There were times when Rosie was bold and spoke with authority, times she was almost sassy and sure of herself. But times like this, when she hesitated and backed away from people, he was reminded of how isolated she kept herself
“We should,” she replied after a brief pause. “She wants us to know who she is.”
Max leaned in and grabbed the back of her neck, pulling her in for a kiss.
“Okay, gross,” Wendy complained.
Dallas chuckled.
Max never took his eyes off Rosie. “You’re going to want to get used to that.”
22
Mr. Murphy calmly ignored her insane outburst and perused the picture Max was showing him. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine Max being the key to finding the spirit’s identity. She wouldn’t even be in the Murphy’s home if it weren’t for him. She and Wendy were friends but if she weren’t involved with Max she would never have ever accepted a holiday invitation and she wouldn’t have found the picture.
She may have found the picture but what led her to find it was a different story altogether. Unlike when the woman led her to the cove, this time was different. What she’d seen had been hazy, almost through a window and she’d had no control whatsoever. It had been like being trapped inside her own body somehow.
“Do you know who that is?” Wendy was pointing to the picture.
“Sure,” Sam nodded. “That was my great aunt. Helene.” He looked at them all in turn. “Why?”
“Can you tell us about her?” Max asked, his hand squeezing Rosie’s.
“What’s going on here, guys?” Sam let out a frustrated breath. “Why the interest?”
“She’s been haunting me,” Rosie told him tiredly, her filter completely sapped along with her energy.
Sam’s head reared back. “Haunting you?” He sounded as disbelieving as she assumed he would.
“Can you just tell us about her? We’ll deal with the rest later,” Max said, the tone of his voice conveying more than his words.
“She’s haunting you?” Sam used the yeah right tone again.
“I know how it sounds.” She sent him a small smile but looked away quickly. “Believe me, I know.”
He watched her for a minute before looking back down at the picture. “Helene was the sister-in-law of my grandfather, married to his brother. She was gone long before I was born but I remember my grandfather telling me about her.”
“How did she die?” Dallas interrupted.
“She didn’t die. She left her husband and ran off with another man.”
“No,” Rosie whispered.
Sam’s brow crinkled. “Yes,” he argued. “At least, that’s the story as far as I remember it. It’s not the kind of family story we told around the campfire. I just remember hearing the adults talking in whispers whenever she came up.”
“And that was the story? That she ran off?”
“And left behind her husband and son,” Sam finished.
“Do you have any pictures of them?” Dallas asked, making Rosie thankful he was there.
“Oh, sure,” Sam answered going back to the shelves. “Now where is that…” He muttered as he pawed through a few books.
She wanted to apologize for rearranging his books but couldn’t bring herself to do it. Since announcing to him that she was a medium, she’d regained a small sense of her self-preservation instinct. She felt off, like she wasn’t quite herself. The entire experience added to the feelings she was having led her to a conclusion she couldn’t fathom. Despite being in the middle of something important with people she cared for deeply, her fight or flight response was screaming at her to flee. The situation had jumped into territory she’d never experienced before and she wasn’t sure she was equipped to handle it.
“You okay?” Dallas whispered in her direction.
Max was now standing with his father at the bookcase and they were whispering, Sam’s eyes cutting to her and then to Max. She was used to it, the sidelong glances and whispers.
She looked back to Dallas. “No.”
He inspected her face and turned to the bookshelf. “Can we get to this sometime tonight? Not that I want to interrupt your pow-wow or anything.”
“We’re coming,” Max said hurriedly and seated himself next to Rosie again. “You okay?”
Instead of answering watched Sam flip through the pages. “Here.” He turned the book around on the tabletop and pushed it to her.
There was a photo of the woman she’d seen so many times but this time she was standing with a man and a little boy. The man had a cigar out the side of his mouth, his arm slung around her shoulders. A little boy, blonder than blonde, held onto her leg. Rosie looked closely at the man’s eyes and the shade of his hair. She inspected the shape and size of his hands.
She shook her head. “That’s not him.”
“That’s my great uncle Jerry, Helene’s husband. He was my grandfather’s brother. That’s their son John.”
“That’s not the man that killed her.”
“Rosie,” Sam said gently. “I’m not exactly sure what’s going on here but Helene ran off with another man. I’m not sure what it matters now. It’s been more than sixty years.”
They were all looking at her now and avoided looking directly at any of them. Let them wonder how crazy she really was, she thought. Let them whisper when she wasn’t looking. Let them leave her hanging when she needed them the most.
Maybe they were all waiting for her to argue her point or a grand declaration about the truth.
She could easily tell Sam his mother followed her around for months at work in all her pink, skirt-set glory.
She could argue that she knew what she saw.
She knew how that woman died and not any excuse in the world would change the truth.
“Maybe we can just take a few of these albums home and flip through them,” Dallas suggested, his voice barely reaching how far she’d retreated.
Rosie nodded.
“Rosie,” Sam began uneasily.
