A Ghost of a Chance

To all my loyal readers and some new ones, this is for the "HALLOWEEN STORY CONTEST 2007" so I would appreciate you voting if you find this story worthy. Thanks.

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Angela had just snuggled onto the couch with a blanket; was getting ready to read when the knock came to the door. Standing there was a deputy sheriff who gave her an official summons. She read it, thanked him and shut the door; crossed over to the telephone to call Frank Doyle; her lawyer.

"Frank I don't understand. What's this all about?" she spoke distinctly trying to curb her anger. "How did the property get into this bad of a shape? What about the management group I left in charge?"

"Easy Angela," her lawyer spoke quietly on the other end trying to calm her down. "Apparently they took off with everyone's money. Easy now, it's not your fault, but it's still your property and you are ultimately responsible for its condition."

Frank had been best man at her and Carl's wedding. Carl's sudden heart attack had left Angela a young widow and afterwards she didn't want anything to do with their house. 'Their house' he thought. 'Carl had put everything into that property. He had loved the house, the scenic view . . . every blade of grass. He had loved Angela so much and their lives together were beyond perfect until that day.'

"Angela there's only a ghost of a chance to fix this. You're going to have to come back, get the property repaired and then either rent it out or sell it. This is an official summons sugar so there's nothing I can do about it," spoke Frank.

Angela sighed, "Okay Frank, I'll catch a flight in tomorrow," and then hung up the phone before he could say anything else.

* * * * *

Angela had left this small town five years ago after the sudden death of her husband. She didn't want to be here and she didn't want to see their house again ... too many memories, heartache and tears. It was late afternoon when she pulled her rental car into the familiar gravel driveway and looked at the property. It was so run down it was hard to believe that so much damage could have resulted in the last five years.

She got out of the car and slowly approached the front porch. In her mind she could see Carl's body still lying where he'd fallen; where she'd found him when she came home that evening. Her tears started falling uncontrollably as she moved closer. She finally made it up on the porch and reached for the screen door; it almost fell off its hinges.

Angela's mind flashed back to the memory of Carl hanging the door; it'd fallen on his foot. He yelled, she'd laughed and then removed his shoe and rubbed it for him. The door didn't get hung that day since they had sex instead. She could still feel his strong hands as he drew her down to him on the porch; no one around but the wildlife to witness their act of love.

She lay across his muscular chest as his hands caressed her back. He told her how beautiful she was and how lucky he was to have her. His lips sought hers, his tongue seeking and then probing the depths of her mouth; letting his desire for her overtake his body. His hand sought and found her breast; she moaned into his mouth her own desire. It didn't take long for their clothes to be removed; it never did. He loved her breasts and always took his time to rediscover every inch of them with his hands and mouth as she moaned and pressed back rubbing along the length of his shaft.

Angela rose and slowly lowered herself on to his hard cock; arching her back feeling him filling her completely. He would rub her ass and moan as she descended until she bottomed out and then would draw her back to him; his mouth seeking hers and then her neck. He would roll her; always wanted to be on top and in control. Carl drew out their love making to the fullest; always making sure she had several orgasms before finally climaxing with his own. Their love making, always slow ... always complete ... always perfect.

Memories ... that's all she had now. She leaned her head against the door and her tears fell onto the dry wood and were quickly absorbed. She gave a small sob trying to get her emotions under control.

Angela reached out with the key, inserted it and heard the latch click. She put the key back into her pocket and pushed the door open into what should have been the living room. There was garbage everywhere; beer cans, liquor bottles, broken dishes ... apparently the local young crowd had discovered another use for the abandoned property. One thing was apparent; the mess was going to take time to clean up.

Angela didn't bother with the kitchen; her kitchen. She didn't want to see that ruin yet so she slowly started to climb the stairs to the second floor; more garbage. The door to 'their' bedroom stood open and she leaned against the frame. Their bed was still here and nothing seemed disturbed; very little dust anywhere. Then her mind was flooded with memories of sweet love making and laughter. Intimate talks about the life they both wanted and looked forward to.

"Oh Carl," she sighed softly, "why did you leave me? I miss you so much," she closed her eyes and hugged herself; wishing it was his strong arms around her and his lips pressed against hers. Her tears were her only company. She heard a sound and caught a slight moved out of the corner of her eye; 'probably mice' she thought.

"Angela!" yelled Frank from just inside the entryway.

The sound of her name pulled her back from her dream state. "I'm up here Frank," she called down as she wiped the tears off her face. She heard his footsteps on the creaky stairs and then he was beside her.

"Why didn't you wait for someone to come with you?" he inquired.

"I just wanted to see the damage as soon as possible. Oh Frank, how could they have done this much to Carl's house?" her tears started falling once again.

'Carl's house,' he thought. "Angela," Frank spoke softly, "your house." She looked into his eyes and nodded her head.

"I've got you a room in town. Not much can be done legally until Monday, so you might as well follow me back. We'll have dinner and discuss the court hearing," he spoke quickly urging her to come down the stairs. The house made him uneasy and he didn't want to stay any longer than necessary.

She felt reluctant to leave and remorse seemed to flood into her as she closed the front door and then locked it once again. She'd come back tomorrow; start clearing and bagging the garbage before seeing what else needed to be done.

Angela followed Frank back into town and settled into the room at the bed and breakfast. She thanked him for the offer of dinner, but wanted rest more than food. It'd been a long trip; she needed solitude now. She needed a quiet calm before going back and confronting more memories. Unfortunately, Carl was in her every dream that night.

