Saturday's Child (13 page)

“I know. Thank you.”

“I mean it, Megs. Any time. And get your pastor up there fast. Before the bonfire, but preferably today or tomorrow.”

“I will. See you soon.”

****

Aaron was standing in the kitchen when Meggie came back down. She felt better now she’d spoken to her brother; his prayer bolstered her sagging faith, and his voice and support made all the difference. She let Aaron take her hand and lead her out to the cow shed.

Over the clanking of the milking machine and the lowing of the cows, she shot him a wry smile. “It’s morning. Want to have that conversation about what Tanis and the others do that isn’t bridge?”

“It’s still dark,” he reminded her.

“So?”

He adjusted the machine for a long moment. “Do you believe in witches?”

Meggie looked at him. “That’s not something I’m asked every day. I’ve never really given witches a thought. I mean, there’s the storybook variety that fly on broomsticks, the little widow woman in the village with a black cat variety…” She paused. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“I’m almost hesitant to say ‘witch’ because of all the connotations the word has associated with it. Like you just said, the whole white witch, good witch, bad witch, black magic, witches only exist in films, thing it has going on. But—”

“But?”

“Nancy believed the farmhouse was haunted. She’d see reflections in mirrors that weren’t there. Footsteps in the attic, and she’d insist things got moved when no one was around. She said that sometimes there’d be a figure in one of the bedrooms—”

“Standing by the window in the room over your kitchen. He’s tall, very tall, and thin. Almost wraith like. You can’t see his face as he has a black cowl pulled far forward over his head.”

Aaron’s eyes widened. “How do you know?”

“I saw it, the other night when I left. The night I crashed the car. You were in the farmyard, Tanis was in the doorway, and this figure stood at the window upstairs. Did Nancy ever tell you what the reflection in the mirror looked like?”

“Yeah, several times.”

Meggie held up a hand. “Let me. It has red eyes that glow, yellow teeth, pointed ears, again it wears a cowl and it scowls and glowers.”

Aaron paled in the lamplight. “Pictures won’t stay on the walls, the mold in the red room, the smell.”

“But how is all this connected with the bridge games?”

He checked the milking and then patted a fretting cow, calming it down. “The front room is always off limits. It has been since Tanis moved in. One night, Isaac and I snuck in there.”

“Sneaked,” Meggie corrected.

“OK, sneaked in and waited for them. They all wore long black gowns and capes with hoods. Tanis lit a fire in the hearth and tossed something on it to make it burn blue. A figure rose out of the fire and hung above them, but it was a trick, right? They sat around a table and played this board game using a glass they moved with their fingers.”

Meggie shivered.

“I now know that’s a Ouija board. She’s done séances, too. But I always just discounted them as harmless party games.”

“No.” She made her voice as firm as she could. “They’re not. They open the door to the spirit realm. They’re dangerous.” She paused. “It might be worth asking Pastor Jack to come over and pray in the house.”

“You mean exorcise it?”

“If he feels it needs it, yeah. But definitely pray in each room. You said yourself there is something in the house and that you’ve experienced some of these things even if you haven’t seen the eyes for yourself. Yet.”

Aaron stood silently for a long moment, his hand running over the equipment, checking it. His face creased in thought. “Tanis won’t like it.”

“It’s your house, isn’t it?”

“Technically.” He smiled wryly. “She’s always out on a Friday, and I guess if I didn’t tell her… What you don’t know can’t hurt you, right?”

“Friday’s tomorrow. OK, I’ll talk to Pastor Jack today when I get in. If he can’t do it, then maybe Pastor Bruce can. Actually, I’ll get him to ring you. It should probably come from you as it’s your house.”

“Thank you. I’ll do that. I really am sorry you got hurt.”

“It’s all right.” Meggie smiled at him, seeing the concern and worry weighing him down. She needed to change the subject, lighten the mood slightly, get them away from the dark topic that had kept them occupied the past few hours. And she knew just how to do it. “You’re still on for the seventies disco tonight?”

He grinned. “Try keeping me away. That’s the only pop music worth listening to.”

She shot him a wry smile of her own. Maybe some light teasing would do him good, it always worked on her brothers. “By the way, word’s got out about me sleeping here last night. I kind of mentioned it to Iestyn on the phone last night. Cadfael is coming with Gareth for the day on Saturday.”

