Ever After

by Odessa Gillespie Black

  “Actually, I was going to say, I wouldn’t disrespect you like that. You deserve better than a sofa.” His voice was smooth velvet.

  I choked on a cough. I diverted my eyes and cleared my throat. Scanning the pages as a distraction, I accidentally fell on the face of an interesting bit of information.

  “Do you know anything about this?” I planted my finger on a yellowing certificate.

  Cole approached the desk. He already looked gaunt, but his face blanched in the desk lamp light. “A death certificate.”

  “Two death certificates.” I flipped to the next page. “For two women. With the same last names. Maybe they were the girls in this picture album.”

  “Y-yeah. So?” He was unsettled by the page. “People die all the time.”

  “But not on the same day, at the same time. Unless, it was unnatural causes? Or a freak accident.”

  “Grace and Annabeth Rollins. Same day, same time. All the locals know the story. There was a struggle. They slipped and fell from a fourth floor window. Don’t you think you need to be resting? You took quite a fall yourself today.” Cole turned back to me and scanned the room with darting eyes, his nostrils flared.

  “Because of one of these women. I want to know which one and why. She says I have something of hers. She also says she wants to hold ‘him’ again. Do you have any idea what or who she’s talking about? Seems to me that you have a jealous, other-worldly admirer who thinks you have feelings for me.”

  He stared through me.

  I masked a shiver.

  “Quit worrying over things that don’t concern you.” Cole glared. “And to find out why she’s after you, you’ll have to ask her, and if you haven’t already noticed, she’s not much for conversation. Not a smart idea. Could we please go to bed now?”

  His misspoken words gave me new determination. “Is that an invitation?”

  Cole’s eyes tapered to dangerous slits. “You know what I meant.”

  “I wasn’t keeping you from your bed.” Or was I? I sure hoped my sleepless nights weren’t one-sided.

  “I can’t sleep knowing you might be wandering around this big house. There are too many places you could get lost. If I can’t find you before Grace does, I don’t even want to think about what could happen. Do I have to sleep at the foot of your bed to keep you there?” Cole came around the desk, slapped the book shut, and took it from me.

  I gawked at him as he strode to the bookshelf and slid it back where it belonged. Precisely where it belonged.

  “Someone has to protect you from yourself. Stand up,” he said. Cole rounded the desk and took my arm. Gently but firmly he urged me up.

  I was sore. I couldn’t argue.

  He led me to the door of the library.

  I resisted for a second, so he stopped and turned to see why.

  “What now?”

  “I swear sometimes you act more like a big brother than an employee.” I leaned away from him.

  A devilish grin pulled up the corner of one side of his mouth. He leaned forward and planted a friendly, sloppy kiss on my cheek. He sorrowfully searched over the cuts on my cheeks, and then his vision went back into focus. “Good, then we’re on the right track.”

  Ten steps down the hall, I was able to breathe. Closeness with him, no matter the intent or setting, sucked the air right out of me.

  The cold marble was ice on my bare feet, but the warmth of Cole’s fingers on my arm warmed my whole body.

  He pulled me up the stairs.

  Oh, how I wished the moment would end differently.

  “If I had the skeleton key to all these rooms, I’d lock you in here myself.” He placed me in my room, both hands on my shoulders from behind.

  “Wait a minute. How did you know I was in the library?” I asked him in a half-turn.

  He stopped me and moved in close, his body barely touching my back. Cole lowered his lips to my ear. “I know where you are at all times.”

  The door clicked shut behind me.

  * * * *

  “Well, it’s pretty apparent the little anti-lust stones aren’t working.” Shelby made a face at the spoonful of Cream of Wheat the next morning at breakfast.

  “What are you talking about?” I mixed butter into my bowl.

  “Ava put stones all over this house for a reason. She knew a little more about witchcraft than she let on. Rubies are stones of protection. They also are known to help control lust. They were purposely added to the eyes of every post on the banister near your room. Haven’t you noticed the stone color change on the rest of the banisters in the house. They’re multi-colored.” Shelby dropped a spoonful of the Cream of Wheat into a bowl with a plop.

  “Yeah, and they were all set in iron. Together the rubies and iron should protect your bedroom.” Kaitlyn’s brows arched.

  “Sounds to me like you guys have researched way too much. Maybe even have watched too much network television. Ghost Hunters Gone Wild. Is there a show like that?”

  “Good thing for you we have. You have no idea how much deep crap you are in right now. Ava designed this house solely to protect you. You might not see it right off, but every little thing she’s done has been for you. The front entrance to the house, for instance. Those bronze gargoyles aren’t original. Nothing should have gotten by them. You’ve seen their eyes.” Kaitlyn took a bite of the Cream of Wheat. A foul look twisted her face. “What is this stuff?”

  “Seriously, you two are going to have to back up. What are you talking about?” I asked them, putting down my spoon. We were alone in the sterile kitchen so we didn’t have to worry about an audience. “It’s Cream of Wheat.”

  “More like liquid sand paper.” Kaitlyn eyed her bowl suspiciously.

  “It’s not that bad. Give it a chance.” I took a bite.

