Beckoning Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #1)(25)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

“He walked her home from Brian’s party the other night, and she was positively glowing the next morning.”

“She just told me she walked home with a friend,” I said, mostly to myself. I really couldn’t believe that Charlotte would purposely keep that from me.

Liam shrugged. “They do talk a lot at lunch.”

“Do you have his number?” Monty repeated.

“Yeah, let me call him.” Liam looked disappointed when he hung up a few seconds later. “No answer.”

“Where does he live?” I figured it was worth a shot.

Liam knew where James lived, so we jumped back in Monty’s car and drove over. The house was dark, and we heard nothing while we waited to see if anyone answered the door.

“I really don’t think anyone’s home,” Liam said after a few minutes.

“No, but then why is his car here?” I asked. “It seems suspicious, doesn’t it?”

Monty must have thought it was suspicious, too, because suddenly he was kicking in the front door. Dumbfounded, Liam and I looked at each other. This was not typical Monty behavior. We walked through the entryway and into the living room. There was a giant flat-screen TV, easily eighty inches, boxes of stereo equipment that hadn’t even been opened yet, three different video game consoles, and the weirdest thing, an empty hot tub in the middle of the room.

“Who does this kid live with?” I wondered what kind of parents would have their house looking like a bachelor pad. Monty started opening doors and looking through rooms. Liam and I followed, shocked by his behavior. When we walked into the study, Monty looked intently at an item on the desk. He picked it up and pocketed it, then walked back toward the front door.

“We need to get home now,” Monty said firmly.

I could tell that he definitely believed that James had something to do with Charlotte’s absence and I got angry. “That punk had better not be doing anything stupid with my sister,” I screamed at no one in particular.

I half expected Charlotte to be waiting for us in the kitchen when we returned, but she wasn’t. Instead, I saw the small gray cat I had seen in our yard a few times lately. “Monty, your stupid cat got inside,” I shouted, not willing to deal with anything but finding Charlotte. I was beginning to get scared.

“My cat? I don’t have a cat.”

I pointed at it as he walked into the room. “The gray one.”

Monty looked at the cat, and then made a noise in his throat. When the cat caught Monty’s gaze, it began to jump up and down meowing incessantly. It ran through the kitchen, then down the hall toward the back door.

“We need to follow the cat,” Monty barked.

“What the hell, Uncle Monty? We need to find Charlotte,” I reminded him, wondering why he was spacing out on me. Liam looked as perplexed as I felt.

“I’ve got a sinking feeling this cat knows where Charlotte is,” Monty said slowly.

“Are you serious?” I asked, wondering what in the world was going on.

“Kevin, there are some things I never told you or your sister about our family,” Monty said gravely.

Chapter Thirteen

Charlotte

Blake left the room and returned with a petite girl around my age with reddish-blond hair. He talked to her quietly as they walked over to me, and I heard him say, “Please show Charlotte to her room and see to her needs.”

“Yes, sir,” the girl replied.

I tentatively followed her down a long hallway and up a flight of stairs. We continued down another hallway until she stopped at a set of heavy wooden doors and pulled open one side. I followed the girl into a spacious, beautiful room. On one side of the room stood a large four-poster bed with a light blue bedspread and matching canopy. An upholstered bench rested in front of the bed, with a giant armoire against one wall. Large windows lit the room, each with heavy blue drapes, two sets of which were currently drawn back. They must really love blue here, I thought, as I surveyed the room. In the center of the room stood a white claw-foot tub, which the girl was now filling with water.

“That’s not for me, is it?” I asked.

“Of course it is. The water is warm, I assure you,” she said calmly.

“It’s not that.” I was shocked for two reasons. One, someone was going through all of that trouble just so I could bathe. Two, there was clearly no indoor plumbing, and now that I thought about it, no electricity. I noticed lanterns and candles throughout the room. When the girl stood up, I finally had the presence of mind to introduce myself.

I held out my hand. “I’m Charlotte.”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Charlotte. I am Tara.” She shook my hand lightly, clearly uncomfortable.

“Hi, Tara. Please, just call me Charlotte. I can’t be much older than you.” I tried to keep my voice light.

“It is not your age, Miss Charlotte. Please let me help you with your bath before the water cools,” she replied, looking embarrassed.

“Umm, I don’t think I need help, just some soap and a towel, maybe?”

Tara brought over a bar of soap and waited, watching me.

“Okay, you can go.” I wasn’t willing to undress in front of a stranger.

“If you are sure, Miss Charlotte. I will wait outside and come back in once you are in your bath.”

I blushed a little.

With Tara out of the way, I stripped and stepped into the warm bath. I couldn’t remember the last time I had taken a bath and initially felt uncomfortable. But I relaxed and enjoyed it. Tara walked back into the room carrying a canvas bag I recognized as the one James had been carrying.

“Mr. James thought you might want this,” she said, as she handed me the bag. I opened it carefully, trying to keep it up high enough that it didn’t touch the soapy water. I smiled when I discovered shampoo, a toothbrush, and some toothpaste. I would have to thank James; as crazy as things felt right now, it would be nice to have some normalcy.

Tara bent and scooped my clothes from the floor, then turned toward the door.

“Tara, where are you taking my clothes? I’ll need to put them back on,” I said, alarmed.

“But these are dirty, Miss. I will bring a suitable dress for you.”

“How do you have clothes that will fit me? You’re much smaller than me.” She was at least five inches shorter than I was.

“Oh, I did not mean my clothes, Miss Charlotte.” Tara looked embarrassed. “The wardrobe in your room is full of Miss Emma’s old things, and Mr. Blake said you looked about the same size.”