Southern Spirits (The Southern Series Book 3)

by Shelley Stringer

  “And the fact that your father brought you here when you were a child…to that very house. The picture on the fireplace, remember?”

  I experienced chills up my arms, like I’d never experienced before. I was frightened beyond belief, and I had no idea why.

  “Don’t let this upset you. I just wanted you to know. We’ll do some more digging, and we’ll unravel everything. Are you okay?”

  I nodded. “Except there’s something else which might shed some more light on all of this. I need to talk to my Dad’s lawyer back home. Did Everett tell you about the symbol?”

  Banton shook his head. “What symbol, Andie?”

  “There was a symbol on my parent’s headstone. I saw it in the pictures Laurilee took for me. When I got them, Everett saw the pictures and he recognized the symbol, but he couldn’t place where he’d seen it. Then the other day at my baby shower his mother was wearing an antique piece of jewelry Everett’s father gave her a long time ago. It was the same symbol. Everett asked her about it, and she told him it was a symbol worn by Sange-Mele back as far as the revolutionary war. She called it the symbol of ‘The Protectors.’ They formed an alliance and many wore the symbol to identify themselves to each other, since they couldn’t sense the gene like the Aldon could. They fought the Orcos on an organized level for years, sort of a vigilante force. Then they fizzled out after the Civil War. Everett’s father fought as one of them for a time, fighting the hordes of Orcos in N’awlins at the time. He was bitten so much he finally fully transformed.”

  Banton listened, seeming enthralled.

  “All of a sudden, I feel like a little genealogy lesson. Where should we start?”

  “I think we should start in the unpacked boxes in the dining room,” I replied as he nodded.

  I couldn’t wait to get home.

  * * *

  “Chandler, there’s a lot more here than I realized,” Banton commented, opening another box. It looked like a photo shop had exploded, family albums and boxes of records scattered about.

  The babies’ cries from upstairs brought me back to the present. I’d been pouring over old black and white family photos, hoping to find a picture of my grandmother with her first husband.

  “I’ll get them. I need to stretch my legs,” I touched Banton’s shoulder as I rose to run upstairs. I entered the nursery to find Matty and Elly both clutching the ends of their cribs, teetering on their little chubby legs as they waited on me to pick them up.

  “Moooommy!” Matty wailed. I picked him up first.

  “Little man, what’s the matter? Did you wake up in a bad mood?’ He looked around the room as I picked Elly up. I realized they were confused, they were still sound asleep when we’d brought them in the house and placed them in their beds.

  “We’re home, babies. We’re home now. Let’s get you both a bottle. I bet you’re hungry,” I cooed to them as I descended the staircase. I could hear the microwave running in the kitchen. As I walked down the hallway, I spied Banton in the kitchen preparing their bottles for me.

  “I figured they would be hungry,” he answered my raised eyebrow as I handed Matty to him.

  “Hey, big guy! Are you that hungry? We’re gonna have to start you on some red meat soon, buddy!” Banton exclaimed as he kissed Matty on the corner of the mouth.

  “Daddy,” Matty said tearfully.

  “Yeah, Daddy’s gonna feed you. Just hang on,” Banton soothed him, retrieving their bottles from the microwave. He handed Elly’s to me, and followed me down the hallway to the dining room. We pulled chairs out from the table, and sat down so we could continue to look through the files and picture albums as we fed them.

  As I continued to flip through the albums, a sort of sadness descended. I hadn’t looked at most of these pictures since my parents had been killed.

  “Sweetheart, I can feel you. This is making you sad,” he murmured, placing a kiss on Matty’s forehead.

  “No, I need to do this. It’s just one of those firsts…life is full of them.”

  “Well, I think this album must be the East Texas/Arkansas bunch,” Banton teased. He turned it to face me. I giggled as I looked at the obviously 1930’s depression – era black and white pictures of shabbily dressed relatives, standing in front of dog-trot cabins, some of them missing teeth.

