AVAILABLE AT AMAZON WEEK OF 1-18-2016
Chapter 1
Nina Cooper scurried around trying to get ready for a long
weekend and her big day. She has
waited years to finally become Nina Wheeler, and now it was really going to
happen!
Just a few short days ago, she picked out her wedding dress.
A cascading white gown to compliment her olive Native American skin tone and
long flowing black hair. This day she
wanted to look her best for Kyle. Although
she has had a failed marriage before, Kyle has been the love of her life from
day one. She never believed in love at
first sight, however she knew that Kyle would be the one she could spend the
rest of her life with, after only a few weeks of dating. She has waited for
years for that proposal and now the day was in sight.
As she was packing she couldn’t help but smile thinking of
the perfect relationship that they shared.
Ironically, they had so many mutual friends in common and the
relationship just had a natural flow to it from the beginning.
Nina had accepted a position as office manager for a local
printing company. She could not help
but remember the day that Kyle Wheeler walked in the door to pick up his
business cards. Kyle owns one of the
largest trucking companies in town, she noticed how strikingly handsome he was. Tall, wavy dark hair and the most gorgeous
smile she had ever seen on a man.
Instead of being all business he was playful and fun. That first meeting and impression of him
would be with her for a lifetime.
In all of the years that Jasmine and Jaden had been her best
friends she never realized that they knew Kyle from college. She found this out when she met the girls
one afternoon for happy hour and in walks Kyle. She had always known that Jasmine and Jaden were huge paranormal
enthusiasts and had started a paranormal group in college. She had no idea that Kyle was a member of
that group. How perfect!
*****
Jasmine Tinsley thought that she should spend her day
packing for her long weekend getaway and the wedding of her friends Kyle and
Nina. Of course she would put this off
until the last minute! Right now, she
was enjoying shopping the sales. Unlike
her twin sister Jaden, who was the planner, and well organized, down to the
outfits she would pack with matching accessories. Jasmine could not help but be excited. Not only were two of her closest friends about to be married, but
also they would all spend the weekend at a wonderful plantation. All of the original members of their college
group The Ghost Enthusiasts.
Jasmine and Jaden Tinsley were identical twins. However, they were not hard to tell them
apart. Both same in height, but Jasmine
having the long blonde hair, and Jaden had always kept her hair short. It was their personalities that set them
apart. Jasmine was the outspoken,
adventurous one; While Jaden was more quiet and reserved.
Together they had grown up in a haunted farmhouse that was
built in the early 1800’s, complete with their family cemetery in the
yard. They lived in a remote area with
no cable or Internet, and a great deal of their time was spent reading. Both carried a passion for thrillers and
horror. How well she could remember how
she and Jaden had attended their first Halloween party in high school and how
much fun they had.
It was to know one’s surprise that they both took up an
interest in the paranormal when they attended college together. It was Jaden’s idea to form a college group
for others with the same interest and so the The Ghost Enthusiasts group
was founded by both of them. Jasmine
was all about the equipment and the adventure.
Jasmine had always carried that sixth sense, or the third eye. A “Sensitive and intuitive” would best
describe her. Jaden in being more
reserved was also the cautious one of the group. She also possessed a strong background in photography, and loved
history, and her organizational skills for the group were uncanny. Together their group was a huge success.
She was willing to bet that Jaden was already packed and
ready to go. Jaden was always more
punctual on deadlines as she worked as an editor for the local paper. Jasmine was a well-known author and worked
from home, so she tried to prevent stressing over deadlines. Together, they offset one another nicely.
*****
Doug Silva was outside in his yard enjoying his day
off. Working a stressful job as a
factory supervisor, his days off were few and far between. On his days off he tried to keep an equal
balance in his hobbies of hunting, fishing and football of course. He felt truly blessed that his wife, Lucille,
shared those same hobbies with him.
As a member of The Ghost Enthusiasts, he was thrilled
to see another member get married. Kyle
marrying Nina, what a perfect couple!
He was also excited about spending the weekend together with all of his
close friends. With work, sometimes
life just gets in the way and occasionally he felt that he was out of the
loop. It was Lucille that kept him up
to date on everything.
Lucille was also a workaholic working as the local
Veterinarian. She and Doug had met
later in life and had no children outside of their two labs. She was blessed to have found Doug. She could not imagine her life without him. Lucille was more than happy; everything she
ever wanted in life, had materialized.
She often described her life as just being in a “Good spot”!
Her only concern was keeping Doug healthy for a long life
together. Doug was a big man and what
she described as her “Teddy Bear”.
