Adam's Thorn (21 page)

“That’s so sad.  And the fourth
grave?”

“Compete and utter mystery.”

“Oh, that can’t be good.”

She never liked when Laura used
that tone.  “It’s probably another memorial kind of thing.”

“You’ll need to burn the sage in
every room, as well as the front and back verandas,” Laura announced.

“Huh?”

“If those ghosts are attached to
the house, you need to do this.  Now, I want you to imagine yourself surrounded
by white light, okay?  Do a bit of meditation, imagine this white light
covering you, nothing can get in.  Light the sage and walk from room to room
with it, and I mean
every
room.  And tell the ghosts to depart in peace,
to go to the light.  Don’t forget the front and back verandas.”

“Okay.”  Barbie eyed the package of
sage.

“Do it now.”

“Not likely.  I have workers in
the house.”

“Then do it as soon as they leave.
Promise me.”

Uneasy now, Barbie nodded, then
remembering that Laura couldn’t see her, she said, “I promise.”  She
hesitated.  “Will this work?”

“Sage is cleansing, Barbie.  It’ll
work.”

“Good, because I’m supposed to be
going out tomorrow night.”

“With Adam?”

“No!”

“You met another bloke?”

“It’s a girl, actually.”

“You’re batting for the other team
now?”

“Laura, I met some nice people
here, a couple of girls and their
fiancées
.”

“Group sex?  I always knew those
quiet country towns had hidden orgies.”

“You’ve been watching porn again, haven’t
you?”

“You can tell?”

Shaking her head, Barbie chuckled. 
“Never change, Laura.”

“Don’t intend to.  Now, back to
business.  Once the sage is burned your home will be free of ghosts, your
kitties will be safe.  Once you’ve burned the sage, think of your home as
surrounded by protective white light.  No ghosts.”

“Great.  I’ll do it when the
blokes leave.  As long as my boys are safe, that’s all I’m worried about.”

“Okay.  Gotta go, there’s someone
at the door.  About tomorrow night…”

“Yes?”

“Don’t forget to pack condoms.  Be
safe.”  Chuckling, Laura rang off.

Feeling immensely better, Barbie
placed the phone back in the cradle. 

Even though she wasn’t so sure she
believed in ghosts or that the house was even haunted, she nevertheless did as Laura
instructed.  When the painters left, she burned handfuls of sage, imagined the
white light surrounding her, and went from room to room, repeating the words
Laura had told her.  She was glad no one was around to see her do it. 

Because she found the kids’ rooms
a little unnerving with the old toys in them, she spent longer burning the sage
in there, figuring it could only help.  The back and front verandas got a
longer treatment as well, and then, because she had some sage left over, she
decided to walk around the whole house.

It wasn’t as if anyone would see
her, and really, why waste sage?

When there was nothing left, she
went back inside, obediently following her friend’s advice to the final instruction,
imagining a white light around the house.

Standing in the hallway, she
nodded.  Okay, she felt better.  Maybe it was all in the mind, but she didn’t
really care. 

Whether it was in the mind or not,
she slept better that night than she had since arriving, awakening in the
morning to find to her surprise that she’d slept undisturbed the entire night.

Getting hurriedly out of bed, she
barely had time to have a shower and get dressed before Henry and his men
arrived, followed by the carpenters, who were there to replace the broken frame
on the library window in preparation for sanding and painting new frames.

Bruce greeted her cheerfully,
stopping to admire the roses before continuing up the stairs.  Barbie spent the
day cleaning out the office, filling boxes with old accounts and invoices,
finding another photo album in the bottom drawer with photos of people she
didn’t know, and a handful of old letters.

Unfortunately, the writing had
long since faded, the paper almost mouldy, and she had to throw them on the
pile with everything else to be destroyed.  A shame, for she’d really hoped to
find something out about the mystery grave.

Henry didn’t know anything when
she quizzed him, but he suggested seeking out Old Man Parker, who apparently
knew everyone and everything in the town.  She decided to go and see him soon.

