by Lisa Coots
“No… You can't.” Serena finally understood what he was trying to say.
“What? What's going on?” Elle watched them suspiciously.
“There won't be a wedding here.” His words were firm as he stood and faced Serena.
“Have you lost your mind? What the hell happened after I left last night?” Elle looked from Evan to Serena, her brown eyes rounded with disbelief.
“You can't cancel the wedding. Claire will be devastated.” The knot in her gut told Serena she had been right to keep Richie's presence from them.
“Does Faith know about this? Faith!” Elle hollered for her sister. “Oh my god, are you two having an affair?”
“What's going on?” Faith rushed in the room bewildered, Mason and Ben right on her heels.
“Evan's not getting married.” Elle blurted.
“What?” Shocked, Faith wiped her flour covered hands on her apron waiting for an explanation.
“It wouldn't be the first wedding she derailed.” Mason's words created an awkward silence in the already tense room.
“Stop it. That was your choice. I had nothing to do with that,” Serena hissed at him.
“I am marrying Claire.” Evan raised his voice to be heard, then clarified, “Just not here.”
“No, you can't,” Faith pleaded with her brother.
“Somebody please tell me what happened? Is it the ghost?” Elle stomped the heel of her combat boot on the wood floor in frustration, then zeroed in on Mason. “And who are you? You weren't here for the party.”
“You saw a ghost? We might need to talk to you, too.” Ben tried to capture Elle's attention.
“Stay away from my sister. Both of them. Elle, let's go. I'll walk you to your car.” Nudging Elle towards the door, he glared at Ben.
“Evan… Wait. This isn't just about you. Our business... Your wedding is important. And Claire really wants this!” Faith's voice rose in desperation.
“I won't take a chance with Claire here if Richie is hanging around. Either we're all imagining this and that makes this house dangerous, or the spirit of Richie is real and he is dangerous. He hurt her.”
“But what does Claire want? Did you even talk to her about it before you came over here to bully us?” Faith's ponytail whipped back and forth with every jerk of her head.
“Wait. Richie? Isn't that the guy that died here?” Elle's voice was filled with awe.
“If it helps any, it's not really Claire he's after.” Mason spoke up again.
“What are you talking about?” Evan eyed him suspiciously.
“He's angry, but he's more focused on Serena. He thinks she pushed him down the stairs, and took the money.” Mason watched Evan's reaction carefully.
“That's not right.” Evan's expression changed from anger to horror as he turned from Mason to Serena. She saw his inner mental workings playing out on his face and knew it wasn't a far hop to suspicion.
“I'm just telling you what I felt on the stairs last night. I didn't even know his name or what happened,” Mason explained calmly.
“No.” Evan ran a hand through his hair, obviously upset.
“What exactly have you been up to here, Rena?” The question was spoken calmly but all she heard was the accusation in his voice. Again.
“This is none of your business, Mason.”
“I believe it is.”
“Can we talk about this later?” Rolling her eyes, she motioned to the now crowded room. “This was supposed to be a private conversation.”
“Well, it's over now. Come on, I think we should all go.” Evan pushed at his sisters again.
“I'm not going anywhere. I've got pies to bake. I work here, remember?” Placing her floured hands on her hips, Faith planted her feet firmly on the ground.
“Jake may have something to say about that,” Evan muttered.
“Jake's not a lunkheaded fool,” Faith replied with a snort.
“Come on, Evan.” Grabbing his arm Elle pushed him towards the foyer. After sizing Mason up one last time, Evan decided to move dragging Elle with him. Elle looked back at Faith, motioning with her spiky hair for her to follow. Ben quietly trailed behind them leaving Serena and Mason alone.
“Why are you here?” Suddenly tired, she sat in the nearest chair.
“You know why.”
“It wasn't enough that you tried to put the blame on me back then, or ruin yourself and take all of us with you?” She couldn't hide the hurt in her voice. Anger was easy, but if she let the pain out, it would cripple her.
