Shadow of Suspicion (Haunted by the Past) (4 page)

The van pulled into a long driveway.
Callie stared at the large, grey building as it rapidly approached. It gave her
the impression of a miserable old woman crouched down into the hillside. The
dark, uninviting windows were like angry eyes boring into them as they came to
a halt before the front entrance. Even the wide front door appeared to be an
unhappy wrinkled old mouth. Nothing in the appearance of the B&B gave the
slightest feeling of warmth or welcome and the steady fall of rain from the
bleak sky didn’t help.

Callie’s instincts and training kicked
in. The interior designer in her scanned the property thoroughly. She mentally
filed away observations as her saviour set his hand break. There was a lot of
work to be done on the exterior of the establishment alone. Worry nagged at her
and she frowned. What was she going to discover on the inside? If the outside
was any indication, it wouldn’t be good.

“Well, here it is.” Her annoying
rescuer swept his hand towards the building.

Callie glared at him and forced
herself to ignore his incredibly handsome face. She’d had quite a turn when
he’d removed his hood and scarf as they drove. She’d never imagined that the
man underneath all that winter covering had a face that wouldn’t be out of
place on billboards and magazine covers.

His strong square jawline was dusted
with a light stubble that gave him a rugged appearance. She could clearly see
strength of character in his stubborn chin and high cheekbones. Everything
about him shrieked sexy and she’d certainly not been immune to it, much to her
chagrin. Callie had never really understood that whole workmen sexy male thing
before. She’d always maintained that she’d like a man who had intelligence and
was sensitive. She needed to send a memo to her body to remind it of her
ideals. Maybe then she wouldn’t get breathless every time his gorgeous eyes
landed on her.

“Are you going to get out or do you
plan on sleeping in my van all night?” She gritted her teeth at the amusement
she could hear in his tone. “I can always take you someplace else, if you’ve
changed your mind about staying here.”

“No, of course not.” Callie cleared
her throat and ran her fingers through her damp hair. “I’m sure the inside is
better than the outside.”

He snorted with laughter. “I can
assure you, it isn’t!”

Callie squared her shoulders. “Well,
that’s why I’m here. If the place was already an oil painting, my services
wouldn’t be required. I will soon turn this establishment into a goldmine. You’ll
see. It will end up being
the
place to stay in the area.”

“You carry a magic wand?” He glanced
around her as if expecting to see one poking out somewhere. “Cause you’re going
to need one to turn that place around.”

“Look here Mr?” She realised she
didn’t even know his name.

“Hawkes.” He extended his hand.
“Jason Hawkes at your service.”

Callie reluctantly shook his hand.
Little frissons of energy shot up her arm at his touch. “I’m Callie Price,” she
introduced herself. “As I was saying, Mr Hawkes, I’d appreciate it if you kept
your comments to yourself. I have turned many a business around and I am the
best at what I do. You were obviously offended when I remarked on your
knowledge as a mechanic, so don’t make sarcastic comments about my job.”

“Touché.” He saluted her with a
cheeky grin.

“Now, if you don’t mind, I would
appreciate it if you could retrieve my luggage and help me inside.” Callie
unclipped her seat belt before she noticed he hadn’t moved.

“In case you didn’t realise, I’m a
mechanic not a manservant.” He arched a brow at her. “I’ve picked up your car
and driven you to your destination. That’s as far as my job description goes.”

Callie huffed, at a complete loss for
the first time in her life. “You mean you won’t help me inside?”

He quirked a brow at her. “I’m
assuming you know how to open the boot of a car and lift out cases?”

“Of course I do!”

“Well then.” He waved a hand at her.
“Please don’t be all day about it. I’m supposed to be picking up my girlfriend
for dinner tonight.”

Callie snorted rudely. “You mean you
actually have some poor woman that will put up with you?”

