by Lisa Coots
The music from the radio floated through the air, changing the image in his mind's eye to a vision of Faith and Jake sitting on a blanket. Jake was singing and playing the guitar. Curious, he waited for the song to end hoping the announcer would identify it. The song ended and another began.
He drove back to Coeur du Bayou wondering what it meant. Coeur du Bayou. He still had trouble considering this Serena's home. It wasn't where he pictured them spending the rest of their lives. Of course, when she bought it, she hadn't considered him at all.
Jealous of a house. He was joking the first time he said it, but he was jealous. Serena had dreamed of this house long before she found it. He had dreamed of her his whole life. Mason knew he should be glad it was a house she had ran away to and not another man. He wouldn't have been able to bear that.
He drove up the long driveway to the object of his envy. There it stood. Taking a good look at it in the bright light of day, it became obvious Serena had taken great care to restore it and bring it back to life. He sucked in a breath as his thought registered. She was the magic that had brought it back to life.
CHAPTER 9
Serena stormed up the steps to her house. It was hers. This place didn't have anything to do with Mason. She finally had found a place to belong. After years of searching, this place had welcomed her and gave her peace. Even now she could feel its warmth and pull.
Ben opened the front door greeting her with a boyish grin. “Hey, there you are.”
“Stop it, Ben.”
“What?” Shrugging innocently, he held the door open for her.
“I won't be manipulated.” Not stopping to argue, she headed for the stairs.
Her heart beating loudly, Serena climbed the stairs. With every step she was aware of the blood pumping through her veins. The building pressure causing her pulse to quicken.
The door to Mason’s room gave a little creak as Serena opened it without bothering to knock. He sat on the bed with files splayed around him. His round framed glasses were oddly out of place on him, causing her to pause. The pause gave her a chance to notice how well the glasses fit with his new shorter hairstyle. The wild mane and rock star image had been replaced with an intelligent look, that made him even sexier.
“I know it's your house,” Mason looked up from the file as he spoke, “but if you're planning to rent out the rooms you can't be walking in on your guests.”
His first statement made her gasp. Serena wondered if he had read her thoughts somehow. Pointing out her unprofessionalism flared her anger to new heights.
“What are you up to?”
“Looking over these files.” Slipping off the glasses, he motioned with them to the files on the bed next to him.
“You know what I mean. You talked to Faith and Jake without talking to me about it first.” Hands on hips, she glared at him.
“I wasn't aware that was a requirement,” he said simply.
“She called to tell me she was ready for her session. Were you even going to tell me about it?”
“Yes, of course. Please calm down.”
Her eyes closed involuntarily as another wave of anger rolled over her.
“Rena, please. I want to apologize.”
Her eyes opened at the unexpected request, and she narrowed them on him. “For?”
“Everything. Mostly my attitude and not thinking clearly. I was so happy to find you at last, I barely looked at the files or considered what you've been dealing with here. The connections.”
His apology took some of the anger away. Before she could find the words to respond, he continued, “You wanted a way to find out more without setting off the powder keg. I suggested hypnosis to Faith and Jake. Separately. I wanted to talk to you first, but you seemed to need some space. Away from me. I was going to tell you once they decided, so we could discuss the best way to handle it.”
Not used to seeing the rational side of him, she bit her lip considering what he proposed. Sitting on the edge of his bed, she asked, “Do you think it will work?”
“It can't hurt. If we wait for the ghost, it might take years to get answers, if at all.”
Her sigh, deep from within, released the anger, but left an opening for doubt. “I don't have years.”
“Ah, love, we have all the time we need.”
Smiling at him wistfully, she knew he wasn't speaking of just the ghost. “So, what's the plan?”
Ben appeared suddenly in the doorway. “I vote for pizza.”
“You and your stomach.” Serena laughed at him.
“I swear I'm going to hang a bell on him.” Mason closed his eyes in frustration. “Always interrupting.”
