A Love for all Ages (Crockett County Trilogy Book 1) (25 page)

Stopping to stare at her portrait, he is thankful she isn’t here
to see his failure again.
Loving her as he does, Archie knows he
wouldn’t be unable to face the contempt he knows would be in her
eyes.
As a soldier, he should have been able to see the deception
of the intruder.
He should have gone to the area with the light
shining.
What good is being a ‘ghost’, someone invisible?
He
could have observed the man and reported back to Chase. He may
have been able to witness something to help in the investigation.
But instead of being helpful, he had been a hindrance.
Like a child
he had ran to get help, had awaken the men to do his job.
Feelings
of depression has him bowing his head in shame.

Protecting Della’s Great Niece is his responsibility, keeping
her safe his duty.
How can he be a man of honor, a man worthy of
joining Della in the afterlife, if he is unable to fulfill his obligation?
A numbness spreads through his chest as Archie becomes conscious
with the knowledge he is not worthy of Della or her love.
His most
appalling failure is his failure to Della, his short coming as a man.

Standing up straight with his shoulders square, he gives Della
a final look then he turns away leaving the room.
Reaching the
back door, he lifts his hand and moves the curtain out of his way.
Shock has Archie standing perfectly still; looking at his hand, it
seems the same to him, the same denseness and the same solidity.
The feelings of failure earlier tonight

Not wanting to dwell on his flaws, he
Taking his hand he tries again to push the curtain, once again it
moves, not like the wisps of wind blowing, but like when he was
alive. Totally pushed aside, even now the curtain is being held
back by his hand, not moving through it.

Doing a quick scan of the back yard, Archie releases the
curtain, he shifts and notices the coffee mugs on the table;
excitement has him moving to the table swiftly.
Reaching for the
mug Archie stops, nervously he looks around; seeing no one he
clears his mind, concentrating he places his hand on the side of the
mug.
Grasping the mug he lifts his hand and holds the mug in the
air.
Eyes wide he gawks at the mug, his mind spinning as he tries
to make sense of this new development or advancement in his
‘ghostly’ abilities.

Laughing at his antics, he slowly lowers the mug to the table;
reaching for the mug again he grips just the handle this time, picking
it up.
Wonderment and bewilderment fills him.
How can he do
this? Why now? What changed to allow this?

Needing to assess his strength along with this new ability
Archie returns the mug to the table.
Staring at the chair he
slowing lays his hands on the back, wrapping his fingers around the
top slat; he puffs out his chest and lifts.
Extending his arms above
his head he watches as the chair rise with his hands.
Inspired to
continue with his experiments he decides to fade.
Focusing on the
chair he begins vanishing, mindful of the weigh in his hands.
Standing as he is, with the chair above his head, he knows to
humans this would look as if the chair is floating. Laughing with
glee, Archie lowers the chair back to the floor; he reappears as his
‘ghostly’ persona.

Grinning he resumes his patrol.
room, window to window eagerness flows through him as he waits
for his friends to awaken.
As he moves room to
Chapter Nine

At dawn Archie lingers in the living room, scanning the area
he tries to decide how to demonstrate his new abilities.
Should he
surprise them?
Should he be casual about it?
Would it be best
to tell Chase alone?
His excitement is turning into nervousness.
He is no closer to figuring out what to do.
Rising his eyes to Della,
he yearns to ask her advice.

Hearing footsteps Archie grins, feeling like a kid at Christmas
time he floats to the door.
He studies them as they walk to the
kitchen, trying to anticipate their reactions when he exposes his
newly acquired skills.
The time is here, electing to show them now
when they are all together, Archie fades.

Reappearing in the kitchen, Archie stands behind a chair
facing his friends.
He sees Stephanie fixing the coffee pot; Chase is
beside her, his hand resting lightly on the small of her back and
Andy is standing at the back door, looking out at the yard.
Clearing
his throat Archie draws their attention to him.
Chase and
Stephanie turn to face him smiling.
Andy just turns his head to
focus on Archie over his left shoulder.
Returning their smiles,
Archie begins, “I need to tell you…no, I need to show you…well
actually I….”

