Wraiths of Winter (The Haunting Ruby Series Book 3)

Wraiths
of
Winter
Book Three
of
The Haunting Ruby Series
By Joy Elbel
Wraiths of Winter, Book Three of The Haunting Ruby
Series

 

© 2014 by Joy Elbel

ALL
RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material
protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and
Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is
prohibited.
transmitted
mechanical,
information

No
in
part of this book may
be reproduced or
any
form
or by
any
means, electronic
or

including
photocopying,
recording,
or
by
any
storage and
retrieval system
without express
written permission from the author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses,
places, events and incidents are either the products
of the
author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is
purely coincidental.

You kissed me a paragraph,
I replied with a novel
Prologue

Choices.
We all face dozens of them every day—
sometimes without even realizing it. Should I wear jeans or a
skirt today? Should I watch a movie or read a book? Should I
go with chocolate or vanilla ice cream? Most of these choices
don’t affect our lives beyond that moment—we merely choose
and move on with our day. But some choices aren’t that easy.

Sometimes what you choose today can have a lasting
impact on you. Should I get that tattoo my parents will hate?
Should I drink that beer because everyone else is drinking?
The wrong choice could get you into a lot of trouble but
usually nothing a laser and some rehab can’t eventually fix.
Other times, the choices you make today could change the
entire course of your life.
Then, they become something a
little different.

Decisions. Even the word sounds ominous. Decisions
are reserved for the big things.
Should I follow my own
dreams or the ones my parents have for me?
Both paths
result in disappointment for someone involved. But which is
worse—disappointing
them
or
disappointing
yourself?
Luckily though, most of the time parents are pretty forgiving.

But what happens when that decision involves your
heart? What happens when you have to decide who to give
your love to? Those decisions can be permanent.
Once you
break someone else’s heart, is it possible to unbreak it? Can
you put together the shattered pieces once you realize you
made the wrong choice? If you can’t, then you’re the one who
ends up broken. And you can spend the rest of your life in
regret, lamenting what could have been.

There will be a moment when everything becomes
obvious, when you know exactly what you should do.
Seize
that moment—recognize it for what it is. Deep down, you’ve
always known the answer. Follow your heart and don’t let
your head get in the way. Don’t do what you feel obligated to
do. Because if you do, you may wake up years later wanting
what you could have had from the very start.

1. The Impending Frost
Voices.
Muffled at first, but slowly returning to a
normal pitch. I recognized them both. It had to be a dream.

 

“Look man, I already said I was sorry!” That was Lee.

 

“For real though, don’t you own a cell phone?” That
was Zach.

“Of course I do! How was I supposed to know that my
service would cut out all over this hick town? I’ve only lived
here for a few days—gimme a break!
Back in Pittsburgh, I
always
had coverage.”

“So is your dad on his way or what? Feel free to wait
in your car—I can take of her myself. And Charlotte’s Grove is
no hick town, by the way.”

“I
told
you—he’s on his way and he’s meeting me here.
And besides, I would really like to apologize to her when she
wakes up.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll apologize
for
you. Go wait outside on
the porch—I don’t want her to see you when she wakes up.”

 

“Too late, man—look.”

When I realized it wasn’t a dream, I was afraid to open
my eyes. How was this possible? Lee died in the accident—
my own father called his time of death.
I even talked to Lee
while in that shadowy realm between life and death. He told
me it was too late to save him—could he have been wrong?
No, he wasn’t wrong. His mother held a funeral, bought him a
headstone. If only she’d waited until after I was out of the
hospital—if I’d actually had the chance to
see
him in that
casket, I wouldn’t be doubting this. But if he wasn’t Lee, who
was
he?
I opened my eyes slowly to find myself on the couch
in Shelly’s study with Zach’s arms around me and an eerily
familiar face before me.

“Ruby! Are you okay? You’ve been out cold for almost
five minutes!” Zach said, his blue eyes wide with concern. “Do
you need anything?
Do you want me to take you to the
hospital?”

But I couldn’t focus on Zach—all I could do was stare
at the boy behind him. “Who
are
you?” I asked him, holding
my breath while I waited for his answer.

The boy stepped out of Zach’s shadow and replied,
“I’m Lucas. Lucas Seeley. I’m sorry if I scared you.”

 

Lucas Seeley. Lee’s full name was Seeley Lucas—was
it a coincidence or something more? Fate? Destiny.

The sound of a car pulling up out front yanked me
back into reality. “That’s okay. It’s not like you did it on
purpose, right? It sounds like your ride’s here. I’ll walk you
out now.” I rose up from the couch only to have a muscular
arm gently push me back down.

“Don’t worry, Ruby—I’ll make sure he leaves.” Zach
was
a
quarterback
when
he
played football
but he
was
definitely playing defense now.
Yes, I learned a lot about
football since I moved to Charlotte’s Grove but I learned even
more about Zach. I knew there was a part of him that wanted
to show Lee—I mean Lucas—to the door with his fist.

Lucas laughed casually at Zach’s response. “I guess I’ll
see you in school tomorrow, Ruby.” He waved and walked out
the door with Zach right behind him, clearly on a mission to
get Lucas far away from me as fast as possible.