Lucille, with her long eighties style hair had not aged a bit. She credited that to living a happy and
healthy life.
Although she supported Doug in watching his paranormal shows
and knew he still carried that passion.
She was more reserved when it came to the paranormal as she had never
had a personal experience. Though she
had not mentioned anything to Doug, she certainly hoped that this plantation
house was not haunted. As she headed
out from work that evening, her thoughts transferred onto her pet sitter for
the weekend and what to pack.
*****
Madison Davenport left the gym feeling energized and a
little overwhelmed of getting a family of four packed for a long weekend. One would think that being a professional
body builder and running marathons in her spare time, that the simple task of packing
would be a piece of cake. However,
getting her husband Clifford and her two sons Jason and Wayne on the same page
to do anything was always a challenge.
Madison and Clifford had attended high school together with
Jasmine and Jaden. Both were members of
The Ghost Enthusiasts and she saw Jasmine and Jaden often. Madison herself had recently taken up the
interest to pursue her paranormal investigating. She had just mentioned this to Clifford the other day.
Clifford supported her career and often joined her to
workout together. Surprisingly, he even
ran his first marathon this year.
However, with working at the local packaging plant, it allowed for very
little time for his paranormal interest.
Her oldest son Jason had put college on hold for a career as a diesel
mechanic. She noticed that recently he
had mentioned more than once of starting his own paranormal team. She had to admit that it put a smile on her
face.
Wayne, being the younger of the two, seemed to like the more
scientific approach to the paranormal.
Wayne is a real cutie, blonde with his freckles, while Jason had turned
out tall, lanky and handsome, like his dad.
Wayne was also an avid gamer.
His plans included attending college to pursue a degree in either
science or computers. Either way, she
was certainly proud of both of her boys.
She always thought that if Jason were to form a paranormal
team, it would heighten Wayne’s interest and get him out of the house
more. She had recently noticed on the
social networks that Jasmine and Jaden were still investigating from time to
time. She really needed to make time to
join in on that fun again.
She thought it was more than wonderful that Kyle had found
Nina. A wedding and a weekend together
with all of her friends is just what she needed. This would indeed, be the perfect time to bring up the paranormal
and see what everyone is doing these days.
She felt that Jason and Wayne could both learn a great deal at the same
time. Now, to just get everyone packed
and out the door at the same time…
*****
Rusty Allen poured himself another screwdriver as he was
about to head into work. He hated to
admit it, but it was generally the way he started his day. Years of working as the bar manager at the
local tavern had certainly taken its toll.
He would never admit to having a drinking problem. He drinks, with no problem. He always likes to joke that it was the
reason he was bald. Nonetheless he did
not have a bad life. If it was not for
his job, he may have never met his wife Dana.
Dana was of average height and an average build with a
captivating personality. She had
frequented the Tavern with her ghost hunting friends. She was special, not like the average women you find in a bar. She held a high paying job manufacturing
computer components and carried herself very well. She loves life, her family and friends. She still carries a high interest in the paranormal and loves
reading articles online. She has
published many articles herself. He
felt that Dana was a blessing to enter his life.
Rusty had some paranormal experiences himself, growing up as
a child, though he did not like to talk about it. One night at closing, Dana had stayed to share with him some of
her own paranormal experiences. It was
a deep conversation and he loved the passion in her as she spoke of her
hobby. It was that week that he had
asked her out on their first official date.
Together as a couple they worked out nicely. All of Dana’s college friends had become his
friends as well. It was nice to see
Kyle and Nina take that leap of faith, though they have been a couple for
years. Rusty and Dana had waited many
years before finally tying the knot.
Tomorrow everyone would meet at the Tavern to board a
charter bus and head out to this plantation house for the weekend. Everyone would be together and play a role
in making this wedding happen! Secretly
he worried as to if this would become some great ghost adventure. So far, no one had made any mention of it. He couldn’t help but hope that it wouldn’t,
and that primarily it was all about the wedding.
*****
Joel Lucas was wrapping up his day at work, trying to
remember what he needed to pick up for their weekend trip on his way home. To be on the safe side, he thought he might
give his wife Cassey a call. On days
like today he was looking forward to a long getaway. Being a factory worker at the local tobacco plant had its rewards
but they didn’t come without a certain amount of stress.
It seems nowadays he spent a great amount of time looking
forward to retirement. The college days
seemed so far away to him now. He
remembered when he first entered college and found The Ghost Enthusiasts. Though a skeptic, and always business
minded, he was welcomed with open arms.
Being from out of state, he felt right at home. Who would have imagined that years later
they would all still be together as friends?