“It’s okay,” she assured him, saying the words by wrote. “I don’t expect you to believe me.” It wasn’t her first rodeo. She’d played this game before.
“I believe you,” Dallas said, his voice unwavering.
She had expected Max to make that declaration, but he stood idly by watching the interaction.
This time it was Dallas standing by her side. He was unexpected, his loyalty steadfast.
“Of course, we believe you,” Max added, his voice just as firm. Wendy added her support as well, though they felt flat.
“I’m sorry to ruin your holiday,” she told the room at large knowing they had more movies they’d been planning to watch. “I’m going to head home though.”
Max rolled his eyes. “You aren’t ruining anyone’s holiday. I think we’re all partied out anyway. We’ll say our goodbyes and head out.”
Max’s mom and dad asked no questions as they all left. She got into Max’s truck and began the half hour drive home.
After a few minutes of silence, he spoke. “You want to tell me what happened here?”
She shrugged and kept her gaze out the window. “I need to get in touch with Jay.”
“I’m not talking about Jay right now. I’m talking about the freeze you’re giving me. You haven’t looked at me since you woke up.”
She wasn’t about to tell him she was getting all girly and sad over the fact that he hadn’t come to her rescue. Hadn’t she spent her entire life making sure she was the one that came to her own rescue and suddenly, she’s upset because he didn’t put himself out there for her.
It was the reason she held back every time she was ready to jump off that ledge with Max. Because no matter how many ways he assured her that he was right there with her, he really wasn’t.
She hefted her bag onto her lap and rifled through it searching for her cell phone.
“Talk to me, Rosie. I’m not good at the silent treatment. I like to talk shit out. I can see you’
re upset and I get it. I’m a little freaked out that this ghost is some distant relative of mine. I mean, what are the odds on that? It’s got be astronomical. I thought you’d want to talk about it. I thought you’d want to talk about something. Anything.”
She didn’t want to think about the spirit. She’d done her damndest to not think about her because every time she did, she freaked herself out.
“I can’t talk about it right now. I need to get to Jay’s. I-”
“Screw Jay’s,” Max growled. “I want to know what’s bothering you. What did I do?”
Rosie flipped through her three contacts and pressed the call button.
“Damn it, “ he muttered.
“Hey there,” Jay chirped after a few rings. “Happy Thanksgiving.”
“Are you home?”
“Why yes, I am,” he replied as though she hadn’t been rude. “I had a great day, too, thanks for asking. What’s up with you?”
“I need a reading.”
“Now?” He laughed.
“Right now.”
He lost all trace of humor. “Come up to my place. I’m here. What happened?”
Rosie took a breath and closed her eyes. “I think she possessed me.”
Max and Jay each sucked in air. “Did you feel her?”
“She what?” Max was angry.
She held up a hand so she could talk to Jay. “I was asleep.”
“Isn’t that what usually happens?” Jay asked.
“She usually leads me when I’m asleep. This time it was like I was there but watching through a window. I couldn’t move or speak. I was trapped in my own body.”
“Holy Christ,” Max muttered.
“Come here,” Jay told her. “We’ll make sure she’s gone and get you cleansed.”
“Thank you,” she told him.
“Don’t thank me yet, sugar.”
She hung up and never looked at Max. How could that pang of hurt still slice so deep. Shouldn’t she be used to it by now?
“Why the hell didn’t you say anything?” Max asked angrily.
“Why the hell didn’t you say anything?” She countered. He looked at her, confused. “Your dad stood there and told me I was wrong and instead of telling him I wasn’t lying or insane you just looked at me. Like I was supposed to come up with some kind of explanation.”
“Baby, no-”
“Yes, Max. It was Dallas who backed me up.”
“I wasn’t waiting for you to explain. I was seeing what you were going to say.”
“What the hell was I supposed to say?” She asked. “That I saw her die? That I think I know where her remains are?”
“You told him you saw ghosts. I thought you were coming clean.”
“I only did that because I was out of sorts. Apparently being possessed scrambles your system.”
“Why the hell didn’t you say something?”
“We were a little busy trying to deal with the first scene I made. I wasn’t ready to make another one.” She sent him a glare. “Don’t throw this back on me. We were talking about you.”
“Yeah, and how you think I what? Didn’t back you up?”
“You didn’t.”
“I did.”
“After you left me swaying in the breeze.” She shook her head. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter.”
“Like hell it doesn’t,” he argued. “You want to use this against me like some kind of excuse. I won’t let you add me to that list of people who betrayed you.”
His eyes were fierce, his face a mask of determination.
He was right. That was exactly what she was doing.
“If you tell me you have my back, then have my back. But if you aren’t sure and can’t be on my side, then I need you to tell me.”
“I have your back, Rosie,” he said immediately. “Every second of every day, I have your fucking back.” He took a second to calm down. “I know you don’t trust people. I get that and when I think about it, you’re right. I stumbled tonight. I didn’t mean to, I swear. I thought we were just having a discussion. Like, my dad would say his side and you’d say yours and we’d talk it out. I didn’t know you were just gonna fold up.”
