Distant Memories: A Nurse Morgan Series, #2

By Kate MacInnis

Grab a glass of wine…Morgan's life has become a wild ride!

 

Here we go again! Distant Memories, Book Two in the Nurse Morgan Series is about Emergency Room nurse Morgan Cutler, who has made peace with the ghosts in her little house on Melody Lane in Metro Detroit. That is, as long as resident spirits Elisabeth and Jonathan Wilkerson abide by the rules and limitations. All is well until one day the seductress, Esmeralda Camarillo Castillo, visits from the other side. Man-hungry and voluptuous, Esmeralda has set her sights on Caleb Lightfoot, MD, Morgan's boyfriend.

 

Mr. Too Good to Be True and so handsome he makes her mouth water, Caleb Lightfoot, MD, is moving a little too fast in their new relationship. As a woman in her early 40's, Morgan is too wise and smart to fall in love with a heartbreaker, but is this guy for real? Could he be the one for her? Either way, Morgan's not willing to let the seductive Esmeralda to get her hands on him.

 

On top of that, the house, car, and hospital are filled with ghosts—some of whom are up to no good. Morgan has to keep the balance in her head, life, career, and universe as she battles the demands placed on her by this world and the next.

 

Will this apparition take away the best relationship Morgan has ever had? Will Esmeralda turn the Wilkersons against her? Will the ghost destroy the hospital Morgan cherishes? Or will Esmeralda ruin the tough nurse's career and work family that she has worked so hard to maintain? Questions fill Morgan's head, giving her many sleepless nights. Insomnia is dangerous for a nurse on-call but worse when Morgan must keep everything she holds dear safe.

 

Grab that glass of wine or your favorite beverage and join Morgan as she sorts through the changes she has witnessed in the past and the new ones that have arrived. Be prepared to laugh a lot, cry a little and learn what a family really is—here in this dimension and in the afterlife. Distant Memories is for everyone with a sense of humor who believes in hope, miracles and feeling good.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Inkspell Publishing
• Release date: Jun 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9781737379492

Book preview

Chapter 1

Morgan Cutler celebrated her day off with a long, luxurious shower minus a dead, cold, clammy hand grabbing her rear or breasts. She was giddy as she dried herself off without help. No contact with the spirit world this morning felt like a lucky omen and she would take any positive signs she could get. Her co-worker Caleb Lightfoot, MD, in her bed overnight, didn’t hurt her mood either.

Several months ago, Morgan had a ruptured brain aneurysm followed by surgical repair. When she awoke, everything seemed fine but as the weeks passed, she developed supernatural abilities that allowed her to see, hear, smell, and talk to dead people. This was not a divine skill she had ever wished for nor wanted. Not a big believer in the paranormal, she was more terrified that she had lost her mind or developed another disease in her brain. Her neurosurgeon was dismissive and wouldn’t discuss the possibilities simply because none of his other patients had complaints like hers. With the help of Savannah Holt, MD, her boss, she established the good news that she had come out of the experience with a gift—the ability to communicate with folks on the other side. The bad news was that they were in her house, car, workplace, and anywhere else they wanted to appear. One of them loved to visit her in the shower or tub—no preference but significant persistence.

Having discovered and identified her often invisible roommates Elisabeth and Jonathan Wilkerson, Morgan knew she would have to come to terms with no longer living alone and adjust to the nocturnal habits of other-worldly roommates.

But living with ghosts was not nearly as easy as it sounded. For one thing, they had no regard for personal space or time of day. Oddly, they also had boundless energy. These issues frequently kept her up at night and she often had to report to work at the hospital more tired than when she’d left the day before.

As the charge nurse in the Good Samaritan Hospital Emergency Center in Metro Detroit, Morgan was often exhausted, hungry, and tense when she got home from a ten-hour shift. The last thing she needed or wanted was to witness their ghost parties in the middle of the night, or their excessively romantic public displays of affection in the kitchen and back yard for all the world to see. Although, as of yet, no one on the block had complained about seeing the Wilkersons, she could only hope they were invisible to the folks in the nearby houses.

She concluded that the best way to manage the situation was to accept their existence and establish rules about alone time and personal boundaries. To her surprise, the Wilkersons also had concerns. After a lengthy, yet civilized conversation, a compromise was reached in order to keep a happy home for all occupants. It was resolved that Morgan would have no interruptions from the Wilkersons while entertaining unless she specifically summoned them to appear. She would also have absolute privacy in the bathroom and bedroom. In turn, the Wilkersons requested that Morgan stay away from their parties and she was not to interrupt them when they were dancing inside or outside the house. So far, so good and the formal agreement was working.

This particular morning, Morgan was content. This emotion was rare and she smiled as she dressed in her favorite jeans and long sleeve T-shirt. As with most in her field, her job as a charge nurse involved a lot of responsibility and stress and she tended to be preoccupied about patients and outcomes long after her shift was over. She was well-known throughout the hospital as a no-nonsense, hard-working nurse who had seen it all of which made contentment a new experience for her.

