Twisted Echoes

by Sheri Lewis Wohl

  “Why do you think that?” Lorna peered over her shoulder.

  She loved the feel of Lorna so close she could feel her breath on her neck. “Mainly it’s the workmanship. I’ve seen this level of skill in the museums. That’s not to say folks today can’t do this too. They can. But the materials they use are a little different. This screams old and traditional. Here, take a look.” She handed Lorna the necklace, laying it in the palm of her hand. It was pale against Lorna’s tanned skin.

  At the sound of Lorna’s sharp intake of breath, her head snapped up. Lorna’s face had gone paper white and she was trembling so hard, Renee reached out to take her hands. Before she could stop her, Lorna crumbled to the sand, the necklace held tight in her fist.

  Chapter Eight

  Jeremy sank to the sofa, his phone still clutched in his sweaty hand. Tears sprang to his eyes, and it was all he could do not to burst out in sobs. Good God, guys didn’t break down and cry like big babies. Not at his age anyway. But honestly, that’s what he felt like doing. What Merry had told him was still ringing in his ears as if she was screaming it from an inch away.

  Was he really that clueless? Apparently, he was because he managed to miss all the signs. The only halfway decent excuse he had was he’d been too wrapped up in his own world to notice anything. Regardless of how chaotic his life had been lately, it was no excuse, considering until recently it had almost been as though they lived together. Either he was at her place or she was at his. They were rarely apart. So much so he’d planned to ask her to move in together. It didn’t make sense for them to maintain two separate houses when they were with each other so much. Then everything got wonky and her behavior changed when he was around. He’d been baffled and hurt. A little pissed off if he was really being honest.

  Now he understood and none of it mattered. Not his confusion or his hurt feelings. As for his irritation, that was just plain out of line.

  Tears welled up in his eyes again, and this time he let them fall. Screw being a big, tough guy. Everything he’d been feeling before the call, everything he was feeling now, well, it was too much to be contained. Even the toughest guy was entitled to a good cry after a call like that. Never in a million years would he have believed he could feel this way.

  “Are you all right?”

  Jeremy took an unsteady breath and turned to look at Jolene who stood in the doorway with an expression of worry on her face. It had been years since he’d seen Jolene, and yet the moment he saw her it as was as if it had only been a matter of hours. It had always been that way with both Jolene and Aunt Bea. Now, her voice, her expression, were those of a caring parent. All of a sudden it hit him how much he’d been missing that since losing Mom and Dad.

  He smiled at her through the tears and his heart soared. He’d never been more all right than at this moment and was delighted to share it with her.

  “Yeah, Jolene, I’m great ’cause in about six months, I’m gonna be a dad.”

  *

  She walked along the beach, the night sky streaked black and blue, the air cold and powerful. Her braids whipped in the wind, her skirt pressed wet and heavy against her legs. She didn’t worry if the water was ruining her gown and didn’t care. Her heart was light; she didn’t even try to stop the smile.

  In the distance, she could see the other woman who came toward her with long, dark hair flying as she raced across the sand, her bulky skirts held up in her hands. From this distance, her feet seemed to barely touch the sand as she ran straight down the beach in her direction.

  Her own step grew quicker until at last they came together in an embrace that was far more than friendship. Their bodies touched, pressed as closely together as possible. Their lips met in a kiss that rang of passion and love. The intensity of the kiss took her breath away and she trembled from head to foot. It was that way every time they touched.

  “I cannot stay long,” she said as she ran her hands down the silky black braids.

  “I am happy for even a moment.”

  She tried not to let her fear show. “He will find me. He always finds me.”

  “Let us not waste even a second. Come, my love. I have found a place of solitude.”

  She knew she should return home before he missed her. A wise woman would not tempt his fury. She didn’t want to be a wise woman. Hand in hand, they walked down the beach, turning at an outcropping of boulders. Moonlight cut through the darkened sky sending a shaft of light to shine on them. Around her lover’s neck gleamed a whalebone necklace.

