Last Dance (12 page)

I reread the note I’d just written:

Thorn,

Went with Dominic. Back in a few hours.

Will explain everything later.

I stared at my message, then decided it needed more. So I added:
Your friend, Sabine.
Then I left the note on Thorn’s pillow, grabbed my jacket, and left the room. I crept silently down the hall, pausing to listen into the family room where Thorn watched a movie with her aunt and uncle. Then I slipped out the back door.

When I’d called Dominic and asked for a ride to the ghost festival, he hadn’t sounded surprised. In fact, I’d been the one surprised when he’d not only agreed to take me, but to go along, too. I wasn’t sure if this was a good idea, not after Tawnya’s bizarre warning, but I kept these thoughts to myself.

Hearing the roar of a diesel pickup, I hurried down the long driveway and met Dominic. He came around to open my door, looking hot in leather and denim.

“You look good,” he said as I hopped into the truck.

Self-consciously I pulled my jacket around myself. I was wearing my usual jeans and a comfortable blue T-shirt. I hadn’t even taken the time to put on makeup or braid my hair. “I didn’t do anything special.”

“Yeah. That’s what I like,” he said with a faint smile.

And I liked how he looked, too, although I’d never say it out loud. His thick hair waved across thick dark brows and his smile softened his rugged features. I had this wild urge to move close to him, to lean against those hard muscles, to find out if his callused hands would be rough or soft. Crazy thoughts—and disloyal, too. I was happy with Josh—although right now he was probably dancing with other girls.

Dominic started the engine and I explained about wanting to go to the pavilion to contact Chloe and help her find peace. I hoped it wasn’t a mistake to involve Dominic. I didn’t believe Tawnya’s paranoid story about Chloe. Ghosts couldn’t physically harm humans. I was sure of this—almost.

Last night had been surreal, but tonight was a festival carnival complete with booths, food, entertainers, and even a band playing fifties music near the pavilion. Crowds of Chloe fans gathered for this final night of celebration. A dark cloudy sky hinted at rain, and the streets were so packed we had to park a mile away. As we entered the park, a costumed ghoul with a powdery face and black lipstick handed me a printed schedule of events.

“I’ve never been to a ghost party.” Dominic rubbed his chin as he looked around.

“Wild, isn’t it?”

“Weird is more like it.”

“Yeah.” I gestured toward the brochure. “Face-painting booths, a Freaks and Phantoms art exhibit, Poe and poetry readings, a talk about Chloe from some of her closest friends, a slide-show tour of the Chloe Museum, and club president Monique shares ghost-spotting techniques.”

“Too many people and too much noise for me,” Dominic said. “But Nona would love it.”

“She would, wouldn’t she? I wish she were here. I worry about her.”

“Then call her. You can use my cell.”

“I’ve made enough calls today.” I thought of Josh and Penny-Love. “I’ll call Nona when we have news about the remedy book. It’s been missing for so long, I sure hope we can find it before Nona gets—well, you know.”

He nodded solemnly. “We’ll find it,” he assured.

I looked up at him, grateful for all his help and especially because he cared so much about my grandmother. “Thanks for driving me tonight.”

“Why did you want to come? You can talk to ghosts anytime.”

“Not Chloe,” I said with a bitter laugh. “She doesn’t play by the rules.”

Then, because he was looking at me curiously and I owed him an explanation, I told him about my dream visions of Chloe. “I don’t know what she wants, and she might even be dangerous. Tawnya sure thinks so.”

“Tawnya?”

“The girl from the store.” I felt a rush of satisfaction that he didn’t even remember her name. “She told me a wild story about Chloe attacking her ex-boyfriend and warned me to keep a close watch on you.”

“Sounds like fun,” he said with a teasing look.

My cheeks warmed and I glanced at a middle-aged couple walking by holding hands and sporting matching dove temporary tattoos on their faces. Something like longing filled me, but I wasn’t sure why. Uneasily, I turned back to Dominic.

“I don’t believe Tawnya’s story,” I told him. “Chloe doesn’t feel dangerous to me … just confused and lost.”

