Secrets of Silver Lake [Book One]

5

Mrs. Harrison entered the room and whispered something in Grandmother's ear. She nodded and turned to us.

"There is something I must attend to. Boys, make sure to get acquainted with Paige. You'll all be living here, so you might as well get to know one another," she said before rushing out.

Aunt Clara took the opportunity to leave as well. My presence seemed to make her more uneasy by the second. I stood there wringing my hands together with Damon and Saxon sitting on a sofa in front of me.

"Have a seat," Saxon offered.

"Okay," I muttered without making eye contact.

The only available spot was on the sofa next to Damon, so I went to sit as far off to the corner as possible. I could see Damon already shifting in his seat as I approached. He mumbled something under his breath. I slowly sat down, but immediately jumped up. I yelped out in pain as an electric shock sped through me. Damon flinched back, his eyes wide. Saxon bolted out of his chair towards me.

"You okay?" he asked.

I nodded, feeling embarrassed. "I'm okay. Sorry. I just got a static shock. I haven't had one of those since I was a kid!" I chuckled a little.

Saxon breathed a sigh of relief. "You scared me there for a second!"

I apologized again and eyed Damon as I sat back down.

"Grandmother's house is prone to shocks, that's for sure," Damon mumbled.

I shot him a side glance but he pretended not to notice.

"Well, I think that broke the ice, huh?" Saxon offered me a sympathetic grin. "So, you want to tell us about yourself?"

I smiled sheepishly. "Not really," I laughed. "I mean, I'm happy to, but I'd really rather hear about you guys and our family, this house..."

They exchanged glances before Saxon responded. "Oh, sure. That's understandable. You're probably sick of introducing yourself to everyone and answering the same questions over and over."

No, not really, but we can go with that. I thought.

"Have you had a tour of the house yet?"

"Somewhat," I said. "Mrs. Harrison showed me the first two floors. We still need to do the third floor."

Saxon raised an eyebrow. "Uh, no need to tour the third floor. No one's allowed up there except for Grandmother."

That seemed odd since Mrs. Harrison failed to mention that. Saxon interrupted my thoughts.

"How about a tour of the grounds?"

"Sure," I answered. "I'd love that."

He hopped up and looked at Damon expectantly.

"I, uh, have something I need to do," Damon said softly and rushed out before we could say anything.

Saxon shrugged and said, "Looks like it's just you and me."

I followed him out of the house and past the backyard to a golf cart that was parked off to the side. He motioned for me to get in and after I did, we sped off. I held on tightly as we bumped down a narrow dirt road.

"Is all of this Silver property?" I asked him.

"Yeah, been in the family for years," he replied. "Most of it is still just woods pretty much."

I looked off to the side, watching the many trees we passed.

"The lake is that way." He pointed to his left. "And straight ahead is your father's estate. I'll drive you by."

We exited the woodsy trail and came across stunning green grass that seemed to go on forever. A long driveway led up to an enormous home with ivory columns in front. I stared at it in awe.

"Your father lives here with your step-mother, Abigail, and your half-sister and half-brother, Jenna and James. Are you going to be moving in there, too?"

We had stopped in front of the home, both of us staring up at it.

"Actually," I answered. "I'm not sure. I thought I was going to stay at Grandmother's."

Saxon shrugged. "I'm sure you'll get it sorted out."

I hadn't thought about living in my father's home, although it made sense. At that moment, I didn't have a preference. Both homes were new to me, so it didn't matter to me where I lived technically. My plan was still to wait until I turned eighteen and leave to find Ruby. Then we could be roommates once again and live wherever we wanted to.

Saxon started up the golf cart again and rode me around, pointing out a tennis court, a few trails that led to the lake and the docks where they kept their boats, a boat house, and the way to the main road.

"If you take the main street, you can get to the country club. We go there a lot. You'll love it!" He smiled.

I smiled in return, all while thinking he didn't even know me. How would he know what I would love? I wanted to tell him that the thought of going to a country club terrified me. A bunch of unfamiliar faces gawking at me, whispering that I was Clint Silver's daughter that no one had ever mentioned before.

"And your house..?" I asked cautiously.

He stared straight ahead. "Oh, I left that out of the tour. I figured you probably wouldn't want to see it."

I looked down at my lap. In a way, I had wanted to see it again. It had been so many years and curiosity was getting the best of me.

"Besides, no one's lives in it since..." his voice trailed off.

"I know the damage was pretty bad," I said. "Didn't they get it repaired?"

Saxon shook his head. "No. My mom - Clara - wanted to leave after the uh, fire. She never went back and I guess had no desire to repair the damage."

"So, the house is just sitting there? Damaged? But it's been so long."

We pulled back up to Grandmother's home and parked the golf cart. "I've learned that sometimes it's better to not question things too much around here, Paige," he offered.

As I got out of the golf cart and followed him back into the house, I couldn't help but wonder. Why leave a beautiful mansion just sitting there unoccupied and not repaired after so many years had passed?

Once back in my bedroom, I went through the clothes I had borrowed from Jenna again. I felt bad that I had suspected she was somehow against me. She had been generous enough to hand me a closet full of expensive name brand clothes and even though we were sisters, she had only just met me. And, I reminded myself, she was the only one of the other grandchildren who knew my real age, knew my father had cheated on his wife, Abigail, with my mother, and vowed to keep it all a secret.

I wasn't exactly sure how Damon believed I was twenty, not seventeen. I made a mental note to ask Jenna to see if she knew. It was nice to think of having someone on my side again, like I had gotten used to with Ruby. Deep down I hoped Jenna and I would grow close, just like I imagined sisters to be.