Freeing Lost Souls (The Family Tree Series Book 1) Read online

  “Cool.” Benny gives me a hug before he jumps into his truck and rolls the window down. “We will clear more of the path as we go to make it easier for Brown to get up here.”

  “Thanks.” We wave as they turn the truck around and wait for Benny’s crew to lead the way back down the hill. We watch as the small convoy of trucks disappears from view. “I guess we wait now.” He heads back with our packs, over to the tree where we were sitting before. We lay the blanket out and sit.

  “So what did Teresa say to you?” I question, as I get comfortable.

  “She said that we should talk. What did she say to you?”

  “Same thing. She thinks we should ‘put it all out on the table’ and figure it all out.”

  “So, who starts? My guess is we will be here for a while.”

  “I will, I’m afraid,” I express as I take a deep breath. Bruce gets comfortable. We are both sitting facing each other.

  “I’m afraid—” he starts to say, but I lift my hand to stop him.

  “Let me finish, please…I’m afraid of the feelings I have for you. I only really loved one other person, and I told you how that turned out. My feelings for you go even deeper than mine for Ned. I didn’t think my heart would ever feel so full again. My fear is what happens when the ghost stuff is all over. Will we still feel like this? Will you still want me, when we don’t have our family ghosts around?”

  I put my hands to my face and rub, then push back the hair that has fallen out of my braid. “I love you, Bruce. I think I’ve known that for a while, deep down. But I’m not sure what I would do if I lost you. And after reading the letter Elizabeth wrote in that cabin, I know how she felt. My soul would feel lost.”

  I look at him with tears in my eyes. “Do you understand why I want to make sure it’s us that got together and not Edward and Elizabeth causing this?”

  He takes my hands in his. “I know how you are feeling. You know what happened between Julie and me. I didn’t think I would love anyone ever again. For a long time I didn’t want to. But then you came along and turned my world upside down. Now I don’t think I could live my life without you. I don’t need to wait and see what happens. I know what I feel for you is real. It’s us not Edward and Elizabeth. I love you, and I will still love you when this is all over. Nothing will change that. And I’ll wait for you, if that is what you need me to do.” He brings my hands to his lips and kisses them. “I’ll wait forever, if that’s what you want. I’ll never want anyone other than you.”

  Tears finally cascade out of my eyes. “The feelings that I have for you are so intense. My heart feels so empty when we are not together.” I get up on my knees and kiss him. He folds his arms around me, one hand in my hair and his other pulling my body closer to him. I straddle my knees around his waist as he straightens his legs. “I love you,” I whisper between kisses. He lies down on his back, taking me with him, never breaking the kiss.

  I sit up and yank on his shirt to pull it off. He sits up and helps slide it over his head, then pulls me back down with him to kiss some more. As I’m exploring his chest and abs with my hands, he unbuttons my blouse. Once he has it open, he snakes his hands around my back and rubs up then down before placing his hands on my hips. I moan into his mouth. I kiss down his neck to his torso as I undo his pants to free his manhood. I stand and pull my shoes and pants off before kneeling back down and kissing him again. I have never made love outside before. I leave my shirt on, just in case. I scoot until I’m hovering over him. I move my hand down to help guide him in. Once he’s where I want him, I sit up and look into his eyes. “I love you,” I whisper again as I slowly begin to ride him, throwing my head back because it feels so good.

  He sits up before I can really get started and lifts his hands to my face, forcing me to look in his eyes. “I love you with all my heart, Sarah.” He leans in and kisses me, then holds me still until I can’t take it anymore. I push him back down on the blanket and follow him as I begin to move. It doesn’t take long before we are both coming down from our high. He holds me close.

  As we lie quietly, Bruce’s phone rings. He pulls it out of his pocket, then shows me the caller ID. “Hello, Teresa.” His voice sounds much brighter than it did this morning. I laugh to myself.

  As he talks to Teresa I go ahead and pull on my clothes. Don’t need the cops coming up here and seeing me partially naked.