“Whatever guys. I'll go get the pizza. You guys take all of this downstairs and we can go over it while we eat.”
By the time Ben got back with the pizza, they had brought everything down to the kitchen. Serena knew they'd be more comfortable in the parlor, but was relieved when Mason didn't suggest it. Richie had been quiet after that last scene, but they didn’t need a repeat.
“Reuben has pointed out some triggers,” Mason began as he pulled out a stool for Serena.
“Triggers?” Serving the pizza, she passed the first loaded plate to Ben.
“Smells. Sounds.” Ben took his first bite before his plate hit the counter. Inhaling deeply as he chewed.
“The gardenias. The music,” Mason clarified as he accepted the next plate from Serena.
“But those things didn't make the experiences happen. They were a part of it.” She waved the server in the air as she questioned their reasoning.
“Exactly.” Ben managed the word between bites. His eyes focused on the steaming slices before him.
“Right,” Mason agreed, his plate still untouched. At Serena's frown of confusion, he continued, “What we mean is, we can try to use them to trigger her memory, since they obviously mean something to her.”
“We all smelled the gardenias. It's what led us to the sign. We've smelled it several times since then. Even Claire said she smelled it in the graveyard,” she thought out loud, finally placing a slice on her plate.
“You'll have to show me where it is.” Ben perked up at the mention of the graveyard.
“Nothing's really happened there.” Serena thought back. Everything seemed to be contained to the house as far as she knew.
“You just said she smelled it there.” Slice in midair, Ben stopped to look at her.
“Oh, yeah, but she had hit her head pretty hard. I don't know.”
“Well, I want to look out there anyway. Those rubbings you sent me weren't helpful. I'm thinking maybe pictures, digitally enhanced. Who knows?” Ben wiped at his chin and shrugged.
“So we find gardenia oil for the session and see what she can remember.” Mason brought them back to the subject at hand.
Serena nodded silently at Mason.
“What's wrong?”
“I wouldn't have thought of that. I should have seen. I should know.” The doubt flooded through her. Staring at her plate, she began to second guess herself, considerations playing across her normally placid face.
“Rena, you wrote everything down. Without it, we'd be nowhere. You knew enough to keep the brother away. It's obviously some sort of transference, him and the father figure. You put that together.” Ben offered as he waved a fresh slice at her.
“I just feel like I should know.”
“I think you're too close. Too close to them, the house. Speaking of which, has no one ever mentioned smelling something burning?” Wrinkling his nose as if he conjured the smell with his words, Mason flipped through her notebook.
“No.”
“Any evidence of fire?”
“No. I think the realtor would have mentioned it. I saw no evidence of a fire during the remodel.” Lifting her pizza, she answered him, then put it back on her plate. Something wasn’t right. Why didn’t she smell what he was smelling? Why didn’t the ghost come to her?
“Hmmm.” Mason looked thoughtfully
down at his pizza and finally began to eat.
“What I don't understand is why it's still happening? I thought the night everything came together… The fight.... I thought that would be the end of it. Nothing happened for weeks.”
“But that's when you called me, right?” Ben prompted.
“Yeah, I had a feeling something bad was going to happen. I was worried about having them all here together.”
“What aren't you saying?” Mason leaned forward unto the counter, his gold eyes watching her intently.
“I thought it was Richie, but at first I wasn't sure.” She shrugged at him. Her first inkling that something wasn’t right, was subtle, but meaningful. The damn candlestick kept moving. Just a few inches at first, breaking the symmetry of her mantle display. Thinking maybe she had moved it while dusting, she dismissed the incident. After the second time, she started watching for it. The day it had seemed to jump off the mantle in front of her, she had called Ben.
“Hello?” a cheery voice called from the foyer. Before anyone could move, Claire entered the kitchen with an armful of catalogs. “Hey, you are home! Faith must have been confused. She said you weren't back from...” Claire paused then shrugged with a laugh, “wherever you go.”