  “Okay. Alchemy is the use of stones for their protective qualities. Best I can tell is Ava was trying to protect every aspect of the house. Your bedroom for instance. The first room on the left at the top of the stairs was to be yours because she wanted you to be protected by the stones. The back exit of the house. All its railings have stones. Nothing should be able to get inside here, but it does. We’ve been putting clues together over the last few days.” Kaitlyn gestured between herself and her sister.

  “Yeah, well, the reason the rubies aren’t working is because lust isn’t what attracts Cole to you or vice versa.” Shelby leaned back in her chair.

  “What does my birthmark have to do with anything?”

  “More questions we can’t answer right now.” Shelby rolled her eyes. It wouldn’t take much for her to spill.

  “Cole has a tattoo on his shoulder of the same shape. It may be a coincidence, but now that you’ve said Ava used that bit of information to choose me, I don’t think it is. There’s something huge you’re holding back.” I put my spoon down.

  “Not every part of the story is ours to tell,” Shelby said softly.

  Cole had said something similar.

  “It’s okay, though. It’s not like the part we’re leaving out makes any difference. I promise. And if we don’t tell you, it won’t change how you and Cole feel about each other.” Shelby’s lips puckered into an aggravatingly cute smirk.

  “Right now, I’m not too thrilled with him.” I pouted.

  Shelby coughed the word, “Liar,” into her hand.

  Kaitlyn smiled and took up all our bowls.

  We walked out of the kitchen that morning in silence. The girls went toward the study and I to my room for a pair of sneakers.

  A mind-clearing walk in the family cemetery might do me some good. The cuts had almost healed, and my bruises had lightened. There was no need to stay in the bed for the remainder of the day.

  * * * *

  Cole moped out the back door of the house to his morning duties, whatever those were. At this point, he’d made up things to do to get away from me, but would have no problem hog-tying me to my bed to keep me ther
e.

  I darted across the lawn and skidded to a halt inside the cemetery gates.

  I weaved through the old headstones.

  Dates back to the 1700s? And the stonework of the statues had to be priceless now.

  I walked behind a marble seven-foot-tall angel with a finger over her lips when voices behind the cottage filtered through the summer breeze.

  “The waning crescent moon stage is less than a few days away,” one of the twins said. “It’s almost over, but she’s going to kill us if we don’t find a way to stop this. Ava’s stones only protect her from every other ghost in the whole world, but not your little stalker. She’s getting so antsy. You might have to break down and tell her.”

  “She’d either run or fight Grace even harder. I can’t chance any provocation that might get her killed. I can’t go through that again. Even if we only get a few days together, like this, it’s worth it. I can’t stop the curse now. We have to live it out.” Cole’s voice was bitter.

  “You’re afraid she’ll reject you,” the twin voice said, probably Shelby’s.

  “We need more than a few weeks to get to know each other before she finds out that I’m not normal. She doesn’t remember, not like I do.” Cole’s voice was distant, hollow. “I’ll never have that time. Grace counted on that. I spend more time cleaning up Grace’s murder attempts than I do getting to actually talk to her. If I have to die to keep her alive, then that’s what I’ll do.”

  “She’ll never forgive you,” Shelby or Kaitlyn said.

  “Say you do tell her your story and your situation—for lack of better terms—and she gets freaked out? Maybe she’ll step back long enough to let us do our job. Maybe we can get you two through this,” Shelby or Kaitlyn said.

  “It’s not that simple. You’re after some classic romance story. Sorry to disappoint, but her happy ending was over the minute she stepped onto this property,” Cole said.

  “You’re not giving it a chance, and all you do is freak out when she gets close or stay away.”

  “When you’re not working, you’ve spent almost every waking second in the woods,” one of the twins said drily. “It won’t be long before the livestock population is going to be in danger.”

  Alarmed at all I’d learned and been confused by, I turned and stumbled over a grave marker. My knees almost crumbled beneath me.

  Annabeth Amber Rollins

  Daughter, Sister, and the

  Betrothed of Colby Kinsley

  1862-1879

  Beside it sat a twin headstone.

  Colby Kindall Kinsley

  May Death bring you Peace

  1860-1879

  When my knees worked again, my chest boiled with rage, with betrayal. I stood.

  He’d lied straight to my face.

  Kinsley was his last name, and his first name wasn’t too far off from the guy Annabeth had been betrothed to. And he died in the same year.

  The Kinsley guy from the past would have to be one of his ancestors. And of course that made sense.

  The older sister probably had a thing for Cole’s ancestor and the younger sister had probably been about to marry him. According to the documents, she’d never had the chance. And according to lore, there had been a struggle and they had both fallen to their deaths.

  I would have bet my life that the ghost had killed her younger sister to prevent the marriage from happening.

  Now that Cole, the Kinsley ancestor, was back here, the ghost thought he was the original. The younger daughter probably had a stupid crescent roll or crescent moon birthmark, so they had used me as a pawn in this whole ridiculous game.

  This was far worse than any college sorority prank anyone could have played on me. My life hung in the balance, and no one had asked me my opinion before they dragged me in.

