Southern Secrets (The Southern Series Book 2)

by Shelley Stringer

  “I still don’t understand why you can’t tell me where he took you.”

  “Just trust us, all right? And I’m sorry, for what I’ve put you through.” I reached up and traced his dimple.

  “You have nothing to be sorry for, sweetheart. I’m just relieved you’re going to be all right.” He pulled me back toward his lips, and for the first time in weeks I was able to suppress the guilt I felt over our love, and I gave in to my emotions and let myself go.

  I moaned softly as he deepened his kiss, his tongue invading and re-kindling dormant fires as he moved my knee over across his waist. Sliding his hands down around my hips, he pulled me over on top of him as he continued to explore up my ribcage, taking my gown as he went. I raised my arms over my head as he removed the gown and tossed it in the corner.

  He watched me intently for several moments while caressing my neck. He then pulled me back down to his lips as he slid out of his briefs under me.

  “I don’t want to rush you, Chandler. I know you’ve been so upset, but I’ve…I’ve missed us. I’ve missed being intimate. I love you so much.” He studied my eyes as I pulled back away from him, and then slowly began to move over him, answering the question in his eyes. He wound his hands in my hair and pulled me into his kiss, moving his lips softly against mine, and breathing intimately into my mouth. The slow flicks his tongue made into my mouth sent sensations straight to my core. As I moved over him, he slid his hands back down to my hips, lifting me up and then settling me down on him. I drew in a breath…the connection of our bodies felt exquisite. I closed my eyes as he began to move, enjoying the way he filled me, making me ache for him. We made love slowly in the moonlight and then I fell asleep with my head on his muscular chest. I slept peacefully, and for the first night in weeks I had a dreamless night.

  Toward dawn I woke, Banton’s arm around me, his body spooning mine. Carefully as to not wake him, I turned to gaze at him in the half-light of morning. He slept peacefully, the stress that had been visible on his face momentarily gone. I quickly became aroused, his bare chest exposed above the sheet, his abs rippling down to a place under the covers that I longed to go. I blushed, my thoughts taking me back to the way he’d made love to me in the night. Pulling the covers down and sliding my lips across his muscular chest, I woke him.

  “Mmm. Good morning, sweetheart,” he murmured as he shifted me, laying me down into the pillows as he rose over me. He lowered his mouth to mine, and then slowly trailed his mouth down my jaw, sucking softly and then sliding his tongue over my skin…down my neck, my collarbone, the valley between my breasts. Opening my gown, his lips found my breast, tender from the pregnancy. When I moaned, he lifted his head.

  “Sorry, did I hurt you?” he asked, drawing back as he pushed my gown from my shoulders.

  “Just enough,” I answered breathlessly, winding my fingers in his hair.

  He chuckled softly, moving down to place his lips gently against my tummy. “I’m shocked, Mrs. Gastaneau.” He paused, his breath tickling my skin. “Everything good, after last night?”

  I nodded down at him, already breathless in anticipation. “Please,” I asked, needing to feel him inside me again. The dark, intense look in his eyes told me he was more than eager to fulfill my wishes.

  After we’d made love again he pulled me up to rest against his chest. His fingers lightly tracing down my back, to the curve of my hip and then back again.

  “It seems I watched you for hours in the dark last night, Andie. You were sleeping so peacefully, it was if the weight of the world had been lifted off your shoulders. You were so beautiful in the moonlight; your bare skin on your back seemed to sparkle in the darkness. I could lay and watch you for hours.”

  “Mmmm,” I turned to gaze up at him. “And the day you came home, while you napped, I just watched your gorgeous profile, listening to your heartbeat.”

  “So, what are we going to do today, besides watch each other?” He laughed as he played with my hair.

  “Anything you want. I’m all caught up on my reading and studying, and I don’t have a lot to do until after spring break for my classes.”

  “Let’s see, we’re a little over four months along? Well, I thought we might go shopping for baby furniture. Isn’t it about time we bought cribs and stuff?” he asked as I pushed up to look at him.

