The Red House 2: The Curse is Broken Read online

  “Most definitely not,” Jesse adds.

  “Maybe there is a way to take him out of the equation?” Martha asks.

  I shake my head. “I think we need to do some research on curses. A crash course -- maybe we can find a book or something.”

  Eli looks at me with his brows raised. “Like what, ‘Curses for Dummies’? ‘Curses 101’? ‘Cursing made Easy’? ‘How to Break a Curse in Five Easy Steps’? I don’t know what library you plan on going to, but unless it’s in Sunnydale, run by a librarian named Giles, and there is a cute blonde chic smacking vamps around, I think you may have a hard time finding something.”

  I glare at him until I realize he is right. I sigh and start pacing the barn. Suddenly I stop and look at them. “Maybe it is as simple as telling Robert! But maybe what we are wrong about is what you tell him. I think I have an idea. We need to go to the graveyard.”

  “The graveyard? What graveyard? And why would we need to go to a graveyard?” Eli asks as he follows me out of the barn. I explain my plan as we walk to where Robert is buried. By the time we get there, all three of them are looking at me like I’m Planters Nuts wacko.

  Jamming my fists on my hips, I glare back at them. “What? I don’t see anyone else coming up with any plans, so it’s worth a shot, isn’t it?”

  “It won’t work, Shelby,” Jesse mutters.

  “How do you know? It might. When you and Martha apologized to one another and then forgave one another, something happened,” I point out.

  “It won’t work because I can’t forgive what he did to me and I sure can’t forgive what he did to Martha!” Jesse growls out at me.

  I stomp over to where Jesse is standing next to Robert’s headstone. “Are you incapable of learning anything? It was that very attitude that got you cursed in the first place! What he did was wrong, we all agree, but, Jesse, you have got to forgive him! I really do think that’s what is holding all of you here. It isn’t Robert…it’s unforgiveness.” I suddenly notice that the wind is starting to pick up as it whips my hair into my eyes. I gather it up at the base of my neck as I look into Jesse’s eyes.

  “I can’t!” he yells out over the now-howling wind.

  I look to Martha for help. “He has to do this, Martha! Talk to him!” I beg her.

  She turns her sky blue eyes to Jesse and I swear he actually winces when she blasts him with the full power of those baby blues. She whispers two words and gets him to agree.

  “Please, Jesse?” He looks at her for a minute before he nods his head without a word of argument.

  I stand there with my mouth hanging open. “That’s it! I’m getting contacts! No way it should have been that easy,” I grumble.

  Eli moves closer to me, looking up at the blackening sky. “I don’t know where this storm blew in from, but for those of us still breathing it could get dangerous, so can we make nice already and get to some shelter?”

  Martha steps up closer to the headstone, tugging on Jesse’s hand for him to follow. “Robert, I know you can hear me. I want you to know that I don’t blame you for everything. I could have tried harder to be a better wife to you. I could have told you before we wed that I was with child. I deceived you, and for that I ask your forgiveness. I also forgive you for your mistakes.” She then steps back and looks up at Jesse as he steps closer to the headstone with his jaw clenched so tight it looks like granite. He stands there for so long staring at the grave that I think he has changed his mind.

  “Jesse! Say it already!” I yell at him as I duck to dodge a flying branch.

  “Say something!” Eli growls while holding his arms up to protect his face from flying debris.

  “Please, Jesse!” Martha chimes in.

  Jesse looks at all of us with two hundred plus years of anger and pain etched on his face. “Alright! Robert, I’m sorry I drove you insane even though you deserved it and you know it, and I…I forgive you for stealing my life with Martha and my child by killing me!”

  Suddenly a loud roaring like a jet airplane taking off fills my ears. The wind swirls around my body like a tornado, flinging sticks, dirt and small rocks everywhere. I can’t see anything. It is suddenly pitch black and freezing! I scream for Eli, reaching out for him by waving my arms around in front of me as I carefully walk in small circles. Tripping over a headstone, I fall to the ground. The air pressure is increasing all around me, making it hard to breathe. Covering my head with my arms, I try calling out for Martha and Jesse but I can barely draw in a breath. I feel myself leave the ground; then my body is tumbling and twisting through the freezing darkness until I land again with a hard thud. Then everything goes blank.

