by Olivia Swift
Leaving Katie cutting and packaging once the truffles had their chocolate coating, she drove to the building site and found Sam using a very noisy power washer on the paving slabs. He turned it off when he saw her, and she looked at the part he had cleaned. The stones had a gray, almost lavender tinge to them.
“You were right. They are really lovely,” she told him and then went around to everyone to show them the bracelet and to say thank you.
“It’s Sam she’s after, but if she cannot get to him, she will latch on to anybody else around,” Declan told her.
“Did Sam ask you about feeding the kittens?" He nodded.
“Not a problem,” he said and told her he would take one when they were a bit bigger.
By the time she had thanked everybody, Sam had given somebody else the power washing and was ready to go and meet Rula. They were standing just inside the stable, when Declan came to ask what time to go and see the cats, when all three of them watched the shadow of a cat walk through where the wall had been before and melt away into thin air.
Magda looked at Declan and asked if he saw it. The man said of course he had.
“Black-and-white, short-haired cat. I saw it yesterday as well but didn’t say anything in case you didn’t want to know. It’s not doing any harm, so why worry?”
“Good thinking,” Sam said. “If you go and do the kittens now, we can go after we meet Rula. Thanks, Declan.”
“He has the right attitude to it,” Magda said as she drove them away.
Branston was sitting in his huge off-roader at the door, and the three of them went inside. A text told them that Rula was fifteen minutes away so they got coffee underway. Magda had picked up some doughnuts, and both Branston and Sam were eyeing them up.
“Just wait until the invalid gets here,” she told them.
“She won’t like being called an invalid,” Branston remarked. “The woman likes to be out and about.”
The private ambulance arrived with Rula leading the way to the door, and the wheelchair with Rula’s mother was brought down the ramp. The two medics brought her inside, checked she was feeling fine, and drove away. Rula had a car full of stuff from her mom’s house and they all joined in to bring it inside.
Melissa had found out that she could wheel herself around the house by that time, and they all sat around with coffee and doughnuts.
“This is more normal. Thank you, guys. The hospital was very good, but it’s always better to get out,” Melissa told them.
“We can bring you in either Sam’s truck or Branston’s Hummer to my place if Rula is at work. Even if I have to go out, Katie is there,” Magda told her.
“And I can work online wherever I am,” Melissa added. “That makes me feel better.”
“So, tell us every detail of what has happened,” Rula wanted to know. Between the three of them they brought her up to date on the building, the ghost, and everything else.
“Last night was weird because somebody dumped three kittens in a bag at my door, and they are the same color as the ghost cat,” Magda said. “I know it could just be coincidence but it’s still weird.”
“They are in my new extension and safe just now, but we might need you to go and feed them sometimes,” Sam added.
“You two have been together an awful lot,” Rula remarked, and Sam said that he had to talk about the building work.
“Mmm,” Rula said, but Branston blew it by telling the story of Magda chasing Loretta.
“Billy Malone was telling me last night what Magda had said.” He grinned. “’Get off my property and away from my man,’ was the quote.”
“It sent her packing though, so the men chipped in and bought me this.” She waved the silver bracelet around in the air. She did not look Rula in the eye. Melissa saved her and changed the subject.
“You know that your grandparents would remember things about Magda’s grandparents,” she said to Branston. “I know it’s the other side of the family, but they would be around at the same time.”
“Good point,” Magda said. “Can you ask them if they remember anything? They are still bright even though they are in their eighties.”
“Nothing gets past Gran. I’ll jog her memory,” Branston answered.
“And I am sitting in a chair with a computer,“ Melissa went on. “Give me the names and dates, and I will do some searching.”
“That sounds wonderful. Thank you Melissa.”
Branston broke in to say he had some news of his own.
“Left my job at the accountancy firm and going full time at the ranch.”
“Wow,” Magda said. “You can chat up the boss all the time now.”
“Good luck,” Melissa told him. “It’s good to start something new.”
“You see we needed your voice of reason around here, Melissa,” Branston said and added that he would have to go. “Call if you need me for transportation. Merle says she is happy to help if needed.” He left, and they all smiled at each other when he had gone.
“That man is definitely infatuated with the ranch lady,” Rula observed.
“She is very nice,” Magda added and then said they would have to go and feed the kittens.
“Then pick up my truck,” Sam said. “We are all on call if you need us.” He pecked Melissa on the cheek, and Magda finished scribbling down the details for the online search and said she would call later.
“Job done so far,” Sam remarked as they drove away. “She seems well enough by herself. Just needs the legs to mend.”
“A new pair of eyes and some thoughts on the ghost cat situation will be useful as well,” Magda answered.
The kittens were at home and had found their confidence. They were out and about in the new extension. Magda picked up each one.
“Two girls and a boy,” she said, “Irina, Marianne, and Tomas.” She paused and then wondered who had left them at her door. “I suppose lots of people know I like cats. Katie suggested I make some chocolate ones to sell.”
