Love Thief: The Greystone Family: Stolen Hearts

Chapter 19

Chapter

Nineteen

Xan is on hyper speed, already up and about as we come down in the afternoon.

“I was going to come and get you both. I’ve got lots to show you, Evie. Are you coming with us Kell?”

“No, I”m going fishing with Himself. He knows I like to go and asked me over text yesterday. He said we’re going down by Watermill Lane, so come see us.”

Evie has left me and is scrabbling about in her bag at the bottom of the stairs, coming back shyly with presents in her hands. Xander looks at them, but doesn’t move. She starts to panic, babbling at him, “I know Kell told me you don’t like unexpected gifts, but I didn’t know and I’d already bought these for you.” He doesn’t say a word. “Why don’t I tell you what they are, and then you can ask me for them, and then I can give them to you. That way you’ll get what you’ve asked for?” she asks hopefully.

“Marcus told you about that?” he asks her.

She nods at him, her worry about giving him these gifts painfully evident.

“From you, I would accept anything.” Xan gulps the words out. “I know you would have put a lot of thought into it. So no, don’t tell me what they are, I’ll love them.”

Xan is hanging onto his emotions by his fingernails. Probably comparing the shitty gifts and even shittier reactions of his mother to Evie, who searched half of fucking London for the gifts. Taking time and effort to consider if he’d like them.

My heart swells with love for both of them. I’m hanging onto my emotions as he takes the gifts from her and sits on the stairs. She sits next to him, watching him open the presents.

His smile gets bigger with each gift revealed, and I see Himself watching them from the doorway, eventually coming over as the pile mounts up. It’s all artist’s materials—sketch pads, different types of pens, paints, tools for sculpting—and Evie’s watching him nervously, waiting for a reaction.

“Do you like them? I remembered you always liked to draw. In fact, I think I have some at home that you did for me, they were so good. I’ve not seen you do that since we… well, so I thought I would remind you that you liked it.” She smiles at him and he leans forward and kisses her gently on the lips.

“I love them, thank you. I still do artistic things, but mainly sculptures here on the estate. I’ll show you some today. And these are perfect. I can take them on the road.” He hugs her to him and I can feel the relief coming off Evie.

“You’re not crying again, are you?” I ask her.

Xan looks at her face, wiping her tears from under her eyes. “Don’t cry, I don’t like it when you do,” he tells her gently. “I love them, Kitten.”

He stands and pulls her into him, and I see him look at his Dad, who smiles at him.

“I might get some new drawings now you have some materials,” Tarron says. “Evie come, I’ll show you some Xan did a few years ago.” He pulls her towards the library, leaving Xan and I alone in the hall.

“You okay?” I ask him as he’s now looking up at the ceiling.

“You’re right, Marcus. She’s gonna fucking kill us, man.”

I slap him on the back and we follow them to look at the paintings.

We spend our time exploring, in Evie”s case, and rediscovering in mine. Xan shows us his sculptures in willow that are scattered around the estate. They”ve become landmarks and people apparently pay to come see them. He tells Evie about the estate, how he helps support it so they don’t have to open it year round to the public. However, the locals have access 24/7, 365 days a year. It is after all, as he says, a community home, and he and his Dad see themselves as custodians rather than owners.

The party for the summer solstice is presided over by Himself, but run by the village council. It’s open to the public, and they line the route from the centre of the village to the house. A fire is lit at the house and all the locals carry lanterns, songs are sung, and a local folk band is set up on the front drive.

The long tree-lined driveway is packed with bars and food stands. It’s a free, help yourself affair, everyone welcome, as long as you get involved in the singing or dancing. The real event, however, will be later, after all have gone home and the elders of the village row out to the island on the loch where a ceremony will take place. Xan goes, but I am never allowed.

Evie and I sit on the banks of the loch and watch them row out.

“I feel like we should not watch this.” She moves closer to me. “I think we should turn away, and not watch it all.”

