Christmas Present Part 13

She was fighting for him and she was fighting for her father. Her love for both men wouldn't allow her do anything less.

But at the end of it all, after she was through fighting, she was going to look around and find Kells gone.

She had to do something. She raked her fingers through her hair, closed them tightly around a thick section, and twisted until she felt a pull. Think. Think.

She had seen Kells standing over her father, holding a gun.

A gun.

She mulled over that particular problem, finally deciding there was no help there. Attempting to rid Killara of all guns and ammunition would be an impossibility. The number of guns was countless, and she wouldn't even begin to know where to look for them all. They were a part of Killara's history, and though her father's Riles regarding their use were strict, they remained a very practical part of everyday life around the ranch, especially out on the range.

Suddenly she snapped her fingers. "Motive. "

As far as she knew, Kells didn't have a motive to kill her father. It was true that something unforeseen could occur between them, but if she could prove to herself without a doubt that Kells didn't presently have a motive, it might buy her precious time with him while she worked on unraveling this mystery foretold by the mirror.

She wiped her hands over her eyes. She was rationalizing, she knew, stretching to create an excuse to continue being with Kells. But she couldn't help herself. She had tried pus.h.i.+ng him away and her still-tingling body attested to her failure. She would never be able to deny him, never again be able to ask him to leave.

She levered herself out of the chair and strode toward a double set of doors set into one wall. She opened them, revealing a closetlike room that held a desk, a set of bookshelves, and a computer.

She sat down and switched on the computer. Computers were incapable of holding emotions, she thought, but they could hold patterns of behavior which in turn might shed the light she needed. With that in mind, she punched in a combination of commands that linked her to the extensive network of information that was available to her through the Delaney computer system, including the New Mexico libraries.

Thirty minutes later she sat back in her chair, stunned.

Kelts had a motive. His father's suicide.

Through various records and newspaper clippings, she had been able to build a picture of Kells's father, and it wasn't pretty. His business had begun to decline a year or so after his wife's death. By the time Kells was eight, the business was in serious trouble. His father tried successively more desperate maneuvers to save the business, but it wasn't long before his credit rating was shot to h.e.l.l. Then her father stepped in and bought him out. Eight months later Kells's father committed suicide.

If Kells did want to kill her father, the motive was revenge. And if she understood anything in her life, it was family loyalty. It was the way a Delaney thought. If someone hurt one of them, that person got hurt in return. No exceptions.

Kells had a definite motive. Worse, she could completely empathize with that motive.

She found Kells on the roof of the Norman keep. The day was crisp and cold, and the air held a breathtaking clarity. The view extended for miles, but she had seen it many times. Besides, the sky could be made exclusively of one large sapphire and she would still be able to look only at Kells.

He was superimposed against the brilliant blue sky, a hard, angry man in his black leather jacket and form-fitting jeans. And to her amazement, she realized his expression was very close to what it had been when she had first seen him in the mirror. The anger was there, plus another emotion she couldn't decipher. But this wasn't the scene; they were in the wrong place.

"What are you doing up here?"

He stared at her with those eyes of his that could hold her so effortlessly. "I thought a little air might help to clear my head."

"Has it?"

"Not really. You're still there." Anger filled his every word. "Tell me, Bria. When you come up here and everything you see belongs to the Delaneys, does it make you feel like G.o.d?"

"No," she said slowly, "but the view does engender feelings. What I see when I look out over the land, what any Delaney would see, is our heritage. And we would fight to the very last man to keep it." She paused. "Just as your father fought to keep his business."

His brows drew together and his eyes darkened. "My fattier? What brought that up?"

"You told me that your father committed suicide, but you didn't tell me he did it mere months after my father bought out his business."

He moved his head, jerking it back as if she had hit him. "How did you find that out?"

"I spent about thirty minutes on the computer."

His eyes glittered dangerously. "Invading my family's privacy?"

"Protecting my family. Besides, it was all a matter of public record. Why didn't you tell me?"

"It didn't seem important." He was lying. As soon as he had realized he was in love with her, he had known the moment would come when he would have to tell her. But he had put it off. As much as he loved her, he still found it hard to reveal his heart. But here she was, beautiful, strong, demanding that he do so. And the time had come when he couldn't do less.

"Kells, you told me your father committed suicide. Why didn't you go that one step further and tell me why?"

His lips drew into a tight line as he braced himself to open up that portion of his heart he had always felt better having closed. But Bria deserved the truth. "Because Burke buying the company wasn't the reason he killed himself."

The wind whipped her long hair across her eyes. With a toss of her head she sent her hair streaming away from her face. "Maybe Dad's buying him out wasn't the whole of it, but it looks to me as if it was the final straw."

"What do you want me to say, Bria? That I've held a grudge all these years, waiting for an opportunity to kill Burke? Forget it. Life is rarely that simple or easy. I was only nine when my father shot his brains out, and of course I was deeply affected. But I knew my dad pretty well. I had seen what my mother's death had done to him. I had watched as he started c.h.i.n.king more and more. I didn't know anything about what was happening to the business, but it didn't escape my attention that he was spending more and more time at home because he was incapable of going in to work. My grandfather and I both tried to help him in our own ways, but there came a time when we could no longer reach him. That's when it happened."

