Death By Fright

by McCarthy, G. L.

  Sam wasn’t expecting to find Alex in the casita, but thought she would check just to make sure. She was right, so they headed towards Jessie’s place. It was set behind a privacy block wall which had a mural of the desert painted on it. Unless you knew it was back there it just looked like a wall put up to keep outsiders out. It was the only way the Blacks could have any peace from their guests. As Sam knocked and opened the front door, laughter could be heard coming from the kitchen and she knew the girls were having a very good time. Announcing their arrival, Sam and Andy walked in to find Alex with flour all over her face and Jessie wiping butter off of hers.

  “So have you two been able to get a batch in the oven yet?” Sam was hungry and wanted some cookies ASAP!

  “Of course. Look to your left and you’ll see them cooling.” Jessie wasn’t ready to have her fun end just yet.

  “Excellent. Can we have some now?” Sam smiled as she pointed to Andy and herself.

  “Yes, but you take your cookies and go. We’re having a little girl talk and you two are going to cramp our fun.” Jessie’s smile was sincere, but so were her words.

  “Deal.” Sam handed two to Andy and grabbed two for herself. She knew her cousin, and this was her quality time with Alex. Sam gave Alex a kiss on the cheek and whispered she’d see her at dinner. Alex smiled and winked back. She knew she understood and loved her for it.

  Chapter 17

  As Sam listened, Andy brought her up to date on his relationship with Dean. The two of them were getting serious and had started talking about finding a place to buy half way between the ranch and the airport so neither would have to do all the driving. Andy commented on how nice it was around the ranch now that he had some help who actually worked, but also missed the old days with Sam around.

  The dinner bell rang and Sam wondered if Alex and Jessie had heard it too. As they stood up and started to head back to Jessie’s house, the sound of laughter could be heard coming from that direction. It was only seconds before the duo appeared heading their way and looking like they had a great time baking and bonding once again.

  “Did you two leave any room for dinner?” Sam wondered how much cookie dough had been consumed by the bakers.

  “Not much. But we thought we should eat something nutritious maybe a bowl of soup or a salad. How hungry are you?” Alex just wanted to sit next to Sam.

  “We were starving, until we had those cookies. But now we’re just hungry.” Sam took Alex’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

  “Hey, Andy. I need to hear about what you’ve been up to since I left.” Alex gave him a wink as she took his hand.

  The foursome walked into the dining hall and as usual, Dawson had Jessie’s dinner waiting and places saved for them all. As the trio hit the buffet line Alex felt too full even for soup, but took some Tortilla soup just to be social.

  Alex sat between Sam and Andy and was brought up to date on what the two had been talking about while she had been baking cookies. Dawson was updating Jessie on all that had happened during her absence and she was sharing her day with him. Alex loved the closeness she felt with all of her friends, as if there wasn’t anything they wouldn’t do for each other. Placing her hand on her pocket, which contained the wolf fetish, Alex felt exceptionally blessed to have Anna and Ramon in her life as well.

  As Alex tried to finish the less than half full bowl of soup, she kept feeling she was being watched. It was a sense that she was beginning to trust more and more. As she leaned against Sam, appearing to say something to her, she rotated her head around until she saw the pair of eyes that were transfixed on her. Bart was sitting next to his mother but totally ignoring his family’s conversation. It was his friends, Alex and Sam, who he wanted to be with right now. Alex smiled at him and gave him a wave to come over. After he turned to his mother to ask, she nodded at Alex letting her know it was okay.

  “Okay everybody, get ready for a small cyclone. My little buddy, Bart, is on his way over.” Alex winked at Sam as she made room for him to sit between them. “Mum’s the word though about anything supernatural. We need to stick to boring adult stuff.”

  “Hi, Sam. Hi, Alex. Where have you been all day? I was looking for you everywhere!” Bart jumped in between them and gave them both a sweet hug.

  “I’m sorry, short man. We were in town doing boring adult stuff. What have you been up to while we were gone?” Sam knew the answer to that question could take a while.