“Are you getting superstitious?” I mock her.

“I’m a country girl, we are all superstitious at heart. And you’re a country boy, even though you pretend otherwise. You’ve been out on Beltane. I saw you with your dad one year.”

“Sneak, you should not have been watching that.”

She laughs at that. “I couldn’t miss you all making a racket at the top of Broad Ridge.”

“It was the middle of the night. You should have been at home in bed, not wandering around the fields. Were you on your own?”

She nods at me and looks away.

I take her hand, pull it to my lips and kiss it, playing with her fingers, wrapped in mine.

Kellen aged 15

“Who”s there?” Xander and I jump up from the old settee we’ve commandeered for Bowman’s lodge. We have beer and some food, and it’s so fucking late, but I’m feeling a bit buzzed as I neck the next bottle.

“It’s no one. It’s 3:30 a.m., who the fuck would be out at this time of night?” he says, slurring his words. It’s too early for the farmers to start work, but also too late for them to be out partying. They fall asleep by tea at this time of year.

I’ve been called home for a few days, a weird ritual always at the beginning of May. My dad, as the estate owner and general Lord about Yorkshire—eye roll at that one—insists I attend and take part, so I have been since age twelve. Xan comes home with me now as he doesn’t want to stay at school if he can get away.

The tractors stopped hours ago, my mother has loads of family at the house and we can’t drink if they’re there, so we sneak out, stay up and drink. And Bowman’s Lodge is far enough away for no one to hear or look for us, but not too far that we can’t get back in a hurry if we need to.

Xander needs this. His mother died recently and he has to blow out, get drunk, rant, beat the shit out of something. He can’t do that at home, or school. His Dad would be called up from London and he’d be taken back up to Scotland, and he needs to be here.

I wrap my fleece tighter around myself. It”s dropping really cold now.

“Did you see Jonno Greystone near the quarry today?” he asks me. “I’m sure he was bugging the old guy on the gate on purpose.”

I shake my head. “No, what for?”

“God knows. He wasn’t making any sense. Got him to come look at his motorbike. He fixed it, but kept him there a while talking, then drove off smiling. Always suspicious when he smiles.” He sits back and ponders. “I think he was a distraction. Did you see Evie around? She’s bound to have been in cahoots with him.”

“No, why would I see her?” I say, way too casually, because we both know I see her every fucking where.

He side-eyes me. “Are you asking her out, when we come home in the summer?”

“Maybe,” I say, taking another swig of my beer.

“I thought you liked her. You make a beeline for her every time we see her. Enough the other girls are well pissed off about it. I heard them slagging her off.”

We say nothing more for a while, just drink. Then I ask, “Do you think she’d say yes?”

He grins at me. “Yeah, she would. I think when you helped her brother out at Christmas she definitely warmed up to you.”

“Well I didn’t want the police here again. I’d be sent packing. Or should I say we’d be sent packing to France. I prefer to stay and harass the Greystones, much more fun. They have it too easy when we’re not here, terrifying everyone else. Someone’s got to make a stand against Jonno.”

“Jonno, yeah, that’s why you’re staying. Nothing to do with the beautiful, wild sister. She nearly killed me with that fucking tractor at Christmas. What were they doing racing them around that field anyway?”

“Annual event apparently. She usually wins. Cheats all the time, according to Jude.” We smile thinking about the chaos that is Evie.

When we hear another noise like a can being kicked, we jump up again.

“It’s not wolves, is it?” asks Xan.

“There are no fucking wolves, you idiot.”

We are now hyper aware of the noises. Then we hear it—a howl. It sounds far away, but definitely a howl.

“It’ll be foxes,” I say standing up. “Have you had enough, shall we go?”

He staggers to his feet. “I can fight ‘em off,” he says, swinging slightly around, grinning. It’s then that we hear another howl much closer.

“Come on, lets fucking run for it.” I say, trying to hide my panic.

