Southern Comfort_Chandler's Story

by Shelley Stringer

  “What do you think happened?” I whispered.

  “I don’t know. I’m still not convinced we might…well, anyway, I hope he is alive somewhere. I’ll never give up hoping. But this is why I believe you. I can’t explain what John and I saw, and I’ve seen some pretty strange things myself since I came back to Louisiana. You are right, you know. People here are pretty superstitious. They believe in their ghosts and their black magic. Some of it is bound to rub off.”

  I smiled at him. “I am really glad you and John are moving in. If there are beings other than humans in the house, I’m glad I’m not living here with them by myself,” I laughed.

  “Chandler, I don’t want you to wander around the yard after dark. I keep seeing things after the sun goes down, and the incident the other night with your greenhouse…also, Beau has acted like he is chasing something in the bushes a lot of nights. He chased something so far down the alley the other night, I went looking for him in the truck. He didn’t come back for three hours. I almost thought something had happened to him.”

  “Don’t worry. I won’t step foot out the door unless I’m with one of y’all, or I’ve got Beau with me, okay?”

  “Good girl.” He squeezed my hands again as we got up to go back inside.

  * * *

  A quick honk behind us in the street made us turn.

  “Are we all moved in yet? I hope I didn’t miss all the fun!” Everett shouted from his Mercedes window. He seemed to have a different car for every occasion.

  “Don’t worry, Fruit-Loop, I left all the decorating for you to do,” Banton retorted with a smile.

  I slapped Banton on the shoulder for his jibe at Everett. “Come on in! I was just about to start dinner.” I smiled and waved.

  He grinned as he got out of the car. “Thought you would never ask!” He hurried up the stairs, with a large box in his hands. He kissed me on the cheek while Banton held the door open for him to enter. Then Banton put his hand on the small of my back, ushering me through as well. That small touch on my back sent shockwaves down my body. It felt so possessive, so protective. I was suddenly angry with myself – I never thought I was the kind of girl to actually enjoy a show of possessiveness. I guess it had a lot to do with the man – If he was the right kind of man. And everything I knew about Banton Gastaneau told me he was definitely the right kind of man!

  Later, with the boys all moved in upstairs and dinner finished, Banton, John and I lounged around the living room finishing the dessert I’d made for them.

  I yawned, “I’m getting drowsy. No one will have to rock me to sleep tonight.”

  “Where did Everett disappear to?” John asked.

  “I don’t know. He said he wanted to do more re-arranging, but I never heard him on the stairs. Everett?” I called out.

  “I’m in here. Just a minute – I have a few more touches for your surprise.”

  “Surprise?” I asked, glancing at Banton and John. They both shrugged.

  I rose and went around the corner to the foyer, past the staircase into the hallway. I thought his voice was coming from the kitchen, and then I noticed the bathroom door was closed. I knocked softly. “Everett, are you in there?”

  “Yes, nosey. Come on in.”

  I opened the door, and couldn’t believe my eyes. It looked like a picture out of Better Homes and Gardens. There were mountains of candles cascading off the shelves and vanity, spa-like towels stacked beside the tub, and a small ruffled ottoman next to the tub, holding a silver tray with assorted soaps and a glass of wine. The tub was brimming with fragrant, sudsy water, and flowers floated among the bubbles. Beautiful, delicate bottles perched on the table beside the tub as well as on the counters, holding an assortment of lotions, oils and bath beads. The whole bathroom seemed to glow and sparkle.

  “Oh, Everett!” I squealed. I grabbed his neck and hugged him, kissing him on the cheek. Then I pulled back to look at him. “How did you do this?”

  “Oh, it’s nothing really. Don’t look at the soaps and towels too closely, Bebe. They’re all faded and damaged from being in the store window too long, and some of the oils and lotions have been discontinued. I save this stuff, just for occasions like this one. I can’t sell it, but I can sure make use of it when I stage a house for someone.”

  “I just love it! It is the perfect housewarming gift.”

  Banton and John came down the hallway to see what the commotion was about. “Wow!” Banton exclaimed. “This is really nice!”

