by Graham West
Alex felt as if he’d been hit by a bolt of electricity. “Are you serious? You really mean that?”
“Yes!” She laughed. “Alex Keller, this is meant to be—the two of us. I really do want to marry you!”
***
Jenny’s heart thumped. She had spent the past four weeks grieving for Jake, and there were times she’d thought it would have hurt less if he’d died. At least she wouldn’t have lived the rest of her days wondering what he was doing or who was sharing his bed. But now he was back, out of the blue, with a pocketful of apologies. She wanted to hate him, but she couldn’t.
“You’ve taken all this time to decide if we had a future or not?” She wiped the tears from her eyes. “I’ve never stopped believing in you—believing in us. Never. I’ve spent every day waiting for you to call, or at least leave me a message. Then, when you didn’t, I’d get to hoping you were going to surprise me and just turn up.”
Jake looked out across the garden from the polished wooden bench dedicated to the memory of a former deacon. “I never stopped wanting you either. You have to believe that. I wanted to come back after a few days, but I just didn’t know how. Maybe it was my stupid male ego, or maybe I was worried I’d find you’d taken up with Kayla.”
“That means you don’t trust me. How are we going to make this work if there’s no trust?”
“I walked out. That kind of makes you a free agent.”
“No, it doesn’t! We were—we are—still married. I wasn’t free, Jake. So if I’d taken up with Kayla… Well, that’s still cheating, in my book.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Will you give up apologising,” she snapped. “It’s quite simple. I told you there would never be anything between me and Kayla, and you didn’t believe me. I’ve done nothing wrong, Jake. You need to get that into your head!”
“I did believe you!” he protested. “But you had feelings for her. I couldn’t handle that.”
Jenny sighed. “I know. I get why that would screw you up, but be honest, have you never been attracted to someone else since you met me?”
Jake shrugged. “I guess.”
“And what if she kissed you, and I actually caught her kissing you?”
“Okay, I get it,” Jake mumbled.
“No, you don’t. Because I’d bet on Isaac’s life you’d never have admitted it. You’d never have admitted you found her attractive! I was being honest—painfully honest. Because I thought we were solid.”
“We are!”
“No, Jake. We’re not. And if you really want to be with me, you’ve got to prove you trust me.”
Jenny could hear Francis talking in hallowed tones at the graveside. “We’d better go and join them,” she said, jumping to her feet. Jake grabbed her elbow, and she turned, trying to play it cool but wanting to fall into his arms.
“We are going to be okay, aren’t we?” he asked.
“That’s up to you,” she replied coolly. “It’s all in your hands.”
Chapter Sixty-Four
Cody Nelson quite liked being a celebrity, although he hadn’t really drawn that picture; it was them. His parents had gone easy on him these past few days, so maybe he wouldn’t have to go and see the head doctor after all. They told him Bailey had died, but he’d kind of guessed that when she visited him in his bedroom.
His mother had asked things like, “Did Bailey tell you she was dead?” which was pretty dumb. Dead people didn’t say stuff like that. They expected you to know. But then he told them that Bailey was with her brother—the lad he’d seen standing behind Nicky at the swimming pool. His name was Ronan, and he’d died of cancer when Bailey was eight.
His mum looked as if she was going to cry and made some comment about that poor woman having no luck. “Fancy losing two children,” she said. Maybe that’s why they had been so nice recently. Cody was alive, after all.
And Mr. Blakely had been extra kind, promising them a free holiday in October when the park would be opening up again, just in time for the school break. He’d have a brand-new bike by then as well. His parents hadn’t allowed him to go to the big funeral, but he didn’t mind that too much. He’d played all day on the swings and slides, and his mother took him down to the restaurant with baby Isaac where he had a burger and a special milkshake with extra ice cream.
Now, he watched as people started to drift back from the church in their suits and black ties and decided to take one more look in the forest. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea. His parents might have lightened up a bit, but they still hated it when he went missing. But one more look at the trees he’d drawn wouldn’t do any harm.
Cody hadn’t been standing in the small clearing for long before he heard voices behind him. Mr. Blakely arrived with his parents, although they didn’t look as angry as he imagined they would.
“Why have you come back here?” his mother asked.
“I just wanted to see it again,” he replied. It was the truth, although the reason baffled him too.
“We’ve told you before,” his father chided, “going off on your own is dangerous.”
Cody looked up at the trees bowing over the shallow grave where the bones had been recovered. “It’s not dangerous here anymore.” He looked up at Mr. Blakely—the man who had promised him a free holiday. “It’s safe here now,” he said, proud of the part he’d played. “They’ve gone. Every one of them. They’ve all gone.”
***
Jake had reserved the best table in The Mosswood Hotel restaurant while Jenny had packed her case, leaving it behind the desk in reception. It felt good to be back with the family again. Sebastian looked at ease and seemed relieved to see Jake. He may have been a little frailer since the beating three years ago but his eyes still shone. “The old house may be crumbling,” he once told Jenny, “but all the lights are still on.”
