“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely.” Renee began to slowly unbutton her shirt, her eyes on Lorna the whole time. When it was fully open, she let it slide to the floor. Her shoes were next, flying across the room when she kicked them off. Her jeans followed. Finally, her bra and panties dropped to the pile of clothes on the floor.
When she was naked, Renee put her hands on her hips. “Well? What’s the hold up?”
*
His back hurt and sweat soaked through his shirt. He wiped at his forehead with the back of his hand, his eyes stinging with the salty sweat that dripped into them. A light drizzle was making his already damp shirt even wetter, and it stuck to his black like it was glued there. If he didn’t hurry, the drizzle was bound to turn into outright rain. It was the way of things here on the ocean’s fringe.
Shovel after shovel of dirt piled beside him until the hole grew too deep for him to continue to stand beside it and keep working. He clambered down into the damp earth so he could continue to increase the depth. Shoulders screaming, he refused to bend to the pain and slow down. Mind over physical discomfort always won. It had to be deep enough to erase do to the job perfectly.
The time had come to end the stupidity. He’d tried reason. He’d tried discipline. Nothing worked. His demands were met with stubborn defiance. No one dared to cross him in this way. No one, that is, except her.
Well, no more. He was not challenged in his command of business, and it had made him a very rich man. He was going to be equally successful at home. His wife was of the highest breeding, her family one of honor and wealth. She never crossed him or questioned any decision. His child was going to be a reflection of her parents. He demanded she be proper, ladylike, and most of all, obedient. She would marry the man he chose for her, and never again would she do one single thing that would bring shame or embarrassment to him.
If only the boy had survived, it would all be different. He would not have caused him the problems that she did. He would have carried their name into the future with pride and dignity, and more importantly, with no hint of shame. The complete opposite of her. Why did she find it impossible to do the right thing? It was difficult for him to believe she was actually from his seed. He often wondered if she was fathered by another and that in fact his only true progeny had died. It made more sense than the travesty he had to endure day in and day out.
He stopped shoveling dirt out of the hole and looked at his work. Satisfied, he climbed out of the hole and laid the shovel on the damp grass. The drizzle had turned to rain, just as he’d known it would. The rain worked well and he welcomed it for it would ultimately wash away any sign of tonight’s work. No one need know, not that many would care. Some lives simply were not worth as much as others. That was the case now.
Again, he wiped rain from his face, not caring that it probably left streaks of mud across his skin. Soon enough, he would be clean, dry, and vindicated. He took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and strode across the grass, his footsteps sure and steady.
Jeremy bolted upright in the bed with his heart thudding. “Fuck me…not again,” he muttered.
The odd feelings he’d had before they’d left for Spokane were gone by the time they hit the Spokane County limits. It had been great to be back to feeling like himself and it had lasted until they returned. Now, two hours into slumber in Lorna’s house, the weirdness was back like a bad rash.
The open drapes let in moonlight, and it spilled golden across the blankets. Merry slept peacefully on her side, her face beautiful and serene in slumber. He gently touched her hair, the feel of it silky and comforting against his fingertips. She always brought him back to peace and happiness no matter what was going on.
Except now. Even Merry’s presence wasn’t enough to banish the ugliness that the dream brought on. Waking from it left him feeling alien and, even worse, bitter. He’d awakened with the urge to scream his lungs out, only he didn’t know why. Dreams were usually easy for him to shake off. This one wasn’t.
It was this place, this beautiful place. Everything about it was confusing and in some ways unsettling. He loved it and he hated it. On one hand, it made him feel as though he really was home where he could rest and restore. On the other, it was like an angry spirit wanted to ravage his body and infuse it with a rage that was the polar opposite of his normal demeanor. That was pretty damn creepy.
He wasn’t going to let the dream rattle him regardless of how creepy it was. This was a great place to be, and he was going to hold on to that belief. He also planned to hold on to his beautiful bride-to-be as tight as he could. Nothing was going to hurt her or even disturb her sleep. Jeremy lay back down against the pillows and turned his face to the window. It was time to go back to sleep. No more creepy dreams; he would will it to be so.
