Page 15 of Castle

“You’re not trying to flatter me to get your way, are you?” I asked.

When he didn’t respond, I assumed I’d said too much, and he had difficulty comprehending a long sentence.

“No,” he said.

“Why, thank you, again. You’re not bad yourself.”

He reached out for my hand and held it, walking beside me. It felt like grade school when Tony gave me a craft plane he madein class and that automatically made him my boyfriend. Well, at least until lunch break was over. By the end of school, he’d given another plane to Lily.

It was a small gesture by Castle, and yet my heart skipped around like a schoolgirl.

The silence between us was comfortable, but I needed him to trust me completely.

“Do you remember anything at all?”

He shook his head.

“Alright,” I decided not to push him. “I’ll help you remember everything.”

“How?” he asked, uncertainty was obvious on his face.

“I can try. I’ll speak to your therapist and we’ll see what he has to say.”

“No!” He yelled coming to a halt and his breathing intensified. “No!”

His sudden outburst shocked me.

“Okay, calm down. No therapist.” I promised, “Take deep breaths.”

He calmed down a few minutes later.

From a distance, I saw Chandler rushing towards us. He threw the ball towards Castle, who caught it in mid-air. Trixie ran forward at full-speed, with her tongue lolling out.

“We’re going to play ball. Millie, you’re going to join us, right?” Chandler was still wearing his royal blue school uniform from some fancy private school he went to.

“Sure,” I said.

We stood at three different corners, and Trixie kept running around the lawn wildly.

“Silly dog,” Chandler called after her. He’d loosened his tie and tossed his jacket on the ground. A maid was walking around collecting things that Chandler had discarded.

“I’m going to toss it towards Cas first and then Cas, You’re going to throw it in Millie’s direction. The first person who drops the ball loses.”

For the first time in years, I was enjoying myself. Laughing and joking with this family.

It felt like I belonged here. I caught glimpses of Castle’s rare smile.

Trixie began barking incessantly as she stared at the barn, clawing at the door and looking at us with those big brown curious eyes.

Dogs could sense the paranormal. It’s not like I believed in all that, but just because I hadn’t seen a ghost yet didn’t mean I was a skeptic either. The Montgomery’s property, even though it was lavish, it dated back to the 1800s. Their ancestors might have done something here, or someone died from their family and their ghost still roamed around the place. On the far end of the property, by the woods, I could see headstones. A family graveyard.

“Trixie! Come back here!” Chandler commanded her.

But the dog wouldn’t listen and continued to bark. She ran up towards me and caught the end of my dress in her teeth and pulled me towards the other direction.

“What is it, girl?” I asked as I followed her. “Chandler, wait here with Castle, okay? I’m going to check what’s in there.”

“I want to come too!” He complained. “I don’t want to babysit Castle.”

---