Marie leaned across the table and patted Lily’s hand. “How is Ian’s sister doing after her horrid ordeal?”
Lily smiled. “Kelly is fine. Which is saying something, considering how Ian tore into her for being so reckless. They were all lucky that woman tripped before she got back into her house, and the police were able to apprehend her without anyone getting hurt. If she’d made it inside and locked the door, it could have turned into a hostage situation, because the housekeeper was inside.”
“Horrid, just horrid,” Marie muttered.
“Well, one thing Kelly got out of this: Joe Morreli.” Lily giggled.
“Joe Morelli?” Marie looked with curiosity from Lily to Danielle
“Kelly’s developed quite the crush on the sergeant. According to Ian, when they rescued her, she fell apart and instead of running to him for comfort, she threw herself into Joe’s arms. Apparently, saving the damsel in distress got Joe looking in her direction. She’s spending this weekend with her brother, so she and Joe can go out on their first date,” Danielle explained.
With a sympathetic smile, Marie reached over and patted Danielle’s hand. “I suppose it really is over for you and Joe.”
Danielle sipped her tea. “And I couldn’t be happier.”
“I’m not sure I am,” Lily grumbled. “I like Kelly and everything, but why can’t Joe go to Portland to take her out?”
“No,” Marie said primly, “this is much more proper.”
Lily glanced askance at the elderly woman and then looked to Danielle, who grinned mischievously.
“Of course, this means there’s still hope for you and my grandson.”
Now it was Lily’s turn to grin.
Flames blazed in the nearby bedroom fireplace while Danielle curled up on the small sofa reading a book.
“We need to talk,” Lucas announced when he entered the bedroom.
“I was beginning to think you’d moved on.” Closing the book, she set it on her lap and sat up in the sofa, her eyes never leaving the image of her late husband.
“I know it’s time for me to move on, but first, we need to talk.” Lucas stood before the fire, looking down at Danielle.
“I’m not sure what we really have to talk about.”
“When I died, I imagine there were many things you wanted to say to me.”
Danielle smiled sadly. “There were, but I’ve moved on, and so should you.”
“But you see, there are things I need to tell you—things you have a right to know.”
Danielle studied him for a moment and then nodded. “Okay, go on.”
“I’ve never stopped loving you. I admit I had an affair, but she wasn’t my lover. I would never use the word love—in any form—to describe our relationship.”
“Then what was it?”
“It was me being a fool, getting caught up in the success, losing all perspective of the dreams we once shared. She initiated the affair, and please don’t imagine for a moment I’m attempting to blame her for my indiscretions. I’m not. I was flattered, and at the time, you seemed to disapprove of everything I wanted—the new house, the car, even our portrait.”
“I’ve just never been into all that material stuff,” Danielle said.
“I know. And frankly, that’s one of the things I always loved about you.”
“I don’t understand; then why? Why did you do it?”
“I don’t know.” Lucas began to pace the room. “But when the portrait arrived—and I looked up at us—at you—and I realized in that moment how much I loved you, the last thing I wanted to do was destroy our marriage or hurt you. The night of the accident, I told Kelsey it was over between her and me. I told her I loved my wife, that I always had. I wanted to make our marriage work, I wanted to change—change back into the man my wife used to respect.”
“It wasn’t that I didn’t respect you,” Danielle whispered.
Lucas stopped pacing and looked down at Danielle. “I didn’t respect me, Danielle.”
“What did she say?”
“She was furious. Grabbed hold of the steering wheel, and after that, well, everything got confused after that.”
“Kelsey caused the accident?”
Lucas nodded. “I am so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I’ll always love you, Danielle.”
A tear slipped down her face, yet she didn’t know what to say.
“I know this is a lot to take in right now, and you don’t have to say anything back. You’ve been mad at me for over a year, and I don’t expect your forgiveness. Perhaps someday.”
“I forgave you long ago, Lucas.”
He smiled. “I want you to be happy, Danielle. I want you to find a man who loves you as you deserve to be loved.”
Lucas reached out to Danielle and whispered, “Be happy.” He disappeared.
The scent of pine filled her nostrils. Danielle opened her eyes. She sat on the front porch of a rustic log cabin, surrounded by evergreen trees. Turning her head to the right, she looked into Walt’s blue eyes. The two sat together on a porch swing.
Danielle breathed deeply and smiled. “Those trees smell so real.”
“You can thank Heather for that,” Walt told her.
“Heather?”
“It’s that oil she got you to put in that contraption before you went to bed.”
“You mean the diffuser?” Danielle took another whiff.
Walt shrugged. “I suppose that’s what it’s called. As long as she doesn’t use one of those voodoo spirit chasing oils.”