Danni seemed to have settled in as part of the family, and if Josie’s instincts were right, Kayla was showing an interest in Suzie, one of the bar staff at The Keys. Jenny tried to dismiss the seed of jealousy she felt, knowing beyond any doubt that her future was with Jake. He had caused her more pain than her half-sister ever could, and the past few weeks without him would be etched in her memory for ever.
Darren thawed as the evening wore, on and by the time dessert was served, he was joking with Jake as if nothing had happened. It was only weeks since the last family meal, but it felt like years. Kayla occasionally glanced at her phone, waiting for a message, while Sebastian was deep in conversation with her father regarding a book he’d read about the fourteenth-century witch hunts—a conversation Danni overheard.
“What I don’t understand,” she said, looking directly at the old professor, “is if these twelve women were innocent, why was that place so damned scary? I mean, what was with the fire? That young lad died, didn’t he?”
Sebastian smiled, clearly delighted at having been challenged by someone who probably reminded him of a student he’d taught. “I think I covered this very question in my article about Amelia,” he said, presuming Danni knew the story. “Jenny stabbed her own father and put herself in danger too. One could be forgiven for thinking Amelia was indeed a malicious spirit, intent on causing harm. But it is well documented that those who suffer gross injustice or untimely deaths don’t rest in peace. They are vexed, particularly when they have been denied a dignified burial.”
Danni nodded. “I get that, but that boy died. That seems kind of mean.”
Sebastian nodded, considering his response before he gave it. “I have read of cases in which the spirits sense wickedness or some ill will in people, and those people can sometimes fall foul.”
“But what had that lad done? Didn’t he serve in the army or something?”
Blakely was walking the floor and overheard the conversation. He stopped and moved closer. “I can answer that. Liam Garret killed his sister’s tutor—and got away with it.”
Everyone on the table looked up.
“He did what?” Josie
said.
“It’s a long story, but he wasn’t innocent. Thankfully, Liam’s mother has confessed everything to the police, so at least the family will know the truth.”
Sebastian smiled. “Does that answer your question, Danni?”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” Darren butted in. “She usually likes to have the last word.”
“No, I don’t,” Danni protested. “I just don’t understand all this spirit stuff. That forest freaked me out. I’m sorry I got so wound up on that bone hunt thing, but—”
“That’s because you were pissed off at seeing your ex with his new girl,” Darren muttered. “You were giving her daggers all day!”
“No, I wasn’t!”
“You so were!”
“Cut it out, you two,” Josie warned, fearing their spat was going to erupt into something more than a bit of after-dinner banter.
Jenny wondered if maybe Danni hadn’t liked losing control of her ex’s heart. If that was the case, then Darren might be in for a rough ride, but right now there were other things on her mind. They were all heading home tonight; she would be walking back through the cottage door with her man and their little boy. They would pick up the dogs from the kennels first thing in the morning, and everything would be back to normal. Jake had made such a fuss of Isaac when they’d got back to the hotel, but she couldn’t help wondering if his insecurities might resurface once they were alone. Would the arguments begin? Could he really deal with Kayla?
There was something else. They would not be coming back to Mosswood for at least another year, and leaving was going to be harder than she’d ever imagined. It should have been so easy; after all, she’d woken each morning believing her marriage was at an end, and she’d struggled to keep Isaac entertained throughout the day while longing for a message from Jake. This place should never have held a place in her heart. Yet during that time, she had been living in the same house and walking through the same grounds Amelia had all those years ago, and it was beginning to feel like home.
As the rest of the family made their way over to the cars, Jenny held back. “I just need to do something,” she told Jake.
“Sure. What is it?”
“I want to see the attic.”
Jake frowned. “Why? It’s dark.”
“I know it’s dark. And I don’t know why. I just have to go.”
They stood in the entrance of the hotel, watching the others heading off into the rain. “You want me to come with you?”
Jenny shook her head. “No. I need to go alone.”
The tears stung her eyes as she made her way through the reception, baffled as to what was drawing her. The steep, narrow stairway leading to the attic presented the final hurdle before she found herself standing at the old wooden door. Jenny paused before turning the handle and gently pushing it open.
The room was lit only by the moon; the lifelike figure of Amelia sat by the window, gazing down at an old diary which lay open on the wooden desk. Jenny stood for a moment; it felt like a dream, but this was real. On the other side of the desk was another chair, the one Sarah Bell would have used during her daily visits. Jenny crept over and sat down.
Her whole body ached, and she wasn’t sure why. Sure, it had been a long day, but all the days at Mosswood seemed long. So why did she suddenly feel so weary? Jenny rested her head on her arms as the past years came flooding back—from the moment she saw the ambulance outside the house, the neighbours standing in the road around the ice cream van and the black four-wheel drive. Her heart had stopped. An accident? In their road? But then she’d walked in to see her father with that policewoman and the world turned black.
It had been a struggle to cope with losing her mother and baby sister, but the road she’d chosen led her here. Jenny knew it would not be possible to stay much longer. Just a couple more minutes…
She felt a hand resting gently on hers and shot upright with a shriek.
