You Are Always on My Mind

by Sable Hunter

  “You spent too much,” she murmured, her eyes shining with unshed tears. Harper hiccupped a sob when he went to one knee. “You’ll get dirty.”

  “I don’t care.” Revel held her hand and gazed into her eyes. “I know I’ve already asked, but I want to make sure. Will you marry me? Will you be my wife? Will you spend your life with me? Will you have my babies?”

  As she beheld the man of her dreams, offering to give her the world, her lips could only form one word. “Yes.”

  Gently, tenderly, but with great purpose, he slipped the ring on her finger and then he kissed it. “Thank you for giving me everything I’ve ever wanted.” Rising, he framed her face and drank from her lips. “I promise I’ll make you happy.”

  Harper believed him. “I’m happy now.” She wanted to pinch herself—not to inflict a bite of pain but to see if she was really awake. Their next stop was the courthouse to get a marriage license. Once they had the piece of paper in hand, Harper began to realize all of this was really happening.

  The rest of the afternoon, they ran several errands before driving to a nice part of town near the river. The restaurant where they met Patrick and Savannah was a red brick Creole cottage. When they entered, it took Harper a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the dim interior. Hurricane lamps sat on round tables covered with white linen cloths. “There they are,” Revel told the hostess as Patrick waved to them from a place near the courtyard window.

  As they walked, Harper didn’t know what to do with her hand. She had an overwhelming desire to hold it out in front of her so everyone could see her engagement ring. And when she came to their friend’s table, she couldn’t resist. “Look,” she said proudly.

  “Oh my God.” Savannah grabbed her hand. “What a rock!”

  Revel pulled out her chair and she would have missed the seat if he hadn’t guided her down into it. Her obvious joy and Savannah’s excitement warmed his heart. Everything was going to be okay, he could feel it.

  Jolie’s Louisiana Bistro offered local seasonal cuisine with a distinct New Orleans flair. Harper was enchanted. They studied the menu and each chose something different. “I’m buying,” Patrick declared. “Order all you want, cause I’m not splitting anything I get.”

  Savannah elbowed him, laughing. “He’s serious. The man loves his food.” There was so much to choose from, but Harper finally settled on crab cakes. Revel got a steak and Savannah and Patrick chose blackened redfish.

  Once they’d placed their order, Savannah grabbed Harper’s hand. “Okay, let’s talk wedding. What’s your favorite color and your favorite flower?”

  Patrick lifted an eyebrow to Revel. “Tell the waitress to keep the beers coming.”

  Harper ignored their teasing. “I love lilies and I’ve always dreamed of an all-white wedding.” As soon as she said the words, she blushed. No one deserved an all-white wedding less than she did. A collage of images came to mind—her strapped to a spanking bench, being whipped by Ajax wielding a cat o’ nine tails, and bound to a St. Andrew’s cross with a gag ball in her mouth. “Maybe that’s not a good idea, though.”

  “Why not?” Savannah exclaimed. “We can get calla lilies, stargazer lilies, maybe some gladiolas. I promise, I can make that little church romantic as can be.”

  “How about music, do you want me to get the Hobbs brothers to come play a set?” Patrick asked with a straight face.

  Savannah glared at Patrick then burst out laughing. “No, Harper doesn’t want a zydeco band. I’ll ask my friend Tammany to come play the piano and sing, she is wonderful and will be glad to do it. If that’s okay with you?” She turned to Harper for approval.

  “Please, I wouldn’t know who to ask.”

  “Great, and as far as the rehearsal dinner, we have that covered. We’ll bring a feast to Wildwood and have a big cookout. It will be a party you’ll long remember.”

  All of it sounded good to Harper. “What do you think?” she asked Revel.

  “I love it, as long as it’s quick. I don’t want to wait much longer.”

  “How about next weekend, is that soon enough?”

  Savannah tossed out the suggestion and Revel grabbed onto it like a lifeline. “Can we get it together in time?”

