“I know, but that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.” Everly’s tone was quiet, as if she didn’t want the other kids to hear what she was saying.
“I’m sorry,” Ten said, matching his voice to his daughter’s. “It’s been a long day. I didn’t mean to bark at you.”
Everly patted Ten’s arm. “It’s okay. We need to go to the beach.”
“You know I don’t put my foot down very often, but there’s no way we’re going to the beach. I can’t see more than two feet in front of my face in the fog and this house is on a cliff. There’s a path and stairs that lead down to the beach, but trying to find it now would be dangerous.
“Okay, Dad.” Everly looked as if she had more to say on the subject, but she stayed silent.
“Okay, everyone, all ashore!” Ronan hurried toward the van to help the kids out. Everly and Auora were first, then Wolf and Ezra. Lizzie was asleep, so Ten had to free her from the car seat and carry her to Ronan, who took her with one arm and helped Ten out with the other.
The fog swallowed Tennyson and the others. The kids had taken off for the front door the second they were free and within a stride or two, they were lost in the fog. He could hear their voices, but couldn’t see them. Ten found he didn’t have the energy to chase after them.
“Are you okay?” Ronan asked, when they entered the house. Fog swirled into the entryway as he shut the door.
“I’m not sure.” Now that Ten was out of the fog and inside the house, he felt much different. Happy, rather than uneasy. More relaxed. In vacation mode. He gave his head a shake, as if to free his mind from the fog. “No, I’m good.”
“Are you sure? You sound confused. Or tired.” Ronan looked Ten over, looking as if he thought he would find something wrong with him.
“I’m good. Why don’t you show me the house?” The last thing Ten wanted was to examine what was going on in his head.
“This is the hallway,” Ronan said, with a sweeping bow. “The central staircase leads to the second floor, where our bedchamber awaits.” He waggled his eyebrows. “To our right is the formal living room, and the conservatory is to the left.”
Ten walked to the door on the left. A gorgeous ebony grand piano sat kitty corner near the far wall. A large stone fireplace dominated the back wall. Deep leather armchairs dotted the room, along with a variety of instruments, an acoustic guitar, a ribboned tambourine, a set of bongos, and a weird wooden fish, which Ten thought was some kind of percussion/xylophone instrument. “The kids are gonna have a ball in here.” Ten found himself glad he’d packed a new bottle of Advil.
Ronan snorted. “When we showed the kids the house online, they were excited too. Jude told them these things were decorations and couldn’t be played with.”
“I’m surprised it wasn’t Fitz.”
“Oh, it was Fitz too. The kids didn’t believe Jude and turned to him. Fitz told them the rules of the house forbid them from playing the instruments.”
“Did you join in?”
Ronan shook his head. “Of course not. I was the sympathetic one. The sorry-rules-are-rules adult in the room.
That made perfect sense.
“Come this way.” Ronan grabbed Ten’s hand and walked him into the kitchen, which was large and airy.
“This is amazing for such an old house.” Ten couldn’t believe how wide open the room was. It led into a grand dining room with a table and seating for twenty people. Beyond that was the great room, filled with overstuffed sofas and a large television.
“This was part of the most recent renovation. The builders took out a few walls to open the rooms up and to add on the great room. My favorite part of the reno is the deck.” Ronan took Ten’s hand and tugged him toward the large French doors, which were set between the end of the kitchen counter and the laundry room.
Ten hesitated, when Ronan opened the doors to show him outside. He wasn’t sure he wanted the fog to swirl around him again, but when he reached the double doors, it was gone. “What happened to the fog?”
“Sun burned it off?” Ronan shrugged, as if to say he was a detective,nota meteorologist. “Look at this view.” He stepped up to the deck railing and reached for Ten’s hand.
What Ten saw took his breath away. The view of the Atlantic was stunning. He could see strides, rather than stairs, leading down the path toward the beach, which, aside from a flock of seagulls, was empty. The water was a glittering bottle glass green, which turned to white when waves slammed against the shore. “This is amazing.”
“A million dollar view, for sure.” Ronan wrapped his arms around Ten and hugged him.
“More like a twenty million dollar view.” Ten had no idea how much a house like this on the edge of the ocean would cost, but it certainly wasn’t one paltry million dollars.
“Let me show you the bedrooms.” Ronan led a very reluctant Tennyson back into the house, where Fitz and Jace were starting dinner.
“Are you guys all settled?” Ronan asked.
“Yeah, we took the ocean-view room on the left. Jude and Cope have the one in the middle, and you two get the one on the right side. The girls have the room right next to the other bathroom and the boys are on the other side. We put your luggage in your room.”
