“With me only. Let’s keep it from Sue and Lon a little longer, I’d like for her to live till the wedding.” She smiled her sweetest southern belle smile at him.
“Oh, quit being so melodramatic, Constance!” Laurilee exclaimed. “They aren’t going to kill her, Chandler’s a big girl.”
“Not to change the subject, but you mentioned the other SEALs. Where’s my man Ty?” She asked warily, chewing on a nail.
“He’ll be here this afternoon. And he’s dying to see you again, too,” Banton answered her as he pulled her up from the couch. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a big hug.
“An Andler! Wook! Santa came agin!” Ava Grace’s voice squealed from the foyer.
We all gathered in the foyer as Ava climbed on the pretty retro tricycle Mimi and Pop had sneaked in, and then proceeded to explore the little kitchen and pots and pans that were piled under the tree, along with a beautiful baby doll. The other presents were passed around in the living room, and round two of our Christmas commenced.
“Chandler Ann, I absolutely love the art! How did you ever pick my favorite spots on campus, without even asking me?” Aunt Sue asked, examining the canvas.
“I know you pretty well. Besides, you’ve told me your college stories about one hundred times.” I rolled my eyes.
“So Constance, what are your plans for the spring semester, now that Chandler and Banton are getting married?” Claudia asked, helping Ava and me put a doll house together in the floor.
“I’m a tiger, officially. I’m registered, but homeless.” She shot Banton a look, and he laughed.
“We can always move you in to my old room, which would be interesting, with John still here in the other spare room.”
“Um, Uncle Lon and I are already looking at some rental property. It would be a good investment, with Drew to follow her soon anyway. And she can always commute, it’s less than forty minutes from our house, anyway.” Aunt Sue gave her a warning stare.
We visited well into the late afternoon, playing with Ava, and talking about the wedding. When Everett and Philippe arrived, I excused myself and started upstairs to get ready for the party. Banton followed and as I stepped on the bottom step he startled me, sweeping me up into his arms.
“I said, no climbing, all right? You aren’t being a very good girl today.” He frowned down at me.
“I just hate everyone having to wait on me, and do everything for me. I feel so guilty.”
“I’ve told you, I live for this!” He kissed me as he climbed the stairs. Everett followed us up the staircase, and I looked at Banton’s face inquiringly.
“I told him we needed to talk to him. I don’t want to put this off any longer. I want to stop this thing, before we go away on our honeymoon!”
It dawned on me he wanted to ask Everett about my nightmares.
When he shut the bedroom door, he turned to me. “Chandler, why don’t you go ahead and get ready, I will fill Everett in on what’s happening.”
I left them talking and shut the bathroom door. After my therapeutic soak in the tub I dried off, lotioned up, and donned my party outfit. I placed Banton’s diamonds around my neck and in my ears. As I opened the door, Banton’s expression told me what I wanted to know. He rose, and met me halfway across the room to place a kiss on my lips.
“Exquisite, Bebe. I’ve never seen a more beautiful bride-to-be!” Everett exclaimed. “But come, sit with me. I want to ask you some questions about your dreams.”
“Did you know this was possible?” I asked him. “I mean, for a …vampire…or Orco…to stalk their victims in their sleep?”
“No, not the way you mean; it’s not normal. I have heard of the legends, of the truly evil ones, that could connect on a mental level with the ones they have bitten. It’s like a telepathic communication of sorts. And the ancient ones say true evil never dies.” He looked back and forth at us, measuring our reactions.
He continued, “Does he attack you, physically?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Is there ever anyone else in the dream?”
“It’s a different dream, every time. Once, my mother and father were in the grave, with our baby. Once, he was pushing the baby down the staircase. And last night he had the baby in the sewers, luring me to him.”
“And you’ve been able to wake yourself?” he asked, still holding my cheek in his hand.
“No, not every time. Banton woke me last night with my mother’s help,” I replied softly.
“And I think we are onto something there. If she is able to contact you enough for you to be physically aware of her, of her scent, why not the Orco? He is nothing more than a ghost, albeit an evil one.”
“We’ve detected his scent too, after her dreams. We could also smell the sewer last night and the wet dirt the night she dreamed of the grave,” Banton added.
“Let me worry about this, consult with some who might have answers for us. Banton, in the meantime, please watch over her. Don’t leave her alone in the room while she is asleep.” He stared intently at Banton, his eyes beginning to glow.
“Whoa, Everett. Don’t attack,” Banton replied, his eyes wide with surprise.
“Sorry. That happens sometimes, when we are angry or frustrated.” He controlled the reaction, his eyes dimming.
Banton patted him on the back and then pulled me to my feet to take me downstairs to the party.
The rest of the SEALs had arrived, along with John and Brie. Everett had picked up some special friends on the way - Olivia, Patrick and Sam. Sam was the first one to greet me as we came down the staircase.
“Chandler, I’m so glad to finally meet you while you are conscious.” He smiled, and leaned over to kiss my cheek. He was so tall and muscled; his bulk seemed to fill the foyer. I imagined his size could rival some pro basketball players. Being near him, faint memories began to swirl of him carrying me swiftly back through the narrow dark tunnels to safety, cradling me as he sheltered me from gunfire.