  Jessie and Dawson smiled at Alex and Sam who were listening intently to what Bart had to say. Both were very patient with kids and if they would have had them they would have made great parents. But that was also time that would have been spent away from each other, and neither would have wanted that if they had the choice.

  It was only fifteen minutes before Bart’s mother came by to retrieve him. Alex reassured him they would see him tomorrow so they could finish their conversation. As Alex helped him get out from between her and Sam, Jessie had a sly smile on her face. Turning back to her friend, after Bart was safely on his way without hurting himself, Alex saw the look on Jessie’s face.

  “I know what you’re thinking. So shoot me,Jess. I’ll never change when it comes to not wanting to disappoint kids, or anyone for that matter I know I’m hopeless.” Alex looked at Sam for confirmation.

  “And don’t you ever change either. It’s what makes you special to me and everyone who knows you.” Sam knew Alex had a lot of love to give and didn’t want to be jealous of who she gave it to. Sam knew she was number one on her list.

  “It’s not a bad thing, Alex. I was just thinking you’ve never changed in that area and I know you never will. It’s a trait I don’t have myself. I’m not as giving as you and probably never will be.” This was one of the reasons Jessie loved her so much.

  “You’re very giving, Jess. You’re just selective about who you give it to, that’s all.” Alex knew Jess would do anything for her, Sam and Dawson, but would be hard pressed to give it to someone who wasn’t in her immediate family.

  “You got that right, Alex.” Dawson knew his wife well and also knewshe had a very short list in this area and gave her a hug and kiss on the cheek. “She’d give her last dime to family, but if you’re not in her good graces you’re toast.”

  “I hate to be a party pooper, but I’m either having a sugar crash from all that cookie dough I ate or this morning took more out of me than I thought.” Alex felt very sleepy and was ready for bed.

  “I would say a little of both. I’m feeling a bit tired myself and I didn’t eat any dough.” Sam could feel Alex lean-ing against her which was always a sign of wanting to be close or fatigue. Right now it was fatigue as she could see it in her eyes.

  Saying their goodnights to all, Alex took a glass of milk, but couldn’t look at the cookies. She’d overdone it with the dough and couldn’t even think of eating one right now. Sam grabbed two for herself and took Alex’s hand as they strolled back to their casita for an early evening and a good night’s sleep.

  Alex stripped down to her birthday suit and crawled into bed. She tried to stay awake until Sam could join her, but to no avail. She fell into a deep sleep and then found her mind replaying the events of the day. It was like she was living the day again. Finding herself back at the Monroe house, she found it empty, not like she had found it earlier in the day. As she walked from room to room it was completely empty of furniture and any presence of Robert or Victoria.

  She heard voices coming from outside and looked out the window to see Javier and family getting out of their car and walking up to the house with a man who Alex took an immediate dislike to. It had to be Robert’s nephew. He was a fast talker who could see how much this family loved the looks of the place.

  As the kids raced up the stairs Javier and Juana were looking around very carefully. Javier made several comments about the condition of the house and its need for a lot of repairs. The nephew was agreeing with every statement and assured Javier he was well aware of the wo
rk that was needed and that’s why it was priced so cheaply. He was also rushing them through the place, probably because he wanted them to leave before Robert came back and made his presence known. Alex walked around the nephew and wondered how he could live with himself after not disclosing all that he knew about this house. Feeling the anger building inside of her, she wanted to knock his block off but just threw a punch at his arm wishing with everything she had that it would connect – it did. The blow sent him spinning around which caused him to panic and had him then rushing to get the family out of the house under the guise of another appointment in town. Alex was shocked. Did this really happen or was it just her dream? Was anger the power that allowed Robert to move boxes and throw things? If this was so, then she could get just as angry and would be able to defend herself if she could just learn to focus. Victoria had said it took Robert a few days to perfect his aim and so it could work for her too. But how do you practice when you’re not dead. Meditationhad to be the answer. Now she just needed a coach but who? Maybe Anna’s sister, Connie, knew someone from whom she could learn what she needed to do to focus her thoughts. Alex woke up in Sam’s arms and hoped she would remember all this and what she needed to find out in the morning.