“I like that idea,” he said and as the cats were doing fine, he offered to make a snack.
They sat in the kitchen and ate the bacon and eggs quickly, took another look at the cats, and went off to find his truck.
The stable was eerily empty when everyone had left. Extra keys had been cut so workers could get in when needed. Sam opened up and they stepped inside. The floor was clean and extended through the whole building.
“You were right. The floor is stunning,” she said and walked across it.
“And it isn’t polished yet. Believe me it will look wonderful.” He finished the sentence, but his eyes were following something that Magda could not see. She looked down at her feet and saw the cat. It moved around her legs like Crystal would have done and then it walked through the nonexistent wall and disappeared into thin air.
11
“Oh my,” Magda exclaimed. “The cat came to me. I’m not very sure about that.”
Sam took her hand and pulled her away from the spot where she was standing.
“You were in front of the double doors. The cat always seems to go through the door or is near the door. Maybe if you had been farther into the room, it would not have happened.”
“It seemed to recognize me,” Magda added. “That is weird. I wonder how long ago the poor little thing was alive.”
“That we can probably find out,” Sam answered, “I don’t suppose that it would happen again if we came in and stood in the same place.” Magda looked a bit uncertain.
“I guess it would prove it if it did.”
“Let’s try coming in and not standing there and then coming in as we did before,” he suggested. He took her hand. It made her smile.
“When did you start holding my hand to make me feel better?”
“Well, I would have done it when you were fifteen but—”
“Okay, okay. I get it,” she said, but it had taken the slight worry away. “The poor thing doesn’t mean any harm. I’m just not used to ghosts.”
They went outside, locked the doors and then came back to them as if arriving for the first time. They stepped inside and moved over to the rear of the room keeping their eyes open to spot any slight appearance but nothing happened.
“Now I guess I stand where I did before,” Magda said. They went through the whole routine again, and this time she stood just inside the double doors. Sam was close by and he reached out a hand to hold. They stood for a few seconds almost holding their breath and then they both saw the shadow of the cat come in the double doors and move beside Magda before going through his nonexistent hole in the wall.
“Puss, puss, puss,” Magda said quietly and felt his grip tighten on her fingers. “Don’t know why I did that,” she added, but Sam drew in a breath and pointed as the outline of the cat came back through the wall, looked at them and went back the way he had come.
“Wow,” Magda said and looked at Sam. “What did you think of that?”
He shook his head. “Could have been another coincidence.”
“We need to try and find out more about the place and the family,” Magda said. “I wonder if Melissa has looked at the records.” Then she said that she should have called to see if they needed anything and called Rula.
“Everything is okay,” Rula answered. “Mom is working on the computer.”
“Would you like us to bring a pizza or something?” Sam asked, and Rula said that would be lovely.
Magda had another look around before they locked up.
“It’s coming together,” Sam told her. “Couple of days and you will be amazed.”
They bought a pizza and arrived at Rula’s to find Branston had joined them as well.
“Coffee will do me fine,” Magda said. “We had bacon and eggs earlier.”
“We were feeding the kittens before the next ghost cat adventure,” Sam added.
“And?” Rula prompted. When the story was related, Magda said they needed to find out more about the family, and Sam thought they needed some help with ghostly things as well.
“Merle will help with the ghost thing,” Branston said as he polished off his second piece of pizza. “She told me what she had seen with Magda, and I never knew how much she was into that sort of thing.”
“She made it seem like the most natural thing in the world to get a feeling for what had happened to me,” Magda added and he nodded.
“She never trained or anything, just says it’s a gift and sort of quite enjoys it.”
“I found a bit about the family as well,” Melissa added to the conversation and smiled when they all looked at her. “It’s good to feel useful again.”
“What did you find?” Magda asked, and Melissa turned on the laptop.
“The newspaper records came up with some articles about families here at the time. It would be round about nineteen eighteen.”
“I guess they would be one of the wealthy families, and we always thought that the money came from gold mining in some way,” Magda added.
“There’s a picture of the family.” Melissa smiled and turned the screen toward Magda.
“A photo. You clever woman.”
She peered at the screen and then looked at Melissa who nodded.
“What?” Sam asked, and Magda pointed at the photo.
“Look.” He and Branston stared at the screen for some seconds and then the light dawned.
“It’s the younger sister,” Melissa said.
“Irina,” Magda put in.
“She is the absolute model of you, Magda,” Rula said, and gave her friend a hug.”
Magda sat down on the nearest seat.
“What a shock. It’s a black-and-white photo, but I wonder if the hair was dark red.”
“If the cat was hers and you look like her,” Branston suggested and left the thought hanging in the air.
“That makes sense,” Sam said and sat beside Magda.
“Tomorrow I’ll ask Merle if she can throw any light on it,” Branston said.
“I’ll keep searching,” Melissa told her.
“And I will make truffles,” Magda said decisively. “It’s my family and my great-grandaunt's cat. They wouldn’t want to frighten me.”
