Chapter 17
Elodie tried not to fidget as she stood in her sister’s kitchen.
Edie and Trevor had remodeled the inside of the cottage for a more modern feel while keeping the charm of the exterior.
Elodie couldn’t imagine how much it had cost. Not a single space in the entire home had been left out.
Standing in the house, no one would know that it was almost two hundred years old.
She watched Edie cooking dinner. Trevor cut vegetables and joked with the kids. Edie laughed at something they said and looked over at the trio. Trevor walked up to his wife and pressed his lips to hers for a lingering kiss while the kids rolled their eyes and made gagging noises.
Elodie felt her lips curving into a smile. The entire scene made her heart hurt. She was thrilled for Edie, but it also made her acutely aware of what she didn’t have—and what she might never have.
“Da!” the eldest exclaimed.
Elodie laughed when she saw Trevor rubbing Edie’s butt and whispering something in her ear that made Edie duck her head. The two were sweet, and while their children were grossed out now, they would look back on their parents’ relationship one day and realize that was how people were meant to love.
The opposite of what her parents had shown her.
“Can I help it if your mother is the most beautiful woman I know?” Trevor said as he turned back to the kids. He shot Elodie a teasing grin.
This was only her second time with her sister’s family, but they had opened their arms to her.
Accepted her. It was such a unique and foreign feeling that Elodie was hesitant to dive into it—just in case they changed their minds.
That’s how fucked up she was. She knew her sister would never turn her back on her, but Edie’s husband and children could.
“Can I borrow you?”
The voice startled Elodie, and she realized that Edie had spoken to her. Elodie made her way to the stove, and Edie handed her a wooden spoon.
“Stir that for me, please,” Edie said.
Elodie did as requested and inhaled the fragrant sauce. “You do remember I’m not a great cook.”
“What I remember is you saying you had better things to do than stand at a stove,” Edie said with a laugh.
Elodie burst into laughter. “I did say that, didn’t I?”
“Often.”
They shared a look and a chuckle. It was good to think back on younger years and not have the dark cloud of the incident hanging over them.
It was there—it always would be. Yet neither of them was letting it affect them tonight.
Elodie hadn’t realized how much she’d needed this.
Especially after what’d happened earlier at the cottage.
She didn’t want to tell Edie about it, but she knew she had to. Later. After dinner, when they were alone. Elodie didn’t want to spoil the happy atmosphere now. It was too precious and priceless to be interrupted so carelessly.
“You’re going to tell me what’s wrong,” Edie whispered as she came up behind Elodie and dumped some seasoning into the sauce.
Elodie briefly met her sister’s gaze. “I will. I promise.”
“I’m not going to let you leave until you do.”
Trevor came up then and said, “You may no’ know this about your sister, Elodie, but she’s stubborn.”
“Oh, I know,” Elodie said with a chuckle. “I have many examples of the times Edie dug her heels in on something.”
Edie elbowed Trevor as she grinned at him. “I always have a good reason when I set my mind to something.”
“Aye. You do, love,” Trevor said and gave her another kiss.
Behind them, the kids made gagging noises again.
Elodie decided to join in. “Eww, you two. Get a room.”
That made the kids bust into squeals of delight. Soon, everyone was laughing and teasing. If only it could’ve continued.
All too soon, the meal had been eaten, and the table cleared.
The children were in the playroom while the adults had moved to the cozy sitting area with a fire roaring in the huge, original hearth.
Elodie sipped the last of her wine as her sister reclined on the sofa, leaning against Trevor, who had his arm around Edie.
“You two have a lovely family,” Elodie told them.
The corners of Trevor’s hazel eyes crinkled as he smiled. “Thank you.”
“We’ve worked hard for our lives here,” Edie said. She turned to look at Trevor. “We’re happy.”
“Verra,” he agreed, running a hand over the top of his thinning, light brown hair.
Elodie sat forward so she could pull out the quotes from her back pocket. She set aside her wine and unfolded the papers. “While cleaning the cottage, I found several places that require more extensive work than I can do.”
“We were expecting that,” Trevor said.
That made Elodie feel a little better. She smoothed out the papers on her lap. “I called some companies for quotes. We never spoke about that kind of work being done on the house, and I wasn’t comfortable making any decisions on my own.” Because I have no way to pay, but she didn’t say that.