“Oh yeah? Checking me out? Making sure I’m worthy of their sister?”

“Something like that. They want to meet you. Do you mind?”

“Not in the slightest.” Aaron grinned. “I’d do the same for Leah.”

“Only you’d no doubt take your shotgun with you.”

He tried to look innocent. “What shotgun?”

“You’re a farmer. Of course, you have one.”

His deep laugh filled the milking shed. “Well, yeah. But I’d only shoot her boyfriend if I had to. It’s not really conducive to friendship.”

Aaron had the most fantastic sense of humour, if only it was tapped into correctly.

“No, not really,” she answered. “And shooting him would get you arrested as well.”

“It would at that. But no, I don’t mind meeting them. Not that we’re going out or anything...yet.” He mumbled the last word.

“True. And was there a
yet
tagged on the end of that comment?”

Aaron took three steps and stood next to her. “Meggie—”

His nearness made her shiver. He moved closer, leaning against her, gently putting her back against the cool tiled wall. His firm body held hers still, whilst his hand gently cupped her face. His gaze captivated her. She didn’t want to move. She wasn’t scared of him, despite her usual apprehension with men. She knew she had no need to be, even though he was inches from her. His thumb brushed over her lips, a tantalizing soft touch that gave her goose bumps. Then he leaned in closer and captured her mouth with his.

His touch was gentle at first, tentative, alluring. His fingers left her cheek and entwined in her hair; his other hand slid down her arm to her waist. He tasted of coffee and toothpaste and conscious thought left her as she parted her lips and Aaron deepened the kiss, sending her emotions and senses into overdrive.

Yet
indeed.

****

Aaron followed Meggie into town without any problems. He’d had only been back an hour, when the phone in his pocket vibrated. He pulled it out. “Hello?”

“Hi, Aaron, it’s Jack. Meggie asked me to ring your mobile rather than the landline.”

“Thank you for calling.”

“Is everything all right? It sounded important I rang you as soon as possible.”

“Not really.” He took a deep breath, wandering across to an empty corner of the farmyard. He hoisted himself onto the wall and sat there looking out over his land. A large crow settled on the wall next to him, watching his every move. He shifted away from the creature. “It’s kind of complicated.”

“That’s not how I’d describe it. Certainly not after what Meggie told me.”

“Did she tell you everything that happened?”

“I’d like to hear it from you. What you think and feel and know.”

“I haven’t wanted to admit it, because of the fear of sounding crazy. But yes, there is something in the house, Jack,” he said quietly. “I don’t know what, but something attacked Meggie last night. It attacked Nancy before she died. Maybe it killed her, I don’t know.” He took a deep breath, going into more detail.

“What would you like me to do?”

“Meggie feels…”

“I know what Meggie feels. But I asked what
you
wanted me to do.”

“Please come,” he said. “Pray around the house for me. Tanis is out tomorrow, so then if possible.”

“Sure,” came the instant reply. “I’ll be there at ten.”

****

Not wanting to be late for the date to the disco, Aaron rang the doorbell fifteen minutes before seven. He wasn’t expecting Meggie to be ready, but to his surprise, she was. He ran his gaze over her flared skirt and frilly blouse. “Very retro.”

“Thank you. Well, I figured seventies night, had to be really.”

“True.” He undid his jacket and flashed his outfit at her. “Will I pass muster?”

Her snort of laughter thrilled him. “A sweater vest and flared jeans?”

He lifted a leg and raised the hem. “And the boots.”

Meggie giggled. “Great minds.” She lifted her skirt to show off platform heels. “I’m still nowhere near as tall as you, though.” She slid a headband over her hair and grabbed her bag. “OK, let’s go. Did I tell you they have a roller disco tonight as well? They’re dividing the floor in half—part for ordinary dancing and half for roller-skating.”

“Oh, cool. I haven’t done that in years.”

She smiled. “Did you get the chance to speak with Pastor Jack?”

“Yes, I did—he rang shortly after I got back after following you home. He’ll come over at ten tomorrow morning. Are you going to come as well? You could stay on afterwards, help out, have some lunch, and then I can drive you home later.”