  I wouldn’t tell them what I suspected, but it only made sense. I would act ignorant and hope to catch them in more private moments, more moments when they would reveal what the moon’s phase had to do with the situation.

  Maybe it was the anniversary of the deaths of the two women.

  Maybe the ghost would go dormant and then Cole could carry on with his lonely life.

  He’d never really cared about me. It was all a bunch of lies.

  I was a way to get the ghost off his back.

  Well, I was done.

  Liars did not sit well with me.

  And I about had it with Shelby and Kaitlyn. They were probably Team-Cole now. Well, they could be in cahoots together.

  I would go this alone.

  If I called Mama, the story would sound so farfetched it would sound like the ravings of a madwoman. Besides, I didn’t want to break her heart in about a week when I came back home with nothing because I’d given this whole place and the money to some charitable organization.

  She needed it just as much as anyone.

  Stomping back to the house more determined than ever, I shut myself in my room to think.

  Mama was my motivation. Staying this thing out for her would be worth it. I would keep enough money to get her out of the life she was forced to live, and the rest I’d give away.

  After I fired Cole Kinsley.

  Chapter 11

  The red dress cover. Or the black sweater.

  It was just Dalton. It wasn’t like it was a date. Just a night away from this place.

  A knock came on my door.

  I put the hangers down.

  “It’s me, Shelby,” she said in a singsong voice. Great.

  “Come in,” I thought-spoke to her.

  “Oh, good, you’re not napping. I didn’t see you at lunch,” she chirped as she closed the door behind her, a stack of papers in her hands. Probably detailed blueprints on how to make me more miserable.

  “No appetite,” I said as she plugged in the radio.

  Well, that was a little promising. Maybe she would talk to me about something she didn’t want the ghost to hear.

  But why hadn’t they had it plugged in at Cole’s Cottage? Another question for my list of things to nail all of them with. Why had they let the ghost be privy to all their insane ramblings? She knew every plan we had and all Cole was trying to do to stop her.

  She tilted her head suspiciously as she eyed me up and down. “You’re awfully dressed up.”

  “Going out for some air.” I put the other shirt on the bed and turned to my vanity.

  “Really? Where?”

  “To town.” I slid pink across my lips.

  “Hmm.”

  “Why bother asking with whom, when you can take that telepathy backhoe of yours and dig around my brain?” I turned back to my choices of attire.

  Shelby looked stricken. “I wouldn’t do that.”

  I turned to her and thought, “I’m not so sure about that. I’m going out with Dalton if you all must know.”

  “Well, Cole is going to want to know where you are, but without digging around in your brain, I can tell you could care less if he knows where you are. I am your friend. I wouldn’t go behind your back unless I thought you were in danger, and Dalton’s barely a reason for concern. What’s gotten into you?” She sat on my bed and shoved the papers aside.

  “I’m just, I don’t know. I miss him.” I had to say something to get her off my back. A radio station broke through the static. I jumped.

  “I’m sorry.” She gave me a sympathetic look.

  I hated being the liar. But in truth, I did miss him. The him I thought he had been, not the liar I’d found him to be.

  Shelby eyed me but relaxed and glanced around the room. “I came to let you in on some information I thought you would find either infinitely interesting or immensely infuriating. I’m not sure I should even tell you, but I need you to trust me. You’re very upset about this birthmark thing. I know this. I can read you. But you have to understand. It’s not just the birthmark that ties you to this place.”

  It had been an absence of color
, but became even more pronounced when I’d fallen off a bike as a little girl. Spider veins had burst around the crescent creating what had looked like a tree’s branches around the moon. That’s what Mama had said anyway. The bruise had never gone away.

  “Anyway, I just talked to the private investigator. He said an anonymous phone call from a girl claiming to be the famous Grace Rollins tipped him off. That’s how the guy found you. Only he didn’t know Grace had been dead for over a hundred years.” She regarded her nails, waiting for a reaction.

  I turned away from my clothes and stared at her with a shiver. “So Grace can make phone calls?”

  A voice broke through the static station. “Honey, there’s all sorts of things I can do. Why don’t you ask Cole about my many talents? I’m sure he can tell you all about our first life together.”

  Shelby jumped and ran to jerk the plug from the wall.

  The thought of a dead girl’s hands on Cole made my blood freeze, then reach a boiling rage. “If I can find her, I’m going to dig her up wherever she is and slap her.”

  My ring tone sounded from the pocket of the jeans on my bed.

  Shelby and I looked at each other. Surely not.

  I answered it anyway.

  “You can’t dig up a body that’s not buried.” Her slimy voice sent red through my vision.

  I slapped the phone away from my face.

  It landed on the bed. The screen lit up and the speakerphone became enabled. “But don’t you worry, honey. My body is the least of your concerns right now. In a few short days, your body will be mine.”

  “Don’t listen to her.” Shelby grabbed the phone and jerked the battery out. She turned to me as I backed from the bed.

  “What did she mean by that?” I blasted Shelby.

  “I’ll be back in a few minutes. Don’t touch that phone and don’t leave this room.” Shelby rushed out the door.

  * * * *

  That was it.

  I’d had enough of ghosts, threats, non-boyfriends avoiding me, and friends I couldn’t trust.