Spirit [New Crescent 2] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (7 page)

“It has to be this way Chase.”

He could still remember how she’d cried in his arms before saying goodbye.

Distance hadn’t severed their bond however. Over the years, they didn’t see much of each other, but they’d stayed in touch. Jade would never discuss her father with him, and Chase couldn’t touch the man without hurting her, his sister. His hands were tied.

He looked down at the mail in his hand and smiled.
Of course, think of Jade and there she is.
Her fluid handwriting was impossible to miss. She stubbornly insisted on writing letters. She used the phone and e-mail sometimes, but she saved the good stuff for her letters. Chase looked forward to reading this one.

A huge cat wound around his legs almost tripping him, and he frowned.

“Still here huh?” He bent and scooped up the enormous creature.
Damn he was heavy.

“Well, you may as well spend the night then. Just this once.” He’d been saying those exact words to this cat for months now. It just showed up one day and walked in as bold as brass. And it stayed. It wouldn’t leave. Utterly comfortable in Chase’s home, the cat wouldn’t even go outside. Chase installed a cat door in hope of encouraging him to venture out, but to no avail. Yet, everyday when Chase came home, part of him dreaded the thought that the cat might actually be gone. He refused to admit it, though, so he and the cat lived in a sort of suspended commitment to each other.

He saved Jade’s letter until he was ready to go to bed. With the cat curled up beside him on the bed, he savored the moment. It was a pleasure to read for enjoyment for a change. He glanced over at the proofs couriered to him that day and refused to feel guilty for not looking at them. He’d had a big day. Didn’t Ernestine ask Reggie to tell him to relax? Tonight he planned to take her advice. Jade’s letter was the perfect distraction, but when he’d finished and turned out the light, all he could think about was the look on Reggie’s face after he’d kissed her. He knew sleep would be very elusive that night.

“You’d better turn that one over, man.” Sam Daniels pointed to a hamburger on the grill.

Travis frowned at him. “What would you know, Trust Fund, you’ve never cooked a meal your entire life.”

“That may be so, but I’ve eaten many times and to me, charcoal isn’t a condiment.” Sam took a deep gulp of beer and turned away. Travis looked at Chase for support, but got none when Chase shrugged and stayed silent.

The three men stood on the patio in the backyard. Reggie and Gillian each set huge bowls of cold salads on the table. Ernestine sat at the head of the table with her eyes closed, her face turned up to the autumn sun.

Having agreed to get down to business after they’d eaten, they conversed happily over lunch. Finally, Ernestine pushed her dessert plate away and said, “Gillian, that was delicious as usual.”

Travis looked hurt. “Hey, I did the cooking. Don’t I deserve some credit?”

Reggie lifted a shoulder and said, “So you burned a couple of hamburgers for us, big deal. But since you insist…” She patted his always disheveled hair. “That’ll do, pig.”

Gillian laughed. “Oh,
Babe
, I loved that movie! I haven’t eaten pork since I saw it. Neither has Hank.” She looked down at the big white dog with apology.

“That’s one of things I love most about you, Gill, your soft heart.” Travis leaned over and planted a kiss on her lips.

Gillian smiled. “It’s my extraordinary mind you really love, though.” She turned to Reggie “We may as well get this thing started. What’s going on up at Bennett house?”

There was no question as to who would do the talking. Reggie explained in detail what she and Chase had experienced. She made no direct reference to the passion ignited between them, but she knew Gillian could read between the lines. Chase acknowledged Reggie’s discretion with a small, private smirk. She pretended not to notice.

When she finished, her audience said not a word. All eyes turned to Aunt Ernestine, who sighed deeply.

“Has anyone else working there experienced anything like what the two of you have?” the old lady asked.

Reggie looked to Chase, and he said, “No. There’s been an unusual rise in the number of small accidents and fights on site, but there’ve been no reports of anything like what we felt.”