  Bruce finishes his conversation and retrieves his clothes. “Apparently there was a big accident just outside of town, so Officer Brown and the coroner can’t make it here until morning. I still don’t think we should leave Elizabeth here alone. We have the tent, the cabin, and the truck. We can sleep in any of the three. It’s up to you. We have enough food, but we can always call Benny to bring us a pizza. Or if you want to take my truck, you can go home. You decide.”

  “I think my home is wherever you are. We are in this together,” I explain as I pull my shoes on. I take my braid down and comb it out with my fingers before re-braiding it. Then I straighten out the blanket and lie down on my back next to Bruce as he readjusts his clothing.

  We lie quietly, watching the clouds dance across the sky. “I need to make a potable art station to take with me. It’s wonderful here.”

  “Did you really mean what you said?” he asks.

  I roll onto my side and prop my head up with my hand. “What part? The fact that it’s wonderful here or the art supplies?”

  He’s still watching the clouds as he talks to me. “Am I home for you?”

  “Yes,” I say as I pick at the blanket we are lying on.

  He rolls over to look directly at me. “What does that mean, exactly?”

  I roll onto my back again and resume watching the clouds. “I’m not sure yet. You know, Daniel said the board wants to hire me to do another job here, when this one is done. Usually I have jobs lined up, but for some reason that didn’t happen this time.”

  “Maybe it’s a sign.”

  “Maybe.”

  “That you should move in with me?”

  “What?” I whisper as I roll back over to look at him.

  “Move in with me. We are always at each other’s place anyway, why not just move in together? You and Buc.” He smiles.

  “Both of our places are kind of small for all my art stuff if we move in together. Don’t you think?”

  “We can make it work, for now. I’m having Benny fix up another house I own down the hill. I was living in the loft while the work was being done. The problem with that house is it’s all a historical landmark, so it has to follow certain guidelines. I think I’ll build a house here. Up here we will be able to do anything we want. No one knew the cabin was even here. It shouldn’t fall under the historical landmark status. We can build it any way we want to. Have anything we want to.”

  “You can’t get rid of the cabin. It has to stay where it is. It means too much to both of our families.”

  “I agree it will stay, but the rest of the land can be used. We can find a spot with the best view and create an artist’s studio so you can draw whatever and whenever you want. The house can be built so that it won’t be visible from down below or from any of the battlefields. It will be like nothing is up here.”

  He’s very excited about his plans. And if I’m honest with myself, I’m pretty excited too.

  * * *

  We eat the food we had left, and Bruce gets a fire started while I prepare the tent. We thought about sleeping in the cabin, but that seemed a bit horrific to both of us. We cuddle up in front of the fire. I’m mesmerized by the fire until I notice the fireflies. It doesn’t take long before I hear Bruce breathe deeper. I lean my head back to look up at him, and sure enough, he is out cold.

  The fire is almost out and it looks like rain may be headed our way. “Hey.” I nudge him.

  He moans, “Hum.”

  “Wake up. The wind has changed, and it looks like rain is heading this direction. We should get into the tent.”

  “Of course.”
I scoot forward, stand up, then help him up. He snuffs the fire out while I pick up the blanket. We make it to the tent just in time for the skies to open up. We settle into the tent for what promises to be a crazy night of rain. Bruce lies down, and I snuggle up in the spooning position. It takes him no time to fall asleep. He can sleep through anything. I, on the other hand, am in for a long night.

  Chapter 21

  Bruce kisses me to great a new day. “Good morning,” he whispers.

  I roll over and try to pull the blanket over my head. I moan something incoherent and fall back to sleep. But Bruce is very persistent and pulls the blanket away again. “Can’t I sleep a little bit longer?” I beg.

  “Well, I guess you can, but Officer Brown will be on his way up soon. He called to let me know. How did you sleep?”

  I sit up. “Not so good, the rain and thunder kept me awake most of the night.” I stretch, trying to get the kinks out of my neck.