“Yes, me too.” I smiled at him, and then embraced the tiny figure he held tight at his side. Olivia smiled at me, and was even prettier than I remembered. Her eyes, while still a stunning crystal green, no longer glowed with the eerie light of the Orcos, or loogaroo, as she had called them. I wondered silently what Everett and Philippe had taught her to control the reflex.
“You look so much better. I’m so glad you’ve recovered,” she spoke stilted English, her accent still thick. Then she whispered quietly in my ear, “and the little one, does it live?”
“Yes,” I whispered back.
“Oh, I am so glad. I have been worried.”
Ava Grace ran into the foyer, having escaped Julia’s grasp.
“An Andler wook! Pwincess Yamin! She’s here!” she exclaimed, grabbing my hand. Everyone laughed, and Cade walked over and picked her up, swinging her over on Julia’s shoulders.
“No, we told you, Ava, this is Olivia. Can you say O-liv-ia?”
“Pwincess Yamin!” she answered, stubbornly shaking her head.
“I love the name. For you, dear one, you may call me Jasmine.” She held her hands out to Ava, and Ava went to her readily, excitement shining in her eyes. The small woman-child held Ava, and it struck me as funny, she seemed barely taller than Ava herself.
The dining room glittered with candles and beautiful china and silver. The caterer had covered my dining table with my mother’s crocheted table cloth and used some of her serving pieces, at Everett’s instruction. He told me he wanted to be sure my mother’s hand was in everything. The party had barely begun, when laughter drifted through every room in the house. There were memories shared of my childhood and Banton’s. The stories were recounted from the previous evening of the unique proposals, everyone admired engagement rings, and all the happy couples were toasted.
Banton was at my side every minute, and glancing at my parents’ portrait over the fireplace, I was overcome with the feeling that something was missing. I left his side and glanced
up the staircase, sensing the white mist at the top of the stairs. I climbed them slowly, the scent of gardenias growing as I rose to the top. I sat down on the top step, and the mist seemed to hover beside me, taking in the scene downstairs. From this vantage point, I could see a little way into the doorway to the dining room, where Ty, John, Constance, and Brie were gathered. Our blended families lounged in the living room, and spilled into the foyer where Sam, Olivia, Claudia, and Will sat with Ava Grace, under the Christmas tree with Beau. The tears rolled down my cheeks as I shared the joy of the occasion with my mother’s memory. Banton appeared around the corner at the base of the stairs, and slowly climbed up to join me. He smiled knowingly, spotting the mist beside me, and sensing her scent.
“Your Momma?” he asked softly, sitting down beside me. I just nodded as I placed my head on his shoulder. We sat quietly for several minutes, taking in the scene below us.
Dan was in an intense conversation with Everett and Philippe. We both giggled as we overhead Dan recanting a ride on a really nasty bull at the last rodeo he attended. Everett shuddered, and Philippe exclaimed he couldn’t imagine why anyone in their right mind would crawl on the back of a raging two-thousand pound animal. There was just something funny about the cowboy and the vampires.
“If he only knew…” Banton grinned, and then glanced down below us. Ava sat on Olivia’s lap, dressing her Jasmine doll and singing along with Olivia.
Banton turned and smiled at me. “I think everyone is having a good time. You have really brought a lot of special people together, you know that?” he asked softly, reaching over and placing his hand gently on my abdomen. “I think I can already detect a bump,” he said in amazement.
I inhaled deeply, taking in my mother’s perfume.
“I was just thinking, how blessed I am. I know now, Mr. Jackson was right,” I sighed, and turned to look at him.
“About what?” he asked.
“The beloved. They watch over us, keep us safe.”
“Yes, I think he was right.” He leaned over and kissed my forehead.
“You know, things just got a lot more complicated,” I commented, pointing at Constance and Ty, who’d slipped out the door. They quietly shut it behind them, and then we could see them wrapped around each other through the glass.
“Oh, yeah,” Banton chuckled.
“I wonder how she’ll take the news, about half-breeds, Orcos, Aldon, ghosts…”
“Let’s hope we don’t have to clue her in.”
“Well, she and Ty look pretty tight already.” I turned and kissed him softly on the neck. “That’s not all that’s more complicated,” I commented, ready to share my news with him. I’d been wondering, since the day at the doctor’s office, how I was going to tell him. “I hope your old room is big enough for the nursery.” I glanced over at the open bedroom door.
“Why? How much furniture are you going to buy?”
“The usual: chest, changing table, rocking chair. But we need two cribs,” I sighed.
“What?” he asked, his dimple shining at me.
I stroked his face and circled the dimple with my finger. “I hope at least one of the babies has your dimple.” I smiled at him through my tears.
Watch for the next book in the series, SOUTHERN SECRETS, to be released Fall, 2014.
For information about upcoming releases or behind the scenes information, visit and “like” my author page on Facebook, Shelley L. Stringer, Author, or follow me on Pinterest or Twitter, @shelleystringe1.
Southern Comfort: Chandler's Story (The Southern Series Book 1) Page 46