“Okay, that could mean you’re the only ones who can feel the energies. Others may be affected by them, but on a much more shallow level. And Reggie, my dear, it’s definitely directed at you.”

“Since I’m the only one who saw something visual manifest?”

Ernestine nodded.

Reggie raised a fist in the air without enthusiasm and grumbled, “Hurray for me.”

Her sarcasm was ignored.

“By the sounds of it,” Ernestine said, “the spirit in the garden is Constance McCann. It makes sense that she’d hang around given the mystery surrounding her life and death. She was a Guardian at one time; all that power had to go somewhere. She’s chosen you Reggie. Probably did so a very long time ago and that’s why you’ve always felt so connected to the place.”

“She’s manifesting to me now because she doesn’t want Bennett House restored?”

Ernestine shook her head. “I don’t think so. She’s not angry. She’s playful. She’s doing this because she can. Constance finally has the power now and doesn’t care how she got it. Fool. Reggie, you are going to have to communicate with her and warn her.”

“Warn her? Of what exactly?” Chase asked.

“A spirit doesn’t just suddenly find power. It’s taken from someone or something. If my guess is right, that other entity in the library has something to do with Constance’s renewed strength, and she’s ignoring it. She always was a bit too selfish and naïve to be an effective Guardian.”

“Just how do I communicate with her?” Reggie asked. “The human race has made great strides in technology but I don’t think we’ve cracked the whole, talking to dead people thing just yet.”

Gillian said, “I could try. I can do it easily enough with the living, conscious or unconscious. Maybe I could connect with Constance?”

Travis started to object, but Ernestine silenced him with a look. “No. Gillian, you must stay away from that place until Reggie and Chase have dealt with the energy in the library. You and I as Guardians would be an irresistible temptation to the entity. I’m too old, and your power is too new. No. This is Reggie’s destiny.”

Travis looked at Chase and Sam in silent agreement. He said, “That settles it then. The three of
us
will help Reggie.”

“No.” Ernestine shook her head earnestly. “Chase alone can help her. He is Constance’s descendant, and as such, he’s connected to Bennett House too. Anyone else runs the risk of becoming food for that entity. Chase has already faced it and broken free. That gives him a slight upper hand. We can’t risk anyone else.”

Sam said, “Since no one else is going to ask the question, I will. So what’s the Big Bad in the library?”

Reggie answered with certainty. “Vincent Bennett, Constance’s husband.”

“You’re right, Regina.” Ernestine took a sip of her coffee. “It can only be him. I’ve long suspected he used some pretty powerful dark magic to win Constance. Even she wouldn’t have married him without some sort of unnatural manipulation.”

Chase asked, “Do you think she has any idea of what Vincent’s up to?”

“On some level, she does, but she doesn’t want to deal with it. She’s probably too blinded by the recent infusion of power to think straight. It’s up to you, Reggie. You’ll have to snap her out of it.”

“And just how do you suggest I do that, oh great swami?” Reggie bowed.

“Insolence doesn’t help, dear, but since you seem to need to make silly jokes, I’ll overlook it this time.” She patted Reggie’s hand. The rest of them had to resist the urge to laugh. Ernestine continued. “I can’t tell you how. You’ll know or she could never have appeared to you in the first place.”

“No disrespect, Aunt Ernestine, but that’s not good enough. You have to tell us more.” Sam said.

“I can’t answer all your questions.” She nodded her head at Gillian. “And neither can Gillian. Regina, my girl, I suggest that you connect with Constance as soon as possible. Leave the library alone. The time will come when you will have to face that evil, but for now, don’t let anyone go near it.” Then the grand old lady dropped the bomb. “Reggie, you should move into Bennett House for the time being.”

“Are you crazy?”

“Hell no!”

“Over my dead body!”

Chase, Travis and Sam all answered at the same time. Reggie and Gillian couldn’t help giggling as the old woman put the three of them in their place. When she was done, they looked like three very unhappy chastised little boys, and she continued uninterrupted.

