Ghost of a Chance Book 1 in Above the Grave Trilogy

by Kara Kirkendoll

“By the night stand and I brought you some wine.” He said still watching her.

  “Thank you. That was very sweet.” She walked towards the night stand then. “Have I ever, you know, walked through you?” She said hoping that she wasn’t doing that at the moment.

  He laughed a deep laugh that gave her goose bumps, the good kind that make you want to grab someone close and hold on to them. She wasn’t use to those kinds of feelings though for men and she really didn’t know how to react to them.

  “No, you haven’t. Someone did that once and it wasn’t very pleasant. So, I try to avoid it as much as possible.”

  “I see.” She said a little uncomfortably. “Well, please excuse me then while I pour myself a glass of wine.” She poured the wine and sat on the bed. She knew at that moment that it wasn’t going to take long for her eyes to close for the night.

  “Why is it that your Irish accent comes and goes, Brendan O’Keefe?” She said after taking a sip of wine to calm her nerves.

  “How is it that you know my name?” He asked her.

  “You first, we can take turns if you like. I have a million questions.” She said excitedly.

  “As do I. Fair enough then.” She felt him sit beside her on the bed. “I suppose it comes because I was born and raised in Ireland. I moved here just ten years before…well, you know. I suppose it has been quite a while since I have been home so it fades now and then. Now you, how is it that you know my name lass?” She smiled as she was sure that he added lass in there on purpose, as if to prove to her that he still had a little Irish in him.

  “From the… library, I did some checking after I learned that I had a roommate.” She didn’t really want to tell him about the cemetery yet. He had paused several times as to not say that he died she assumed that he didn’t really want to talk about it.

  “Really? They have information about me at the library? What information do they have exactly?” She felt the bed move as if he had sat up straight.

  “Nope, it’s my turn. What made you decide to let me stay?” She asked, taking another sip of her wine and trying to think of what in the world she was going to tell him about the library when it came time to answer his question as she knew that he would make her come back to it.

  Ag gravated he replied, “I didn’t seem to have much choice. You are a stubborn one, Miss Drew. I couldn’t scare you and I would never hurt you. So, how else was it that I was supposed to get you to leave?”

  Something told her that it was more than that. She knew that there was no point in pushing it though. Not right now anyway.

  “Now, tell me about the library. What did you learn about me?” He asked.

  “Well, I…” She didn’t know what to say.

  “It’s fine, I promise, Love. I need to know what you have learned, please.”

  “Ok,” she said still uncomfortable with the whole death topic, “I read that your sister was murdered by your lover and that you hung yourself afterward.” She said it quickly then cringed, waiting for him to explode.

  “Why do you draw back as if I were to hit you?” He said calmly, the Irish fading in and out again.

  “I didn’t think that you wanted to talk about death. If you want to it is fine with me I guess. I wish that I could see you. It would make it so much easier to talk to you.” She said looking for him. She didn’t really know how she would react to him appearing in front of her, but she wanted to see him.

  “Nay, ‘tis too soon and I can only show myself in the mirrors. So, do you believe all that ye hear, Miss Drew?” He stood upoff of the bed then. “Or read shall I say?”

  “No, I don’t. Given the circumstances and the fact that I know absolutely nothing about ye, what else would ye have me believe? I’ve only heard one story and it was obviously not yours.”

  He laughed at her mockery of his fading Irish accent. He supposed after hundreds of years things would be apt to change a bit, and he also knew that she was right about not knowing anything about him. He didn’t know anything about her either. How could she believe anything he would have to say to her and vice versa?

  “I would have you believe the truth.” He finally said after thinking it over.

  “A nd how would I know that you were telling me the truth? I can’t even see your eyes.” She yawned with the latter. She wanted to see him, but her eyes would barely stay open to see anything. The back of her own eye lids were what her mind and body were telling her she needed to be looking at.

  He couldn’t have shown himself to her if he wanted to, only by having her look through the mirror at him. He only wished that he knew what he would look like to her. He had seen himself in the mirrors, but he had turned them all around or had them covered many years before. It wasn’t until tonight that he had caught his own reflection again. It was exactly as he had remembered himself though, after such a long time not much had changed about him, in the mirror that was.

  “If seeing me will help you to believe in me than here I am.” He stepped in front of the mirror and turned it towards her. He then saw that her eyes were closed and the glass of wine she held was just about to tip out of her hand. He reached down to grab it and laid it on the nightstand beside her.

  “Miss Drew?” He said quietly.

  “Hmm?” She mumbled back still with her eyes closed.

  “I am here for you to see. Would you talk to me now?” He asked near her ear.

  “Of course.” She said and fluttered her eyes open.

  “My Prince Charming, you’ve come to save me from the evil sorcerer.” She said smiling right at him as if she was looking right into his eyes and then she drifted off to sleep.

  He knew that she didn’t really see him and lay down beside her. He also knew that she was out of it and pressed his luck a little further by putting his arm around her and snuggling close. He thought that he would just enjoy the warmth of a human being, the feel of a beautiful woman next to him for just a moment, but somehow, someway, he slept for the first time in one hundred and fifty years.

