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

  “Well, don’t you look dapper in your uniform,” I comment, finally seeing Benny in his uniform.

  Benny smiles at me then turns to Bruce. “What the hell happened, dude? Everyone said there was blood everywhere. I thought you were a dying man.” He snatches Bruce away from me and bear hugs him.

  “Damn, ease up. I’m fine. We just have a few things to figure out,” Bruce replies as he takes my hand in his.

  “So, now what? You going to tell us what happened, or not?” Benny questions.

  “Let’s get away from the crowed. Where did you park?” Bruce asks.

  “When I heard, I grabbed my truck and hid it behind the barn down the street.”

  “Good thinking. Drive us over to pick up my truck, then let’s go back to our place and change,” Bruce suggests.

  We all walk to Benny’s truck in silence, weaving through the crowd that is still enjoying the festivities. Bruce, Buc, and I take the backseat, letting Benny and Sally ride in the front. I cuddle up between Buc and Bruce as we ride to where Bruce’s truck is parked.

  Chapter 15

  It takes us a bit longer to get home since there are so many people in town, but we finally reach our lofts, change into our current century clothes, and meet at Bruce’s when we are ready. As Buc and I arrive at Bruce’s door we can hear Benny and Bruce in a heated discussion.

  The door is cracked open, and Sally, Benny, and Bruce turn toward me as I walk in. “How are you doing?” Bruce inquires as he walks over to me, taking me in his arms, comforting me.

  “Still a bit confused, I guess. How are you? What were you guys talking about?” I question.

  “Benny still wants to go to the pizza joint. I’m trying to talk him out of it.” Bruce rolls his eyes.

  “I’m not sure I feel up to going out. What about you, Sally?” I ask.

  “I don’t mind either way,” she answers.

  “Benny, if you want to go, why don’t you and Sally go? I’m just not feeling myself right now.”

  “Fine, but before we go, what the hell happened today?” Bruce tells Benny what he remembers, and I fill in the parts that he doesn’t.

  “Well, that’s peculiar. Why do you think all that happened? I mean, I’ve had my fair share of run-ins with the Gettysburg ghosts, but nothing like that,” Benny questions.

  “We don’t know, but we’ll figure it all out later. Right now, I just want to sit and veg for the night. It’s too busy in town right now, and I’d rather stay away from the crowd, in case someone starts asking questions about what happened,” Bruce explains.

  “Yeah, I know what you mean. Come on, Sally, let’s go. I’m starving.” Benny and Sally head for the door. Sally pats Buc on the head as they leave. Bruce closes the door behind them, then turns and leans back, propping his head against it.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask.

  “I’m still flipping out over what happened earlier, that’s all. You looked so scared when I came to.”

  “I wasn’t sure what was happening. It was scary. Then you said Elizabeth’s name, and I thought something else was going on.” I plop down on the couch, and Bruce joins me.

  “What else did you think it was?” I shrug, embarrassed of thinking badly of the situation. “Oh, no you don’t. Tell me what’s on your mind. If this relationship is to work, we need to talk openly with each other.”

  “I wondered if maybe you thought I was someone else, that’s all, maybe an ex or something.”

  “I don’t know any Elizabeths. That’s why I wasn’t sure what you were talking about when you said I’d called her name. I’m sorry about all of this. Today should have been fun.”

  “It was, until everything happened with Edward sending us the message through you. I’ve run into ghosts while working before, but nothing like that has ever happened. What do you think he wants?”

  “I don’t know, but we will figure it out. Are you hungry?”

  “I could eat, but something light. Why didn’t you want to go out to the pizza place? Are you really feeling strange, or did you just not want to go?”

  “I feel fine; I just didn’t want to go out tonight. Besides, Benny has wanted to hook up with Sally for a while, so why not let them have some fun.” He leans over and kisses me on the tip of my nose. “Unless you really want to go for pizza. We can.”

  “No, I’m wiped out from all the excitement today. I think vegging in front of the TV and snacking sound perfect to me.”

