The Man from Shadow Valley

by Regan Forest

  “I’m not so sure.”

  “Anyway, I could never live here, for all the reasons you know very well.”

  Cody had taken off his shoes and socks to feel the cool of the grass, a carryover habit from his childhood. He kicked at the dust under the swing. “You and I have different approaches to life, Ellen. My idea is to attack and conquer. Yours is to escape.”

  She bristled. “That’s easy for you to say. You left when you were seventeen. I’ve had to stay and pretend to my grandfather that I adjusted to what I couldn’t adjust to in a lifetime. You made good and came back. I can’t fathom why you came back, but you came back a different person than the kid who left.”

  He was twisting the swing sideways; the chains were grinding together over his head—a noise that bothered Ellen, but Cody didn’t seem to notice. “I thought you knew why I came back. There were two reasons, one that I just told you—to conquer the past. To be accurate, I ran off like you’re running off but that was different, too. All I had to my name was a guitar. You are now in demand. People have recognized your talent.”

  “How did it happen?” she asked.

  “What do you mean, how? People saw you dressed in outfits they’d die for. That’s how.”

  “They didn’t know I had designed them. Now they do. And the only people I told were Mrs. Engleson and you. It was supposed to be confidential and in no time it was all over town.”

  “What about your friend Meredith Calhoun? Didn’t she know?”

  “No. I might have sworn Meredith to secrecy but I didn’t even have a chance to tell her. Meredith probably wants to kill me for not telling her before she heard it on the village drums. Good thing I don’t have a phone.” She shook her head. “It’s just such a mystery. You didn’t tell anyone, did you?”

  “Me? Come on, Ellen.”

  “Well, someone did.”

  “Shadow Valley is a haunted town, you know. Unexplained things happen.”

  She pulled a face. “Well, there is an explanation, somewhere. I thought Mrs. Engleson would be furious but she wasn’t, which is odd, as if she might know something I don’t. Maybe she’s the one. Though I really can’t believe that.”

  “Hell, why worry about it? It’s a lucky thing. Gives you more reason not to rush out of my life.”

  A light summer breeze fanned her hair and her pink summer skirt as Ellen’s swing moved slowly back and forth. Her hands perspired on the chains. It was hell talking about leaving. All her excitement had turned into pain. In one way she resented Cody for the pain. He hadn’t given up any dreams to be with her. Why should he expect that her dreams were any less important? Cody of all people should understand why she could never become what she wanted to in this place. The subject should have been closed from the day they met.

  “You said there were two reasons you came back,” she reminded softly. “But you only told me one.”

  “The other is obvious. To find you.”

  It was like a piercing of her heart. “Oh, Cody. Don’t.”

  “It’s the truth. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve loved you since I was a kid and dreamed about you. I don’t believe in coincidences. I was drawn back because you were here. That’s why I loved you almost from the time you first sat across from me in the Silver Nugget with the candlelight shining in your eyes. I knew I loved you, but I didn’t tell myself so in actual words. In the storm, seeing you in the streetlight. I consciously knew it then. I remembered you.”

  “What you’re saying is...impossible.” Ellen had gone weak, as though all the blood were draining out of her body and taking her strength with it. He was referring to one dream—one long-ago dream. What would he do if he knew the whole truth—that she had dreamed of him, too, the night before they met?

  Did those dreams really mean that the two of them were meant to be together? No, because “they” couldn’t be! Sitting together in the summer sun, Ellen wasn’t able to bring herself to look at him for fear the pain in her heart was showing in her eyes. It wasn’t fair that a bunch of crazy night dreams could twist and cripple the joys of her future dreams. It wasn’t fair that she loved Cody and leaving him would be like a part of her dying. It just wasn’t fair!

  12

  HE KNEW A BACK WAY in to Pebble Street. The old alley was overgrown with brush, except for a footpath still used by local kids. It circled behind the houses on the east side of the street, one of which belonged to Mrs. Volken.

