The Sugar Hill Collection

by M. L. Bullock

  “I’m okay. See who that is, please. If it’s Bray again, shoot him.”

  He gave me a rueful nod and left me alone. I pulled the blanket closer to me. What would have happened if Reed hadn’t come along? Would I have made love to Ambrose? Was that even possible? Even now I could feel the warmth of his touch lingering on my skin. He was gone, but I was aflame with desire for him. And I hated myself for it. This wasn’t supposed to happen to me. It wasn’t me he wanted…it was Summer, right? No. That wasn’t right. She renounced him, and that was how she’d gotten free of him and of the ring and the matroneship.

  But could I do that? Would I?

  “Look, Avery. Jessica’s here.”

  “Jessica? How…”

  The younger woman shrugged innocently. “You said if I was ever in the area to stop by, so here I am. Did I pick a bad time to pop in?”

  “Kind of. I mean, Reed and I were just talking.”

  “Oh.” Jessica’s disappointment was apparent, but that didn’t stop her from sitting down beside me. “I can leave if you’d like.”

  Reed put his hand on her shoulder to reassure her. “No, Jessica. We’d like you to stay. Maybe take a look at the place while you’re here. If you don’t mind.”

  That set my blood boiling. How dare Reed ask her to poke around my home? I didn’t appreciate that at all. But at the same time, I did like the girl and had indeed told her to come see me. I just hadn’t planned on it being today.

  “Jessica, you’re always welcome. Why don’t you stay with me? How long will you be in town?”

  “Not sure yet, but probably a few days, like two or three. If it’s not a huge imposition, I’d love to stay with you, Avery. At least until the network calls me back. I’m kind of on a forced hiatus.”

  “Of course it’s not an imposition. You can take the yellow room upstairs. It’s all the way to the right. Why don’t you go take your bags up and then meet us on the back porch for a glass of wine? After the day I’ve had, I could use a glass. What about you?”

  “Sounds lovely. You always know how to treat a guest, Avery. Thanks.”

  Reed flashed a quizzical look at me but didn’t speak up.

  “I’ll go put my things away now and change if you don’t mind. I’ll meet y’all on the porch in fifteen minutes.”

  We watched the girl with the haunted eyes and the long, light brown hair haul her two bags upstairs. Reed didn’t offer to help, and neither did I.

  “Why that room? You know that’s a hot spot and that she’s sensitive to paranormal activity.”

  “Yes. So?”

  “Isn’t that kind of mean?”

  “No, I don’t think so, Reed. That’s why she’s here. She wants to see some ghosts, and she’ll definitely see them in that room.” I couldn’t help but smile. I felt an undercurrent of anger wash through me but couldn’t identify the source. As Reed pointed out, putting Jessica in that room wasn’t exactly nice, but neither was her imposition here. I wanted to be alone, alone with Ambrose, not entertaining Reed and Jessica. But there was nothing I could do about it for now.

  He stared at me. “She’s your friend, Avery. If she’s here, it’s because she wants to help you.”

  “You think so?” I asked, still feeling the anger.

  “Yes, I do. What’s wrong with you? And why were you standing in the parlor half undressed? Did Bray do something to you?”

  “Him? Hell no. I could handle that twerp. No, I guess it came unbuttoned somehow. No biggie. How about finding us a good wine, and I’ll poke around the kitchen for some food?” I slid off the blanket and handed him the half empty bottle of water.

  “Um, okay. You sure you’re all right?”

  “Stop worrying. I’m fine. I just need some wine and good company. I do hope you stay tonight too,” I said flirtatiously. Reed and I had always been careful with our flirting, but in the past twenty-four hours the attraction between us had amped up markedly.

  Maybe it was time to see if there was anything between us…

  “If you think that’s wise. There could be talk.”

  I kissed him passionately, and he didn’t argue with me any further. “There always is,” I said breathlessly. “We might as well make the most of it.”

  He left for the wine, and I watched him walk away before I left for the kitchen.

  Yes, if I couldn’t have Ambrose, I could at least have Reed.