Edie reached for the papers with a smile. “I meant to tell you that I’ve set aside some money for that. There’s just been so much going on. Do you have someone you liked above the others?”
“I do.” Elodie handed the stack to her sister. “They came yesterday right before the storm hit. While they were there, they fixed an area at the back corner of the cottage to minimize future damage.”
Trevor frowned. “How much did that cost you?”
“They did it free of charge.”
Edie lifted her head from the quotes. “Who was it? I don’t know anyone who would do that kind of work without charging.”
“Filip Gordan and his friend, Scott Ryan.”
Trevor’s face hardened. “You let someone who isna part of a business work on the house?”
Elodie fought the acrid retort on her lips.
This was hers and Edie’s cottage, not Trevor’s.
He didn’t have a right to butt his nose into things.
Then Elodie remembered that Edie and Trevor were footing the bill for the repairs.
She kept her mouth closed, but she still didn’t like the swift change in Trevor.
Edie put her hand on her husband’s leg. No words passed between them, but whatever her sister meant, Trevor got because the tension in him melted away. “Filip’s quick-thinking might have saved us more damage.”
“I know it did.” Elodie had the urge to stick out her tongue at Trevor. The reaction was so swift and uncharacteristically asinine that it shook her. All because Trevor questioned her.
But the more she thought about that, the angrier she became.
She was a grown woman, capable of making decisions.
If he doubted her, then why allow her to be there at all?
And then she knew... Edie had pushed for it.
Which meant the welcome Elodie had felt wasn’t as genuine as she’d first thought. And that hurt. Deeply.
Elodie sat quietly as Edie and Trevor looked over the quotes and talked amongst themselves. Finally, Edie looked at her. “I had no idea there was that much damage.”
It was on the tip of Elodie’s tongue to say that’s what happened when a home was left unattended, but she was as much to blame for that as her sister. Just because Edie lived on Skye didn’t mean that everything fell to her.
“I was shocked, as well,” Elodie replied.
Trevor sighed. “That’s a lot more money than I anticipated handing over.”
Handing over? Elodie once more fought not to lose her temper. She didn’t know why everything Trevor said suddenly angered her. Besides, it wasn’t just his money—it was Edie’s, as well.
“How do you feel about Filip doing the work?” Edie asked her.
Elodie opened her mouth to answer when Trevor snorted loudly.
“They’re no’ a business. If there’s a mistake, we’ll likely be fighting with them for years to get it corrected. That’s what always happens with people like that.”
Elodie finally snapped. She locked her gaze on Trevor. “We’ve known Filip and his family for our entire lives. Filip’s father was the one everyone called for repairs, and he taught Filip everything he knows.”
“But you’ve no’ been here for years,” Trevor replied.
Something in his eyes and tone caused Elodie to want to get up and run out of the house. Was this the real Trevor? Or was this what he showed when it came time to discuss business—and more importantly, money? Elodie wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer.
“I never intended to use our money,” Edie said to her husband. “I still have my savings from before. There’s more than enough to cover this.”
In other words, arsehole, we don’t need your input.
Elodie was appalled at the words in her head. She desperately wanted to say them, but she didn’t. Edie and Trevor had been kind to her since her arrival. The last thing she needed to do was cause problems between her sister and her husband just because Elodie was in a pissy mood.
It’s lack of sleep. That had to be the reason. She didn’t normally allow people to get under her skin the way Trevor had managed to do in such a short time.
Yet as she felt the tension mount between Edie and Trevor, Elodie grew uncomfortable. Then Trevor’s gaze swung to her, and the hate she saw there was so swift that she second-guessed if she had actually seen it.
“Is that so?” Trevor replied in a cool tone.
Edie shifted to face him. “Like you said, it was more money than you intended to spend. This is for my family. There’s no need to dip into our finances for that.”
“You’ll be getting repaid for that,” he stated, his gaze locked on Elodie. “Edie will get every cent back plus interest.”
Elodie had expected this, just not the attitude. “Fine.”
“Interest?” Edie echoed, shock on her face. “Absolutely, not. I’ll handle this, Trevor. It’s my family.”
The fury that passed over his face left Elodie shaken. Her heart thudded in her chest, and unease turned her blood to ice. Instinct made her want to snatch her sister to her side, but she remained frozen, watching the entire scene unfold before her.