Amelia looked at her, a gentle smile forming slowly upon her lips. This was a dream; it had to be.
“You—you’re not—you’re not real!”
Amelia shook her head. “My precious child. Why do you doubt me? I have waited so long for this moment.”
This time, Jenny wasn’t hearing the words in her head. They fell like honey from Amelia’s lips.
“Oh my god!” she spluttered. “I can hear you! I mean, really hear you!” She clasped Amelia’s arm. “And you’re warm. You feel warm.”
Amelia’s eyes filled with compassion. “You have done well, my child. You have listened to me.”
“And you saved my life in that forest,” Jenny recalled. “And when Caden Reece was going to—”
Amelia squeezed her hand. “Please, do not weep. I do not have long.”
“Not long? What do you mean?”
“My father and I are at peace. We must move on.”
“Won’t I see you again?”
Amelia shook her head.
“Not even in my dreams?”
“Oh, you may dream of me. But it will be nothing more than that. A dream.”
Jenny felt as if someone had torn her heart from her chest. “But can’t you stay? Can’t you stay here? Like this?”
“I do not possess the energy,” Amelia replied tenderly. “But I brought you here to say goodbye. You must live your life now. Your destiny is in your own hands.”
Jenny wondered how she could have ever been so fearful of Amelia, even in those early dreams when she’d appeared in a body decayed by time. “You are so beautiful,” she whispered.
“Because I have escaped the body with all its ills and appear to you as I am in spirit: contented.” Their eyes locked for a moment, and Amelia smiled tenderly. “Goodbye, sweet Jennifer. Goodbye, Jennifer Root.”
Jenny’s eyes burned as the tears streamed. She closed them for only what seemed like seconds. “Please. Just stay a few moments longer. Please?”
But when she opened them, Amelia had gone, leaving the motionless figure who stared out from lifeless eyes. Jenny cried out, grasping the figure’s hand, praying that some of the warmth she’d felt was still there. But Amelia was cold; a doll. Nothing but a silicone model. Jenny sprang to her feet, her heart thumping manically as she fled the room and raced down the stairs.
Jake was waiting for her by the hotel door. “Hey, baby. What’s up?”
Jenny fell into his arms. “Amelia’s gone!” she sobbed. “It’s over!”
“What? What’s over?”
“Just hold me. Please, just hold me.”
Jake drew her into his arms and kissed her head. “Whatever it is, I’m going to look after you,” he whispered. “We’re going to look after each other. We’re a team. All three of us.”
Jenny wasn’t sure how long they stood in the hotel doorway. It could have been seconds, it could have been minutes before Jake whispered in her ear, “Are you ready, babe?”
She nodded, drying her tears as he picked up the suitcase and grabbed her hand. When they reached the car park, she found her father standing with Kayla and Josie. Danni and Darren were in the back with Sebastian. Kayla walked up to meet them.
“Jake?” she said, looking nervously from one to the other. “May I come home with you in your car? It’s a bit of an illegal squash in there, and besides, I think we’ve got some bridges to build.”
To Jenny’s surprise, Jake agreed without any hesitation.
Her father glanced at Josie and grinned; everything was turning out just fine. “Are we all okay, then?” he questioned, looking at his two daughters.
Jenny nodded. “I will be,” she replied, climbing behind the wheel and glancing into the rear-view mirror; Isaac was fast asleep with the faintest of smiles on his face. Daddy was back. Maybe that was it.
“No one left anything? Phones, pads and pods all here?” her father called.
No one had forgotten anything at all.
“Okay, folks,” he said, firing up the engine. “Let’s go home!”
As her fa
ther pulled away, Jenny turned to take one last look at the house, glancing up at the attic window where the motionless figure of a young girl sat. She could no longer see that bloodstained gown or the loose, unkempt hair, those slender fingers or those captivating eyes. Nor did she see the single tear that slowly formed and trickled down Amelia’s flawless face.
THE END
Coming Soon
Peter Pattison and the Prophet’s Pen
(A tale for children)
Peter Pattison is a very ordinary boy…or so he thinks. But his life is turned around when he finds himself in contact with the people of Perulius, a planet almost identical to Earth.
Why are they here? What do they want? Peter and his best friend, Hatty Wiggins, are about to start an adventure that will change their lives forever.
About the Author
Graham West studied art at Hugh Baird College in Bootle, Merseyside, before joining the display team at Blacklers Store in Liverpool city centre where he spent seven years in the art department before moving on in 1981 to become a sign writer. He lives in Maghull with his wife, Ann, and has a daughter, Lindsay, and two grandchildren, Sonny and Kasper. Graham also plays guitar at weddings, functions and restaurants. He took up writing in 2000 and has had a couple of factual articles published in magazines as well as his fictional work including the thrilling trilogy, Beyond the Dark Waters.
Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/graham.west.792
Website: www.grahamwestauthor.co.uk
By the Author
Finding Amelia (Book One)
A Rising Evil (Book Two)
Mosswood (Book Three)
Beyond the Dark Waters Trilogy
Beaten Track Publishing
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