  “Any of these your Uncle Earl?” he teased. Matty threw his bottle in the floor and pushed against Banton’s chest, wanting to get down. Banton chuckled and kissed Matty once more before he sat him down on the rug. Beau was at Matty’s side immediately, licking him in the face and making him giggle.

  Banton started to pull the album back toward him when I exclaimed, “Wait!”

  “What is it, Andie?”

  “There! That man, he looks like my dad. He’s holding a baby,” I said. I pulled the album closer.

  Banton stood and walked around to look at the picture over my shoulder. “The man standing next to him looks a bit like Everett…there’s something about him,” he murmured. I pulled the plastic away and peeled the picture off the ancient cardboard.

  “Elan Lee and Jack Everett Samuels with baby Robert, May 1920,” I whispered, reading the back of the photograph. I looked up at Banton in surprise.

  “What is it, Andie?”

  “That’s not possible. My dad wasn’t that old. My grandmother wasn’t even that old!”

  “Are you sure? Is it possible he was bitten…that your grandmother was Sange-Mele, and was older than you thought?” he reasoned. “I think this picture is what you’ve been looking for,” Banton replied, placing his lips in my hair. He sat down in the floor at my feet, picked Matty up, and placed him in his lap.

  “How could I not have known about this? Why didn’t my father ever talk about his real dad? Banton, this means I inherited the gene from both my parents…” I trailed off as I shook my head.

  “What, baby?” he rubbed my leg as he looked up into my eyes.

  “My dad had been bitten. He’d transformed, he knew about all of this.”

  “Maybe your Dad’s friend, the lawyer who handled everything for you…maybe he could tell you something.”

  I stood and handed Elly down to Banton, and then crossed hurriedly into the entry hall to retrieve my cell and Mr. Thomas’ card from my purse. As I dialed the number, keys jingled in the front door and it swung open. Everett stood, grinning at me as he closed the door behind. I felt warm all over as I looked at him, knowing we were blood-related. His eyes immediately questioned me, feeling my emotions.

  “Hey Everett, come and see this,” Banton called out from the dining room floor.

  I turned back to concentrate on the cell.

  “Tyler Thomas,” a voice answered on the third ring.

  “Mr. Thomas, this is Chandler Gastaneau, Rob and Kelly Collins’ daughter.”

  “Oh, hello Chandler! How are you?”

  “I’m fine, Mr. Thomas. I’m sorry to bother you, but I’ve been going through some of my mother’s things. I came across some family photographs and I have some questions about my daddy’s past. Laurilee took photographs for me of the headstone on my parent’s grave after they set the stone. The headstone you picked was beautiful, by the way. Thank you for taking care of it when I couldn’t make decisions.”

  “You are quite welcome. I had a feeling you might be calling me,” he replied, his voice sounding strange.

  “You did?”

  “Yes. Your father told me if anything happened to them, to follow his instructions for the funeral, your trust fund, and selling the house. There is a file, however, that he told me to hold for you, until you called me with questions about his past. He instructed me to mail it to you.”

  “What is in it, Mr. Thomas?”

  “I’m not completely sure, he told me to keep it sealed. But I have an idea,” he replied.

  “What did you know about my father? Do you know anything about his past before I was born?”

  Banton and Everett were standing in the doorway listening to
me.

  “Yes, Chandler. We were best friends.”

  “What kind of job did he have that was dangerous?”

  “It wasn’t a job of sorts, Chandler, but a group of us. Rob and I were hunting buddies, for lack of a better term. We did some vigilante stuff, on our own, during the late sixties. There was some trouble around North Texas for a time, and we…”

  “You and Daddy were Sange-Mele, you were half-breeds,” I whispered as total silence descended on the other end of the line. After several minutes, he cleared his throat.

  “What do you know about it, Chandler?”

  “Much more than I want to. But you have just confirmed much of what I needed to know. Was my father ever bitten?”

  “Yes. We both were.”

  I took a deep breath, feeling a connection to him and to my daddy like I’d never felt before.

  “Chandler, are you involved in something?” he asked, his concern evident.

  “Yes.”

  “Mr. Thomas, the symbols on the headstone…the ones with the makeshift star. Why did you put that on the headstone?”