“So you came to help her. That’s cool.”

“It’s not like I had a choice. Chloe is one persistent ghost.”

“Still you could have walked away. But you didn’t and I admire that.”

“Well …” The way he was staring at me made me a little dizzy. “It’s my last chance to help her.”

“What can I do?” Dominic offered.

“Driving me here was enough. I have to do the rest alone.”

“I’ll stay nearby if you need me,” he said with sincerity.

“Just don’t get too close to the cliff.” I meant this as a joke, but neither of us laughed and chills rose on my skin.

While Dominic wandered over to the Freaks and Phantoms art display, I wondered how to privately contact Chloe in the midst of all this crazy activity. The earlier connection I’d felt with her had faded. So I headed for her center of energy, the pavilion.

I hadn’t gone far when I heard someone call my name. Turning around, I was surprised to see Cathy hurrying toward me. After dreaming of her and Chloe last night, it was jarring to see Cathy as an elderly woman. As a young girl, her rich auburn hair had been styled in a flip, very different from her wispy, fluffed, pink, cotton candy hair. Now she seemed much smaller, a withered shadow of the robust girl who loyally stood by Chloe.

“You aren’t wearing a Chloe T-shirt,” Cathy said with a mischievous grin that gave me a glimpse of the young girl she used to be.

“Neither are you.” I pointed at her sweater and slacks.

“Chloe won’t mind.” She laughed. “She’d love all this hoopla in her honor. She had such big dreams of being a star. But this isn’t how they should have come true.”

I nodded sympathetically, then glanced down at the printed schedule. “Are you one of the friends scheduled to talk about her?”

“Yes, and I’m so nervous about public speaking. I can’t believe I let Monique rope me into this. Thank goodness Teddy came along with me for moral support.”

“He’s here?” I glanced around, but didn’t see any sign of Chloe’s former fiancé.

“He went to get us some sodas. I was surprised when he decided to join me. He usually avoids the celebration like poison.”

“Will you mention him in your talk?”

“Heavens, no.” She shook her head fervently. “He’s a very private man and I would never embarrass him. I’ll talk about the fun things Chloe and I did together.”

“Do you expect to see her ghost?” I asked.

“No, although I’d love to,” Cathy answered with a sigh. “I’ve attended every celebration but haven’t even seen a ghostly glimmer. It hurts that Chloe shows herself to others, but not to me—her best friend. Maybe she blames me—”

In my dream, Cathy had started to tell Chloe something bad about James. My pulse quickened as I asked, “Blames you for what?”

“Oh, nothing.” She looked away for a moment. “I was just talking silly.”

“No, you weren’t. You feel guilty.” A vision popped into my head of young Cathy twirling a golden Hula-Hoop. She spun it on her arm until it grew smaller and smaller, until it was so tiny it twirled into a golden ring around her third finger.

“I don’t have any reason to feel guilty,” Cathy protested.

“What about the ring?”

The color drained from her face. “You can’t possibly know! I only confided in two people. One I would trust with my life and the other is dead.”

“Chloe. You told her about James and the ring,” I added with the same knowing feeling I had whenever the phone rang and I just knew who it was.

With a nervous glance around, Cathy lowered her voice. “I only found out by accident. I was rushing to make an appointment, and literally bumped into him.”

“James?” I asked.

“Yes. At first, I didn’t recognize him. I’d only seen him a few times, but he was so different from the local boys, with wavy golden hair and snazzy clothes. I was walking down the sidewalk, when bam! He ran into me and we both stumbled. I heard a ping and saw a gold band fall from his pocket.”

“An engagement ring for Chloe?”

“You’re half right. It was a wedding ring, but not for Chloe.” Her eyes flamed furiously. “When James grabbed it, I saw a pale indentation around his third finger where men usually wear wedding rings.”

“His ring?”
I gasped. “But that would mean James was—”

“A married man,” she said with a solemn nod. “I didn’t want to tell Chloe, but I had to stop her from making a terrible mistake—but it only made things worse. She was wild with anger. I never thought she’d still meet him that night. I don’t know what happened—only that it ended with her death.”