She woke early the next morning and ate a small breakfast from the simple selection served at the B & B. She wanted to get back to the house and start the clean-up, but Frank insisted that he wanted to meet with her first.

"Listen Angela," he spoke over coffee at the local café, "there's no reason why you can't hire someone to clean it up; no reason to do it yourself."

'But there was a reason,' Angela thought. She felt that she had let Carl down by letting the property get into its current condition. She gave Frank a small smile, "Frank; I need to do this. It'll give me a chance to do something for a change. When it's fixed up and ready, we'll discuss what to do with the property."

"Okay," said Frank, "you were always headstrong anyway. Just take it easy and don't try to do it all in one day."

Angela laughed, "Hardly Frank; too much damage. I noticed that the bedroom wasn't ransacked so if it gets too late, I'll just sleep there and come back in to town in the morning. I need to go through the entire property to see what needs to be done. Remember, I'm use to restoring old houses. I don't need to hire anybody to do a job I'm capable of handling myself."

Angela headed to the hardware store after their meeting to pick up a few supplies; then stopped at the local grocery before heading out to the property again. She managed to make it in through the front door this time without breaking down into tears.

This time she walked through the dining room and into the kitchen. 'Everything,' she thought looking around, 'absolutely everything was going to need to be replaced,' and then she sighed.

Angela went back to the car and hauled all the supplies in that she had bought. She started the back braking job of picking up and bagging the garbage which she set outside. It took her the rest of the day to pick up the floors and then sweep them on the first floor.

By the time Angela had accomplished the initial clean up, it was nearly sunset. She got the sandwich and soft drink she'd bought in town from the cooler and ate in the quiet of the house. She was tired, but felt I calm peace envelope her. She smiled to herself; made sure the house was locked for the night and slowly climbed the stairs.

Angela stood in the doorway of their bedroom once again; she couldn't control the tears as they made slow treks down her face. She once again noticed how undisturbed the room was before crossing over to the dresser. She knew it was there before even opening the drawer; somehow this room had survived the ransacking the rest of the house had taken. She slowly opened the drawer and stared as her tears fell in silent witness; their wedding candle.

She reached her shaky hands into the drawer to retrieve it and set it in its base. Angela crossed the room and placed it on her side of the bed along with her lighter. The image swam through her tears as she sat down on the bed, "Oh Carl," she sighed with heartache and longing as she lay back and cried into the pillow. Soon sleep overtook her from the emotional drain as much as by the physical exhaustion; she never saw or heard the door shut.

Carl was in her dream; she felt his lips lightly caress hers and then whisper her name urgently. She felt her body respond to his passionate need of her; then she woke and sat up in the bed. It was dark; she felt for the lighter, found it, flicked it to life and then lit the candle. The candle brought a calm peace to her mind that no one else was there.

Angela got up and removed her clothes and pulled down the covers on the bed to crawl in; feeling safe and secure under them and within their bedroom. She lay her head back again on the pillow and watched the shadows dance over the ceiling being lulled into sleep yet again.

As soon as her eyes closed she slipped into a deep sleep, but then the dream invaded once again. Carl was there standing by the bed smiling down at her and she was laughing up at him as he slowly pulled down the covers to reveal her naked form stretched out invitingly on the sheet. He crawled in beside her and held her body tightly next to his; kissing her deeply and passionately; so much longing and desire could be felt in his kiss.

Angela thrilled to the pleasure of his mouth trailing kisses down her neck and his hand cupped her breast; her nipple responding by becoming hard, throbbing and in want of his warm mouth. Carl straddled her body cupping both her breasts in his gentle and strong hands; alternately kissing and sucking on them driving her to new heights of passion. "Oh Carl," she moaned in her passion as he continued to work on her breasts.

She felt desire run rampant through her body like she had never felt before; a burning heat that she knew that only Carl could quench. He slowly moved his hands over every inch of her body. She was literally writhing underneath him; wanting to feel him deep inside her. "Please make love to me Carl, my love, I need you," she moaned in her passion.

Carl smiled down at her, "Patience my love; you're almost here," he said as he continued to caress and kiss her body. He once again covered her body with his and was kissing her deeply and passionately. She raised her hips and wrapped her legs around his back indicating to him her need. She needed him inside her; needed him to complete her as he always did.

He broke his kiss and looked into her eyes; eyes holding desire and love within their depths. Saw her need and knew it was now time; he plunged into her warm depths and she cried out in agonizing fulfillment that their love making always brought.

Angela felt him move in and out of her and rose to meet each thrust of his strong body. Nothing existed for her except him being with her, their lovemaking and what that did for both of them. She felt her own release nearing and knew he also was ready; she felt her release then and moaned into his shoulder holding him tightly to her body and felt his final thrust of his release as well.

Angela smiled when he looked into her face, "How?" she whispered.

"The wedding candle," he replied. "Our unity; always and forever."

"Always and forever," she whispered back and cuddled in his arms.

* * * * *

The ringing of the telephone was insistent; Frank's hand stumbled in the dark feeling for it. "Yeah!" he inquired blearily still trying to shake the cobwebs of sleep from his brain.

"Oh my God" he could barely say. "I'll leave right now."

Frank pulled up and the fire chief came over to his car. "Looks like a candle in the bedroom set it off; total loss. We found the body of a female in the bedroom; it's been sent to the morgue. Do you know who it could have been?"

Frank stared at the charred remains of the house, "Yes."