  “That symbol was a source of pride for your father. You’ll find something in the packet which will shed some light on all of this. It’s in the packet that I will send you. I thought the symbol of the protectors was appropriate to put on the stone…in hindsight, maybe I should have buried it with him.”

  “Why?”

  “Chandler, just be careful. I don’t want something to happen to you too. Your family seems to draw trouble. You have a powerful gift, and it is a threat to many in that world. Don’t make the same mistakes your father did. He tried to shelter you,” he cautioned.

  My heart pounded, a sick feeling washing over me. I whirled and looked into Banton’s concerned face.

  “Mr. Thomas, are you saying…are you trying to tell me the accident…that my parents were murdered?” I whispered as I held my breath.

  “I can’t prove it, but I have my suspicions. Chandler, your father told me he’d stumbled across some evidence of a lot of activity, things we hadn’t seen in some time. He called me from Colorado, and said as soon as he and your mother checked on you, they were heading to Baton Rouge. I don’t know what he was looking for, but he said he needed to connect with his past.”

  My mind whirled. My father had been involved in all of this, for how long I had no idea. I looked up again at Banton.

  “Please send me the packet, Mr. Thomas. Can I call you, if I have any other questions?’

  “Please do, Chandler. I’ll tell you what I can, but be careful.”

  “Believe me, I will. Thank you,” I whispered.

  I switched my phone off and turned to Banton and Everett.

  “Bebe, are you all right?”

  “Yes. Banton, show Everett the picture.”

  Everett turned as Banton picked the picture up off of the dining room table and handed it to Everett. Everett’s eyes immediately began to darken and sparkle. His eyes shot up at me.

  “This is my father!”

  “And my grandfather holding my daddy,” I whispered.

  He peered more closely at the picture. “Bless my soul…all this time…we’re family.” He shook his head, and then looked up at me with tears in his eyes, sparkling a deep beautiful turquoise.

  I could feel mine doing the same. I crossed the room to him, and he folded me in his arms.

  “I think I knew all along. We’ve always had this intense love…this connection,” he murmured as his breath blew into my hair. He pulled back and gazed down at me.

  “Chandler, what was that about your parents?” Banton asked.

  I pulled away from Everett and looked down at Elly. She was pulling on my leg as she pulled up from the floor. I reached down and picked her up, wincing at my ribs as I stood.

  “Chandler, don’t pick them up, let me do it,” Banton scolded, following me over to the chairs by the fireplace. I sat down in the chair and placed Ellyson on my lap. Everett sat down in the other chair with Matty.

  “Chandler?” Banton asked again softly, sitting down on the arm of my chair.

  “Mr. Thomas thinks Daddy was involved with something. He and Mr. Thomas were both Sange-Mele and fought Orcos for a time,” I said. Everett’s eyes widened. “Daddy called him from Colorado and told him something was going on. They were on their way home to check on me, and then they were headed here, to Baton Rouge. He told him he needed to re-connect with his past. I think he might have been coming to see you,” I whispered to Everett as Banton leaned down to place a kiss in my hair. “Mr. Thomas thinks they were murdered. The wreck wasn’t an accident.”

  The tears spilled. There was something about knowing it wasn’t an accident after all, but Orcos had murdered my parents.

  “Chandler, come here,” Banton murmured. He enveloped me in his arms.

  “This is all quite extraordinary,” Everett exclaimed as he shook his head. “It’s a lot to take in, sweet Bebe.”

  “I’m anxious to see what is in the packet Mr. Thomas has been holding for me. He’s mailing it to me,” I murmured. I glanced back down at the picture.

  “Well, whatever it is, I hope it will put some of this to rest for you, darlin’. I know this has been unsettling for you, but I’m overjoyed to know we are related by blood. I can’t wait to tell my mother,” Everett said, his eyes sparkling. “Is that okay with you?’

  “Of course, Ev.

  He rose and handed Matty to Banton, then leaned over and placed a kiss on my forehead.

