Free Silver Hollow by Jennifer Silverwood Page A

wondered once again if his second letter had been a warning. Even more troubling was what would have happened if she hadn’t listened. Would something terrifyingly worse have happened than her parent s ’ car wreck? What if the twins or their parents, the McSpaddens , had been next on the hit list? Amie shivered at the thought.
    “Jessamiene,” Henry whispered during the heavy silence that followed. He waited until her eyes were upon him, even though he seemed reluctant to speak. “I must ask you now before anything else, before you’ve seen and heard too much. I must ask you to forgive me.”
    His soul was in his eyes, as was a kind sorrow her father had never revealed to her. And his words hit the mark too close, crashed against the hard emotional walls she’d spent years building up.
    “F or what?” she said hesitantly .
    Without hesitating, he let his emotions pour from his lips, laid bare. “For missing everything , for not being there when you needed me, for not coming for you myself.” Hardness entered his eyes and an anger she knew was for him alone. His features wavered in the firelight, sharpening into someone with golden skin and the kind of nobility that was born, not taught. Blinking back the blurred image, she found only Uncle Henry. Yet she couldn’t shake the tears threatening behind her eyes, or the odd sensation of knowing the man for years instead of minutes.
    Nodding to herself, she tried to smile and failed miserably. “I hadn’t thought about it enough to stay mad at you. But I do . F orgive you , I mean.”
    Clasping his hands together , he exclaimed, “Excellent!” Suddenly he was the eager handsome uncle who had greeted her at the front steps. “Now, you have only just awakened , my dear. I shall not burden you with so much when you are so close to their world still. But we are all very excited about your presence here.”
    “I hadn’t noticed,” she deadpanned with a twitch of her lips.
    “Oh aye?” He feigned ignorance while his thick brows rose knowingly. “Well , it is difficult to hide , we must admit. It’s been far too long since the house has smelt so fresh. You have no idea how musty, rusty and dusty it has been! Quite a tomb it was, ever since I did my best to repair it and without his help, I might add. But now you’re here all of this will change , milady.”
    “Why does everyone keep calling me that?” she huffed and tugged her thick curls.
    His eyes widened and he chuckled, “Indeed?”
    It was h is way of saying A re you joking ? apparently , and when she waited for his answer his eyes widened and brow settled sternly.
    “Can you honestly tell me the battle - axed old fool didn’t even tell you…”
    “Tell me what?” Her voice was enough to calm his tirade. For a long minute, Henry seemed to contemplate something either very pleasant or very grave.
    Settling at last on pleasant he began, “I have a proposition for you, Jessamiene. Our mutual friend tells me we have little time to dally over ceremony. Especially with my own pressing circumstances and the Winter Solstice upon us, I believe the time without drastic measures has passed. So without further riddles, simply put , I want you to agree to apprentice to our ways and allow us to do the telling. Savvy?”
    She blinked at him, not comprehending what he was asking. “You want me to learn the family business?”
    “If that is how you wish to call it.” His eyes took on a fresh gleam , alive in the same way he had appeared at the top of the stair. “At the end of your apprenticeship you will have a choice , my dear. To tell you now might give away much more than you can grasp.”
    “So your proposition is?”
    “Learn from us, the family business , as you say. And make me a promise , you will make your choice to stay or leave at the end of it.”
    Amie had always been told it was never wise to make a promise you couldn’t keep. Although u nsure of the reasons why, she wasn’t so certain this was