  “Here,” he says as he moves behind me and works the knots out of my neck and shoulders.

  “God, that feels so good,” I moan.

  “Is that better?”

  “Yes, thank you,” I say as I stretch my neck again. It does feel much better now.

  “Why don’t you sit on the log while I clean up?”

  “Are you sure? I can help.” I yawn.

  He grins. “Yes, I’m sure. Go sit and close your eyes. I’ll be right here, and I expect Officer Brown to be here any time now.”

  I walk over to the log and sit, lean against a nearby tree, and watch Bruce as he loads everything back into the truck. Luckily not everything is as wet as I thought it would be. Within a few minutes of sitting on the log Bruce and I hear a car coming up the road. I’m so tired I just sit and watch. Bruce walks over to talk to the officer, who pulls closer to where I’m seated. Not far behind him is the coroner’s van. They edge toward the cabin.

  Bruce walks over with Officer Brown. “Sarah, this is Officer Brown. Sarah is Elizabeth Finny’s relative. Elizabeth’s bones are on the bed in the loft.”

  Officer Brown shakes my hand. “Nice to meet you, ma’am. The coroner will make sure the remains are Elizabeth, then we’ll release her to her family.”

  “Do you know how long that might be?” I inquire.

  “I’m not sure, but maybe about a week or less. Once we make a determination, I will give you a call,” he explains.

  “Thank you,” I say.

  “I’ll walk Stanley, the coroner, in to take care of the body. I’ll make sure he takes good care of her.”

  “Thanks, Officer Brown. We’ll wait here until you’re done if that’s all right with you.”

  “It’s your land. Just stay out here until we get her loaded in the van,” he explains as he heads over to confirm with Stanley.

  Bruce sits next to me on the log. “It seems so creepy to watch this, but I’m glad we’re here together,” I say.

  Bruce takes my hand in his as we sit and the two men work with Elizabeth. It doesn’t take very long for them to take any photos they need and get her into a body bag, before depositing her into the back of the van. Watching them drive off with her is a strange feeling.

  “So, I guess that’s it for now,” I announce as I stand up.

  “Pretty much. Are you all right? I’m not sure how I feel about all that’s happening.”

  “Yea, I’m fine. I’m glad we’ll be able to lay Elizabeth to rest. She deserves it, after all of these years.”

  “Let’s take a last look in the cabin. I brought some extra locks with me so we can lock it up. Now that the path is open, I don’t want people coming in here stealing anything.”

  We walk to the door hand in hand. Bruce opens the door to let me go in first. The cabin feels different with Elizabeth gone. I wonder if that means that her spirit went with her body. I hope so.

  “I guess that means we need to plan a funeral. I’ve never done that before. Have you?”

  “I helped, when my parents died a few years ago. I know the funeral director. He’ll help us with whatever we need. Daniel was going to talk with someone regarding having Elizabeth buried with Edward. I’ll do what I can to make that happen. The two of them have suffered enough.”

  “We’ll do it together.” We walk around the small cabin, looking for anything that someone may want to take with them. I go through the cupboards, but they are pretty bare. Bruce walks over to the suicide note Elizabeth left, carefully slides it into a baggie, and seals it. “I think we should keep the fact that she committed suicide among those of us who know. I would rather no one think badly of her.” I nod as he sets the note off to the side where we’ll collect it on the way out.

  I climb the ladder to the loft. Each nightstand has one drawer in it. I open the first one and find a very old copy of a book and nothing else. I put the book back where I found it. In the other nightstand, I discover a folded note on top of a small box. I open the note and read.

  Whoever finds this box, please note that it was given to me by my beloved Edward Wilks. I will have no need for it any longer. Please make sure his family gets the ring back.

  Elizabeth Finny

  “Bruce,” I call down.

  “Yea?” he calls back.

  “Can you come up here, please?” A few seconds later, Bruce is in the loft with me.

  “What’s wrong?” I hand him the note and the box. I don’t open it since it now belongs to Bruce. As he reads it to himself, I look in the drawer again, but it is empty now. There’s nowhere else in the room to store anything.