She stared down at her clasped hands. "I'm sorry. I know this must be hard for you."

"Yeah, it is. And it was at the time. But the thing I'm currently finding d.a.m.n near impossible to bear is that you actually believe I would kill your father because of it."

"The facts-"

His growl cut her off. "The facts don't measure my intelligence, Bria-not now or when I was nine years old. Yeah, Burke's buying out of the company probably pushed my dad over the edge. But if it hadn't been Burke, it would have been someone else. And if it hadn't been the buyout that pushed him over the edge, it would have been the company's bankruptcy, or something, anything, else. I knew that then, and I know it now."

"But-"

He held up his hand, forestalling her words. "I'll admit that when Burke invited me to come here, my first instinct was to turn him down. I had made the decision to take his money, but deep down inside there was still something left of that nine-year-old little boy's hurt, and I didn't want to have anything more to do with him than was necessary. In my defense, I think a little of that feeling, however much I was or wasn't aware of it, was natural. When I first got here, I was edgy and wis.h.i.+ng like h.e.l.l I was back home. I didn't want to be friends with Burke or Cara. And I sure as h.e.l.l didn't want to become involved with their daughter. But things rapidly jumped beyond my control. More and more I became aware that I was getting tangled up with you. At one point it dawned on me that I wouldn't have accepted Burke's money if I hadn't come to like and admire him. It was a shock to me, but it was true. Then everything else but you faded in importance."

"Kells..." She wasn't sure what she wanted to say to him. She was caught up in something that made her feel totally helpless. And though her instinct was to protect him and her father, she had only ended up hurting him more.

"d.a.m.n you, Bria. Have I ever given you any reason to think I would lie?"

She shook her head. "No." She sighed and nibbed her forehead. "No, you haven't." She walked to the battlement, but turned so that she could see him. "So far, four out of six of the scenes I've seen have come true. I guess you think I should latch on to the mirror's inaccuracy and not dwell on its accuracy."

"I wish like h.e.l.l you would, because, Bria, I'm promising you, there's nothing on earth, nothing that would make me kill Burke."

It was a huge gamble in a deadly serious game, she thought. But over the years Delaneys had certainly played worse odds and won. "I'm still going to continue searching for an answer to the mirror. I have to." His jaw clenched, his body stiffened. He had given her every a.s.surance he was capable of, and it wasn't enough. "Break the d.a.m.n mirror, Bria. Throw it away. Put it back in the attic. But whatever you do, get it out of your life?"

She shook her head. "I can't."

Frustration and anger etched his features. "Why in the h.e.l.l not?"

"For a lot of reasons. It's obviously part of the Delaney history, but for some reason its history has been

lost. I have to find it." "Why? Why do you have to be the one Delaney out of all your family that is worried about this d.a.m.n mirror?" She shook her head again. "I don't know. But for some reason, at this time I'm the only one it shows anything to." She didn't need an interpreter for his dark expression. His fury was climbing to an all-time high. "I know it doesn't make any sense, Kells. I've said that right from the beginning. But no matter what, I can't put the mirror away until I understand it." He uttered a long string of oaths. "It's resting squarely between us, you know that, don't you? And it's creating one h.e.l.l of a barrier." She knew the answer, but she had to ask anyway. "Against what?" "Whatever might have happened next between us." She swallowed and felt pain. "The mirror's important, Kells. How could I not think it was? It's shown me too many things."

His expression turned implacable. "Tomorrow morning Burke and I will sign our agreement. Tomorrow afternoon I'll be leaving here." "No." Her response was instinctive, without thought. "I already have my tickets, Bria. Besides, isn't that what you wanted? Me back in Australia or anywhere besides here. Cheer up, sweetheart. Your dad will be safe, and you'll have all the time in the world to search for that doc.u.mentation you want so badly."

"Kells-"

The urge to either yell at her or make love to her was impossibly strong. But he had done both and neither had helped. He turned his back on her and left the rooftop.

She laid her hand on the cold stone of the battlement and stared unseeingly out over the land.

That d.a.m.ned mirror. Had other Delaneys struggled with it as she was? Had they cursed it and then put it away?

Whatever they had done, it wasn't in her to give up. She couldn't leave the problem of the mirror alone, not now. Nor could she bear to lose Kells.

Time was of the essence. If she could find her answers before he left tomorrow, maybe he would be able to understand. Maybe.

But where were the answers? She had no idea, but since nothing she had tried so far had worked, she had no choice but to return to square one.

9.

Dust motes danced in the sunlight that streamed through the window. Bria sat on the attic floor not too far from where she had found the mirror. It seemed to her that she had searched every trunk and box in this old section, and she wasn't sure what else she could do. But there had to be something, something she hadn't yet thought of.

Her gaze went to the place where she had found the mirror. Long ago a member of her family had put it there, placing it face to the wall and covering it with a shawl. And the mirror had remained there, undisturbed for decades.