Ben stood nervously, napkin in hand.
“Oh, hey you're back, too! With the pictures? Oh my god, I'm so excited. I can't wait to see them.” Claire’s blue eyes sparkled as she wiggled a few steps.
“Back? Pictures?” Ben crumpled his napkin in a fist, then looked to Serena gulping loudly. “Rena, help.”
“Claire, come and sit. We haven't seen you in weeks.” Laughing at Ben’s guilty expression, Serena stood to greet her friend.
“Yeah, end of school is crazy and Evan said you had to go on a trip. Faith brought me these to look at, and I wanted to see what you thought.” Claire wandered over to the end of the counter to find a clear spot to put the catalogs down.
“Oh. Good. Would you like some pizza?” Serena closed a few of the folders that were open then offered Claire her seat.
“No, I ate with Evan before he left for work.”
“So he doesn't know you're here?” Serena glanced at Mason and Ben.
“No. Why? What's going on?” Finally noticing the folders, Claire leaned over to get a better look.
“Hun, why don't you just leave those here for me to look at and tomorrow I can meet you in town to talk about it?” Serena took her arm to guide Claire away from the counter and pointed her towards the door.
“Oh…” Claire blinked in surprise then gave a pout. “Well, can I at least see the pictures while I'm here?”
“Pictures?” Serena asked.
“I assume you came back to bring the pictures from the party, right?” Claire turned back to Ben.
“Right. I think I have them upstairs....” He shifted from one foot to the other and motioned at the ceiling.
Mason laughed at Ben's expression. “Ben, stop. He's been here since the party, so have I. Surprisingly enough, Serena has even resisted the urge to leave.”
“Mason.” Serena hissed his name then turning to Claire she took a deep breath. “Claire, I don't know how to say this, but Evan will not be happy that you're here.”
“Why?”
“He's just worried about you. Calm down.”
“I am. I just don't understand why he would lie. Faith, too.” Her cheeks now red, her gaze fell to the floor.
“Evan didn't want you here, so I'm sure Faith is just trying to keep the peace.” Serena gave her arm a pat and moved her another step towards the door.
“He told you he didn't want me here. When?” Claire pulled away from Serena.
“The morning after the party.” Mason supplied the answer.
“Oh, no. He came here?” Covering her mouth with her hands, Claire glanced around the room, her eyes watering.
“The last thing we want is to cause trouble.” Ben finally finding his voice, spoke up.
“What about what I want?”
“I think you should go talk to Evan.” Serena knew her friend was upset, but it would serve no purpose for them to argue about who was right or wrong.
“Preferably somewhere else.” Looking down at the half eaten slice of pizza on his plate, Ben cleared his throat nervously.
“You don't want me here either?” Claire asked Serena in a small voice.
“You are always welcome here. It's just right now with the way things are, if Evan shows up angry… You remember what happened last time.”
“Yeah, that was crazy.” Claire wiped at her eyes and sighed. “Do you think it'll happen again?”
“Serena is trying to prevent anyone from getting hurt.” Trying to reassure her, Mason smiled at Claire.
“Evan's not like that.” Quick to defend him, Claire stood straighter.
“I know Claire.” Serena wrapped an arm around Claire and squeezed her shoulders. “His temper is what I'm trying to avoid.”
“I thought it was over. Is this about Richie? Is this my fault?” Claire hugged her purse to her.
“No, of course not. You can't help what happened to Richie.” Sending Mason a glare, she added, “It was an accident.”
Mason taking her hint, nodded in agreement. “We think the ghost lady is looking for her baby. So we'll be working with Faith to figure it out.”
“Oh, so you're not a photographer?” Claire asked Ben, her disappointment evident.
“Yes, I am.” Ben smiled happily, and stuffed the last bite of pizza into his mouth.
“Whew. So I do have pictures somewhere of the engagement party?” She asked looking nervously from Ben to Serena with hopeful eyes.