  “Is this what you’ve been up to?” John asked. “Now you have done it. Banton and I will never be able to top this when we want to impress Andie.”

  “You just have to get in touch with your feminine side, John!” Everett exclaimed.

  “Not happening, Dude! I’ll just come get you when I need help.”

  “Anytime, Cowboy. Now shoo! It’s time for Andie to enjoy her housewarming gift.”

  “Oh, thank you again, Everett. You are so good to me. It’s perfect!” I gushed.

  Not five minutes passed before I had dropped my clothes to the floor and stepped carefully into bubbles. I slowly washed every part of my body, and then lay my head back against the pillow perched at the top of the sloping tub, with only my head and toes showing. I sipped on the glass of wine, and used a sponge to let the water trickle down my neck back into the water. I piled my hair on top of my head to keep it from getting wet, but some had escaped and was trailing in the water. As I took another sip of wine, I glanced over to the partially covered window. Everett had hung a chandelier in front of it, full of candles which flickered and made beautiful sparkling patterns on the antique mottled glass.

  A sudden movement caught my attention and I sat upright. Two lights glowed green against the glass, and then a dark face came into view through the window. A dark face, pressed against the glass. Glowing green eyes stared back at me, and teeth gleamed in the candlelight in a vicious smile aimed at me.

  I let out a blood-curdling scream, a scream so loud I scared myself with the sound of it. I jumped out, slipping on the wooden floor and ramming my leg on the side of the cast-iron tub. I heard steps running down the staircase. Grabbing the bathrobe off the back of the door, I wrapped it around my naked, wet body and looked back at the window. He was still there, and he had his hands in view as if he was trying to raise the window and get in.

  I screamed again. “Banton!”

  I heard their footsteps running down the hallway, and Banton hit the door. I realized I’d locked the door from the inside. Before I could move he hit it again, and the door frame splintered and flew across the room as he broke it down.

  “Chandler! What happened! Are you all right?” Banton’s eyes were wild with panic.

  “In the window!” I was crying now, hysterical tears. “The man – the one from the voodoo shop. He’s here. I saw him watching me while I was…” I stopped, as the full realization hit me of what he was watching me do. He had watched me bathe.

  John was already running down the hallway, with Beau close on his heels. They hit the back door at a dead run and burst out into the yard. Banton looked at me a second, seeming to decide whether to leave me, and then followed them. I heard their voices, and then I heard Beau bark. Not the usual bark he used when he was chasing a squirrel or bird, but a vicious bark like he was chasing for a kill. I couldn’t move from the puddle I was making on the floor, nor could I look back at the window. I was alone, shaking as the rivulets of water continued to pool at my feet.

  After what seemed like an eternity, Banton came back into the bathroom and put his arms around me. “Are you all right? You are shaking, Chandler. Here, let’s get you up to your room and dressed.” He pulled me down the hallway and up the stairs. Sinking down on the bed, he pulled me down beside me and pulled his arm more tightly around my waist.

  I looked at his face as I stammered, “I know what …you are thinking. You didn’t find anyone. I know what I saw, I wasn’t dreaming…” my voice began to rise with hysterics. />
  “Shhh. I believe you,” he whispered in a soothing tone, brushing his knuckles down my jawline. “Beau saw something too. He and John were searching the alley, and Beau took off down the alley like he was on a trail. There was definitely someone out there, Andie. I found …some…” He paused, and then seemed to decide to tell me something else. “a jacket on the ground.”

  “You did?” I shivered.

  “You’re okay now. I’m going to block the side of the house off and put something there to keep anyone from seeing in that window. It will never happen again, I promise you. I’ll put up an electric fence if I have to. You’re safe.” He kept reassuring me, sliding his hands down to rub my arms, attempting to halt my shivering.

  We could hear John come back inside through the back door, talking to Beau. Beau’s feet made clicking noises on the wood floor as he padded into the entry hall and up the stairs. He nosed my bedroom door open and ran straight to me and put his head in my lap, like he knew I had been frightened and he was checking on me. Banton reached down to stroke his head. “Good boy, Beau. Good boy.”

