Paranormal with a little romance
Date Published : 09-07-2024
Gifts always come with strings... Just don't get tangled in them. When Kat Summers inherits a dilapidated house, she can't wait to restore it. As she breathes life into the house, something within her awakens. Shadows & voices haunt the hallways & trigger her quest for answers. Jana Summers has a spreadsheet for everything. So, when her wife quits her job & begins restoring a money pit, she panics. There's no spreadsheet on how to handle a haunted house or a wife with the gift of sight.
Listen to Whispers of the Past for free on the My Secret Obsession Podcast
https://mysecretobsession.alitu.com/
“You can touch it,” Kat encouraged and nudged the bone closer to Flaminia. She smiled at the old woman whose face now hovered above the bone. Trying to lighten the mood, she said, “I think you may have a bone of contention with why we’re here.”
Jana snorted, put her fingers to her forehead, and shook her head in embarrassment.
Kat laughed at her own joke but quieted when no one else even cracked a smile. “Tough room,” she quipped.
Kat focused on the old woman who stood beside Flaminia. “What do you think?” she asked.
Jana gave her another sideways glance. She knew this adventure was going to end up being a trip to Crazy Town.
Flaminia glanced over her shoulder at her grandmother, and then stared at Kat. She tentatively stretched out her hand and slid it along the bone. It was hard and cool against her warm fingertips. “Where did you find this?” She picked it up. It was heavier than she thought. It was solid. A hollow replica wouldn’t be heavy, would it?
“At our new house. It was a plantation. According to my vision, this is the bone of a slave hunter.” She chuckled, still trying to lighten the mood in the room. “Don’t worry. He got what he deserved.”
Kat motioned towards the old woman. “Go ahead, you can touch it too.”
Jana sat straight and her gaze darted between Kat and the space above Flaminia’s shoulder. What the fuck?
Flaminia looked over her shoulder again at her grandmother and then back to Kat. “Who are you talking to?” Her heart raced. Besides people in her family or the tight-knit psychic community, she’d never met another person who could see those who had already passed from this realm.
Kat’s face scrunched up in confusion. “I’m talking to her.” She pointed to the old woman hunched over Flaminia. “Is she your mother?” The woman looked old enough to be her grandmother, but she didn’t think that was probable and didn’t want to insult either woman.
Jana’s mouth dropped open as she stared at the open space, then Kat, and then Flaminia. Her stomach twisted. Was Kat starting to see things? Was this what Josh had warned them about? The other option, which was crazy, was that someone else is in the room? But she sure as hell didn’t see anyone.
Flaminia adjusted herself in her chair and looked at her grandmother and then back at Kat. She tossed her hand out. “What does she look like?” she asked, her voice laced with doubt.
Kat scoffed and her brows pinched together. She looked at Jana then pointed towards Flaminia and the woman. “Do you see the old woman?” she asked with frustration.
The old woman harrumphed at the insult and said something in Italian. By the way she moved her hands about as she talked, Kat could tell she was upset.
“Sorry,” Kat said, smiling at the woman. She figured the woman was insulted by her calling her an old woman. She refocused on Jana and clandestinely moved her eyes towards the old woman again. “Say hello to the nice lady,” she said.
Jana swallowed hard and said, “I don’t see anyone. It’s only the three of us in here.”
Flaminia nodded. Was Kat playing with her? Making her think she saw someone when she really didn’t. Were these two messing with her? What was their end game? This had to be a con of some sort. “Describe the woman you see.” She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest.
The old woman rattled off something in Italian, and then motioned to the bone, and finally stared at Kat. Kat wasn’t sure what was going on. How could Jana not see the woman?
Kat’s gaze bounced around the room at Flaminia and Jana, but finally landed on the old woman. “Well, she has white hair and glasses.”
Flaminia scoffed loudly. “An old woman with white hair and glasses. That’s all you got?”
“No, I just started my description.” Kat was getting annoyed. Why was she being treated like the bad guy? “Do you want specifics?” she asked with snark.
Flaminia leaned forward and set her arms on the table. “Yes, specifics.”
Kat took a moment to study the old woman, who continued to ramble in Italian.
“She’s wearing a pea soup green dress with a thin, shiny black belt. Her shawl appears to be yellowed with age. Her white hair is up in a bun, and she’s using fancy pins to keep it in place. Her glasses are like those cat eye glasses from the sixties.” She leaned over to look at the woman’s feet. “Her stockings have runs in them, and she’s wearing ugly, sensible old lady shoes. Is that specific enough for you?”
The old woman let loose string upon string of Italian phrases while Flaminia replied back in Italian. Kat watched the argument between the women. Jana sat in shock as Flaminia carried on a conversation in Italian with an old woman who wasn’t actually visible.
“What the fuck?” Jana muttered.
Kat leaned over the table. “Tell your mom that I may not speak Italian, but I know she’s saying bad things about me.” God, why did she feel like she was back in middle school?
The old woman scowled and narrowed her eyes at Kat.
“I’m sorry that I called you old,” Kat began. “I’m in my thirties. Eighties is old to people my age.”
The old woman let loose another string of curses.
Flaminia briefly closed her eyes as if to get away from the tense situation and then said, “Nonna is seventy-seven. She is my grandmother.”
Shit! “Wow, she doesn’t look a day over 70,” Kat tried to save herself. The old woman quieted but still glared at Kat. She wasn’t sure why the woman was so angry. Once you’re that old, is it really an insult to be called old? That’s like complaining because someone noticed you have curly hair. It’s just a fact of life that everyone ages.
Jana fidgeted in her seat, cleared her throat, and then said, “Excuse me. Can someone explain to me what is going on?”
Kat looked at Jana and motioned towards the old woman. “Do you see the nice septuagenarian?” Surely that couldn’t be offensive to the angry old woman.
“No. There’s no one there. It’s just the three of us in here.” Anxiety clenched her belly in cramps.
Flaminia drummed her fingers on the table. “It appears that your wife has a very special gift.”
Kat dramatically spread her hands out in success and said loudly, “Finally! Someone believes me.” Her mouth dropped open as she took a moment to look at Jana. “See, I’m not crazy.” She slammed her hand over her heart. “This shit is really happening.”
“I need to process this,” Jana said and then her face twisted. She felt the beginning claws of a panic attack digging into her. There had to be a logical explanation. “Did you set this up with her to make me believe you?”
“What?” Kat replied. “No. Why is it so hard for you to believe that supernatural stuff is real?”
Flaminia shook her head. “I have never met her before. This is mindboggling to me too.” She’d had people try to trick her before, but everything Kat said about Nonna was true.
About the Author
Karen lives in Georgia with her wonderful husband and twin daughters. She loves traveling the world. Whether it’s to the heights of Yosemite, the white sands of the Caribbean, or even Down Under, she’s always ready to pack a bag in search of inspiration. She enjoys creating worlds filled with unique characters that will delight and raise goose bumps on her readers.
Contact Links
Purchase Link
a Rafflecopter giveaway
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comment here - or - share your views on Social Media Platforms of Choice..