  Chapter 18

  Alex awoke when she felt Sam get up, and still felt full from all the cookie dough, and a little sluggish. Today was Christmas Eve and a day she wanted to devote to Sam. It would be their first Christmas together and one she wanted to be extra special and hopefully start a tradition they would be able to repeat for years to come.

  “Good mornin’, Darlin’. How did you sleep?” Sam came out of the bathroom half dressed and brushing her teeth.

  “Fine and where are you off to at this hour?” They hadn’t discussed any plans about what they were going to do today.

  “First, I go get you your first cup of coffee. Then I thought we’d take our breakfast and ride up to that meadow where you saw Anna and Ramon as wolves for the first time and maybe they’d come visit for a while. If not, we can just spend the time together. You know, no distractions in the form of a small boy who thinks we’re really cool.” Sam was hoping Alex would see the romantic nature of her plan.

  Using her index finger Alex motioned to Sam to come back to bed where she wanted to show her how much she loved the idea. Doing a quick spit and rinse to get the toothpaste out of her mouth Sam knew she had hit the nail on the head and jumped back into bed for several passionate kisses before she headed out to get their coffee.

  As Alex lay there holding Sam’s pillow the tears rolled down her cheeks as she felt so lucky. She had never been this happy in her entire life and now it wasn’t a fleeting moment, but an ongoing blessing one she hoped someone would kick her in the ass immediately if she took for granted. Deciding she’d better get up and start getting ready so they could get out before they were missed, she headed for the bathroom.

  As Sam came through the door she could hear the shower, so she decided to join Alex. She put the coffees in the microwave so they could be heated later when they were finished. Alex was letting the water run over her as she stood in the dark and was happy to have Sam’s company. As they slowly kissed, Alex turned off the water as this was going to take awhile.

  Upon emerging from their shower their coffee defin-itely needed to be reheated. They took it with them as Alex headed to the kitchen to get their breakfast packed and Sam headed to the barn to saddle up Smokey and Bruce Willis. Alex had the saddlebags ready and was heading for the barn when she spotted Sam coming out of the corral with both horses ready to go. Jessie walked out of the dining hall to wave goodbye. Alex had filled her in on the plan and she knew it may be dinner time before she saw the two of them again.

  The meadow was somewhat protected from severe weather, but it was going to be cold up there so both women had their heavy coats and gloves on. Sam knew with the recent rains there would be grass for the horses to graze on in the meadow, which was good since they had only eaten half of their breakfast. As they slowly moseyed up the trail holding hands they didn’t speak but sent their thoughts through hand squeezes, winks and smiles. It was getting easier to read each other, although this morning’s breakfast ride was quite the pleasant surprise for Alex. She hoped that they both would always be able to come up with new things to do together.

  After dismounting, Sam handed Alex her saddlebag and took Bruce from her so she could set up breakfast. Loosening girths and removing bridles, Sam knew the horses would stay close by as there was plenty of grass for them to eat. Alex had everything ready when Sam walked up and was staring off at the place where she had first seen the black and white wolves that would come to be Ramon and Anna in their earthly form.

  “Do you see them?” Sam knelt down next to Alex and looked in the same direction.

  “No, not yet. But it doesn’t mean they’re not out there. I have the fetish in my pocket and we can take a walk after we eat.” Alex wasn’t starving like usual but the smell of the country style potatoes Pablo had cooked for them was encour-aging her to get an appetite in a big way.

  “I see our favorite chef has outdone himself again.” Sam loved the fact that Pablo always outdid himself when it came to cooking for Alex.

  “Always. He knows how much we love his cooking. I’d like to go by and see Connie before we go back to the Monroe house.” Alex wanted to get her request in just in case Sam had a few more surprises up her sleeve.

  “Sure, but why before we go back to the house?” Sam thought it an odd request.

  “I’m hoping she can help me focus on the task at hand. She may know someone who can help me with meditation.” Alex had mixed feelings about talking about this now as opposed to after Christmas.