  “I’d love it. That sounds perfect,” I sighed, drawing up to kiss him.

  “Great. Then maybe I could take my beautiful wife someplace special to eat tonight.”

  “Ooh, a date! This sounds even better.” I grinned at him while he traced around my lips with his thumb as he held my face in his hands.

  After we’d both showered and dressed for the day, I sat down at the little desk in my room to check my e-mails. I had several from Laurilee I hadn’t opened from the past week, so I hurriedly went through them.

  “What are you working on?” Banton asked, coming up behind me and placing a kiss on my shoulder.

  “E-mails from Laurilee,” I sighed, and then looked up at him. “I’ve got to call her today and tell her about Brie. I forgot to tell you, Laurilee asked if we might come to Texas for a visit in May. Dan is riding again, and he’s going to compete in the Santa Rosa Rodeo. It’s always the third weekend in May, I think. I need to call her back and check the exact dates, but she wants us to come and see Dan ride, and she wants me to help her make some plans for their wedding in the fall.”

  “Sure, if you want to. I want to see Dan ride, and I’d love to take you home for a visit. I don’t think there will be any conflicts, so let’s set it up.” He pulled me up from the chair.

  “Great! I’ll call Laurilee tonight.”

  * * *

  Everett insisted he go along on our shopping trip for extra protection away from the house. After we’d visited the third children’s shop, I realized Everett had ulterior motives. He’d already nixed the first three choices I’d made about cribs. We were in the process of going through a high-end furniture store when Banton finally spoke up.

  “Ev, seems to me we aren’t going to find anything you and Chandler are going to agree on. Did you have something specific in mind?” he asked as I laughed at his attempt to play referee.

  “I’m sorry, Banton-babe, but I just want everything to be perfect for our little ones! Everything we’ve seen so far seems so assembly-line, in every baby magazine you pick up. I’m envisioning something vintage, one-of-a-kind!”

  “Sounds as if you want to have something custom-made?” Banton grinned, looking down at me.

  “Read my mind, Stud-Muffin. Chandler has picked out some beautiful furniture for the rocker, changing table…but I have the perfect idea in mind for the cribs. I have a friend who can make just what we want, if you will let me design it?”

  “It sounds expensive, you’ve spent so much on the room already,” I objected.

  “Chandler, money is no object. I’ve spent precious little of my own money on the house; let me do this for you…for us. Besides, Momma and Daddy are just dying to buy something for the nursery too.” He smiled and turned to Everett. “You design it, and then let Chandler take a look. We’ll buy the rest of the furniture she’s picked out and have it delivered.”

  “Just leave everything to me, Bebe. You’re going to love it!” he exclaimed.

  “Now that my work here is done, I’ll leave you two to your afternoon. I think you’ll be all right to go out to dinner…I need to stop by the shop, so I’ll see you back at the house.” He waved over his shoulder as he left the store.

  “All this is kind of over the top, don’t you think?” I asked. He put his arms around me.

  “No, I don’t. I can’t wait for the babies to get here, and I want everything to be perfect for them, and for you.” He kissed my forehead.

  “But that’s just it. Everything is perfect, for me. I’d be thrilled with hand me down furniture from Aunt Sue, and the basics. Just as long as I have you, it’s all I need.”

  He shook his head.
“I love buying you things. You don’t expect anything, and I swear you can be spoiled. Now, where can I take my beautiful wife out to dinner?” he asked, escorting me back through the store.

  “Well, I would love to go back to the place you took me on our first date. The place on the river, remember?” I asked, gazing up at him.

  “Oh, yeah, I remember it well. Sounds perfect.”

  I ate an entire rare steak at dinner, and even ordered a large piece of cheesecake for dessert. Banton appeared ecstatic at my appetite, and I decided I was willing to gain twenty pounds back if it made him this happy. After we lingered over our dessert, him with a glass of wine, me with my Perrier water, he leaned over.

  “Chandler, do you want to dance?”