Something defensive in her tone made me suspicious. “Are you sure there wasn’t more to it? No one ever heard from James again.”

“He was probably afraid he’d be blamed for her death and ran away.”

“Unless something happened to him.”

“Ridiculous! He’s most likely dead by now, and if not, he deserves to be.”

Her cold tone made me shiver. Had James loved Chloe or had he killed her? And what had happened to him?

I gave Cathy a sharp look. “You said you told someone else about the ring.”

“Well, yes. It was such a shock and I needed to talk, so I confided in someone I trusted.”

“Who?”

She paused. “Teddy.”

After Cathy left, I sat on a bench to sort through what I’d found out.

Everyone who knew Chloe gave a different picture of her. Which version was true? Was she a sweet and fun-loving girl or selfish and conniving? It was hard to know what to believe. Cathy’s loyalty was shadowed with guilt. Teddy’s devotion could hide dark secrets. Fan Club President Monique made Chloe sound as pure as a saint. And a man who never met Chloe created a museum in her honor. People were strange. No wonder Dominic preferred to work with animals.

Dominic appeared at my side as if my thoughts had conjured him. He cradled a small cottontail bunny in his arms. “Where’d you find him?” I asked as he sat beside me.

“Her,” he corrected. “She was hiding under the Whizzer ride.”

“Poor little thing,” I said, reaching out to stroke her soft fur.

“She’ll be fine once I take her home. Her family is beyond that fence, in those trees.”

“Did she tell you that or is that a guess?”

“I never guess.” He smiled, then invited me to walk with him. He held the bunny close to his chest, murmuring quietly to her. The bunny made a soft contented noise, like being next to Dominic was the coziest place on Earth.

Dominic went straight to a section of fencing, a small hole hidden by thick bushes. Kneeling down, he helped the small creature through the hole. When it hopped away, I imagined it reuniting with a loving family–no longer lost. That’s what I wanted for Chloe, too.

Dominic stood, turning to me. “What are you thinking about?” he asked.

“Chloe.”

“Seen any sign of her ghost yet?”

“Nope,” I answered as we walked back to busy booths and noisy crowds. “I haven’t even sensed her presence. It’ll probably be stronger by the pavilion.”

“If she does show up, what will you do?”

“Convince her to go to the other side. It won’t be easy because she thinks James is still coming for her.”

“He’s a little late,” Dominic said cynically.

“Maybe for a good reason. Like being dead. I’m beginning to suspect someone made sure he didn’t meet Chloe that night.”

“Can you use your powers to find out?”

“I don’t have any real powers. But if my spirit guide were around, I could ask her.” I swallowed hard, remembering how I’d told Opal to leave me alone. And she had.

“You really think someone killed James?”

“It’s suspicious that no one ever saw him again.”

“Any suspects?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “Chloe’s fiancé.”

Dominic gave a low whistle. “She had a fiancé and a boyfriend? That’s asking for trouble.”

“And she found it.”

A sudden wind swirled leaves and the air sizzled as if charged with electricity. I tensed and looked around expectantly.

Dominic lightly touched my arm. “What is it?”

“I’m not sure … I sense something.” I looked around, only seeing ordinary people enjoying a festival. No other-world
visitors. Yet goose bumps prickled my skin and I sensed a storm of energy gathering around me.

The noise around me faded to a distant buzz and the world sharpened to bright, dizzying colors. Dominic’s aura flamed with intense reds and oranges, and something inside me flamed, too. I thought of Josh surrounded by girls at the dance, and felt sad a longing. I didn’t want to be alone waiting on the sidelines.

A fifties band, set up on the raised pavilion, played a lively song. And for a moment, I had a dazzling vision of girls in full mid-skirts and guys with short haircuts. Dominic’s blue eyes darkened and his craggy, rugged face softened so he reminded me of James. The James I’d danced with in a dream.

“The music is so lovely,” I murmured.

“Do you know the song?”

“Dance Away Love.”

“I like it.”