She blew dry her dark, cropped hair and styled it with her fingers as she thought about the basis of her relaxed outlook. Maybe it was because Caleb, clearly the hottest doctor at work, had spent the night again. Third time. Her heart raced a little as she thought about him. The man was intelligent, had a great sense of humor, and listened to her. He treated her as if her opinion and experience mattered. Without a doubt, he was too good to be true and she was sharp enough to know that every silver lining had a dark cloud someplace. Her heart and spirit had been broken and battered so many times, she needed a GPS tracker to locate all the pieces. But for now, she was taking this, whatever it was, slowly, and planned to enjoy every inch of him for as long as it lasted. Besides, he was gifted with a good sixth sense. He was not always able to actually see the Wilkersons, but often saw enough to be helpful. He accepted her abilities unconditionally and she greatly appreciated him for being open-minded.

He was also under tremendous stress and often distant as he thought about patients, outcomes, severity of disease and damage to the human body as they came into the emergency center. It was part of the territory and Morgan didn’t mind it a bit when he was quiet and reserved. He worked out situations internally and always returned from the journey with a smile. Her way of dealing with pressure was far more direct, but the point was they came to the same conclusions—they just took different routes to get there.

She rubbed her face and thought about her job at Good Sam. Nursing certainly had its share of physical and emotional challenges, but nothing like she had encountered for the last month or so at home. After the aneurysm, she’d learned to roll with seeing ghosts and tried not to panic every single time it happened since nothing to this point had threatened her with bodily harm. Still, this was very new and different than her previous predictable and mundane life alone.

It wasn’t all bad living with the Wilkersons. She didn’t have any family anyway and the ghosts entertained her most of the time. Truth was, she had great chats with Elisabeth and really enjoyed the time spent with her. Morgan was not comfortable with letting all of her co-workers know the truth at this point in time. The only one she trusted with complete details was Savannah, who despite being her boss, had been her best friend for the past twenty-plus years. Savvy, as she was known to her friends, was a tough, brilliant, often rigid Southern belle who relied first on science and second on cold logic. For the past two decades, Savvy had been the physician chief of the entire emergency center and hired Morgan when she was fresh out of nursing school. Savvy ran the EC without flinching and was unfazed by Morgan’s new talents with the afterlife. Turned out Savvy had a fairly well-developed sixth sense that she had never bothered to mention before. It also became known that Savvy’s mother was a psychic with close to ninety-percent accuracy in her predictions and assessments. Who knew?

Emergency desk clerk Tiffany, aka the Goth, also knew some of the details but not the whole picture. Tiffany ran the desk in the EC with the efficiency of a ship’s captain and didn’t waste time on fools or monsters. But she did overhear conversations Morgan had with the ghosts residing in the hospital. Tiffany didn’t judge—she continued on with her job and offered advice only when asked.

And, of course, Caleb was aware. Although fairly new to the EC family, he had a great deal of medical experience and had witnessed a lot of the activity around her house. Caleb was a skillful emergency room physician which seemed to make him impervious to panic. Both Caleb and Savvy were cool customers. It was likely that Caleb would replace Savvy when she retired in the next few years. The thought of that always made Morgan race to the edge of a panic attack. She had never worked as a nurse without Savvy in charge.

Morgan turned back in the bedroom doorway to take in the full view of her out-of-character, ultra-feminine, girly pink bedroom. No sign of Caleb. His clothes were there, neatly folded on the chair, while hers were scattered around the room—the result of carefree abandon as they’d undressed and fallen into her frilly bed the night before.

On several occasions, Savannah had pointed out that the room looked like Laura Ashley exploded in it and was too much pink to see without a handy dose of insulin first. Maybe Caleb was appalled by the décor in the daylight and had hurried home without his clothes? Or he could have watched her sleeping and the snores and snorts scared him. When she was out cold, far braver men than he had been frightened by her noises.

She left the room and glanced all around the little Cape Cod she called home in search of Douglas, her white bulldog. Hopefully, she’d also find scantily clad Caleb, the man of the hour—or day or so. Maybe a month or two. Yes, she could see herself involved with him for a month or two, which fit her usual pattern with men. She felt a pang of anxiety as she thought about Caleb not being around.

Douglas barked and she knew right away from the tone that he had not been given a cookie after taking care of business outside. The bark sounded like it came from the back of the house, where the kitchen was located. Morgan hurried down the stairs and stopped at the entrance of the bright, cheery, yellow room. Caleb was seated at the breakfast table with the newspaper spread in front of him. He had a mug of black coffee in his right hand as he bent over to have a direct face-to-face conversation with Douglas. That was never a good idea when Douglas believed gross negligence had occurred and he had been mistreated. Douglas liked to sneeze when confronted by a negative situation. The result was a sloppy, drippy bulldog expulsion filled with debris. It would never mix well with the coffee or Caleb’s beautiful face. By the look on Douglas’s face, he was definitely irritated with Caleb.

I gave you a treat already and it’s hard to believe that you should get two when you come in. I think you’re taking advantage of me, Caleb spoke to Douglas with male authority. Douglas did not blink and glared at the uninformed human with the confidence borne of security in his position as the most important male in the house and Morgan’s life.