“What? You're accusing me now? That's rich.” His defensive reply was automatic. Mason closed his eyes and sighed. Taking a seat across from her, he lowered his voice. “If you needed money so badly, I would have given you everything.”
“Do I look like I need money?” Sitting up straighter, she glared at him.
“No, and that just proves my point.”
“Is that why you're here? Because you think I took your money?” The anger sprouted new wings.
“Rena, you know why I'm here and it has nothing to do with money.”
“Yet you keep bringing it up.”
“No, you keep bringing it up. Guilty conscious?” Narrowing his eyes on her, he let out a breath. “I'm still trying to piece this together. Are you working these people?”
“Get out!” Enraged, she stood. “I've changed my mind. I don't want you here.”
“You need my help and I've already told you, I'm not leaving.”
“I don't need you. Ben and I can do this without you.”
“Ben works for me. If I go, so does he and all of the equipment.” He sat nonplussed.
A stream of angry curses erupted from her mouth. She slapped a hand over it to stop it.
“I'm not leaving.” With a smirk, he stood. Mason walked up to her, so close she could feel the heat from his body. Only touching her with his breath, he whispered in her ear. “We are bound.”
His gold eyes burned through her, then he smiled casually.
“Tell your friends to come back tonight.”
Serena watched him walk away, and fought the urge to throw something at him. Needing to work out this frustration, she headed to the big room, which she thought of as her studio. She would do what she did best. Dance. And maybe somewhere in the swirling music and emotions she would find some answers. She knew before she started the only answer she would hear was her grandmother's voice.
“Careful what you wish for, girl.”
CHAPTER 5
Mason paced the upstairs landing, his restless movements finding a loose board underfoot. The timing of the floorboard creaking became more frequent with each pass. He had made it a point to stay clear of Serena, hoping to give her some time to cool off. He needed time, too. Where she was concerned he tended to let his emotions get away from him. Between his fits of restlessness, he managed to spend some of the day going over Ben's case notes. If they were accurate, this place was a goldmine.
He suppressed that thought before it could evolve into something more. No, he wouldn't send her running again. He needed to show her he could be trusted.
A small voice reminded him that he didn't fully trust her either. Agh. Why had he accused her like that? He had baited her on purpose. The answer was simple. He needed to know the truth. The money went missing the same time she did. He didn't care about the money, but he did care about her.
“Hey, what's up?” Ben suddenly appeared in the doorway of his room.
“Nothing. Just waiting. Are they coming?” Mason stopped before his foot landed on the loose board again. Glad to have his line of thinking derailed, he turned back towards Ben.
“I think so.” Putting his hands in his pockets, Ben leaned on the door frame casually.
“Any changes?”
“Not much today.” Ben paused, regarding Mason more closely then added, “We can put this off awhile.”
“No. If they come, we'll do what we can. Faith may trigger something. It seems as though she's ex
perienced most of what's going on here. We're set up for video?”
“Of course. I have monitors set up so we can watch from my room.” Ben jerked his head towards the room he had been using. Several monitors and his laptop were already set up and waiting on the desk.
“Good. Just that room?”
“Yeah, for now. Why?”
“Has Serena spoken to you about the other one?” The unexpected experience earlier had given him cause for concern. The voice had been unusually clear and menacing.
“Not much.”
“Keep an eye out for him. He's an angry one.” Mason paused, testing the air around him. “Speaking of angry, the deputy could cause some problems.”
“He seems harmless enough. Just trying to look out for his family.” Hands still in his pockets, Ben shrugged, his blue eyes focused on Mason.
“Do you think there's something between him and Serena?”
“God, Mason. Stop. No, nothing like that. They're friends and before you start looking at me cross-eyed, remember I'm your friend.” Pushing himself from the doorframe, he stood nose to nose with Mason.