  Drew woke the next morning feeling more rested than ever. She felt absolutely, wonderfully fresh and clear headed. She still had a lot to do around the house and was ready to get started. Trimming up the yard and the cemetery were the first things on her list. She also had some more dusting to do. A swim in the pool would feel great after all of that. What she really wanted to do was to stay away from the paint brush for a couple of days though she just wasn’t allowing herself to admit it.

  She made it a point to call Liza first thing though. She had to let her friend know that she was doing just fine. Liza didn’t act quite as suspicious as the day before, but she wasn’t really up to completely believing that everything was ok either. Drew calculated that Liza only asked her about ten times if she wanted to come and live with her. Drew calculated that she told her about fifteen times that she was fine. So, one of them had to finally give in.

  As soon as she hung up the phone she headed for the kitchen. Drew decided that it was time to start eating on a regular base as well. She didn’t want to lose her mind again. (If indeed that was what had happened.) After cramming down a bowl of Special K and a banana she was energized and ready to go to work.

  She started out the door and realized that there had been no sign of her new friend that morning.

  “Brendan?” She called out. “Brendan, are you here?”

  “Where else would I be?” A voice answered from what sounded like the top of the stairs.

  “Oh, right. I don’t know, maybe Heaven (or Hell).” She said the latter part quietly.

  “Actually,” He said very close to her ear all of a sudden, “I have been patiently waiting for either one for a very long time. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason I am stuck in this God forsaken house. For all of eternity it seems.”

  “You can’t leave the house?” She said half embarrassed that he heard her and half pitying him that he was stuck there.

  “No. Every time I try I end up back in here.” He sai
d annoyed.

  “Well, I was going to go clean up the yard and the cem…e…tery.” She said slowly. “Sorry.”

  “What cemetery?” He asked.

  “Yours, Lezetta’s, and your sisters.” She said sadly.

  “I see.” He said. “Why don’t you have a servant to do those things for you? A lady has no business in working the grounds.”

  “Well, I am what you w ould call mid to lower class and mid to notta on the lady part. I guess mostly lower class now since I am unemployed. Either way, I can’t afford a servant. Plus, this is the 21st century. Women do a lot more for their selves than they use to.” She replied.

  “I see, and how is it that you managed to end up here if you have no money. This house was built for the upper class. It is a very expensive home. I can’t imagine that a woman, lady or not, would be able to afford it without a proper dowry.”

  “Well, I did have some money saved up, and I did have a job. I purchased this house with my own money. It was very cheap because a very boisterous tenant came with the home. I got a great deal because no one else wanted it in other words.”

  She felt his breath on her neck now. It was cool at first then it felt warmer, she assumed the closer he got. She closed her eyes.

  “And why is it that you want it, Miss Drew?” He said his lips against her skin now.

  “Want what? Oh, the house, you mean.” She said a littleembarrassed then opened her eyes. “There is something I have to do here.” She said almost a whisper. “I mean,” She said louder, “I don’t know why I said that.” She cleared her throat and took a step back towards the door. “I needed a place to live and this was perfect. It spoke to my heart. If you will excuse me I have to go now. I have a lot of work to do today.”

  She went out of the door quickly then, leaving it opened behind her. He wanted to follow her but; he knew that he couldn’t, of course. He tried to holler after her but somehow his voice was trapped inside just as his soul was. He didn’t care how trapped he was though he knew that his heart followed her and he had no idea why. He did know that he wished that it wouldn’t.

  Drew pushed the lawn mower with one hand and carried the weed eater in the other hand through the cemetery gates. It felt colder there somehow even though it was only nearing September. She picked up the branches that had fallen from the trees around the cemetery and the candles that lay around the grave of Lezetta. They had been newly lit she noticed. Why would anyone be worshipping a no name witch one hundred and fifty one years after her death? She wondered.

  She felt a warm breeze blow by when she headed for the smallest grave. She now knew that it was probably Brendan’s sister’s grave even though she hadn’t really given it a second glance either time she had been there before. The trees there were beautiful yet sad. The moss that hung from their crooked branches made them look even more mystical, like they had a story to tell, a very old story that she wanted so badly to hear.

  Mary Ann O’Keefe 1840 to 1859 the tomb read. “Beloved sister, May you fly in peace with the Angels.”

  “You were only nineteen years old.” Drew said to the grave that lay before her. “I’m so sorry sweet heart.” She felt her eyes tear up as she saw the child Angel on top of the tomb holding a bird with its wings spread. It reminded her so much of herself when she was young for some reason, before her stepfather. “So, Lezetta held his heart what does the bird stand for? Freedom I suppose. Were you not so free here?

  Why would Lezetta still hold his heart if she murdered you? You were his sister after all, and he had to bury you first. There is more to the story isn’t there? Did she really murder you?” Drew continued to speak to Mary Ann as she brushed the leaves off of the tomb with her hand. She felt like she was talking to a child even though she knew Mary Ann hadn’t really been a child anymore.

  “Maybe I will have to find out the truth. Maybe that is why this house fell so easily into my hands.” She said aloud as she looked back at the house. “Your brother is very nice. I wish I could have known him in his time. I would have been an outcast then I suppose. I’m not much on being proper and such.”

