by Ginny Baird
“The truth, hon? I don’t think they got your posts. Just like Jerry never heard from your mom. These were things you felt you needed to do. But people in Blayton have no real contact with the outside world. I’m convinced of that now. The most serious business we’re meant to take care of is what gets done here.”
“But I don’t want to leave,” Elizabeth said. She cast a longing gaze across the way at their little house that was already fading in the fog. Phantom had scampered back across the road and settled in on Mrs. Fenton’s front porch, where he curled up in a rocker. She glanced at Claire, then once again met Nathan’s eyes. “We were just starting to feel at home.”
“We can make a new home together.”
Claire’s face brightened. “You’re coming with us?”
“I’m taking you.”
Elizabeth’s heart brimmed with happiness. She and Claire would always feel safe with Nathan along. He loved them both, and they loved him. She knew this with utter certainty, although none of them had spoken the words. “Where are we going?”
Nathan motioned with his chin to the mountain’s highest ridge. “Over there.”
He took Elizabeth by the hand and held Claire’s hand on the other side.
“How long have you known?” Elizabeth asked him.
“It only hit me this evening. Once you start to understand, it all becomes clear.”
“But Belle…? How did she…?”
“I suspect some folks get longer to adjust than others. Must depend on what you’ve got left to do.”
“And who you’re leaving behind?” Elizabeth asked.
“Yes.”
“Claire!”
Claire turned with joy to see Perry and Dan standing at the base of the graveyard. “Perry! Up here!”
He and his uncle headed their way as tears streamed down Claire’s cheeks.
“Wait for us!” Dan called. “We’re coming with you!”
They hustled up the hill, and Perry took Claire’s hand.
“I didn’t want to go without you.”
“Not a chance of that.”
Elizabeth stretched out her free hand. “Dan, come on.”
He walked over and linked his hand with hers.
“I thought I was pretty lucky to survive that landmine,” he told Nathan with a laugh.
Nathan set his chin with understanding. “I’m sure Belle’s waiting to hear all about it.”
The wind whistled through the trees as they all stood there together, a human chain linked together by more than just their hands. Clouds rolled across the sky, shrouding the moon, and the fog closed in.
“What do we do now?” Elizabeth asked.
Nathan firmly held Claire’s hand and squeezed hers.
“Just close your eyes.”
Epilogue
A few weeks later, a new SUV rolled into town. Young dad, Alex Marshall, couldn’t believe his rotten luck. The house had seemed fine in the online listing, but here it was situated across the street from a graveyard.
“Cool,” eight-year-old Winston said. “Do you think there are ghosts?”
At least his boy wasn’t afraid. Good thing too, given that creepy old Victorian next door.
Alex thumped on his GPS, noting the screen had gone black. “Well, we certainly can’t be in the middle of nowhere!” he told his kid with a laugh.
“Dad, look!” Winston pointed to a big tabby cat that was scampering up the steps to their new home. “Do you think it belongs to anybody?”
Alex popped open his driver’s door. “Something tells me we’re going to find out.”
He studied the scenery before him, thinking it wasn’t all bad. They’d had a light dusting of snow yesterday evening, and now everything, including the tops of the tombstones, were dusted in powdery white. But what’s that? Alex rubbed his chin, feeling sorry for those poor souls who had to dig three new graves this close to winter. Ground must be as hard as ice.
A car driving by on the country road pulled off to the side, and an attractive blonde woman called through the window, “Excuse me! Do you know the way to the library?”
Since they’d come in that way, Alex knew exactly where it was. “Head to the stop sign and hang a right.”
“Thanks,” she said with a blush. “It’s my first day, and I’m already running late.”
“New in town?” Alex asked.
She studied his SUV, packed to the brim with belongings. “You too?”
Alex couldn’t help but think she was awfully pretty. Awfully pretty and maybe in need of some friends. He grinned, an idea occurring. “Maybe we’ll stop by later and check out some books.”
“We’re offering hot apple cider and storytelling at four.”
“Are you now?”
“Can we, Dad?”
“I think we might be able to work that in.”
“I’ll watch for you…?”
“Alex. And this is Winston.”
“Monica.” She smiled, and Alex’s heart beat faster, like he’d overdone the caffeine. She appeared ready to say something but then thought better of it. “I’d best get going.”
“Right.”
“You won’t forget now?”
Alex felt a wave of heat at his neck and wondered if she was flirting. “We’ll be there.”
“Reading’s good for the boy.”
“Yes.”
“And for fathers too.”
Now he was certain she was.
Alex tried to redirect his thinking to the task at hand, but his memory kept homing in on her awesome smile and that sweet way of talking she’d had about her. Like she was from some place far away. But he wasn’t here to meet women, for crying out loud. He’d taken a job as the new town deputy.
As Winston carted his stuff indoors, he met his dad’s eyes. “She was pretty.”
