Fire and Ice: A Paranormal Romance (8 page)

Sarah had carried a heavy burden and it was not until then that Billy realized it.  He felt that he was to blame for pushing her so hard and asking so many questions.  He wondered why he had not considered her feelings more.  After all, she was not a robot. He felt as if he had been so selfish.  She had barely slept in a week because she was trying to help him.  Billy held her tighter.

“Let me get her some water,” said Harris.

Just then, Alise walked in from the terrace.  She saw what was going on.  “My dear Sarah,” she walked up to her.

Sarah looked up and turned to Alise.  “Come, Dear.  Come with me right over to the sofa,” she took her by the hand and sat down with her.  Sarah cried in her arms.

Harris got some water from the wet bar.  He turned to Billy.  “Son, I don’t know what to say.”

“It’s not you, Daddy, believe me.  Sarah has just been through something traumatic,” Billy explained.

Harris sat down next to Sarah and handed her a bottle of water.  “Billy, get some tissue,” he said.

“I’m sorry for falling apart.  Nothing like this has ever happened to me, you have to believe me,” Sarah said through her tears.

“We do,” said Alise.  Sarah started to calm down.  Just having Billy’s parents there seemed to make a difference to her.   

Billy came back and set a box of tissue on the coffee table in front of Sarah.  “Here, Sarah,” he said.  “Can I explain to my parents what’s been going on?”

“Please do,” Sarah told him.  She was in no shape to tell them herself.

Billy sat in the chair across from them.  Alise had her arm around Sarah.  “My poor child,” she said.  “Something terrible has obviously happened and whatever we can do, we promise, we will.”

“Sarah’s been helping me,” said Billy.

“What?” asked Alise.

“I’m afraid that she has been so busy looking out for me that she has not even been able to get any sleep,” he told them.

“Don’t you worry, Sarah. You’re welcome to stay right here until you feel better,” offered Alise.

“It’s not what you think, Mama,” Billy began.  He told his parents the entire story from beginning to end. 

Harris looked like he wanted to say a mouthful, but he kept his wits about him for Sarah’s sake. “I hope you realize something, Son.  This girl has been a better friend to you in a week than you have had in a whole lifetime,” he said.

“What do you mean, Dad?”

“Sarah doesn’t want anything.  She doesn’t need anything from you—a car, or anything else.  Sarah tried to help you because she thought you were in danger and she’s one sharp cookie.  She’s right. Charla
would
eat you for lunch!  You are lucky you met Sarah.  I’m glad your sister is not here.  Gabby doesn’t need to hear a word about it.  She still talks to all of her friends in the parish.  Do not breathe a word of this to anyone.  I mean it.  We have to find out if any of those buildings are in Shaunessy’s name.

“Oh my gosh, you’re right, Harris,” said Sarah.  “They could be.”

“Of course, they could.  That Charla is one shrewd woman,” said Harris.  “Billy, I’ve tried to hold my tongue, but I have to tell you that I don’t think that the apple fell far from the tree with Jessie.”

“What do you mean, Daddy?” asked Billy.

“Well, she is gone, so there’s no sense opening up old wounds. But, let’s just say that she had other interests while you were changing her oil,” said Harris.

“Do you have to talk like that?” asked Alise.

“The boy asked me and I told him,” said Harris.  “But, I’ll be damned if that Martin family is going to ruin his life any more than they already have.”

“Do you mean that Jessie wasn’t faithful?” asked Billy.

“I mean, not only was she unfaithful, but she went to meet other guys in the car that
you
bought her!”  Harris was clearly disgusted.  “Enough tears.  You’ve cried enough tears over her, Billy.  Now, we need to get to the bottom of things and get those people out of our lives for good.  Charla better not mess with me because I’ll fight fire with fire.  Every fisherman in the parish knows what she was up to and they’d testify if necessary because they all loved Eddie.  He was a good guy.  He never hurt a soul.”

For those few moments, Billy was not even paying attention to what was going on around him.  Jessie cheated on him?  No wonder she didn’t want to get married.  What if the child she was pregnant with wasn’t even his?  What about all the money that was missing?   Billy did not know what to think, anymore. 