  Chapter Eleven – Jessica

  Avery certainly didn’t want me here. My friend was under the influence of an ominous spirit, and she needed my help whether she knew it or not. I wasn’t going to let her down, and I sure wasn’t going to tell her about the vision I’d had of her in the motel room. I shivered again just thinking about it. The image of her with a gaping red wound in her neck appeared unsummoned in my mind, and I shook it away. On the trip down here, I’d considered calling her to warn her about what I’d seen and perhaps also to get a sense of whether she understood the danger that hovered near her. But in the end, I had decided against it.

  I wondered now if I had made the right decision. For she surely was being influenced by a negative energy, an old negative energy, totally unrelated to anything I’d experienced at Sugar Hill. Sure, I knew about Ambrose, Chase and Susanna, but I’d not actually come face to face with any of them. Now that I was at Thorn Hill, there was no doubt that their old struggle continued and that Ambrose was determined to have a different outcome this time.

  In fact, although I had been here only a few minutes, I quickly decided that Thorn Hill was full of negative male energy. Unlike Sugar Hill, which was a mixture of light and dark, happy and sad, life and death, this place promised nothing but unhappiness. Unhappy things had occurred here, and they wanted to resurface. I wondered why Avery ever agreed to come. I didn’t have all the information about her last stay here, but I’d been around when the fire appeared on the Ramparts and the bodies were found at Sugar Hill. And whether Avery knew it or not, it was only thanks to Handsome that it all hadn’t gotten out of control.

  I must go see him soon!

  But this place, it had been mentioned only in whispers, and I remembered distinctly that Avery didn’t feel safe here during her last stay. That appeared to have changed at some point; now she looked as comfortable as she did at Sugar Hill. When I went to Sugar Hill to find her, Summer hadn’t offered much in the way of information except how to get here. I had the distinct impression that things were off, and in a bad way.

  I laid my bags on the bed and began to walk around the room. Oh yes, the place vibrated with unhappiness, and a depressive spirit clung to the bright yellow wallpaper like a layer of sticky flypaper glue. Ugh, I didn’t like this room. Someone had died here. A man. And he hadn’t expected to die. He wasn’t here now, but there was another…yes, there was another energy lurking around. I could almost see it. It was just outside the corner of my eyes, just beyond the reach of my spiritual antenna, yet I knew that it was there. That he was there. Yes, a male energy for sure.

  Maybe I could engage with it. I said bravely, “I’m not here to hurt you. I’m just here to help my friend, Avery. Are you Avery’s friend too?” I hastily turned on the digital recorder I always kept in my pocket. “I’m asking again just in case you didn’t hear me the first time. Are you Avery’s friend?” I waited a few seconds and clicked off the machine. I would have a chance to listen to it later. Recently I’d had a good amount of success with the EVPs. And this new little recorder detected sounds so soft that no human ear could ever pick them up. I wasn’t sure I had received a response, but at this point I just wanted to try to make a little peace with whoever was here. I sensed that this was not going to be an easy investigation, but I was here to uncover what lurked at Thorn Hill and to help my friend. Before it was too late.

  The image of Avery shorn and bleeding made me ill, but I focused on the task at hand. I dug through my bags and found some comfortable clothing, then slipped off into the bathroom to shower and change. Something about drivi
ng left me feeling dirty all the time. One day I would have to slow down. I’d have to go home. I needed to go home and see my parents. They’d been so patient, so supportive. Maybe my mother was right that I should go back to school. Maybe get my master’s or something. Time to do something else with my life besides chase ghosts. The way things were headed with the network, I wasn’t going to have much of a future with them. At least I’d been smart enough to squirrel away some money. If I did go back to school, I could pay for it without going into debt.

  You’ll never go back to school. You’ll never leave this place.

  “Who’s there?” I demanded angrily. Those hadn’t been my thoughts, and I didn’t appreciate the invasion of my privacy. “You can’t do that! You stay out! My mind and body are not yours to toy with!” I was so livid I struggled to breathe.

  How long had it been since I’d used an inhaler? Ten years? I focused on my breathing and counted quietly: one one-thousand, two one-thousand…until I could breathe normally again. But the threat stayed with me.