“Sorry, Ben. She makes me crazy.” Turning away, Mason gripped the railing overlooking the foyer. The protective attitude the deputy had shown towards Serena had made his blood boil.
“Maybe you should go. Get back to the office, the restaurant or take a vacation.”
“No.” After the lengthy search, the thought of leaving her made his chest hurt.
“She's here, Mace. She's not going anywhere.” Ben gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. Mason knew his friend was trying to calm him down, but his thoughts kept nagging at him.
“I can't.”
“Then you'd better chill out,” Ben warned, then lowered his voice. “Do you really think she took the money?”
“I don't know.” He honestly didn't. He wanted to believe she was innocent, but he knew his feelings for her could be blinding him to the truth.
“Well, I don't, and if you keep bringing it up you might lose her for good.”
“What about the other thing?”
“She wouldn't have done that.” The incredulous look Ben gave him made him question his own reasoning.
“Then who did? She implied it was me.”
“She left because of it.”
“Yeah, but what a cover. Set up that as a reason to leave, then run off with the money.”
“Man, you are one suspicious son of a bitch. If all she wanted was money, all she had to do was stay with you. Instead she ran. Right now, I don't blame her.” Ben turned for the stairs, but looked back over his shoulder. “Chill out, we need you level-headed.”
As Mason watched his friend descend the staircase, the heavy wooden door opened letting in a humid breeze. To his surprise the younger sister with the sassy hair and attitude walked in, not Faith.
“I'm here,” she called out unsurely.
“We're expecting Faith,” Ben informed her as he reached the foyer.
“Elle?” Serena's voice came from the parlor. “I thought you went home.”
Mason watched as Serena came forward, the sight of her so familiar his soul yearned for her.
“And miss this? Are you nuts? I'll take a sick day or something.” The little snorting noise that followed reminded him of Faith.
“We don't need an audience. In fact, it's better if there's not a lot of people here.” From Ben's curt reply, Mason knew he had annoyed him with his paranoia.
“Does Evan know you're here?” Her mention of the deputy riled him, but Mason could read the concern on Serena's face.
“I don't think so, but who cares?” Elle gave an eye roll accompanied by a jerk of her head. Definitely a family resemblance.
“The last thing we need is for him to show up angry. The last time...” Shaking her dark curls, Serena let the statement hang.
“Yeah, that was wild.” Elle nodded in agreement, looking nervously behind her at the mirror that hung in the foyer.
“Last time what? Are you afraid of him?” Ben obviously was picking up something.
“No, not him. His temper.... They feed off of it.”
The front door opened again interrupting Serena's explanation. This time Faith walked in.
“Oh, hey... Elle, I thought you left.”
“Mom didn't tell you?”
“No, I haven't seen her.”
“Let's hope she hasn't told Evan.” Serena rolled her eyes, then asked. “Any more news on the wedding?”
“No,” Faith remarked with a flip of her ponytail. “He doesn't want it here, but he's promised not to bring it up to Claire until we can find a way to clear this up.”
Mason watched curiously taking in the exchange. Serena seemed calm.
“We will, but it may take some time.”
“Let's do this.” Elle clapped her hands together, then pumped her fists into the air. “We've got to get rid of Richie and get this wedding back on track.”
“Elle... Faith never met Richie, neither have you. Faith is here about the other ghost.” Serena tried to explain.
“Oh... ok.” Elle gave a small pout, but shrugged it off. “I'm game, whatever.”
“It doesn't work that way..,” Ben started to argue.
“Let her stay.” Faith wrapped an arm around Elle's thin frame.
“Ok.” Once the decision was made, Ben was all business. “Faith, we need you upstairs in the yellow room. Sit quietly and think about the times before. Maybe if we're lucky, we can figure out a trigger.”
“Seems simple enough.” Faith started up the stairs.
When Elle tried to follow her, Ben stepped in her way. “No, she needs to be alone.”
“Well, how can I watch from down here. You can't let her go alone.”
