A Ghost of the Past

by Mary Goldberger

  “I straightened up the house,” she told him and he sighed.

  “Anything you would like while I am at the store,” he asked one last time.

  She was quiet for a moment and then she said softly, “Nothing, but thank you for asking.”

  They said a quick goodbye before they hung up and he paid for the rentals.

  “Going to stay home with a new lady love, Cordial,” the young man at the counter teased him.

  Cordial only smiled as he said, “Exactly.” He walked out of the store with the DVDs to go pick up what Shay asked him to pick up, and a thoughtful gleam came to his eyes as he drove away.

  Unknowing to Cordial, two sets of eyes watched him from inside the store. Once set was narrowed in dislike while the other was narrowed in lust. When they met in the same aisle, both had their emotions under control.

  “Did you hear about Jessica?” the one asked with a slight frown eyes saddened by the news.

  “Yeah,” the second one said looking around before lifting a hand to ran it down the first’s chest and watched as the person arched at the touch.

  “Tonight we can meet up,” the first asked with a breathless quality and the second one smiled with a knowing look.

  “In our usual place,” the second one suggested before walking away and out of the store.

  The store clerk using the corner mirror watched Lucille O’Ryan and Dillon James flirt. He frowned as he watched Dillon react to her touch on his chest before she said something to him and then turned to walk out. He turned back to what he was doing as a thought ran through his head. Dillon James was having an affair with Cordial’s stepmother?

  Chapter 34

  When Cordial pulled into his driveway, he noticed the cruiser and he tensed as he got out with his purchases. He went into the house to see the Sheriff and Deputy Parker standing in the living room, and Shay had her phone in her hand. She smiled when she saw him after he could see the tension she was trying to hide.

  “I was just about to call you,” she said as she put her phone in her pocket.

  He put the bags down on the couch as he walked further into the living room.

  “Barry, Tad,” he said standing next to Shay.

  “Cordial, we won’t take up too much of your time,” Barry said with weary sigh.

  Shay frowned as she asked, “Would you care for something to drink, Sheriff? Deputy?”

  They both shook their heads as Cordial offered them a seat. They sat down on the couch as Cordial and Shay sat down on the loveseat.

  “So,” Barry began, “Shay, did Jessica say anything to you about being sick?”

  Shay swallowed as she admitted, “She said she was dying from stomach cancer.”

  Barry frowned, “You did not mention that when we interviewed you last night.”

  Shay met his eyes squarely, “Because it was something she told me, although I did not doubt her word, it was not my place to tell you. Besides, before the autopsy, it could have been something I could have used to make myself look innocent if there was any proof of my guilt.”

  Cordial noticed that Tad was smiling with pride as he looked at Shay, and Cordial could not blame him as Shay was pretty damn smart.

  Barry glared at Shay, “True, but it would have been nice to know before being hit with it by the coroner.”

  “Did you tell Shane?” Cordial asked and Tad facial expression changed at the name while Barry scowled, “Shane has not been by the station since he left yesterday and I have not been able to get hold of him.”

  Then he said, “As of now, the case is being ruled as a suicide although we are still looking into a few things. The coroner said that there was toxic substance in her bloodstream but it was basically a residual as if someone was poisoning her then stopped suddenly.”

  Shay looked down at that and Barry noticing the action, “Shay do you know anything about it? Did Jessica mention it to you?”

  Shay sighed before she lifted her head, “Anything I say to you would be considered nothing but heresy.”

  Barry nodded his head, as he knew it would be true without any proof.

  Shay nodded her head as she slid a hand into Cordial’s and he gave it a squeeze as she told them, “According to Jessica, Shane was poisoning her with arsenic a little at a time when they were first married. She had wanted a baby, but Shane had not. Unfortunately for Shane, she had found out about the poisoning when she went through early menopause and discovered that he had been cheating on her.”

  There was silence in the room at her statement, and Barry said harshly, “This never came up either.”

