Southern Secrets

by Shelley Stringer

  “Quit worrying about me, and just concentrate on this mission so you can get home safely. I’ll be fine,” I fibbed.

  It seemed to me he took a longer way home. I suspected he felt the same as I did, he didn’t want the evening to end either. As we pulled up into the drive, I noticed Ty’s vehicle was missing.

  “I see we’re missing someone,” I noted as he turned the key off in the ignition.

  “Maybe he took Constance out for dinner.” He got out, and then came around to my door to help me from the car. As we walked up the stairs on the front porch, I could see her through the front window curled on the sofa.

  “Oh, this doesn’t look good.” I glanced at Banton as he put his hand on my back to go in.

  “Hey, Darlin’, I thought you were going back home today,” I commented. She turned away from the TV to look at us. Red-rimmed and teary, her eyes told us the status of her conflict with Ty.

  “Um, I was hoping it would be all right if I stayed here another night? I was kind of thinking Ty would come back, and I could see him tonight. But he hasn’t shown up yet,” her voice broke off as I sat down beside her and wrapped my arms around her.

  “Why don’t you go on up, I’m sure he’ll come home soon, and you two can make up before he leaves,” I tried to assure her. Banton crossed the room and knelt in front of her.

  “I talked to him this morning. He is crazy about you, believe me. He just hasn’t had time to process everything, and this attack came at the worst time, catching all of us off-guard. Give him some time. If you don’t get to see him before we leave tomorrow, don’t read anything in to it. It might take this trip to make him realize what he needs to do.”

  “And what is that?” she asked huskily.

  “Give in.” He smiled sadly as he stood, and kissed her on the head.

  He pulled me to my feet.

  “Good night, Constance. Knock if you need me,” I told her as Banton led me up the stairs.

  Beau rose from the rug in the front room and followed us up the staircase, close on Banton’s heels.

  Chapter Ten

  I took more time than usual in our bathroom as I was changing for bed, and I could sense Banton’s frustration on the other side of the door. When I emerged, his eyes told me what he was thinking… I played dirty. I’d called Dr. Lane earlier to tell him about my progress, and to ask him if we could be intimate before Banton deployed. Banton wasn’t as convinced as Dr. Lane. I’d saved a black satin negligee just for an occasion such as this, and the look in his eyes told me it was working. As I crawled over him and settled on my side of the bed, he sighed and tried to act disinterested as he scanned the computer screen. I lay beside him for a few minutes, not saying anything. Flipping the lamp off beside the bed, I slid down closer to him under the blankets, and sighed. Finally, he flipped the laptop closed and tossed it on the nightstand beside him.

  “You’re torturing me, you know that? What are you trying to do to me?” he asked me as I pulled him over on top of me. I slid my hands down, pushing the band to his briefs down his muscled hips. He began to kiss me slowly as he pulled the covers back to look at my attire more closely. Fires soon raged in his eyes as he slid the gown up my ribcage, and grasped me around the waist as his hips covered mine.

  “Are you sure about this?” he whispered as his face hovered over mine.

  “Absolutely. I’m fine, and I’m not letting you leave in the morning without…” And I never got to finish the sentence. For a few brief minutes, we were lost to the world, to everything around us, time, space, worries, tomorrow…it was just the two of us.

  I sighed as I watched lights from outside reflect on the ceiling. It had begun to rain again, and the soft splattering on the panes made a mesmerizing sound. He kissed the top of my head and pulled me in tighter to his body.

  “Banton?” I asked softly.

  “What?” He placed his lips in my hair.

  “I have one request. Please, humor me. I’m not sleepy and I can’t waste one minute sleeping while you’re still here with me. I’m watching you tonight. I want you to sleep, and I’ll see you off in the morning. I can sleep all day tomorrow. I just don’t want you losing any precious sleep trying to chase my dreams away. You need to be as rested as possible before you leave to do this mission.”

  “No, Chandler, I don’t want you…”

  “Please humor me. Please?” I turned and looked at him determinedly. He studied my face for a few seconds, and then spoke.

