The Lebrus Stone (8 page)

But Isobel was the key to my heritage, the only remainder of a past I had to recover. Yet, she was reluctant to give me any answers with a complete sentence.

What was she hiding? Was I really just being paranoid?

If anything, I had to push more out of her. At least make her share her memories with my parents. She had to let me know about my mother's life. I had to learn our differences and similarities, what made her tick and what ticked her off. It was important and crucial to my future. Without these simple facts, I wouldn't be able to move on without constantly wondering what, if, and why.

I had counted on this visit to take me one step further to that next important level, to pinpoint what was missing and how I could piece it together with what was left. If I ever had children, I wanted to be able to tell them about their grandparents.

Something right had to be passed on through the generations of their absence.

After dinner, Isobel took Zella to her piano lessons. Syd went grocery shopping, and Cray was nowhere in sight.

Gal had made a point of snubbing my offer of small talk to lock himself in his room, which left just Milton as company. But he was planting a new rose bush.

I was actually glad of the chance to stand at my balcony again. There I could rationalize the dreams and psychic reading while admiring the darkening sky. I could let myself become an even deeper thinker all of sudden.

Coming to Blacksville was supposed to be a break from the usual. It was supposed to be a way to get to know the Lockes. I just felt the need to coop myself in my room for a while. I needed the space before delving further into the brittle bones of my heritage. I couldn't put the strange dreams behind me, either, especially after what Elandra had uncovered.

They were trying to tell me something. My extra developing sixth sense since arriving here just knew it. I had to figure out what to do at a pace that didn't make me close to having a nervous breakdown.

"Hey!"

In the driveway was Jess. The light from the porch shone on her face, and I could see she was wearing tattered jeans and a faded blue tee. In her hand was a straw basket; a big grin spread across her face. "I'm pickin' fruit. You wanna join me?"

It was getting dark. Maybe she really was ready for a psychiatrist couch, or was just plain quirky. Although picking fruit in near dusk didn't sound all that exciting, it was something to do, an offer I couldn't refuse from my first and likely only visitor. No matter how unconventional.

Besides, Isobel said Jess was harmless. It wasn't like
I
was that stable, anyway. I especially hadn't been these past two years. I'd been through hell and back, holding on by a winding thread.

Some days I hadn't cared about myself to be cautious. Some days I had barely eaten. I got stinking drunk just to live each day through a softer haze, just so the aftermath of what happened wouldn't be so clear cut and in focus.

And I was pretty good at reading people. Maybe not the Lockes so much, but I knew Jess was just lost and feeding from her denial. I knew because I identified with it, and had been the same once. Deep down, I still was that person.

If picking fruit could erase half the chatter in my head; it had to be worth the risk of boredom.

"Sure!" I yelled back.

"Great!"

I hurried downstairs and passed Gal. He was too engrossed with a book to make the slightest bit of eye contact.

Perfect.

Jess was waiting for me on the steps, looking less full figured and small. Her hair was loose and past her waist. Beads of sweat gathered around her button nose.

"Ever picked fruit before?" she asked, bouncing on the backs of her sandals.

"Nope, and definitely not in the uh…near dark."

She held up a flashlight.

I thought fruit picking in the day would have been easier, but chose not to make a comment.

"I used to pick at this time with Nanny," she said after an uneasy silence. "We liked the challenge. I've tried to keep up with the tradition."

It was a good enough reason.

"Will I be getting a jar?" I asked, hoping to sound as eager.

She nodded, ecstatic.

Behind her a black Jaguar pulled up and Cray stepped out of it with annoying ease, bleeping on his alarm before walking toward us with a flair that was naturally his. I thought about the dream and my chest tightened. A part of me was still glad to see him. However much he made me nervous.

I had too much pride to run back inside.

"Cray," Jess chirped. "It's been a while." Her broad smile made him actually smile back. Not completely. But it was enough to make me step back in surprise. The cute dimple I'd spotted on his left cheek hadn't helped. I lowered my head and kept my gaze on his shiny shoes pausing next to Jess.

"What brings you here?" he asked, his tone verging on friendly. It made me all the more nervous, and somewhat excited to hear his slightly playful voice.

I had to get a hold of myself.

"Not you." Jess chuckled, her tone verging on flirtatious. "I'm here to see Crystal."

It became quiet. They must have been looking at me now that Jess had pointed out I was even there.

I peered up, not really looking at either of them. "We're picking fruit," I said, unsure if either of them understood through my mumbling.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Cray scratch the back of his head, then turn to Jess. "It was good to see you, Jess." With that, he headed toward the house.

"You, too, Cray. Speak soon!"

He went indoors.

"Crystal? Can you hear me?"

I blinked. Jess was waving her hands at me.

"Finally!" She chuckled.

"Sorry, did you say something?"

"I asked what time you needed to be back, but you've been gone a while."

"Gone?" I frowned. Then realized what she meant. "Oh." I tried not to blush.

"It ain't so surprisin'."

"What isn't?"

"You bein' so affected 'n all."

"By who?"

She raised her eyebrows.

Of course, I knew who she was talking about. I just had to play it down.

"By Cray?" I laughed to stop myself blushing more than I had.

She shook her head. "He's gone got you hooked like everyone."

That irked me a little. I didn't want to be like everyone else.

"Yup, there it is, written all over you."

I folded my arms. "You've got it all wrong, Jess."

"Oh yeah? Then why didn't you speak to him just now?"

"I did. He just wasn't listening."

"Maybe because you were talking
at
him not
to
him."

Why was she assuming how I felt?

