I’ve added a book cover Shadows of the Past to my blog. I can’t believe I’m about ready to put it online–just a few more minutes.

 Chapter 13

Cole watched Tori saunter toward the bedrooms. Then she stopped in the short hallway to look at the photograph of three red-haired girls and a tow-headed boy on a nearby wall. “Hey, Cole. Is this picture of you and your sisters when you were little?”

“Sure is,” he said as he joined her and slid his arm around her waist. “Jenny’s the oldest; she’s thirty-five now. Kim’s thirty-four. And Jane is your age. Well, twenty-seven, really, but she’ll be twenty-eight in a couple of months. As you can see, I’m the only lucky one not to have inherited Mom’s red hair.”

Laying his hands on her hips, he turned her toward his spare bedroom where she’d changed earlier. Then he patted her bottom gently. “Now get that cute derriere in there and change into your bikini. There are plenty of beach towels in the closet.”

“I’ll tell you one thing, Mr. Marshall,” she said, grinning at him over her shoulder. “If I’d met you when you were—what, eight years old?”

“Eleven in that picture,” he corrected. “I told you I was puny until I was in tenth grade.”

“Doesn’t matter. Until I got a different kind of burned at twenty-one, I got every guy I set my sights on. I even got them when I was five. You wouldn’t have had a chance back then.”

“I don’t have a chance now,” he mumbled as she closed the bedroom door. He couldn’t believe the speed with which he’d become attached to Tori Young. Before this, he hadn’t even believed in love at first sight. But it had happened, and he was determined to protect her at all costs.

Returning to the living room, he called his father’s cell number.

“Coleman!” Richard exclaimed, before Cole had a chance to speak. “I didn’t expect to hear from you tonight. How’s Victoria?”

“Better. She’s going to lie in the surf for a while.” With a sigh, he strode into the kitchen to begin cleaning up. “How come you disappeared on me at the hospital?”

“I didn’t want to intrude. Are you two on Folly Island right now?”

“Yeah. We had to talk to the police about Jack, and I thought my place here would be easier for Det. Irving to find. By the way, we told him about Carl’s remains.”

“You did what? Coleman, how could you?”

“How could I not?” Cole returned irritably. “I can’t leave his bones in the mansion, and I sure can’t bury them there. Somebody might find them years from now, like we found them after all these years. Besides, we’re going to be living there, and I don’t want them around.”

“What’s this we stuff?” Tori asked hotly as she hobbled up to him.

He put his hand over the speaker and gazed down at her. “Go out and cool off that gorgeous, red body. I’ll explain later.”

She studied him a moment then smiled. “Okay. See you soon.”

Cole released a long, quiet breath as Tori limped toward the deck door. Tonight was going to be the most difficult of his life, because he wanted that woman more than he’d wanted any other in his life. No, it went deeper than that. He needed her. But he also needed to do his best to keep from getting too involved—if it wasn’t already too late.

As soon as he saw her start her laborious decent of the steps to the beach, he uncovered the mouthpiece. “Sorry about that, Dad.”

“That’s okay, son. It sounds like Victoria is upset with you.”

“Not really. Look, I just called to tell you that the cops know about Carl’s remains. They’ll be out at the mansion by eight tomorrow morning. Tori and I have a few things to do yet tonight, but I’d like you to come over about nine.”

“Why?” Richard demanded. “You already took it upon yourself to involve the cops.”

“I had to, Dad.” A fight over the phone wasn’t going to get his father to the house, so Cole battled the urge to return Richard’s anger. “Tori insists on staying there during the restoration, and I can’t let her live with a heap of bones in the apartment. I’m moving in with her, because I don’t want a repeat of what happened to Jack. And I sure as hell don’t want Carl hanging around.” He paused a moment to contemplate his words. “Are you coming over or not? We need to decide what to do next.”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, Dad. You know. Irving will have his men investigate. We may not get along very well, but you’re still my father. I won’t let you go to jail any sooner than I’ll let Tori sleep with a skeleton. See you at nine.”

Again Cole hung up without giving his father time to reply.

 ***

        The gentle waves lapped over Tori’s hot body, cooling it more than she’d expected. It felt good to let the water extinguish some of the searing fire.

She heard Cole’s footsteps as he walked through the sand but kept her eyes closed. The relaxation she felt was too intense to willingly disrupt. When he made his presence known, she would give in to whatever he wanted to discuss. Until then, she would loll in the peaceful calm that the ocean washed over her.

The sand moved as he knelt at her head. Then he kissed her nose lightly.

“Ow,” she said, abruptly opening her eyes.