“She won't be alone,” Mason spoke up finally. All heads turned up to where he stood on the landing.
“Oh.”
“I have monitors set up in my room. Come on.” Ben motioned for Elle to start up the stairs, then followed.
“Monitors?”
“Video equipment in case the ghost shows herself again, and so we have a record of what happens.”
“Oh.”
“I thought you were a DJ or something. Can't you say anything but 'oh'?” Ben smirked at her back.
“How about 'You're an asshole!'?” The diamond stud in her nose glinted with the jerky movement of her head, but she kept moving up the staircase.
“And you're not much of a conversationalist, are you? By the way, you stayed to see Gil, didn't you?”
“Shut up!” Elle whispered furiously, then glanced back at Ben. “How did you know?”
“It's a hormonal thing. I can usually sense changes. Last night you were eyeing him and...”
“Shut up!”
“Ok, ok. In here.” Reaching the top of the stairs he pointed to his room.
Amused, Mason watched them settle in for the show then turned back to see Serena watching him from the foot of the stairs.
“Rena, aren't you coming up?”
“I don't think that's a good idea.”
“We need you up here, and I promise to keep my distance.” He gave her a devilish grin.
“Fine.”
Faith was waiting outside the bedroom door biting her lip. “Now?”
“It's ok. Go on in. We'll be right here watching and listening. If you feel like it's too much for you, just step out of the room. You can leave at any time. Remember that.” Serena's voice was very reassuring, as she climbed the stairs gracefully.
Faith nodded one last time and went in, leaving the door open. Mason took a deep breath and waited for Serena to join him. “Let's go in, shall we?”
“Ok. Do you feel anything?” Her dark eyes bore into his, and he felt the stirring and longing.
“That's a loaded question.”
“I meant the room,” she snapped, perhaps a bit harshly.
Never taking his eyes from hers he answered, “Sadness. Traces of it almost everywhere.�
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“Guys...” Ben motioned for them to watch the monitor.
Through the monitor they could see Faith walking around the room. Stopping in front of the window, she put a hand to the glass. Touching her head to the window, she stared out for a few minutes then began to pace again. Ben watched the meters, waiting for something to move.
“I should go in there, see if I feel anything or ask questions.” Mason crossed his arms trying not to be impatient. Ben was the master of waiting and watching, he on the other hand needed to make something happen.
“No, I don't think so. She's usually alone when it happens.” Serena moved closer to the screen for a better look.
“Nothing's happening now,” Elle whispered loudly.
“Give it time.”
“She's in this house almost every day. She has a connection. It shouldn't...”
“Mace,” Ben warned.
“Sorry. I'll just go in for a minute, and tell her to ask a few questions. Is there an EVP recorder in there?”
“Here. Give her this one. It's on. Just tell her to hold still while she asks questions then wait a minute in between questions.” Ben went into automatic instruction mode as he checked to make sure the recorder was working.
“Yeah, I know,” Mason reminded him.
“Sorry, right.”
Mason took the recorder and left the room. He hated the waiting that was involved. Normally, he just felt, and got a response. As he neared the door to the front bedroom, he called out Faith's name, not wanting to scare her.
“What?” Her cautious reply came from the open door way.
Before he reached it, the door slammed shut in his face. Stunned, he stepped back. “Faith, did you do that?”
“No.”
“It's ok. They can see you.” A soft weeping sounded. “Faith?”
Before she could answer, Mason heard heavy footsteps on the stairs, moving quickly towards him. He held still waiting. A frozen breeze passed through him, stealing his breath away. The door in front of him flew open. Making eye contact with a wide eyed Faith through the opening, he tried to move forward. He felt a surge of anger, and a roaring in his head then the door slammed shut again. This time the lock clicked and the weeping grew louder. Mason reached for the door knob, and the frigid air engulfed him once again. Not being able to breathe, he fell to his knees grabbing at his chest. He thought he heard someone call his name as he slid to the floor, shivering.