Kelsey continued. ?Last summer must have been awesome!?
Ivy stood flat?footed — didn?t even swing. What did Kelsey think last summer was, a reality survival show? ?Keep your eye on the birdie,? Kelsey advised.
“Beth said that Will was totally there for you when Tristan died.?
?He was. No one could have been kinder.? ?But kindness isn?t passion,? Kelsey replied. ?And we like passion.?
Ivy returned the serve with a passionate stroke. ?Kelsey, don?t assume anything about my and Will?s relationship.?
?I wouldn?t have to assume if you filled me in.? In spite of herself, Ivy laughed.
?Beth said you?re having a memorial bonfire for Tristan at Race Point. Can Dhanya and I come?? ?M?m not sure it?s still on.? ?It is,? Kelsey informed her.
?That?s another thing I don?t like: guys who act loyal and thoughtful, no matter what you do. I mean, what are they trying to prove??
Ivy dropped the head of her racket. ?I?ve had enough.?
?But we haven?t started to keep score,? Kelsey protested. Ivy nodded. ?A perfect time for me to quit.? Fifteen minutes later. Ivy slipped out the back door of the cottage and drove to the beach on Pleasant Bay where she. Will, and Philip had spent an afternoon a week ago. Sitting on the beach in the deepening twilight, not far from the cluster of trees that Will had sketched, she sifted through memories, trying to understand why it had taken her so long to realize she couldn?t give Will her heart.
Rising to her feet, she followed the same route she and Philip had taken around a sandy point to a cove. With no moon, the calm water was bathed in starlight.
Ivy remembered the cathedral of stars where Tristan had kissed her. She whispered his name and could almost hear him answer, ?My love.? Almost||
The voice she heard in her head was a memory — she knew that. What she had heard then was actually happening.
The difference between now and then made the moment after the accident all the more real to her. To Ivy, the embrace was more real than the most tangible and ordinary moments of her life.
But what if it had been Tristan, and Lacey was right about the consequences?
?Serious fallout?—what did that mean? And what evil presence did Beth sense?
Could Gregory return?
?Lacey. Lacey Lovett. I need to talk to you,? Ivy called. She sat by the water?s edge, watching, waiting. Minutes ticked by. Across the bay, the yellow edge of the moon peeked over a narrow strip of beach.
?You have the lousiest timing!? Seeing the purple shimmer. Ivy stood up. ?Hey, Lacey.?
?So what is it this time — another beatific vision? Ivy dancing with the stars??
Ivy watched the angel twirl, her purple mist dancing in front of the low moon, then said, ?Beth is having dreams.?
?Beth — the radio?? ?Radio? was Lacey?s term for a person who was open to ?the other side,? a natural medium. ?Yes,? Ivy said, and recounted the dream.
?When was the first time she had it??
?I?m not sure. Two Sundays ago, when we had a seance—?
?A seance!? Lacey exclaimed. ?The radio should know better!? Ivy described the event, including the strange way the planchette had moved in counterclockwise circles, and how it had seemed impossible for them to slow it down. ?And this happened before your accident?? Ivy thought back to it. ?A few days before.?
?Unbelievable. Unbelievable! Do you have a brain? Does the radio have even a shred of common sense, opening up a portal like that to the other side? Are you so narcissistic that you think that only good angels hang around you??
?I — no — I never thought about — meaning we could have let in—?
?Invited? Lacey corrected. ?Flagged down, hailed a taxi for—?
?Something evil.?
?Something evil,? Lacey confirmed. Ivy crouched and traced a counterclockwise circle in the sand, then another, and another. A hand with purple?painted nails caught her arm. ?Stop that!?
?Is it possible for Gregory to come back as a demon?? Ivy asked. ??Obviously, you missed a lot of Sunday school. Anything is possible with Number One Director.? Ivy rose and walked along the cove?s waterline. ?But why would Gregory return?? she mused to herself. ?Revenge, murder, mayhem. .,? Lacey suggested.
It was what Beth had been thinking: If it?s Gregory, you will need all the power of heaven to protect you. ?Revenge against me,? Ivy said. ?But how would he do that?? Lacey responded with a loud, theatrical sigh. ?Think it through, chick. I?m sure you?re not as naive as you seem. How did Tristan come back??
?He worked through people?s minds. He matched thoughts with us and slipped inside. We could hear him like a voice in our heads — Beth, Will, Philip, and finally, me.?
?Later, Eric and Gregory, although I advised him against entering their twisted minds.? Ivy felt as if an icy hand had touched her own. ?Gregory could get inside people??
?Ladies and gentlemen,? Lacey said to her imaginary audience, ?the chick is catching on.? ?He could get into someone?s mind and talk?? ?Persuade,? Lacey said quietly. ?Tempt.? Ivy shivered.
?As you may remember,? Lacey added, ?Gregory could torture and tempt even when he was alive.?
?Could he force someone to do something??
“Who needs force, when people are so gullible, so easy to trick and convince?
Not mentioning any names, of course.?
?How can we fight him??
?We?? Lacey?s purple mist began to move away from Ivy. ?In my movie days, I did some horror flicks, but I?m not starring in this one. You?re on your own.?
?How do my friends and I fight him??
?I?m sure you can come up with something. Or maybe the radio can. I have one piece of advice: Be careful who you trust.?
Ivy bit her lip.
?Look, chick, I?m sorry about this mess you?re in, but I?ve got my hands full right now. I think I?ve found my one true gig, and I?m short on time. I?ve got to cut out these cameo appearances.? The angel?s violet shimmer was fading. ?Say hello to Philip.? Lacey had almost disappeared when Ivy said, ?But what if Tristan has come back to protect me from Gregory? Her words had the desired effect: ?What?!? exclaimed Lacey. ?I?ve seen the signs. Tristan is with me, as he promised he would be.? Ivy felt a strong hand anchoring her at the bay?s edge.
?That?s a ridiculous idea! If Tristan was here I would see him.? Lacey had a point. Why wasn?t she aware of him? Was Tristan hiding inside Guy? Hiding from whom?
?Ivy, if Tristan did give you the kiss of life/? Lacey said, ?he?s in deep trouble.
Don?t try to contact him. Don?t tempt him further. You?ve already gotten him killed. Don?t damn him forever.?
Spurned by Dhanya, Max had roared off with Kelsey and Bryan to a party in Harwich. As soon as they were gone. Ivy took out her phone, playing a message she?d received an hour before, wanting to hear Guy?s voice again: “lt?s me. Kip got me a cell. Want to come over tonight??
Pushing aside the warnings of Lacey and Beth, Ivy drove to Willow Pond.
When she arrived, she saw a pickup parked in front of the house. A dark?haired woman in her late twenties stood next to it, holding open the door for a golden Lab, which lumbered into the passenger seat. The woman called hello to Ivy and introduced herself as Julie, Kip?s wife.
?I hope you didn?t have special plans tonight,? Julie said. ?Guy is on the back porch sound asleep. He and Kip started hacking away at tree stumps at six a.m.?