“I seriously don’t think essential oils can really cast out spirits.” Danielle smiled and leaned back, her right foot gently pushing the swing to and fro. She stared out to the forest.
“I guess Lucas left? For good?”
She glanced briefly at Walt. “How did you know?”
“He stopped by the attic on his way to—to wherever he’s going—to say goodbye.”
“Really? I didn’t realize you two had become chummy.”
“We hadn’t, but we were aware of each other.”
“Hmm…”
“He told me he still loves you, that part of him wanted to stay and be with you. But that even if you wanted him to stay, it wouldn’t be fair to you.”
“Hmm…”
“Danielle?”
“Yes?”
“Did you want him to stay?”
Danielle sighed. “I was thinking about that a while back. How it would be possible for someone like me to stay with my deceased husband—if that were something he and I wanted. And then I remembered, in twenty years I will be fifty—I will look fifty, well, maybe early forties if I take care of myself—but he would continue to look the same age as he was when he died. As the years go by, I would get older, while he remained frozen in time.”
“You didn’t answer my question; did you want him to stay?”
Danielle looked at Walt, her expression solemn. “And then I realized; it’s the same with you. You’re eternally 27 while I’ll continue to age.”
“That’s not necessarily true.” In the next instant, Walt looked thirty years older.
Danielle smiled. “You age well, but this is a dream. If you want, you could make yourself look like an elephant.”
“No Danielle; even when you’re awake I believe I could appear older if I choose to.”
“Maybe, Walt. But it’s just an illusion…this is all an illusion.”
They sat in silence for several minutes. Finally, Walt said, “Lucas told me about his affair, about how he never stopped loving you. He hopes you’ll forgive him someday.”
“I already have, months ago. Although, now that I’ve talked to him, realized he did still love me, in spite of his choices, it’s different somehow.”
“Do you still love him?”
“I thought I didn’t. But now…well, it’s like I can be free to remember him with love. It always hurt so much to believe our love, our life together, had all been a lie. But now…well, it’s like I lost him
, got him back, and then lost him again.”
“He told me not to interfere with your happiness.”
Danielle turned to Walt with a frown, “He what?”
“He told me he didn’t understand why I hadn’t moved on, but that if I chose to stay, I needed to make sure I didn’t interfere with your happiness.”
“What are you saying?”
“I wondered…is my being here interfering with your happiness? Should I move on?”
“Do you want to?”
“What do you want, Danielle?”
“Do you want me to be honest?”
“Always.”
“You’re one of my best friends. I know when I first moved here, I wanted nothing more than for you to continue your journey. And I suppose in some ways, it’s selfish of me to want you to hang around. But when I feel that way, I remember what you always tell me: that wherever you go next, it will still be there when you’re ready to move on.”
“But you didn’t want Lucas to stay, even though you might still love him.”
“Oh come on Walt, how would that work out? My deceased husband hovering around while I’m going on with my life. I can’t even imagine how awkward it might be if I decided…well, you know…to…umm…be with a man. I mean really, with my husband lurking around?” Danielle cringed.
“May I remind you, it’ll still be awkward if you choose to do that here.”
Danielle grinned. “But Walt, you’re confined to Marlow House, while Lucas wasn’t. Trust me; I won’t be having a sleep over at Marlow House.”
The Ghost from the Sea
* * *
Revisit Marlow House in
The Ghost from the Sea
Haunting Danielle, Book 8
Coming April 30, 2016
When a shipwreck washes up on a beach across from Marlow House, Frederickport residents wonder what happened to the ship’s crew.
Danielle soon discovers the ship brought a stowaway—a spirit with ties to Frederickport that go back to the 1920s—when Walt was still alive.
Haunting Danielle Series
by Bobbi Holmes
The Ghost of Marlow House, Book 1
The Ghost Who Loved Diamonds, Book 2
The Ghost Who Wasn’t, Book 3
The Ghost Who Wanted Revenge, Book 4
The Ghost of Halloween Past, Book 5
The Ghost Who Came for Christmas, Book 6
The Ghost of Valentine Past, Book 7
The Ghost from the Sea, Book 8
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Bobbi Holmes
Also known as Anna J. McIntyre
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Unlocked Hearts Series
by Anna J. McIntyre
Sundered Hearts
After Sundown
Sugar Rush
While Snowbound
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The Coulson Series
by Anna J. McIntyre
Coulson’s Wife
Coulson’s Crucible
Coulson’s Lessons
Coulson’s Secret
Coulson’s Reckoning
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Also by Bobbi Ann Johnson Holmes
Havasu Palms, A Hostile Takeover
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The Ghost of Valentine Past Page 27