  “You asked what happened last night, Sheriff, you never really asked me what we talked about,” Shay reminded him.

  “Go on,” he said gruffly.

  “From what Jessica said, Shane had plenty of affairs while she was married to him including my mother. I think,” Shay said with a thoughtful look, “that she has all this in a file or something against Shane.”

  “Why do you say that, honey,” Cordial asked letting their intertwined hands rest on his thigh and Shay looked at him.

  “Jessica made a comment about Shane being mad after her death,” Shay explained, “But she never went into detail about what she meant and I did not ask her.”

  Barry sighed as he said, “Then I guess it is all up to her lawyer. She is going to be released to her husband in a few days.”

  “We will contact you again if we need to Shay, but as of now it looks like you are in the clear,” Barry said as he got to his feet followed by Tad, and Shay saw them to the door as Cordial got the bags with his purchases and took it into the kitchen.

  When Shay came in, she began to say, “Cordial, why…”

  She was cut off when she looked at the vase Cordial had put on the counter.

  “Cordial,” she said softly looking at the single red rose in the vase to him and he smiled.

  “Just something small to show you how much you mean to me,” he said quietly and Shay went over and kissed him wrapping her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist as the kiss turned more passionate. He picked her with his arms and Shay without thinking wrapped her legs around his waist. He broke the kiss to trail his lips down her neck as Shay tilted her head to give him better access and placed her on the counter as he loosened his arms to slide his hands slowly into the tank top. Shay caught her breath as she felt his callused hands on her bare flesh, but she loved the sensations that those hands created. Cordial’s mouth trailed lower until he was at the top of her tank top and lifted his head to look at her.

  Shay, eyes glazed with passion, unwrapped her arms to grasp the bottom of the tank top and lift it over her head dropping it on to the kitchen floor.

  “Beautiful,’ Cordial said huskily looking at her rounded breast with their pinkish-brown nipples and let his hands caress her breasts watching her eyes widen at the sensation before he let his thumb softly graze the nipple which reacted to the stimulation. Shay gasped as Cordial lowered his mouth back to where he stopped before she took off her shirt. He kissed down to her breast where he lightly suckled the skin as his thumbs continued to graze her nipples and Shay could not help herself as she arched her back to give him more access to her. Cordial continued his kiss and suckling of her breast before he finally nibbled down to her nipple where he gave the aroused nipple lavish licks with his tongue before he took it into his mouth to suckle strongly causing Shay to gasp out as her hands found her their way into his hair holding him closer. He turned his attention to the other nipple giving it the same attention as his hands continued their caressing; one playing with the unattended nipple as the other one stroked across her stomach to the hem of her shorts.

  Finally Cordial lifted his head away from her breasts to look up into her glazed eyes and Cordial knew that tonight she was focused completely on him. He lifted her up by the waist and told her grittily, “Put your legs around my waist” which she did without an argument. He walked her out of the kitchen heading
to the front door to lock it before he headed upstairs.

  In his room, he placed her gently on the bed and settled on her as he smoothed her legs from his waist. He began to kiss her again starting with her lips and working his way down to her nipples where he gave them the same attention as before except his suckles were stronger causing Shay to moan.

  After he had aroused her nipples to mere points, he began to kiss down to her abdomen where he traced the hem of her shorts with his tongue before he glanced up at her. In response, Shay bit her lip as she raised her hips giving him permission to slide her shorts past her hips and off her legs. Cordial froze as he saw her for the first time completely naked and his silver eyes glowed with pride and male satisfaction before he came back down on her.

  Shay loved the feel of him against her bare skin, but she wanted more; she wanted his bare skin against her.

  “Too many clothes,” she mumbled as she put her hands on the bottom of his shirt and he sat up helping her to take it off. Shay let her hands travel over his exposed chest. She circled his male nipples with her fingertips and she lightly grazed them with her short nails. She trailed her hands down to his abdomen where she trailed a finger around his navel which caused him to suck in his breath before her fingers trailed down to the waistband of his jeans.

