Dae's Christmas Past
Dae’s Christmas Past
by
Joyce and Jim Lavene
Copyright © 2014 by Joyce and Jim Lavene
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Book coach and editor – Jeni Chappelle
Table of Contents
The Currituck Sound had a smooth, glossy surface leading to the horizon as I walked down the boardwalk. All the shops were closed, but there was one woman standing at the rail in front of my shop, Missing Pieces. She wore a dark purple suit with an amazing hat that matched it.
She turned to me as I came closer. “Hello, Dae. I’ve been waiting for you.”
I thought she was wearing a marmalade-colored scarf around her neck, but it slowly moved as she turned. A large cat blinked at me with lazy green eyes, balancing on her shoulders.
“Do I know you?” I thought she looked vaguely familiar. Maybe a former customer.
“Yes. We met a few years back. I see the shop still bears my name.” She glanced at the shop next door—my friend Shayla’s place—Mrs. Roberts Spiritual Reader.
“I remember you now! You’re Mary Catherine Roberts, the pet psychic. You opened the shop right after the boardwalk was finished and then moved to Wilmington. Have you moved back to Duck?”
“Not exactly. My cat, Baylor, and I will be here for a while. Something large and quite possibly dangerous is about to happen in Duck. Maybe you’ve heard something about it from the horses? Goodness knows news travels fast.”
At large fish jumped out of the calm water and flew through the air toward her until it finally dove back down inches from the boardwalk.
She laughed. “You see? Everyone knows. I’ll wager your little cat, Treasure, has been talking about it too. But don’t worry. We’ll handle it. I think you have some prehistoric horse figures we need to examine. I hope you have some tea too. I could really use a cup.”
This promised to be an interesting conversation. I opened the door to Missing Pieces. “I actually came here for a cup of tea myself. Won’t you join me?”
“Isn’t there something you should be doing with the election and everything? I heard you won the election for mayor of Duck. Congratulations.”
“Thanks, and thank goodness it’s over. I stopped here for a little peace and quiet. There are parties later, but right now I need to hide for a while.”
“I can come back later.” She paused at the threshold.
“No. That’s fine. I have to hear how you know my cat’s name is Treasure. I know you talk to animals, but Treasure isn’t even with me today.”
She smiled at me in a knowing way from under her large purple hat. She had a smooth, creamy complexion and an attractive face. Her blue eyes were deep, holding fathoms of secrets, like the ocean. She was probably in her fifties—a little plump—but very stylish.
I held the door to my shop as she walked in. I’d owned Missing Pieces Thrift Store for a few years. There was a little of everything here from antiques and collectibles to used items I thought someone might like. There were also the items that had been lost and were waiting for their owners to find them.
That’s what I do. I find lost things. I started finding things that belonged to other people when I was just a child, taking the gift from my grandmother. Sometimes those things seem important—lost keys and missing wills—even a missing child. As long as I could remember, I’d found items people were looking for by holding their hands.
Lately, I’d also been able to find lost people by holding their possessions. It had led me into a lot more trouble.
“What a lovely shop.” Mary Catherine roamed around through my lost and found. Baylor stayed completely still as she walked.
I closed the door even though there was a nice breeze coming in from the Currituck Sound. It would’ve been lovely for it to swirl through as we sat down for tea. But I wasn’t prepared to deal with anyone’s problems or congratulations at that moment. It had been a turbulent road to becoming mayor—my first real election—the first time someone had run against me.
I thought Mary Catherine might be exactly the diversion I needed to begin putting it behind me.
“Thank you.” I walked over to the hot plate, teas, and cups that I always kept ready for customers and friends when they dropped in. “I have some orange spice, Earl Grey, and lemon balm, if you’re in the mood for herbal. It’s very fresh. A friend of mine grows it.”
“I’ll take the Earl Grey, thanks,” she said. “It was a long drive up from Wilmington. I hardly slept last night thinking about today. I came as soon as I could arrange everything.”
I filled the kettle and turned on the hotplate. “You work for the radio station in Wilmington now. I’ve heard your show. It’s very popular here. People call you when they have problems with their pets.”
She smiled, small lines fanning out from her eyes. “That’s right. I make a living helping people understand their pets. Many times people think they’re doing what’s right for their furry loved ones, but it’s as far away from what they want or need as the moon.”
