The Chesapeake Diaries Series (116 page)

“I’m glad you’re happy. But hey, you just reminded me. I have a meeting this morning, too.” He stole a look at his watch. “Clay and I are going to go through his barns and see which is best suited for conversion into a brewery. Then we’re going to look into the equipment we need to order.”

“I’m delighted that you’re moving ahead immediately with this. But what are you going to do with Austin? I won’t be here to watch him.”

“Clay’s mom recommended a sitter, some friend of hers who’s looking for something she can do at home. I thought I’d give her a call. I need to find someone local anyway, if I’m going to be working here.”

Dallas stood and brushed off the seat of her jeans. “I’m really happy for you and Stef, Wade. I couldn’t be happier. I think it’s wonderful. I’ll have to give her a call later and tell her so.”

“Good idea,” he said. “Maybe you and she can work out the whole date thing.”

*   *   *

Steffie could barely contain herself all day. Her arm was almost black and blue from pinching herself every other minute to see if she was still awake. Having your best dreams come true was nothing short of awesome. That they did so unexpectedly made the reality even sweeter.

She couldn’t wait to tell Vanessa.

Calling on the phone wouldn’t do, and when she stopped at Bling around noon, Vanessa was taking delivery of some merchandise she’d ordered for the shop. She’d just realized that the order was short and was going back and forth between the vendor and the delivery guy.

“I’ll stop back later,” Stef told her.

Vanessa put her hand over the phone. “I have three more deliveries scheduled for this afternoon, and if this is any indication of how things are going for me today, you don’t want to be around to witness the aftermath.”

Steffie was keeping the shop open until seven, but Wade had brought her dinner—Chinese takeout—at six. Dallas had a meeting, and Wade had both Austin and Cody to feed and put to bed.

Cody had homework, which meant Wade needed to get the boys back to the house by six-thirty so that he could help Cody with those all important spelling words.

“Dallas called me this afternoon,” Steffie told him. “She said she was thrilled that you’d finally come to your senses and that she and Grant wanted to get together with us to celebrate really soon. Which I already knew because my brother stopped in this morning and I told him. I was going to tell my mother but
I thought I’d wait until we were together. Dallas and Grant are still talking about a date, though.”

“I have to ask your father for your hand.”

“I’d have thought there were other parts you were more interested in.”

“Ha-ha. That’s not part of the tradition. If I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it the right way,” he said.

“Did you tell Berry?”

Wade shook his head. “She wasn’t around today, at least, not when I was. Of course, I was at Clay’s for most of the afternoon.” He ruffled Austin’s hair. “And Austin got to meet his new babysitter, right, ace? Mrs. Lindstrom,” he told Stef.

“Cathy Lindstrom’s mom?” Stef asked.

Wade shrugged. “I don’t know. Clay’s mom recommended her and she seems really nice and Austin really had a good time at her place today, didn’t you?”

Austin nodded and picked up a piece of overcooked broccoli to lick.

“Nice manners,” Wade noted.

“He’s just a little guy.” Stef leaned on the back of Wade’s chair, her arms around his neck. “But if he eats his dinner, he can have ice cream.”

Austin nodded again and stuffed the broccoli in.

“I don’t know what time Dallas is getting home tonight,” Wade said when they were leaving. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it over to your place.”

“Give me a call if it isn’t too late when she gets home.” Stef helped Austin on with his jacket then handed Wade a carton of ice cream. “Or just call me. I want to stop at Vanessa’s on my way home and I might be there awhile.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to you later.” Wade kissed her, then picked up Austin and, taking Cody by the hand, went out into the cool night air.

Steffie stood at the window and watched them disappear around the bend. “My guys.” She sighed happily, then closed the door.

She packed a few containers of ice cream to share with Vanessa in between waiting on the two customers she had after Wade left. At ten after seven, she grabbed the bag of ice cream, locked up the shop, hopped into her car, and headed for Vanessa’s house on Cherry Street. She all but danced from the car to the front door, where she rang the bell in three or four spurts.

“Hey, Stef,” Ness said as she unlocked the front door. “I wasn’t expecting you. Come on in.”

“I have something really huge to tell you.” Stef followed Vanessa into the living room. “Last night …” she began, then seeing the woman seated on the sofa, she stopped. “Miss Grace. Hi. Am I interrupting …?”