“I’d like that, thank you. So long as Pastor Jack gives me the time off from the office. Although if its bonfire stuff, technically I’m working anyway.”

After a short drive, Aaron took Meggie’s hand and led her into the Purple Turtle. It was packed. Each outfit was as retro and bright as their own. He led her to the bar and ordered two soft drinks. The loud music made conversation hard, but he was content simply to sit with her for a moment as they watched the roller-skating.

Aaron put down his drink. “Come and dance. Assuming you don’t have a problem with dancing.”

“And why would I have brought you to a dance if I had something against it?”

“Very true.” He took her hand, leading her to the dance floor. ABBA changed to the Brotherhood of Man. He started dancing, finding it easy to pick up the rhythm of the beat. Meggie kept pace with him perfectly. After a couple of songs, his desire to renew his acquaintance with roller skates grew too strong to resist, and he dragged her over to the desk.

They swapped shoes for skates, and he was pleased to see they too were retro, with four sets of wheels per boot, rather than inline.

Meggie laced her boots and tried to stand. She lost her balance and landed heavily on the floor.

Aaron pulled her upright. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah. For a man who can’t dance, you have good balance on these things.”

He smiled. “Time to confess. I did this a lot in my younger days. I can ice skate, too.”

“Really? Wow, you are a man of many talents.”

He shrugged. “I used to take Leah skating a lot. She persuaded me to try once and I loved it. Her coach said I was a natural. But Tanis wouldn’t let me have lessons. She said a farmer didn’t need a poncy skill like skating.”

“There is nothing poncy about ice skating. We’ve won a load of gold medals in it—most by men. So how did you learn?”

“I watched Leah. Her coach said I could skate for free, that it would be an honor to teach me. He even entered me for a couple of competitions.”

“And?”

“I won. Got as far as the nationals. If I won that, I’d have gotten a place in the English squad and skated for my country.” He sucked in a deep breath. Tanis had found out and blown her top. She’d screamed and yelled, and the next thing he remembered he was in the hospital with a broken ankle and been forced to withdraw from the competition. The sense of rejection and disappointment speared him anew. “Enough of that. Let’s skate.”

He started around the floor slowly, holding her hand. Her feet were all over the place, her other arm thrown out to steady herself.

“It’s not as easy as it looks,” she gasped, a foot sliding out from under her.

The music changed to Van Halen and Aaron happily belted out lyrics at the top of his voice.

Meggie laughed. “At least you can sing. Iestyn thinks he can, only he can’t. He’s tone deaf and actually got thrown out of the church choir. The only person in recorded history to have done so.”

“Oh, I bet he was miffed.” He increased speed.

“Yeah, even more so when Cadfael was made choirboy of the year.” She tried to keep up with him, but failed. She lost her balance and fell, pulling Aaron down on top of her.

He landed hard, sprawled on top of her, other skaters whirling around them. Her face was inches from his, her soft breaths hot on his skin. Her lips parted, her cheeks flushed, eyes darkened. He held her gaze for a moment, unsure what do to. Should he kiss her?

Deciding against it, not sure how she’d feel about a public display of affection, he grinned and pushed to his feet. He grabbed her hands and hauled her up after him. “Shall we try that again?”

“Falling or going faster?” she teased.

This time he did kiss her, a soft kiss on the corner of her mouth. “Both.”

He led her around a few more times, and then showed her how to dance wearing the skates. Slowly she copied his moves, and he beamed at her. “That’s it.”
Brown Girl in the Ring
began playing and he grabbed her hands. “Dance with me.”

“I can’t. It’s impossible.”

“Impossible isn’t a word. And nor is can’t,” he told her. “They’re just reasons not to try.”

He encouraged her gently, and slowly her confidence grew until they were both dancing on the skates. Two songs later, they exchanged the skates for their shoes and got another drink. The next hour flew by in a mix of dancing, laughing and talking. He hadn’t had this much fun in years. Not since he’d dated Nancy. Looking back, he could pinpoint the change in her to the day they married and she moved onto the farm.

Was Meggie right about the house? He studied her as they danced. She seemed older than before. Did she have silver spray in her hair? Was it the disco ball teasing him with its fake reflections and sparkles? Or was it something else? Did Meggie have grey hair where yesterday she’d had none?