We dash out the door, leaving it open and leaving everything behind as we run for home. We climb up the makeshift ladder I’ve hidden in the ivy outside my bedroom, onto my balcony and in through the window.

Pissing ourselves with laughter at how pathetic we are, we collapse in a heap on the floor. Xan sprints into his adjoining room, and I can hear him laughing as he flops on the bed.

“Fucking idiot,” I say to him, “you are so shit scared,” I taunt him.

“I am not. You ran fastest and got back first,” he retorts. “I don’t want to go back to school. Can we ask to stay here? We could go to school with the Greystones. Imagine that,” he says, and there’s no way to miss the longing in his voice.

The problem is, I could. I could imagine being with Evie all the time. Every fucking day in fact, given half the chance.

Evie aged 14

Damn! Someone is already in Bowman”s Lodge.

It’s freezing, I’ve left the house in a t-shirt and my PJ bottoms. Good job they are a bit fleecy. I need to sleep, I”ve school in the morning. I’ll sneak back home to get my stuff after my dad has gone for work. It won’t matter if I’m late. I’ll text Jonno and get him to create a bit of havoc so I can sneak in with no late mark. And who the hell is here at three in the morning?

Then I hear them—Kellen Russell and Xander Barclay.

I debate whether to go to see them. We are on goodish terms these days, not kill or be killed anymore, but still not good enough for me to have to explain why I’m out in my PJ’s at 3 a.m. on a school night in May.

I hate my dad, always drunk these days and shouting. I got Marshall to put a lock on my door, but he keeps kicking at it. It’s just general shouting, nothing more, but since my mum died, it’s got worse. I can’t sleep these days, and if I’m caught in Jonno’s bedroom at Greystone farm again, Pat will call the authorities.

I’ve got to ride it out until I’m at least sixteen-years-old, then I can do what I want. They can’t make me leave. Jonno and I looked up the law, we know it inside out.

I’ve had enough of drunks, and I can hear Kellen and Xander are definitely drunk, or certainly have had a drink. I recognise the slurring words. They sound like a lot happier drunks though. I hear them talking about us, and me, really. He’s thinking about asking me out. That’ll put the cat amongst the pigeons, those girls will really go for it if he does. Maybe I’ll say yes just to get on their nerves.

I accidentally kick a can and stand totally still, gritting my teeth together, not even breathing, expecting them to rush out and charge me like my brothers would. They don’t, the wimps, they think it’s wolves. Wolves? In Yorkshire?

I shake my head at their ridiculous thinking. They’re winding themselves up, so for fun I move backwards and howl like a wolf. I’m crying with laughter and worry they may hear me laughing. But no, they get more panicked and I howl again, a little louder as if I’ve gotten nearer, being the big bad wolf. I hear them set off at a run for home, and, standing in the moonlight, I watch the two figures run like the devil, or a she-wolf, is after them, grinning like a maniac.

I go into the Lodge, and hurray! some food. I only had school lunch and daren’t say yes to another Greystone evening meal. Pat watches me eat like a hawk. I’m so hungry sometimes, I gulp my food. I have to pretend I’m picking at it, it’s so tiring, all this pretence.

I’m skimming through the debris, and take a bit of time to tidy it up. There are no blankets, they obviously had school fleeces on. I should have scared them sooner. They may have left me one. I sit on the sofa, it’s old but comfy and I make sure I look after it, as I need it here. I’ve spent many nights here of late.

“I knew it was someone. My money was on Jonno, but you are a big surprise. And in so much fucking trouble. Let’s go, I”m taking you to my dad.” Kellen Russell, not such a wimp after all, and not as drunk as his friend.

Damn.I don’t move, he can get lost if he thinks I’m doing what he says. Instead, I look up at him and say, “You might boss those silly girls around, but you are not the boss of me. Get lost and mind your own business, Kellen.”

He stands, open mouthed. How dare I tell him no. How dare I answer him back when he has spoken, and in that tone of voice.