  She traced Mary Ann’s name with her finger then paused over the O in thought. “I will find out the truth for you Mary Ann. I believe that was why I was sent here.”

  Drew felt a harsh cold breeze blow across her face, almost as if she had been slapped. If she hadn’t been living with a poltergeist she would have thought that was crazy. She was certain that she must have over done her welcome for the day. As she started to leave the cemetery, mower and weed eater in tow, she felt someone push her in the back.

  She fell forward and then knocked the lawn mower over on its side as she tried to catch herself. The blades of the lawn mower lay less than an inch from her face. The lawn mower started up then just as Drew was reaching for it to lift herself. It cut the inside of her palm fairly deep. She screamed and felt someone else pull her back. She felt the tension in the air. It was so thick she thought she could cut it with a knife or, the lawn mower blade as it was evidently pretty sharp as well.

  She stumbled her way towards the fence. She swore she saw the leaves move toward her as if someone was running and kicking them out of their path. Then she heard a young woman’s voice scream, “Run!” only it was more like the fading end of an echo.

  She ran as fast as she could back to the house. There had only been one other time when she had been that scared in her life. As soon as she reached the house she slammed the door behind her. She didn’t know what the hell had happened in that cemetery. Whoever was there wanted to harm or even kill her and they had almost succeeded. It felt as though two spirits had been fighting over her. She looked down at her hand that was now shaking and covered with blood. She felt herself go limp and the world started to fade.

  “Brendan!” She tried to cry out but it sounded more like a croak. And then she fainted.

  When Drew woke she was in her bed. She felt the pain in her hand and looked down to see that it was wrapped tightly in one of her white tank tops.

  “I don’t think Clorox is going to clean that up.” She moaned as she saw the start of blood seeping through.

  “What the bloody hell did you do to yourself?” She heard him say beside her.

  “I didn’t do it.” Drew answered him weakly.

  “Well then who the hell did?” She felt him stand up off of the bed. “Who would cut your beautiful hand?”

  She blushed. “Thank you, and I don’t know. I imagine it was either your sister or your dear Lezetta. Your spirit seems to be stuck in this house and they are the only other people buried in that cemetery besides yourself.”

  “What?” She felt him sit beside her again. “You believe that Mary Ann and Lezetta’s spirits haunt the cemetery?” He said worried.

  “I s it so hard to believe that you are not the only ghost in the world?” She said sitting up. “Are you that naïve or are you just that full of yourself?”

  “Neither. I had just hoped that they were able to move on, to a better place.” He said sadly.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” She said hatefully then stood up.

  “Why are you angry?” He said.

  “Well, let’s see. Where do I start exactly?” She went to the bathtub and turned it on.

  “First of all, someone slapped my face when I was telling your sister that something fishy was going on. Then, as I was leaving, someone tried to kill me with my own damn lawnmower. Well, its Liza’s lawnmower, but you get the point.

  Then, I pass out and when I wake up I find that not only the shirt that I was wearing is blood stained and that another innocent shirt that had absolutely nothing to do with it,” She held up her hand then as if to call attention to the shirt wrapped around her wound, “has been ruined as well.”

  She took off the shirt she was wearing along with the one on her hand and threw them off to the side. She then stripped the rest of her clothes off and hopped into the bath.

  He cleared his thro
at to remind her that he was still in the room. She didn’t hear him though nor did she seem to care as she kept on rambling.

  “Now, you are upset because your sister and your lover are roaming around in the cemetery,which don’t get me wrong I completely understand, but hello, one of them tried to get me to join them in the land of the dead! I am so not ready to go there, especially after what I have seen of it the last few days. It doesn’t really seem to be looking all that promising after all.”

  “I can see why you are angry.” He interrupted her.

  “Well, good. Now, do you want to tell me what the hell happened one hundred and fifty years ago? The truth I mean! Whatever that dumb bimbo told me at the library can’t be the complete truth. Otherwise, my faith tells me that Miss Mary Ann would be flying around in heaven probably playing the harp right now and Miss Lezetta would be burning in hell. You? You may be in purgatory or something I haven’t figured that one out either. I’ve always heard that if you kill yourself you go to hell, but obviously not.” She slowed herself down then realizing that she had gone too far.

  “Brendan, either everything that I have ever been raised to believe is not true or everything that girl told me was a lie. So, what is it Brendan? I mean, my house and my property are being haunted by some really pissy ghosts and I want to know what the hell I did to deserve it!” She splashed the water then with her hands. It burned her open wound like an open fire making her scream, snapping her out of her rant. It also made her realize that she was stark naked and in the same room with a male ghost. She blushed and covered her breasts.

  “Are you enjoying the show?” She said calmly.

  “As a matter of fact.” He answered her. “Would you mind telling me what you learned at the library?”

  “I already told you.” She said. “Could you please handme my robe?” She thought that she caught a glimpse of him for a split second as he moved across the room. He wore a long black coat and his hair was coal black, long and wavy.

  “You have beautiful hair.” She said.

  “As do… can you see me?” He asked warily.