  “Okay, I’ll humor you. This time only. I’ll sleep, I promise.” He kissed me again, snuggling down in my arms. After a few minutes he was sleeping soundly, and I was wide awake. I listened to his breathing, in and out, and his precious heartbeats under my ear as my head lay on his chest. My mind ran over a thousand possibilities, but I made a determined effort to stay positive.

  I began to form a plan, a set of goals to achieve while he was away. I would register for classes and then spend my time until school started with Mr. Jackson and research. I’d already begun to devise my strategy and decided to try my first objective--meditating before sleep to program myself to dream.

  After I’d checked the clock for the hundredth time, I decided I could let myself doze as it was almost four o’clock in the morning. I started to run over the most familiar setting for my dreams--the cemetery. I concentrated on the road, the entrance, the tombs and statues, and then I visualized how I would fight with my new strength when my stalker approached me. I realized I hadn’t considered my strength before. But ever since the attack at the cabin in Colorado, I’d known I was strong enough to hold my own, and my strength matched that of the Orco. I was determined I would wake myself if the situation got too rough. I concentrated on every detail of the old dreams- how he grabbed me, how he smelled.

  I began to drift.

  Mounds of leaves swirled around the headstones as I heard faint voices. The voices called, over and over, but they didn’t call my name. I searched around every headstone, looking for something. The wind blew colder, and I became chilled as rain and sleet began to fall. I realized I didn’t have a jacket on, and the sleet pelting my arms began to sting my skin. I hurried back toward the road that would take me to my house, back to warmth, back to Banton. As I neared the gates to the cemetery, they swung shut with a loud clank. I turned, and ran straight into the outstretched arms of the Orco…I struggled as I tried to scream, and then began to fight as his teeth sank into my shoulder, opening the old wound where he’d bitten me before. I shoved back, and managed to push away from him as the sleet fell harder, blinding me as I ran away. He followed and was faster, overtaking me as I stumbled and fell headlong into a deep, freshly dug grave…It’s just a dream, wake up, Andie…It’s just a dream…

  I woke, startled, and pushed my face up off the pillow. Beau licked the side of my face, trying to wake me. The rank smell of sweat and fresh dirt permeated the air. Turning over carefully, I sensed Banton stir and then relax. I’d been able to wake myself without his knowing I’d had a nightmare. As I carefully moved the blankets back, pink light was visible through the bay window in our room, and I knew dawn was near. I felt stronger, somehow, I’d faced the fear of my dreams alone. I was nowhere near banishing them, but I felt as if I had taken the first step. I rose carefully, and crept to the bathroom.

  After shutting the door, I then flipped on the light, shuddering as my eyes adjusted to see the fresh bite marks on my shoulder. Small bruises were forming on the tops of my arms and on my backside. I surmised they must have formed from the fall into the grave. I panicked because I never intended for Banton to have anything to worry about before he left on this mission. I would simply have to cover up and make up a story. I pulled my old pink pajamas from a drawer in the chest in the bathroom and donned them, and then turned the light off in the bathroom as I eased the door open.

  “Are you all right?” he asked sleepily in the dark.

  “I’m fine,” I assured him. “I just had to go to the bathroom. And I
got cold, so I put on my old pajamas,” I lied as I crawled back into the bed. A few moments later he came fully awake.

  “Chandler Ann, you’re lying. I can smell him…you’ve had another nightmare.” He pushed up in bed, and flipped the lamp on.

  “Yes, I did, but I woke myself. I’m fine, I promise. And I didn’t wake you.”

  He sighed as he looked me over. “That’s not the point. I don’t want you lying to keep from upsetting me.”

  “I’m not. I’m fine. I’m dealing with this, and I’m determined to be a big girl while you’re away.” I glared at him determinedly, and he laughed softly.

  “I’m proud of you. I just hate leaving you now. Everett promised me he’d watch you when you sleep,” he replied as he rubbed my arms. I struggled not to wince. My arms were beginning to ache from the dream.

