Spirits In the Trees

by Morgan Hannah MacDonald

  He stared back. “What are you trying to tell me, Maddy? Kitchen drawers don’t have a mind of their own.”

  “Well, this one does!”

  “Now calm down, there must be an explanation.”

  “Sorry, I’m just frustrated. This house hates me.”

  He leaned over, stroked her back. Quietly now, “Maddy, think about what you’re saying. A house is an inanimate object, it doesn’t have feelings. Besides, if it did, this house would love you for fixing the old thing up,” he said with a grin.

  She looked at him incredulously. Why didn’t he believe her? “Doug, you’ve got to admit there have been some strange things happening since I’ve been here.”

  “Yes, but everything has an explanation. Some can be attributed to kids having fun on an otherwise boring summer night and others to a house that may have settled a little lopsided. We are on the water, that’s not uncommon.”

  “Not everything,” she said, quietly.

  “What do you mean?”

  He ate while she filled him in on the stained glass window, and the shadow she saw from the shower. She even told him about the cupboards and drawers opening and closing on their own. When she was finished he had stopped eating.

  “I thought I must be imagining things, but now I’m not so sure. There are just too many of them to ignore,” she said, frustrated.

  “You know, you have been under a lot of stress. This is a big project you’re taking on, especially for a rather recent widow. Maybe it’s too soon for you to be dealing with so much.”

  “No, Doug, now is the perfect time. I need to keep busy. You have no idea how this project has helped me take my mind off my problems. I’m no longer consumed 24/7 with the loss of my family, or reliving that night. I’m not making this up. Something is going on in this house, it’s not my imagination.

  “Look at my hand!” She held it up in the air, her fingers already turning purple. “Do you really think I would do something like that to myself?” she asked in amazement.

  She pushed her plate away, no longer hungry.

  “I don’t know what to say. Are you suggesting that there is, I don’t know, some kind of otherworldly forces at work here?”

  “Your friend Shelly did say the place was haunted. Maybe she’s right.”

  He jumped to his feet. “Quit calling her my friend. She’s just a kid with an overactive imagination.”

  She followed suit, jammed her fisted hands on her hips. “She may be that, but in this case, she might also be right!” Then quieter “Or do you really think I’m crazy?”

  He placed his hands on her shoulders. “No, I don’t think you’re crazy,” he said softly. “I’m sorry. I’m just having a little trouble here accepting this. I don’t believe in ghosts.”

  “Yeah, well, neither did I before I came here.” She blew up her bangs to get them out of her eyes so he could see her glare at him better.

  * * *

  Doug couldn’t talk anymore. He was too busy staring down at her mouth, she was chewing her bottom lip and it was driving him crazy. Her big green eyes were looking up at him for answers, but at the moment he didn’t have any.

  At least none that he could share with her.

  I know, why don’t I just lift you up on this table and boff your brains out, then neither one of us will care if this house is haunted or not.

  No, probably not the answer she was looking for.

  But damn, whenever he was in such close proximity to her his IQ dropped about a hundred points and landed right in the front of his pants. The same pants that were growing tighter by the second. No, wrong wording, it’s not the pants that were growing and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it at the moment without drawing her attention to it.

  “Oh, Hell.” It came out like a growl. He placed his hands on either side of her head, leaned down and claimed her mouth with his. Her lips were warm, she smelled fresh like orange blossoms. The kiss was tentative at first, then she opened her mouth and that was all the invitation he needed.

  He opened his mouth wider, put one hand behind her head while the other reached around to pull her close. A groan escaped him, he couldn’t help it. He’d been dreaming of doing this and a hell of a lot more since he’d first laid eyes on her.

  Just when he thought he couldn’t get any harder, her hands reached up and gripped him by the hair. That sent him over the edge, not that there was far for him to go. He lifted her up and she wrapped her long sexy legs around his waist without breaking lip contact.

  God he loved the size of her. She was probably 5’ 7” or 8”.True she could definitely gain a few pounds, but he didn’t have to worry about goring himself on her hip bones.

  That also meant she wasn’t one of those wimpy women you had to worry about breaking. No, he could hold her tight, in fact, come to think of it, that’s what he was doing right now. There was no way she couldn’t feel him trying to bust through his pants to get at her, or in her was probably a more accurate term.

  He turned them around, walked two steps to reach the table. And just as he set her very fine derrière down…Ding Dong. Grudgingly he ended the kiss. “Just ignore it.” He mumbled before his lips found hers again, his hands reached up under her sweater.

  “Knock, knock, anybody home?”

  “Shit, it’s Lanny. He’s early!” She released his body from the tight grip of her legs. He stepped back, instantly mourning the loss of warmth from her body. He glanced down, tugged hard on the front of his exceedingly-tight-right-now fitting jeans. They were both breathing hard.

  When he looked back up he noticed she was pulling her sweater down over those incredibly firm breasts. What a shame he hadn’t had a chance to taste one of those bad boys yet. He leaned down, took one of her tight nipples into his mouth and did just that.

  “Hello, Doug! Maddy!”

  She slapped his head and laughed. “Stop it, he’s coming this way.”