“So you really talk to animals?” I took out a few shortbread cookies, hoping they weren’t stale. “That’s amazing. I’m sorry. I don’t remember you doing that when you were here.”
“I’ve always done it. I just didn’t figure out that I could do it for a living until the last few years. It’s opened up a whole new world for me. What I do is no more amazing than you being able to find things and people, Dae O’Donnell. I read about that little girl you found. You have a wonderful gift.”
“Thank you. Is that how you knew my cat’s name?”
“Of course! Baylor told me before we got here. I believe animals may all be telepathic with each other. It’s also how I heard the horses calling for help.”
“You mentioned the horses. You talk to animals that aren’t pets too?”
“Oh yes. Direct communication goes around the language barrier, you know. I don’t have to speak dog to understand what a dog has to say.”
“And the wild horses have been calling you?”
“Yes—although there have been the odd dogs, cats, and even a few dolphins warning of the problem to come. Animals have a better grapevine than people.”
I put tea in the cups and poured the boiling water in after when the kettle started whistling. “And what are they saying?”
“Oh, it’s all about the ancient horses. It started when they began digging up the horse statues. It seems the statues are part of a cult the horses despise and fear. This is something old and primitive. There was an ancient, primal scream that came from all the horses as they protested the invasion. I heard it from horses as far away as Charleston. If other humans could have heard it, they would’ve known not to dig at the site. I was concerned at that point, but I didn’t know what it was all about. Since then it’s gotten louder and more animals along the coast are involved.”
I put a few cookies on the saucers that held the tea cups. “Cream? Sugar?”
“Both, thanks.” She added what she wanted and took a cup and saucer to my burgundy brocade sofa.
“That sounds terrible, but I don’t know what we can do about it. The site is considered a heritage spot now by the state. They’ve brought in archaeologists from the University of North Carolina and a whole team of people. It was astonishing to find out that horses were here before the Spanish ships. The whole idea of our history is changing. My friend, Jake, owns the property where they’re digging. It was an accident that he found them at all.”
I took my saucer, cup, and cookies to sit beside Mary Catherine on the comfortable sofa. The sofa was too big for the shop, but it was worth working around. I’d spent the night here on it more than once. It was one of my favorite finds.
“Jake Burleson rescues wild horses,” I explained. “He lives near Corolla, a few miles down Highway 12 from here.” The two-lane highway divided the Outer Banks and split the Atlantic Ocean from the bays and sounds that were along the coast.
“I remember Corolla.” She nodded. “That lovely old lighthouse is there.”
“Yes.”
“From what I understand of the problem, they should never have disturbed the horses’ resting place.” Mary Catherine sipped her tea. “Excellent tea! Thank you. Just what I needed.”
I appreciated her praise of my tea-making skills. “Jake was fascinated by the whole thing when he found the smaller horse statues. He couldn’t leave it alone. It’s amazing when you see what’s down there. It’s spooky too. It feels dark to me—wrong somehow. But I couldn’t tell you how or why.”
“Have you laid hands on any of the horse statues yet?”
“No. Jake was hoping I would. He’d like a better idea of what the horse statues were used for. The experts are saying the site is part of a cult where horses were worshipped. I haven’t touched the statues without gloves. Maybe it sounds crazy, but I’m afraid to.”
Fear was something I had learned since I started touching possessions instead of people. Even the simplest old coin could have a terrible, hidden history that could take me days to get out of my mind. I was happy that I hadn’t learned that skill as a child.
“I don’t think it sounds crazy at all. I think you’re right to proceed with caution.” Mary Catherine tasted one of the shortbread cookies.
“I wasn’t like that at first.” I put down my cup and saucer. “Experience has made me cautious. What do the horses and the other animals say about it?”
“They say bad things are going to happen. The site needs to be closed and blessed, perhaps by a shaman with an understanding of these things. The animals can’t adequately describe their fears but that doesn’t mean they aren’t genuine.”
“I can talk to Jake and see what they’re doing out there. You can come out with me and take a look around.”
“That sounds like a plan.” She put her cup and saucer on the sink. “Thank you for inviting me along.”
I received two texts on my phone. Gramps was looking for me. So was my boyfriend, Kevin. I wasn’t really ready to go back out into the world, but I knew if I didn’t, the world would come and beat on my door.
“There are some parties the rest of today to celebrate the election. I hope you’ll join us. Do you have a place to stay while you’re here?”