School? He was definitely new in town. Even through
all of the torture Garnet put me through, there’s no
way
I
could have passed this boy in the halls and not noticed him. It
wasn’t every day that a dead ringer—pardon the pun—for
your dead boyfriend popped into your life.
I knew who he
wasn’t
, but that left me with the burning question, “Who
was
he?” Whoever he was, I was going to be seeing more of him.
A lot more.
I had to find out everything about him, including
his
connection to Lee.
It had to be more than mere
coincidence that they looked and sounded so much alike.

A few minutes later, Zach returned alone.
He sat
down on the edge of the couch and took my hand in his. “He’s
gone now. Are you alright, sweetie?
Can I get you a glass of
water or something? You didn’t hit your head when you fell,
did you?”

I ignored all of his questions because I had more
important ones of my own. “Did he tell you anything about
himself or what he’s doing here? He looks
exactly
like Lee!
Do you know where he lives?
What did he say when I
fainted?” I could have gone on for hours but I paused for
some answers.

Zach dropped my hand and stood up. “I take it you
feel okay. A little
too
good maybe.”

“What’s
that
supposed to mean?” I thought for sure
that he had his jealousy under control. Maybe I was wrong.
Yeah, a few months ago he would have just ripped Lucas’s
head off and thought nothing of it but this cold and blatant
sarcasm wasn’t a whole lot better.

Zach took a deep breath. “Nothing. I’m sorry. But
when I woke up this morning, coming face to face with some
guy who’s a dead ringer for Lee wasn’t on my agenda. No pun
intended.”

Wow.
Yet again, he seemed to be able to read my
mind.
I usually found that odd connection we had with each
other to be fun and special.
At the moment, though, it was
oddly grating on my nerves. But I wasn’t in the mood for a
fight so, with his apology, I backed down. A little. “Zach, you
have to understand, you
have to see things
from
my
perspective! I definitely didn’t expect this either. When I first
saw him, I thought he
was
Lee! The only thing that convinced
me that he wasn’t a ghost was the fact that you saw him, too.”

“You’re right, Ruby. It must have been horrifying for
you to open that door and find what you thought was your
dead ex.” Did I
still
detect a slight note of sarcasm in his
voice?

He didn’t understand—not the way I needed him to.
“Lee’s
not
my ex. We didn’t break up—he died!”

“So what are you telling me here? Are you telling me
that you still think of him as your boyfriend?
Even after
everything we’ve been through together?” Zach cocked one
eyebrow and studied my face.

Slow down, Ruby. Speak carefully. This was a can of
worms I never really wanted to open. But since fate puckishly
held that can upside down and dumped them at my feet, I had
to wrangle as many of those slimy little critters as I could and
stuff them back inside.

“No, Zach!
You’re
my boyfriend—my
only
boyfriend!
But my relationship with Lee didn’t end in the normal way.
Part of me will always love him—just not in the same way
that I love you.” He
had
to put aside his petty jealousy and see
things from my point of view.

“I know that and I’m okay with it,” Zach said as he sat
down beside me again. “I would never expect you to forget
about him altogether. He was an important part of your life—
I get that.”

Well, at least he understood—sort of.
My lingering
feelings for Lee went far beyond complicated and I couldn’t
completely understand them myself. “I love
you
, Zach.
But I
still feel at least semi responsible for Lee’s death and seeing
Lucas made me realize something.
When Lee found out he
was adopted, it changed his whole life.
He died before he
could find his biological family but I think I just found them—
or at least one of them. If I could find the answers Lee never
could, I could put the whole thing to rest. I feel like I owe him
that much.”

“You don’t owe him anything, Ruby—Lee’s at peace
now.
And if death is anything like you described, then he
probably already has those answers. Be honest with me and
with yourself. Pursuing this isn’t for Lee’s benefit, it’s for
yours.”

I wanted to insist that he was wrong, to swear that
digging around in Lucas’s life was for Lee and not for me. But
I swore never to lie to Zach again and this time, I really meant
it. No secrets, no dishonesty.

“I didn’t get to say goodbye to Lee—not the way I
should have, anyway. Finding the truth would be my way of
honoring his memory. Once I do that, I can leave
it
, and Lee,
all in the past.”

Zach rubbed my shoulder comfortingly. “Thanks for
being honest. I can respect that. I’ll even help you, if you
want. Just do one thing for me in return, okay?”

Anything. I would do anything Zach asked me to do. I
nodded my head in agreement. “Sure, what is it?”

“Don’t forget—Lucas isn’t Lee,” Zach said in a serious
tone. “No matter how much he looks like Lee, Lucas is still a
stranger.”

Of course he is. I knew that. But if hearing that from
my lips was what Zach needed to feel better, I would give him
that. “I know, Zach. I won’t forget.” I kissed him on the cheek
as a thank you.

“Good,” he said then sat there in silence.

Okay, so silence wasn’t exactly the word for it. It was
more like an awkward pause, a pause broken rudely by my
growling stomach.
As soon as my ordeal with Garnet was
over, my appetite came back with a vengeance.
I needed to
eat—now!

“Hey, Zach, how do you feel about going out for some
Chinese? I’m starving and I could definitely use some fresh
air. My treat—but only if you agree to drive,” I added. “I’m
not sure if I’m ready to get behind the wheel on snowy roads
just yet.”

“You have a deal. I spent a lot of money….” Zach
trailed off in mid-sentence. “Let’s just say I’m totally broke
until Andy pays me on Friday.”

I knew that money was a sore subject for Zach so I
didn’t poke and prod for details. “I just need to grab my bag
from upstairs and I’ll be right back.”