He was just dozing off when a shadow moved across the shaft of moonlight coming through the window.
*
It was a gamble, and she was up for it. Renee wanted more, and for the first time ever, was going for it. She’d never been very good at being the one who took the lead. It occurred to her that maybe all this time she’d been opting for the coward’s way out. Waiting around for something to happen here was nuts. For way too long, she’d depended upon others for her happiness and was then discouraged when it didn’t work out. It was high time for her to make her own happiness. To take it with both hands and then run as fast as she could
For a second, she feared Lorna was going to turn around and leave despite the passion of her kisses only minutes before. Her stomach tightened as she stood naked and exposed. Nothing happened, and she fought the urge to grab her clothes and run. She’d taken a risk and it appeared she’d taken it at the wrong time and in the wrong place.
Before she could grab her clothes and flee, Lorna became a flurry of frantic movement. Her shirt went flying right before sneakers and pants zoomed across the room. She wore only underwear and no bra on her high, firm breasts. Renee’s breath caught in her throat and all thoughts of running away disappeared. God, Lorna was beautiful. Not in the curvy way of a woman, but in the muscled and toned way of an athlete. Spectacular was the single thought rolling through her mind.
Sudden shyness washed over her. Lorna was so beautiful, while she was nothing special. While not heavy, neither was she thin. She was all rounded curves and softness. What would a woman like Lorna find desirable in her? The answer was crystal clear: nothing.
Lorna must have read her mind, for she whispered, “You’re beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.” She took a step forward and pulled Renee into her arms. The moment their flesh touched, desire washed away any lingering doubts.
She pulled Lorna to the bed, and once more, her urge to take control surged. Where it came from, she didn’t know and didn’t care. It was awesome. She wanted this woman so much it almost hurt, and savoring every moment was an absolute must. If this was a one-night stand, she was going to make the most of it. She kissed Lorna deeply, loving her feel and her taste. Once again, she thought, this is what I’ve been waiting for all my life.
Her lips moved down her neck, across her shoulders, and down to her breasts. They were so firm, the nipples round and dark. She took one into her mouth and suckled as she ran her tongue over the nub as it grew harder. Lorna moaned, her hands in Renee’s hair and tugging gently.
As she continued to do service to Lorna’s extraordinary breasts, she ran her palm over her flat stomach. Lorna’s muscles tensed as she stroked her hot skin, dropping farther down. Lorna’s hips moved in response. Her fingers skimmed through the fine hair before parting her swollen lips. She slid her fingers into her heat.
For a moment, she thought she might come right here and now, the feel of Lorna was so incredible. She forced a breath and began to stroke as Lorna’s moans grew deeper. Bringing her lips back to Lorna’s, she kissed her deeply at the same time her fingers slid inside and out meeting heat and wetness.
Hips rose to meet the thrusts of her fingers while she tra
iled her tongue once more down Lorna’s skin until she captured a nipple again. Lorna jerked, her hips pushing against the thrust of her fingers. She could feel the pressure growing and inhaled the scent of passion. She moved her hand faster.
Lorna cried out, and Renee felt her come against her hand. She smiled against the nipple still held in her mouth. This was everything she hoped for.
And so much more.
Chapter Twenty
The first weak rays of daylight poked through the windows by the time Lorna’s eyes fluttered open. At first, she thought last night was a dream, and then she realized it was incredibly, wonderfully real. Renee was beside her, warm and naked, her chest rising and falling in easy sleep.
She couldn’t help smiling as she thought about what had happened between them. All her worries about being able to feel for another woman were for nothing. Renee not just made her feel but cracked the ice that had formed around her heart when Anna left. It was amazing in so many ways.