“No, dear. Of course not.” Grace sat back slightly on the cushions as if to distance herself from the coffee table, where, Stef realized, the Ouija board had been placed.

“I hope that’s ice cream in that bag,” Ness was saying as she tugged off Stef’s jacket.

“Duh.” Stef swung the bag back and forth. “I’ll put it in the freezer for later.”

“Or we could have some now. I’ll come with you and get bowls. Miss Grace.” Vanessa turned to her guest. “You’ll have some, won’t you? I’m not sure what flavors we have tonight …”

“If Steffie made it, I don’t even need to know the flavor. Of course I’d love some. Could I help …?”

“No, no. You just sit there and and relax and we’ll just be a minute.” Vanessa smiled, and grabbed Stef by the arm and pulled her into the kitchen.

“I am so glad to see you,” Vanessa whispered when the door closed behind them. “You are not going to believe what is going on out there.” She took a deep breath. “Miss Grace stopped over to pick up a few more journals that I found in the attic, and she asked about the Ouija board. Well, I had it here, so I took it out and said something like, ‘Let’s see if it will say something besides DAZ with someone else playing with that little triangle thing.’ ”

“Did it?”

“Did it ever! It’s the strangest damned thing. It keeps spelling out ‘Hello, Gracie. Hello, Gracie!’ Like it—the spirit—recognizes her! It’s totally creeping me out.”

Vanessa pulled back the left sleeve of her sweater and held out her arms. “Look at the hair on my arms. It’s standing straight up.”

Stef looked. Vanessa wasn’t exaggerating.

“She’s got to be controlling that thing,” Stef told her. “She’s playing with your head.”

“This is Miss Grace we’re talking about,” Vanessa reminded her. “She doesn’t play with anyone’s head.”

“Well, she’s playing with yours.”

“Stef, you have to see it. That little triangle was flying across that board like nobody’s business. Zip zip! Like it was excited. It was so weird, even Miss Grace was getting tense. We could hardly keep up with it.”

“Was there a message from beyond?”

“Just ‘Hello, Gracie.’ ”

“Let’s dish up the ice cream and we’ll go back out there and we’ll see if she’ll do it with me here. I think she was just trying to spook you.”

“Why would she do that?”

“Maybe so that you’d let her take the Ouija board home with her.”

“I’d already offered it to her, and—”

“Do you girls need a hand?” Grace stuck her head through the door.

“No, thank you. I just need to get a few spoons. Stef, grab those two bowls and I’ll take this one.” Vanessa smiled. “Miss Grace, if you could just hold that door … thank you.”

The three women returned to the living room. Vanessa and Grace sat on the sofa, and Stef took one of the floor cushions and tossed it next to the table.

“Oh, a Ouija board,” she said as she sat on the pillow and placed her bowl on the table.

“We were just … testing it,” Miss Grace told her.

“And did it work?” Stef asked innocently.

“I’m afraid so, dear.” Grace put her bowl down next to the board. “It’s been most puzzling.”

“What’s the puzzle?” Stef asked.

“I’d thought we might be able to contact Alice, but it appears the spirit isn’t hers.”

“How can you tell who the spirit is?” Stef frowned.

“It … whoever … keeps calling me ‘Gracie.’ ” She looked from Stef to Vanessa then back again. “Alice never called me Gracie. Never.”

Stef’s spoon stopped halfway to her mouth. “Seriously? You’re not playing with Vanessa? Please say so if you are. And if you are, please stop.”

“Steffie, I do not ‘play’ with things such as this. In most hands, the Ouija is a harmless toy. In the hands of someone who might have some … 
sensability
, it can become a channel of sorts. That’s what’s happening here. Someone is contacting me and I’m very confused because I do not know who it is.”

“Stef, why don’t you try it with Miss Grace?” Vanessa sat on a nearby chair, as if putting as much distance as she politely could between herself and the coffee table.

“It’s okay with me, as long as it’s okay with Miss Grace.” Steffie looked across the table at Grace. “But you have to understand that I don’t believe in this stuff.”

“That’s quite all right, dear. You don’t have to.”

“You just put your fingers on the little planchette,” Vanessa said. When Stef looked up questioningly, Vanessa smiled smugly. “That’s what the little triangle thingy is called.”

“Did you look that up yourself?” Stef asked.

“Nah.” Ness loaded her spoon with ice cream. “Miss Grace just told me.”

