Seeing
Witchy Things
A Paranormal Women’s Fiction Novel
Roxie’s Midlife Adventures book 2
Leigh Raventhorne
The characters and circumstances in this story are a product of the author’s imagination, and represent no real person, living, dead, nor undead. Any real public places or names are used only to build atmosphere for the reader’s mind.
Copyright © 2020
Leigh Raventhorne
All Rights Reserved
No part of this story may be reproduced in any way without prior written consent of the author.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 1
“How is all of this going to work?” Rand motioned back toward the house. “Toby and I here, that is. He’s my . . . anchor I guess you could say. Wherever he is, I need to be too, most of the time. Short periods away I can do, but that’s it. Are you sure Sam will let us stay?”
“We’ll make it work however we need to. You’re a gentleman, I know that. And, if it’s anything like it was with Elmer, you’ll be off in your gray space or wherever, for the most part, right?” I asked, finally looking over at him. Neither of us were ready to address that kiss, so we both seemed to be pretending it never happened. Plus, I’m pretty sure my face was still blotchy from crying earlier, after Elmer crossed over. Lucky for me it usually took a lot to bring me to tears, because I was not a pretty cryer.
He shrugged. “I can be, but remember—Elmer was a lot older than me, in both ways. He also felt a strong pull to cross the whole time he was on this side, which would have cost him some of his energy. That and he was mainly here for the sake of passing along his family’s jewelry and stuff. Jake was only a secondary reason, not an anchor. I’m not entirely sure about how all of this works, truthfully. Some of it I’m just guessing based on my own experiences, but I think having a strong anchor matters to whether we are able to stick around, somehow. Age doesn’t always equate to strength in my world, but in my case I think it helps. I may be newer as a spirit, but I’m younger, have Toby, and I don’t really have anything pulling me to the other side.”
Digesting that for a moment, my eyes scanned the yard for Jake. I felt so bad for him. I already missed Elmer so I knew he had to be missing him more–he had disappeared not long after Elmer had crossed. He wouldn’t just cross on his own now, would he? From what Rand was saying, Elmer would have been Jake’s anchor. Immediately worried, I asked Rand about that.
“I can still sense him a little bit. I don’t think he’s gone, just recovering, most likely. And you’re right, Elmer was Jake’s anchor. But, I think he’s bonded pretty well to Toby over the last week—and he’s protective enough over you—that he might be able to stick around for a bit. He’s been on this side for so many years now, that the pull to cross has probably lost some of its appeal. I’m thinking,” he paused, looking away, “maybe the things that hold us here aren’t set in stone. Maybe our anchors can be, I don’t know, transferred, if we lose them?”
Every answer I received, just added to my list of questions. The garage door opening heralded Sam’s arrival home. That she was going to be surprised by everything I had to tell her, not to mention the new addition to the household, was a huge understatement.
I stood and called Toby over to me. I had already gone to the nearest pet store and picked up everything Rand had recommended. My tear-stained face had earned me a few looks, which I explained away as happy tears over getting my new dog. Now it was all up to how Sam reacted. Rand stood on the other side of the German Shepherd, looking nervous.
“When she starts to approach, tell Toby she’s a friend,” he instructed. “He’ll accept her as someone who’s allowed to be here, that way.”
What the heck kind of training had this dog had? There was no time to ask Rand more about any of that now. I saw Sam moving through the kitchen now, setting her attaché on the counter, and looking around with a puzzled expression on her face. Waving to get her attention, I motioned for her to come outside. She froze when she saw the big dog sitting attentively next to me, watching her every move.
"Toby. Friend.” This had better work or we would all be looking for new accomodations soon. Well, I guess Toby and I would, anyway. It’s not like Rand and Jake needed a bed or a roof over their heads.
Sam slowly slid the sliding door open, watching Toby warily as she stepped out. “Dare I ask why you have a dog that looks like he belongs to the local police force in my backyard? I’m guessing there’s a story here and you didn’t just go out and buy it, right?”
“Tell Toby ‘Let’s meet Sam’. Tell him again that she’s a friend.” Rand murmured to me, though there was no way Sam would have been able to hear him anyway.
“It’s, I mean he’s, well, Toby’s a boy,” I stammered out. “Come on Toby, let’s go meet Sam. She’s a friend.”
I walked over to Sam, who stood motionless, eyeing the dog as if he was going to attack. Toby trotted next to me obediently, only looking back at Rand once. Stopping in front of her, he reached out his paw and laid it lightly on her shoe with a soft ‘woof’, looking up at her expectantly.
“I think that means ‘Hi’ in dogspeak.” I laughed and knelt down next to him, scratching his ears. “He’s a good boy and listens really well.” I peered up at her and asked in my best mock begging voice, “Can we keep him? Please?”
Sam slowly sat down in the patio chair next to the door. “He’s gorgeous,” she said to me. Then to Toby, “Hey there, what’s your story?”
She gently scratched his ears and neck. His eyelids drooped and his tongue lolled out, tail wagging lightly against the deck. He loved the attention. Rand chuckled behind me. For a second, I thought I heard him say ‘ham’ under his breath..
