Dark Secrets: A Paranormal Romance Anthology

by Colleen Gleason

  He turned around and looked at Cole, who was standing rather defiantly back by the door. Kyle grabbed his brother and pushed him forward as Chris snatched him by the arm and pulled. Cole skidded across the newly stained wood floor.

  “Cole has something to say to you,” Chris said.

  Sean and Chris stood back as Cole, his left arm in a cast that Alix had personally put on him, looked at her with a mixture of reluctance, defiance and remorse. As Kyle slipped from the room, Cole met Alix’s red-rimmed gaze for a moment but then ended up hanging his head.

  “I…,” he started, paused, and started again. “I don’t even want to talk about this.”

  “You said you would,” Chris growled from behind him. “You promised.”

  Cole made a face, resistant to the end, but eventually seemed to give in. He stared at his feet as he spoke.

  “I already told her all of this,” he muttered, unhappy. “She knows… why.”

  “Tell her again,” Kyle said warningly.

  “Fine,” he huffed. “I guess… well, my whole life, it’s just been my dad. Other kids have two parents but I’ve always felt like I’ve only had one. My dad had had other girlfriends, but they didn’t last very long and I was always happy about that because things could get back to normal. It was just us four guys, you know? We didn’t need anyone else. Then you came along and my dad was so interested in you. We could all see it, the first time we met you even. My dad just had this look on his face like I’ve never seen before.”

  “And?” Chris prodded from behind.

  Cole turned to glare at his brother before daring to lift his eyes to Alix. “And I was jealous. I was afraid he’d spend more time with you than with us and leave us like my mom did. But my dad said he’s got room in his heart for all of us and that you’re not going to take him away from us. I promised him I’d never do anything stupid again to get his attention and I won’t. I’m sorry I did.”

  “My dad is really unhappy without you, Dr. Hendry,” Chris said from his position over against the wall. He glanced at Sean before continuing. “We’ve all talked about it and we decided that it’s good for you and my dad to be together because you make each other happy. What we feel… well, I’m all for it but I know Cole and Sean had some problems with it, but they just have to man up and accept the change. So I just have one question.”

  Alix was feeling lightheaded, so overwhelmed by what she was hearing that she was having difficulty standing. “What question?”

  Chris opened his mouth but Kyle came back in the room and looked at his older brother. “Dad’s on his way,” he said quietly.

  Chris nodded and returned his attention to Alix. “When you guys get married, are we all going to live here? I’m just saying that I get dibs on my own bedroom ’cuz I’m not sharing a room with any of these knuckleheads.”

  Sean took a good-natured swipe at him and even Cole snorted. Only Alix wasn’t grinning; her legs were shaking so badly that she had to sit down on the end of the bed, trying to process what the boys had said to her. As the boys began to talk about who got what bedroom, she put up a hand.

  “Wait a minute,” she said, looking at Cole. “Are you telling me that you’re okay with your dad and me? That you don’t have a problem with us being together?”

  Cole looked at her for a long moment before shaking his head. “My dad needs to be happy,” he said simply. “You make him happy.”

  Alix exhaled heavily, as if the weight of the world just left her. Then she did it again and before she could draw another breath, she burst into tears. All of the snickering and chatter stopped in an instant as the boys, stricken, watched Alix have a meltdown. Sean and Chris went to her, Sean dropping to his knees beside her.

  “Mom?” he put his hand on her arm. “What’s wrong?”

  Alix couldn’t even answer him. She was absolutely overcome with emotion. Concerned, Chris bent down, trying to look her in the eye.

  “Are you okay, Dr. Hendry?” he asked.

  Alix bolted up from the bed, sobbing so hard that she was growing faint. She staggered into her bathroom and slammed the door, but the boys could hear her crying loudly. Startled, they looked at each other in various stages of shock when they heard a car pull up outside. Actually, it was more the roar of an engine and a screeching halt. They heard the car door slam, running feet, and the kitchen door thrown open so hard that it slammed into the wall.