“Yes. I'll have them edited and printed for you in a few days. Absolutely.” Talking with his mouth full, Ben nodded vigorously.
The smile she gave him was brilliant, but it didn't last long. “Wait, so you all work together?”
“They didn't tell you anything, did they?” Serena squeezed her shoulders again waiting for the rapid fire questions to start.
“I guess I know who I can trust with my secrets.” Eyebrows raised, Mason reopened a file.
“I wouldn't have thought Elle could help herself,” Ben remarked eyeing the untouched pizza on Serena’s plate.
“Elle? She knew too?”
“Sorry,” Ben muttered.
“What else did I miss?” Claire looked to Serena, her expression filled with hurt. “Friends aren't supposed to keep secrets.”
“I think you should talk to Evan, hun.”
Fleetwood Mac suddenly blared from Claire’s purse. Serena winced at the timing and felt sorry for Evan.
“Oh, I will. You can bet on that.” Digging in her purse, Claire pulled out her phone and spun on her heel, heading out the door.
CHAPTER 10
The candles were lit. Even though they weren’t necessary, the soft lighting helped to relax the atmosphere. In place of incense, Serena had found gardenia scented oil. It floated lightly in the air of the pale yellow room. Mason had his doubts about using this room. It was definitely the female’s bedroom from the accounts of earlier activity. And his close encounter with the angry father spirit was still fresh in his mind. The alternative was the parlor and he didn't want to be interrupted by Richie again.
He told Faith to wear comfortable clothes and come alone. Not having any objections from Jake made him feel easier about the whole thing. He fully expected for Evan to show up in protest, but maybe Claire's talk had kept him away.
Faith sat on the edge of the bed in the pretty yellow room fidgeting with her ponytail.
“Relax.” Mason smiled at Faith. He could feel her nervous energy.
“Easier said than done. What if it doesn't work?”
“Stop worrying about it. It won't work if you don't relax. Lie down,” Ben instructed from his makeshift control area in a corner of the room. Sitting behind a small table, he adjusted the video camera on Faith. Serena lingered in the doorway, her dark eyes watching with conce
rn.
Laying back on the pillow, Faith took a deep breath.
“Ben, are you ready?” Mason could feel the anticipation from them all. They needed to get started.
“Yeah, all set.”
“Rena, please close the door. Everybody relax. Get comfortable. Faith, close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing.”
They all sat in silence waiting for the room to settle. Mason keeping his voice soft, began the induction, giving Faith instructions, relaxing her with the sound of his voice.
“Remember this room. This is your room and you feel safe here. Don't you?”
“Yes. Poppa let me pick out the color myself.”
Mason glanced back at Serena and Ben, who sat up straighter at the sound of the unfamiliar voice coming from Faith.
“What's your name?” Unable to contain his excitement, his question came out in a rush.
“Anna.”
Mason let out a breath at the confidence of her answer. Drawing a blank on what he should ask next, he thought of the experience with the father. “Where is your Poppa now?”
“I don't know. Maybe the lumberyard, he comes and goes.” She sounded indifferent.
“He works there?”
“He owns it.”
Mason, not sure if that was significant, altered his questioning back to her. “Do you like gardenias?”
The blush on her cheeks was instant, and she gave a soft laugh. “Yes, he leaves them for me to find.”
“Who does, Anna?”
“It's a secret. Poppa doesn't like me talking to him.” Her voice now a whisper, Mason leaned closer to the bed.
“His name, Anna.”
“No, Poppa might hear.” Her agitation was evident with the tensing of her muscles. Her head turned slightly as if listening for the footsteps.
Turning himself to look towards the door, Mason waited for it to fly open again. Serena's huge eyes pleaded with him, as she shook her head.
“It's ok, Anna.” Mason kept his voice even as he tried to reassure her. “Poppa is at work. At the lumberyard. Where is your mother?”