  “And he will. I don’t want you worrying.” I turned to kiss him and snuggled back down in his arms. We lay holding each other until the alarm went off.

  Breakfast went by too fast and before I knew it, Banton and John had their gear loaded in the truck and we were saying our goodbyes. Banton’s cell beeped, signaling a text just as he was taking me in his arms for one last kiss. He checked his phone for the message as Constance slipped out the front door onto the porch.

  Banton read the text, and then put his phone back in his pocket.

  “That was Ty,” he announced softly as he looked up at her shattered expression. “He said he had his gear, and he would meet us there…he’s not coming back here. I’m sorry.” He looked at her apologetically and she nodded.

  “Both of you stay safe and come back quickly. Bring him home safe for me,” she whispered, and then silently went back into the house. Banton turned his attention back down to me, and lowered his mouth to mine as he kissed me slowly one last time.

  “I love you, Chandler. Take care of my babies.” He knelt down in front of me and placed a kiss on my tummy.

  “I love you too,” I whispered as I choked back the tears. He gave me a pained expression and then crawled into his truck. I stood in the driveway with Brie until I couldn’t see the truck on the road anymore. I took a deep breath; it was going to be a long two weeks.

  Chapter Eleven

  Time stands still when you want it to pass quickly. The minutes dragged on as every task seemed to make the minutes creep by slower, not faster. I planned every activity, every bit of my day with the thought in mind of how much time I could use up – an hour to get ready, an hour or two at Mr. Jackson’s, two hours at campus to register, and one hour for lunch with Everett. I mentally marked the days off in my head. Day four was the day I reserved to go to campus and buy books, and check to make last minute changes to my schedule. I’d been to the doctor earlier, and Doc Lane had pronounced me ready to resume normal activity. But nothing was normal right now.

  After spending the morning at the administration building and the library, I flipped my cell open and called Everett.

  “What are you doing, Darlin?” he asked as he answered his cell.

  “Just finishing up on campus. Let’s go have lunch, are you free?”

  “Come on by, Bebe, and I’ll put my little be back in an hour sign in the window. We can walk down to the tea room.”

  “Kay. See you in five.” I shut my cell, and then checked my texts for the hundredth time this morning. No messages from Banton.

  Everett was already waiting when I drove up in front of his shop.

  “And how are you and the twins today?” Everett asked as he helped me from my SUV. “Did you have your appointment this morning?”

  “Yes, and we are great, thanks. Everything is back to normal. Of course, now I have a clean bill of health, Banton is God only knows where, and for how long. It seems we can’t catch a break!”

  “Patience, Darlin. Now you can do whatever you want, let’s go baby shopping! Oh, and I’ve made a couple of purchases this week, you just have to come back to the shop and see after lunch!” he exclaimed as we walked down the sidewalk toward the tea room.

  “Everett, what have you done? You’re going to have them spoiled before they even get here!”

  “Oh, get over it, Sister! Let me have my fun. Do you know how long I’ve waited to spoil someone close to me? This is probably the closest I’ll ever have to kids of my own, so indulge me.”

  “What about your nieces?” I asked, stopping to look in a boutique window.

  “Who, the chubbette divas? You can’t spoil someone who’s already rotten. Where’s the fun in that? Oh, we simply have to go in here, they always have the most darlin’ clothes in their window, and they carry maternity clothes!”

  “Everett, I’m not ready for tents yet, and Banton had you buy me a ton of clothes for the honeymoon, I haven’t even had a chance to wear it all,” I protested.

  “Would you humor me, please? I’m trying to help you get your mind off of lover boy’s absence, and you aren’t making this any easier. Rushing through lunch won’t bring him back sooner. Now, come on!”

  I could see he wasn’t going to give up, so I sighed and gave in. We weren’t in the store five minutes before Everett had the poor sales girls running back and forth to the dressing room with different sizes, different colors, shoes to match every outfit, and on and on. He made such a fuss you would have sworn he was my mother. I had a déjà-vu kind of feeling as I shrugged out of the tenth outfit and handed over the curtain to the dressing room.

