you?ll still be living and working in close quarters. I can?t have you quarreling in front of guests, and I can?t have the others taking sides.? Ivy nodded.
?If you feel like you can?t deal with the situation, you?ve got to let me know.?
?Okay.? Aunt Cindy rested her hand lightly on Ivy?s back. ?I know it seems as if the pain is so bad that it will never get better. But it will, Ivy. It really will,? she said, then went inside.
Ivy rose and walked slowly across the garden. After all the grime and sweat of the day, she?d feel better if she took a shower before facing the others. Then she saw Beth coming around the corner of the renovated barn — from Will?s roomIvy guessed. Ivy took a deep breath and waited. ?How?s Will??
?How are you?? Beth asked, as she approached Ivy. The gentleness in her friend?s voice released an?other than expected flood of tears.
?Come on. Let’s talk,” Beth said, giving Ivy a light push toward the swing.
Beth remained quiet while Ivy cried, ?I feel so bad about hurting him/? Ivy said, wiping her eyes.
?I feel bad for both of you,? Beth replied, then added softly, ?It’s hard for Willand for me — to understand. I mean, after all you?ve been through together, how can you not love him??
?I do love him,? Ivy insisted. ?But maybe not the way he wants to be loved.?
Beth leaned forward, looking into Ivy?s eyes. ?The way anyone wants to be loved!?
?Yes, yes, you?re right,” Ivy admitted. ?But, Beth, you can?t always choose how you love a person. Love isn?t logical or fair. It just happens.?
In the faint starlight, Ivy saw the silver trace of a tear running down Beth?s face.
?Did you tell him that I saw Tristan the night of the accident?? Ivy asked.
?That you thought you saw Tristan — no. No, he?s already convinced he?s competing with a dead guy. I?m not going to make it any harder for him. Ivy, did you really forget your date tonight?? Ivy nodded. ?I was with Guy, helping him.?
?Guy!?
?Yes, cleaning out a barn, so he?d have a decent place to live, and—?
?Ivy, you have to be careful,? Beth warned. ?You have no idea who Guy is.?
?What I know about him is more important than the name he?s forgotten.
There?s a special connection between Guy and me, something I?ve felt only once before — with Tristan.? Ivy ignored the disapproval that lined her friend?s face.
?Beth, Guy was telling me about his dream house, and it was exactly like Philip?s tree house. Guy couldn?t remember what music he liked, but suddenly recognized ?Moonlight Sonata,’ Tristan?s song. And without even knowing what melody it was, he hummed a song from
Beth shook her head with disbelief, but Ivy continued. ?I think Tristan has come back to me.? ?Oh, Ivy, no! That couldn?t be.? ?Why not?? Ivy asked, grasping the edge of the swing. ?He spoke through Will and you last year. Why couldn?t he now be speaking through Guy, giving me these signs that he is still with me? The night of the accident, Tristan promised—?
?Does Guy claim to hear another person?s voice?? Beth asked. ?No, but—?
Beth leaned forward, placing a hand on Ivy?s wrist. ?When Tristan was here as an angel, we heard him. When he slipped into our minds, we knew who he was.
And we never forgot our own identities.?
Ivy pulled away from her friend. They sat for a moment in silence. Ivy fighting her anger with Beth for not believing as she did. When Ivy looked back, Beth was pulling on her amethyst necklace. Her lips moved silently, then she said aloud, ?Something evil is walking among us.? ?What??
?Ever since the seance I have felt a presence,? Beth said, her voice shaking. “It’s him. It?s Gregory. I haven?t felt this way since he was alive.?
Ivy stared at her friend, trying to understand what she was saying. ?Beth, I know you were spooked by the seance. We all were. But why would you think that Gregory is haunting us? Has something else happened to scare you??
Her friend didn?t reply. ?Tell me,? Ivy said. ?A dream.? Beth rubbed one hand with the other, digging her fist into her palm. ?I?ve had it twice.?
?Tell me,? Ivy insisted. ?We?re in the cottage, you, me, Dhanya, Kelsey. If s Aunt Cindy?s cottage, but it has lots of windows, windows everywhere. Someone is circling the house, shooting at the windows. The bullets pierce the glass but don?t go all the way through. We?re running from room to room, and the shooter runs around the outside of the cottage, targeting the windows of whichever room we?re in.
He keeps circling, but you tell us everything?s all right. We?re safe, you say, the shooter can?t break through the windows. Then he quietly opens the door and walks in.?
Ivy sat back in the swing, rubbing her arms, her skin prickling. ?Don?t you get it?? Beth said, sounding suddenly angry. ?You were careless and let the shooter in, just like you let in Guy!?
?Beth, hot every dream you have is clairvoyant. Sometimes you dream about things that people tell you. Will doesn?t like Guy. He?s planted these fears in you.?
Beth?s eyes flashed. ?It makes no difference what Will says. I see what I see!?
?So do I,? Ivy replied, then rose from the swing. ?Ivy!?
She turned back reluctantly. Beth?s hand clutched her amethyst. ?If it?s Gregory, you will need all the power of heaven to protect you.?
?Sony to disappoint you.?
?So what exactly did he say to you?? Kelsey asked. They were standing outside the cottage, Kelsey bouncing a badminton birdie up and down on a racket.
Plunk, plunk, plunk.
?The kind of thing people usually say when they?re breaking up,? Ivy replied.
?Snide comments and sweeping accusations,? Kelsey guessed. ?I?ve done it myself a few times.?
?Then I don?t need to fill you in.?
?He?ll get over it,? Kelsey said, and flicked her head toward the barn. ?He has plenty of sympathy ?
Beth had canceled her date with Chase, and Dhanya had decided that she really missed watching TV. Ivy pictured Will on his daybed, with Beth and Dhanya on either side of him, holding him up by the elbows like supportive angels.
?Want to play?? Kelsey asked, extending a badminton racket toward Ivy.
?Okay.? They took warm?up swings, batting the birdie back and forth across the net. ?So, are you dating that gorgeous mystery guy?? Kelsey asked.
?Dating? No.?
?Beth told us that?s where you were when you forgot about your date with Will.? Ivy caught up with the sinking birdie and flicked it off the rim of her racket. ?I was helping Guy clear out a place to live.?
?Beth doesn?t trust him.? Ivy didn?t respond
?Why doesn?t she?? Kelsey asked. ?I don?t know,? Ivy said, and dove for the birdie. Kelsey appeared to change her strategy, placing her shots in easy reach of Ivy, perhaps thinking that would encourage her to talk more.
??What do you think of Chase??
?Don?t really know him/? Ivy replied, reluctant to share her opinion with someone likely to pass it on. Kelsey rolled her eyes. ?Well, five minutes gave me enough time. He?s creepy.?
?Creepy?? Ivy repeated with an easy swing. ?He?s a control freak,? Kelsey said.
?There?s nothing I hate more than a guy who tries to control a girl.?
Ivy doubted that any guy had been successful at controlling Kelsey. ?Beth told us about Tristan.? Ivy returned the serve without comment ?I had no idea! I?ve never known anyone whose boyfriend was murdered!?
Ivy swatted the birdie hard. ?I wish I could have met Tristan and Gregory,?
