A frown appeared on Stephanie’s face. “Not much, I’m afraid, and it’s been driving me crazy,” she said. “We know that the houses were built over a span of hundreds of years, we know they were all abandoned at some point during various times, and new ones were built later. What we don’t know is whether they were hiding from something or what that something could possibly be. I’m afraid it’s going to be a struggle to get any information from the ruins themselves; we’re going to have to look for clues in other places.”
“Wow, that’s got to be frustrating,” Hattie said, shaking her head. “What do you mean by other places?”
“We’re hunting for the garbage dump, we might find some clues there,” Stephanie said. “And I’ve got a historian workingon local history, although that’s kind of been a dead end so far, unless you believe in magical creatures.”
“Magical creatures?” Hattie asked, sitting down at the table again. “You mean like witches?”
“I shouldn’t have said anything,” Stephanie said, a look of regret on her face. “It’s just a crazy theory my historian Julien came up with. I don’t really want to repeat it; someone already leaked a crazy story to the press.”
Cooper looked over at her. “Is that why the reporter was at the site?” he asked. “What happened?”
“Someone must have overheard part of our conversation at the pizza parlor,” she said. “He wanted to know if we really believed witches and vampires were using the cave as a place to hide. I shut him down, but if it makes the news, we’ll be swamped with people wanting to get inside. I wish Julien hadn’t brought it up. Shifters, witches, or vampires, its all just folklore, we need hard facts.”
There was a long silence around the table, and everyone turned to look at him. “Julien thinks shifters used the cave to hide when regular people were after them,” he explained. “He’s dug up a lot of old stories about people turning into wolves or bears, and one about a dragon. I don’t think he really believes the theory; I think he was just having fun.”
“Surely no one will take a story like that seriously,” Jackson said. “People are smarter than that, aren’t they?”
“I wish,” Stephanie said. “I worked on a dig in Rome when I was in grad school, and word got out that we’d found the bones of a saint. Thousands of people showed up hoping to get a look at them.”
“But this is different, that was religion,” Ryan said. “This is just…superstition or something, right?”
“It doesn’t matter if the story makes the news, I promise you a crowd will show up,” she said. “A lot of people believe in magicand the paranormal, they’re drawn to it, and the chance to see a place that’s supposedly steeped in it will be too much to resist. I’ve already arranged for a couple of security guards to start tomorrow. I’m hoping it will be enough.”
“Well, you certainly do live an exciting life,” Hattie said. “I never dreamed there could be so much drama involved in uncovering history.”
“There’s nothing like a good ghost story to get people excited,” she said. “I just wish they’d get excited about real history.”
“I for one am interested in the real history,” Gabe said. “I don’t suppose we could talk you into a tour sometime? I would love to see what’s down there.”
“Me too,” Walker said. “Cooper’s shown us some of his drawings, but I bet they’re nothing like the real thing.”
“I think we’d all love a tour,” Hattie said. “But I’m sure you’re busy. If it’s too much to ask, feel free to say no.”
I’d love to give you all a tour. Cooper can help me; he knows the ruins as well as I do, she said. “Let me check my schedule and get back to you.”
“Wonderful,” Hattie said, getting to her feet again. “Now let’s get this mess cleaned up, boys, it’s getting late.”
“Oh, I’ll help,” Stephanie said, jumping to her feet. “It’s the least I can do after that wonderful dinner.”
“I won’t hear of it, you’re a guest,” Hattie said, shaking her head. “Cooper, you take her over by the fireplace and relax, we’ll get this cleaned up while you two talk, then we’ll have some dessert.”
“You heard her, we’re getting out of dish duty, make a run for it while you can,” he said, grinning at her. “This doesn’t happen every day.”
She laughed. “I guess I can stay for a few more minutes, but then I have to go,” she said, following him over to the couch by a big fireplace. “This is an amazing house.”
“We’re lucky to live here,” he said, letting her sit first, then joining her. “I’ll miss it when we graduate, it’s become home to me.”
***Stephanie***
Stephanie couldn’t help but notice how warm Cooper was when he sat down next to her, nor could she ignore how good he smelled, and she found herself leaning into him. When he casually draped his arm over the back of the couch behind her, her heart began to beat a little harder, and her body began to tingle. Wishing she’d gone home like she’d planned to, she felt a blush rising on her cheeks and realized that the silence between them had gone on a long time.
Turning to look up at him, she was surprised to find him watching her, and her cheeks got even hotter. “Is it wrong if I tell you how beautiful you are?” Cooper asked, the look in his eyes making the tingle turn into a tightening between her legs. “I wouldn’t want to cross any boundaries.”
“It probably is, but I still like hearing it,” she said, smiling up at him, surprised by her own daring. “Not very many men have ever said that to me. I’ve never had very many admirers, I’ve always been so much younger than everyone else until now.”
“Then my timing is perfect,” he said, grinning at her. “I’ve been thinking a lot about that favor you owe me.”
Her first thought was of kissing him, and alarm bells went off in her head. “I’m not going to kiss you,” she said before she could stop herself. “I mean if that was what you were thinking…”
