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There was electricity in Sean’s eyes. It was proof that he wanted to chase this story to the ends of the earth.
“Let’s go back to the Grayson Estate,” he urged. “It’s like you said. Maybe that diary was just the tip of the iceberg.”
Rose drove Sean back out to the estate that afternoon with the windows cracked and her hair flowing out behind her. Rose fought her instinct to touch Sean’s hand, there where he had it stretched out across his thigh. She told herself her emotions and hormones were all over the place. It was a result of the investigation.
Back at the Grayson Estate, the construction workers were taking a break outside and discussing the specifics regarding the ballroom rooftop and the “insane task” it was to ensure it was stable—that it could continue to have any kind of life. They stopped talking when they realized Rose and Sean were approaching. A few workers popped up, adjusted their hard hats, and said hello.
“Don’t worry,” Rose said. “I’ll stay out of your hair.” She chewed her lower lip, then added, “I’m not terribly precious about that old ballroom rooftop. If you say it has to go, it has to go.”
With that, she breezed through the front entrance of the Grayson Estate with her heart throbbing in her throat. Sean was hot on her heels. She could feel his eyes through her back.
To clarify, Rose paused on the staircase, hand spread across the railing. “I don’t want them to think I’m precious about this place. I wanted to retain as much of its glory as I could. But I don’t want to cling to old ideas. I don’t want to uphold anything dangerous.”
Overtly, she was talking about the roof and the mansion and its numerous rooms and numerous antiques and artwork. But she could see it in Sean’s eyes. He knew she was talking about Oren, too. About her memories. About the man she’d once loved—who’d poisoned her, the way a worm poisons an apple.
They returned to Natalie’s room and went through the rest of the desk, dresser, closet, and the drawers beneath the ornate bed. There were more diaries, but most of them were from Natalie’s girlhood, the time before she’d met Oren. One of them spoke of Natalie’s fiancé at the time she’d met Oren. It was clear from Natalie’s writing that she’d been head-over-heels for Howard. She’d been bright-eyed, youthful. She’d never thought to dream she’d die in a house fire one day.
There were photographs, too.
The photographs were particularly harrowing—especially for Rose. In them, Natalie and Oren were sensationally beautiful, arm in arm or kissing on a beach or sitting in a convertible with sunglasses on. Natalie showed a sillier side, sticking out her tongue to Oren, who looked moody, his eyes glinting.
Sean touched Rose’s back and breathed, “Are you all right?”
Rose realized she hadn’t said anything in more than an hour. She’d been immersed in Natalie and Oren’s life pre-Rose.
Rose picked up the photographs of Oren in the convertible, Oren at the baseball field, and Oren at the racetrack. Her eyes stung with tears. “He looks just like he did when I met him,” she said.
Sean bowed his head.
I wonder if he’s still jealous?Rose wondered, then cursed herself for thinking it. How could he be jealous of a wanted murderer? How could he be jealous of the heinous man who’d destroyed Rose’s life?
But of course, Oren had been and probably still was the sort of man who always got the girl he wanted. Sean wasn’t that kind of guy.
Not until now,Rose thought, then scrubbed it out immediately.
“I guess it’s no surprise you fell in love with him,” Sean said, as though he read her mind. “Look at him.”
Sean sounded sorrowful.
Rose stuttered and closed the album where they’d discovered the photos in the first place. “You have to understand. He had so much power over me.”
Sean nodded. He held her gaze. It was as though hewas waiting for Rose to say something else, to explain herself even more.
But Rose didn’t want to tell Sean about the baby. She didn’t want to tell anyone about the baby.
Even the Salt Sisters didn’t know.
Chapter Sixteen
October 1993
Oren took the news just as Rose dreamed he would. He was ecstatic, leaping from his desk chair to wrap her in his arms and spin her in a circle. He then put her down gently on her tiptoes and kissed her lips, her fingers, her forehead, and her stomach. There were tears in his eyes. Rose thought,This is the happiest day of my life.It was only the hundredth time she’d thought that since she’d met Oren. She figured there were hundreds of thousands more.
That night, they lay in Oren’s bed and talked about the future in a way that made it feel real for the first time. Oren propped his head on her stomach as his eyes swelled.
“I hope you’ll marry me,” he whispered. “Make it official.”
Rose brought her hands on either side of his face and had to stop herself from screaming with joy. Instead,delicately, softly, she said, “I want to marry you, Oren Grayson. I want to be with you the rest of my life.”