  John knocked on the door as he entered. “No sign of anyone now. Beau followed a trail all the way down the alley, and around the side street for about five blocks. Then he came back to me. But there is the strangest thing…”

  Banton looked up at him and frowned as if he was telling him to be quiet. John nodded, and I looked from John to Banton. “What?” I asked when I finally found my voice.

  “It’s nothing, Andie. Get ready for bed, I’ll leave Beau in here with you. I want to talk to John. They went into the hall, and Banton drew the door to without completely closing it. I rose slowly and tiptoed over to the door to listen.

  “Man, someone was in the greenhouse. There is stuff scattered again like the other night, and Banton… there was blood on the floor. A lot of blood. A trail of it around the inside of the greenhouse, and across the yard and down the alley,” John whispered. Then they were both silent.

  “I think we need to search the greenhouse thoroughly, John. We’ve overlooked something. We’ll go out there when we can catch Andie gone. I don’t want her knowing anything about this. And don’t say anything about what we found in the bushes under the window, either. I don’t want her more upset than she already is.”

  “I understand. I think I’ll sleep down in the entry in my sleeping bag tonight. You stay up here with her,” John suggested.

  “Just what I was thinking,” Banton agreed.

  I ran back to the bed, took off my robe, threw my nightgown over my head, and crawled under the covers. Following me, Beau nosed around the room and plopped down on the floor on the rug beside me. After a few minutes, Banton came back into the room and stood at the other side of the bed.

  “Andie?” he called softly. I rolled over to look at him. He looked so innocent, like he was keeping nothing from me. “Are you going to be all right? Do you need anything? Something to help you sleep, maybe?”

  “No, I’m fine,” I whispered.

  “I’m just next door if you need me. I’m going to leave your door open.”

  “Banton?”

  He turned back to me. “Yes?” he asked softly.

  “What are you keeping from me? You aren’t being completely honest with me,” I challenged.

  “Chandler.” He walked back to the bed and sat down beside me. “I just didn’t want to upset you any more tonight, that’s all. I’m just trying to protect you.”

  “What’s in the greenhouse?”

  He paused and looked into my eyes. “Someone was in there again. We are going to take a better look around tomorrow, in the light. I’m going to call the police and report this, okay?” He rubbed my cheek with his hand. I closed my eyes. “Do you want me to stay in here with you for a while?”

  “No, I’m okay. I’m not a baby, Banton,” I stated, looking up at him.

  “And I’m sorry if it seems like I’m treating you like one, Chandler. That’s not what I mean to do. John is so shaken he is downstairs right now sacking out in the front hall, with his shotgun. I’m a bit shaken, too. So humor me?”

  I believed him. Whatever he was withholding, I knew he just wanted to protect me. While I kept my eyes on his, I folded the covers back as if to invite him in, moving over to the middle of the bed. He nodded, kicked his boots off each foot, and lay down beside me, drawing me in close to his side as he drew the covers over us. He held me against his fully-clothed body all night. I finally found sleep just before dawn.

  Chapter Ten

  I woke, and rolled over. The sunlight streamed in on the window seat, warming the room. I felt Banton’s arm across my waist, and I turned back to him. His eyes were still closed, and his breathing was even, so I snuggled down closer to his side. I was too upset last night to appreciate his nearness, but I was acutely aware of it this morning. He smelled so good; his cologne lingered from the day before, vaguely spicy and warm. He moved slightly, and tightened his arm around me as he turned his head down to look at me.

  “You’re awake. Did you get any sleep last night?” he asked me huskily.

  “A little. You?”

  “Yeah. Once I finally fell asleep, I slept like the dead. I hope I didn’t snore.”

  “Why do you think I only slept a little?” I smiled sheepishly as I joked with him.

  He rose on one elbow and ran his fingers through his dark hair. The shadow of a beard on his face was the sexiest thing I had ever seen.

  “This is getting to be a habit with us, the sleeping together thing. And we’ve only lived together eighteen hours.” Banton grinned and flashed his dimple.

  “Yeah. My reputation will be ruined forever.” I threw the covers back off the bed, and then blushed. My gown was tangled around my waist, and my thong underwear was exposed.