  Lorna sat up straight, her hand so tight around the whalebone it cut into the flesh of her palm. “I think I’m going crazy,” she said in a husky voice. “I really think I’m going crazy.”

  “And I think you scared the living daylights out of me. What just happened? Where did you go?” Renee asked. “One second you’re standing there clear eyed and strong, the next you drop like a hot rock to the sand and I don’t know where you’ve gone. Freaked me out.”

  The necklace lying in her lap, Lorna pushed the wet hair off her face. The day was quickly turning cold, and after her little drop and roll on the wet sand, she was now chilled and soaked through. The way things were going lately, it would be just her luck to end up sick after this, thereby screwing up her Ironman training.

  She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “I don’t know what happened or where I went, but the last couple of days, it keeps happening.”

  Renee’s brows drew together as she looked at Lorna. “What keeps happening?”

  She didn’t want to admit to Renee exactly what had been going on. She’d think her certifiable, which might not be that far from the truth. What else could explain the things she’d been seeing? These dreams where she was her but not her along with the beautiful woman that she obviously loved were so realistic it was freaky. Nothing too crazy in that.

  Nope, she didn’t want to tell Renee any of it.

  Then again, if she didn’t tell someone, she really would go off the rails. She’d never had anything like this happen to her before. Even given the stress of her breakup with Anna, it hadn’t been enough to send her over the proverbial edge. And truthfully, she didn’t feel crazy…like anyone ever did. Except for the few minutes when the visions, or whatever the hell they were, happened, she felt pretty damned normal. So what was going on? Was she really losing her mind or was it possible there could be another explanation?

  Renee was stroking her hands and she liked the way it felt. “Come on, Lorna. You can trust me. Tell me what happened. I can help or at the very least, I can try.”

  She looked into Renee’s dark eyes and her reservations flowed away like the outgoing tide. Reflected in their depths wasn’t judgment or fear but rather compassion and truth. Though they might now know each other well, she believed in her heart that she could tell Renee anything. She wanted to trust her. So she did.

  After five minutes of babbling, she took a breath and closed her eyes. There was no denying it felt good to be able to articulate what had been happening to her. At the same time, she was afraid to see the look on Renee’s face. Undoubtedly, it would show compassion—the kind reserved for the mentally unstable. That was more than she could handle, so she kept her eyes tightly closed. Better not to see.

  Still holding onto her hands, Renee gently pulled up to her feet. “Come on,” she said in a hushed voice. “We’re getting cold and wet, or in your case, colder and wetter. Let’s go dry off, make a pot of coffee, and then you’re going to tell me all of this again in detail. We’ll figure it out together.”

  She was forced to open her eyes when she got to her feet, and she was shocked to discover her fears about what she’d see in Renee’s face were unfounded. Instead, what she saw was curiosity, and that gave her hope. Even so, she said to her, “You think I’m crazy.”

  Renee’s smile was warm and genuine without any hint of condescension. She nodded and patted her on the arm. “Maybe a little, but not in the way you think. Training for an Ironman, now t
hat’s crazy. Having visions, on the other hand, is pretty awesome if you ask me, and I want to know more. So come on. Let’s get dry and warm, a little coffee, and a whole lotta talking. Besides”—she held out a hand—“I have something I want to share with you and then we can decide which one of us is really crazy.”

  Unbelievable. She fully expected Renee to think she was suffering from some form of mental illness and instead she seemed genuinely interested rather than appalled. Oddly, it made her think of Anna and how she might deal with this turn of events. Not like this, was her first thought. Her second thought was that she was grateful she was with Renee rather than Anna.

  Before they left, she reached down and picked up the necklace where it had fallen to the sand when she’d stood. For a second she hesitated worried that it would send her into another vision as soon as she touched the whalebone bead. It didn’t and she slipped it into her pocket. Together she and Renee headed back up the bluff and toward the house. She could hardly wait to sit before the fire and tell Renee her secrets.

