by Sable Hunter
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The clock read a quarter after midnight.
Like an excited child, Shae was fighting sleep all night. She didn’t want to miss a moment of being held in Derek’s arms. They were spooning in bed, his breath whispering near her cheek.
As she lay in the semi-darkness, Shae enjoyed the feeling of nestling against him, his arm over her waist, the way he would tighten his hold if they drifted too far apart. Her mind was spinning as she recalled every moment they’d shared, the way their bodies had moved together, the way it felt to hold him as he surrendered to his pleasure. She loved the way they talked together, learning new things about one another, finding out what they had in common.
Not every thought running through her mind was pleasant, however. She worried about everything from his custody hearing to what the future might hold for them. Tucking the pillow under her head, she stared into the shadows filling the room.
And then…an odd thing happened.
They’d left a lamp on in the bathroom, with the door almost closed. Only a sliver of golden glow showed through the crack. Now, as she lay there thinking, Shae noticed the light start to flicker. At first, she thought little of it. After all, the Driskill was well over a hundred years old.
She remained alert for a while, the carousel of images in her head beginning to slow down. As Shae was nodding off again, the lamp flickered once more and as she stared at the narrow shard of illumination, she was astounded to see a dark shadow pass over the opening, blocking out the light for a moment. “What in the world?” she whispered.
Almost without breathing, Shae stared at the spot, seeing if it would happen again. “Oh, my God!” When it did, all the rumors about the hotel and the room came crashing back into her head and chill bumps broke out all over her body.
Not wanting to awaken Derek, she tried to ease out of the bed without disturbing him. As she did, the lights flickered in the bathroom one more time. Having slept naked, she grabbed the dress she’d worn the previous day and slipped it over her head. Naturally modest, Shae had no wish to confront an intruder in the nude, even if the interloper was not of this world. She’d no more than stood up before a loud banging sounded at the door.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
“What the fuck?” Derek was wide awake now. He sat up in bed in time to see Shae hurrying to the door. She was there a fraction of a second after the last loud knock. Without taking the time to look through the peephole, she quickly unlatched the deadbolt and clicked the lock to open the door. The whole process was done in the blink of an eye. Derek was on his feet and pulling up his pants when he heard her gasp. “What’s wrong?” All he could think of was that the hotel was on fire and the alarms were disabled. “What is it?”
Slowly, Shae turned around. The light from the hall allowed him to see her clearly.
“There was no one there.”
Derek dry-scrubbed his face and came to her. “What do you mean? There has to be.”
Shae stepped out into the hall. “No. Look. The hall is long and I opened the door too quickly for anyone to get away without me seeing them.”
After stepping out of the room and looking both ways, Derek shrugged. “Maybe they went into one of these other rooms.”
“I don’t know.” Shae whirled around and went to the bathroom, throwing that door open. Only to find the room empty. “Dang-it.”
“What’s going on, love?” Derek scratched his chest, blinking his eyes, and trying to focus.
“Right before someone knocked on the door, the lamp flickered in the bathroom, and I thought I saw the shadow of someone in here.”
“Hmmm. Well…that’s not really possible, is it?” He’d no more than asked his skeptical question before another knock sounded on the door.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
This time, Derek ran to see what was up, throwing open the door and finding…nothing.
“Dammit!”
Shae came to stand beside him. “This is weird.”
Derek was wide awake now, and he could read the expression on her face. A slow smile came to his lips. “You think we’re being haunted, don’t you?”
Seeing his amusement, she shrugged. “No, it’s just strange.”
“I bet you were asleep and dreaming when you thought the lights flickered.”
“No, I was awake and thinking…” Shae crossed her arms over her chest protectively. “Besides, my imagination didn’t knock on the door.”
Derek took one more look in the hall, then closed and locked the door. “I bet that lady we met earlier is pranking us. She probably gets her jollies telling random guests ghost stories, then trying to scare them.”
“Huh. Maybe.” Shae didn’t think it was likely. “I think she said she was in the corner room, that’s way down the hall. There’s no way she could’ve made it back to her room before we saw her.”
“Well, there’s a logical explanation, I’m sure.” He returned to the bed and shucked his pants. “Let’s not worry about it. Come over here and let me hold you.”
Who could pass up an offer like that?
A few moments later, she was under the covers, and back in his arms. This time, the sanctuary of his embrace lulled her to sleep, and she knew no more until he kissed her awake.
…“Morning, beautiful. I sure enjoyed last night.”
“Me too.” Their faces were so close, she could see flecks of gold in his warm brown eyes. “Thank you.”
“Aww, baby, I’m the one who should be thanking you.” Derek kissed her again, this time long, deep, and achingly tender.
Shae wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Her heart was brimming with love. “I’ve had such a good time with you. I know we have to go back today, but I wish this moment could last forever.”
Forever?
Derek stroked her hair, trying to find the words to convey how he felt without putting anything on the line.
Ring! Ring!
Saved by the bell.
Derek released Shae to roll over and grab his phone. He would’ve let it ring, but the situation with June and the custody mess made him afraid to miss anything.
P. Saucier
“Presley?” Seeing Zane’s wife’s name caused his adrenaline to spike.