  All I can hear now is silence. No wind, no roaring, no Eli, no Jesse or Martha. Just total silence. Maybe I’m dead now? The thought brings tears to my eyes. I don’t want to be dead! Granted, my life sucks like an industrial-strength Hoover right now, and maybe I can’t remember the last normal day that I’ve had, but it was MY crazy life to live and I WANTED to live it!

  “Ok, Shelby, hold yourself together!” I give myself a pep talk as I take physical inventory of my body. I wiggle my fingers then my toes. They seem to work, so I lift my arms, then my legs. They seem to work as well. I finally work up the courage to crack open my eyes. I’m lying on my back staring up at the blue sky.

  “Blue sky? After that storm? No flippin’ way!” But the sky is just as pretty as you please without so much as a fluffy white cloud in sight, much less any ugly black ones that produce tornados. Lifting my head slowly, I feel slightly dizzy, but it passes quickly. I look around, trying to figure out just where I am. The graveyard is gone; the fence is gone. I am in the middle of a small meadow that is covered in waist-high grass and pretty wildflowers.

  Wait… wildflowers in November?

  Maybe I had better just sit back down. Clearly I whacked my head harder than I thought! I slowly lower myself down in the tall grass and carefully think about what I’m seeing, blue skies, tall green grass, and wildflowers. The sun is actually hot as it shines down on me, so I take off my jacket and roll up my sleeves. I can’t see a single thing that I recognize and, more importantly, I don’t see Eli or Jesse or Martha.

  “Eli! Jesse! Martha! Where are you?” I call out. I listen carefully but I don’t hear anything. I start walking in the direction I think my house is in, calling out every so often. But it’s like I’m in a whole new world. Nothing looks right. Nothing! I know after tornados everything is messed up, but this is different. I mean, there aren’t any fences or fence posts or houses or barns or any signs they were ever there, and when I walk up the hill I see something that stops me in my tracks.

  My house is there, but my barn isn’t. There is a barn…but it’s not my barn. Even stranger than that is the wagons, plows and other farm equipment that are scattered around the yard. Upon closer inspection even the house is wrong. It looks new! The red paint that should be faded and peeling is in perfect condition and is white. Hearing voices, I see a man lead a horse out of the strange barn, but it isn’t Noble. This is a large draft horse that makes Noble look like a pony. Feeling sick and confused, I duck behind a tree and continue to watch as this strange man hooks the horse up to the plow and then they go around the house. Turning away from the bizarre scene I have just witnessed, I slide down the tree. The rough bark scratches my back, but I barely notice. “Ok, there has to be an explanation…you’re dreaming…that’s all. This is a crazy dream!”

  Taking a deep breath, I rub my eyes then count to ten. Giving myself a hard pinch on my arm, I peek around the tree once more, praying that what I see will make sense. My heart sinks when I look upon the same familiar, yet not familiar picture.

  I know I’m in the right spot. At least I think I am. The area looks right…sort of. That is definitely my house, although it looks as if it was just built. What in the holy heck is going on?

  “Shelby!” I turn around and see Eli jogging toward me from the tree line looking as confused as I feel! I run toward him. Never i
n all my life have I been so happy to see someone!

  “Eli, what is going on? What happened?”

  He shakes his head, as he looks me over. “I have no idea, Shelby. I would say we were hit by a tornado but that’s really unusual for this time of year and it wouldn’t explain that.” He waves his hand at the new version of my house and barn, along with the farming equipment scattered everywhere.

  “We are in the right place, right? I mean, we didn’t fly off to somewhere else, did we?”

  “No, this is your property. Although I have no explanation for why it looks so…so…” he trails off with a perplexed look.

  I wrinkle my forehead as I look at the house with a perfect white paint job. “New, Eli…it looks brand new.” I try really hard to find any other explanation for what my eyes are seeing, and what my mind is arguing can’t be possible.