Well then again, he thought the same thing when he was voted “Most
likely to succeed” in high school.
Instead of calling Cassey he decided he would stop by and
see her at work. Cassey worked part
time as a waitress at the Tavern. She
certainly didn’t need to work, but it helped to support her craft
addiction. Warm, bubbly and always
smiling, she made really good tips and loved seeing her friends, so it worked
out well.
Cassey shared his passion for football. She also supported his interest in the
paranormal even though she was scared to death of the thought of ghosts or
something occurring. Generally when he
watched paranormal shows, he noticed that she would busy herself with her crafts
or something around the house.
He had to admit that he was glad that they shared the same
friends. Cassey and Nina had become
very close over the years. He and Kyle
were close and they all enjoyed hanging out together. It seemed just like yesterday that he had married Cassey. Overall, this was going to be an amazing
weekend of good times.
*****
Tommy Foster sat at his desk glancing over the books with a
big smile on his face. It had been his
lifelong dream to open a restaurant.
Not only had he achieved it, but also now he owned a 5-star restaurant
catering to the cities elite. He had to
chuckle when he thought of how everyone commented that he and his wife Diane
were such a mismatched couple. Diane
was a real beauty while he still wore his mafia style ponytail. The only common
interest that they had was her culinary upbringing and the fact that she was a
chef. Now, she was the head chef at
their restaurant.
Years later he now owns a successful restaurant, has two
sons, a wonderful marriage and is now considering buying them a second home as
a family getaway. Life is good! Diane seemed really excited when he ran the
idea of a second home by her. The first
thing she said was, “Maybe it will be haunted”. That thought shock Tommy to the core. He did not share his wife’s paranormal passion that she had found
in college.
Diane has always been high-strung, high energy with a real
excitement for life. For her to find a
paranormal group in college was no surprise to anyone. These days she is just starting to dabble in
investigating again. With the
restaurant doing well and three cookbooks on the New York Times best sellers
list, she felt it was time.
Their younger son Ronnie was still in school and was a lot
like his mother. Though a little on the
geeky side and an honor roll student.
He too, is high strung and loves the thrill of the paranormal. Their older son, Brad was in the military. He always enjoyed his mother’s ghost
stories. However, since his recent tour
of Iraq he recently stated that the paranormal has taken on new meaning for
him. He now believes in it more than he
did before.
At least with those three having a paranormal interest, it
should make for some interesting conversations this weekend. This weekend. That jarred him back from his daydream. He wondered what time do they meet at the Tavern for this
trip. Another thought, had Diane
planned that they were cooking for everyone all weekend? He better check with her and see just what
the plan was.
*****
Jerry Coats was on the Interstate and heading home. As a successful insurance agent he had just
closed the deal on one of his biggest accounts yet. He could not decide what was better, his success, being wealthy,
his new home, or his hot new wife Eliza?
It didn’t matter; he loved it all and had no problems bragging about
anything in his life.
Though they had only been married a couple of years Eliza
had turned out to be the perfect wife.
She loves her job as dental hygienists and supports her husband in his
passion for travel and the finer things in life. She uses every bit of her
paycheck towards saving for their retirement. He is most certain that Eliza has
every detail planned out for the weekend.
Though he is excited to see Kyle and Nina get married, he
had to admit, he kind of dreads the paranormal conversations over the
weekend. Eliza loves them and can’t
seem to get enough ghost stories.
However Jerry feels it was wonderful being with the group from college and admits he is glad they are
all still friends. His feelings for the
paranormal have changed. He just feels
it is time to grow up and move on to something else. However, all of his friends and their spouses from The Ghost
Enthusiasts did not appear to see things the same way.
Even before acquiring his wealth while back in college, he
had always been known as the “loud mouth” and “know it all” of the group. That had not changed. He loved jumping in with his two cents to
create a good debate. He also loved
nagging them or picking on them if they talked about restarting the group or
investigating something local. He had
no problem telling them that it was kid’s stuff and not for the adults they are
now. Just like in college, no one
listened to him.
Even though Eliza was still kind of new to everyone she got
along with everyone really well. She
had become very fond of Jasmine and Jaden.
He knew that she spoke to Jasmine, almost daily, so he was certain she
had all the details for the weekend. He
thought, “Oh well, let the ghost stories begin.”
*****
Patrice Ellis finds herself in the office feeling tired and
run down. How in the world will she get
through this weekend when all she wants to do is sleep? Years of owning the Tavern after her late
husband’s death were finally starting to take its toll. Though she is happy for Nina and Kyle, she
would just like some time off to herself.