  “If you want, we can order takeout, although after the reenactments, all the restaurants will be crazy busy. So many people swarm in all at once. I would stay in all weekend, if I could.”

  “No pizza. How about we raid the fridge and see what we have between the two lofts. I bet we can come up with something.” I smile at him. This all feels so normal. I love it. We find cheese and crackers that we can snack on and I offer to get a bottle of wine from my place.

  “Sure, wine and cheese works for me. I’ll see what I can find to watch on TV.”

  “Great, I’ll be right back.” As I pull the bottle out of my fridge, I hear something drop behind me, and I jump. I turn around to see that one of my drawings has fallen over. I pick it up and notice that the one that fell was the one of the soldier that I drew more recently. “I wish you would just show yourself and tell us what you want,” I suggest out loud to the drawing or to the ghost, if he’s really in the room with me.

  Back at Bruce’s, I sit on the floor next to Buc, lean against the couch, rest my head on the cushion, and close my eyes, while I pet him. He still thinks he’s a lap dog sometimes, so he scoots over to me and lies across my legs.

  Bruce comes in and joins us on the floor, food and glasses in hand. “You know it’s kooky, but I think Buc knew something was wrong with you earlier,” I comment.

  “Why do you say that?” he asks as he pets Buc, who has now rolled onto his back with all fours in the air to get his belly rubbed.

  “Well, when the guys brought you in, I heard Sally calling for Buc outside the tent. When I looked in that direction, he was running toward the tent. I called him to me, but he wouldn’t come. Instead, he managed to get off of his leash and fly right by me to get to your side. I guess you really are part of the family now.” I laugh.

  “I guess so. Is that a bad thing?”

  “No, not at all. I do find it strange how fast we have felt so at home here. Like I said, this has never happened to me before. I’ve never felt as if I belonged anywhere. I even think Buc likes it here.”

  “I’m glad you feel comfortable here. Maybe I’ll be able to talk you into staying with me.” He gives me a serious look before continuing, “I know we haven’t known each other for very long, but I dream about you every night, and have since the first time I met you. I don’t know if it is the ghost pushing us together or not, but I feel it in every fiber of my body. I know that I need you, just as I know my heart needs to beat. Even the air that I breathe makes me want to be with you, only you.”

  He reaches over and cups my chin. I lean into his touch and close my eyes. I always tingle when he touches me. I open my eyes and look into his as he leans in to kiss me.

  A bark, then a knock interrupts our kiss before we really get started. We pull away and laugh. “Who could that be?” he questions as he gets up and gives me a hand off the floor.

  “I don’t know.” I walk into the kitchen, grab the corkscrew off of the counter, and uncork the wine. I’m on my way back to the couch as Bruce closes the door.

  “Who was it?” I question.

  “No one was there. But I have this strange feeling, as if I’m being watched.”

  “Not now.” I put my face in my hands.

  “What is it?” Bruce inquires as he sits down with me.

  “When I went to my place for the wine, a drawing fell over.”

  “Which drawing?”

  “The soldier.”

  “Oh.” We sit and stare at each other for a moment before he says to the room, “Edward, if you
are here right now, show yourself. Otherwise, leave us alone tonight. Figure out a way to talk to us.” We sit and listen for a few minutes.

  “Maybe he left. Do you still feel him?”

  “No, not now, but we need to figure this out, soon.”

  The snacks are all finger foods, so Bruce pours us some wine and turns the TV on as we sit back and try to relax. We tuck into a movie about a casino robbery.

  After we polish off the plate of food, we lounge on the couch, watching the movie. I’m lying with my head on his shoulder while he runs his fingers through my hair. I must have relaxed because at some point I dozed off.

  Bruce and I are at the Wheatfield, walking through the tall wheat. I find my art station and work while Bruce sits close by, watching me. As I’m drawing, a cool breeze blows through, causing me to shiver. I look at Bruce, then look around and don’t see anything, so I go back to my work. In the distance we hear a man cry out, “Elizabeth?”