  He was fairly sure the kids still crossed themselves when they passed that particular house. Why would that change? Nothing else had. The same rails were missing from the small back porch. The same faded blue curtains hung at the windows. The same wooden planter with one scraggly geranium sat by the door, and not a spot of paint had touched the building anywhere.

  How old must the gypsy woman be by now? He’d thought she was old twenty years ago. Some people, it seemed, grew too old to die, and it was said that gypsies were not ordinary people.

  Ellen would be home working on the dresses, and he didn’t want to take the chance of her seeing him. Making his way under the leafy trees at the side of the house, he stepped quickly to the front door, knocked loudly, and waited for a full minute before the handle turned and the door squeaked open.

  The gypsy had not changed. In fact, Cody could have sworn she was wearing the same rust-colored skirt and dark-flowered blouse he remembered. Gold chains dangled from her neck. Her dark skin was wrinkled but her dark eyes were clear and ageless.

  She smiled as if she had been expecting him. “Kevin Reilly. Well, well, a surprise. When a lad leaves Pebble Street, he seldom returns.”

  He smiled. “I’m the exception then, Mrs. Volken. I’m glad to see you’re still here.”

  She motioned him in. “As long as there are people who need me, I’ll be here. What can I do for you, lad?”

  “I need some information and advice.”

  “Of course.” She led the way to a small room decorated with travel posters of France and Greece and furnished with a table and two chairs. On the larger chair, which had once been green, stretched a fringed, flowered shawl. Cody waited until Mrs. Volken had settled in comfortably before he sat down in the opposite chair. Except for the posters, it was amazingly like what he’d imagined a fortune-teller’s “office” would be. A yellow cat appeared from nowhere and leapt onto her lap.

  Mrs. Volken gave him a businesslike smile. “You are concerned about your future with a particular woman, are you not?”

  He nodded. “It’s complicated. I need to know something about dreams, Mrs. Volken. And about ghosts.”

  Her face suddenly became solemn, her eyes darkened. She closed them and turned eerily still, sitting with one hand resting on the cat. With the other she reached toward him. “Give me something of yours to hold.”

  Cody removed a tigereye ring that had belonged to his father and set it in her hand. He sat back and waited.

  “You are very tense,” the gypsy said. “Find the rhythm of my breaths and breathe with me. Deeply. Try to relax. That’s better. I will give you my impressions. Then, if you have specific questions, I will try to answer.”

  Her eyes remained closed. “This woman. Although you have met her very recently, you have known her before. There is something murky in her family background which even she might not know. She lives here in our valley of shadows. She loves you but she will leave you. You are here because you want to stop her from leaving.”

  Cody’s mouth had gone dry. He had always believed in psychics, but her insight amazed him. “Yes,” he muttered.

  “You have had troubling dreams about her. Something is unusual about your dreams.... I can’t quite get what it is....”

  “There was a ghost in the dreams,” he said. “An actual ghost, not something out of my imagination.”

  Her fingers tightened on the ring. “Ghosts in dreams are usually not a good thing, lad, because spirits of the dead can influence our thoughts through dreams. This spirit is female, I sense that.
And you have seen her.”

  “Only hints of her. In the Whitfield mansion.”

  Mrs. Volken’s head lowered, as if she had gone deeper into trance. “The discarnate being is trying to lure someone into her domain.... Not you... A woman. I think it is the woman you love.”

  He drew a shaky breath. “Why?”

  “I don’t know. Some spirits willingly communicate with me. This one will not. But I sense pain and suffering in that house. It is not a good place to be. I believe the ghost is using dreams to lure her. I can almost get the name.... Iris? Ellen?”

  “Ellen,” he said.

  “The woman who intends to leave you.”

  “Not me. Shadow Valley. And I intend to stop her, any way I can.”

  The old woman nodded. “Ah. So now we get to the real reason you came.”