  “I’ll see to it,” Patrick assured him with a hand on his shoulder. “I know how it is to want to marry the woman you love. I looked for Savannah for years, not knowing who I was searching for, only a face I’d seen in the mysterious waters of a dark well. My destiny.” Revel and Harper were quiet while their friends shared a moment. Romance was definitely in the air.

  After that, they ate their supper making small talk, until the conversation turned naturally to the happenings at Wildwood. Savannah cleared her throat. “I did a little sleuthing this morning. Down at the culture center, we have access to the biggest genealogical data base available.”

  “Did you find mention of Jeanette?” Harper leaned forward, her attention immediately on red alert. “And Joby?”

  Savannah held up her hand. “What I found was surprising. Elias Mercier was your great grandfather. He was Clotille’s father, so Jeanette was Clotille’s sister. I found a picture of her.” She reached inside her purse and pulled out a photocopy. “She was beautiful.”

  With a hand that wasn’t quite steady, Harper took the picture and leaned into Revel. The image wasn’t clear, the young woman looked stilted. Holding it close, Harper studied the face, it was the same one she’d seen in the small bedroom. And yes, there were similarities to the pale tortured wraith who’d climbed the stairs in her bloody gown. “What else did you find?”

  “Her death certificate. She died two weeks after her eighteenth birthday. The death was ruled a suicide, she hung herself at Wildwood.” Savannah’s tone was very solemn. Such a contrast to the exuberance when they’d been discussing wedding plans. “Elias shot himself a few weeks later.”

  Harper wiped a tear off her cheek. “I never knew. Grandmother never mentioned a sister or any of this. Any reference to a baby? Any death certificate for Joby?”

  “None.” Patrick gave this answer. “Which tells me volumes.”

  Revel sat forward, picking up the photo to peer at it again. “Either she never had a baby at all or something happened to it so no one would know of its existence.”

  “Or its death,” Harper added, looking up. “There was a baby, we’ve all heard its cry.”

  “Jeanette was older than your grandmother, by ten years. Clotille would have been old enough to know something was going on, however.” Savannah took her napkin from her lap and folded it next to the fine china plate. “You told me you heard the cry of the baby growing up and your grandmother’s journal mentions your mother hearing it.”

  “Yes, that’s right.” Harper nodded.

  “When did you start hearing or sensing Jeanette?”

  Revel shifted in his chair. “I never heard the baby. But I would hear a grown woman crying.”

  “When did it start, as soon as you moved in? Right after you bought the place?” Savannah asked.

  Revel thought a minute. “No, it didn’t start till I began the renovations.”

  “Any type of refurbishing can spur paranormal activity. Spirits aren’t partial to change.”

  Savannah’s comment was said with a straight face, so Revel dared not laugh. “I didn’t know that. Most of what I’ve changed has been the porches, the balconies and the ground floor beneath the gallery.” He winked at Harper, thinking about their playroom. “I’ve also torn out most of the walls in the garconniere, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten.”

  “Lordy, it’s been a long time since I heard that word. The garconniere at Evermore was my private playhouse when I was growing up.” Patrick turned to Savannah, determined to share his knowledge. “The plantation owner’s sons or any other young men in the family were moved out to the garconniere to escape female influences and give them space to do ‘manly’ things.”

  Savannah nodded patiently. Being an employee of the
Louisiana Cultural Center, it was her job to know these things. “During Elias’s time, there was no young man to live in the garconniere.”

  “No, not unless it was used for some other purpose,” Revel said logically.

  “I’ve seen a blue light hovering near it and even inside of it,” Harper announced in a low tone. She’d much rather be talking about the upcoming ceremony, but the memory of that poor woman wailing for her lost child was something she hadn’t been able to get out of her mind.

  “Feu follet,” Savannah whispered. “Many old-timers say it’s the soul of an unbaptized baby, a baby who was still nursing.”

  Harper was confused. “I thought that was a lutin.”

  “It is confusing,” Savannah remarked. “The lutin is a spirit, either an apparition or a poltergeist while the feu follet is a light anomaly, but both are attributed to be the hauntings of babies.”

  Shivering, Harper felt ill at ease. “Either way, I wish there was something we could do to make it stop. The idea of a baby unable to rest is horrible.”