Seeing his nervousness, Chase tells him, “Calm down Archie.
Is something wrong?”
Concern fills his voice; Chase walks closer to
the table, bringing Stephanie with him.
They lean against the
counter as Andy turns from the door; folding his arms across his
chest he rests against the wall.

Having their full attention Archie stands straight, he places
his hands on the chair; curling his fingers around the top slat.
Rising his eyes to Chase he lifts the chair; hearing the gasps from
everyone he continues to lift the chair as he fades.
The chair
seems to be floating by itself.
Archie laughs at their expressions of
disbelief.

Replacing the chair to its original position Archie reappears,
he stands quietly observing his friends.
The enthusiasm he feels
for his new achievement or gift is reflected on his face.
Grinning
with delight he waits for their response.

Chase is the first to recover from the amazement he has just
witnessed.
“When did you…how did you….Wow Archie.”
Straightening he moves to stand by the table, he stares at the chair
and then back to Archie.
Knowing he is sounding rattled, Chase
tries to absorb the meaning of this new development for Archie.

Andy having seen the demonstration by Archie; stands
perfectly still, his eyes moves from the chair to Archie and back
again.
Standing by the door he considers fleeing outside, away
from this haunted house.
Seeing the excitement in the other’s
faces; has him wondering of their sanity.
Andy’s body jolts at the
sound of Stephanie’s laughter.
Flabbergasted at the acceptance by
the others, he forces his legs to move; he opens the door and
without a backwards glance walks outside.
Not sure why this
disturbs him, he continues to walk the property; his mind trying to
put in perspective the current occurrence.

Out of her peripheral vision Stephanie sees Andy leave.
Not allowing his attitude to blemish Archie’s triumphed
accomplishments, Stephanie moves to stand beside Archie.
Smiling with glee, she exclaims, “Oh Archie, this is wonderful.
When did you discover you could do this?”
She sits down on the
chair closes to Archie then motions for Chase to sit.
With both
seated, they focus on Archie waiting to hear the details.

Archie sits on the chair he just lifted and moving his hand
across the table he picks up the empty mug from earlier.
He
begins to explain the events from last night as he lifts the mug in his
hand and then replaces it back on the table.
Neither of them
interrupts as he relates his discovery from the night.
He leaves
none of the details out, he explains his depression, the feelings of
failure, the knowledge he needed to do more to help keep
Stephanie safe and about him needing to be a man of honor for his
Della.
His eyes light with eagerness when he describes the
progression of his discovery.
Finishing his accounts of last night,
he remains quiet as he allows them time to grasp the information.

Chase scratches his head, bewildered for an explanation for
the manifestations happening to Archie.
objects both astonishes and stuns him.
releasing it he addresses his concerns, “Archie, I don’t want to
dampen your enthusiasm, but I don’t understand why you are able
to do this now.”
Holding up a hand to stall interruptions he
continues, “I am sure over the years you have been stuck here in
your ghostly state you have felt the same feelings as you did last
night.
All I am says is, what happened to allow you to do this?”
Looking from Archie to Stephanie he sees different emotions in their
eyes, from Stephanie’s expression he knows she is determined to
solve this puzzle, for Archie it seems he is mystified but invigorated
by the transformation.

Clearing his throat, due to the lump of fear resting there
Archie asks softly, “Does this now make me a demon, a poltergeist,
an evil spirit?
Rising his eyes to Stephanie he sees sympathy not
fear.
Giving a weak smile not wanting to hear the revulsion or the
fright but knows he will have to deal with their reactions.
No
longer does he feel enthusiastic about his future, he is once again a
failure.

Before Chase can comment, Stephanie declares, “I don’t
want to hear you say that again.
You are most definitively not an
evil ghost, a poltergeist or a demon.
You are a man of honor, why
would you think otherwise?
You would not hurt me, would you?”
Seeing Archie shake his head no she continues, “We don’t
understand this ability you have now, none us can help explain it.
But that does not make it bad.”
Looking at Chase she adds, “You
don’t think this is a bad thing do you?”