  He grunted, pulled his head back as damn they disappeared under that sweater again. Sure enough the kitchen door swung open, there was Lanny standing there looking at them.

  “Hope you don’t mind, the door was open and I’m short handed today. Angie never showed, so I’ve got to get back to the store.”

  If he noticed anything going on between them, he didn’t let on. So Doug put his hands in his pockets and walked toward him. “Sure, let me help you unload the truck so you can be on your way.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Water sloshed the sides of the tub while Maddy slid under the bubbles. Lounging in a bath was a luxury she hadn’t allowed herself in a very long time. Head back, eyes closed, she felt her tight muscles begin to uncoil.

  What a day. She’d narrowly escaped being a one night stand, or one day stand as it were. After her near miss at being caught fornicating on the kitchen table with the resident stud muffin, she had kept as far away from him as possible for the remainder of the day. All he had to do was kiss her and she was ready to drop her drawers. Talk about easy!

  He must have already had his way with the eligible women on the island. That would explain why he was jumping her bones. And she meant that literally. Or maybe it was because he knew she would be leaving soon. No sticky situation with a woman who wanted more than he was willing to give.

  He had left around nine p.m., after finishing the last window. He had to report to the firehouse tomorrow and wouldn’t be back for another four days.

  That was good. It would give her enough time to cool off. Enough time to get her priorities straight, and her hormones in check. After all, it had been a long time since she had been with a man and he was hard to resist.

  She had to admit she would miss him, though. Was she falling for him? No, she wouldn’t allow it. She would be leaving soon and she didn’t want to take a broken heart with her.

  But now she would be forced to be in this house alone for four long days and nights. Sure he had offered for her to stay at his house. She didn’t dare, even if it was only for
one night. She knew where that would lead. No, she would rather take her chances with the ghosts. Talk about the lesser of two evils!

  When she had spoken to her grandmother earlier, she learned of Aunt Madeline’s steady decline. The antibiotics the doctor had given her were not working, so he put her on some stronger ones.

  Her grandmother was worried that her sister might need to go into the hospital. Maddy had offered to return home right away, but her grandmother wouldn’t have it. Now she felt pressured to finish here as quickly as possible so she could be by her side.

  She had purchased some large garbage bags and thought she might start by packing up the clothes for the Goodwill tomorrow. After that she would be able to focus on the bigger jobs like stripping the peeling wallpaper and painting the walls.

  Now with the time crunch, she tried to think of ways to hurry things up. Maybe she could hire some people from the mainland to come out here and clean up the yard, paint the outside of the house? Money wasn’t the issue at this point.

  Her thought process was interrupted when a chill swept across her face. Her eyes shot open. The candles she’d placed around the room were dancing as if there were a breeze, yet it was still.

  The old woman appeared standing over her. Her face set in that permanent scowl as if she’d just sucked on a lemon. Maddy opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Paralyzed with fear, she couldn’t move. Then the old woman pivoted and disappeared through the closed door.

  Maddy wrapped her arms around her knees and held on tight while she stared at the door. When she woke from her fugue state, she realized the candles had stopped flickering and she was sitting in cold water. Carefully she stepped out of the tub and wrapped a towel around her. She turned on the bathroom light and the bulb exploded. With a yelp she ran into the bedroom.

  Where’s the damn light! Frantically, her hand swept the wall until it found the switch. As the room flooded with light, her eyes cautiously scanned each corner. Nothing. The woman was gone. Collapsing on the side of the bed, she let the bright room calm her.

  By the time she remembered to towel herself off, she was nearly dry. After she slipped on Bob’s tee shirt, she stared into the gloom of the bathroom. She didn’t want to go back in, but she had to blow out the candles.

  She chewed on her lip while she tried to build up the courage. Ready, she jumped up, raced into the bathroom, blew out the candles, grabbed the handle and slammed the door.

  She returned to the bed and stared at the closed door for a long time. Finally she grabbed her bag off the floor and dug around the bottom for her book. She needed something to get her mind off things. Would she really be able to sleep tonight?

  Book in hand, she pushed up the window a couple of inches, then jumped under the covers.

  The alarm company couldn’t fit her into their schedule until tomorrow. She found herself ambivalent. After all, if the alarm were set, would she still be able to sleep with her window open? Then of course there was the more obvious question. What good would an alarm do if her prowlers were ghosts?

  Sinking down on the pillows, she began to relax. She drank in the cool sea air, letting it envelop her. She had no idea how long she’d read before she did in fact fall asleep. When she awoke she found the light on and the book open on her chest. She closed the book and shut off the light.

  Just as she was about to drift off again, she heard something and opened her eyes. The room fell silent. Then, as if wishing them back, the whispering started again like hundreds of voices speaking all at once. Trying to comprehend what they were saying, she lay still straining her ears. Sleep came before she could uncover the mystery.

  The next time she awoke, it was dawn. She heard wind rustling through the trees, the voices were back. Only now they seemed to have merged into one coherent word.

  Madeline, Madeline, Madeline.

  She bolted straight up in bed.

  Madeline, Madeline, Madeline.

  “What do you want?” she yelled.