Sarah had been nothing but nice to him.  Billy talked about Jessie non-stop on the ride to Florida hoping that he could hold Sarah at bay.  It was intentional.  He was not ready to switch gears and allow someone into his heart.  But, then sometimes when he looked at her, he could not stay detached.  He felt like a human seesaw going up and down with emotions.  That morning when Billy made love to her, he felt like he was cheating on Jessie.  Yet, she had cheated on him all along.  He had made a big mistake, no doubt.  He wished he could explain how sorry he was to Sarah.

“Harris,” Sarah spoke softly.  “I’m so glad we came here.”

“I’m just sorry that you’ve been dragged into this whole mess,” Harris told her.

“But, the biggest thing is that Jessie keeps telling me that the man in the burgundy building is her father,” Sarah noted.

“I don’t know how he can be,” said Harris.  “Eddie was stocky and had a full head of dark hair.  But, so far, everything you’ve been given has been accurate so there has to be something to this.  I would not discount you for a minute.”

“Daddy, that’s why we had to tell you about everything,” said Billy.

“I will let you in on a little secret, Billy,” said Alise.  “My grandmother, Gabriella, whom Gabby is named after was psychic.  So was her mother before her.  My great-grandmother used to read cards on Lanzarote.  Sometimes she didn’t even need them.  She could look at a young woman and tell if she was going to have a baby or not and if it was going to be a boy or a girl.”

“Really?” asked Billy.  “You never even told me.”

“Well, your mama is leaving out the most important part,” said Harris.

“Oh, Dear, no need to tell them,” said Alise.

“No need to tell us what, Mama?” asked Billy.

“Your mama has the same gift,” Harris told him.

“Really, Mama?  I had no idea.  You never said anything,” said Billy.

“You don’t remember all those fishermen’s wives coming to the house with cakes all the time when you were young?” asked Harris.

“I remember,” Billy told him.  “I thought they were just being neighborly.”

“They were trying to find out what the sex of their babies were going to be,” his father told him.

“Did it work?” asked Billy.

“Of course, it worked,” replied his father.  “Why do you think we had so many desserts in our house all the time?”

              By the way, Alise, what do you see here for our Sarah?” Harris asked.

              “Sorry dear, but I don’t think you’ll be needing to buy that fishing pole,” said Alise looking at him.  “I only see girls.”

              “That doesn’t surprise me,” said Sarah.  “We’ve got three girls in our family.”

              “I didn’t know that,” said Billy.

         “You never asked,” Sarah smiled.

Chapter Eight

Missing

-

   Later that night, Billy and Sarah sat on the terrace with his parents.  “I’ve got something to tell you and I’m not sure where to start,” Billy told them.  “Daddy, remember you said that Jessie was fooling around on me?”

“Yes, I’m sorry I mentioned it, Son, but you needed to know who the girl was once and for all,” replied Harris.

“Soon after Eddie died, I wanted to buy his boat.  I had the money saved up and it was at my camp.  It was kept in two different spots and completely well hidden.  When I went to pay Charla for the boat, I tried to find the money and part of it was missing.  I had just seen it the day before.  I asked Jessie if she knew where it went to and she said that she had no idea,” Billy confessed.

“Do you think she took it?” asked Sarah. 

“I didn’t think so, but now I wonder,” he admitted.

“How much was it?” asked his mother.

“Ten thousand dollars,” Billy replied.

“And you tried to look for it, but it didn’t show up?” asked Sarah.

“Yes,” Billy replied sheepishly.  He hated to admit that such a thing had happened.  He trusted Jessie and did not think that she would touch it because it was for their future together.  Now, his father would realize why he had to borrow money from him at the time. 

“If Jessie took it, it’s gone now,” said Harris.

“Not necessarily.”  Sarah thought differently.  “If she was planning to save it in order to leave, she would have hidden it somewhere.  It could be in your fishing camp.  Did you throw everything out that she owned?”

“Not a thing,” he answered.

“Jessie didn’t know that she was going to die.  She could have easily hidden it right under your nose and you wouldn’t have known it,” said Sarah.

“She’s right,” agreed Harris.  “It could have been there all along.  I mean, assuming that you find it.”

“I boxed up all of her clothes and put them out in the shed.  They’ve never been touched,” Billy explained.

“Well, when you get back there, you can have a look,” asserted Harris.