  “Shelby…”

  “Eli, don’t,” I warn as I back away, walking back into the tree line. Upon reaching the shade of the big pines, I decide that maybe a change of conversation is in order. “Hey, have you seen Jesse or Martha?”

  He looks over at me, shaking his head. “No clue. After all hell broke loose, I lost sight of everyone. You are the first one I’ve seen.”

  “Yeah, me, too,” I reply. Suddenly I grin. “Maybe it worked! Maybe they crossed over!”

  Eli tosses me a less-than-enthusiastic look. “Well, goody for them. Personally, I blame them for us being in this mess to start with.”

  That just goes all over me! “How in the world is a tornado their fault, Eli? I mean, really?”

  “Are you seriously still hanging on to it-was-a-tornado theory? Come on, Shelby. Even for you that’s stretching it.”

  I slowly cross my arms over my chest and cock my head. “Even for me? What exactly do you mean by that, Eli?” I ask as my heart tries to beat itself out of my chest. Please don’t say it…please don’t say it! I chant to myself.

  “Because tornados don’t do this, Shelby! They don’t wipe out everything and restore land and housing to pristine condition, and they sure as heck don’t turn fall into summer!”

  As I look up at him, a bead of sweat rolls down his temple, validating his point even further. His green eyes stare down at me in anger and frustration and I think I can see a little bit of fear. Then he sighs, pulls me into his arms and rests his chin on the top of my head.

  “I’m sorry, but, Shelby, if that was a tornado, it wasn’t one created by mother nature.”

  I nod my head. That is at least one thing I can accept.

  “So what do we do now?” It is with an unspoken agreement we won’t approach the house that I can no longer call my house. With no other plan, we start walking down the dirt road.

  We walk for what seems like ages before we see someone on horseback. As he gets closer, I recognize Jesse’s broad shoulders and hat.

  “Jesse!” I jump up and down, waving my hands, as if he wouldn’t see me out in the wide open, but I am so happy to see him! He pulls the horse to a stop, smiling at me, but his smile quickly fades as he looks at my face and throat; then he looks at Eli with hard eyes.

  “Ma’am, can I help you?”

  I laugh at his behavior. “Ma’am, can I help you?” I mock. “Really, Jesse? Where did you get the horse and new clothes? Where is Martha?”

  He looks at me again, his frown turning to confusion. “I’m sorry, but do I know you?”

  I shade my eyes as I look up at him on the horse. “Jesse, you’re really not funny.”

  “Wasn’t trying to be, ma’am. Do you need some help? I couldn’t help but notice the marks on your face and neck. Did he put those there?” He jerks his head toward Eli.

  “Jesse, you know good and well that he didn’t. What’s wrong with you? If this is some kind of joke, you need to stop! Things are crazy enough right now!”

  Jesse swings down off the horse and walks around to where Eli is standing. “Mister, I don’t know where you’re from, but around here we don’t take to menfolk putting their hands on females.”

  Eli looks at me with utter confusion and the start of anger on his face. I walk up to Jesse, pulling on his arm to get his attention, but the moment my hand touches his skin, I gasp! It is WARM!

  “Oh! How… this isn’t possible…Jesse! You’re alive!” I stammer out right before my knees buckle. Jesse spins, catching me before I hit the ground. Gathering me up against his chest, he carries me to a shady spot beneath a large oak tree. Now being in this position is nothing new. What is new is Jesse having actual body heat and a beating heart that I can feel! Not to mention some body odor! He doesn’t smell bad… he just has a smell, which is a new thing, too. Placing me in a patch of grass, he takes off his hat to fan me as I lie there staring up at him like a star-struck teenager would stare at her pop star crush. I reach up, touching his face, noticing how tan he is as I trace his cheek and jawline. He has whisker stubble that tickles my fingertips. Capturing my wandering hand, he brings it back down to my side.

  “Ma’am, I understand that you think you know me and my name just so happens to be Jesse, but I think you might have me confused with someone else. Can I take you somewhere? Do you have some kin living close by?”

  Eli leans over, forcing Jesse to step back with his nearness. “We appreciate your help, but I think you’re right. She has you confused with someone else, and for the record, I did not put those marks on her.”