  I glanced at my plain-Jane reflection in the mirror. The change of clothing hadn’t made much difference. I brushed my hair and tied it in a ponytail. Yep, still me. No creepy ghosts there. I smiled at myself, faking a bit of confidence, and tied the corner of my oversized t-shirt into a knot. Well, at least I had on clean clothes, socks and underwear now. I gathered up my old clothes from the bathroom floor and walked into the bedroom to shove my clothing into a side pocket of one of my suitcases when I gasped.

  The clothes I had taken to the bathroom were in my hands…but everything else was missing!

  “What in the hell?” I walked to the dressers and checked each one but found nary a piece of clothing. Then I noticed an open window where a slight breeze blew in and then out again. I didn’t remember that being open before, and I sure didn’t open it. Then I spotted one of my socks, an old dirty one, lying across the window sill.

  “You have got to be kidding me!” I walked to the window, and sure enough all my clothes were lying among the rose bushes beneath it. The message was clear enough. Ambrose didn’t want me here, and he was making sure I knew that in no uncertain terms. I shoved the clothes I’d been wearing and the one sock in my overnight bag, and then headed outside. Hopefully I could find everything. I hadn’t brought much to begin with. Avery didn’t spot me, and I didn’t encounter anyone else along the way. Muttering under my breath, I stuffed everything in my bag and went back upstairs without attracting any attention at all. Surely Avery wouldn’t do something like that, would she? Definitely not Reed. He didn’t strike me as the kind of guy who went in for pranks. I decided right then and there I wasn’t going to stay in the yellow room tonight or any other night. I took my other bag and headed down the hall. I’d have to explain to Avery, but only if she asked.

  I opened the door to another room and immediately stepped back out. No way. The next door revealed only a storage space, but I had luck with my third guess.

  I walked in and stood inside. Yes, this room was quiet. Almost serene. Nothing much happening in here, I thought. And this is where I’ll stay. I didn’t bother putting anything away, just zipped up the bags and locked them. Hmm…let whatever is in this house figure out those combinations, and then I’ll be impressed.

  It won’t be hard, dummy. He’s been reading your mind.

  I headed downstairs. Yes, indeed. This was going to be an interesting investigation.

  As I walked to the back porch I made some observations about Sugar Hill’s sister house. Yes, Thorn Hill was a replica of Sugar Hill, but in so many ways they were very different places. Supernatural activity occurred at both houses and followed various members of the Dufresne family. However, where Sugar Hill was largely a place of celebration and loved by many, as evidenced by its carefully manicured gardens and the clipped azaleas that lined the driveway, Thorn Hill had a forgotten feel.

  For example, fragrant flowers surrounded Sugar Hill, including controlled vines of jasmine and clumps of camellias, but nothing wanted to bloom here except a few angry-looking roses with bright red thorns.

  At Sugar Hill, there was no broken pavement or toppled benches. In fact, one of my favorite spots at that house had been the wavy line of pristine stepping-stones that led to a nearby goldfish pond. There was nothing so whimsical here. At least not at first glance. And the statue on the second floor was not charming at all. A man with his dog. Who thought that was a good idea? How many times had Avery or her guests stepped out into the hall thinking there was a man standing there only to discover it was that weird statue? It creeped me out.

  The Dufresne family obviously considered Sugar Hill the far superior location. Thorn Hill, while not completely abandoned, had a level of decay not seen on its twin’s property. But this painting of Susanna, this was a thing of loveliness. She had such a lovely face, but I didn’t believe she’d had a happy life. How could she? Such beauty rarely brings happiness. I frowned at the portrait and squinted. There were odd symbols at the corners of the painting, and I imagined I saw a child’s face half hidden in the lower right corner. That had to be an illusion. It was what we in the paranormal world call “matrixing,” when the mind tries to establish a familiar pattern from chaos.

  I heard Avery’s voice call me from the next room, “We’re out here, Jessica.” I stepped through the room, and for some reason I waved goodbye to Susanna as I left. Did she smile at me? Man, I must be more tired than I thought. Reed and Avery weren’t in the next room, but the back door was open and I heard voices on the porch. I smelled seafood, and my stomach rumbled.