“Hey, Derek. You still in town?”
“Yea, yea.” He sat up, still holding on to Shae’s arm. “We’re here. What’s up? Is something wrong? Did Zane…”
“No, nothing’s wrong. Zane told me about your friend and I…” She laughed. “I know it’s a coincidence, but I just happen to have someone here with me that she might like to meet.”
Derek glanced at Shae, who was watching him intently. “Are you speaking of Ms. McCoy?”
“Yes, if Shae would like to and you can spare the time, we could meet you for breakfast. You’re at the Driskill, right?”
“Right. Hold on.” Derek tapped the mute button. “This is Zane’s wife. Yesterday, he mentioned that they have a friend you might feel a connection to, she’s an author. What do you think about having breakfast with them?”
“I remember him mentioning something.” Shae smiled. “I’d love to.”
Derek nodded. “You’re on, Presley. Just give us time to get dressed.”
“No problem. How about we meet you in the 1886 Bakery in the hotel in…an hour?”
“Perfect.” Derek ended the call, seeing the questions in Shae’s eyes.
“You discussed me with your friend?” How else would Zane know about what she had in common with this woman?
Derek looked a bit guilty. “He asked me who you were, especially since he’d warned me to be…careful.”
“Oh.” Again, her own personal nightmare reared its ugly head. “So, you told him about me? About what I do?”
He nodded uneasily. “I did.” He puckered his lips and blew out a breath. “It wasn’t what you’re thinking. He was cautioning me, and I was telling him how – different you are than…”
�
��Great, Derek, embarrass me, why don’t you?” She stalked off toward the bathroom. “Maybe this breakfast thing isn’t a good idea.”
“No.” He jumped up to follow her. “I was telling him you were different than anyone would think – in a good way.”
Shae stopped and faced him. “And what is meeting this other author supposed to do?”
Placing his hands on her shoulders, Derek made her look at him. “Her experience has been similar to yours, Zane thought you two might be able to help one another.”
“Oh, all right.” She gave him a faint smile. “I thought you might be planning an intervention or something.”
“Hardly.” Derek kissed her on the cheek. “You take a shower first while I get some coffee from room service.”
Shae agreed, “All right. I can wear the new dress I found at a boutique yesterday. I also bought you a shirt.”
“You did?” He was pleasantly surprised. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Just open the packages and get them both out for me,” she told him as she headed into the bathroom.
Humming a tune, she used the toilet, flipped the water on to heat, then turned to put her hair up in a clip in front of the mirror. “Wow. This place has some serious hot water.” She leaned forward to wipe the steam off the mirror. When she did, Shae couldn’t believe her eyes.”
“Aaaaah!”
Derek was just finishing buttoning his new burnt orange shirt when he heard Shae scream. “Shae!” He hurried across the room only to catch her steamy, naked form in his arms. “What’s wrong?”
She rested her face on his chest, taking comfort from the steady, strong beat of his heart. “I saw…” Shae took a deep breath, knowing how this would sound.
“What did you see? A bug? A spider?”
“No. I wiped the condensation off the mirror and a woman was standing behind me.”
Derek barked a laugh. “A woman? What woman?”
“A woman in a wedding dress with dark hair.”
“Ohhh.” Derek stepped around her and into the bathroom. “The ghost story, one of the suicide brides.”
Shae shivered. “Yea, I saw her.”
Derek didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but he didn’t believe in ghosts. “Flickering lights, knocks on the door, shadows, and ghost brides.” He started looking for cameras. “I bet this is some kind of a prank, some publicity stunt to draw business.”
“Derek, this is the Driskill, it’s one of the premiere hotels in the South, it doesn’t need a gimmick.”
“Do you think this ghost you saw was knocking at our door before?”
“I don’t know.” Shae shrugged, but she helped him look for cameras.
When they found nothing, he kissed her on the shoulder. “Well, ghost or no ghost, I’m hungry.”
This made Shae laugh, but when Derek left her alone to shower, she kept looking over her shoulder expecting to see someone peeping through the shower curtain.
* * *
Downstairs, Derek kept a hand on Shae’s back as a hostess showed them to a table in the cozy 1886 Café and Bakery. “This is so nice,” she commented, taking in the colorful plants, the charming bakery counter, and the rich emerald wall. “I didn’t get a chance to look around when I picked the coffee up yesterday.”
“It is pretty,” Derek agreed, “but not nearly as pretty as you.” She wore a bright yellow dress with a full skirt that came just above the knee. “You look like a ray of sunshine.”
“Thank you, Derek,” Shae murmured as she accepted a menu from the hostess.
“We’ll just have coffee now. We have two more joining us,” he explained to the woman.
“Certainly,” she replied, motioning a man to bring around the coffee cart.
After they were served, Derek took her hand. “I didn’t mean to give you a hard time about our spooky incident this morning.”
Propping her head on her other hand, she gave him a calm smile. “No problem. I can’t really explain what happened, but I can’t deny I wanted it to be true. Supernatural things like that have always fascinated me. I’ve even written about those things in a couple of my books. Coretta and my father never held with any of those beliefs, but my mother’s people were a different story. One of my great aunts was a healer, and some of the old tales and superstitions I told in the novels came from her.”
