“I don’t need the details,” Sara snapped. Randal was a personal trainer and it seemed that every woman over fifty who lived north of Miami booked him to go to her house. Just the two of them. “You must come.”
“I can be there after this session, then I’ll—”
“Kate was given the listing to sell Lachlan House. And she seems to know the place. Of course that has to do with you, so—”
“I’ll meet you there as soon as possible.” He cut off the call.
Jack stepped into the kitchen. “What’s this about?”
“I have no idea, but as soon as she said ‘Dad,’ I knew my brother was involved.”
“So Kate saw the old house in the past and she remembers it. She’s your relative and you remember houses more than people. Why does that bother you?”
“I don’t know why, but I have a creepy feeling about this. Cal used to work there when we were in high school. He and James Lachlan—the man who built the house—were friends.” Cal was Jack’s late grandfather, the man Sara loved.
“That’s probably why the listing is being given to Kate. For the connection. And if she went there with her dad, it all fits.”
“I guess,” Sara said.
“Get your camera and lots of batteries, and we’ll go see this house. Last time I drove past it, it looked like gators had taken it over. It’s probably bulldoze material.”
When she didn’t reply, he put his arm around her small shoulders. “Afraid of the memories?”
She nodded but said nothing.
“Come on,” he coaxed in his deep voice. “Don’t you have a new camera and some fancy new lenses?”
“I do,” she said.
“Who’s going to drive?” came Kate’s voice from the entryway. She was ready to leave.
Sara and Jack broke apart, and she hurried to her suite of rooms to get her ever-ready camera bag. She made sure her new Sony a1 and the 20mm f1.8 GM lens were in there. She shoved in half a dozen batteries and ran to catch up with Jack and Kate, who were already in his truck. Like always, she sat on the end, with Kate in the middle. Of course, Jack drove.
Unusual for the trio, they rode in silence. Sara was aware of the tension between Jack and Kate—and she was pleased by it. Until a few days ago, he and Kate had acted like brother and sister. But when Jack returned from months away, bearded and smelling of wood smoke and sawdust, things had changed. Now Jack rarely looked at Kate, but she kept stealing glances at him.
It all made Sara smile. Her niece and Cal’s grandson. She couldn’t hope for any more in life.
“You’re sure this is the right way?” Kate asked.
Jack didn’t answer, so Sara did. “Lachlan House used to be on a few hundred acres. Mr. Lachlan had a citrus grove, but after he died, pieces of land were sold off. For this.” She waved her hand to indicate the houses around them. They were nice, middle-class houses, obviously built at the same time, probably by the same builder.
They went around a curve in the road and there it was: Lachlan House.
Jack stopped the truck at the end of the long driveway and they looked at it. The wide brick house was covered in vines from the ground to the roof. Parts of it could barely be seen.
Sara remembered it in its glory in the 1960s, when she and Cal spent time there. He mowed while she pulled weeds in the flower beds. She wasn’t paid for her work, but then she and Cal just wanted to be together.
“Looks better than I thought it would,” Jack said. “I don’t see any holes in the roof.”
“It’s the most beautiful house on earth,” Kate said. “Let’s go in!”
She was leaning so far forward that Jack looked behind her to Sara and raised his eyebrows. They were both curious as to what Kate knew. And from when?
Jack rolled the truck down the drive as he leaned on the steering wheel and studied the house with a builder’s eye. It was good that the windows were intact, not smashed by kids taking dares.
When the truck stopped, Sara got down quickly. She was afraid Kate might climb over her in eagerness to get to the house. While Sara got her camera equipment out, Jack followed Kate to the front door. “There’s no lockbox,” he said as he tried the big knob.
Kate pulled a handful of plants away from the brick wall. “I don’t think these vines have done much damage, but then, the house is well constructed. Dad might know the year it was built.” She’d exposed the brick facade enough to see a small lead ornament that had a hinge on top. Without a break in talking, Kate lifted it, pulled out a big key, and handed it to Jack. “Once these vines are removed, I think you’ll see that the house is in good condition. There’s always been a caretaker. I’ll have to ask Melissa who called and asked for me.”
