in his wake She hadn’t exactly felt threatened She’d felt … exhilarated That waselse that had happened today, and that was saying a lot
Their gazes clashed and she felt the strange swirling again There was so in the dark depths of his eyes, some sort of awareness that made her breath catch in her throat Finally he stepped forward, picking up her hand in a gentle way that sent her heart knocking against her ribs “Trust me, okay?”
She watched, fascinated, as To to reaze With her hand cradled in his, Abby had the sensation of being enveloped—completely and utterly It wasn’t just his size, but the sense of the muscled physique beneath the cotton shirt and his control over it All thatspeci honest about hi there in the foyer of her newly inherited home, Abby suddenly realized that she did trust him … to a point She may not know Tom Arseneault but she kneouldn’t harm her