  “Are you going to take these off, Cordial?” Shay said with teasing glint in her eyes.

  “Want to help me?” he suggested wickedly. Shay’s answer was to undo the jean’s button and slowly unzip them looking up at him with bright green eyes that held seduction yet were apprehensive, and Cordial could not help the groan that escaped him.

  He slid off the bed to take off the rest of his clothes and he gave Shay a smirk when her eyes widened in her first view of him completely naked.

  “Oh my,” she said quietly her eyes traveling over him and he groaned when her tongue came out to wet her lips.

  “Don’t do that,” he said harshly climbing back on the bed over her and Shay looked up at him in confusion until he lowered his hips to hers and she felt his aroused staff hot against her leg.

  Her eyes widened more, but she moved her body so that it slipped between her legs to nestle against her own private entrance.

  Cordial groaned at the feel of her against his aroused flesh and he panted, “Baby, this will be over before it begins and it won’t be gentle either if you keep that up.”

  “I think I can live with the no gentle part,” she said on as sigh as she moved again and he crashed his lips to hers as his hands moved over her quickly as they roved over her breasts to caress her nipples bringing them back to points before moving down her stomach. The whole time his hands aroused her flesh he never stopped kissing her and Shay could not help letting her hands travel their own path over his chest through his thick black hair and down his back to his tight butt.

  Finally Cordial not able to take it any more leveled himself above her so that his aroused flesh was at her entrance as he brushed his hands down her legs pulling them slightly apart giving him more room and Shay looked up at him with her green eyes filled with trust.

  He ran his hand up her legs to slide in between where he could feel how wet she was as he slipped a finger into her wet cove and Shay moaned as she arched her hips up to him. Cordial closed his eyes as her wet heat closed around his finger and he withdrew it slowly while he moved his member to take its place.

  “Ready?” he asked as he waited for her permission before he breached her and Shay nodded as she wrapped her arms around his neck bringing him down to kiss his lips as he slowly began to ease into her wet heat.

  Shay felt a slight discomfort as he eased into her and Cordial halted for a second as he pulled out and Shay groaned at the lost before he eased back in more fully. He did this for a few more minutes until he pulled out one last time before he pushed forward fast breaking through the thin membrane that he find to his intense male satisfaction to be the one to break it.

  Shay tensed at the slight pain, but Cordial held still waiting as her body relaxed and became comfortable to the intrusion.

  “Shay,” Cordial murmured tightly as he looked down at her his eyes gleaming with restrained control. Shay gave him a quivering smile before she tilted her hips forward and Cordial took that as a sign as he set the rhythm moving in and out of her.

  Shay felt her body match his rhythm as Cordial began to move faster, and Shay’s green eyes brightened as Cordial kissed her passionately as their bodies moved in rhythm until she did not know where he begin and she ended. Then she felt her body tense as if waiting for something and Cordial pushed into her deeply that she let out a cry as her body exploded. Cordial groaned as his body tensed and he held himself tight to her as he shot off inside her.

  Breathlessly, he collapsed onto her as Shay let her arms slide off his back to land on the bed her breathing erratic.

  “Shay, are you okay?” Cordial asked not being able to lift his head from her breasts.

  “I think so,” she panted, “But my body feels like jello at the moment.”

  Cordial could not help the chuckle that escaped him and he felt Shay shiver as his breath caressed her sensitive flesh.

  He leaned up causing both of them to moan as he was still nestled inside her although he had shrunk down. He looked down into her bright green eyes to see the smile that played around her red lips from their kiss.

  “I thought you were going to wait until I was thinking about you,” Shay teased as she looked into his silver eyes that flair with renewal passion. She gasped as she felt his reaction at her teasing, “So I did. Maybe I should make sure that you are thinking about me.”