Grace reached across the table and took Steffie’s hands and placed them on one side of the triangle. But even before Grace added hers, the triangle began to move, as if quivering.

“Holy crap,” Stef whispered. “I swear I’m not—”

“Hush, dear,” Grace told her softly as her fingertips touched the triangle. “Let’s see where it goes.”

“It’s spelling out
HS
over and over.” Stef watched as the small triangle sped back and forth between the two letters.”

“What word starts with
HS
? I can’t think of a
one,” Vanessa said. “Unless it means
his
. Which makes no sense at all.”

The three women watched as the same letters were touched over and over again.

“I don’t get it.” Steffie shook her head.

“Wait, it’s doing something else now. Look.” Grace pointed to the board.

“What’s the word it’s spelling?” Vanessa leaned forward.

“
H-S-T-E-P …
” Steffie’s jaw dropped. “Oh, my …” She held her breath. “H. Stephen.”

“What?” Vanessa frowned.

“H. Stephen. I used to call Horace ‘H. Stephen.’ ” Steffie’s eyes filled with tears. “Horace?” she whispered.

The triangle went around and around in circles, as if doing cartwheels, and Stef laughed out loud. “Horace. How can this be happening …?”

“Steffie, your cousin Horace
always
called me Gracie.”

“Can you tell him thank you for me?” Stef asked Grace. “And can you tell him I miss him?”

“You just did, dear.”

Stef took her hands off the triangle and placed one over her heart. “I can’t believe this just happened. I don’t believe in this stuff. I think somehow you made this happen, maybe even unconsciously, but I don’t believe it.”

She thought for a moment. “But why would Horace be here, in Alice’s house?”

“You’ll have to ask him,” Grace replied.

Stef sat for a moment, her hands in her lap. “All right. Let’s ask it something. Something none of us
knows the answer to.” She put her fingertips onto the triangle. “Will this work with just me?” she asked Grace.

“I don’t know. Give it a try.”

Stef thought about the dried flower that had fallen out of Alice’s diary. “Horace, is Alice your Daisy?”

The triangle went still for several seconds, then slid across the board to
yes
.

“Oh, my stars.” Grace stared at Steffie as if she’d sprouted a second and a third head. “Horace and Alice …?”

“How did you know to ask that?” Vanessa frowned. “Oh, you’re the one who’s goofing with this thing. Honestly, Stef, you had me going there for a minute.”

“I swear to you, I was only guessing. Why else would Horace be here, in Alice’s house, if there wasn’t a very close connection between them?” Stef stopped to consider what she’d said. “I don’t believe in any of this, but I can’t explain what just happened.”

She placed her fingers on the triangle again, but nothing happened.

“Miss Grace, you try it,” she said.

Grace did, but … nothing.

“They’re gone,” Grace said simply.

“
Gone
means they were
here.
” Vanessa looked around the room. “Swell. I’ve got ghosts.”

“Not ghosts, dear. Just spirits.” Grace patted her arm.

“Right. Just a couple of the undead.” Vanessa looked at Stef. “I wonder what they do all day …”

“Vanessa, would you mind if I took the board home with me?” Grace asked.

“Oh, would you?” Vanessa looked relieved. “I mean, of course, take it. I won’t be touching it again, believe me.” She looked at Stef. “You?”

“Nope.” Steffie shook her head. “I’m done.”

“Well, then, thank you, Vanessa, for the journals and the board and the … interesting evening.” Grace stood and gathered her things. “Yes, indeed, this was a very interesting evening.” She shook her head. “Horace and Alice. Who knew?”

Both Stef and Vanessa walked Grace to the door, but once she was gone, Ness turned to Stef. “Now tell me the truth. Were you pushing that little thing?”

“Uh-uh.”

“Oh, come on. Just a little tiny bit, maybe?”

Stef shook her head.

“How am I going to explain to Grady that we are not alone here?” Vanessa bit the inside of her lip.

“I wouldn’t bother. He won’t believe you and then you’ll have to explain the whole Alice-and-the-spells thing.”

“Good point.” Vanessa stood in the middle of the living-room floor. “I say we have more ice cream and forget that this little incident ever happened.”

“Amen.” Stef picked up the bowls they’d already used and followed Vanessa into the kitchen, where she placed them in the sink. “Let’s do cones this time. I brought two. They’re in the bag.”