She thought of all the things they could do together and then stopped herself. This was putting the cart before the horse. One night with Renee and she was plotting forever. She didn’t know how Renee was feeling. This could be a casual fling for her, and if it was, she had to respect that. No expectations. That was the best course to take. Expectations had set her up for trouble before; she didn’t want to play that game again.
She was still gazing out the window when she saw the shadow of a person pass by the window.
“What the hell,” she whispered, slipping out the bed quietly so as not to disturb Renee. She grabbed her robe and slipped it on before she moved to the window. Chill air drifted off the glass, and she pulled the robe tighter.
Outside, day was trying to push aside the night. Clouds hung dark and low, rain falling light but steady. A woman, dressed in a long white gown, her waist-length hair streaming down her back, hurried across the wet grass toward the bluff.
Lorna squinted trying to get a better look. She didn’t recognize her, and more than that, couldn’t figure out what she was doing here. They weren’t exactly on the beaten path. The house was set far away from the main road, and there were no such thing as a close neighbor. People didn’t accidently stumble upon the estate.
A couple hundred yards before the drop off, the woman slumped to the ground. It didn’t look like she stumbled, though she crumpled as though something heavy bore down on her. It was hard to tell in the dim light what she was doing.
Okay, her curiosity was piqued. Lorna had to know what was up. She grabbed a pair of sweats, a shirt, and her sneakers. Once dressed Lorna slid out the door and left Renee still sleeping in the bedroom. At the back door, she grabbed a hooded jacket, pulling the hood up over her head. Cold air slapped her when she stepped outside, and what had looked like light rain from her bedroom window turned out to be a heavy and steady downpour.
If the woman heard her approach, she gave no indication. She didn’t even so much as turn her head in Lorna’s direction. Rain had soaked her hair and her dress, which, as she drew closer, Lorna could see was some kind of cotton nightgown. That didn’t make sense. How in the world would someone make it all the way out here in the dark, in the rain, in a nightgown? Things around here were getting stranger by the hour.
The second thing she noticed as she came close was that the woman was sobbing. Her face pressed to the grass, her hands pounding at the earth, she sobbed in silence. Silence? How was it possible that not a sound was coming from the sad figure who had to be flirting with hypothermia in the chilly morning rain?
“Hello,” Lorna said as she continued to walk toward her. The woman didn’t move, didn’t act as though she heard. “Do you need some help? Is there someone I can call for you?”
All of a sudden, the woman shot up and stared back at the house. Her gaze swept over Lorna as though she hadn’t seen her at all. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say her gaze went right through Lorna. With a look of terror, the woman picked up her damp skirt and ran straight toward the house. Lorna stared after her, stunned by the way she totally ignored her. As she watched, her heart nearly stopped when the woman simply disappeared.
She was still thinking about the vanishing woman when Jeremy walked into the kitchen an hour later. The sun was completely up by then though it was an obscenely early hour for folks who did not have to get up and drive into an office.
“What made you roll out bright and early?” She asked as she got up to pour him a cup of coffee. “After your long drive, I’d have thought you’d be dead to the world.”
He sighed as he took the offered cup and sipped. “Thanks, I needed that. I guess I’m so used to getting up in the morning I haven’t gotten out of the habit yet.”
She was watching his face as he talked and wasn’t convinced. Sure, his unemployed status was still new enough that he hadn’t had time to grow accustomed to sleeping in. His face, however, said it was something else. “What’s up, Jer?”
He shook his head and sighed. “I don’t know. I was actually sleeping pretty well, and then boom…had another crazy ass dream. You know, when I was in Spokane, this didn’t happen. As soon as I get back here, it starts again. Gotta be this house, Lorna. I don’t have dreams like this. They’re creeping me out.”
She patted his hand. “You’re preaching to the choir, brother. I am convinced this place is seriously haunted. Reach out and touch from beyond, if you know what I mean. I’m pretty creeped out myself.”
“I wonder why Aunt Bea never said anything about it. Or for that matter, why hasn’t Jolene said something to us about the guests who came and never left?”
