A/n- Sorry for the wait!
Daddy grabbed my hand and pulled me up with him as he ran over to meet my mother. When she saw him, she smiled and put a hand on his cheek to wipe away the tears that were falling.
"Lily, I'm so sorry for everything. I didn't mean for any of it to happen like it did, and I especially didn't mean to hurt you."
Mama shook her head and took hold of his hand. "Let's not dwell on that, George. The past hurts everyone, and I don't think any of us deserve to be in that kind of pain ever again."
Looking at the both of them, I felt my eyes begin to water. I blinked the tears away.
"Do you think you two will be all right by yourselves for awhile, you know, getting reacquainted and all that? I have to go back to Thunder Mesa. Michael and I still have some things we need to take care of."
Mama looked at me hard. "Chrissy-Lily, who's Michael?"
Daddy grinned at her. "You know him, Lily. Michael Allen-Park? He and Chrissy are a couple now."
Mama grinned at this. "Lord love a duck! I never thought I'd hear the name of Michael Allen-Park again after I left Tara!"
I was confused. "Mama, how do you know of him?"
"His ancestral mansion, Greeling Terrace, is right next door to Tara. Has he told anything at all about how he died?"
I shook my head.
Mama grinned. "Well, the town legend was that right before the start of the civil war, Michael and another man, Frank Malrooney, got into a dispute over some land.
"See, Frank was the town poker champ, and one evening, Michael's father put in the poker pot the deed to Greeling Terrace and all the land that went with it. Of course, Frank won the hand and claimed the deed. However, Mr. Allen-Park didn't tell his boys what he'd done, and when they tried to come home after a hunting trip, they were denied entry into their home. A few weeks after that poker game, Mr. Allen-Park got sick and died. That's when Michael decided to challenge Frank Malrooney for his house and his land. Michael thought it would be an easy win. After all, he was the best shot in all of the South, and Frank couldn't hit a tin can five feet in front of him.
"Finally, the day of the duel came. Michael and Frank met at dawn in the backyard of Greeling Terrace and got themselves into dueling positions. They each walked ten paces, turned, and fired. Michael got Frank, of course, he never missed a shot, but that duel had to be the first time that Frank had ever hit anything. He only wounded Michael, but in those days, medical care was next to nothing, and pretty soon, Michael's wound became infected and he died.
"Everyone in town came to the funeral, including Michael's brother Jack and his fiancée Melanie who were about to be married. They all prayed for the poor boy to rest in peace, but soon after they buried him, folks say they spotted two shadows in Greeling Terrace. Folks say that it's Michael and Frank still dueling away. But Michael will never win. Frank gave the deed to his son, and it has been passed down through generations of Malrooneys, each of them determined to keep the house and never surrender it to its rightful owner.
"And since Michael couldn't haunt his own house, he haunted Tara instead, dividing his time between there, and Jack's fiancée Melanie's house, Ravenswood Manor."
After Mama finished her tale, I could only gape. I would never have guessed that that was how Michael had died, of an infected wound. It made me feel sort of sorry for him.
Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and found Michael looking at me with sad eyes. I gasped. I'd forgotten that he was there. He looked at me, then at my mother.
"Thank you for telling her Lillian. I don't think I would've had the courage to."
"Michael, are you ashamed of the way you died? You don't need to be. Remember, you're dating a girl who got eaten by alligators at the circus."
Michael nodded, and Mama's eyes widened. "Chrissy-Lily, what are you saying?"
"Well, Mama, Madam Leota cursed me to die the same way you did."
Mama's eyes narrowed. "I'd like to have killed her!"
Sensing the uncomfortable tension in the room, Michael pulled me away, and out into the hall.
"We should probably go back to Melanie's house now. She's waiting in the car."
I nodded, and he led me out of the house to where Melanie was still waiting in the car. She looked up when she saw us and grinned.
"Everyone back?"
"Pretty much, yes."
Michael and I got into the front seats and we began to drive. Unlike when Scott had driven us, I talked this ride.
Finally, we arrived at Melanie's house, and stepped inside just in time to avoid a bad soaking from rain and lighting that had shown up. We stood in the gallery and waited.
Finally, lighting struck the ground outside and illuminated the dark room. And, in much the same way I'd found my father years before, I finally got a glimpse of Jack Allen-Park.
Melanie Gracey- Mary will be coming back…and George Sr. too! Thanks for reviewing!
Aquarian Wolf- Thanks! George's animosity for Lettie has more place in the sequel then this story. And I don't think I'll be bringing back Emily…at least not right now.