Alex set down his load and rubbed the back of his neck. “Can’t say I noticed.”
Winston twisted up his little lips. “Da-ad.” He gave an exaggerated sigh. “I wasn’t born yesterday.”
“No, but sometimes I’d swear you were born twenty-five years ago.”
He pulled his boy into a hug and stared out the window at the mountains as they turned blue and purple in the dawn. He and Winston were going to like it here. He just had a feeling. They were going to like being in Blayton a lot.
THE END
Book Extras
Character List
In Order of Appearance/Mention
Elizabeth Jennings—young mother, newspaper editor
Claire Jennings—Elizabeth’s fifteen-year-old daughter
Nathan Thorpe—Blayton’s sheriff, mid thirties
Mrs. Fenton—deceased owner of old Victorian
Bernie Campbell—Nathan’s deputy, late twenties
Janet Campbell—Bernie’s wife, cashier
Melody Anne—Belle’s daughter, Nathan’s niece
Belle—Nathan’s sister, Melody’s mother, librarian
Martha—Nathan’s Administrative Assistant, married to Lex, Joy’s mom
Mr. Harris—runs detention at the high school
Pinckney Gale—used to run The Town Gazette
Joy—Martha and Lex’s daughter
Perry—Claire’s love interest, Dan’s nephew
Phantom—Claire’s cat
Lex—Martha’s husband, Joy’s dad, communications worker
Dan—Perry’s uncle, runs orchard
Penelope—Melody’s friend
Lilly—Melody’s friend
Jerry—Elizabeth’s boss in Richmond
Betsy Jean—Elizabeth’s best friend from high school
Phil—Betsy Jean’s husband
Cash—Elizabeth’s ex-husband
Mrs. Carole—teacher at high school
Mrs. Peabody—Algebra teacher
Parker Family—Trio that disappeared on Halloween night
The Bailey Boys—three brothers in middle school
Character Names
Selected for
Significance
Nathan Thorpe—gift from God + from the village
Elizabeth—consecrated to God
Claire—clear
Bernie—brave as a bear
Martha—lady
Joy—jewel, delight
Belle—beautiful
Melody Anne—melody + prayer
Perry—rock
Fenton—from the farm
Phantom—spirit, ghost
* The Character Naming Sourcebook, Writer’s Digest Books, Cincinnati, OH 1994
The Story Behind the Story
The Ghost Next Door
From July 3, 2103 Blog Post
With the first days of summer upon us, you may not be thinking about autumn leaves and Halloween ghost stories, but I am. I’m deeply into a new tale. Something that’s a little bit different but which offers traditional Ginny Baird romanticism just the same. If you’ve read me already, you know I’m a big believer in happy endings. For it really can’t be a romance if the guy doesn’t get the girl—or vice versa!
When I began this new story, I had originally intended it as Book 4 in my Summer Grooms Series, but these characters and this plot had a whole different direction in mind. Some years ago, I lived in a tiny Virginia town. It was so small, in fact, it was technically considered a village. Life there was cozy and the scenery bucolic, but the feel was a tad isolating, with very few shops and even fewer modern conveniences available.
Far at the edge of this burg and snuggled up against the Blue Ridge Mountains sat a lonely graveyard. I was surprised to see a brand-new house going in across the way and wondered who might choose to live there with such a view in store. Apart from facing rows of tombstones, the new home sat beside a run-down Victorian, the sort of place that could look awfully spooky under a full moon.
The possibilities intrigued me, and I wanted to set a story in this new house. So when I began my current project, that’s where I started: with location. Next, I envisioned a young single mom and her teenage daughter moving there from a larger city. They might have relocated quickly and selected a temporary housing solution, not realizing the full implications of the landscape based on the real estate listing they’d reviewed.
But maybe life in this new town isn’t really so bad. They’re welcomed by a small-town sheriff with gorgeous hazel eyes and a nice, solid build that single mom Elizabeth can’t help but notice. When he smiles, her world goes off-kilter and all thoughts of ghostly happenings are set aside. Yet something spooky is going on at the house next door. At least Elizabeth and her daughter are starting to think so. In a town where everybody is connected to everybody somehow, it’s often hard to draw the line between fact and gossipy fiction.
The story is populated by a rich cast of characters, all in search of their own goals. And while the world and its mysteries swirl around them, more than one couple finds themselves unexpectedly falling in love. For autumn is a season of change, representing the end of summer and the ushering in of darker days. Though when you find the right person holding your hand, perhaps facing the cold isn’t so scary after all.
Look for my new ghost story in August 2013!
With best wishes for spooky endings,
Ginny
A Note from the Author
Thanks for reading The Ghost Next Door (A Love Story). I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please help other people find this book.
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If you enjoy romantic ghost stories, you might also like the other two books in this series: The Light at the End of the Road and The House at Homecoming Cove. An excerpt from The Light at the End of the Road follows.
