Forget Me Never Sable Hunter (freda ebook reader txt) 📖

“I won’t – never, I’ll forget you never!” she would cry.

Four or five nights a week, she would toss and turn seeing images of him tied up, hands over his head as someone whipped him or beat him. Why was she torturing herself like this? Savannah could find no explanation for the nocturnal visions she was having. But every night, it was more of the same. Sometimes she’d hear other voices yelling his name, and she’d see a dark, dank place that made her think of a dungeon. God, she didn’t know how she would endure this – if Patrick couldn’t be in this world, she wanted him to be in heaven.

Since the nightmare of his funeral, everything had anged, and even though her world was irreparably broken, a few good things did emerge from the sorrow.  The statement she had made in front of the reports about her parents and the disease they had suffered from had spawned surprising results.  In the ensuing months, she had been interviewed a dozen times.  In some ways she had become a spokesman for Hansen’s disease.  Several documentaries had been made and because of the publicity, she had been called on to take part.  The director of the museum located at Carville had finally responded to her request and invited her to come and visit, and she had every intention of going.  Maybe she would find out information on her parents, plus she felt compelled to perform a paranormal investigation while she was there.

The plans she had set into motion to fulfill her promises to Patrick were beginning to take shape.  The local high school had accepted her donation to set up a scholarship in his name and each year one student would be selected who had a desire to further his education, but not the means.  The city council of St Martinville had agreed to erect a memorial for Patrick and other fallen Marines, but no location had been chosen yet.  And as for her other idea – well, that had taken some effort and a lot of money – and a lot of time.  But after three and a half years, she finally had what she had fought for, for so long.

A whine from Patrick’s lab caused her to jump a bit.  “What do you hear, Girl?  Is it the mailman?”  Ciara answered her with a soft bark.  “Well, let’s go see.”  She bounced up at her normal speed and quickly put a hand to her head.  “Oh, I can’t do that anymore.  Yuck.  I feel a little dizzy and nauseous.  Morning sickness sucks!”

Maybe she needed to eat more.  Food had little appeal to her now, but she knew eating healthy for the baby was paramount. Her baby.  Lord, she loved him so much already.  A cold nose was pushed into her palm and Savannah gave the lab a reassuring pat.  “I’m okay.  Just give me a minute.”  How strange.  For three years, Patrick’s dog had all but ignored her.  No matter what she had tried, the animal had given her only cursory attention.  Instead, Ciara had stood vigilant at the front door and watched for a master who never came home.

Something about Ciara had changed.  In the past month, Patrick’s faithful companion had mellowed toward her – big time. Seldom now did she leave Savannah’s side except to gaze down the lonely road toward town.  A thought struck Savannah that brought her up short.  Could Ciara sense that she was pregnant?  With Patrick’s child?  Surely not.

“Do you think our package came today?”  Gracious! If anyone was eavesdropping they would think she was losing her mind.  Other than work, the only conversations she had nowadays were to a dog and to whatever spirit she could coerce into listening to her.  That was okay, though.  Frankly, she was tired of having to try and explain her decisions to Tammany and the girls.  They thought she was nuts.  And Revel hadn’t been too happy with her, either.  Yes, she realized she had spent every dime she had.  And yes, she knew that her health was probably damaged from enduring three pregnancies and three miscarriages – but God had been merciful and the last chance effort had paid off.  She was going to be a mother.

“If the new ghost hunting equipment came today, we’ll try it out tonight.  I’ll take you with me to the cemetery and maybe we’ll capture that one voice we’ve both longed to hear.”  Another wave of sadness swamped her.  She paused for a second, fighting for composure.  When she thought she could go on without crying – she set off again.  Taking one step, Savannah caught her toe on a large book, almost tripping.  “Foot!”  Looking down, she saw one of her reference texts had slid off the shelf underneath her desk and landed in her path.  That was strange.  It was the one book that she hadn’t had the courage to open in a long time.

With careful moves due to her queasy stomach, she bent down to pick up the large volume.  The Seven Ships – oh, Lord – the memories!  Perhaps it was time to start including the Acadian Memorial in her volunteer schedule again.  It would be hard, but she couldn’t avoid every place that held memories of Patrick. The last time she had used this book was to help him find information on his possible ancestors.

Savannah should have used both hands, but one was holding on to her rebellious abdomen that seemed to be trying to imitate the rocking of a boat on water.  So when she grasped the book and lifted it, the weighty text slipped from her fingers and landed at her feet – and a dried sprig of Forget-Me-Not flowers fell out.  “Oh, Patrick!”  A sob tore from her throat and she sank to the floor retrieving the pressed flowers he had given her the first time they met.