  “I thought you’d never ask. We can’t come here without dancing where we first danced together.” I beamed up at him as he led me out on the patio under the lights. The band played a slow love song as he held me closely, his cheek resting on top of my head.

  “I can’t believe it was only five short months ago I held you out here for the first time,” he whispered into my hair.

  I turned to look up at him, and he grinned at me and flashed me the dimple.

  “I know. Sometimes, it seems surreal. What if I hadn’t had the tragedy of my parents’ death in my life? What if I’d stayed in Texas, and gone to school with Laurilee and Dan in Lubbock. I would have never met you, and I can’t even think…”

  “I’ve thought about that. You know what I think?” I shook my head.

  “I think we would have met anyway. Somehow, it had to happen. Something as overwhelming as my love for you had to happen. I’ve always felt it, in my heart… I would find you. You would have come to Louisiana to visit Constance and we would have met one way or another. God meant for us to meet, for both of us to carry the gene, and for you to get pregnant the first time we were together.”

  “You actually believe that?” I asked as I blinked away tears.

  “Absolutely. We were meant to be.” He leaned in and kissed me as the music stopped. “Now, let’s get you home. I’m a little nervous being away from the house this long with only me to protect you.” He pulled my hand into his and led me back to the table as he left the money for our check.

  We drove back to the house in silence. He glanced over at me and grinned, leaning over to kiss the top of my head. My chin had drooped down to my chest as I started to nod off. It was the first time I’d felt full and relaxed in weeks.

  “Oh, I’m sorry…was I asleep?” I asked drowsily.

  “It’s all right. I know the honeymoon is over, the excitement has worn off your old husband,” he chuckled.

  “Never. It’s just the hormones. I get full…I get sleepy. The two go hand-in-hand now, along with heartburn, and all kinds of new things I didn’t know my body could do,” I shook my head as he laughed.

  “Drift off…here, I’ve got a shoulder you can borrow.”

  “Actually, I wanted to stay awake till we get home. I want to show you the research I worked on while you were away,” I stretched and yawned.

  “I’m sorry, the research you tried to show me the other night, before Mardi Gras?” He grinned. “I’ll try not to get distracted this time.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  When we arrived at the house, Everett and Mr. Philippe were lounging on the front porch, visiting with two of the other Aldon.

  “Did you have a good time, Ma Petit Bebe?” Everett reached up and touched my cheek as we walked up the steps beside him.

  “Great. Banton took me back to the restaurant where we had our first date.”

  “Mmm. Romance. Good move, Banton-babe,” Everett grinned at him as Banton punched him in the arm.

  “Chandler, go on up…I’ll be up in a minute, I want to talk to Ev a minute…” Banton urged, turning to sit on the top step.

  “Kay. See you in a bit.” I entered the house, wondering what he wanted to talk to Ev about without me around. I put my coat and purse on the hall tree, and then walked around to the living room. Then it occurred to me--Banton wanted an update on Grant. I found the living room empty; Constance and Ty must have gone upstairs already.

  As I climbed the stairs I could hear muffled noises. I instinctively glanced toward the nursery. The door was ajar, and as I glanced through the dark room, I could see their silhouette. Constance was raised over Ty, the two of them wrapped around each other naked in the moonlight. I rushed on toward our bedroom and shut the door hurriedly. I was absolutely horrified. I never meant to look, it just took me by surprise their door would be ajar. The old doors in this house popped open sometimes if you didn’t lock them.

  I sank down on our bed, never even flipping the lights on. I felt so awkward, as if I’d done something wrong. It just never occurred to me that I’d see them when…Oh, gosh, this was similar to walking in on your parents! I’d done that once, when I was in high school. I’d wanted to poke my eyes out with a fork, much like today, I thought as I laughed out loud.

  “What’s so funny?” Banton came through the door. “And why are you in here by yourself in the dark?” he asked, flipping the lamp on beside the bed.

  “Oh, I was just…thinking. I thought about something funny, and I just hadn’t reached over to turn the lamp on yet.”