Trevor glared at his wife. “Your family? Your family? We’re your family. I and the kids, in case you needed reminding.”
“That’s not what I me—” Edie started.
Trevor rose and stalked from the room, taking the cloud of rage with him. Elodie didn’t breathe again until a door shut somewhere in the house. She looked at Edie to find her sister staring at her lap.
“What was that?” Elodie asked.
Edie shrugged and glanced up at her. “Trevor had a bad family life. He’s…possessive.”
That had gone well beyond being controlling. What Elodie had seen was dangerous, waiting to balloon into something destructive to everyone. “That isn’t normal.”
“I think I know my husband,” Edie snapped.
Elodie was stunned by her sister’s outburst almost as much as her glare. Things had been going really well. Why had Elodie felt the need to say something? “I was out of order. I’m sorry.”
“Forget it,” Edie said and turned her head to look out one of the windows to the darkness beyond.
Elodie sighed and briefly squeezed her eyes closed. “There’s one more thing I need to tell you, and then I’ll go.”
“Do you need money?” Edie asked in exasperation.
Elodie was hurt by the question. She hadn’t asked her sister for money. Ever. “No.” Whatever bliss Elodie had found in the home was gone. She could fill Edie in on things later. It would be better for everyone if she left now.
“Wait,” Edie said and caught Elodie’s hand as she stood. “It’s my turn to apologize. I’m sorry. I hate when Trevor and I argue. Please, sit and tell me whatever it is.”
Elodie searched her sister’s blue eyes and saw the sincerity there. She wanted to dig deeper into her sister’s relationship with Trevor but now wasn’t the time. Elodie slowly sat. “First, who do you want to do the work on the cottage?”
“Filip. I trusted his father for years, and I’ve seen some of Filip’s work before he left Skye.”
“What about what Trevor said?” Elodie knew she shouldn’t push, but she had to know.
Edie shrugged and glanced out the doorway. “It’s our cottage. Mine, yours, and Elias’s. It’s our decision.”
Meaning it was Edie’s money. Not that Elodie blamed her after Trevor’s outburst, but she suspected there would be more arguments about this. Elodie wished she had the means to pay for the repairs herself so none of this would be happening. “I’ll send Filip a text when I get home.”
“And the other?” Edie pushed.
Elodie licked her lips, her nerves tightening as she thought about the day. “The storm earlier was created with magic.”
Edie didn’t react for a moment. Then she asked, “How do you know?”
“As I said, Filip and Scott were there when it struck. They ended up staying because it wasn’t safe for anyone to be out on the roads. After a time, the electricity went out, and then…well, a limb broke through the window of Mum and Da’s room—a branch coated in drough magic.”
Edie’s face lost its color. “What?” she asked in a strangled whisper.
“Neither Scott nor Filip could touch it. I ended up phoning Rhona. She and Balladyn came to see the damage. They’re the ones who removed the limb and fixed the window.
That’s also how we learned that someone had created the storm.
” She paused, unsure whether to tell Edie the next part or not.
“It seems all four of them think someone was trying to hurt me.”
“You’re moving in here,” Edie stated firmly.
Elodie shook her head. “I’m not. I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“If someone does want revenge, I’m not bringing that to your home where your children sleep. I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to them.”
Edie’s shoulders dropped, but she didn’t argue. “Does Rhona know who is after you?”
“Not yet. She and Balladyn are investigating.”
“Does this…does this have anything to do with the murdered Druid?”
A shiver ran down Elodie’s spine. “I don’t think so.”
“I don’t like you being in that cottage.”
Elodie reached across the table and took her sister’s hands as she smiled. “I’ll be fine. Rhona and Balladyn added wards.”
“What?” Edie asked, her eyes wide.
“I was surprised, too. Everything will be fine. We’ll get the house in order so it can go on the market. Once it sells, you’ll take your cut and whatever money you need to cover what you’re putting in for the repairs, and all of this will be over.”
Edie’s expression fell. “And you’ll leave.”
Elodie squeezed her sister’s hands. She didn’t like to see her so hurt. So, she did the one thing she knew not to do. She lied. “I don’t know. We’ll have to see.”
The smile on Edie’s face was worth it.