“I didn’t fold up.”
“You did too.”
“I just didn’t argue. That’s not folding. I don’t agree with your dad but I’m just someone he met five minutes ago. Why would I argue his own family history with him in his own home?”
“He would have listened to you.”
“And thought I was nuts?” She asked. “And called you later concerned you’ve gotten yourself tangled up with some kind of crazy person.”
“He’s not like that.”
“Everyone’s like that,” she told him firmly. “Everyone gives sidelong stares and everyone whispers. Everyone talks. And you’re right, I could have argued and given a little show. I could have told him about your grandmother and how she followed me around at work for months in her hideous pink skirt and blazer, but I didn’t. I don’t want that.”
“She did?” Max asked surprised.
She turned her head and looked out the window.
They rode in silence for a few minutes.
“I have your back,” Max said quietly. “I don’t want you to question that.”
“It’s not that easy for me,” she said.
“I know. I’ll just have have to keep telling you and proving it to you. That’s all I can do.”
She nodded but didn’t say anything. How was she supposed to respond to that?
Not long after, they pulled up to the sidewalk in front of The Third Eye. She led Max up the stairs in the alley as Jay opened the door.
“Hey.” It was the first time she’d seen him so sedate. He watched her, scanning as she came to the door.
She gestured behind her. “This is Max. Max, this is Jay.”
He shut the door behind them and watched her again.
“She’s still there isn’t she?” Rosie asked him.
Jay shook his head. “Not entirely. But she left almost like a residue. It’s like a film over you. It’s her, but it’s you.”
“I can feel it,” she admitted. “It’s like…heavy.”
“What are you talking about?” Max asked, curious. His hand was resting on the small of her back.
“I feel like she’s still in me,” Rosie told them. “Like she left part of herself in there.”
“What?” Max breathed.
“From what I’ve read, possession is no easy feat for a spirit. Or the vessel for that matter. It would take just about everything she’s got unless she has some super power you haven’t told me about.”
She opened her mouth to speak but Max interrupted. “I’m sorry, am I the only one that doesn’t give a shit what possession does to Helene or whatever her name is? I want to make sure Rosie’s okay.”
“Helene?” Jay asked.
“Long story,” Rosie said. “Can you get her out?”
“I think so,” he told her.
23
Through all the craziness, Max still sat by her side. Through Jay dusting salt on her, flicking holy water at her and waving crystals over her, Max hadn’t let go of her hand.
Somewhere, in all of that, Helene’s weight had lifted and Rosie felt like herself again.
“If it were me,” Jay told her seriously. “I’d make a border around your windows and doors with salt. It’s well known that spirits aren’t able to cross that line.”
“Seriously?” Max asked.
Jay shrugged. “I mean, there’s no textbook or anything.”
Rosie pulled her feet up, curling into Max a little and listened to them talk. When her head leaned on Max’s shoulder he automatically took the mug from her hand and held it in his own.
“Rosie says you have your own way of reading people.”
Jay hummed his agreement. “It’s like hers, only different.”
“Chakras, she said.”
Jay smiled. “She told you. That’s swe
et.”
“Then she tried to explain chakras and I got lost.”
“Energies and the paranormal are easy subjects to get lost in. The lack of actual scientific data makes people skeptics and they’re not willing to think outside the box.”
Jay looked from Max to Rosie a smile stretching across his face.
“She’s sleeping,” he said quietly.
Max could only see the top of Rosie’s head as she rested on his shoulder. Being with her was unlike anything he’d ever experienced. His entire life he’d been the guy everyone turned to for help. When Wendy needed someone for anything, from a quick chat to hanging a shelf, she called him. When Dallas was missing his family or needed a beer, he called Max. His parents called. His neighbor called. He was the guy everyone counted on.
The look on Rosie’s face when she accused him of not backing her up hurt. He’d never been accused of something like that before and in reality, the solution probably sat somewhere between both of their points of view.
Hers that he hadn’t done anything and his that he’d been listening and waiting. It would take more for him to get past the walls Rosie had built up around her. He’d have to truly be there, time and again, before she believed him.
“Long day?” Jay asked, breaking Max’s musings.
“Nah,” he waved Jay off. “Tell me more about the salt.”
So, Max sat there and learned about salt lines, Tibetan spirit blockers and cleansing rituals. Jay steered clear of specifics regarding his own abilities and spoke mostly in generalities.
When Jay circled back around and started talking about crystals, Max asked, “Is there something I should have at my house? For Rosie.”
Jay tilted his head. “Has she been spending time at your house?”
Max weighed his words carefully, not wanting to tell Jay more than Rosie would be comfortable with.
“Some.”
“I would say if she’s spending any significant amount of time in your house, then yes, we should dedicate a few specifically to your home.”
“Do you do that or is there something I have to do?” He wasn’t sure they would work if he did it. What the hell did he know about dedicating crystals? Driving a tractor, yes. Crystals, no.
Chasing Happy Page 23