  Running feet were across the kitchen and up the back stairs. Then the second door in the bedroom that faced the kitchen stairs flew open and Cord was in the doorway, his handsome face taut with panic.

  “What happened?” he demanded, then saw that all of the boys were there, including Cole. His eyes widened on his youngest son. “Cole? What in the hell are you doing here?”

  It was then that he heard the hysterical sobbing in the bathroom and after a few seconds of listening to the hysterics, his cheeks flushed red as he looked at the boys.

  “Okay,” he rumbled, struggling with his temper. “I’m going to try and stay calm, but why is Alix crying? What in the hell happened?”

  Chris went over to his father. “It’s not what you think, Dad.” He could see the man was ready to blow his top. “We came to talk to Alix and….”

  Cord cut him off. “Kyle called and said that I needed to get over here right away, that something had happened.”

  Chris tried to calm his old man down. “Dad, we came here to talk to Alix,” he said, trying to finish explaining before his dad went on a rampage. “Sean called and said that Dr. Hendry was… well, it doesn’t matter, but we all discussed the situation and we’ve decided that you and Alix are better off together. You love each other, and you make each other happy, and we want to see you all happy. That’s what we told her.”

  Cord’s pallor went from a reddish tone to somewhat ashen as Chris’ explanation settled. “You… you told her that you wanted to see us together?” he repeated, stunned. Then he looked at Cole. “Son? Is… is that what you think?”

  Chris, Kyle and Sean all turned to look at Cole, just to make sure he didn’t go back on his word. Cole could feel their stares but he was looking at his dad. After a moment, he nodded. “Yes,” he said, looking the least bit sheepish. “I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean to make you guys miserable. I was just… I was dumb, I guess. I know she won’t take you away from us. I guess I just have to get used to her.”

  Shocked, Cord looked at his boys, at Sean, and felt much the same way Alix felt; he was overwhelmed. After a moment, he just shook his head.

  “Are you sure?” he hissed in disbelief. “Really?”

  Chris nodded. “Really,” he said. Then he pointed to the bathroom. “I’m going to take these boneheads out for something to eat, but you’d better calm her down. She’s been crying like that for five straight minutes.”

  Cord moved for the bathroom door, somewhat haltingly, as Chris herded the boys out of the room. Struggling to recover his composure, Cord knocked softly on the bathroom door.

  “Alix?” he said. “Honey, it’s me. Can I come in?”

  The door abruptly flew open and Alix was standing there, mascara all down her face and her cheeks pale. Cord took one look at her and his heart just about broke.

  “Come here, honey,” he whispered, opening his arms to her. “It’s okay. Everything’s okay.”

  Alix threw herself into his embrace, her arms going around his neck and her legs wrapping around his waist. She was back to sobbing hysterically and he carried her over to the bed, sitting down on the end and just cradling her. His tears were coming now, too.

  “I’m so sorry.” He held her head in his big hands and kissed her cheeks. “I’m so sorry you had to go through this.”

  Alix was struggling to pull it together; she was still reeling. “I didn’t think I was ever going to see you again,” she wept, fixing him in the eyes. “God, I look at you now and you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

  He laughed even as tears splatt
ered on his cheeks. He just hugged her, so incredibly glad to have her in his arms again. He couldn’t describe the euphoria, the surprise, the utter joy.

  It was the best day of his life.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Late October

  It was Halloween. The landscape had turned shades of yellow, orange and brown a few weeks back; all of the colors of fall popping forth that Alix had never seen on the west coast. It was really very beautiful and many a morning she would sit on her porch in the morning, sipping coffee and enjoying the day. If Cord wasn’t working, he would show up when Chris came to pick Sean up for school. Dad would climb out of the truck, Sean would jump in, and all four boys would make the two mile trek to school as Cord settled next to Alix on the porch with coffee she had waiting for him.

