The Haunting Of Hastings House

Part 13

By
Brynn Morgan

Copyright © 2023 by – Brynn Morgan – All Rights Reserved.
It is not legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited.

Chapter 13

Silence blanketed the house the next morning. Davis stepped out of his downstairs bedroom and into the hallway. He wandered to the kitchen, grabbed his favorite cup from the dishwasher, and started the coffee machine. It was always Davis's favorite time of the morning , before Lainie and Bella were awake; he would sit on the porch with his coffee to watch the sun peek over the hills and enjoy some time alone with his thoughts.

Davis loved looking at his stabled Arabians, too, as the stable hands let them out for their morning exercise.

Davis was startled by a soft moan coming from the living room. His dark eyes widened as he approached Emily, who was resting on the couch. Her dark eyelashes fluttered open and widened when she saw him standing beside her in his white T-shirt, green plaid pajama bottoms, and now-messy hair. He smiled softly at her.

"Mornin."

Emily sat up, self-consciously meeting his gaze. Davis asked if her sleep had been troubled by bad dreams and then suggested they step onto the porch with a fresh cup of coffee while they waited for Lainie and Bella to awaken.

Emily was so tired. She felt like she had been drugged. The idea of coffee sounded good.

Davis poured them two cups of coffee, and then Emily joined him outside on the front porch. They sat in white rocking chairs. It was cool out, and Emily saw a big black pickup truck coming down the gravel lane and parking at the stables.

Davis took a slow sip, and his voice was deep.
"That is Callie and her brother Clive," he said. "They get here early to feed the girls and let them out to pasture."

Emily looked at the young teenagers hop out of the truck and head toward the stables, chatting a mile a minute.

She sipped on the hot brew and felt her insides warm up.

Davis cleared his throat.

"Why did you end up on the couch, Emily?" he asked curiously.

Emily looked at him.

"I had a bad dream about Amori." she shivered, remembering how Amori looked at her, dead and lifeless.

"Bad enough that you leave a comfortable bed and choose a hard sofa instead?" he asked with a slight boyish grin.

"Yes," she said sullenly.

"Care to share?"

Emily sighed and breathed in the cool morning air.
She was quiet for a few seconds, and Davis thought that she had passed on that suggestion, but then she spoke softly. Her voice was tiny and just above a whisper. Davis had to strain to hear her.

"I was in the house, and it was dark. I saw Amori lying on the floor. She then started to move and looked at me with the most soulless eyes. Amori approached me, and I tried to scream for help, but I could not form the words."

Davis looked at her and noticed how tiny she was. She was so fragile, like China; she looked like she could fall and shatter into a million pieces. Lainie told him a little about what Emily had endured, and his heart went out to her. She was so young to have suffered so much loss.

Davis knew about loss but of a different sort. He lost many of his men in Afghanistan. That could mess a man up, so he could only imagine what it must be like to lose his whole family. He knew about nightmares, too. The kind that would wake you in a cold sweat, sheets soaked through. Yes. He knew about loss.