“Maybe we’ll come back again and do some investigating,” he offered. “Would you like that?”
Spending more time with him? Making future plans. Oh, hell yeah.
“That would be nice.”
The conversation was cut short by the arrival of two stunning women.
Derek stood. “Presley, good to see you.”
“Derek, always nice to see you. This is my friend, Avery McCoy. Avery this is Derek Alden, a longtime acquaintance of Zane’s.”
“And this is my friend, Shae St. John.” Derek introduced her to the ladies.
“Hello.” Shae greeted them both as the hostess saw to their chairs and their drink orders.
Any further talking was delayed until they placed their orders. “I recommend the huevos rancheros,” Presley said and they all went along with her suggestion.
Once the wait staff left them to their coffee and complimentary pastries, Presley patted her palm on the table. “Okay, this is great. Old friends. New friends. Two talented women.”
Avery winked at Presley. “Thank you.” Turning to Shae, she tilted her head. “What do you write?”
Shae bit her lower lip as she felt Derek’s supportive hand on her knee. “Spicy romance. I would call it erotic, but I’ve read books a lot edgier than mine. I write stories full of emotion, tenderness, and commitment, all with an HEA.”
Avery nodded. “Me too. What’s your pen name?”
“Jessabelle. I write romances set in Texas and Louisiana, some with paranormal touches.”
With a squeal, Avery jumped up and hugged her. “I’ve read your stuff, I love it!”
Shae hugged her back, as Derek and Presley looked on with amused enjoyment. “Thank you. Do you use a penname?”
Avery sat back down and nodded, the spiral curls of her dark hair bouncing against her lower back. “Yea, I do. I’m Sable Hunter.”
Shae almost dropped her coffee cup. “Oh, my goodness. I own everything you’ve ever written!”
Derek chuckled. “Presley, we have unleashed a mutual admiration society.”
“I can’t believe this. Small world,” Presley seemed pleased with the situation. “I think you two have other things in common, like a religious background…” She set up the next point in the conversation.
Avery giggled. “No kidding. My father was a pastor and I attended at least three church services a week. I was the closest thing to a nun our denomination had to offer. I love church and the people, I guess I just had this bit of a wild streak.”
“Oh, really?” Presley joked with her friend. “I would have never guessed, Ms. Badass of Kerr County.” At Shae’s confused expression, she explained. “Miss Sanctified here is married to a handsome cowboy/biker, who also happens to own a bar, and is a sexual dominant.”
Shae laughed out loud. “Oh, wow. Lucky you.”
Derek frowned. Her response to the description of Avery’s husband bothered him. “Isaac has quite a reputation, that’s for sure.”
Avery waved her hand. “Oh, he’s my teddy bear.” Turning her attention to Shae, she got the conversation back on track. “You’re active in church?”
“I used to be…before everything blew up. My background sounds a lot like yours, except my father wasn’t a pastor.” She shook her head. “He was a deacon.”
“Oh, DK’s are so much worse than PK’s!” Avery said with a huge smile, then explained herself to a confused Presley and Derek. “Let me translate for you. Deacon’s Kids are so much worse that Preacher’s Kids, but both spend way too much time in church. They all tend to rebel.”
“Well, I guess I did, in a way. I’ve always loved to re
ad and…fantasize.” She felt a kinship with Avery when she saw the woman nod in agreement. “When my grandmother got sick and I needed money for her care, I decided this would be something I could do without having to leave my job at the church – which I loved. Spending time with the children was so important to me.”
Avery nodded. “I understand. I really didn’t see a conflict between what I wrote and the life I was leading. To me, sex is sacred and the tales I told emphasized that fact. When it first came out, people were shocked, especially my poor parents. Of course, they were equally upset about my choice of a husband. Thankfully, they came around. Some of the women in the congregation who read and liked my books spoke up and defended me. I did step back from being so active in the day-to-day workings of the church, which probably helped.”
“The people in Shae’s hometown haven’t been so accommodating,” Derek said with a tight jaw. “A couple of idiots threw rocks at her. She lost her job and was thrown out of the church. People who’ve known her all her life won’t even speak to her.”
Presley patted Shae on the arm. “I’m so sorry, how horrible for you.”
“Thank you. I’ve felt loss before, but this has been the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through. I think the worst part is that I’ve destroyed my family’s legacy. The St. John’s used to be one of the most respected family name’s in that part of the country.”
“Look at it this way,” Avery told her. “We all leave a legacy of one kind or another. Yours will be far-reaching. I’ve read your stuff and I know what you’re doing. You make people laugh. You bring them pleasure, teach them to keep looking for their soulmate, to not give up on love. I get letters from my readers, and I know you do too. We touch lives. They see themselves and their situations in our books, and it gives them hope.”
“I guess you’re right. I know I disappointed people, I wasn’t what they thought I should be.” Shae looked down at her napkin, folding and refolding it.
Avery laughed. “This is a common leap people make when they read romance novels. They have this idea of who pens the stories – that the author is some sex maniac.”