  Revel could see she was upset, so he endeavored to change the subject. “I’ll give T-Rex a call tomorrow. It wouldn’t be a celebration without him.”

  “No, it wouldn’t,” Harper agreed, seeing through his ruse to distract her. “I’m okay. I just want to ask Savannah if there is anything we can do to give this baby peace. Babies are supposed to be angels when they die.” Her voice trembled more than she wanted it to.

  Savannah gave her a sympathetic look. “Now is not the time for you to be worrying about this sadness. However, I do realize living with an unhappy spirit can be nerve wracking. Let me check online to see if there is any record of a burial in any cemetery, most are catalogued. I’ll also check out the local cemeteries myself. In my experience with disturbed entities, the only thing that could be holding them in this limbo is a knowledge of what happened to them or the fact that the child might never have received a proper burial.”

  Savannah’s words rang true with Harper. After that, their conversation moved on to happier things and by the time they were through, the happy couple was once again looking forward to their wedding.

  The trip home was enjoyable. Harper would have gazed at her ring if there had been sufficient light. “I like your friends,” she admitted as they turned on the road toward home.

  “They’re your friends now. Our lives are entwined. As the good book says, we’ll soon be ‘one’.” He grabbed her hand and pulled it into his lap.

  Harper sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. She let her eyes wander out the driver’s side window. The moonlight gave enough illumination that she could make out the cypress trees standing next to the bayou. When they passed the spot where she’d seen the figure earlier in the day, her heart started pounding and she stared hard into the darkness, straining to see if he was still there.

  She saw nothing…until they turned the curve to Wildwood and realized every light blazing in the house. “Fuck,” Revel muttered. “I know we didn’t leave the lights on. What the hell is going on?”

  “Revel, I’m scared,” Harper admitted.

  “Don’t be.” He kissed her on the temple as he turned off the engine. “I’ll take care of it. You stay in the truck and lock the door behind me. Here’s the key. I’ll go in and see what’s going on and call the sheriff.”

  “No, there might be someone in there.” She placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.

  “I had the doors locked and the alarm set. If someone’s getting in there, I don’t know how they’re doing it.” Opening the door, he stepped out. “But I’m not buying this is supernatural, I’m calling the law.”

  Before he could walk away, she grabbed his arm. “Revel, I thought I saw Harlow standing on the side of the road about a half mile from here when we were on the way to town. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything, I thought I might have been imagining things and I didn’t want to spoil our good time.”

  He cupped the side of her face. “It’s okay, baby. I’m not scared of that man. I’ve faced down terrorists and lived to tell about it. Now lock up.”

  She did as he said, clicking the button after him. From the safety of the truck cab, she watched Revel walk with a determined stride up to the verandah steps, his phone to his ear. Much to her chagrin, he pocketed the phone and went inside, not waiting for the arrival of law enforcement. Fortunately the local sheriff, Blann Russell, didn’t live very far away. Harper kept her eye on the house. Every few seconds or so she could see Revel pass by one of the windows as he moved through the rooms. She didn’t really know how much time had passed, but she let out a relieved breath when the flashing red light and loud siren of the lawman broke the too quiet dark.

  After Sheriff Russell joined Revel, they appeared to walk through the house again, then with flashlights in hand, they inspected the perimeter of the house and down toward the bayou. Harper was glad the lawman didn’t come over to talk to her. He was the same man who had been with her folks the day of the tragedy. She’d recognized the name. Harper had no idea he was Sheriff here now, he must have moved from New Iberia to Loreauville. She hadn’t seen him since the day he carried her to her home, the day her parents died and she wasn’t looking forward to seeing him now. Revel checked on her three times, making sure she was okay. Harper was fine, but she couldn’t keep from stealing furtive glances out into the darkness, wondering if someone was watching.