  I glance over at Bruce, who’s now looking in the small box. His expression doesn’t give me any clue as to what is in the box. I edge back to the ladder and climb down. We’ve been through everything in the cabin, so I go outside to wait for Bruce.

  I find my log and wait. After a while, Bruce comes out, stands behind me, and rubs my shoulders. “Did the cabin feel different to you when you were inside?” I inquire.

  “It did. It felt empty.”

  “Do you think her spirit went with her body?”

  “I hope so. We can ask Teresa later. She will be able to tell. Shall we go? I have locked the cabin up the best I can.”

  “Sure, I could use a shower, a good meal, and maybe a nap,” I say with a yawn.

  “Let’s go home.” He walks around in front of me and takes my hands to help me up, then holds me in his arms.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, I just feel a strange sense of loss.”

  “You feel it too? I thought maybe it was just me.”

  We walk hand in hand with the feeling of loss all around us. Bruce opens my door before jumping into the truck and driving home. “I’m going to take a shower. I’ll come by when I’m out.” I kiss him before opening my door and heading straight for the bathroom.

  God, the water feels so good after the two days we’ve had. When I’m done showering, I towel dry and lie down across my bed. I want to rest my tired eyes for a few minutes before I go back over to Bruce’s.

  Chapter 22

  I wake to a knock at the door. I notice that it’s now dark outside. I glance at my clock on my nightstand. I must have passed out completely. I hear the knock again. “Hold on!” I call. Who the hell is at the door? Bruce and the others would have just come in. I throw on my robe, walk to the door, and open it.

  “Dad? Mom?”

  “Surprise!” they say as they walk past me. It takes a minute for it to finally register that my parents are really standing in my living room.

  “How? Why?” I mumble.

  “Well, we haven’t heard from you in a while, so we thought we’d come and check on you since I have some time off work,” Dad explains.

  Mom walks over to me and puts her hand to my forehead. “Are you feeling okay, hon? You look like hell.”

  “Yea. I’m sorry. I fell asleep after my shower. It’s been a long couple of days. Make yourselves at home. I have tea in the kitchen if you want some. I’m going to get dressed.
I’ll be right back.” I rush back to my bathroom to change.

  I had no idea they were coming. Good thing Bruce and I were not here doing other things. I wonder why he didn’t come to check on me. Maybe he passed out, too. I stop to straighten my bed, a reminder of why I hate living in a studio. Once you’re in, you pretty much see everything. I notice a note that wasn’t on my nightstand before, so I pick it up and read it.

  I came to check on you when you didn’t come by. You were sleeping, and I didn’t want to wake you. I’m going to run a few errands. I’ll come by when I get back.

  I love you,

  Bruce

  He has now written the words. “I love you, too,” I whisper to the letter. I look over at my parents, who are looking at the drawings I have lying around.

  “I’m sorry the place is such a mess. We just got back, and I was so tired I fell asleep after my shower. I can’t believe you guys are really here,” I explain as I begin to pick up the drawings.

  “Oh, don’t put them away. They are great. Who is the soldier?” my dad asks.

  “Well, we think it may be a young man named Edward Wilks. A ghost wanted to be seen, I guess.” I have told my parents about the ghosts I have run into while working. I don’t keep much from them. “I have tons to tell you guys. I’ve had a crazy time here.”

  My door opens and in walks Bruce with a bouquet of carnations, my favorites. He has Buc with him, who bounces in and almost knocks me over. “Oh,” he says, surprised. I look at my dad, who has one eyebrow raised in question.

  “Buc, sit. Come in, Bruce. It’s all right,” I say as I walk over, take his hand, and shut the door behind him. “Bruce, these are my parents. They surprised me. Meet Randy and DiAnne. Mom, Dad, this is Bruce, Bruce Wilks, my boyfriend.”

  Bruce steps forward and extends his hand to my dad first and then my mom. “Nice to meet you both.”