She pushed away the sliver of
jealousy that surged through her. It was nothing to her that he had a
girlfriend. He was just some annoying mechanic that had saved her from spending
a night on the roadside. She couldn’t care less about his relationship status.

Jason grinned. “She more than puts up
with me, I assure you.”

“Then she must need her head
examined!” His laughter filled the air and set her teeth on edge.

Callie gathered her bag and broken
umbrella. She didn’t relish the thought of trudging back into the rain, but
there was no avoiding it since Mr Ungallant wasn’t going to help her. She
pulled her car key out of her bag and opened the van door. The wind whipped at
her hair and clothes. She shivered. The icy blast cut right through the damp
material plastered to her body and penetrated her bones.

She struggled past the van to her car
and shoved the key into the lock on her boot. Callie twisted the key and pushed
up the car boot door. It squealed as it rose up, revealing her cases nestled
inside. She gripped the handle of the first case and heaved it out of the car.
The stupid thing promptly dropped heavily onto her foot and burst open. She
yelped in pain and hopped on one foot, whilst she clutched the other with her
hand. The wind grabbed hold of her clothing and tossed several items into the
muddy puddles scattered around the driveway.

Callie stood watching in fascinated
horror as her best silk blouse soaked up the muddy water like a sponge. Tears
pricked her eyes. Why was she putting herself through this? Was it worth it?
This trip had been one disaster after another. She should have listened to Jade
and stuck her mother’s letter in the bin. Callie sniffed and wiped a hand over
her face.

“Here.” She jumped as a hand appeared
at her side, holding several items of dripping clothing. Callie glanced up at
Jason. His expression could only be described as murderous.

“Why are you helping me, if it’s so
much trouble for you?” She snatched the clothes from him and stuffed them back
into her case.

“Because I don’t want to be here all
night.” Jason swept up the remaining items, including her ruined blouse. “It’s
a wonder you’re let out on your own.”

Callie bit her lip. “I’ll have you
know that I am a very capable woman. Everyone has a bad day now and then. I’m
sure even you, as perfect as you apparently are, have your off moments.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just zip up your case
and I’ll help you inside.” He slapped the remaining sodden clothing into her
open case and stepped to the car to remove the other one from the boot.

Callie muttered under her breath,
wishing all manner of awful predicaments on top of his head as she secured her
case. She pulled the handle up and rolled the case along behind her. Callie
staggered towards the front door. She could hear Jason’s heavy steps behind
her, along with several choice complaints he directed at her. Callie gritted
her teeth. She had quite a few complaints of her own!

They entered a small lobby that
opened out into the foyer of the B&B. Callie swallowed down a gasp of
horror. The carpet covering the floor was threadbare and so dirty she could
barely tell what the original colour had been. A faded pattern clashed horribly
with the garish wallpaper that proudly sat on the walls.

A large painting hung behind the
reception. A fat boy sprawled under a tree, sleeping contentedly while others
ran around him doing all the work. She raised a brow. Obviously this was
supposed to be the lazy boy the place was named after. She made a mental note
to speak to Mr Cunningham about the name of the establishment. If this place
was ever to become successful, it would have to rebrand.

Jason set her case down next to the
old wooden reception desk. The thing looked as though it had been through
several wars. The amount of dents, scars and chips were ridiculous. Callie
wondered what was holding it together. She imagined she could blow on it and
the whole thing would fall apart. She glanced at Jason to find him watching her
closely. Callie blanked her expression. She would not give him the satisfaction
of an ‘I told you so’.

“Thank you for your help, Mr Hawkes.
I can take it from here.”

He quirked an eyebrow. His gaze
scanned over the reception and then her. They were dark brown, she noted with a
shiver. “You’re sure you want to stay here. I guess I can take you somewhere
else, if you want.” He glanced at his watch. “I still have a little time to
spare.”

“I’ll be fine. I wouldn’t want to
hold you up any further.” Callie squared her shoulders.

“Okay, I’ll leave you to it.” He
turned to leave.