“Sorry, Red,” he apologized with a playful grin. Still bending over her, he kissed her lips. “I didn’t think such a light kiss would hurt you.”

“Just thinking about you kissing any part of me that’s sunburned hurts,” she said with a seductive giggle. There, she’d done it. She’d planted the idea in his mind. She could tell by the expression on his face. Then again, after the way he’d been acting since they left the hospital, he might need more than an idea. He probably needed a straightforward nudge. “Thank goodness, they make lip balm with a sunblock—and that there are a few places that the sun didn’t attack.”

He stretched out on his side next to her. “Oh, there are, are there?”

A wave swept over them while he stared down at her. With an idea, Tori took deep breaths so her moderate but firm breasts would rise and fall enticingly beneath her strapless bikini top. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation to make love to her. When he spoke, his heated whisper betrayed the nonchalance of his words, giving her greater hope that she could succeed.

“The water’s nice and cool. I’ll bet it makes your body feel wonderful.” His eyes darted back to hers, and he stared down at her, obviously startled by the sound of his voice. “I mean the water must make you feel real good. Oh, God! That’s not right, either. What I mean is …”

Tori giggled and laid her fingertip on his lips. “I know what you mean, Cole. You sure are nervous tonight. Mind if I ask why?”

“It’s because you scare me.”

“I do?” she asked, astonished. “Why?”

“Are you kidding?” he exclaimed. “It’s what you said when we were talking about the picture of my sisters and me. You said that even when you were five you got every boy you set your sights on.”

Tori smiled. But her face felt like it would break, so she stopped. “For heaven’s sake, Cole, I didn’t think you’d take me seriously. I’ve never conquered a man, nor would I know how. I was just teasing. I was painfully shy when I was young. If boys didn’t approach me—and very few did because I’m so tall—I let opportunity knock without answering the door.”

“But now you’re …”

“Eager to answer it?” she interrupted.

“That’s what it looks like,” he told her. “It’s how you’re talking.”

“I’m talking through my hat. I mean everything I’m saying, but I’m running on instinct.”

“You don’t have to explain,” he said quietly. “And you don’t have to give yourself …”

“Hush,” she returned, again laying her fingertip on his lips. “I’m not here because I have to be. I’m here because I want to be. I feel comfortable with you, Cole. So stop worrying about little things and kiss me. Right now that’s all I want.” She flashed him a half-smile. “Well, maybe not all I want, but it will make a terrific start.”

A moment later his lips covered hers. His tongue clashed with hers, dueling its heat into her mouth and igniting the fire within her soul. It wasn’t just a spark this time. It was a raging inferno that exploded throughout her body, burning brightest in two places—her chest and her loins.

Softly sliding her hands up his muscular arms, she delighted in the raw cottony feel of his body hair as he propped himself over her. Only their lips touched, yet she felt like she was sky-rocketing through space, caught in a vacuum, floating above Earth.

Their noses bumping reminded her of her pain-racked flesh, but this time she didn’t complain. She wanted him to fill her with the kind of joy that she knew only he could give her. Another wave washed over them, dousing the fire on her skin while Cole intensified the fire within.

His hand caressed her breast so tenderly that she could scarcely feel it. Breaking the kiss, he slid his tongue over her chin and across her chest. But there was no physical pain—only the emotional agony of desire yet unsated.

“Oh, Cole,” she sighed heatedly.

“Hush, my darling,” he whispered. “Don’t talk. Enjoy.”

He slid his finger into her cleavage and pulled out on her top, carefully moving it under her pliant mounds. There was no pain, only the excruciating joy of promised passion. He kissed each nipple then circled each with the tip of his tongue. The flames of desire licked deliciously at her body.

Then, without warning, he replaced her top and squatted beside her. She gazed up at him in silent disappointment. He was stopping; he didn’t want her now that he could have her.

A moment later, he smiled down at her. “We have to move inside, honey. This isn’t my private beach.” Lifting her, he raced through the sand to the house, like a man who was used to running on the beach. “There are too many prying eyes that could see what we’re doing.”

Tori smiled in return. She didn’t want to break the spell with more words. Besides, she didn’t have to respond for him to see her acceptance.

As soon as they were in the house, he set her on the carpeted living room floor. Quickly unhooking her top, he tossed it aside. With his hands behind her back, he lowered her until she lay before him. He kissed each nipple again then tenderly grasped the waistband of her bottoms.

She stifled a cry of pain and inhaled sharply through clenched teeth. If he knew how badly it hurt, he would think she was being a martyr, which she wasn’t. She wanted him as badly as he did her, and she intended to get what she wanted this time.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he whispered as he removed his wet cut-off jeans. “I didn’t want to hurt you, but I couldn’t help it with your burn.”