  Finally, Revel came to her, opened the door and she launched herself into his arms. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yea, as far as we can tell,” he whispered, kissing her softly on the neck. “Blann is going to send a guy over tonight to watch the place.” Holding her to him, he could feel her shivering. “Don’t worry, if he came in, there’s no sign of him now. I’ll protect you. In fact, I’ll give you just what you need to feel better.” Picking her up, Revel carried her inside the house. He set her down once, to lock the doors, set the alarm and put some kind of pistol in his back pocket. “We’ll take this with us, just in case.”

  “I’m okay,” she murmured, laying her cheek against his beating heart. “I haven’t done…anything…” she said haltingly, referring to the times she’d brought blood on her own flesh with her fingernails. “Being with you helps.” Knowing they had a future together made all the difference.

  “Good, but this will make you feel even better.”

  Being carried and cherished, Harper’s excitement level rose when he opened the door of their playroom and locked them inside. Once her feet touched the ground, he removed the gun and laid it in a safe and ready place. “What are we going to do?” Her words betrayed her breathless anticipation.

  “I’m going to make you cum so hard you’ll think the earth is shifting.” He spoke the words so close to her face, she could feel his warm breath. His fingers were busy, helping her remove her simple summer dress, then his shirt and pants. When Harper saw his cock spring free, her arousal mounted, nipples erect, her clit swelling. Her eyes roved his body, he truly was a beautiful man.

  When she lifted her hand, he joined his to it, placing their palms together and closing his fingers around her hand to pull her close. She went without hesitation. “You have no idea how exciting you are.”

  Revel’s whole being went taut at her words, his groin ached. His adrenaline was already rushing at the thought of an intruder and now he was primed to protect, claim and conquer. This woman was his to shelter, his to love. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous.” Her long dark hair swung around her shoulders like an ebony waterfall. “Over here, darlin’.”

  He pressed a guiding hand to the small of her back and Harper felt her pussy grow damp. “Yes, Sir.” Guiding her to the padded table, he helped her stretch out, face down, head on her arms. With a reverent touch, he let his hand glide down the smooth expanse of her back, tracing the delicate curve from shoulders to the top of her hip.

  “Now to make you feel good.” Revel went to a cabinet and removed a bottle, poured a golden stream into his p
alm and rubbed his hands together, warming the oil. Starting at her shoulders, he began to caress. “I love to touch you,” he said, soothing his hands over her skin, kneading the delicate but firm muscles of her upper arms. Her answer was a low moan of pleasure as he continued to massage her body from top to toe, lingering on the gentle swell of her buttocks.

  “Turn over, Bright Eyes.” She did so, anxiously, knowing what awaited her would only be bliss. Watching him, she was mesmerized by the sight of him pouring more oil, sensuously rubbing his palms together, holding her gaze all the while. “Ready?”

  “Please,” she begged. And then he touched her, letting his hands glide down her front. Harper arched her back when he cupped her breasts and molded them, rubbing in the oil, pulling at her nipples, milking them between his fingers. “Oh, yes,” she whimpered, spreading her legs in supplication.

  Revel smiled at her reaction. After he’d assuaged his need to caress her tits, he took the bottle and poured a stream of oil over her flat stomach, down over her mound, following the path of the liquid as it slid down her slit and pooled beneath her. “Part your legs, baby. Let me worship that beautiful pussy.”

  Harper closed her eyes in ecstasy as he glided his fingertips along her soft folds, up and down and then in between, rubbing the slightly plump lips framing her secret place. Harper felt her pussy clench, then open, hopelessly hungry and asking to be filled. To her relief, he parted her folds and bared her clit and she moaned and writhed when he began to swirl oil over and around it, giving her further relief when he thrust two thick, hard fingers up inside of her, working them in and out until she was helping him set the rhythm. Unable to contain herself, she spread her knees, raising and giving him complete access.

  Revel needed her kiss. While his fingers were busy, pumping deep within her, he claimed her lips, crashing their mouths together, sucking at her tongue. When he was sure Harper was on the verge of exploding, he gave her a little tug. “Turn back over.” He adjusted a lever and she found herself half-lying with her feet on the ground, her ass and pussy at his mercy. Then her blood pressure soared when Revel fastened straps to her wrists. “How’s that?”