  Inside, Jolene had laid a small fire in the fireplace. It gave the room a warm and cozy glow, and it chased away the dark shadows of the storm that began its assault before they were safely back inside.

  “Okay,” Renee said as they sat in front of the fire. “So tell me what has you thinking you’re going crazy.”

  Lorna took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and began. “I can see two women. They’re obviously in love and yet they’re being torn apart…” She continued to describe the visions to Renee hoping that she didn’t scare her too much. When she finished, they were both silent. Lorna was worried that Renee had concluded that her fears of mental instability had merit.

  She was surprised with Renee smiled and touched her hand. “Kind of cool when you think about. I think spirits are reaching out to you for some reason. There’s something they want you to know.”

  “No,” Lorna said. The last thing she possessed was any kind of paranormal ability. She was as down to earth and grounded as they came. She didn’t believe in anything like that.

  “I think you’re wrong and I’ll tell you why. You’ll more than likely think I’m the one who’s crazy, but I’m not and neither are you. Ever since I was a kid I’ve been able to see colors around people’s bodies. When I was little I thought everyone could. Imagine my surprise when I discovered almost nobody could. I quit telling people when I figured out few thought it was a positive personality trait.”

  “You were just a kid.”

  “That was the problem. I had a habit of blurting it out, and people did not respond in a positive way.”

  Lorna was intrigued. There were so many layers to Renee; it was exciting to see them peeled back. “What was it you were seeing?”

  A little smile turned up the corners of Renee’s mouth. “Not was, Lorna. Is. What I still see are auras.”

  “No way, that’s just some new wave voodoo.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. They were the words of a rude and narrow-minded person. Not very nice of her considering what she’d just unloaded.

  Renee’s smile didn’t falter. “Now you get why I quit telling people?”

  Lorna couldn’t help but smile herself. “Oh yeah, I get it. You really see auras?”

  “I really do.”

  “Can you see mine?” Renee’s smile finally faltered, and a feeling of unease rippled through her. “What? What’s wrong with me?”

  Renee reached out and patted her on the arm. “Oh, girlfriend, you’re fine.”

  “Except?”

  “Except for the little shade of black rippling through your aura.”

  “Black? That can’t be good.”

  She shrugged. “If it was all black, I’d be very concerned. It’s not so it’s more like a touch of something not quite pleasant is circling around you and your brother.”

  “Jeremy?” A shot of alarm went through her.

  “Sorry, yes. It’s around him too, and I’d like to know why it’s touching you both. We’ll figure it out and make it all right. After what you’ve told me, it’s probably something to do with your visions.”

  “Doesn’t sound good.” Not to her anyway.

  “No worries, Lorna. I’m sure it will be all right in the end.”

  Maybe Renee was confident. She was a little less so. The last thing she needed was one more problem. She was busy enough taking care of the ones she already had.

  Chapter Nine

  Renee went to her room a little after eleven. The storm picked up steam while they sat in front of the fireplace the last few hours, and now the wind and rain pounded against the windows. For some, the sounds of a storm were disconcerting. Not to her. She loved the whistle of the wind and the patter of rain. In a way, it was a lullaby that reminded her of a wonderful childhood in this house.

  Tonight, she traded blue jeans and a sweatshirt for sweats and a T-shirt thinking the switch to comfort clothes would help her relax. By all rights, she should be tired. Clancy certainly was. The ability to run free of a lead was a huge treat for him, and he ran the beach and grounds until he was so tired he could barely eat. It was like that every single time they came here. Today was no exception. Now, he was stretched out in the middle of the bed, breathing deep and even. It was bound to be a struggle when it came time to try to claim her half of the bed or whatever portion of the bed she could get him to give up. Not yet though, the battle for the domination of the bed would have to wait a little while. She wasn’t tired. On the contrary, her mind was whirling with thoughts about what Lorna had shared with her as they fed the small fire and listened to the building storm.