  “Okay. That sounds like a good idea. It can’t hurt if you could get a few pointers on how to handle an angry spirit either.” Sam hoped that Connie knew a shaman who had some experience in this area.

  Nothing more was said until they had eaten every bite that had been prepared for them and had put everything back in the bags. Taking Sam’s hand, Alex walked to the place where she had been given her answer about being with Sam. Standing in what she thought was the exact spot she took the wolf fetish out of her pocket and still holding Sam’s hand thought of her two dear friends. Her heart jumped with joy as she saw the two of them running towards them and then jumping in the air as the two played by chasing each other. Alex looked at Sam and hoped she could see them too. Her wish was granted as she could see that her eyes were following the two wolves as they raced across the meadow. They con-tinued to play and then approached the two women as if to acknowledge their presence and then disappeared back into the woods.

  “That was so cool.” Sam looked at Alex and could see the tears in her eyes. She was thrilled that they had just shared the same vision.

  “You saw them too?”

  “As plain as day. They were having such fun playing with each other. They looked so in love with each other just like us.” Sam pulled Alex close.

  Alex wanted to take Sam to meet Connie and tell her about today and that Anna and Ramon had indeed come home for the holidays. The time seemed to fly by as the two stood and stared at the meadow just holding each other, but the temperature was dropping and they needed to get back to the ranch for a special Christmas Eve dinner.

  The ride back was just as quiet as the ride out and both were fine with that. As they approached the ranch they figured they had enough time to put the horses away and get in a quick shower before dressing for dinner. Dinner was served early so the staff could get home to their families. Tonight was always special as Dawson and Jessie always did it up right with food and caroling afterwards  not to mention being famous for the highest octane egg nog in these parts! That made the singing a little more entertaining as the guests tried to remember the lyrics. It would be a memorable event that would be retold throughout the months to follow.

  Chapter 19

  As they exited the casita and headed for the
dining hall Alex thought back over the past year.The past four months had been the most wonderful as well as terrifying of her life, but she wouldn’t have changed a thing. She also realized that she never would have been able to handle it all without the help of her friends living and dead.

  The dining hall was filled with happy guests mingling around. The punch bowl filled with Dawson’s egg nog had a rather long line with several guests wanting seconds and thirds. The fathers were enjoying the refreshments and the mothers were trying to get their children to sit down and eat. The excitement of Christmas Eve was definitely a factor in the lack of parental control. The guests had shipped their presents to the ranch ahead of time where they had been safely hidden until tonight. The base of the Christmas tree was concealed by the stack of presents three deep and several layers high. There was no last minute shopping available out here so if it wasn’t under the tree now, someone wasn’t going to get a present.

  Alex and Sam had agreed to a fixed amount for their gifts to each other. Sam knew Alex could go crazy buying presents for her and knew she could in no way keep up. They had an early present exchange with Cyn, TJ, Frederick, Carol, Bob, Sheriff John and a few of the girls from Taylorwood. But now it was time to exchange gifts with their New Mexico family. Alex and Sam had put a lot of thought into the gifts for their extended family. For Jessie and Dawson they had booked a trip to Hawaii. Jessie had always wanted to go but between the ranch closing for the coldest part of winter and the usual repairs needed to keep the place looking like new, there never seemed to be enough money for them to go. As for Andy, his present was picked out by Sam since she knew him a lot better than Alex. She had purchased several CDs of his favorite musical artists like Clint Black, George Strait and Bruce Springsteen’s box set. Andy never spent any of his money on anything like that – he was saving for a place of his own. For Pablo and Connie it was up to Alex to get their gifts. For Pablo she chose a very nice set of knives made of the finest stainless steel and razor sharp. Connie was tough. Alex knew how much she loved her sister, Anna, and wished she could bring them together for a little while. It was a gift she really wanted to try and deliver if only for a few minutes. But if not she’d made a copy of her photo of Anna and Ramon and put it in a frame with “To our favorite sister” inscribed on the front.