“It’s, um, quite the story. Want to hear it out here or inside?”
“I think inside might be best. Will he be okay out here on his own?” she asked.
Trying not to laugh, I cleared my throat before answering her. “Yes, he’s good. He’s got a water bowl at the bottom of the steps and there’s plenty of shade. I’m just glad your yard is fenced.”
As we walked inside, Rand called Toby away from us. It was hard for me not to look back at him as we stepped inside.
***
“No. He. Didn’t!” Sam exclaimed, shaking her head after listening to me recount the episode in the park with Steven for the second time. “He’s even more stupid than I thought he was. Now he’s right back in jail!”
“Yes, he totally did and yes, he is, on both those counts. Sam, are you sure you’re okay with Toby being here?” I was more worried about bringing the big German Shepherd home with me than I was about my ex-husband. I was her houseguest, after all.
“He’s fine. So long as he’s housebroken and he lets me in the house, we’re good. You’re sure the woman who abandoned him won’t come back looking for him?” she asked, considering the big dog currently exploring the backyard with Rand—whom she couldn’t see, of course. Toby had been such a perfect gentleman when I introduced him to her, that I think she was actually impressed.
“Oh, I’m pretty sure. There were lots of witnesses who saw her run off and leave him. She left
him alone there on a regular basis too, I guess, while she ran errands and . . . stuff.”
Sam shrugged. “Then I think you have yourself a dog.”
I bit my lip, thinking. Should I tell her about . . . everything else? Yes, it was time. Past time, actually. Just rip the band-aid off, right? Taking a deep breath, I started, “Sam, we need to talk. There’s something else I really need to tell you.”
“Of course, what—”, she cut off as her cell phone rang. She smiled when she looked at the caller I.D. “It’s Leo, do you mind if I take this and we can continue in a few minutes?”
“Uh, sure. Go ahead.”
She walked into the study as she answered the phone. I was happy to see my best friend—who was my former boss as well as my divorce attorney—so excited over a relationship. Her success and her confidence tended to scare most men off. The ones that weren’t, usually couldn’t pass her background check. She had extremely rigid standards.
Rand popped in at that moment, making me jump. “Well?”
He looked as nervous as a new mother. I smiled. “She’s good. She said he can stay. I told you she would be fine with him.” I laughed. “I think he might like her better than he likes me.”
He let out a relieved breath, his whole body relaxing. “I know you said she would. It’s just . . . Toby means a lot to me. It’s been really hard for me to see him treated the way he was, living the way he had to with that woman for so long.” He shook his head, dispelling his grim look at that memory. With a roguish grin he went on. “And he’s always been a complete ham with all the ladies. In fact, when I was alive, er, nevermind.” I didn’t realize a ghost, or spirit as he called himself, could blush.
I raised a brow at him. “Really?”
Sam walked back in at that moment and looked around the room, confused. “Who are you talking to?”
Rand popped out faster than he had popped in. I watched as he reappeared outside, next to Toby, who had finished exploring and was now marking every bush and shrub in the yard for the second or third time.
“Yeah, about that . . .” This was not going to be an easy conversation. “I’ve been, um, experiencing some things since I got out of the hospital.”
“Well, you’ve been through a lot. That’s not unexpected. You should have said something sooner! Do you need to talk to someone about it? I’m sure Leo can recommend somebody.”
“No, no, it’s not like that, Sam. It’s, um . . .” Crap. How did you tell your friend you could see things that she couldn’t? Ghost things. “I can kind of see things now. I can see people that are dead. Um, dead people.”
She was completely silent for about five seconds. “Okay,” she said slowly. “Are we talking Bruce Willis kind of dead people or zombies kind of dead people?”
“Um, the Bruce Willis kind?” I did not mean for that to sound like a question, but that’s how it came out. Seriously, Roxanne. Grow a pair already! “It’s kind of a long story. And there’s more. Can we go sit down or something? I really need a cup of coffee for this.”
“Sure, Rox.” Sam followed me into the kitchen. I could see the concern on her face. She thought I was losing it. Heck, she probably thought I had already lost it. “Are you sure Toby is okay on his own outside? He’s been out there by himself for a while now.”
I sighed. How did you go about telling your best friend, who you were also living with, that the dog you just brought home wasn’t exactly alone out back? He had the ghost of his former owner keeping an eye on him. Yeah, it’s all good. “He’s fine. He’s still exploring.”
We sat down after pouring our coffees, Sam watching me carefully. Waiting for . . . what? Me to crack? Go nuts?
Crap. I should have prepared better for this.
I looked up at the ceiling, asking the Powers That Be, as my mother used to call whomever was up there, for the strength to get through this conversation. I could do this.
I started at the beginning. My second day home from the hospital, meeting Elmer, the jewelry . . . and just let it all roll out. It took a little while and, to her credit, Sam didn’t interrupt me a single time. I ended with Steven attacking me at the park and Jake, Toby, and Rand coming to my rescue. I omitted Rand kissing me. I wasn’t even ready to address that with myself.
