October Ghosts (A Southern Romance Monthly)

by Hockenberry, CJ

  Chloe didn't want to go into that house.

  She was also a little irritated the star of the show had made them wait for over half an hour. He'd told her on the phone two o'clock. It was 2:45 now and she was wishing she'd eaten more of her salad. If she wasn't careful, all that audio equipment was going to pick up her stomach growling.

  She was prepared to give him a piece of her mind—until he got close enough for her to see clearly—and then all of her anger faded.

  Dark circles hung under his eyes, and he was pale. Really pale. He was also walking slower than his usual gait. She couldn't stop herself from moving toward him. Her maternal instincts, the ones her mother said were going to get her heart into some serious trouble one day, kicked in. Once he was close enough she put a hand to his forehead.

  A frown creased the blond's forehead. "What're you doing?"

  "What happened?" Chloe looked from her to Matt. Then she fixed on Matt. "You look awful."

  He flashed his smile at her and pointed to the blond. "Chloe, this is Margo. Margo, Chloe Stohl."

  Margo and Chloe shook hands. "Nice to meet you."

  "You too," Chloe said. "Matt, did something happen? Is that why you're late?" She wanted to pull him aside and talk to him. She'd never been very empathic before, but standing this close to him, she could swear he was too tense. Too worried or preoccupied with something. Chloe knew from his background—or what she'd found of it online—that hunting ghosts never bothered him. But something had him nervous.

  Matt started to answer but Margo cut in. "Have you been inside the house yet?"

  Chloe shook her head. "No. Kevin and I were waiting on you."

  "Who's Kevin?" Margo looked past Chloe.

  "He's her assistant," Matt said. His voice was a little hoarse and he coughed a few times. "He's the guy you were talking to the other day about setting up the whole gig?"

  "Oh really? Then I have a bone to pick with him." She moved away from the two of them and Chloe could have sworn the air around them lightened.

  "Fun girl."

  Matt coughed, then cleared his throat. "Sorry. Margo's been with me since I started all this. Actually she's been with me since college. She can be a bit harsh, but she's good at what she does."

  "Which is what?" Chloe turned a critical eye on him. He did not look good. In fact, he looked awful.

  "She's good at making things happen. If we need lightning and cameras in a specific spot after looking at the tests," he said as he shrugged. "She makes it happen. She knows cameras and tech better than anyone on the staff." He gave her a weak smile. "I'm glad you decided to take the gig. Even after watching that episode."

  "You guys were terrible to that poor girl."

  "I know." He looked down and Chloe thought she saw real regret in his expression. "I feel really bad about that. In fact, she's not a psychic anymore. She moved, changed her name and went back to teaching English."

  "Wow. You're a real career wrecker."

  Now he really looked uncomfortable, and a little irritated. "Yeah well we all make stupid mistakes. I'm guessing you've never made any?"

  There was something in his tone that seemed to grasp for a real answer to that question. A part of him didn't believe she had, but another part of him, a wounded part needed to know that she had. And that she didn't think so badly of him. She gave him a genuine smile. "I've made a lot of boners, Matt. More than I really care to talk about. So…we're both guilty of them."

  "Ever made mistakes in your personal life?"

  Two men in jeans, tee-shirts with the production name Ghost Hunt on the front, excused themselves as they moved handfuls of equipment into the house. Matt reached out and put a gentle hand on her arm and steered them away from the front and over to a small copse of oaks trees. Chloe was more than happy to be away from the house.

  She started to answer him about her personal mistakes when she noticed he was frowning at her. "What?"

  "You tell me what? Just now—you visibly relaxed when we moved away from the house. Are you getting a vibe or something?"

  The statement coming from anyone else but him might have sounded condescending. But from his stance, his body language and the intense look in his eyes, Chloe was pretty sure he was genuinely interested. "I'll be honest—I've never been in this house. Never wanted too. And yeah…the house feels…" she shrugged. "Bad."

  "Just Bad?"