I didn't speak to him because he was full of himself. That was my story and I was sticking to it.

I shrugged. "Are we picking fruit or not?"

"Okay. We'll change the subject…for now."

She handed me some worn gloves and led the way. I tried to keep up with the way she speed walked. And boy, could she talk. But it was alright. I didn't want to speak for a while. I wanted to recall Cray's smile.

~ * ~

We picked what Jess called black mulberries and sugarberries, using her flashlight to invade the deeper corners of an orchard. The fruit looked like tiny grapes that were plump and ripe and easy to squish. As for picking fruit, it wasn't what I would call boring. It was more like a brief closing of the mind, an action done while sleeping with your eyes open as you sifted through what wanted to be kept and thrown out of you.

"That should do it," Jess said, fanning her face with her hand.

We'd been picking fruit in the near dark for about an hour. Although it felt more like three. It was
not
my idea of fun.

Jess could have also warned me it involved getting down on your hands and knees. Still, I couldn't quite complain. It
had
helped me get lost in a blanker canvas of thoughts as I scoured places for blue or pink berries. I even enjoyed the breaks to nibble on fallen, sun dried fruit. But it was getting dark. We headed for the hill to where I guessed was Jess's place.

"We'll be taking these back to my place," she confirmed, swinging her basket.

We walked for a while without speaking. I had a feeling she was gearing up to ask me something.

"So, you know you're a Cole, right?" she asked as we struggled up the steep hill. "It was your momma's maiden name," she added before I could reply. "It means you're a descendant of the Thorncrests."

"Wait," I said, fully alert. "Thorncrest Manor was named after a family?"

Jess nodded. "It was Vander Asholme's great, great grandfather's surname. He'd gone made the manor for his wife, Verity, as a marriage gift. Cole was your granddaddy's surname."

What else hadn't Isobel told me?

So much had been hidden.

"Now not many know," Jess said. "Nanny's mamma was Edith, the Asholme's maid. That's how she came to know so much."

I wished her Nanny was still alive.

"Do you think she knew my parents?" I asked, my heart beating ten to the dozen.

Jess stopped walking. "I've heard about your folks," she said instead. "I lost my parents some time ago."

I didn't want to tell her I knew. She would have known the Lockes had been talking about her, and not necessarily in a good way. As for my parents, I hadn't known them to feel the need to mention their existence. I also wasn't used to the condolences. I wasn't sure how to accept them or give any in return. I was as unemotional as Cray, sometimes. It would explain why I was feeling so drawn to him in such a short time. No matter how much he looked set to ignore me.

"At least you had your grandmother," I said finally.

Jess's big grin returned and she somehow walked faster. "Nanny knew a lot about your folks too. Your momma the most."

"She did?" I tried to catch up.

Jess slowed her pace and linked my arm. We walked along the desolate road.

"I know something else," she whispered.

"What?" I tried not to get too excited.

"The Lockes have probably gone and told you I'm losing it." She chuckled. "You probably won't believe me."

"Try me."

Jess must have seen the desperation in my face, since her expression saddened. "Alrighty, but don't say I didn't warn you."

"Please. Just tell me."

"Hmmm, well…do you believe in curses?"

Maybe I'd misheard. "Sorry?"

"I think that's what killed your mom and your aunt, every woman before them that gave birth for the first time." She looked ahead, her expression unreadable.

Isobel might have been telling me the truth about Jess's dwindling sanity. Yet something told me to keep quizzing her about it.

"Did your Nanny tell you this?"

Jess bit her lip and nodded, seeming apprehensive to explain much more.

"Did she know how it began?"

Jess nodded again, this time frantically, like a child complying. "Arrious. Like I said, Vander had been in a relationship with her. She began it. Don't go asking me how. I dunno. I just thought I should tell you."

"So, she gave birth to a child that started it?"

"Looks that way."

"But my mom died with my dad in a car accident when I was a baby. Aunt Lorraine, my legal guardian after that, died in a house fire when I was about one." I didn't know why I was explaining this; Jess would have known everything. I had to re-think Jess's credibility. I was a "see it to believe it" kind of girl. Plain hearsay wasn't enough.

Jess shrugged. "Maybe they just delayed it."

Her sure bluntness caused a prickle of fear to crawl up my spine like spindly fingers. "Does Isobel know about this…theory?" My voice wavered.

I only needed a glimpse of Jess's face to see she wasn't impressed with my rationalization of what she was implying.

"Dunno," she said. "Maybe. It could be why she brought you here."

That struck me cold. What if something weird was going on? Maybe not this, but something else, no matter how unrealistic?

"What would bringing me here do?" I was snapping, but couldn't help it.

"Save you. She might be hopin' her money can. She'll probably pay the best Shaman to fix you." She laughed.

This had to be a joke. Yet I didn't appreciate her finding it funny.

I wanted to get back to the house and confront Isobel. Maybe she could explain without being so vague. Then again, maybe not. But I needed to know if Jess was making this up in her warped little mind, or if I seriously had something out of my depth to consider being the truth. Even slightly.

"I should head back," I said, putting my basket down.

"Isobel will tell you I'm imaging it," Jess said, pausing as well. "Everybody here will. They think losing Nanny is making me de-lu-sion-al."

I couldn't deal with this right now. Jess seemed to be waiting for me to prove I believed her.

"I just need to get back, that's all. Do you mind?"

"Nope." She picked up the other basket. "You know where I am if you need me."

We exchanged cell numbers.

She walked away, swinging her baskets like she hadn't a care in the world.

I envied it.