  Lorna might have gone into the conversation thinking she wouldn’t believe her. She would have been quite wrong. While Lorna had been a visitor in this house during her childhood, Renee had grown up in the big house with more rooms than one family could use. Always in the back of her mind lived the suspicion that they weren’t exactly alone. Not that she’d actually seen any ghosts or had any visions as Lorna had. No, it was more a nagging feeling that never quite went away. Something that she would catch out of the corner of her eye and yet when she’d turn her head, it was gone. She had no trouble believing what was happening to Lorna was quite real.

  After listening to Lorna and considering the black ribbon that threaded through her aura, she no longer wondered whether or not they were alone here. Something, or rather someone, had never left this place. For some reason, it picked Lorna as its conduit. What they had to find out is why. It was an adventure far more preferable to pursue than the kind of adventure that started with a fire. Gave her something more interesting to think about.

  Restless, she pushed her feet into a pair of slides Mom had loaned her and left Clancy snoring away to head downstairs. It struck her as funny how every time he sank into a deep sleep, he snored like an old man. She never realized German shepherds snored until Clancy joined her little family. Made him more endearing to her than he already was, if that was even possible.

  In the kitchen pantry, she rooted around until she located several bottles of wine. Her pick was a nice cabernet from one of the state’s noted wineries. Even though it was a good wine, it was still nothing too fancy or expensive so she didn’t feel guilty when she uncorked it. Raiding the wine cellar for one of Aunt Bea’s high-end wines didn’t seem right. One of the cheaper versions, well, she’d was okay with imbibing. Giving it a few minutes to breathe, she went to the cupboard where the wine glasses were kept and picked out a pretty one with a dark blue stem.

  The house was still and quiet when she took her wine into the living room. She didn’t turn on any lights. Instead, stood at the French doors and watched the storm batter the balcony, spikes of lightning cracking across the sky far out over the ocean. The way Lorna described the first vision, it was here in this room on a night much like this one. Seemed awfully coincidental that it would be the same on the night she decided to share her secret.

  “So,” she said quietly
as she turned and gazed into the empty room. “What are you trying to tell her? Who are you? I know you’re here, and I know you’ve touched her. I’ve seen your fingerprints.”

  No one answered. No visions came into her head. Only the stillness of a house at rest. In the fireplace, embers glowed red and yellow, the dying remnants of a fire her mother had built earlier in the evening and that she and Lorna had fed during their long talk. The air still held the scent of burning tamarack and the warmth only a wood fire could create. It reminded her of long ago nights when she’d sit with Bea who read her wonderful stories. Little Women, Pride and Prejudice, and sometimes works a little darker, The House of Seven Gables, and one of her personal favorites, Frankenstein. It was a good room with many wonderful memories.

  Still, even with all the warmth of the past wrapped around her heart, the feeling that all along there was more, just wouldn’t leave her. Who were the two women Lorna saw in her vision? Why were they coming to Lorna? Renee wasn’t going to be happy until the mystery was solved.

  “Come on,” she urged. “You can trust me. I won’t tell your secrets. I want to help you.”

  She laughed quietly thinking she sounded sort of drunk even though she’d had only a few sips of the wine. She was obviously a lightweight, which wasn’t a big surprise. She didn’t imbibe very often. Tonight just seemed to call for something a little harder than the iced tea she usually drank.

  What she’d really been hoping when she went in search of wine was that it would relax her enough to open her spirit. Overall, she was pretty darned open and receptive to things unseen. In this case, it didn’t seem to be enough so why not help things along a little? If someone—or something—was trying to get through to Lorna, why not her too? She had a willing heart and a spirit that believed. She wanted to know and understand the heartbeat of the house. For some reason, she had a strong sense that what Lorna had seen was important to this place. Somehow, she’d have to dig up the truth.