Page 115 of The Keeper and I

She hardly got the words out before Jordan slammed the door behind them.

Chapter 30

TheonlythingkeepingLaci grounded in the present moment was Jordan’s hand in hers. He was speeding down the road toward the estate, going as fast as her mind was racing with everything they’d learned. About Billie and Ethan and themselves.

It all seemed so incredulous. Had there really been another lifetime where she and Jordan had already been together? She kept coming back to one thing she was too afraid to say out loud. Billie and Ethan’s past life had ended in tragedy, and Tessa said that Caroline had died young. Was that why she and Jordan had found each other again? Were they trying to secure the life they never got to share?

Jordan’s fingers tightened around hers, and she looked at him. His eyes were resolutely on the road, but the tension in his jaw and the deep frown on his lips told her that he was as worried about what they might find as she was.

The house came into view, dark and stately against the skyline. She glanced around to check if her parents’ cars were there but didn’t see them. Plus, all the windows were dark. They hadn’t arrived back from their weekend excursions yet, but it was typical for them to return on Monday morning after the work traffic cleared up.

Jordan brought his Range Rover to a skidding halt in the driveway, released Laci’s hand, and was out the door almost before the engine was off. He opened the passenger’s side door, and Laci clamored out to join him on the gravel. He offered his hand again, which she took, and they went to the side of the house.

“Have you got a light?” he asked as they walked.

“Just on my phone.”

“That’ll do.”

She retrieved it from her back pocket and turned on the light before handing it over to him. The beam was small but pierced through the darkness enough for them to see where their steps landed. The closer they got to the mystery door, the more the hairs on the back of Laci’s neck stood on end, and not from the spring chill. She grabbed hold of Jordan’s arm.

With her heart in her throat, they reached the door. An eerie silence came over them. Not the hoot of an owl or a rustle of the grass could be heard. Laci grabbed handfuls of Jordan’s sleeve and gulped. The door stood before them. The air was still. The time had come.

“How…” She stopped to swallow. “How d’you suppose we’ll get it open?”

“I’m gonna ram it open,” he said.

“It’s rusted shut. We haven’t even been able to open it with tools.”

“I know, I’m gonna use my body.”

“Are you joking?”

“I’m strong,” he said.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I know that, but—”

“And big.”

“Of course, you are, but Jordan…”

He handed her phone back to her and gently pulled himself free of her grasp. “Stand back.”

“Jordan!”

He was already backing up, lining his body up with the center of the door. He squared his shoulders and let out a long breath like a bull about to charge a matador.

“Jordan, I really think we should consider—”

He surged forward and hurled himself at the door. His broad shoulders made such heavy contact that she winced. The rusted iron rattled, but she also heard the wood groan under his weight, and with a crack, it began to splinter in the middle.

Her mouth fell open.

Jordan caught his breath, backed up again, and repeated the action. The door gave a little further. Laci couldn’t believe it. All this time, her family had tried to open it by removing the padlock or the hinges. It had never occurred to them to come at it in the center. Then again, they were more concerned with potentially damaging what might have been an original part of the house. Laci had shared that concern before, but in the face of the answers she needed, she considered the door a necessary sacrifice.

With one last charge, the door broke cleanly open. Bits of wood flew off and skittered across the dusty floor. Laci rushed to Jordan.

“Are you alright?” she fretted, looking him over. “Have you dislocated anything?”

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