  “The last time I had this much ‘fun’ shopping for clothes I was in sixth grade and my mom and I were having a fight about how short my shorts were. Thanks for that flashback!” I scolded him as he pulled the curtain back and grinned at me.

  I began to get edgy as two of the girls who were helping Everett whispered and giggled. I could tell they were laughing at him. I was unexpectedly irritated at these narrow minded, extremely judgmental girls. They could at least wait until we were out of the shop to make fun of him. He ignored them as usual and would never show it bothered him. That was just Everett. But today my hormones decided to rear their ugly head. It was a mother, protective thing.

  I slapped the curtain back against the door facing and glanced into Everett’s surprised face. “I don’t think I want any of it. Let’s go,” I exclaimed as he opened his mouth to protest.

  “All right, Miss Thing. If you don’t buy these, I’ll come back later without you. Everything is just darlin’ on you, and I don’t know what brought this obstinate mood on, but you’re being rude!” he admonished me, gathering the outfits meeting his approval up into his arms and marching them to the check-out counter.

  “We’ll take all of these, could you wrap them up, please?”

  “Sure.” One of the two giggling girls answered him as the other began to fold the items. Everett wandered back up toward the front of the store, stopping to sample some of the perfumes on display.

  “Um, is he your brother? He’s certainly sweet to help you so much,” one of the girls commented. They both glanced at each other and giggled again.

  HELLO, MOTHERLOAD OF HORMONES, HERE I COME…I thought. Andie, don’t make a scene, Everett would just die. Then it occurred to me as I answered.

  “Oh, no, honey. He’s my husband. And we’re expecting twins! Sweetheart, come back over here, these sweet little girls have our bags ready.”

  “Coming, Darlin.” He’d obviously overheard our conversation, and joined me in the offensive antics. Sliding up behind me, he placed his arm around my waist as I swung around in his arms and kissed him quickly on the lips. I turned back and watched, to my amusement as the two girls’ jaws dropped and hit the floor in cartoon fashion. It was perfection.

  We barely got out of the store before our own laughter erupted.

  “That is the most fun I’ve had at someone else’s expense in a long, long time. You have a real mean streak in you, Sister! I’m impressed,” Everett quipped.

  “Well, they deserved it. I can’t believe they were openly ridiculing you.”

&
nbsp; “Bebe, I’ve been on this earth long enough to learn to overlook. They were perfectly sweet girls, and there was no harm done. You just have to embrace everyone you meet, flaws and all, and love them for who they are. Besides, it’s hard to hurt an Aldon’s feelings. And it is impossible to intimidate us, think about it.” His eyes twinkled whenever he thought he was teaching me a life lesson. He certainly taught me one today.

  “You’re just too good to be true!” I stated, kissing his cheek.

  “No, just old and wise. Come on, let’s eat!” he urged, hauling the bags into the tea room.

  After lunch, we carried all of the bags back to my SUV, and then Everett insisted I come back into the shop with him.

  “Come on, I want to see what you think!” He was obviously so excited about shopping for and decorating the nursery, I didn’t want to disappoint him. I would have normally been excited too, but I was distracted with Banton’s absence.

  Everett led me to the back of the shop, a storeroom where he unpacked merchandise and stored unique finds until he had the chance to repurpose, paint, or fix whatever was broken. He walked over to a sheet draped over a large object, pulling it back as if he was a magician about to reveal a magic trick. Underneath, there was an antique child’s rocking toy made of wood, with two little seats facing each other. The outside of the rocker formed two horses that looked as if they were full-stride, with red saddles painted on them. They had real horse-hair manes and tails, their bodies painted like appaloosas.

  “Everett, where did you find this? It is absolutely beautiful!” I exclaimed, rocking it with my hand.

  “A friend found it at an estate sale in Shreveport. I put the word out several weeks ago to be on the lookout for antiques for a nursery, to suite the restoration of an antebellum house. And look at this chest, isn’t it a find!” He motioned to a chest which had gone unnoticed, sitting behind the rocking toy. It was hand painted with various nursery rhyme pictures in a worn, stained patina.