  Jesse stands up and, walking over to his horse, he unties a canteen, which he brings over and offers to me. The water is warm and tastes slightly gritty, but I gulp it anyway. “I don’t reckon you would tell me if you did, mister. Animals that do that seldom claim their work,” Jesse responds before he caps the canteen and loops it back around his saddle horn.

  I see Eli’s fuse getting shorter every time Jesse accuses him of hitting me. I shake my head at him. Now is not the time for a confrontation. I don’t know for sure what is going on, but my growing suspicion has my stomach churning and the theme song from The Twilight Zone screaming in my head.

  “Can you tell us which way to the nearest town?” Eli asks.

  Jesse stares him down for a moment with ill-concealed contempt before he jerks his head back in the direction that he came from. “’Bout three miles down that road, but you won’t find anywhere that lets out rooms.” He glances down at me, giving me a meaningful look.

  “Sheriff Brewster’s office is at the far end of town on the left. You can’t miss it. He is a real nice man and would help anyone in need of protection.” Then with a nod of his head he swings back up on his horse, galloping off in a cloud of dust.

  I sit up, watching as he rides away, growing smaller and smaller until he disappears. I look up at Eli, whispering, “Toto, I don’t think we are in Kansas anymore.”

  CHAPTER 3

  “Don’t say it, Shelby,” Eli warns me.

  I get up and stand out in the middle of the dusty road that shouldn’t be there and spin in a slow circle. “Hey, me not saying it won’t make it any less true, Eli, and you know it. Look around. You said yourself that you are sure we are on my property. Well, my property doesn’t have an old dirt road on it, but it does have an old house in need of a good paint job that suddenly looks like it was painted yesterday. You could probably come up with a hundred different explanations for all of that, that I would go along with.” Staring down the road in the direction that Jesse has just ridden off in, I see a cloud of dust. Lifting my arm, I point down the road.

  “But what possible explanation do you have for that?”

  Eli looks in the direction I have pointed in. Several wagons with the round tan tent-like tops being pulled by oxen…yes…oxen are coming in our direction. He turns, giving me a look of complete disbelief.

  I nod my head. “Also let’s not forget a very important if not the most important fact that Jesse, who is supposed to be very much dead, just rode away from us without knowing who we were and he was freaking ALIVE!”

  Eli holds up his
hand in surrender. “Ok! Ok… I know you’re right. I just can’t believe it. This isn’t supposed to be possible.”

  I shake my head as the wagons rumble by us, the drivers and the passengers all looking at us like we are looking at them. In shock! The women wear long skirts with bonnets! The men are dressed much like Jesse, with broad hats and suspenders. After the last wagon has passed us with two blonde little girls staring at us with wide eyes, we know without a doubt the impossible has happened…we are standing smack dab in the middle of the 1800’s!

  We decide to get off the road to avoid being seen until we can figure out what our next move is. As we sit in the woods, we toss ideas back and forth, recalling every movie we have seen or books we have read that had anything to do with time travel.

  “Well, one thing they all seem to say is to be careful not to change anything. We have no idea how something as simple as stopping someone from tripping can change and rewrite history.”

  “If I am given a chance, I will change one thing; I promise you that,” I say with quiet conviction.

  Eli looks at me. “Shelby, I understand where you’re coming from, I really do, but you can’t stop Jesse’s death. It was meant to be.”

  I shake my head, looking him in disbelief. “Meant to be? How can something so tragic and…and wrong be meant to be?” He just looks at me with sympathy. “I don’t care. I really don’t, Eli. There is a reason and a purpose for being sucked back here and I don’t think it is to get a crash course in frontier living.”

  Eli wisely doesn’t argue my point. I’m not foolish enough to think he agrees with me -- he is just not fighting it right now, which is fine. We have better things to argue over anyway, like what to do about supper. My stomach has been growling and burning for over two hours!

  “I’m starving and I clearly need some time-appropriate clothing if the oxen driver’s face is anything to go by.”

  Eli’s eyes drift down my body as if seeing it from a man’s perspective from the time we are now in. By the time he makes it back up to my face, it is beet red. “Yeah, we need to do that first, I think.”