  "You want me to be more eloquent when a single word works? Matt, have you ever walked into a building, a park, or a place, or maybe into a group of people and felt like you didn't belong? Like there was something pressing down on your shoulders or something wanting you to leave?"

  He pursed those sensual lips as his brows knitted together. "There have been a few places I've been in where it seemed as if the whole building just screamed Go Away. But I always thought that was my imagination."

  "We all have a sixth sense, if you want to call it that. Something that tells us when there's danger. The old line, I've got a bad feeling about this?"

  He nodded.

  "Well Mr. Hunt, I've got a bad feeling about this. And I am not going to say that on camera so you can edit it later and make me seem crazy."

  Matt held up his hands. "That's not my way. I do not do the editing. And I do not have control over it." He paused and a slow smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. "But…if we don't give them anything to re-edit…"

  She laughed. That was exactly what she'd been thinking. "So, how does this work?"

  Matt put a hand on the center of her back and led her to the front entrance. "Right now the team's finishing up the pre-camera work. The episode usually shows us setting equipment up, but we technically already have most it done."

  "Isn't that cheating?" A Chloe neared the house, the oppressive feeling settled on her shoulders again. Something was warning her of danger again. It was more subtle than the direct hint from touching Matt the night before, but it was there.

  "It's a show and some cameras need tracks to move on. We can't use the steady-cam all the time. You'll see. Oh, and while we're looking around I need you to tell me if you feel anything."

  "Now?" She paused them in front of the door.

  "Not out loud. Whisper it to me. I'm not wearing a mic yet and this is just set up. Tonight we'll do a dry run with no real expectations."

  It didn't make sense to her to run the team through the house once, and then do it again. Wouldn't it be more realistic to set up and then do the investigation on the night it's set for? Halloween?

  Samhain Night?

  But, she wasn't a producer.

  With a shrug she stepped through the threshold first with Matt's hand on her back again. What surprised her more than what she felt in the house was how much she liked him touching her.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Matt had already been through the house several times with Margo and Phil, choosing what rooms to film, what rooms to set up the EVPs, and what rooms to look for activity, given the house's history. Which was a history he wasn't all that sure of. Margo had chosen the place and sold it to Phil, and now that they were here on the night before Halloween…he had to admit the place just felt…wrong.

  He was also feeling something else. A need to protect Chloe.

  Matt hadn't felt anything like that during any of his shows, not even the two Halloween episodes they'd filmed, last year's being the highest rated of all time. He hadn't felt a connection with that woman nor had he felt anything in the house.

  This time…everything was different.

  The moment they stepped through the door and into the front foyer, something cold settled on his shoulders. Not once had that happened during the times he'd stepped into the house! Even though the temperature outside was a brisk fifty degrees his toes felt like ice in his shoes and he was glad he hadn't worn his customary sandals. Chloe shivered against his hand and he squashed the urge to take her into his arms, the way he had the night before when she'd seen the effigy in her office. He'd thought about
that moment a lot and wanted to do it again, only without the fear.

  He just wanted to hold her. How long had it been since he'd held a woman?

  Too damn long. With his job, his schedule and his commitments, relationships had pretty much disappeared since her. He sighed. Crap. He needed to find a quiet place to talk to Chloe about his ex and warn her the woman was in town. The thought she could be anywhere near them unnerved him. He felt just a hint of the familiar tightening of his chest and took in a slow, deep breath hoping to stave it off. Matt put his hand against his right jeans pocket and felt the bulk of the inhaler there.

  Another breath…then another…

  The pain lessoned and the tightening eased away.

  "You okay?" Chloe stopped before they moved in any further and turned to look at him. "Do you usually do deep breathing exercises before you enter a haunted house?"

  He smiled at her. "Always. So…do you feel anything?"

  "I feel like I want to take a bath." She looked around at the place.

