One of Addison’s fondest memories was a trip she’d taken with her father after she graduated from high school. She’d spent four years learning Spanish, and he’d rewarded her hard work with a surprise trip to Spain. They rented a villa overlooking the ocean, and she’d wake early each morning, wrap a blanket around her, and sit outside, waiting for the sun to rise.
For years, she’d wanted to go back and hadn’t.
Not until today.
When his name left her lips and she invited him in, she felt a sense of unity, confirmation that her decision to make contact was right. In the distance, a man dressed in black walked toward her. She stood, brushed the sand off the bottom of her dress, and clasped her hands together, waiting.
He reached her, and a smile spread across his face.
“I thought this day would never come,” he said. “I can’t believe I’m here, looking at you. It doesn’t seem real.”
“It is.”
Corbin was tall and slender, with dark hair and piercing blue eyes the shade of a robin’s egg. There was a kindness about him. She could feel it. But he was also shrouded in mystery.
He turned his head and stared out into the ocean. “This place, it’s beautiful. Where are we?”
“I decided it would be good if we met somewhere neutral for the first time. I imagined one of my favorite places, and here we are.”
“Can I ...? Is it all right to touch you, to give you a hug?”
She nodded.
He pulled her close, and they embraced.
“I’ve thought about you my entire life,” he said. “I tried to imagine what you looked like, what kind of person you turned out to be. All I have ever wanted was to find you.”
“I didn’t know you existed until a few days ago. But then, there are a lot of things I didn’t know until a few days ago. I thought my dad, the one who raised me, was my real father.”
“Is he a good man, the one who raised you?”
“He’s great.”
“Then, in many ways, he’s still your father.”
He was right, and when she returned home, she’d make things good again.
“Did your father, or I guess I should say our father, tell you about me?” she asked. “Did he tell you about our mother?”
He nodded. “I’ve heard stories about their relationship, and I know what happened in the end. He told me about the deal Marjorie made with him. He loved her, you know, our mother?”
“I think she thought he used her to create us—a special breed, so to speak.”
“It was complicated. He wanted us all to be together, to raise us with the full use of the power we possess. He thought he could sway her to see things his way, but she hated magic. He never wanted to leave you. It was a hard decision.”
“He still made it.”
Corbin’s expression was one of empathy.
She wasn’t the only one who had missed out—he had, too.
“Tell me about your life,” he said. “What was it like?”
“I knew I was different than other kids as a child, but it was something I didn’t understand. My mother never relented on her decision to keep magic out of my life, and for a long time, it was dormant. Several years ago, she was in a car accident and died. I inherited our family’s manor, a manor I hadn’t known about before her death, and the moment I stepped foot inside of it, everything changed. I’ve been learning more and more about who I am ever since.”
“She’s ... dead?”
“I’m sorry. I’m sure you hoped you would be able to connect with her now, but you should know she never forgot about you.”
“I wish I could have met her.”
“What’s our father like?” Addison asked.
“He is many things. Determined. Headstrong. He is a good father, but he has many expectations, and sometimes in his haste to achieve what he wants, and what he believes is important, he doesn’t think things through.”
“In what way?”
Corbin pushed his hands inside his pockets, thinking. “Let’s talk more about him another time. Right now, I want to focus on you. What do you do with the power you possess?”
“Lost souls come to me, those trapped here on earth after they have died because of an event that kept them from moving on. I help them find their way. I send them into the afterlife.”
“Always to heaven, never to hell?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I felt something today, earlier, before you called my name. You opened the portal.”
She fiddled with the ring on her finger. “I made a decision I’ve never had to make before, one I never knew I could make until now.”
He stared at her hand. “It makes sense. You have the stone.”
“Sybil gave it to me. How do you know about it?”
“Our father has been around for centuries. He’s known Sybil for ages. I know of the ring’s significance. It’s been out of play for a long time. It holds more power than you know.”
Oh, she knew.
“I have no interest in power for myself.”
“You misunderstand me. The ring itself is power. It’s all the energy of the universe combined. My father said if it was ever passed to one of Sybil’s descendants again, the bearer of the stone would rule on behalf of both worlds.”
“Are we talking heaven and hell, or ...?”
“I don’t know.”
“I have no interest in ruling over anything. I opened the portal to send two men where they deserved to go.”
He nodded. “Don’t you see? You could do so much more. You could place judgment on entire countries if you wanted.”
She did see.
She saw her father’s influence.
It was why she’d been given the ring, why Joan and Sybil put their faith in her.
She assumed her father would relish the idea of a daughter who had the ultimate gift bestowed upon her. If so, if they ever crossed paths, he would be disappointed. He’d never get the daughter he’d always wanted.
“You give life and you take it,” Corbin said. “I just take it. I seek out those who waste their lives, achieving nothing. They’re not good or bad. They’re satisfied in being no one. Their indifference tells me they don’t belong here, that the world is better once they’re erased.”
“You choose for them? What if what you see as indifference today changes tomorrow?”
“It won’t change tomorrow, or any other day for the rest of their life.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I see inside their hearts, as you now do with those you seek. For some, change isn’t possible.”
Addison shook her head. “I shouldn’t feel sorry for them, I guess, but I do.”
He smiled. “You really are as good as I thought you to be. I admire you for it.”
“I won’t serve our father’s agenda.”
“I understand.”
But would their father?
Would he understand?
Addison glanced at the time and thought of Luke. “I need to go, Corbin.”
“Please, can’t you stay a bit longer?”
“I can’t. Not today.”
“Can I see you again? I want to be part of your life.”
Addison reached out and took his hand in hers, feeling a rush of energy flow between them. “You will see me again. I’ll call on you once I’ve settled into the new role I’ve been given. I have much to learn.”
“I look forward to seeing you again, Addison.”
She took his hands in hers, holding them until he faded from sight, and then she remained there a moment, pressing her toes into the fine grains of sand, pondering life, and the changes yet to come. She’d been given a great responsibility, which would have seemed too much to bear a couple of short weeks earlier.
Now she was certain.
Life would go on and she would adapt.
She was ready.
She just had an important dinner date to get to first.
***
Thank you for reading BELLE MANOR HAUNTING, book four in the Addison Lockhart ghost mystery series.
When I started this series, I planned to make it a trilogy and end it there, but as Addison’s character has developed over the years, I found there was so much more I wanted to do with her. In the book you just read, Addison’s life takes several twists and turns, and she finally realizes who she is and who she’s been all along. We’ll explore her new abilities a lot more in book 5.
For more information about this series check out the series order (as of the date of this printing) in the “Books by Cheryl Bradshaw” section below. And if you’d like to stay updated so you know when new books come out, sign up for my newsletter today and receive a FREE eBook from my collection. Learn more by clicking HERE.