  “Hey, guys. What smells so good?”

  “Gumbo! Come sit by me. I’ve got you a bowl right here. You want some wine too?”

  “That sounds great.” After collecting my clothes from the bushes, I deserved a glass of wine. I had the sense that I’d interrupted a conversation, and I sure felt bad about it. “Avery, I hope I haven’t put you out. I suppose I could go stay at that bed and breakfast over by Sugar Hill. I didn’t intend to be in the way if y’all had plans.”

  “No one thinks that, Jess. Don’t sweat it.”

  “How long have you been living here? Do you plan to stay a while?”

  Avery laughed awkwardly. “Um, I haven’t been here long. I don’t know how long I’ll be here. Maybe I’ll go back to Atlanta. I could always get my job back with News Quarter. They’ve been harassing me for months, and they even offered me a daytime show. Can you believe that?” Candlelight flickered on the round patio table, and I reached for a linen napkin as I looked around the porch. We seemed to be sitting in the nicest spot on the porch; the backyard was ridiculously overgrown. Who’d dropped the ball on that?

  Reed said, “You aren’t the kind of person to throw in the towel, Avery.”

  I piped in, “Would you really leave Belle Fontaine? I can’t imagine your family would like that.” I saw Reed toss hot sauce into his gumbo, and I did the same. When in Rome, right?

  “I’ll do what I have to do, Reed.” So there was more to this story. What the heck had I stepped into? “But what about you, Jessica? You’re something of a television celebrity. I can’t imagine My Haunted Plantation would like you being gone during filming. Or are y’all done now? You mentioned a hiatus?”

  The wine seemed to bring Avery back to herself. Once again she was the happy, relaxed, confident woman I had met at Sugar Hill.

  “It was the Paranormal Channel’s idea. We’re under a lot of pressure to get proof of the paranormal, but I refuse to perjure myself to do so.”

  “They asked you to do that?” Reed poured Avery another glass of wine, and she thanked him by brushing his hand with her finger. Hmm…okay. I was surprised to see how much the two were into one another, considering how attached she had been to Jamie Richards not so long ago. But was that right? Reed and Avery had been sort of flirty back then too. I had to admit I was curious about the detective, but I didn’t think bringing up his name right now would be a good idea.

>   “In a roundabout way. And I felt like I needed to come by.”

  Reed’s dark eyebrows shot up, but Avery didn’t look at me.

  I liked Reed. He was kind, if a bit of a protective hothead when it came to his family, and I got good vibes from him this evening. At our last visit together, he’d been wound up tighter than a clock, but being with Avery appeared to have a calming effect on him. I totally believed that Reed liked her a great deal, maybe even loved her. The vibes I got from Avery weren’t as clear. She was a complex mass of emotions masked by a pretty face and playful laughter. Despite the good show, there were definite undercurrents of something that I could not quite put my finger on. As much as it saddened me I knew she didn’t really welcome me here and I couldn’t understand why. I finished off my bowl, grabbed a cracker and took a seat on the second step near the wooden column. They talked mostly between themselves about Avery’s legal conundrum, which I gathered amounted to a hill of beans. I felt like a third wheel or at least a forgotten kid left to entertain herself. But what did I expect after showing up unannounced?

  Time to give Avery and Reed some privacy. I’d excuse myself soon when I could discreetly do so. I continued my observation of the property and noticed the rotting wood and the tiny black beetles that had managed to burrow into the porch railing. Weeds clung to the bottom step, and the trees were too tall to let much sunlight shine on the house during the daytime hours. While the shade kept it cool, it also encouraged the decomposition of everything beneath it. Perhaps the most telling sign of all was the lack of the living. I was certainly no longtime friend of the Dufresnes and no expert on their family history, but there was no one here. This place did not even merit full-time staff. And although it was large and roomy, it seemed less grand, less hopeful than Sugar Hill.

  “Thank you for the delicious dinner. Reed, I had no idea you were such a talented cook.”

  “I can’t take the credit for this. Avery put this dinner together.”