  After their brief break up, things had been extremely good between them. They didn’t even speak of those five days they had been apart, mostly because they were still so emotional about it. They resumed a normal life but now they didn’t hide their relationship from the children. They were still appropriate, and somewhat careful, but if Cord wanted to hold Alix’s hand or put his arm around her in front of the boys, he damn well did it, which was pretty much all of the time. The kids had gotten used to the affection, even Cole and Sean. They didn’t think anything of it anymore. Rose couldn’t have cared less one way or the other, young and resilient as she was.

  All Hallows Eve arrived with frost in the air and brilliantly colored leaves. As the sun began to go down, Cord fired up the jack-o-lanterns and put them on the front porch of Alix’s house as she busied herself upstairs dressing Rose up like a princess. Once the pumpkins were strategically placed around the house and the candy was ready in the bowl, the boys lit fires in the dining room and living room fireplaces before begging Cord to be allowed to go out and scare up mischief.

  Cord was in the kitchen as the sun set, with Hester at the sink, snorting, because the boys were ganging up on him. He wasn’t sure what, exactly, they were going to do and he forbade them from throwing eggs or decorating front lawns with toilet paper. The boys assured him that they weren’t going to do anything like that, but one of their friends was having a party and they wanted to go and hang out.

  As Cord tried to find out what they were really up to, as he wasn’t so sure about a party at a house where he didn’t know the parents, Alix came downstairs with Rose all dressed up. She saw the four boys standing around Cord.

  “All hail, foolish mortals,” she said, helping Rose down the last step. “Princess Rose has arrived.”

  The men turned to see Rose in her pink gown, all dolled up. Cord grinned. “Wow,” he said admiringly. “You look so beautiful, Rosie.”

  Rose had her magic wand in one hand and her bucket for candy in the other. She marched right up to Cord.

  “Let’s go,” she told him.

  Cord glanced at Alix as he spoke. “But someone has to stay here to give out candy,” he told her. “You and your mom can go and I’ll wait here.”

  Rose didn’t like that idea and began to whine. “No,” she said unhappily. “You come.”

  Cord wasn’t sure what to say until Alix stepped in. She looked at the boys. “You guys stay here and pass out candy while we take her around the neighborhood. We won’t be out long.”

  Kyle and Cole didn’t like that idea and looked at Sean to disagree with his mother. Sean wasn’t too keen on the suggestion, either.

  “Mom,” he was trying not to sound like he was whining, too. “We have a party to go to.”

  Alix fixed him in the eye. “When were you going to ask me if you could go? This is the first I’ve heard about it.”

  Sean didn’t want to come across as if he were about to throw a tantrum. “I’m telling you now,” he said. “You’ve been busy with Rosie all night.”

  “I saw you a half hour ago.”

  “So you’re going to argue with me about it?” he thought he made a good attempt at turning it all around on her. “All of the kids are going to be there. Can we go just for a little while? Please?”

  Alix twisted her lips wryly and looked at Cord. “Do you know these kids that are having the party?”

  In response, Cord looked at his boys. “Whose house is it at?”

  “Melody Longmyer’s house,” Chris said. “I promise we won’t get into any trouble.”

  Chris was a responsible young man and Cord trusted him. So he reluctantly nodded, looking to Alix, who finally nodded as well. As the boys beamed, she held up a finger.

  “With the provision that you guys give out candy for a half hour while we take Rosie around the neighborhood, okay?” she asked. “Please?”

  Because Chris agreed, the rest of them nodded. Thrilled, Rose led her mother and Cord out into the dusk to harvest her bounty of candy.

  With the grown-ups gone and a big bowl full of candy in the house, Cole, Kyle and Sean tore into the candy bars as they spread out over the couch to watch television until Cord and Alix returned. Chris got a hold of the remote and began flipping channels, much to the other boys’ frustration. As they began squabbling about it, the doorbell rang.

  Kyle and Sean jumped up, giving out candy bars to about five or six little witches and ghosts trolling the neighborhood. When they closed the door on them, they ate more of the candy and realized the bowl was only about half full now so they stopped and pretended like they didn’t notice how much candy they ate. As they made their way back into the living room, Sean came to a halt at the base of the stairs.

