A Rocky Path Read online

  Right at the moment that Emily was about to drive by, Sarah opened the door and waved for her to stop. She stopped in time to pull into the driveway.

  “I saw you about to drive by. Why don’t you come in and have lunch with us?” said Sarah.

  “I was actually coming to see you. But I saw Jarrod’s car and didn’t want to intrude.”

  “Nonsense!” said Sarah firmly. “We would love to have you join us.”

  Emily decided to stay and went into the house with Sarah.

  “Well, hello there!” said Jarrod. “It’s nice to see you again, Emily.”

  “It’s good to see you, too. How have you been?”

  “Good, thank you. Here, have a seat. Sarah has been filling me in on the events of late. A lot has happened since we talked.”

  “That’s for sure. Actually, a lot has happened since Sarah and I have talked, too.”

  She filled them in on her meetings with Patrick and the things that the two of them had been talking about. They continued to talk over lunch.

  “I can’t believe that Patrick’s fiancée cheated on him with his own father! That had to be devastating for him,” said Sarah.

  “That would have been quite a shock for him to find that out. To walk in on it…well, that had to be an awful situation,” said Jarrod.

  “I know,” said Emily. “It was awful hearing him tell about it. He felt so betrayed! But the really terrible thing is that he has no idea how he died. He doesn’t know if she killed him by accident or if she murdered him. Until he finds out, he’s stuck here in this world as a ghost.”

  “Are you thinking about trying to help him figure it out? How do you propose to do that?” asked Sarah.

  “Well, I thought maybe since you were able to see John’s killer that I could see what happened with Patrick.”

  Sarah looked thoughtful. “That might work. But I wouldn’t get my hopes up. There’s no way to know for sure whether or not you will be able to see what happened. I was lucky to see John’s murder and then to read the account of the arrest of the killer. Although it didn’t seem lucky for me at the time.”

  “I want to try. I haven’t told Patrick my idea yet. I wonder if he will be able to even show me the past like John did for you. Is it a power that all spirits have, or is it just among a select few?”

  “I wish I knew the answers. But all you can do is try. Talk it over with Patrick and see what he thinks.”

  Jarrod looked at her thoughtfully. “Now that he’s met you and has fallen in love with you, do you think he really wants to leave?”

  Emily said, sadly, “He does want to leave. But I think the biggest reason is not for his own happiness, but mine. He has told me that since we can’t ever have a normal life together, that I should let him go so I can get on with my life. He can never leave the place that he roams, and we can never….” She blushed.

  “Emily, you know in your heart that it will be better for both of you for him to leave. I know it will hurt you both, but in the long run, you’ll both be happier,” said Jarrod.

  “That’s true,” agreed Sarah. “You’ll both be better off. You’ll be able to find happiness with a real flesh and blood man, and Patrick will be happy in Heaven.”

  “I know it’s all true. It’s just hard to believe right now.”

  They continued to talk as they finished eating lunch. Afterwards, Emily helped Sarah with the dishes. Then they all sat down and relaxed with coffee. Emily left feeling lucky that she had made two friends that she could actually talk to about a subject that most people wouldn’t even believe.

  When Emily got back to the house, she went down to the cave and looked for Patrick. She didn’t really expect to find him. She had never seen him before late afternoon. She thought maybe she should ask him why he never appeared early in the day.

  She took the pen and paper out that she had put in her pocket before coming here. She wrote Patrick a note telling him that she had an obligation to go to the Reader’s Guild meeting tonight, since Sam and Rebecca were speaking. She told him how disappointed she was and pretty soon she had written a whole letter. She smiled. Love like she felt for Patrick and that he felt for her was something that didn’t come along every day, and she treasured every moment spent with him. She knew their time was short and that they were both going to be hurt, but she wouldn’t trade a single moment for anything in the world.

  She placed the note on the blanket that they had spent so much time on, and weighed it down with a small rock. She touched the blanket and the pillows that they had lain on. Her heartbeat quickened as she remembered every minute of time they had spent together. She would treasure these memories as long as she lived.

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  She dressed for the club dinner meeting with care. She wanted to reflect well on Rebecca and her family. She had been told that this was a dressy dinner, so she picked out one of her new dresses that she hadn’t worn yet. It was a green silk with straps that tied in bows at the top of her shoulders. It was almost ankle length, with slits up the side that reached about two inches above her knees. The silk clung to her slender, muscular body in a flattering way, and she was pleased with how she looked. She put her hair up with loose tendrils that curled around her face. As she looked in the mirror, she wished that Patrick could see her. Except for the party where he had beaten up Jamie, he had never seen her in anything but bulky sweaters; that is, except for the time he had undressed her while she was unconscious. She blushed at the thought.

  The whole family rode together in one of Rebecca’s larger cars, a silver Bentley. Everyone looked great. Sam and Jamie were both very handsome in their tuxedos. Rebecca was wearing a clingy black dress, and Sally had decided on a modest, elegant midnight blue dress.

  “We look so fine!” said Sam with a grin.

  “You are so stuck on yourself,” replied Emily.