  “I love you, my dear, sweet girl. I think I’ve always known our bond was more than friendship. I have much to talk to my mother and grandmother about. Right now, I’m on my way down to check the store, and then I’m headed back to Claudia’s. I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said, walking to the foyer.

  “Goodnight, Ev,” Banton called, rising to close the front door.

  I sighed and leaned my head back against Banton’s body.

  “Why don’t I fix us a bite to eat, and then we’ll go upstairs and give the babies their bath. It’s been a long day and you need to rest,” he suggested.

  I rose with Elly as Banton quickly came around me and took her. “Let me carry them upstairs, then you can watch them in the bath while I fix something for us.”

  I followed him up the stairs, and then started the bathwater running. After he had both of them splashing in the tub, he helped me down into the floor beside them, and then ran back down the staircase. I giggled, watching the babies splashing one another. They squealed at Beau as he ran around me, first licking Matty, then back to Elly. I piled their toys in with them, battling to wash their hair as they tumbled and played in the water.

  “Maaaaty!” Elly yelled at Matty when he splashed Beau.

  “Are you yelling at your brother? Ellyson Marie, you’d better get used to that. You’ll probably have to yell at him a lot.” He splashed water on all of us.

  “Ewwwwy!” Matty called back at her.

  “Banton! Did you hear him?” I yelled down the staircase.

  Banton came breathlessly around the corner. “I sure did. Hey, buddy; you’re just full of firsts, aren’t you? You said your sister’s name,” he said, sinking down in the floor next to me.

  “Cold cuts and cheese okay with you?” Banton asked, placing a kiss on my shoulder. “I brought everything upstairs on a tray.”

  “Perfect. I’m not hungry anyway. I’m fighting the nausea today.” I took a deep breath.

  “I noticed. I’m sorry.” He rinsed Elly’s hair. Beau gave up trying to get to the babies, with Banton and me both in front of the tub, so he retreated to the bedroom to lie on the rug.

  “What are you sorry for?” I asked. I took the pitcher from him to rinse Matty’s hair.

  “I guess for knockin’ you up again, baby,” he grinned, leaning over to kiss me. “No, I’m just sorry you don’t feel well.”

  “I’ll take this nausea over all the stuff last time any day, especially if it means it’s a healt
hier pregnancy.”

  “Oh, that reminds me. I brought your medicine upstairs with me. We have to start your shots tonight.”

  “Hmm. I guess we do.”

  I tried to lift Matty from the water.

  “I said don’t lift them,” Banton scolded. He reached over and took him from me. Playfully rolling him up in a towel in the floor, he then reached to get Elly. Matty grunted, fighting to get out of the towel. Then he was off, crawling as fast as he could across the tile floor into the bedroom.

  “Banton, catch him!” I called. I dried Elly off.

  Beau barked, and then growled low in his chest.

  “Whoa, Beau…good dog,” Banton gasped as I grabbed Elly up and stood.

  “What happened?’

  Banton knelt in the floor holding on to Matty. Beau stood in the doorway, blocking it, his head down.

  Banton looked up at me with an incredulous look. “Matty was making a break for the doorway, straight for the staircase. Beau just blocked his way and growled at him to keep him here. Good boy, Beau! Good boy,” he repeated, patting Beau’s head.

  “Banton, we’ve got to get a baby safety gate up at the top and the bottom of the staircase. Matty’s gotten so fast at crawling,” I said worriedly.

  “Yeah, I know. I’ll do it tomorrow,” he said, kissing Matty on the head. He picked Matty up and carried him over to the bed to help me dress them. After we had their little footed pajamas on them, Banton left the room and then came back moments later with their pack-n-play.

  “I thought we could put them in here and let them play until they get sleepy.”

  After I’d showered, I donned one of my silk nightgowns, and then flipped the bathroom light off. Banton lay on top of the covers in a pair of his boxer-briefs, watching the babies playing at the foot of the bed.

  He rose and collected the syringes and bottles from the dresser.

  “Ready for your shots?’ he asked. I sat down on the bed.

  “Yes, I guess.”

  “Here, lay back. Do you want to start in your legs or your hip?”