  “Right. You say this ghost can manipulate dreams. I thought so. I know for a fact Ellen has dreamed about the mansion.” His eyes fixed on the gleam of gold of her necklaces in the light from a small bulb directly overhead. This news was not good. If he were to tell Ellen the truth—that the Whitfield ghost had a fixation for her—she’d find it all the more reason to distance herself from the town. He said, “I want to know how dreams are manipulated so I can do the same. Nothing else has worked to convince her.”

  The gypsy opened her eyes for the first time since she sat down. “Do you think I know the secrets of the dreamworld?”

  “I hoped you might. A lot of people talk about your knowledge of magic. And it’s common knowledge that you can contact the dead.”

  “The latter is true, lad. Many spirits want the opportunity to speak through me. Some don’t. They control the communication, not me. And yes, I can often read fortunes when the energies are properly aligned. But the dreamworld is full of mystery. I am a seer, Kevin. I’m not a witch.”

  His spirits were getting heavier by the moment. “So you’re saying it can’t be done?”

  “No. It probably can be done. I am saying that I don’t know how to do it. I strongly recommend that you not pursue this idea, dear. Interference in the dreamworld can open us to dangers beyond imagining.”

  Cody sat back. “Danger to Ellen, too?”

  “If a ghost is involved in her dreamworld, it would become very angry and make a lot more trouble than it’s doing now.”

  Rage rose in him. “Curse it, Mrs. Volken! There has to be something I can do. If I can convince her not to leave, then there will be time to deal with this ghost thing. Right now, I just need to persuade her to stay with me. What persuasions do you know?”

  “Such persuasions come under the category of witchcraft, my dear Kevin. I’m afraid you would have to find a witch for that kind of help.”

  “Come on,” he coaxed. “There has to be something.”

  “I can take a better look into the future, this is where my power lies. The outcome of future events can be changed, to be sure. But only you can do that—you and she.”

  He frowned, discouraged, but unwilling to give up. “Take a better look into the future, then.”

  Mrs. Volken closed her eyes and concentrated, her face losing all expression. “You have a distinguished future in Shadow Valley. I see you in some kind of public office. And there is something to do with communication, perhaps radio—”

  “Never mind all that stuff,” he interrupted. “What about Ellen. Will she leave?”

  “Yes, there is no question about it. She will leave.”

  Cody felt his heart sink. “No. I’ll stop her.”

  “I don’t think so.” The gypsy handed back his ring and looked at him with wise, dark eyes. She said, “I’m afraid I haven’t helped, except perhaps to warn you to be careful about the dreams.”

  “Which is a good thing, I’m sure.” He rose and reached into his pocket and lay some bills on a dusty side table next to a set of Tarot cards. Interesting, he thought, that she had used psychometry with his ring and not cards to read his future. The stuffiness of the house, combined with odors of cooking, was getting to him and he wanted out.

  “Blessings to you,” the woman said, patting back strands of gray hair.

  “And to you, Mrs. Volken. I’ll be back one day.”

  As she was walking him to the door, a knock sounded. To his surprise, it was Meredith Calhoun who stood on the old woman’s doorstep, and the familiarity between the two was evident. Meredith and the gypsy...very curious. Meredith stared at him. “Cody Laird? What a surprise finding you here!”

  He smiled. “Life is full of surprises.” Including Ellen’s surprise as soon as Meredith told her about seeing him here. He’d need a good explanation. Unless he could get to Meredith before she had a chance to talk to Ellen.

  He found her later at home when he knew her husband was at his clinic.

  “Is there no end to the surprises?” she said when she opened her door.

  “I want to talk to you.”

  “About Ellen, I’ll bet.” She motioned him into her living room. “You’re not smiling, Cody.”

  “Neither are you. I think you know I’m here because I saw you at Mrs. Volken’s.”

  “I’ve been very curious about that. But Mrs. V. wouldn’t give me a clue.”

  “Does Ellen ever talk to the gypsy?”

  “No. Not that she’s a disbeliever. She has me around if she wants psychic advice.” Meredith smiled for the first time. “And even if she doesn’t, she still gets my advice.”

  “She doesn’t go for Tarot readings or anything like that?”