I lay down on the sofa, demanding, “Give me your fleece. You’ve got a quilt at home, it’s cold.”

I hold my hand out for the fleece, expecting him to give it to me. He looks down at his fleece and actually starts to take it off. But I grin at him and he stops. Drat. “So near, yet so far,” I say cockily.

“You’re not staying here,” he pronounces.

“Wanna bet?” I retort. “Can you go? I’ve got school tomorrow. I know you’re here for your annual ‘ritual,’” I emphasise the last word with air quotes, “and can lounge in bed, but I don’t have that luxury. So get lost. And leave me that fleece.” I crack an eye open to see if he’s complying. He isn’t.

“Are you really going to sleep here?” He sits down next to me on the sofa so I have to move my feet. He picks them up and puts them over the top of his legs, and his voice softens. “Tell me you’re not, Evie. I won’t let you. Let’s go to my dad, he can sort this out.”

“Kellen, look,” I sit up, pulling my legs off him. He’s too warm, too comfortable. “Keep your nose out of my business. If you get your dad involved, I swear to god, I’ll unleash Jonno on you full stop. I’ll stomp on the pieces. Give me your fleece and fuck off back to your comfy bed and perfect home.”

He rolls his eyes. Does the man have no regard for his safety?

“I’m not leaving you here, so you have two choices. I’ll stay here, which means that no doubt a full search party will be called in the morning. Or you come with me and stay at mine. You’ll be gone before anyone comes into my room, but we’ll both be warm and?—”

“No,” I cut him off, “you go home, leave me that fleece. We’ll both be warm and I won’t have to sneak out of your room. I’m in enough shit as it is with your mother. Just do as I ask, Kellen. For once, please, just leave me alone. I know what I’m doing, I do it all the time.”

He looks horrified. “You’re here on your own all the time? At night?”

I stare at him, I’m admitting nothing.

“Is it her?” another voice says.

“Oh my god, do you two always do things in pairs?”

Xander steps back into the Lodge. “I heard you go,” he tells Kellen. “I knew that wolf was fake. You’re shit at impressions,” he tells me.

“Why did you run then? If you were so sure.” I smirk at him, and he’s so sad he makes my heart ache. But as I continue to look at him, his smile gets wider. I see Kellen looking at him, disbelieving we’re friends. It’s one of the only smiles I’ve seen from him in a long time.

“Have you been?” I ask him. I can see Kellen has no idea what I’m talking about, he hasn’t told him about the graveyard. Xan nods at me. I feel like I’m bursting, so I go and throw my arms around him.

Kellen looks like he’s going to bust a gut. “What the fuck is going on?” he demands. We both ignore him, and stand, smiling at each other.

“Will you give me your fleece, Xan? He won’t.” I say, thumbing toward Kellen.

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t, I just said I wanted you to come home and to bed, so we could all be warm. I don’t want you here, I want you safe.”

“You sound like your dad,” I tell him.

“Not yours then?”

Oh he’s quick. “No, not mine.” I put my head down.

“Come with us, Evie. You’ll be warm, and we’ll get you to school. I’ll go get some food so you can take it and eat on the way home to get your stuff. Why didn’t you bring it with you?” Xander asks.

“No time, bit of a rush job,” I tell him. They both look at my boots, too big, and fleece PJ bottoms and T-shirt.

Kellen takes his fleece off and gives it to me. “Let’s go, Kitten. Or should I say wolf?” He grins, using the name Bug gave me two summers ago.

I blow out a breath and my shoulders slump. I’ll not be able to take them both on. Kellen weirdly grabs my hand, wraps his fingers around mine and pulls me along. Xan takes the other and we run back to the house.

They show me where the ladder is and the key for the window. If ever I need to stay, he says I’m to go here. Yeah right, that’ll go down well with Rowena Russell.

It’s the first night of many I spend in bed with Marcus Henry James Kellen Russell, and he holds my hand tightly as if he’s afraid I’m going to leave in the night.