She’d wondered the same thing, rolling it over and over in her head. Her final conclusion was they didn’t know. “I don’t think any of this happened until I got here, and then by extension, you.”
He furrowed his brow and studied her with a skeptical expression on his face. “That doesn’t make sense. We’re nothing special. Just a couple of regular folks from Spokane. Ghosts magnets we’re not.”
“Yeah, that’s what I always thought too, but I’m beginning to wonder if that’s really true. We might have to consider the possibility that we could be ghost magnets.”
For a moment, he said nothing, just studied her face. “What happened while I was gone?”
She shrugged and debated whether to tell him. To her it seemed as though he had enough on his plate without her weirdness added to the mix. Then she made a decision. In for a penny, in for a pound. “Another vision while you were gone. Another vision this morning. Except the one this morning…”
“Spit it out.” He set his mug on the table with a thud. “You know you can always trust me, both to have your back and to tell you the truth. So spill.”
She blew out a long breath before saying it out loud. “Okay, you’re right and I know it. It’s just that it gives me the chills thinking about how it all went down. I was wide awake, Jeremy, as in WIDE awake.” There was a reason she didn’t want to verbalize it. It sounded way too much like she had finally stepped aboard the crazy train.
He seemed to grasp the enormity of why she was afraid to share. “All right, weird enough that’s for sure, but really, Lorna, I think it sounds more like a hallucination than a vision.” He gave her a crooked smile. “What have you been smoking while we were gone?”
She smacked him on the arm. “I wish the explanation was that simple. Come on, Jeremy, you and I both know I’m not losing my mind, and I’m not smoking a damn thing. I know what I saw.”
“So let’s assume for the moment you really are quite sane. Now, tell me what happened and what you saw. We can figure this out together just like we’ve always done.”
She took a deep breath, her heart still pounding as she rolled through her mind what she’d seen out there. The answer came back the same no matter how she rationalized it, and the truth of it rang crystal clear in her heart. “Tiana McCafferty, though it was different this time. In my dreams it’s like I’m her. Not this time.”
At first, she hadn’t realized who it was she’d seen kneeling in the grass. Not until the apparition turned to run back toward the house anyway. Even then, she’d wavered. The possibility seemed remote. At least until the woman disappeared, and then any doubts she’d had vaporized into thin air right along with the woman. The blunt reality of it, if it could be called reality, was that Tiana was back. If she’d ever left, that is. She was trying to show Lorna something important. All she had to do now was figure out what that was.
“Woo,” he said with a whistle. “Okay, you now have my undivided attention. This I gotta hear right now.”
Her reluctance to tell what she’d seen fled. Sharing with him felt right, and so she did, filling Jeremy in on everything that happened once she looked out the window and saw the woman crossing the grass. When she told him how the woman had disappeared into thin air, he raised a single eyebrow.
“Freaky.”
“Don’t doubt the messenger,” she told him. “I’m not unbalanced or blind. I saw a woman in a soaking wet white nightgown running toward the house, and then poof, in a flash of a second, she was gone. That simple and that quick. Instead of dreaming I’m here, this time it’s like we’re together in the flesh. You think your dreams are fucked up, I think I’ve taken the game to a new level.”
Jeremy was rubbing his forehead now and looking down at the table. His earlier jovial attitude had evaporated to be replaced by a more somber reflection. “Yeah, sister, I believe you and I believe what you saw. To tell you the truth, I’d rather not believe, because it’s too out there for somebody like me. It would be a hell of a lot easier if you were just crazy and all this was happening only inside your pretty little head. The problem is, if you’re heading toward the psychiatric ward, then unfortunately, so am I.”
*
Renee stretched, loving the way her body felt. What a fantastic night. Given all that happened with her mom and the fire, she never expected to feel so gloriously alive. Lorna was incredible, and she’d never understand how that woman in Spokane could leave her.
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