When I finished, I could see her working through all of it in her head. I chewed my lip nervously. She opened her mouth to speak, but quickly shut it again. I saw her glance at her phone and my heart dropped. She didn’t believe me! Was she going to call Leo after all, thinking that maybe I needed a nice vacation in a posh institution, making macaroni necklaces and finger painting landscapes? Crap.
“Just a second Sam, bear with me here.” I jumped up and hurried out to the back deck. Rand heard the sliding glass door and appeared beside me, instantly. Toby ran over goodnaturedly, panting happily. “Rand, can you, um, appear for Sam?”
He frowned, instantly worried. “What’s going on?”
“I, um, kind of decided to tell Sam, you know—everything,” I said, chewing my thumbnail. I snatched it back from my mouth, once I realized what I was doing. That used to be a nervous habit I had stopped years ago. “It might be easier if she could just see you, even if just for a minute.”
“After everything today . . . it’s going to take me a little while to recover some of that energy. Even then, I’m not sure if someone without your Sight would be able to see me.”
Oh no, I knew that! “Is there anything you can do? After everything I just dumped on her, there’s no way she’ll believe me without some sort of proof. That’s just how her mind works.” It used to be how mine did, too.
He appeared to be thinking. “I don’t know how much I can affect the living world right now, but let me try something. Go back inside. Is it okay if Toby comes in?”
“Yes, of course he can. Come on, Toby.” The big dog came in and heeled beside me as I walked back to the sitting area. When I sat, he sat also, looking like he was at attention. Sam somehow managed to look both impressed with Toby and worried about me at the same time.
“You have to release him. He won’t budge from your side until you do,” Rand supplied helpfully. “Just look at him and say ‘free’.”
“Oh, okay. Toby, free.” Toby immediately walked over to Sam and nudged her hand to pet him. Sam was still watching me, but she pet Toby’s head absently. I wondered why he hadn’t been this way with Cruella. She hadn’t known any of his commands, had she? I would have to remember to ask Rand about that later.
“Roxanne, what was . . . all that about?” Sam asked cautiously. She was using my formal name. That wasn’t good.
“Rand was telling me Toby wouldn’t move until I gave him his release command.”
Sam’s eyes slowly scanned the area around me, then around the room. “And, this Rand, is he here now?”
“He’s standing right beside my chair.” I held out a hand to indicate where he was standing, without bothering to look. My fingers brushed into his space, I guess, and I pulled them back quickly, hissing at the instant cold. “Crap!”
Sam just continued to watch, looking more worried by the second.
An idea occurred to me. “Rand? If Sam does what I just did, will she feel the cold too?” I asked hopefully.
“I think she would feel it some, but I’m not sure if it would be to the extent you do. Since you’re . . . sensitive, I guess, to spirits, it’s possible you would feel it more than a regular person.” He looked thoughtful. “But I might be able to boost that a bit.”
“Let’s try.” I turned back to Sam. “This is about as much energy as he can expend right now, after the park this morning.” I glanced at him and nodded toward her. “He’s going to try to touch you. It should feel cold. Maybe just hold out your hand for him or something?”
She looked to the side of me again, where Rand had been, not realizing he’d moved and was standing beside her now. She tentatively held her hand out.
Rand’s brow furrowed as he concentrated. Most of his
body faded a bit as he lightly touched her hand. Sam sucked in a breath and snatched her hand back, rubbing at it with her other hand.
Yes! I wanted to jump up and raise a hand in victory. If I wasn’t so sore from my encounter with Steven earlier in the day, I might have attempted it.
“Oh my god, Roxie! This can’t be real.” Sam’s voice quivered a bit.
“I know it’s a lot to take in. Believe me, I know. I’ve been living it for the past few weeks.” I laughed, tearing up with relief. “I kept trying to figure out how to tell you without you sending me back to the hospital for more brain scans. I’m still not sure I believe all of it.” I gave a half laugh. “I was scared I was still in a coma or something for the first few days.”
I reached over and grabbed her hand. This was huge. I didn’t think there was any way she would have believed me.
Rand stepped away from her, looking even more faint around the edges. Sam’s eyes rounded as she looked right to where he was now standing. She sat back, her hand pulling from mine.
“Where’d he go?” she asked, looking all around.
“What are you talking about?”
“The man that was just standing over there. Was that your ghost?” Her face had gone a full shade paler, but her voice was steady, at least.
“You could see him?” I turned to Rand, incredulous. “What did you do? Can you do it again?”
He shook his head, hands up. “It wasn’t me. I’m nearly wiped out.”
Sam watched, well, my part of the exchange, I guess. She looked at my hand and then back toward where Rand was standing. “Roxie, give me your hand.”
Reaching over to her, I did as she requested. As soon as her hand closed around mine, she gasped. “I see him! But, his features are kind of blurry.”
“Can you hear me, ma’am?” Rand asked.
Sam didn’t react, so that was a no-go. “If she hears you call her ma’am, she’ll probably kick you right back into your gray space, Rand.”
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