  Seated across the coffee table from him, Meredith kept strong eye contact. He saw that she was suspicious, but he didn’t care.

  “Why don’t you ask her? Meredith said.

  He sat back. “Because I’m up to no good. You already know that, so why should we beat around the bush? What is your relationship with Mrs. Volken?”

  Meredith’s lips tightened; her voice became stiff. “I suppose you could say I’m her student.”

  Ah, he thought. This is even better. “Does that mean you know something about Tarot?”

  “I read Tarot cards.” She cocked her head. “Why?”

  “The cards carry powerful messages. If they came out a certain way, most people would hesitate to go against their predictions.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Are you asking me to do a reading for Ellen?”

  “I was thinking about Mrs. Volken, but you’d be even better. You know what I’m getting at, Meredith. I want you to manage the reading so it’ll come out with a strong warning that she shouldn’t leave.”

  Meredith’s hand flew to her throat. “That’s horrible! What sort of person are you?”

  “A desperate one.” He met her eyes. “I’ll do anything to stall her long enough to convince her where she belongs.”

  Anger showed on Meredith’s face. “Oh, really? You think she belongs in a town that has been so unkind to her?”

  “She belongs with me. Shadow Valley can be conquered.”

  “Just what would you know about it? You’re a stranger.” Meredith folded and unfolded her hands nervously. “Ellen believes you care for her. Why would you want to trick her?”

  “I don’t want to trick her. I want to marry her.”

  Her body froze in shock. “Marry? You want to marry—”

  His eyes fixed on hers. “Will you help me?”

  “Oh, Lord.” Meredith rose and began to pace. “I want more than anything for Ellen to stay. She’s the sister I never had. I’ll be devastated without her.”

  “I hoped that was the case, knowing what your friendship means to her.”

  “But it’s her life dream, Cody! Something she has to do to find her identity. She’s planned it her whole life.”

  He watched her pacing. “Ellen doesn’t have a valid picture of how harsh the world is or how competitive, in spite of her impressive talent. She’s chasing rainbows.”

  Meredith sighed. “I’m afraid of that, too. She’s so...sheltered. But she’s also a strong, d
etermined woman. It would take a lot to stop her.”

  “I intend to stop her.”

  “With my help?”

  “With or without your help.”

  She scowled, but her voice was soft. “It’s selfish.”

  “A man’s love is like that when a thing is meant to be.”

  Meredith continued pacing. “I need a drink. Want one?”

  “Sure.”

  She disappeared and returned with two glasses of whiskey. “So you want me to manipulate a Tarot reading, to jeopardize my integrity, lie to her. She took a long drink. “All right, I’ll do it.” Another drink steadied her voice.

  “I’ll be forever in your debt,” he said.

  Meredith set down her glass and looked him in the eye. “If you ever let her know, I’ll kill you.”

  “I’ll always respect your friendship,” he promised.

  She held his gaze. “As much as I want Ellen to be here for my sake, that’s not why I’m agreeing to this shameful conspiracy. It’s because I believe in love. I’m convinced you love her. And she is in love with you.”

  * * *

  “THIS IS A FUN IDEA,” Ellen said, handing up a jug of lemonade to Meredith from the top of the tree-house ladder. “You were right, I do need a couple of hours off. I’ve been practically sewing in my sleep, and it’s been ages since we came up here in the daytime.” With the high trees shading them, it was the most private place in town, and a spot where they could be kids again.

  When they were settled on the floor with ice clinking in their glasses, Meredith said, “I brought my Tarot cards. I think we should do a reading for you.”

  Ellen smiled. “Great. It’s been years since you’ve done a reading. Now’s the perfect time, almost at the crossroads.”

  Meredith handed her the deck. “Here. Shuffle and cut and think of the question you want answered.”

  “The question is, how will my life change when I leave? What will happen with my career?”

  “Okay. I’m going to do a Celtic-cross spread, which means you turn over the ten top cards. Go ahead with the first.”

  Ellen turned a card faceup. “Six of Cups.”