  “Hey,” he paused, looking up into the dark second floor. “Did anybody hear that?”

  The only one who listened to him was Kyle. The big Trevor brother walked over to where Sean was standing at the base of the stairs.

  “Hear what?” he asked.

  Sean just stood there, ears attuned, his gaze on the darkened second floor. As Kyle looked at him curiously, Sean began taking the stairs two at a time.

  “There it is again,” he insisted.

  Kyle followed. As the pair of them came up to the second floor landing, they both heard the faint, somewhat off-key singing.

  “Goody Good, Goody Good, ’ere snake and bird could”.

  Kyle looked at Sean, stricken. “What the hell was that?”

  Sean, spooked, shook his head. He was looking at Rose’s old bedroom, now shut up with boxes in it. His mom had moved Rose out of it and never said why. After the night she was thrown against the wall, Sean had guessed. But he didn’t like to think about that night because he thought he had imagined the whole thing.

  Listening to the faint singing, he and Kyle crept towards the room. As they neared the door, the old panel unlatched. The boys froze. Then, the panel slowly creaked open.

  The singing was louder now. Sean, driven by intense curiosity that was stronger than his fear, pushed forward with Kyle on his heels. Not only was there singing, but also an intensely strong smell of dirt. Like wet, moldering earth, it was a very distinct scent. As they came close to the cracked-open door, the panel yawned wider.

  They could both see it in the room beyond. A little girl sat on the floor, apparently toying with something in front of her that neither boy could see. She was nebulous, like puff clouds, but defined enough to the point where they could see the entire body, a skinny little girl clad in a fine white dress. She had long dark hair and long fingers with oddly pointed nails. Whatever she was playing with twirled about in her ghostly hands as she busied herself with the activity.

  Kyle was the first one to gasp, an ironically girlish sound coming from such a big boy. Sean went to slap a hand over his mouth but as he moved to do so, the little girl looked up from the floor.

  Her face was misty and white, her eyes big black sockets and her mouth a jumble of blackened, sharp teeth. She looked right at the boys in the doorway, emitting a gurgling hiss that set Sean and Kyle’s hair on end. The black, sharp teeth bared menacingly and the strangely long fingers lashed out their clawed nails. But as swiftly as that occur
red, the girl abruptly vanished. In a split second, it was all over, leaving extreme cold and the smell of dirt in its wake.

  Sean and Kyle were already on the run. They thundered down the stairs, hurling themselves into the living room.

  “Come on!” Kyle shouted. “We have to get out of here!”

  Cole was automatically following them, the youngest brother who usually went along with the rest, but Chris remained on the couch.

  “Why?” Chris demanded.

  “Dude!” Sean was heading for the front door. “There’s a… a demon upstairs! We saw it! It’s got crazy teeth and claws!”

  That was all Cole needed to hear to confirm the reason he needed to run. He was at the door with Sean and the pair of them threw the panel open to find a group of kids on the front porch preparing to knock. They ran past the group as Kyle grabbed the candy bowl.

  “Here!” he put the bowl in the hands of the first child he came to. “Happy Halloween!”

  He continued off the porch, running after Cole and Sean, as Chris appeared in the doorway. The eldest Trevor brother was baffled by the behavior of the younger boys but as he looked at the puzzled parents and kids on the front porch of the house, an unearthly howling suddenly came from the upper floor.

  Startled, Chris turned in the direction of the stairs and the second floor beyond, listening to groans and scratching noises. His heart began to race, just a little, as the sounds of dragging began to occur on the landing over his head. He just stood there, looking upwards, until his puzzled gaze came back to rest on the people who were now beginning to filter off the porch. One kid still had the candy bowl. Chris was about to take the bowl back when a massive bang sounded overhead.

  It was enough to get him out of the house, too.

  * * *

  “I don’t care what went on,” Cord was upset with the boys. “You shouldn’t have left the house with the lights blazing and candles in pumpkins on the porch.”