“Oh, Cole!” she sighed as she viewed his completely nude body for the first time.

There wasn’t a spot on him that wasn’t perfectly toned. She especially liked his hard, sinewy thighs. With a soft smile, she ran her hands up and down them several times while he positioned himself between her legs.

“You’re gorgeous,” she whispered hotly.

He accepted her compliment with a blush. “Not as gorgeous as you.”

His lips met hers again, driving her into an abyss of emotion that stopped all time and thought, all pain and fear. Very carefully, very languorously, he joined with her and showed her what true joy was. He took her on a journey through lovemaking that she knew could never be rivaled by another man.

Her tumultuous cry of fulfillment mingled with Cole’s ecstatic groan and echoed in her ears for what seemed like an eternity. She was so filled with elation that she wanted to hug him to her. But she couldn’t. He had already moved onto his back beside her.

“I hope I didn’t hurt you, honey,” he said with a hint of lust in his tone.

Her heart ached because their physical contact had been so limited, but she replied calmly. “Not at all.”

“I have to thank you for not telling me to back off. I’ve wanted this moment since I first set eyes on you, and I had to pick this time—when you’re burnt to a crisp—to get up the courage to make love to you. I feel like a heel, too, I couldn’t even hold you.”

“I won’t be burnt forever,” she returned with a half-smile.

“Does that mean you’re going to let me move into the mansion with you?”

“I didn’t think I had a choice,” she teased.

“You don’t.” When Cole glanced at his watch, his green eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, my God. Dad should be here in about fifteen minutes, but he’s noted for being early. You go shower off the sand and salt water. I’ll take one when he’s gone.”

Tori limped  into the bathroom, and Cole raced to his bedroom, where he put on a dry pair of cut-offs. Then he returned to the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher.

As he took some trash to the garbage can just outside the basement door, Cole saw a sedan pull into the driveway. He held the door open while he waited impatiently for his father. With Richard’s face illuminated by the streetlight at the end of the driveway, Cole realized that his father dreaded this conversation as much as he did. But they had to have it eventually, so they may as well get it over with.

After strained greetings, they went upstairs to the living room.

“What’s this all about?” Richard asked as they mounted the steps.

“I told you on the phone,” Cole said. “Would you give me a second? I have to check on Tori.”

Striding to the spare bedroom, he tapped on the door then entered without waiting for permission. When he saw her slipping into a loose dress, he stalked to over her, laid his hands on her lower back, and pulled her forward until only her breasts touched his body. She giggled as he stared down at them.

“I thought I heard your father pull up,” she said. “Don’t you think he’d get suspicious if you stay in here for more than a minute or two?”

He kissed her quickly. “Yeah, but he knows the score by now. After all, the man’s had four kids.”

“But his unmarried son?” she taunted. “And ready to do it again after only a few minutes? He might get the wrong impression.”

“Yeah,” he retaliated, “but it’s the sexy, red lady who keeps his unmarried son in a perpetual state of … Well, you get the picture.”

“That’s not all I get,” she reminded him seductively.

Cole laughed. “You, my dear, have gone from a sweet innocent to a dirty-minded woman before my very eyes. If we didn’t have work to do, I’d have you on that bed in a second. Unfortunately, you’re right. Dad’s here, and I have to warn you that I’m going to try to find out what he knows about Carl’s death.”

“I already figured that. How are you going to do it?”

Cole grimaced. “I don’t know what I’m going to do or say. Just be there to back me up if I get in too deep, okay?”

“All right.” She kissed him on the throat, and an involuntary shiver of delight coursed through him. “But you can’t do that while you’re standing here seducing me. Now get out there and let me button my dress.”

Laughing, Cole wandered back to the living room.

From his seat on the couch, Richard turned around with a wide grin across his mouth. Holding up Tori’s bikini bottoms that he’d found on the floor, Richard asked, “Getting a little before our chat, son?”

Infuriated by his father’s cavalier attitude, he grabbed the bottoms and shook them in his fist. “Don’t you ever tease me about something like that again—not where Tori’s concerned, anyway. She’s not a joking matter.”

“You really care about her, don’t you,” Richard said. “This isn’t just some fly-by-night romance.”

“My relationship with Tori is none of your business.” Cole dropped onto his recliner and laid the bikini bottoms on the table next to it. “What is your business, though, is what happened to Carl and how we’re going to cover it up.”

“I didn’t know what you were talking about the first time you mentioned this to me,” Richard insisted, “and nothing’s changed.”

When Tori entered the room, Cole extended his arm toward her in a silent gesture for her to join him. With a smile, she wandered to his side and sank onto the arm of his chair. Smiling back, he grasped her hand, hoping to again draw on her strength.

