Free The Deepest Cut by J. A. Templeton

questions, but I would have never—”
    Someone pounded on the door and we both jumped and let out startled gasps.
    “Goodness me, I don’t think my heart can take much more of this,” Miss Akin said before she whipped open the door.
    Staring back at us was Shane, a strange expression on his face. “Why was the door locked?”
    “Oh, I’m sorry about that, my darling,”
    Miss Akin said, fidgeting with the doorknob.
    I must have locked it by accident when my friend left.”
    “Yeah, I saw her. I think she left skid marks in the driveway.”
    I didn’t doubt it.
    Miss Akin cleared her throat. “Would you like some lunch?”
    “Sure,” Shane said, glancing into the parlor. “It smells like smoke in here.”
    “I lit a candle,” I blurted, and Miss Akin took the opportunity to head for the kitchen.
    There was a part of me that wanted to tell him that our mom had come through, but chances were he’d think I was crazy. Plus, I didn’t want to chance it. What if Anne Marie had done her homework to begin with, and what about Laria? How could she have made all those knocks and sounds throughout the house? And what about the voice that had come out of Anne Marie? It had seemed so real, and what she had said about not helping him . She had to be talking about Ian.
    It was just all too much to absorb.
    Shane ran a hand through his hair as he walked toward the staircase. He was on the first step when he turned to me. “Did you have a friend over last night?”
    I shook my head. “No…why?”
    “I could have sworn I heard you talking to someone.”
    My heart skipped a beat. He had obviously heard me speaking with Ian. “Maybe I was talking in my sleep.”
    “No…it was like a full-on conversation,”
    he said adamantly. “You were talking to someone just like we are right now.”
    I swallowed hard. I had spent too many months with people thinking I was mental, my own family included. “I didn’t have anyone over, so I must have talked in my sleep.”
    He opened his mouth, ready to argue, but I darted past him and ran upstairs. “See you at dinner.”

Chapter 11
    Ian grabbed my hand, his fingers sliding over and through mine. His touch felt incredible, sending a jolt of exhilaration up my spine.
    “ I want to show you something, Riley.”
    His smile made me feel all wobbly inside, and my heart thudded against my chest as we walked across a meadow, the scent of heather so strong.
    “ Where are we going?” I asked, elated to be with him again.
    His lips curved. “It’s a surprise.”
    We started walking up a hill, and then Ian started to run, his laughter contagious.
    “ Come on, you are lagging behind.” His grip on my hand tightened. “We’re almost there.”
    The wind became stronger the higher we climbed, the trees whipping with the force. I could see we approached the top of the hill
    and what appeared to be a sudden drop-off.
    He must have sensed my hesitation to continue, because he stopped and grinned. “I wanted you to see this.”
    “ See what?”
    “ Close your eyes.”
    I closed my eyes, trusting him completely.
    He turned me so my back was to him, his hands resting on my shoulders, his breath hot against my neck. I liked the feel of his body against mine, so close, and it was all I could do not to turn in his arms and hug him tight.
    “ Open your eyes, Riley.”
    I opened my eyes and my pulse skittered.
    Below me I could see the entire village, the school, the inn, the cemetery, and the castle.
    I couldn’t believe the incredible view, stretching as far as the eye could see. Green grass, trees, the river that curved through the small town. “It’s breathtaking.”
    He nodded. “I can spend hours up here.”
    I didn’t blame him. It was a place you could go to be alone…to think, to put things in perspective.
    “ This is my home, Riley. My prison.”
    I glanced back at him and my stomach turned seeing the pain in his eyes.
    “ This is where I am to spend all eternity…and I can no