  Then he proceeded to do just that for the rest of the night, which surprised the hell of Shay because she had not been suspecting it, but there were no complaints from her although she knew that she would be sore for the next day or so.

  Chapter 35

  “Shay,” Cordial called as he came out of his office and he headed for the kitchen, as he smelled something mouthwatering.

  Shay was standing at the stove stirring something as he walked in and he stopped just to watch her. Her black hair was pulled into a high ponytail on her head as her body was encased in a pair of blue jeans that she matched with a yellow camisole which right now was covered with an apron. He smiled as he looked at her for he knew what was exactly underneath those clothes and he felt his body tense as passion flowed through him. Ever since three days ago, when they finally made love, Shay had been more open with him although he sensed she was still keeping something to herself and he had a feeling it had to do with Charity. He knew he should have taken it easy on her but he could not help his reaction to her and Shay had met him more than halfway each time. After they had made love again and taken a shower, they had laid in bed talking about everything and anything that came to their minds.

  He smiled as he remembered that and he said, “Shay, my dad was wondering if he could come to dinner?”

  She turned around at his voice and her eyes softened as she saw him.

  “Sure,” she said before asking hesitatingly, “Is it going to be just him or your stepmother too?”

  Cordial laughed as he walked over to her leaning down to nip at her bottom lip before saying, “It will be just Dad, he said that he had something to talk to me about.”

  Shay frowned, “You were supposed to go see him the day after…Jessica passed away.” She amended quickly and Cordial just sighed as he hugged her to him, “Yeah, but I forgot as a certain sexy woman kept me occupied.”

  “Cordial,” Shay said swatting at his chest as she laughed. She pulled out of his arms so she could check her sauce.

  “So,” he said wrapping his arms around her putting his chin on top of her head, “it will only be dad. From what Dad was saying, Lucille had made plans to have dinner with a group of friends.”

  “Good,” Shay said honestly and she felt Cordial’s silent laughter as his chest rumbled against her back.

  She tilted her head back
to look at him with a smile and he leaned down to kiss her.

  “Dinner will be about six,” Shay said as he broke off the kiss and he nodded his head in agreement.

  He kissed the tip of nose, “Anything I can do?”

  “Yeah,” Shay said, “chop the carrots for the salad.” Cordial grimaced which Shay chuckled at but he did as she requested.

  Vincent arrived ten minutes to six just as Shay was sliding the French bread in the oven and Cordial answered the door at his knock.

  “Hi dad,” he said opening the door to let him in and he watched as his dad walked in steadily although he carried his cane with him.

  “Hi Cordial, what smells delicious?” Vincent asked.

  “Shay is making pasta tonight with garlic bread and a salad,” Cordial told him as they walked to the kitchen.

  Both men rolled their eyes at the word “salad”, and Shay called from the kitchen, “Don’t roll your eyes.”

  They looked at each other in amazement then laughed as they entered the kitchen.

  “Hi Shay,” Vincent said as they sat down at the table and he watched her move around setting the table and checking on the bread in the oven.

  “Hi Vincent,” Shay said throwing him a smile before her eyes went back to the stove. “Cordial, honey, could you pour the drinks for me, please?” she asked as she drained the pasta.

  Vincent watched as Cordial did as she asked and he watched the way they would brush by each other as they worked. He may not remember many things due to his stroke but he did remember that Charity held no such hold on his son and he shook his head as he realized Shay did not even know that she did.

  Finally everything was on the table and they all settled down to eat. They made light conversation as they ate the delicious meal and after they were done, they leaned back in their seats full.

  “Cordial, I am jealous” Vincent teased as he sipped his drink. “I have not eaten this well since your mom passed away.”

  “Shay keeps me well fed,” Cordial said and laughed as he watched the blush cover her cheeks. Vincent heard the double meaning behind his words and had to laugh, too, which caused Shay’s blush to double. She muttered something incoherent as she began to clear the table.