Her current husband Terrence, has no idea how worn down she really is.
Terrence has been good for her. He owns a local building supply company and knows how much energy
it takes to be a business owner.
However, his company closes on weekends and at 5pm during the week. It appears more and more that all of her
time is spent at the Tavern. She is
okay with that. She can generally get a
lot done in her office after 2am.
She has never felt alone after closing hours. She has always felt that the Tavern was
haunted though she didn’t dare mention it.
For one, she has employees like Rusty that appear to be a little
skittish regarding the paranormal. Terrance
is scared to death of anything unexplainable.
He had become close friends with all of her friends but will never
understand why she had joined The Ghost Enthusiasts in college. Cassey on the other hand, seemed to have a
high interest.
There had been more than one occasion that a little
something had happened and she noticed Cassey appeared to realize it at the
same time. Perhaps this weekend would
give her an opportunity to feel Cassey out to see if she had experiences there
as well? Of course, that would have to
be kept private from Terrance, because if he so much as thought there was a
ghost there, he would never return, part owner or not.
*****
Patsy Snow comes out of the courtroom victorious. As a well-known criminal defense attorney,
she still really felt that she only had a 50/50 chance of winning this
particular case. She begins to wonder
how many of The Ghost Enthusiasts are meeting at the Tavern for happy
hour to discuss the wedding and the weekend.
On that note, she decides to give her husband Melvin a call. Of course he was unavailable. With working at one of the largest security
companies in town he was always busy.
Melvin was the member of The Ghost Enthusiasts in
college. She remembers that being a
topic of conversation on their first date.
Both shared a passion for adventure.
They generally spent their down time bungee jumping, hang gliding,
hiking and of course discussing the paranormal.
Melvin had bought up a good point this morning. He had asked if there were any plans to
investigate the plantation house that we would be staying at this weekend. Sounded like a good idea to her, since they
would all be together. She also
wondered if anyone knew the history to the place?
Maybe she should stop by the Tavern and see if anyone knows
the plan before heading home? If not,
she would give Jasmine or Jaden a call, certainly one of them would know.
*****
Felix Frost was beginning to look forward to a long weekend
break. As a foreman of a large
commercial construction company, he had a week from hell where nothing was
going right on their current job. He
certainly could not say that this had been a productive week. He had to give a lot of credit to his wife
Kathleen, for keeping his spirits up.
Kathleen owned the local theatre, passed down to her from
her family, and was also really big
into the arts. His complete
opposite. She was always so positive and
upbeat, with a real zest for life no matter what obstacles she
encountered. The last few days all she
could talk about was the wedding and the weekend trip. She was thrilled to see Nina and Kyle
finally marry!
Of course Kathleen and Kyle had been great friends over the
years. They had met in college with The
Ghost Enthusiasts. Kathleen’s
interest in the paranormal reflected into a lot of her plays. He wasn’t complaining because those were the
ones that seem to have the highest ticket sales.
Though he was generally the life of the party, maybe even a
little arrogant at times, he was a huge skeptic regarding the paranormal. He really felt that most of that nonsense
could be explained. However, he always
enjoyed ruffling their feathers and causing really good debates. He imagined this weekend would certainly be
full of ghost stories. He enjoyed the
fact that they had all become really close friends throughout the years.
He also made a mental note to himself to pack tissues. Kathleen always gets emotional at
weddings.
*****
Albert Dunn sat around watching his clock waiting for happy
hour. Sad to think his life had come to
this at the age of 68. The truth is
since retiring as an attorney and the loss of his wife, he really just
considered himself as “functioning” nowadays.
He still enjoyed getting out and seeing his young friends at
the Tavern. He loved cracking jokes at
all of their ghost stories. They were
certainly a lively group. As an
attorney he had pretty much helped them all over the years in one way or
another. Now, Patsy had come along and
was doing a wonderful job. Though not
much assistance to them as she was criminal defense attorney and none of them
were criminals. He still referred them
out to those that he knew, gave advice when needed, and performed wedding
ceremonies.
He couldn’t help but wonder why in the world Nina and Kyle
had decided to marry now. They had been
a happy couple for years. He kind of
thought of the saying “if it’s not
broke, don’t fix it”. Anyway, he was
very proud that they had asked him to officiate their wedding.
Honestly, he was a little skeptical about the whole weekend
trip. On the other hand, it was not
like he had anything else to do.
Besides he would never turn down Nina and Kyle, as he considered them to
be close friends and they were just good people. Who knows, a weekend away with the young folks may be just what
he needed. However he still longed for
his belated wife to pack for him.
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