  The dinner was great with good food and a local band playing 60’s music in the background. Sam and Rebecca were great speakers, holding their audience captive with humor and passion for their art. The night was fun, but Emily really missed Patrick. She knew that she was supposed to be with him right now and she hoped he wasn’t upset with her for having to do something else. She hoped he had read the note and understood why she had to go with Rebecca to this meeting.

  “Hello there, Emily. It’s nice to see you here,” said Sarah as she walked up to them.

  “Well, hello. I didn’t know if you would be here tonight or not,” said Emily.

  “I am one of the founding members of the Reading Guild. So is Jarrod.”

  “Where is he? Is he here?”

  Jarrod chose that time to make an appearance.

  Emily smiled at him. “So there you are. I was just asking about you. Sarah said you two have been members of the club since its conception.”

  “We sure have. We have had a lot of famous writers come here and speak to us. But Sam and Rebecca are two of our own. So we are partial to them. Although we haven’t had Stephen King yet,” he added slyly.

  Emily met several other people, although many of them had been at Rebecca’s party. She really liked the people in this small, easy going town. But she really wished Patrick were here. She wondered what he would look like in a tuxedo. She bet he would be hot. Her skin felt flushed when she thought of Patrick being here, looking better than any other man in the room. Sam and Jamie were by far the most handsome men here now, but they couldn’t hold a candle to Patrick.

  On the ride home, everyone was quiet. It was getting late, almost eleven o’clock, and they were tired. There had been a lot of socializing after the speeches and Emily’s feet were tired from wearing high heels all night.

  Back at the house, Emily went up to her room and changed into her t-shirt for the night. She got into bed and read for awhile, but then she started getting restless. She got up and pulled back the curtains, almost hoping to see the raven with a note for her. But there was no bird. Should she have gone down to the rocks a
fter she got back? That was absurd. Patrick wouldn’t have expected her to come down, knowing that she had been out all night and would be tired. Would he? Emily went back to bed and slept fitfully for the rest of the night, dreaming of the man she loved.

  * * *

  In a dark cave, two rats found a piece of paper stuck under a rock. They tugged on it until it slipped out from under the rock. This would make good nesting material. The two rodents each grabbed a side of the paper and it ripped in half. Both rats ended up with half of the paper. They scurried away with their treasures, lucky to have found something to help with the nest that their babies would soon inhabit.

  Later that night, Patrick came into the cave alone, wondering where Emily could possibly be. He looked for her, but couldn’t find her anywhere. He went up to the house, but no one seemed to be at home. He frowned. He couldn’t believe that she would just not show up when she promised that she would meet him tonight. What could be wrong? He was beginning to worry.

  After awhile, Patrick started realizing that maybe Emily had started having second thoughts about their relationship. After all, he was a ghost and there were two good looking men living in the house with her. He was pretty sure she wouldn’t have anything to do with the one who attacked her, but he had seen the blond man several times. He was attractive and Patrick couldn’t blame Emily if she decided she would rather have some fun with him than be tied down to the cave by the water. Maybe she needed a man to hold her and make love to her in the night. Since Patrick couldn’t love her in that way, maybe she just couldn’t resist if another man had offered her love and passion. All he could offer her was affection. No, he couldn’t blame her.

  He felt sick at the thought of another man touching her and loving her. His imagination was running wild now and he was starting to get angry.

  Soon, he had convinced himself that she really had abandoned him. She was with another man, he was sure of it. She had hurt him, just like Bridgett had hurt him. He knew that Emily would have to go on with her life if he left this world, but he never believed she would do this before he was gone!

  Suddenly, his rage was more than he could contain. He grabbed up the blanket that they had spent so many hours on and ripped it apart. Then he took the pillows and tore them to shreds. He swept away the candles that they had burned and that made the cave seem so romantic. Everything he could find in the cave, he destroyed. Finally, his anger spent, he sat down on the floor of the cave and put his head in his hands. He sat there and wept as he had never wept before, not even for Bridgett. His heart was breaking. He had never thought that Emily would cast him off like this, as if he was nothing but a piece of driftwood that she had found on the beach and decided wasn’t worth keeping. He wanted to die…but the irony of that was that he was already dead and would have to live like this for an eternity. Maybe this was what hell was like.

  Patrick let himself drift away into that place between this world and the beyond. There, he could just exist without ever letting anyone see him or hear him…or feel him. Maybe this is where he would stay.

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  The next day was another day off for Emily. She got up early and went to church, then came home and had lunch with the rest of the family. She went to her room and read for awhile, just biding her time, waiting for the evening when she could go down and see Patrick. She couldn’t wait!

  A knock on her door interrupted her train of thought.

  “Come in!” she called out.

  Sam walked into the room. He looked great in a pair of low cut jeans and a tight t-shirt. She could admire him as a good looking man, but her heart belonged to Patrick. Her heart didn’t beat faster when Sam was around.

  “What are you doing up here all by yourself? You sure do keep to yourself a lot these days. What’s going on with you?”

  “Nothing, Sam, I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”

  “Come on, Emily, something is bothering you. You’re distracted by something. You can tell me anything and I won’t breathe a word to anyone. I promise.”

  “Sam, you aren’t exactly the kind of guy that inspires one to pour out one’s feelings.”