  “Andie!” Banton gasped. He reached down and ran his hand gently down a long, blackening bruise on my right thigh. “How did this happen?”

  Blushing, I tried to loosen my gown and pull it down to a more modest position. “Oh, I slipped on the wet floor last night getting out of the tub. I fell against the tub right before you broke the door down.”

  “That looks really bad.” He gently probed the spot with his fingers, and looked at my face as I winced. “I don’t think anything is broken.”

  “No, I’m fine. Just a bruise – I bruise really easily,” I assured him. I pulled my gown down so he could no longer see my thigh. “I think I’ll go start some breakfast.”

  “Yeah, I need to call the police, and John and I want to search the yard again.” He bounced out of the bed, and out into the landing. I jumped out of the opposite side of the bed, padded to my dresser and pulled out a pair of faded blue jeans and t-shirt to put on. Running a brush through my curly, messy hair didn’t tame it this morning, so I pulled it back in a rubber band.

  I ran down the stairs and down the hallway to the kitchen, and started some coffee. I was just putting biscuits in the oven when I heard Banton come around the bathroom door into the kitchen. He had on a pair of khaki pants unbuttoned at the waist, and no shirt. Oh, man, I thought, that glimpse just ruined me – I’ll never be able to look at another man. No one could ever compare. His shoulders were broad, the muscles across his chest were perfect. His abs rippled, tapering off into a sexy “v” into the low waistline on his khakis. I blushed and turned back to the oven to set the timer.

  “You don’t have to cook anything for us this morning, Andie.”

  “Yes I do. We all need some carbs and protein. The coffee is ready. Where is John?” I asked, as I turned back around.

  He was pulling a red polo over his head, and sticking his arms through the armholes. “He’s out back with Beau. I’m going to go out there and check things out, and the police will probably be here any minute. Will you let them in?” he asked me.

  “Sure,” I replied, as I started the bacon in the skillet. I watched him descend the back steps and cross to the greenhouse. I suspected that his asking me to watch
for the police was a ploy to keep me inside while he searched the backyard. And I really didn’t want to go looking around yet – if there was anything scary out there, I preferred John and Banton find it.

  The bacon and biscuits were ready and on the table when they finally returned from outside. Banton reached down inside the screen door and scooped a cupful of dog food for Beau, filling his bowl outside on the back steps.

  “I’ll have none of that. Please feed him in here, in the kitchen, where he belongs! After last night, he is an inside dog!” I crossed my arms stubbornly.

  ‘Yes ma’am!” Banton grinned, and moved the bowl inside, next to the refrigerator. Beau followed happily, and beat his tail against the fridge while he ate, inhaling his dog food as his chains on his collar clinked against the metal bowl.

  “So, did you find anything out there?” I asked off-handedly, buttering a biscuit.

  “Not anything we didn’t see last night.” John traded looks with Banton as he chewed a piece of bacon.

  Just then, a knock on the door interrupted us. “That will be the police,” Banton declared, rising to answer the door. John clutched my shoulder comfortingly as he passed my chair to follow.

  I decided they could handle the police report. They knew more than I did, anyway. It seemed Banton wanted to keep me in the dark about part of it, and that was fine. The more I thought about the incident last night, the more I thought about the peeping-tom seeing me naked, watching me at the most intimate moments. I went over the entire scene in my head. He’d watched me disrobe, check myself in the mirror, get into the tub, shave my legs, my most private parts…my heart began to race, and nausea swept over me as the embarrassment and humiliation of the intrusion sank in. I felt so violated!

  I shut my eyes tightly against the image. I needed a private moment in the bathroom so badly my back was beginning to ache. But every time I went down the hallway and tried to go in the room, I balked. “This is silly!” I said to myself. “I have to go back in there.” I forced myself to walk to the door. Someone had leaned the broken door back up against the opening so we could have a little privacy. As I moved it over and stepped in, I immediately looked at the window. One of the guys had covered the window tightly with a towel and a picture jammed into the window frame. No one was ever seeing through that window again. I felt better, so I pulled the door across the opening. I rushed through, and as I struggled to zip my jeans, my heart started pounding and I broke out into a cold sweat. I almost broke the door down getting back out again.