  We both stand and look around, but don’t see anyone. I call out, “Hello, is someone there?” No answer.

  I see that I’ve drawn the same soldier again, but this time he is lying on the ground with blood all over him. It looks as if he were shot in the stomach. When I look at his face, he calls, “Elizabeth?”

  At the same time, Bruce and I roll over and fall off the couch, and I land on top of him. Buc barks. I look around the room, taking a second to figure out where I am. The room is dark except for the TV, which is on a blank blue screen. I look at Bruce. “What the hell just happened?”

  “No idea. I just had the craziest dream.” We both struggle to sit up, rubbing body parts we hit when we landed on the ground.

  “So did I.” I walk into the kitchen and collect a glass of water. Bruce follows me and takes the glass to drink from once I’m finished. “What was yours about?”

  “We were in the Wheatfield, and you were drawing that soldier again. And then he called out Elizabeth’s name. It was so bizarre.” He rubs the sleep out of his eyes.

  “That’s what mine was about, too. Was he bloody and lying on the ground in your dream?”

  “Yea! How can we have had the same dream?”

  “I don’t know, but I have a feeling Edward Wilks is trying to get a message to us. I think we need to set up a meeting with Teresa soon.”

  “I’ll give her a call in the morning.” He yawns and stretches his arms over his head.

  “What time is it, anyway?” I inquire as I yawn, too.

  He looks at his wrist watch. “Two in the morning.”

  “I should take Buc out. I wonder what time we fell asleep.” I collect Buc’s leash and go for the door.

  “You will come back, won’t you?” he inquires.

  “If you want me to, I can.”

  “Here, I’ll walk out with you. You shouldn’t be out this late alone.”

  “You don’t have to, Buc will protect me.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m sure.” I kiss him and say, “Go warm up the bed for us.” He swats me on the ass as I walk out the door.

  The night air is chilly. I wish we knew what this ghost wanted so we can move on. I didn’t sign up for this. It doesn’t take long for Buc to do his business. Just before we go back to the lofts, we hear a truck coming up the road, and we wait on the side of the drive to let the truck pass. When it goes by I notice that it’s Benny’s truck. He must be bringing Sally back from the pizza place. Guess they must have had a good time to be coming home this late.

  I wait and watch as Benny gets out of the truck and goes around to open the door for Sally. Once he closes her door, he corners her against the truck and kisses her. I hear her giggle and pick up his hand to lead him back to her loft.

  “Well, Buc, looks like you will need to share Sally with Benny now.” I smile as we walk back to Bruce’s. I go in and lock the door behind me as Buc heads over to his spot.

  I find Bruce passed out on the bed, turned on his side. I smile as I really get a good look at him. Only wearing his boxers, his body is a work of art. He has a tattoo on his right shoulder blade that I haven’t noticed before. It is a Union and a Confederate soldier facing each other, each in uniform holding his flag. At the top it reads, Brothers in Arms.

  I have noticed a lot of people who live here and had family in the war have tattoos depicting the war in some way. Maybe I should get one, too, but with two Union soldiers, one Confederate and a nurse. It may be a bit too much. I wonder what happened to Elizabeth Finny.

  After ogling my new boyfriend, I get ready for bed. I crawl in next to Bruce, and when he feels me get in, he rolls over to spoon with me. God, I forgot how good it feels to sleep next to someone.

  Chapter 16

  Buc barks, then a knock at the door wakes us up. “Who the hell is that?” Bruce utters. He goes to the door, and I can hear him talking, but I’m not fully awake yet, so I can’t tell who it is. I think I hear him shut the door and come back into the bedroom. “We need to get up,” he announces as he plops back down on the bed.

  I grab the pillow, put it over my head, and mumble, “I don’t wanna.” He chuckles as he pulls the pillow away from my face. “Who was at the door?” I ask with a yawn.

  “It was Daniel, looking for you.” I open my eyes and look at him. I feel embarrassed about Daniel looking for me here.

  “Why did he look for me here?”

  “He said he tried your place and no one answered, so he came here to ask if I’d seen you.”