“Look, Dad,” Cole said as he squeezed her hand, “we know you’re involved in this. We just haven’t figured out how deeply. You see, Tori found the letters …”

“Letters?” Richard asked in amazement. “What letters?”

“The ones Carl wrote to Mom. I’ve seen them myself, too, so don’t try to deny that they exist. I also know how their affair started.”

“That’s something even I don’tknown,” Richard admitted sadly. “Would you tell me?”

Cole eyed his father suspiciously then glanced up at Tori. She seemed sympathetic toward Richard. Looking back to the older man, he spoke quietly. “You really didn’t know about the letters.”

“No. How did their affair start?”

“Mom had gone to him because she didn’t know what else to do. She suspected you were having an affair, and he was trying to help her save her marriage. The only way he felt safe communicating with her was through letters.” Richard shifted in his seat and stared at his hands, but he said nothing. “It seemed odd that he would think letters were safe, but I understand now. Tori found them hidden in a piece of furniture.” Cole paused to think. He didn’t want to give out too much information, so he had to choose his words carefully. “He felt sorry for her and one thing led to another. There were three years’ worth of letters hidden away, but their affair wasn’t mentioned until about a year before Mom left. In the last letter, he told her that he couldn’t leave Claire after all. That’s why we think one of two things happened.”

When Cole didn’t continue, Richard asked, “And those two things are?”

“You killed Carl to keep Mom from running away, because you didn’t know about that letter. Or Mom killed Carl, and you helped her cover it up. Personally, I lean toward the first scenario for several reasons. Mom wasn’t the kind of person who could kill somebody. It just wasn’t in her nature. Besides, that wouldn’t explain why she ran off.

“You, on the other hand, have a very hot temper when you’re crossed. If you flew into a rage, you could easily have killed somebody—without even realizing what was happening. In that case, you could probably plead temporary insanity, but it would be a little hard to prove after all these years. Then again, that doesn’t explain why Mom ran away. She wouldn’t have let a man who committed murder raise us.” Cole gazed directly into his father’s green eyes. “Come on, Dad. It’s time to come clean.”

Richard said nothing for several seconds. When he finally spoke, his voice cracked under his obvious strain. “You’ve always had a fanciful imagination, son. Everything you’ve said is pure nonsense.”

“Then why the hell were you so against me opening the house?” Cole demanded. “Why were you so against the restoration? And why did you practically go off the deep end when I told you that I told Irving about Carl’s remains?”

“It’s a family problem,” Richard explained. “You should have taken the bones and buried them. Let the past stay dead, Coleman.”

Cole shook his head. “I can’t do that, Dad. We’re going to be living in that house, and I won’t have us haunted by shadows of the past. I want us to live peacefully.”

“You will. Just bury the skeleton, and everything will be fine.” Richard rose and started toward the door. “I’ve got to go now. I’m beat.”

Shocked by his father’s abrupt departure, Cole stared at him for a moment and then started after him. Tori grasped his shoulder firmly. “Let him go, Cole. You’ve done everything you can, and it’s obvious he has nothing more to say.”

“I guess you’re right,” Cole admitted, “But I get the horrible feeling that I didn’t do enough.”

 ***

        From his car in the motel parking lot, Richard watched the only road off of Folly Island for an hour. Obviously, the couple wouldn’t be leaving that night.

Cole’s speculation was viable and would probably be used as circumstantial evidence. That would put blame on him, because everything Cole had said about Lucinda was true. Now the noose was tightening around his neck, and he didn’t know how to loosen it without implicating the only woman he had ever truly loved.

Starting the engine, he went in search of that irritating redhead. Why had she started all the recent trouble, anyway? Why couldn’t she have left the past alone? Things would have been a lot simpler if she hadn’t decided to take matters into her own hands. Instead of just protecting her, he now had to protect two people, three if he counted Tori.

The young architect was another problem. She was too nosy, and she was getting her hooks into his son. She’d probably decided that she loved the house and the money that went with it. And she’d decided to marry Cole to get them.

That little gold digger started all of this trouble, he thought as he turned off the main road. Somebody needed to stop her before she learned the truth—if she didn’t already know it. Cole might feel sorry for her because she’d taken an overdose, but he didn’t. And he wasn’t going to let her get away with what she was doing. He would just have to have his favorite redhead take care of matters.

Or had Tori started it? Maybe he himself had set this scenario in motion thirty-seven years ago when he’d fallen in love with one sister then started an affair with the other one to make her jealous.

Actually, when it started didn’t matter anymore. The important thing was that the incidents come to an end as soon as possible.