The men left at five o’clock and
Barbie had another shower, washing away the grime of the dusty papers and books
from her skin.  Dressing in a soft, wrap-around dress that tied at the waist
and dipped low in the front to show the lacy edging of the camisole she wore
beneath, she slipped on a pair of white sandals with two inch heels and decided
to leave her hair loose, drawing back the sides with scrolled combs.  Not
needing mascara with her - thank God - naturally thick, dark eyelashes, she
added a slick of red gloss to her lips and a squirt of perfume.  Picking up the
little purse which was big enough only for some money, her lip gloss and her
car keys, she checked the cats were happily settled, ensured there was plenty
of food and water in the kitchen, checked the back door was locked, left the
lounge and hall light on, and finally left the house.

The security lights flared on, and
combined with the sage ceremony of the previous night and her restful sleep
following, she felt a lot more at ease at leaving the cats by themselves at
night in the house for several hours.  Belief in ghosts or not, she just felt
better.  Besides, she wasn’t about to pooh-pooh anything that appeared to work.

  Having the security lights also
added security to the outside of the house in case of prowlers.  Even the light
in the garage worked brilliantly, and it was with a lighter heart that she left
the property.

The pub was brightly lit when she
entered, people chatting at the bar, a couple sitting at one of the tables.

Catching sight of Ali and Ghost
sitting at one of the tables, Barbie walked over and sat down. 

Ghost smiled in greeting.  “Glad
you could come.”

“Thanks for the invite.”

“Our pleasure.” Slouched back in the
chair, he had one arm around Ali’s shoulders.  “The others should be here
shortly.”

“Nice dress,” Ali commented.

“Thanks.”

“You should check out
Petite? 
Clara
runs it, and she carries some really nice clothes.”

“I might do that, though I have
quite a few clothes already.”

“How’s it going at the haunted
house?” Ghost queried.

Ali looked at him.  “You’re tired
of clothes talking already, aren’t you?”

“Honey, I’m only happy to talk you
out
of your clothes.”

“We’re in company.”

“Don’t mind me,” Barbie said
dryly.

“There?  See?”  Ghost waggled his
eyebrows at Ali.  “Barbie isn’t worried.”

“That’s because she has manners. 
Now settle down and I’ll take care of you later.”

“Oh geez, would it be rude if I
started panting?”

“Just don’t hang your head out of
the car window on the way home.”

“You’re a hard woman.”

“You just remember it, Fido.” 
Grinning suddenly, Ali gave him a smacking kiss on the lips.

“Break it up, people,” Matt said
from behind Barbie.  “Ali, let him up for air.  I don’t fancy giving him
mouth-to-mouth.”

Looking supremely satisfied, Ghost
lounged back in the chair.

“At least try to behave like an
adult in public.”  Matt held a chair out for Lori, ensuring she was seated
before taking the seat beside her.

“Because you two are so mature,”
Ghost retorted.

“Yep.”

“That’s why you have lipstick on
your neck.”

Lori’s head whipped around.  “Matt!”

“Don’t look like that,” he
retorted.  “You nearly raped me out in the car park.”

“
Matt!
”

“Yeah, that’s what you were
moaning, all right.”

Grabbing the napkin from beneath
Ali’s glass, Lori rubbed his neck.  “Honestly, you’re impossible.”

“Can’t blame me for bragging,
love.”  He winked.

She blushed, but her eyes sparkled
with laughter.

“Yep, the mature couple,” Ghost commented
to Ali, who just grinned and laid her head on his shoulder.

Enjoying their by-play and their
obvious love for each other, Barbie smiled, only to have it fade away when Adam
sat down opposite her in the one remaining chair.  He looked directly at her,
his dark gaze capturing hers, studying her face, slipping lower to sweep over
her cleavage before coming back up to her face.  She’d have blushed if he hadn’t
just smiled at her, nodded and turned his attention to Ghost.

“About time you arrived,” Ghost
said. “Were you too busy tasering some poor bastard to arrive on time?”

“I’m saving the tasering for you,”
Adam replied.  “You seem to like it so much.”

“It’s my secret fantasy.”

“I bet.”  Adam nodded at Ali and
Lori.  “You two look pretty.”

“Why, thank you,” Lori replied.

Ali dimpled at him.  “You cut a
mighty fine figure yourself.”

Barbie had to agree.  His
button-up shirt clung to his broad shoulders, the sleeves rolled up to just
below his elbows to show his muscular forearms.  Thick, dark hair was combed
neatly, though a rebellious lock fell over his forehead.  She had to fight the
sudden temptation to smooth it back, to run her fingers through that hair and
see if it felt as silky as it looked.