  The furniture had long been removed or looted. Most of the house was empty except for a few beds upstairs. The wallpaper had probably been vibrant and alive back in the day, but time and neglect, along with the elements had faded it down to a dull green and gray. Lighter blocks on the walls revealed where pictures once hung. A fireplace sat cold and silent on the far side of the room. The mantle was long removed and Margo had assumed it'd been made of marble or something easy to resell.

  "That door over there across from the fireplace goes into the dining room." He pointed and she led the way through the empty parlor and into the dinning room.

  "And what's that door?" Chloe pointed to a matching door on the other side.

  Matt shrugged. "I have no idea. I need ask Margo about that."

  Chloe started to move to the other door, then stopped.

  "Is something wrong?"

  She turned and pointed at him. "Don't touch that door. That door is evil."

  "He laughed and leaned against the dining table. "A door…is evil?"

  "Is this the original table?" Chloe abruptly changed the subject and moved around the long antique. "I mean, how old is this table?"

  "I don't know. It was here when we got here. We found the chairs upstairs in one of the rooms."

  She looked at him. "All of the chairs?"

  "Yep."

  The table's surface was covered in dust and dotted with rings where possibly candelabras once sat, or even bowls. That was Matt's romantic vision of it. The walls were covered in the same print as they moved into the kitchen.

  Most of the appliances remained because they were too old. Margo had figured them at circa 1950-ish.

  "There's a refrigerator and an ice box?" Chloe's solemn demeanor changed as she went to the ice box. "This is beautiful."

  "You like antiques?"

  "I love them. You should see my house. It's full of them."

  "I'd like that sometime." Matt froze where he stood, not believing he'd blurted that out loud!

  But if it bothered Chloe, she didn't seem to mind. She'd moved from the ice box to the deep sink and the window over it. "What happened in here?"

  "Happened?"

  "Something that wasn't listed in what I read happened in here. Something sad…very sad…" She reached out and put her hands on the edge of the sink. "There was a large garden out back, with a fountain. She…she didn't want the fountain. She thought it was dangerous. But he had to have it. He loved water. She was afraid of it. And then…"

  When she began visibly trembling Matt moved to her and put his hands on her shoulders. He looked out the window just past her but he didn't see a garden. He saw weeds and crumbled stone. "Chloe…there's no fountain."

  "It was so sad… that little girl…she just wanted to pet the fish…"

  It didn't take Matt more than a second to realize what had happened, what she was seeing. Whether it was true or not wasn't the problem. He felt Chloe's shoulders shake so he turned her around to face him and held her there, his eyes searching hers. "Chloe…it's okay. Come back to me okay? There's no fountain and no little girl."

  "But she just wanted to touch it…" Her eyes glistened with tears as she connected with him. She put her hands on his cheeks and his body reacted in all the wrong—but all the right—ways. His arousal pressed agains this jeans and his breathing increased when she pushed herself against him. He knew she was looking at him but he wasn't sure if she was seeing him. "But she was afraid of punishment."

  "Chloe…baby…" he gently pulled her hands from his face and then put his right hand against her cheek. A tear fell from her eye and he brushed it away with his thumb. "I need you to see me, okay? I'm Matt and you're in the kitchen with me and there's no fountain. There's no little girl, and there's no punishment."

  She blinked. Then blinked again. Her expression went from sadness to wonder, to confusion and then to embarrassment as she realized she was pressed against him, her left hand in his, his hand on her cheek. "I—"

  "Sshh…" He said in a soft voice. "It's okay. You just…I think you experienced something. Something I don't remember reading about this house."

  When she didn't pull away, he continued holding her.

  "Matt…there was a fountain…and a door that opened into darkness."

  "It's long gone. Don't think about what happened, okay? Just focus on me and take deep breaths."

  But her gaze was too focused on him. She was staring at him with narrowed eyes. "You…you were suffocating…you…were trapped…"

  Matt stared wide eyed at her. "Chloe?"