  Sam sighed. “Emily, I know that I’m always joking around and acting silly. I seem to be a really shallow guy and that’s what I would like everyone to think. But I really can be a good friend. Not to just anyone, but to people I care about. I really like you, Emily. I know that there won’t ever be anything romantic between us, but I still feel like we’re good friends.”

  Emily looked at him quizzically. So there was another side to the carefree Sam she knew.

  “Ok, Sam. There’s a man that I’ve fallen in love with. But our time together is short. I know that he’ll be leaving soon, and it’s really breaking my heart. We’re trying to spend as much time together as possible. I was supposed to meet him last night, but I had to go to the dinner. So I’ll have to wait until tonight.”

  “Why are you keeping this guy a secret? Why haven’t you brought him to meet us? He could have come to the dinner with us last night.”

  “It’s complicated. Sam, I’ve told you as much as I feel comfortable telling you. Please don’t ask me any more about it.”

  “Uh oh, he’s married! He has a wife!” accused Sam.

  “No, he doesn’t have a wife. He’s just a little different. I can’t explain it, just believe me that this is a strange situation. Maybe someday I can tell you all about it. But I guarantee you that you won’t believe me!”

  Sam stayed with her and they talked for awhile longer, but he wasn’t able to get her to tell him anything else about Patrick. After he left, Emily went downstairs and looked at the portraits. This was the first time she had looked at them since she knew that the picture was really Patrick. She studied the portrait of Bridgett. As she looked at it, she kept finding fault with every feature. Her eyes were too close together, her lips were too thin, her hair was too blond. She smiled at herself. She had no reason to be jealous of this woman. Patrick loved her now, and much more than he had ever loved Bridgett.

  She couldn’t wait until she saw him tonight. She would shower him with love and kisses. And she would stay with him until morning.

  Finally, dinner time rolled around. She ate with everyone else and tried not to act too excited. She didn’t want them to suspect anything. She was going to be out all night and she hoped no one would miss her. Then she could pretend that she had been at the house all along.

  After dinner, Emily went to her room to get dressed for her adventure. She could barely contain her excitement. The thought of seeing Patrick always affected her this way. This time was worse because she hadn’t seen him last night.

  She snuck quietly down the stairs. Everyone was in the library and she was careful not to let any of them see her. She opened and closed the door softly. Then she hurried down to the rocks and to the cave.

  “Patrick, I’m here!” she called. “Patrick, where are you?”

  There was no answer, so she entered the cave. What she saw in the cave shocked her to the core. Everywhere she looked there was destruction. The blanket was torn into shreds. The pillows were ripped to pieces, and there was foam everywhere. The candles were broken into pieces and the glass holders were shattered. What had happened here?

  “Patrick!” she called more urgently. “What happened? Patrick, can you hear me?”

  There was no sign of him anywhere. She sank to the cold ground. She couldn’t figure out what had happened. Had Patrick done this? Why? Had someone else found the cave and destroyed everything? What possible motive would anyone else have to do something like that?

  She felt tears springing to her eyes. Where was Patrick? Why wouldn’t he come to her? She gathered up the remnants of the blanket and made a bed the best she could. Then she curled up on the pieces of blanket, hoping that Patrick would come soon. Surely he would be here. The note she had written to him had said that she would be here tonight. She slowly drifted off to sleep, hoping she would see Patric
k when she woke up.

  * * *

  Emily woke up stiff and sore from sleeping on the hard, cold ground. She was freezing! She wondered how long she had been asleep. Surely not that long. She looked at her watch and gasped with shock. It was five o’clock in the morning! Where was Patrick?

  “Patrick, please come to me!” she cried. “Why are you doing this?”

  Tears of frustration sprang to her eyes. She and Patrick had been so happy, enjoying each other’s company. What had happened? She couldn’t imagine what could have caused Patrick to do this. Everything was fine the last time they were together.

  Emily painfully walked back up the trail and to the house. She slipped in quietly and went to her room without anyone seeing her. She had to work this morning, so there wasn’t much use in going to bed. She showered and dressed, then went down to the kitchen. She made coffee and took a couple of ibuprofen. She was aching all over. After she had drunk a couple of cups of coffee and the pain medicine had kicked in, she started to feel human again.

  She sat at the table and thought about Patrick while she was drinking her coffee. The hurt she was feeling was breaking her heart. She couldn’t believe this had happened. Would he ever come back? Had he decided just to go away and not tell her? She couldn’t believe he would do that to her. There had to be some reason. And she was determined to find out what that reason was.

  The rest of the gang came downstairs after awhile. Sam looked at Emily and lifted an eyebrow. She usually thought that one eyebrow thing was cute, but this morning it just irritated her. She frowned at him and he looked away. She was ill tempered this morning, so everyone decided it would be best to just leave her alone. That suited her just fine.

  After breakfast, she went upstairs to the office and worked quietly. When Rebecca came in to work, Emily just nodded at her and didn’t say a word. The rest of the day passed in a similar manner, and everyone just left her alone. She knew everyone must think she was the moodiest person they had ever met. But they didn’t realize what she had been going through.