The Light at the End of the Road by Ginny Baird
A woman is stranded along a lonely Virginia road and a handsome stranger comes to her aid.
Chapter One
Samantha Williams centered her hands on the steering wheel and peered through the windshield. Fog crept up the glass as ice streaked it from the outside. The windshield wipers whipped back and forth, battling the frigid onslaught. Sam reached out a hand to adjust the windshield defroster, cranking it up a notch until it gusted full blast. Inch by inch, the dark road became visible beneath an arc of clearing fog, headlights haunting the eerie path before her. She hadn’t seen another car in more than forty miles.
This wasn’t the route Sam normally took at night. She certainly wouldn’t have selected it on purpose, given the dangerous weather. Sam rarely took back roads home anymore. But a tractor-trailer had jackknifed along a steep incline on Highway 64, tumbling sideways and dislodging barrels of hazardous chemicals. One of the officers from the highway barricade had told her about it, recommending she take a detour. He suggested even more strongly that she get off the road. This early spring ice storm had caught everyone by surprise, including the Virginia Highway Patrol, he’d said with a polite smile and a tip of his hat.
But Sam didn’t have the luxury of waiting for the expected midday thaw that would occur fourteen hours later, or even until daybreak. Her father’s life hung in the balance, and she needed to be by his side. Besides, it wasn’t like there was ready lodging in these parts. She’d passed the last motel an hour ago and the small, roadside gas stations, some of them housing country stores, all closed by nine p.m. Some even may have shuttered down earlier with word of the impending storm. Sam was glad she’d stopped to fill her gas tank when she had.
Sam viewed the rugged mountains in the distance. Soon she’d have to cross them, and the curves that were already starting to bend at the foothills’ base would become even more daunting, the drop-offs beneath them precipitous. Sam tried not to think about that, and focused instead on the road ahead, tightening her fingers around the wheel. One step at a time was all she needed to conquer. In another two hours, she’d see the light her mother kept burning in the window at home.
Lisa replaced the small bulb in the short plastic candle in the front hall window. It was the sort that people put out at Christmastime. The year Sam’s brother Jimmy went missing at sea was the year she’d left one candle out when she’d packed the rest of the Christmas decorations away. Affable and good-looking, Jimmy had possessed a natural way of charming the ladies—beginning with his kindergarten teacher, who had assured his parents Jimmy was destined to do great things. He’d grown up in a popular crowd, his friends coming and going throughout their busy household day after day. Jimmy played football and was a star swimmer. When he’d announced his desire to become a Navy Seal, then won his scholarship to the U.S. Naval Academy, none of his teachers was surprised.
Jimmy had ambition and a plan, unlike his sister, who had talent yet no goals. Quiet and introspective like her father, Sam took longer to come into her own. She’d been a happy child with a few close friends, but didn’t decide to pursue art professionally until college. There she’d met a photography professor she admired, and the rest was history. She’d made a wonderful career for herself, and Ben and Lisa couldn’t have been more proud. If only Jimmy were around to see it.
Something raw caught in Lisa’s throat and she drew in a sniff. They were never told exactly what had happened to Jimmy, only that he’d died bravely, serving his country. At times, thoughts of his death overwhelmed her. Mostly, Lisa forced herself not to think about it at all because the pain ran too deep.
She sank weakly into a living room cha
ir, also thinking of Ben. Lisa wasn’t sure how she could move forward without the two of them. Though Ben had promised her she would. “Be a good wife and bring me some Scotch,” he’d said, dragging his thumb across her cheek. He’d caught a tear there, but pretended not to notice. “You’ll be okay, hon. No matter what. You’ve got Sam.” Yes, but Sam was a young woman with a life of her own, and Lisa would never interfere with that.
They’d been discussing Ben’s condition, which seemed to be getting worse—even after triple-bypass surgery and his staying on medication. Lisa had been urging Ben to return to the doctor, but he kept putting it off, saying he would go just as soon as he got some important project wrapped up.
“You’re not supposed to drink Scotch and you know it.”
“Right.” He gave her a wry smile, blue eyes dancing beneath a mop of silvery hair. “Could shave another fifteen minutes off at the end.”
“Ben!” she said, aghast.
“Who says I’ll even want those last fifteen minutes? They could be perfectly dreadful.” Ben’s illness hadn’t deprived him of his sense of humor, or his looks. He still had a commanding presence and a handsome face. The fact that it was etched with wrinkles only made him look more seasoned, like a seafarer of sorts, or someone who’d weathered life’s storms. Oh, how Lisa prayed he would weather this one. He pulled her out of her reverie with a quip.
“Better make mine a double.”
She laughed lightly and fixed him his drink. Within minutes, she regretted that decision. The glass slipped from his hand, colliding with the carpet as he doubled forward, gripping his arm. In a flash, Lisa was on the phone dialing 9-1-1. The EMTs arrived quickly, then Ben was whisked away to the hospital in an ambulance.