“Oh, Mr Hawkes?” He paused and
glanced over his shoulder at her. “Do you have a phone number where I can reach
you?”

He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows
at her. “Why, Miss Price, I’ve already told you I have a girlfriend. I am
flattered by your interest though.”

Heat broke out over her entire body.
The man was impossible. Laughter lit his eyes, which just made him sexier.
Blast the man! She resisted the urge to stamp her foot.

“As much as I’d rather never lay eyes
on you again, I need to be able to contact you about my car.” She pointed back
towards the driveway for some stupid reason.

Jason’s grin widened and he held up
his hands. “Just a joke, Miss Price. No need to get testy.” He reached into his
jacket and she heard a zip being unfastened. He pulled out a business card and
handed it to her. “You can either phone or drop in to the garage. I’ll sort out
a quote for a new engine for you and we’ll take it from there.”

“Thanks.” Callie slipped the card
into her bag and watched him meander to the exit. She wondered if a jury would
let her off for murder, due to mitigating circumstances.

“Hope you settle in okay, Miss Price.
See you around.” He gave a slight wave in her direction and ducked out into the
stormy weather.

Callie drew in several deep breaths
in an attempt to calm herself down. She wondered where the receptionist was
hiding. Surely someone kept an eye on the foyer for arriving guests. Callie
desperately wanted to wash up and change into dry clothes. Thank goodness she’d
packed two cases or she’d have no dry clothes left. She tapped a small gold
bell that sat on the desk. The tinkling sounded dull. She hoped someone would
hear it. A couple of minutes ticked by.

“Hello?” Callie called and thumped on
the bell again, silently praying the desk didn’t fall apart under her forceful
strikes.

Finally, she heard the sound of a
door squeaking open. A young girl with a sulky disposition, stalked into the
foyer. Callie guessed her to be around eighteen or nineteen at most. She raised
a brow at Callie as she stepped behind the desk.

“Can I help you?” she requested, her
manner as lazy as the boy in the painting above her head. She drooped over the
desk and propped her chin in one hand. She picked up a pen almost as an
afterthought.

“I’m Callie Price. You should be
expecting me.” Callie was far from impressed. She mentally filed away the note
to speak to Mr Cunningham about his receptionist. Her eyes dipped to the girl’s
name badge.
Kathy
winked back at her in gold lettering.

“Oh. The interior designer.” Kathy
straightened up and her eyes roved over Callie with a slight sneer. “Andy said
you’d be arriving today.”

Callie’s brows shot up at the girl’s
familiar use of Mr Cunningham’s name. Her lips thinned with displeasure. “If
you don’t mind, I’ve been on the road all day. I would like to settle in my room
as quickly as possible.”

Kathy shrugged and grabbed a key from
the rack on the wall beside her. “Andy requested you be placed in the best
room. It’s number 8 on the second floor.”

She tossed the key onto the desk and
turned to leave. “Oh, I almost forgot,” she glanced back at Callie, “he told me
to let you know that he’d pick you up at seven to take you to dinner.”

“Pick me up? Isn’t he staying here?” Callie
frowned, confused.

Kathy raised a brow and laughed. “Mr
Cunningham in this dump? You must be kidding. He’s staying at Warner House.”

Her laughter bounced around the walls
as she stomped back to wherever she’d been previously hiding. Callie stood
rooted to the spot, shocked at Kathy’s revelation. Mr Cunningham wasn’t staying
here? She glanced around the lobby. Anger burned in her chest. He’d assured her
the place was comfortable, but it spoke volumes that
he
wasn’t putting
his head down here.

She gripped the handle of her case
tightly. Just wait until he arrived later. Callie was fully prepared to give
him a piece of her mind. She’d had about as much as she could take for one day.
What with the traffic jam, her car breaking down, her rude rescuer, her case
bursting open, and now this. She didn’t even want to
think
about the
strange girl incidents. It was just too much.