“Reggie, you were right to seek advice. I know I haven’t told you much, but trust me, it’s best you act on your own instincts without any more interference from me or Gillian. This thing is powerful, and if it’s not handled right, it could spell disaster. One that could send shock waves farther than any of us can imagine. Reggie, you have the strength. Trust yourself. I believe in you.”

Ernestine smiled gently. “Sam, You may take me home now.” He opened his mouth to object, but thought better of it when Ernestine arched an eyebrow.

After they’d left, Chase pinned Reggie with a blue-eyed stare. “If you’re moving in, then so am I.”

“Yeah, good luck with that,” Reggie said casually.

“Luck has nothing to do with it.”

She narrowed her eyes at him and affected a bored sigh. “Ernestine seems to think it’s
the
thing to do, moving into a haunted house. All the kids are doing it.”

“Not funny, Reg,” said Travis. “I’m with Chase. Since he’s the only one Ernestine thinks can help you, then you’re stuck with him. It’s either Chase or all of us and Ernestine can go to hell.” He was deadly serious.

Serenely, Gillian said, “Chase is right, Reggie.”

The next day, Reggie moved into Bennett House.
Not quite a dream come true,
Reggie mused. Chase had helped her bring her stuff upstairs to the master bedroom. It was positively painful to act naturally around him with that huge bed standing between them. She cursed her vivid imagination and refused to look him in the eye.

Nervous, she filled the room with chatter.

“I called Pat Somers’s agent, and she said it was fine that I stay here. She knew about the thefts and vandalism. I guess Duncan told her. I said nothing about you staying too. You’ll have to do that yourself. That’s not my responsibility.” She stopped talking for a second and smoothed a sheet over the bed. He grabbed the other end of it and tucked it in. It was a very domestic little scene, and it disturbed her more than she cared to acknowledge. He hadn’t told her where he intended to sleep, and she was afraid to ask.

Instead, she stated, “I feel like chips,” and walked out of the room and down the stairs. She had to get away. Chase’s proximity was starting to erode her self discipline. He didn’t speak much, so she couldn’t take umbrage with anything he said. The tension was palpable. Reggie’s hold on her temper was slipping, and his presence was unsettling. She couldn’t stop remembering what it felt like to be kissed by him, and in a few hours, they’d be spending the night together. She was becoming a nervous wreck. Soon she’d weigh two hundred and fifty pounds if she didn’t find something other than food to alleviate her stress.

After grabbing a bag of potato chips from the kitchen, she rushed outside to the garden. She was glad she’d thought to bring groceries. At this rate, she’d be forced to replenish her supplies on a daily basis. She’d frowned when she noted that Chase had brought supplies of his own. It all felt a little too domestic.

The work on the house and grounds was moving right along despite her distraction. Desperately, she clung to her work, trying to take her mind off Chase. She’d selected most of the interior paint colors and looked forward to seeing the final samples. So far, all of her plans had been approved without question. Part of her wondered if the owner ever really saw any of her ideas, but she refused to look a gift horse in the mouth. This was her opportunity to do what she’d always dreamed of doing, and in its way, it was very rewarding.

“Why are you running away from him?” the voice asked, startling her.

Without realizing she’d done it, in her agitation, Reggie had sought out the section of the garden with the iron gate. To top it off, she had pathetic timing. Unprepared to face the apparition, Reggie responded instinctively.

“I have to run away from him or I’ll do something stupid,” she said under her breath.

“Coward.”

“What would you know about it?” Irritated, her temper got the better of her. “You’re not even here. Find the light already and head toward it.”

The spirit laughed lightly. Reggie could see Constance McCann plain as day, but she could also see the gate through her, a perfect reminder that this wasn’t going to be a normal conversation.

“Constance?”

The woman continued to laugh. “So you finally know.” She danced around the little gate with grace.

“What are you doing here Constance? Why me?”