  “Something funny, seeing your cousin and one of your best friends naked in the moonlight?” he joked, pulling his shirt off and draping it across the rocking chair.

  “Oh, gosh, you saw them too?” I gasped, looking up at him.

  “Yeah, how could you miss it? You might want to warn them, these old doors pop open sometimes.” He flopped across the foot of the bed beside me. He always made me feel better about everything.

  “Now, where is all this mysterious research stuff?” He asked, pulling me by my ankles toward him.

  “If you start, we won’t look at anything,” I giggled as he held me down.

  He retorted, “Okay, okay. Boy, this better be good.”

  I rolled over and stood to walk over to the desk in the corner of the room. I pulled the large packet out of the drawer, and then located the stack of pictures I’d printed off.

  “Look at these, first. These are the pictures I took the day Ev and I walked down to the cemetery.” I handed him the shots of the apparition we’d seen, and the shots of the graves.

  “What the hell is that?” he asked as he glanced up at me.

  “Someone…or something we saw in the cemetery that day. Everett says he’s the ghost of a Confederate soldier, kind of a local legend. People report seeing him all the time and they even think he’s real. They call for an ambulance for a bleeding man on the road. He said some of the incidents have even been in the papers.”

  “You’re kidding. You actually have pictures of him?” he asked, studying the snapshots.

  “That’s the strange part. I snapped these of him deliberately, and all you can see is a cloudy haze. Then I took these of the headstones, and we didn’t see him there. Then when I developed them, he appeared over the headstones.”

  Banton studied the photographs for several seconds. “These are the graves you told me about, after you had the dream--the graves of the young mother and her twins.”

  “Yes,” I replied as I took the photographs back and lay them down on the bed. “Then I remembered the research I’d done on the house.” I pulled the large packet of copies the little lady in the Parish Clerk’s office had made for me. “I got these at the Parish Court House. The original deeds to the property show this lot was originally part of a large plantation. The Owner, Judge Johnson, willed it to his daughter, Marie-Claire and her new husband, Captain Hiriam DeLee. He built the house for them as a wedding present.”

  “The name on the headstone…she was the owner of the house?” He asked, his curiosity peaked.

  “Evidently. Banton, this was her house. What are the odds I would stumble across their graves and be drawn to them? It’s almost as if I was supposed to find them!”

&n
bsp; “I have to admit, I’ve got cold chills!” He held his arm up, and produced the evidence.

  “And I think the ghost is her husband.”

  “Well, that might be a stretch; there are probably tons of graves out there he could be associated with.” He picked the photographs up, and studied them again.

  “Then why would he be here in our house?” I asked.

  His head snapped up. “He’s been in here? When?”

  “I saw him the day before you deployed. You went downtown to get food, and I saw him in the foyer. He watched me several seconds and then climbed the staircase and disappeared.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me before now?” he asked as he took my hand and pulled me down beside him.

  “Well, I kind of forgot about it until the day Ev and I took these. When I told Everett, he kind of freaked out. He acted weird. He seemed upset when I showed him the headstones and the angel. Then when we got back to the house, he asked me all kinds of questions about the house, and if I’d ever found out about the owners.”

  “Did you ask him why he wanted to know?”

  “Yes, and he sort of blew me off. Then I caught him staring out of the window later, his mood was off. I’ve never seen Everett act that way. I asked him if something was wrong, and he said he was just a little sad. He’d been hit with some old sad memories, or something. He’s never mentioned it since.”

  “Well, I’ve got the feeling Everett has a colorful past, and he’s obsessively private about it. He’ll probably tell you about it someday.” He leaned over, nuzzling the back of my neck as I studied the plots and surveys.

  “There’s lots of other interesting stuff here. The plantation was broken up into small plots during a building boom in the late nineteen forties, and they built small single-family houses. It explains all of the mission-style and mid-century houses around ours. They were built a century later.”

  “What about the cemetery? Was it part of the Johnson plantation?”