Disturbed at the sudden thought,
she cast around for something to say when he turned his gaze to her.  “’Evening,
Barbie.  You look nice.”

“And you look cleaner without
coffee on your shirt,” she replied. 
Oh, that’s cool.  Not.
  She did a
mental head slap.

He didn’t bat an eyelid, just eyed
her calmly.  “A little diversion in my normal day.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad
thing?” Matt asked.

“Can only be a good thing,” Ghost
answered before Adam could reply.  “Old cool, calm and collected there needs
his cage rattled now and again.”  Ghost turned a beaming smile on Barbie. 
“Honey, you have my undying admiration.  I just wish I had a photo of it.”

“Probably could get it,” Lori
mused.  “Shaun has his security cameras on all the time.  I just bet it’s all
caught in colour.”

“Don’t even think of uploading it
to YouTube,” Adam growled at Ghost.  “Or you will get up close and personal
with my handcuffs.”

“Ohhh.”  Ghost huddled against
Ali.  “Save me, honey, the big, bad cop wants to do nasty things to me!”  He
grabbed her.

Barbie wasn’t sure exactly where
he grabbed her, but going by Ali's sudden squeal, giggle, and hand slapping
below the table, it wasn’t exactly appropriate.

“Don’t make me arrest you for lewd
behaviour in public.”  Laughing, Adam swung his gaze to Barbie, the amusement
fading. “You haven’t rung me.”

Everyone at the table went quiet.

“There’s been no need,” Barbie
replied.  At his continued quiet and unnerving, steady gaze, she added almost
defensively, “I swear.”

“Besides,” Matt said cheerfully,
“Barbie might have already rung Brandon.  He’d be out there to fix her up.”

Barbie wasn’t sure if he meant it
the way it sounded, but going by the way Adam cut him a glance and Matt’s
gleaming eyes, she was pretty sure he was baiting his friend.  God knew why, it
wasn’t as though Adam thought about her like that.

The thought didn’t make her feel
any better, for some odd reason.

Ridiculous
.

Picking up her purse, she started
to push her chair back.  “I’m going to get a drink.”

Adam’s gaze swung back to her. 
“I’ll get it.  What are you having?”

“Oh, I can-”

“Barbie.”

How did he manage to make that one
word sound like an order?  It wasn’t as if he growled it, or glared when he
said it.  Just one word, one tone, and she found herself already resuming her
seat.

The realisation almost had her standing
upright again, but aware of the covert glances that the others sent her way -
or at least, Ghost and Ali, because Matt was too busy watching Adam, and Lori
was doing what seemed to be her thing, minding her own business - Barbie stayed
seated.

“I’ll have an orange juice,
thanks.”  She smiled slightly, reaching for her purse, but before she could
open it to give him any money, Adam had left the table.

“What’ll you have, honey?”  Ghost
turned to Ali.

“Coke and rum, please.’

“Honey, the heavy stuff?  I want
you awake later.”

“You know my limit is one.  Just
go and get it, geez.”

Laughing, Ghost dropped a kiss on
her cheek and stood up.

“I’ll have a Diet Coke, please,”
Lori told Matt when he turned to her.

No sooner had the men walked away
than Ali looked at Barbie, the gleam in her eyes plain to see.  “About Adam-”

Barbie shot her hand up, palm
out.  “No.”

As if she really expected Ali to
take notice.  The irrepressible woman continued, unfazed.  “So, you’re actually
talking to each other now instead of snarling?”

“I was civil at your house.”

“True.  But you hardly looked at
each other.  At least, you didn’t look at Adam much.”  Ali quirked one
eyebrow.  “But he looked at you.”

If Ali had known what had happened
later that night, she might not have been so happy.

“Trust me, there is nothing
between me and Adam.”  Barbie fiddled with the zip on her purse.  “Change of
subject.  Please.”

  Lori took pity on her, God bless
her quiet little soul.  “I passed your place today.  Looked busy.”

“It is.”

Rolling her eyes, Ali nevertheless
dropped the previous subject.  “Have you decided what you’re going to do with
everything?  Are you keeping it?”