His hand grazed her shoulder and remained there. “What if it’s more than that?”
“I don’t know what you’re getting at, so can you stop beating around the bush and get to the point?” She already sensed she wouldn’t like what he had to say.
“It seemed to me that Beth responded to specific things you said. They weren’t just random movements.”
“Such as?”
He drew a breath. “It started when you brought up the diary. Facial tics and gestures. It got worse when you started to talk about looking into what kind of offerings were used to place the curse.”
Lauren’s throat swelled with emotion as his words proved what her heart feared. “I’m really disappointed in you, Jason. You only saw what you wanted to see. A crazy woman reacting to that damn curse.” Her arms suddenly felt as if they weighed a ton and it was hard to lift them. Her entire body hurt, she realized.
“I didn’t mean to upset y
ou.”
Lauren shook her head. “That’s okay. You’re entitled to your feelings. Besides, you just reaffirmed what I was about to tell you.”
He drew back his shoulders, stiffening in preparation. “Go on.”
“I’m tired. I want to go inside and take a nap.”
Relief crossed his handsome face. “You want to take the afternoon off? That’s fine.” He checked his watch. “There’s not much left of the day anyway. Let me send my guys home. We can relax and order in dinner and pick up work tomorrow when you’re feeling better. I’ll even give you a massage,” he promised in a suggestive, teasing voice.
She shook her head before she could take him up on his tempting offer. “I can’t. I’d rather…I mean, I need to be alone.”
He raised his eyebrows, surprise etching his expression. “Okay, I’ll finish work while you rest. Then-”
She jerked her head back and forth once more. “Please, just go home for the night. We’ll get back to work tomorrow.” She had to force out the words.
He reared back as if she’d slapped him. “Don’t do this. Don’t pull away. We can work through this together.”
Lauren clenched her fists, letting her nails dig into her palms, drawing courage from the pain. “Why are you so sure Beth is reacting to specific things? To the curse?”
“Because I saw her with my own two eyes?”
He reached for her hand but Lauren refused to let him touch her. “Beyond that. Why would Beth react to mention of the curse?” she asked, rephrasing.
Jason rolled his eyes. “Don’t make me go there,” he said in a firm voice.
“I have to. Answer the question. Why do you think that my sister Beth, my grandmother Mary’s granddaughter and assistant, would react to recent news of the curse and offerings?” Lauren pushed him.
She wanted to hear him say it.
“Fine.” He leaned in close. “Because she believes in that curse with every fiber of her being. Because she hates my family and wants the legacy of the curse to continue.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s a damned Perkins, that’s why,” he said, his voice raised. “Are you happy now?”
Lauren’s eyes filled with tears. No, she wasn’t happy. But she was right. He’d never truly be able to accept Beth. Which meant he’d never truly be able to accept Lauren, either.
LAUREN HAD BAITED HIM, Jason thought. And even knowing she was setting him up so she could push him away, he’d allowed her to manipulate him anyway.
“Idiot!” he said, stamping his foot.
Fred lifted his head and let out a lazy howl before laying his head back on the floor. As soon as his uncle saw Jason’s car pull into the pathway to the barn, Hank walked The Fat Man over.
Jason knew he was in trouble the moment he realized the old barn felt less like his home than the Perkins house. Things only went downhill from there. Sleeping with gas-producing Fred wasn’t the same as sleeping with Lauren and her snoring cat, and Jason woke up in a pissed-off mood.