“Maybe I’m wrong,” said Billy.  “I don’t want to accuse her of something that she didn’t do.  But, it disappeared out of thin air right when I needed it.”

“I’ve been thinking of something else, too,” Sarah told them.  “Harris, you knew that Jessie was seeing other guys.  If so, other people could have known about it, as well.  Her own mother could have been aware of what Jessie was up to all along.  So, the point is that if Billy had found out about it, that would have been enough motive for him to push her off of his boat.”

“But, I didn’t know anything about it,” insisted Billy.

“If Charla wants to implicate you in Jessie’s death, she can claim that you found out,” said Sarah.

“I didn’t kill anyone.”

“I know that, but if Charla has any inkling that you suspect her of wrong-doing, she will grasp at straws and pull out any one of them that she feels like.  The woman sounds like a vulture,” she told him.

“Sarah is one hundred percent right, Billy.  Hopefully, you can take those same addresses with you, head to the Hall of Records on Monday, and see if that Shaunessy owns any of those buildings.  I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re in his name.”

“Wait a minute,” said Billy.  “What if the man in Sarah’s dream is Shaunessy and not Eddie?”

“I don’t think so,” Sarah commented.  “But, I suppose anything is possible.”

“Maybe Eddie isn’t alive,” said Harris.  “Charla siphoned his money all those years, so she could have saved up plenty to buy property.  Plus, she sold that large parcel of land with the trailer.”

“You could be right,” said Sarah.  “All I want to know is who that thin man is and why he won’t get out of my dreams.”

“Well, for now, I’d say that going through those public records again is a good start.  Give me some time to think about it and we’ll see what we can come up with if that doesn’t provide any answers,” said Harris.

“I’ve never been fond of Charla,” said Alise.  “But, this all sounds a little too sinister for her to mastermind.”

“That’s because you don’t think like she does,” said Harris.  “I wouldn’t put anything past her.  When Eddie drowned, all of us guys missed him terribly.  But, at the same time, I felt like he was finally taken out of his misery.”

“But, I thought you said he was jovial and everyone liked him,” Sarah reminded him.

“He was,” Harris told her.  “Eddie was always happier when he was among friends.  But, those last ten years with Charla were hard on him.  She took advantage of him and he had to stay with her and take it.  He couldn’t leave, no matter what.  She made sure of it so that she had his money to run around on.”

“No matter what has happened, it appears that Charla is right in the middle of it,” Sarah noted.

“Exactly,” agreed Harris. 

“Well, I tell you what, I think we’re going to head back up to Destin for the night,” said Billy.

“Okay, just give us a call tomorrow and let’s touch base and see what else we come up with,” replied his dad.

“We will, Daddy.  I promise,” Billy told him.

Chapter Nine

An Admission

-

Billy was concerned about Sarah and just wanted to be alone with her.  Upon returning to Destin, they went to sit on the beach for a while.  The water glistened from the reflection of the moon.  “I did it on purpose,” admitted Billy.

“Did what?” His words hit her like a ton of bricks.

“Talked about Jessie all the way here yesterday.”

Sarah was suddenly relieved.  Up until then, she had no idea what he was talking about.  “Why did you do that?”

“It was stupid,” Billy admitted.  “I figured if I talked about her, you would leave me alone.”

“Leave you alone?” Sarah was hurt.  “Why did you even bring me here?”

“Look this is all coming out wrong,” Billy apologized.  “Let me start over.  I wanted to come here.  I wanted to come with
you
.  But, once it really began happening, I backed out of it—emotionally, I mean.  Thinking about going away with you and actually doing it were two different things.  The closer we got to here, the more I started to regret my decision.  So, I talked about Jessie.  I figured that if I did, you would not be interested in me.”

“Then, why did you kiss me in the water last night?”

“That’s just it,” he explained.  “As much as I wanted to keep you at a distance, for some reason I couldn’t really do that, either.”

“Do you want me to leave you alone now?” she asked.

Right then, Billy kissed Sarah like he had never done before.  Sarah could barely catch her breath and at the same time, she did not care.  He felt too good.  “Does it feel like I want you to leave me alone?” Billy asked.

Sarah had gotten her answer.  “Remember I told you that Jessie went with you to Lanzarote?”