CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
WHITNEY
After talking to Crystal’s friend, Summer, Whitney joined her sisters at the cottage one evening for a séance.
Summer was a woman in her fifties who wore a voluminous caftan. There was an air of peacefulness about her. Her gray hair hung in a braid behind her head, and her dark eyes were alive with interest as Dani explained some of the goings on at the house.
Taylor told Summer the story of Mrs. Maynard.
Whitney listened to the conversation. At one time she would’ve laughed at what they were doing, but after the shooting, she wasn’t sure that a spirit wasn’t living there.
Summer formed a circle of white candles on the kitchen floor and then indicated they were to sit inside it. “I can only tell you what I feel or what comes to me. Nothing more. I ask you to remain quiet and very still. Sometimes something comes through to me. Other times, not. But from what you told me there already is a pattern. Let’s see. Shall we?” Summer lowered herself onto the floor, pulling the caftan behind her for a comfortable seat.
Whitney sat with her sisters. Dusk lent an eerie orange color to the grayness outside. As instructed, they hadn’t turned on any lights inside the house.
Summer lifted her arms into the air. “We bring you no harm. Please show us who you are.” She lowered her arms, held her hands in a prayerful pose, and closed her eyes.
They all sat quietly for several minutes.
Then Summer spoke. “Yes, I know. Love is all.” She bobbed her head again and again as if she were listening to someone and then her shoulders slumped, and she sagged in her seat.
Whitney exchanged worried glances with her sisters but didn’t speak.
After a few minutes, Summer straightened and looked around as if she didn’t know where she was. “Ah, I remember. There is a spirit here, but it’s not Mrs. Maynard. It’s a young woman named Carol. She was supposed to meet someone here. Someone close to her. She has suffered many losses and is waiting for a sign that she can leave. It has something to do with love in this house.”
“Wow, she told you all that?” Taylor said. “Do you think she’ll do us harm?”
“No, exactly the opposite,” said Summer. “But she told me one of you is still not sure about love. Does that make sense?”
Whitney squirmed as all eyes turned to her. “It’s me. I’m taking some time to figure things out.”
“Are you saying that once we all find love, Carol will leave?” asked Dani.
Summer shook her head. “I don’t know if that’s what she meant. But you did mention seeing sparkling lights when each of you was inside the house kissing your special person. Perhaps her energy is causing them.”
“But what about the incident I told you about when Nick was in danger?” said Whitney.
“Well, if you think of it, perhaps she was protecting the love she knew you shared,” said Summer calmly. “The one thing I do know is that she’s not going to hurt any of you. She wants you happy.”
Taylor sighed. “But how can we get her to leave? I’m uncomfortable with her here. I’m grateful she means us no harm, but it’s still … I don’t know … weird.”
“Understandable to feel that way,” said Summer. “Why don’t the three of you do some investigation to try and find out her story? Then, when you’re ready, we’ll ask to speak to her again. Maybe help her find her way back to where she should be.”
A shiver streaked down Whitney’s back. Her sisters looked as spooked as she felt. In some ways, discovering that there really was a spirit or energy source in the house, a young woman named Carol, was terrifying.
She helped Summer get to her feet. Summer’s dark eyes studied her. “Your heart will give you the answer you seek.” She turned to the others. “Now, I must go. This work is very draining. All my senses need rest.”
“I’ll drive Summer home,” said Dani.
“Okay, I’m leaving,” said Taylor nervously glancing around.
“Me, too,” said Whitney. “I’ll take you to our house.”
As they stepped outside the house, stars began to be seen in the sky which had grown dark. Gazing at them, Whitney thought as she had so many times how miraculous life seemed.
###
Dani joined Whitney and Taylor at the house. “I’m going to Brad’s for the night, but I wanted to make sure the two of you were alright. Pretty strange stuff we’re dealing with.”
“Right,” said Taylor. “But what is Carol’s story?”
“That, dear sister, is what we need to find out.”
“Do you think she’s been hanging around that house for twenty years?” Whitney said. “That’s downright creepy.”
“Yeah, I know. But then I’ve read stories that say that time as we know it can be different in varying dimensions. So, maybe twenty years isn’t so long for Carol.” Dani shook her head. “This is all woo, woo stuff, but we’re going to have to play along if we want her gone.”
“It could be a very sweet story,” said Taylor. “A love story of some kind.”
Whitney and Dani exchanged smiles.
“You’re such a romantic, Taylor,” Dani said. “But I like it. I think we need to research Mrs. Maynard’s daughter. Whitney, are you willing to go to the newspaper and see what you can find out there? I’ll go back to the Historical Society. Taylor, why don’t you see if GG can tell you anything.”
Whitney briefly rankled at Dani taking charge and then sighed, grateful Dani wanted to see this project through because Whitney was still wondering how “Carol” could know about her indecision when it came to Nick.
###
The next day, Whitney was excited when a large truck from the furniture distributors pulled into the driveway of the cottage. It was one thing to buy something and another to see it in place. And it had been so long since she’d ordered it she hoped she hadn’t made any mistakes.
She’d decided to stop thinking about “Carol” and concentrate on getting her life organized both with work at the cottage and setting up Zane’s foundation.
The men parked the truck and opened the back, exposing the furniture inside.
Whitney peered inside and grinned. This was like Christmas morning. Maybe better because these pieces would be the final touches to the cottage and would be used for years to come.
Taylor arrived and then Dani, as eager to see the furniture as she.
They stood aside as Whitney directed the men where to place each piece. The living room, once empty, morphed into a stunning room with comfortable furnishings. Upstairs, beds and bureaus completed those rooms. One last minute purchase, a couch for the attic room, was carried upstairs. Whitney followed behind the men carrying it and thought she saw a shadow behind them.
“This is a cool room,” said one of the men. “What a view.”
Whitney smiled. “We’re very pleased with it. Collister Construction did the work quickly as a favor to us.”
“Yeah, I’ve seen some of the houses they’re building,” said the other man. “Cool stuff.”
Downstairs, Whitney offered water to the men and tipped them for their work.
After they left, she stood with her sisters in the middle of the living room as delighted as they.
“Group hug,” said Dani. “The cottage is ready for us.”
As they hugged, Whitney told herself to ignore the sparkling lights around them.