Rising from the chair Chase addresses his answer to both,
“No I don’t.”
Walking to the coffee pot, he fixes two mugs then
brings them to the table handing one to Stephanie; sitting back
down at the table he continues, “For some reason, you have
advanced to do this.
We are defiantly not afraid of you.
We
Archie’s ability to lift

Taking a deep breath and
know you would never hurt us.”
Hearing the back door open he
looks over at Andy, Chase regards his posture.
Motioning for him
to get a cup of coffee, Chase turns back to Archie.
“You will need
to keep trying different processes, testing your abilities.
Find out
what you can do easily and what you need to concentrate on.”
Chase stops speaking and lifts his mug takes a sip of hot coffee.
Placing the mug back down on the table he turns to Andy.

Sensing Chase watching him Andy strides to the table and
takes a seat.
Placing his mug on the table he wraps his hands
around it.
Staring down at his mug he begins speaking, “I am sorry
for leaving the way I did.”
Clearing his throat he confides, “I am
not sure I am comfortable with this new situation.”
Thinking about
his life before coming here, he never believed when people said
they seen, spoke to, or witnessed ghost activities, to be honest he
would mock them, figuring they were either crazy or attention
seekers.
Now, here he is, staying in a home with a ghost; a ghost
that is advancing to being dangerous; he just doesn’t understand
why he is the only one to see this.

Stephanie opens her mouth to express her feelings, she
snaps it shut when Chase puts his hand over hers laying on the
table, shaking his head no, he looks at Archie.
Archie looks from
Chase to Stephanie, seeing her fury in her eyes he holds back a
chuckle. Turning to Andy he speaks with confidence, “Detective, I
realize you are leery of me and this situation.
I can only give my
word as a soldier and a gentleman I would never hurt an innocent
person.”
Leaning back in his chair he continues, “I don’t
understand this happening myself, but I feel in my heart that I am
able to do this to help Stephanie.
Right now she is the most
important; she is the one that needs to be protected.
By
everything that is me, I will NOT allow anyone to hurt her.”
Determination brings an edge of hardness to his voice.

Rising his eyes to Archie, Andy expresses his concerns, “I
hear the ruthlessness in your voice.” Not wanting to show
weakness Andy straightens his shoulders, “You know you could hurt
a person if provoked.
The part that has me worried is what it will
take to provoke you to the point where you could and would hurt
someone.”
Swinging his head to look at Chase he asks, “Do you
really feel safe in this house now?”

Seething over the implications Archie would hurt them
Stephanie declares, “I am not scared to be here with Archie.
Nor
will I tolerate your accusations about him and your callousness for
his feelings. If you have a problem with Archie, you may leave.
We are not forcing you to stay here.”
Finished speaking she
crosses her arms across her chest glaring at Andy.

Andy stares right back at Stephanie, the realization she
would defend Archie until proven wrong reflects in her attitude.
How can Stephanie not see what is right in front of her eyes?
Archie had admitted he would hurt someone if provoked.
Observing her stance, he concludes she is not going to listen to him,
he will need to get Chase to understand the danger Archie could be
for all their sakes.
Breaking eye contact with Stephanie he turns to
Chase, “You are a responsible man, you have to comprehend the
situation for what it is, tell me you know what I am trying to get
Stephanie to recognize.”

Thinking about the danger Stephanie is in, which does not
include any from Archie.
Chase has been listening to all involved,
he responds to Andy, “The way I sees it, if for some reason I am not
available Archie would be able to keep her safe.”
Stalling to gather
his thoughts, he picks up his mug and takes a drink of his cooled
coffee.
Placing the mug back on the table he resumes, “A person is
also innocent until proven guilty.
I think Archie is an asset to us.
He was before this new development and still is now.”

Appreciating the reluctance Andy is experiencing he restates
Stephanie earlier suggestion, “Andy you may be more comfortable
in town at the motel.”
Chase wanting no misunderstanding adds,
“If you do decide to stay here, Archie will be treated with respect.
He is part of the family. ” Turning to Stephanie he smiles.
Rising
from his seat he leans over and kisses her on the top of her head.
Feeling he has made his point he determines the debate of Archie’s
character is over.
Andy either accepts this or he doesn’t, with or
without Andy’s help, he will find the person trying to kill Stephanie.