“That’s the old Magda,” Sam said and pulled her to her feet.
“Thanks, Melissa,” Magda said. “If you want to come over and search at my place, I’ll be working all day.”
“Give me a call if you want to do that and I’ll be the cab service,” Branston offered, and they made their way out to the door.
“Thanks, guys,” Rula said. “She is focusing on the search and it is giving her an interest.”
“I’ve got ears, Rula.” The voice came from the room and they all laughed and called goodbye.
Back at her own house, Magda and Sam made coffee, and the two cats were glad to see them.
“You okay with all of this family stuff?” he asked her and she leaned against him.
“Thanks for being there. I am not scared by it but I might be if I was on my own.”
He slipped an arm around her shoulders.
“Happy to be a help,” he said.
“You know,” she said thoughtfully, “I should maybe keep little Tomas. He seems to be the copy of the ghost cat. I think maybe Irina would do that.”
“Declan only keeps girl cats apparently and will take one of the other two. If nobody else takes the third, she can stay with me,” Sam told her.
“Oh, thank you, Sam.” She turned and spontaneously kissed him. Her hands slipped around his neck, and he felt her body lean against him. Sam folded her in his arms and pulled her close. The kiss that started as an impetuous movement turned into something much more meaningful.
Magda felt the emotion as his lips claimed her, and that surge of electricity that shot through her body was undeniable. She had never felt that with anyone before and could not deny that this was something special.
Sam released her after some time, and they leaned against each other.
“That was some thank you,” he said after his breathing returned to normal.
“I never thought that we would end up like this, Sam. It’s a bit scary.”
“More scary than a ghost?” he asked with a smile.
“Different scary,” she said.
“But good?”
“Yes, but takes some getting used to.”
“Then we just take our time,” he told her. “How did you feel about the great-grandaunt looking just like you?”
Magda thought about that one before she answered.
“I feel a connection that I never expected,” she replied. “Like you and me. It'll maybe take some time to let it sink in.”
“I wonder if that connection had started off the ghostly cat appearances,” he mused, and she added that perhaps the woman who had fleetingly appeared was the great-grandaunt.
The two Birmans had climbed onto the seat with them and were purring contentedly.
“At least Crystal seems to have stopped looking at mobile phones,” she joked. The cat heard her name and looked up. She shuffled herself onto Sam’s knee and went back to sleep. Magda settled against him as well and they watched some television.
“Tomorrow,” he said, “we will get started on the inside of the café, and the men can begin to put up the extension. It would be better if you stayed away until it looks something like the finished product.”
“Unless Loretta appears and then you can call for help.”
“No doubt about that,” he agreed.
“I have a lot of truffles to make, and a couple of days will see the orders up to date.”
“In two days, you will be amazed at what we can do.”
“Then we will see if the ghost continues to make appearances,” Magda added and then spied Crystal who was looking at the cell phone. It didn’t ring but after a few seconds made the message-received sound.
“She did it again,” Magda said and picked up the phone. “Message from Branston.” They both read the message
that told them Merle would be over the moon to help with the ghost cat situation, and did they want to meet up and try it out. Magda messaged back to say that the workmen needed the place for a couple of days, and would it be all right for the day after.
The thumbs-up sign came back to them, and Magda looked at her watch.
“Very late to still be at the ranch,” she remarked.
“Leave the man alone,” Sam said. “He is probably saying the same about you and me.”
She smiled and admitted he was right.
“I had better go and feed the three lodgers,” he said and pulled her to her feet, “even though I would rather stay.”
At the door he took her in his arms and claimed another of those lingering kisses that still shook her to the core every time it happened. Then he closed the door behind him and left before he was tempted to stay longer.
Magda stood on the spot after he had gone and rubbed her hand over her lips.
“Sam Barnes,” she said out loud, “what are you doing to me?” Both Birmans rubbed around her ankles and as she looked down, she remembered the black-and-white visitor to the café. “I wonder what the ghost cat was called,” she murmured to the girls, and Crystal went toward the living room as the phone went ping again.
There was no message to be found, and she put the cell phone on the charger.
“Anybody wants me they can try in the morning,” she said and wondered when she should introduce Tomas to the two girls. Crystal looked at the phone and it went ping again. Again, there was no message. She shivered.
To make herself feel better she texted Sam and told him, and he sent back a photo of Tomas climbing the spiral staircase.
“Look, girls.” She showed the picture to the Birmans who disdainfully turned away their heads. Magda sat down to look at the picture again and Crystal came alongside. Then she knocked the cell phone onto the floor and looked expectantly at Magda.
“If you don’t fancy another cat coming here, you will have to get used to the idea,” Magda told the girls as she picked up the phone. She was about to just put it away on the charger when she saw a glimpse of the screen and took a second look. The gallery of photos had opened up at one she had taken of the open doorway to the café, and she stood stock-still and gasped. Framed in the doorway was the image of a young woman. It was barely visible but definitely there, and apart from the clothes; it was like looking in a mirror.
