My eyes flew up to the fireplace again. An electric current raced through me as I bolted to my feet. “What if the two brass lights have been removed?” I peered closely at the stone and found a filled-in spot. “Mike, look.”
He walked up to the fireplace and peered at the spot I pointed out. “Yeah, something hung there at one time.”
The other side of the fireplace had the same plugged-up hole. I grabbed Mike’s arms. “What if…?”
He appeared as enthralled as I was. “What does it say again?”
“Start a fire and look to your right.”
The fire was already going. We stood back and looked to the right. I saw nothing. Is the fire supposed to reveal something? Maybe it was to protect Ayana from being noticed. Or maybe this was just hopeful thinking. The likelihood was slim, but still…
Mike peered at the bookshelf. “I don’t see anything from the fire.”
“Me, either.” I remembered Grandpa telling me about hidden compartments. Some of the women who’d been accused of being witches and had been burned in Salem had built hidden compartments in their bookshelves. I pressed against the panels, but nothing happened.
My pulse sped up when my fingers brushed against an indentation just about the right size for a forefinger. It refused to budge. “Can you see if this moves? It needs a little elbow grease.”
“Of course.”
I placed Mike’s hand where I’d felt the groove. “Do you feel it? I think it might slide.”
“Okay. Stand back.”
I took a few steps back, and Mike pushed until his muscles bulged. He grunted with the effort before looking back. “I think it moved, but I’m afraid I might be breaking it.”
“It’s fine. I’ll have it fixed.”
“Okay. Wait, do I need to play any warning bells? I’m trying to figure out when I have to play them to keep you from getting hurt.”
I laughed and gave him a playful punch in the arm. “Show me your muscles already.” Oh geez, that sounded sexual. I groaned in frustration. “Please don’t let me continue—bring a gag the next time.” A gag? Double oh geez, I sounded like some BDSM girl with a gag fetish. “I’m going to stop talking now.”
“You’re a breath of fresh air, Sydney Burch.”
“With a case of Tourette’s… at least around you.”
He cupped my cheek and gently caressed my face with his thumb, eliciting a shiver from me. “It’s worth it, considering how you make me feel. I think you need to know that because I don’t want you avoiding me when you’re nervous. I like you just the way you are.”
Oh my. “That would have been a good time to ring your bell. Thank you. Most people don’t like my lack of filter.”
“I’m not most people.”
Now, I’m an egg on a hot sidewalk, frying from extreme heat.
He grinned, and in an attempt to save my dignity, I added, “You may not be able to take me in public. Seriously, I start babbling about sizzling bacon, ball gags, and night sticks.” I gasped and put my hand over my mouth. Ducking my head, I said, “Ignore that. Just ignore all that.”
“Consider it ignored.” He winked. “I’ll bring a foghorn in case you get a case of Tourette’s and there are children around.”
“I think that sounds like a good idea.” Once again, we were both grinning like buffoons. I waved my right hand in the air. “Show me those manly muscles.”