  "You…" She let go of his hand and put both of hers to his cheeks. "It's dark…and you're scared and you can't get out…" Her eyes widened. "You can't breathe! Your leg…oh dear God it hurts…Matthew…"

  "Chloe—" he pulled her hands down again. "Please stop—"

  But she didn't stop. She moved closer to him, on her tiptoes, and pressed her lips to his. That simple touch became something else, something more as he returned it. She tasted so good to him. Her lips were supple and sure as he moved from soft short kisses to a longer, deeper one. His tongue found hers as she slipped her arms around his back. He held her close to him.

  His mind was telling him to stop, reasoning that she wasn't really with him, that her psychic abilities or something had taken over. That he wasn't who she thought he was.

  But his desire, his attraction for her countered with pleasure. It wanted to touch again, to feel again, to trust…again.

  "What the hell is going on in here?"

  Margo's voice cut like a knife though his enjoyment of Chloe. It locked his spine in place as he froze with her in his arms. He expected Chloe to pull away from him, to apologize or worse, tell him it was all a mistake, when he felt in his heart it wasn't.

  He turned to see Margo standing in the doorway along with Kevin. Kevin was wearing a mischievous smile and Margo looked…pissed. She was also holding a camera in her hands.

  Anger took hold and he put Chloe behind him. "Did you tape that?"

  "Of course I did. This is all good behind the scenes stuff, and that was one hell of a reading she just did. Though I'm thinking the fans will be interested in that little make-out session the two of you just had. I really liked the parts about the fountain, a door into darkness, and punishment?"

  Matt moved without real thought to what he was going to do. He was pissed now. And he felt violated. Margo didn't step back as he neared—why should she? The two of them had worked together for years. So when he yanked the camera out of her hand her shocked reaction was honest. "Hey!"

  He made sure it wasn't transmitting a remote signal. When he was certain it wasn't, he shut it off and pulled the card from the memory slot. He handed the camera back to her and pocketed the card. "That does not go out to anyone, got it?"

  Margo narrowed her eyes at her. "Don't do this, Matt. Don't start getting all friendly with the crazies. You know what happened the last time." She pointed at Chloe. "You told her
yet? About Sarah? About how she damn near killed you?"

  "Enough!" he shouted at her. "Chloe hasn't signed the disclosure yet, so this recording isn't useable."

  "You don't tell me what I can and can't do, Matthew."

  "Fine." He turned to see a very confused Chloe standing by the sink. He offered her his hand. "I have to talk to you."

  She hesitated and looked at Kevin.

  Kevin must've nodded because she put her hand in his and let him pull her from the kitchen through the dinning room, parlor and through the back door. They stopped outside and he looked around. "Shit…I didn't drive."

  "I did." She had him get in the passenger side of her small car and started the engine. "Where to?"

  "Anywhere you feel safe."

  She smiled and pulled away from the Barrett House.

  CHAPTER TEN

  What am I doing?

  This thought continued to rattle around in Chloe's head as she drove away from the Barrett House.

  What happened?

  In truth, the last thing she remembered clearly and coherently was walking into the kitchen. And then she was in Matt's arms and kissing him. The images she remembered were strange and incoherent. She thought of a fountain in the back yard where there wasn't one. There was a fish. She remembered seeing a fish. And then she saw Matt. She had the impression it wasn't that long ago. He was trapped in a dark place and he couldn't breathe and he was in terrible agony. The terror of not being able to take in a breath of air without pain lingered with her as her brain went on automatic pilot.

  They sat in silence until she pulled up in front of her house.

  She cut the car off and stared straight ahead. "You have asthma." Chloe turned in her seat and looked at him. "That's why you wear that bracelet. What I saw when I touched you…you were in a pit or a hole or something."

  He licked his lips. He wasn't looking at her but down at the dashboard though she was sure he wasn't really seeing it. "It was in the last haunted house I worked on. There'd been a series of accidents. Well, accidents that all revolved around me. Margo left something in the basement and I offered to go get it." Matt took a deep, slow breath. "The stairs gave and I crashed down to the floor below. No one knew there was a hole there, under the stairs. An old abandoned well."