“You should. It’s our song.”

“When did we get a song?” He sounded amused. “Sabine, are you all right?”

“Never better.” A wild urge to join the dancers filled me. Nothing seemed to matter, it was like dreaming while awake and I could hardly remember my own name. He’d called me Sabine, but that wasn’t right.

“Why are we standing around?” I grabbed his hand. It was rougher than I expected, but still nice. “Let’s dance.”

“
You
want to dance with
me
?”

“I can’t very well dance alone. Come on.”

“Well, if you’re sure.”

“I’m sure,” I said with confidence that surprised me.

It was as if the pavilion was a stage and we were actors taking our places into familiar roles. As his fingers curled snugly around mine and he pulled me close, a rational part of my brain screamed, “What are you doing?” But another part shut out the questions and surrendered to the music.

There were other couples on the pavilion, but I was barely aware of them. With golden lights shining down, soft as sunshine, I leaned against my dance partner and floated away. Swaying in perfect rhythm, we danced as if we’d done this a hundred times before. And it felt right.

“You’re a good dancer,” I murmured dreamily.

“So are you.”

“I live for dancing.”

“You do?” he asked. “I didn’t know that.”

“Now you do.” A strand of my hair flew across my eyes and I stared at the pale color in confusion. It should be darker, a rich shade of caramel. And why was I wearing jeans at a public dance? My parents would be shocked.

“You’re different tonight,” he told me.

“Different in a good way, I hope.” I flashed him a teasing look. “It’s my number-two goal in life to keep everyone guessing.”

“And what’s number one?”

“To achieve great things. I’m going to be famous.”

“Famous?” he repeated with a puzzled tilt of his head. “Since when did you care about that?”

“Always! My dreams are bigger than a thousand pavilions.”

“I hope they come true.”

“They’re starting to,” I said, my heart soaring as I met his gaze. “Finding the right person to share your dreams is important. No one really took me seriously before, but it’s all going to change soon. Everything will be perfect after you take me away.”

“You want to leave already?”

“Not the dance, silly.” Impatience and a powerful longing rose in my soul. Why was he looking at me so strangely? “I want to go places. Not tied down to Teddy—”

“Teddy?” He knitted his brows. “Who’s he?”

His question threw me off balance, and my world tilted as if I was slipping over a sharp edge. Dancers whirled by in a blur, spinning faster, faster. I tried to remember what I was doing here. But the memory seemed distant and my mind drifted along while the band played. There were no worries or cages of rules on the dance floor. Only music.

“I wish the song would never end,” I murmured, enjoying the warm comfort of my cheek pressed against his shoulder.

“Everything has to end eventually.”

“Not for us. It’s only beginning.”

“Are you okay Sabine?”

“You’re teasing again. You know that’s not my name.”

He gave me a strange look. “I do?”

“Don’t say anything more.” I grabbed for him, holding tight to dreams, I whispered desperately, “Just dance.”

He nodded, saying nothing at all.

We drifted away from other dancers, to a secluded corner of the pavilion. Fears faded to a peaceful sense of joy. Everything was going to be all right. I was young, talented, and powerful. I could do anything, go anywhere, achieve everything, and no one could stop me.

Thunder rumbled nearby, but it was safe and protected under the pavilion, where dancers whirled and voices lifted in laughter. My heart lifted, too. And when I looked up into the most handsome face in the world, I knew he was the only one for me. My fairy-tale prince coming to the rescue.

“James, my love,” I said softly as I circled my arms around his neck.

He shook his head, yet didn’t pull away. His eyes shone brightly, more sky blue than night black. And his golden hair seemed unusually dark.

Lightning flashed as we stood alone in our own universe. His gaze smoldered. Hot, intense, wanting—my breath came faster, warmth flowing through me. I parted my lips and lifted my chin. He hesitated for only a moment, then brought his lips hungrily down on my own. The hands pulling me close were oddly rough, yet amazingly soft. Our hearts pounded a wild rhythm and I tasted salty desire on his lips.

Rain fell around the pavilion.

And we kissed.