  “What did you say?” I demand, horrified.

  “I said that you were here, asleep. Why?”

  “How embarrassing. I’m here to work, not fraternize.” I put my arm over my eyes in a dramatic way.

  “Sarah, we’re adults. You can do anything you want. Besides, I think he kind of figured it out already anyway. Don’t worry about it. He wanted to talk to both of us. He and Teresa found some things out and want to meet with us. I told him to give us an hour. We are meeting at the diner.”

  “All right, I need to go home and shower then.”

  “You can shower here.”

  “I know I can, but we have a meeting in an hour, and all of my materials are at my place.” I get out of bed and redress in yesterday’s clothes.

  “Maybe you should bring a few things over here, just in case,” Bruce teases.

  I walk over to him and put my palm on his cheek as I kiss him on the lips. When I pull away, I gently slap his face and sashay toward the door.

  As Buc and I walk down the hall, Sally’s door swings open, and Benny is halfway out before Sally snags his collar and pulls him in for a kiss. I try not to disturb them, but Buc has other ideas and barks. They jump apart and look at me.

  “Hi, guys. Have a good time at the pizza place last night?” I inquire with a grin.

  They look at each other and laugh. “You could say that,” Benny says. Sally is crimson. “Looks like you had a late night as well.” He lifts an eyebrow.

  “Well, I’m off to let Buc out. Catch you guys later,” I announce as I pass them and go outside, ignoring his question. Not that we didn’t have fun, but I’m still freaked out about the dream we seemed to have shared last night. Maybe Teresa and Daniel will have some information we can work with.

  * * *

  I walk out of the shower singing ‘Hallelujah,’ singing my heart out with a towel wrapped around my body and another around my hair. Out of the corner of my eye I see something move. I look over, and Bruce is leaning against the bedroom wall, with Buc watching me. I jump. “God, how long have you been here? You scared the shit out of me.”

  “Long enough to hear a few bars of ‘Hallelujah’.” He laughs.

  “What time is it? Are we late?”

  “You have about twenty minutes to get ready.” He walks over to the couch and sits. I didn’t move the drawings I’d done of the soldier since we looked at them the last time. And now Bruce is studying them as I get dressed.

  “So what do you think they want to tell
us?”

  “I’m not sure, but I hope it’s something useful. Do you know how Elizabeth died?”

  “No. Do you?” He shakes his head. “I researched it but couldn’t find anything on her other than that she was a nurse during the war. Teresa said she has a journal that Elizabeth’s sister kept. She said I can look at it. She told me Elizabeth disappeared when Edward died. Apparently, she cared for him when he was brought into the hospital.”

  “Ouch, that must have broken her heart. I didn’t know that. All I knew was how he died after being shot in the stomach.”

  “I guess that was what we dreamed last night. His getting shot, so sad.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “By the way, I saw Benny this morning,” I add with a smile.

  “Oh, really? And where did you see him?”

  “He was coming out of Sally’s loft. Buc and I got to witness the goodbye kiss.” I laugh.

  “That dirty dog. Ha! Well, maybe he will stop bugging me about her now. He can be a nag sometimes.”

  “No, not Benny.” I feign surprise, then we both laugh.

  “Should we get going?” he asks as we come back from our laughing high.

  “Sure.”

  * * *

  Bruce holds the door open for me and we enter the diner. Flo smiles as we walk in and follows us over to the table where Daniel and Teresa are sitting. “You both want the usual?” Flo inquires.

  We say at the same time, “Yes, please.”

  “Good morning. How are you feeling today, Bruce?” Daniel questions.

  “I’m a bit tired, but other than that fine,” Bruce assures him.

  “How about you, Sarah?” Daniel quizzes me.

  “Tired but fine. Why?” I ask.

  “Just curious,” he answers.

  “We should tell you that we both experienced a strange dream last night,” I say.

  “You had the same dream? What was it about?” Teresa questions.

  I explain our dream, then everyone sits quietly as Flo brings our food to the table, then leaves.