  The voices would not cease. They simply repeated her name over and over again like a mantra. She leapt up and slammed the window. The sound reduced to a muffle. After jumping back into bed, she covered her head with her pillow and prayed it would stop.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Maddy awoke after ten. “Dammit, I’ve slept the morning away!” After throwing on her clothes, she stared at the bathroom door. She had to go in there to retrieve her toothbrush.

  She felt kind of foolish in the light of day, so she approached the door and pushed it open. Her eyes lit on the candles and a full bathtub, but that was it. No one was in there.

  After sweeping up the shards of glass, she replaced the light bulb, then cleaned the tub. When she had finished, she got ready for the day. All went smoothly, no unwanted visitors.

  As she waited for the coffee to brew, she poured herself a bowl of cereal and took it out back to eat on the porch steps. The water glistened like diamonds in the sun. The sky was glorious as white clouds chased one another amid a bright blue backdrop.

  Black storm clouds encroached on the horizon, but it didn’t dampen her mood. The honking of a flock of Canadian geese drew her attention and she watched as they flew overhead in a V.

  So caught up in the moment, she toyed with the idea of moving here and buying the house herself. Then memories of the night before crept into her consciousness and reality reared its ugly head. She jumped up and went back inside to see about the coffee.

  Doug would be replacing the damaged planks in the floors when he returned, after which he would be sanding and staining. She needed to get the place in order before that. Everything needed to be off the floor.

  Her first order of the day would be to pack up the belongings of the previous tenants. So with cup in hand, she grabbed the box of large trash bags and headed upstairs. She decided to tackle the master bedroom first.

  She set her coffee on the nightstand and opened the closet door. It was stuffed with clothes, she found that odd. She pulled out a dress and inspected it. It was very plain. She couldn’t imagine her aunt wearing something so dull. It had a high collar and long sleeves. When she thought of her aunt, the first thing that came to mind were bright, vivid colors.

  Tossing dresses on the bed, she noticed they were all similar in style. The colors ranged from beige, to brown, to gray. She found the requisite black dress, but it was far from sexy. Obviously worn only for funerals.

  She stripped the hangers, flung them aside and folded the dresses neatly before placing them in bags. She did the same with the men’s clothing, then continued on with the shoes.

  Finally, she sat on the bed while staring at the bags on the floor. Slowly stretching out on her side and resting her head in her hand, she looked at the dresser in before her. There was a silver comb and brush set, a couple of trinket boxes, but no jewelry.

  She would tackle that next.

  She started to get up, when she noticed something purple on the floor underneath the dresser. Since it was the only bit of color she’d seen all day, she grew curious and jumped off the bed to investigate. Lying on the floor, she reached her arm under the dresser and tugged, but it was stuck. She twisted her hand around to gain purchase. It lengthened a bit, but would not come free.

  It was a ribbon.

  Tired of screwing around, she got up and shoved the dresser out of the way. Now she could see that the purple ribbon was protruding between two floorboards. She tried prying the boards up with her finger nails, but it wouldn’t budge. She merely gained a broken nail in the process. Giving up, she ran downstairs to retrieve a butter knife. She worked the edges of the board until it finally gave, lifted the plank and peeked inside.

  At first only a thick veil of cobwebs came into view, so she broke them up with the blade of the knife and peered into the hole. It held a large stack of brown leather-bound books covered in dust, the ribbon stuck between some pages. It seemed to be a place mark.

  She reached in, pulled out the book, and br
ushed it off with the bottom of her shirt. When she opened the cover, she found herself staring at someone’s personal journal. She read from a beautifully handwritten page.

  It’s been three months since Ruth passed, but Ray refuses to let me clean out her room. He stays in there for hours at a time, the door closed. When he emerges, he’s in the foulest of moods. His drinking has gotten worse. He blames me for his mother’s death, although I don’t see how. I was nowhere near the house when it happened.

  I suspect he pushed her down the porch steps himself, but how can I know for sure? Without proof I dare not get the Sheriff involved.

  “Oh my God!” Maddy gasped. It was her Aunt Madeline’s journal and she suspected her husband had murdered his own mother! She started skimming pages and noticed the dates were sporadic. She skipped to the middle of the journal and began to read.

  Ray’s been gone several days this time, if only I knew where he went. Was he still on the island? Each time he leaves, I breathe a sigh of relief. I pray he won’t return, but my prayers go unanswered.

  Why has God forsaken me?

  If I knew for sure he had left the island, I could leave myself. I will try to follow him next time.

  Maddy skipped to the end of the filled pages. This volume seemed to be the last one, it ended abruptly three-quarters of the way through. Maddy closed the book. She had no idea her aunt had hid such a dreadful past. She collected the journals, cleaned them off and took them to her room.

  Lining them up according to date, she vowed to read each and every one of them. She was eager to sit down with one now, but she had too much work to do. She promised herself she would read them only at night before bed starting with the very first.

  Late that afternoon, Maddy sat at the outside picnic table eating a sandwich when she remembered the journals. She knew better than to get involved in the middle of the day, so she promised herself to read only until she had finished eating. With that, she jumped up and ran to retrieve the first volume.