It didn't make sense that whoever placed the mirror against the wall would have done so without leaving some record for the generations to come, something that would explain the powers of the mirror and perhaps tell why they had returned it to the attic. They wouldn't have simply draped the mirror with a shawl and- The shawl. Her eyes flew to the aged silk material that lay crumpled on the floor where she had chopped it. She s.h.i.+fted, and picked it up with care and deference. The shawl's background must have been white at one time, she guessed, and the flowers vivid, but now faded flowers bloomed against an ecru background. As she brought it closer to her, something fell into her lap. A yellowed envelope.

With barely contained excitement she pulled out three sheets of paper and began to read.

My dear Elizabeth, So you found the mirror at last. It's about time.

How well I feel I know you. Even as I write this letter I can see you as clearly as I did that day oxer forty years ago when I looked in the mirror and the magic showed me the young woman I thought was to be my daughter. There you were, kneeling before the mirror in your blue and white sweater and men's trousers, your face as pretty as my Kevin's was handsome, and with my red hair. I felt very lucky in you, Elizabeth? and very lucky in my vision of my future.

But I had only one child, Brendan, and lie only one son, Patrick. So it seems you may not appear in my lifetime. Too bad I would have liked to lime known you. Of course, it's possible that you may pop up from some unknown branch of the family as I did, but I cannot chance leaving you in ignorance of the mirror.

I have chronicled all I know of the history of the mirror on the following pages. Read them and make your own decision about whether or not you should leave the mirror where you found it. As for myself I've never regretted my own choice. My life has been full and rich, but there lime been many moments I would not choose to lime had foretold-and, thus, to lime lived through twice. A terrible world war has claimed the lives of fiends and loved ones. I would never have wanted to see those dark shadows approaching. Whatever your decision, good fortune and G.o.d's blessing on you.

Affectionately, Zara Delaney Bria's head spun. Zara had described her right down to the clothes she had been wearing the day she had found the mirror. Zara must have looked into the mirror and seen her discovering it. Yet she called her Elizabeth. Why?

Her mind quickly switched to something of more importance. The tone of Zara's letter seemed to indicate that whatever was seen in the mirror came true.

Impatiently Bria turned to the following pages and once again began to read. When she put down the last page, she had her answer. The history of the mirror confirmed her worst fear: What was seen in it always came true.

Sweet heaven, she had to find Kells. And she had to show the letter to her father right away.

She rushed downstairs. The first person she encountered was her mother, discussing menus for the upcoming Christmas festivities with Mrs. Copeland.

"Mom, have you seen Kells?"

In an instant Cara's motherly gaze took in Bria's flushed complexion and anxious expression "He and your dad went riding a little while ago. Why? What's wrong?"

"Oh, Lord."

"Darling, what's wrong?"

''Nothing, I hope. Where did they go?"

"I think I heard Burke say something about the west range. You know how proud your dad is of that new bull-" Brians mind worked fast as she ran to the two ma.s.sive hand-carved wooden front doors.

"Bria."

"I'll tell you all about it as soon as I get back," she shouted over her shoulder.

Her dad and Kells had a head start, she thought, but they were on horseback and wouldn't be riding fast. If she took one of the four-wheel-drive vehicles, she would have a chance of catching them. And luckily the keys were always left in all the cars at Killara.

She jumped into the first one she saw. A second later the engine roared to life, and the vehicle's tires burned rubber as she headed toward the west range.

Please, G.o.d let me be in time. The refrain played over and over in her head as her gaze stayed glued to the horizon, looking for her father and Burke. The problem was, men on horseback were common on Killara, and several times she raced toward two riders only to find it was a pair of ranch hands. But one cowboy was able to tell her that he had seen Kells and Burke riding toward the mountains.

Bria pushed the accelerator to the floorboard and sent the Jeep hurtling across the range. Her heart pounded as she drove for what seemed like hours but in reality was probably less than thirty minutes. All she could think of was that she couldn't lose either her dad or Kells. The importance of each to her was without measure, without definition.

Two riderless horses came into her view. They were standing up ahead by an outcropping of boulders. She willed the Jeep to go even faster. She didn't spot the men at first, then she saw one man straighten from a kneeling position and look over his shoulder at her.

It was Kells. But where was her dad?

Her fear heightened until she felt encased from head to foot in ice. She brought the car to a skidding stop and bolted from it. She rounded the hood and came to a shocked halt.

The scene in the mirror.

Her father, pale and lifeless, was lying on the ground, his jacket open, blood staining the entire front of his s.h.i.+rt. And Kells was standing over him, a gun in his hand.

"My G.o.d, Kells. You killed him"

Kells's expression was taut and scored with anguish, but all he said was, "Do you know how to handle a gun?"

Tears stung her eyes as she looked at him in disbelief. "A gun? A gun? What difference does that make? I'm not going to try to kill you." The honor of her father's death was suffocating her, blinding her, numbing her. She stumbled to her father and fell to her knees by his side. "d.a.m.n you, Kells," she cried. "Why didn't you listen to me?"

Kells bent down and pressed the gun into her hand. "Get hold of yourself, Bria. We've got to act fast. I'm going to a.s.sume that you do know how to handle a gun. Keep him covered while I call for help."