Steamy Stories (Volume 1)
Page 13
Annabelle’s agent was resigned to her decision and the plans she had made. He wished her well and advised her to keep in touch. By mid-afternoon, she was boarding the train once again and on the way to her new home.
Chapter 18
By the time she arrived in the country, she felt tired but elated. Driving the road to her house she couldn’t help being excited to see if Richard was still there. Running up the steps and turning the key, she called out that she was home, but of course she didn’t get a response.
She’d have to wait until dark before she let her hopes slowly sink. She was informed by the police that they did locate his wife in a nearby state. However, they wouldn’t say what the charges would be until a full investigation was conducted. Not knowing what effect this would have on Richard, she continued to hope that she would see him again.
Taking the travel case up to the owner’s suite, she took a warm shower, which relaxed the tired muscles in her body. Yawning, she crawled into bed and sighed at the softness of the sheets and finally settled down for a quick nap.
She was woken later by a sound, but when she looked, she saw nothing. Turning her gaze to the window she tried to determine the time but the sky was already dark. She must have been asleep for several hours and then the realization struck her.
“Richard, are you here? Do you want something?” she said, quickly putting the recorder on.
She waited for a few seconds and then started the machine to play back.
“My wife has been arrested, and I am free to leave this plane of existence. I expect the doorway to open up any time now, and wanted to thank you and say goodbye before leaving.”
“You’re welcome Richard. I hope you find peace,” she replied with sadness in her voice.
As luck would have it, the sky was clear and Annabelle knew that as soon as it got dark, the last full moon of this month would be shining its light through her window.
“Are there any people you know on the other side that will be waiting for you?”
“My mother and father I hope, but I don’t fully know what awaits me,” he replied into the machine.
Minutes later, the full moon came from behind the only large cloud in the sky, and shone its light into the room. Richard’s outline appeared and Annabelle could suddenly see him clearly. Her eyes met his and she smiled tearfully as she saw the concern in his face.
“I hate to leave you this way,” he said and suddenly reached out for her.
She stepped forward hoping to grasp his hands when he was suddenly surrounded by a shimmering light. His body managed to cover the bright light invading the room and grasping her hands, he turned to the light.
Annabelle tried to see what he was staring at but the light was so bright. His one arm surrounded her shoulder, and at first she couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but then it opened wider and she could just make out the outline of an oval door that was slowly opening.
The intense brightness of this light seemed to affect Richard more than the moonlight. His body came sharply into focus and as his lips moved, she began to hear him speak.
“It’s so beautiful Annabelle, and I can see my parents waiting for me,” he said, and he tightened his arm around her shoulder.
She felt his fingers in hers and Annabelle smiled. She could feel the warmth of the light spread throughout her body, a type of warmth she’d never experienced before. Richard turned his face back to hers and placed a kiss on her lips. He began to pull her towards the opening door, saying that he wanted her to see what he was seeing.
Annabelle wasn’t sure about this, but she was in love with him and couldn’t resist his lead. They stood at the edge of the opening and they positioned their heads across the threshold. Beyond was a brilliant white light and at the far end were her grandparents waving frantically to her. Her golden retriever, Hone was racing towards her. Annabelle’s face lit up with joy and she began to take a step forward, when suddenly Richard stopped her.
He turned her away from the threshold with hands tight on her shoulders.
“You can’t come with me,” he said. “It’s not your time.”
“But I love you,” Annabel replied, trying to push her way forward.
“I beg you, no. I love you too much to allow you to do this. It wouldn’t be right,” he said forcefully.
Shaking her shoulders, he forced her to look at him and she knew he would never let her enter into the light with him. Looking in his eyes, the tears streamed down her face when his forehead touched hers.
“We’ll meet again,” he whispered. “Time passes quickly where you are and before you know it, we’ll be together again. I have it on the highest authority.”
With one last kiss, he released her shoulders and walked away—and the door suddenly disappeared. She was alone again.
Six months later
Annabelle was finally happy again. She’d made a successful transition from being a model to owning a wonderful property. The grand opening of her bed-and-breakfast went off without a hitch. She’d been booked solid these past months and looked forward to the transition of the seasons. Fall would arrive with the changing of the leaves from green to amber, and soon after, the snow would arrive. She was sitting in the library next to the fireplace when she heard the front door open.
Footsteps on the marble brought her out of the chair she was sitting in and she left the room heading to the entrance.
“Hi, have you got a room available for a couple of nights?” a male voice asked.
She was scanning the reservations and then began to reply. She then lifted her head, putting on a smile. Her voice trailed off as the book slipped through her fingers.
“We have one left...”
“Is something wrong?” he said, coming quickly to her side.
Annabelle stood there in shock, unable to comprehend what she was seeing. It was Richard—standing before her.
He leaned forward and placed a hand on her shoulder trying to steady her stance.
She looked at his fingers on her shoulder and raised her face to whisper, “Oh no, I’m sorry, it’s just that you remind me of someone that used to live here,” still unable to stop staring.
“That’s funny, that’s exactly why I’m here. You see, I’ve recently been tracing my ancestry, and I discovered that a cousin lived here a long time ago. I thought I’d check the place out and see if I could find out anything about him, it’s always fascinated me to see where the family originated.”
She managed to gather her composure and said, “I’d be happy to tell you all you need to know, perhaps I could join you later for a meal and I’ll fill you in.”
“That would be wonderful,” he replied.
“In the meantime, would you please follow me? I’ll need your name and address here in the registry book,” she said.
She silently watched him as he completed the paperwork and credit card information. After that, she called one of her assistants to take him up to his room.
Annabelle turned the book around to face her. His name was Richard Granger.
From Carl East
I was born in Hull, England. I’ve been writing for some years now mainly for the pleasure of it all but with the advent of self-publishing I’ve entered a whole new world. I hope you enjoy my stories as much as I enjoyed writing them. If so I’d love to read a review from you just to show me that you did at least enjoy the story.
More Steamy Stories
Volume Two
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Volume Three
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Volume Four
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Volume Five
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