A female apparition appeared suddenly and draped herself over Caleb’s back. He was freshly showered and dressed only in last night’s T-shirt and boxers. He continued his talk with the dog, seemingly oblivious to the gorgeous creature who nibbled his neck and ear. The woman had her fingers entwined in his long, shiny black hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. She looked up from stroking and licking Caleb’s face when Morgan entered the room. The woman’s red silk negligee had a neckline that barely contained her ample breasts. Her raven hair was swept up high in curls that flowed and fell all around her face. Morgan thought the intruder was the sexiest female she had ever seen in her entire life. Caleb stood and shuddered from head to toe. He rested his pale blue eyes on Morgan and grinned, which elicited a direct response from her nether regions. Before he could speak, a thunderous noise came from the dining room.

Esmeralda, leave that man alone, resident ghost Elisabeth Wilkerson shouted as she stormed into the kitchen. How dare you?

Elisabeth moved behind Caleb and pulled at the woman until the grip on him was broken. The stranger hissed and sprouted two snake heads from her chest. The reptilian tongues protruded and darted at Elisabeth from every possible direction. Elisabeth held her hands up and whispered a few words in Latin. The monster once again become the dark-haired beauty before she vanished in a cloud of smoke.

Morgan whispered, Whoa, who or what was that?

Caleb replied, What? Then he shook himself again from top to bottom and slapped at his legs. What in the heck is in here? I feel like I have a cobweb all over me. He turned around and added, Hey, hi, Elisabeth. When did you get here?

A minute or two ago. I pulled man-hungry Esmeralda Camarillo Castillo off of you, Caleb, and you can thank me later. She feels it’s her birthright to seduce every handsome man she sees and I’ve battled with her several times over Jonathan. I don’t know where she’s been for a while, but she couldn’t resist you, Doctor. Elisabeth appeared as a hologram at first and became more visible as she spoke. She shook her hands and wiped them on her wool skirt.

Thank goodness you were here, Morgan said. I had no idea what to do.

"Well, if she returns, pour water on her if you can. She really hates that. Elisabeth giggled and added, I apologize for rushing off but I have a date to play canasta with the girls this afternoon. It’s been a lot of decades and, hopefully, I’ll remember how to do it." She waved and disappeared.

Caleb whispered, Uh, if I understood Elisabeth correctly, I was being seduced by a beautiful ghost from long ago?

Actually, Esmeralda was on you like a second skin as she chewed on some of your exposed parts, Morgan answered.

Caleb looked down and patted his own nether regions to make sure all was well. He sighed and gazed directly at Morgan once again.

That could have been disastrous, he said.

How come you can’t always see the ghosts? Morgan asked.

I think it depends on their energy level. I can’t see faint images or holograms very well, but I can see and hear them when they’re whole. Or whatever that’s called when fully composed. He started to say something else when a car, sounding very close, revved its engine. Morgan frowned and walked across the kitchen and into the dining room where she could see the driveway that divided her lot from the yard of Mrs. Toland, the lady next door. The Jeep Wrangler slowly backed up, stopped, raced the engine, and pulled forward to its original spot. She watched for a minute and turned to Caleb, who had followed her into the dining room.

Do you see the driver?

Caleb peered out the window. Nope, I don’t see anyone driving. Is that some special factory-added package on the car, or are your ghosts going for a joy ride?

The driver is a ghost and he doesn’t want to be seen. My money is on Jonathan Wilkerson learning how to drive the Jeep. I have to stop this now before he gets brave and goes out on the open road. Jonathan loves toys and often forgets that he’s not alive anymore.

Morgan hurried out the back door and stood in the driveway with her arms crossed. She waited for the car to inch forward. Jonathan appeared behind the steering wheel and waved at her with a child’s utter joy. He was dressed in a leather bomber jacket, leather helmet, silk scarf, and goggles. She estimated his top speed at just above idle.

When he was close enough, Morgan stepped to the side and tapped on the driver’s window. She motioned for Jonathan to roll the window down but he couldn’t figure out how. She pointed to the button on the dash and told him to push it. The window immediately opened as Jonathan grinned from ear to ear.

What do you think you’re doing? How can I explain this if the neighbors see you?

Oh, I’ve already thought that through, dear girl. We’ll say that your car is being recalled by the factory because the engine starts and puts itself in gear. I saw that on a television show, by the way. We can say your particular vehicle happens to be stuck alternately in reverse and drive. Besides, I’ve been out here since daybreak and no one, but your kind self, has approached the vehicle. Jonathan retied his scarf and poked around the seat until he found his leather gloves and put them on.

Get out of my car and go into the house. I am genuinely concerned that someone could see you and call the police.

No, dear girl. Have more trust. Your neighbor lady left early this morning with a friend to spend the day and then dine at a casino in Detroit. But fear not, you are safe here with me. I shall not cause discord. Jonathan stepped from the car and bowed at the waist.

Morgan stared at Jonathan as he took a step closer. She held out her hand and he dropped the fob into her palm. Jonathan sighed as his chin sagged to his chest. Caleb came outside and put his hand on Morgan’s shoulder. Jonathan looked up and smiled.

Kind gentleman. Good to see you in the daylight. Oh my, but you are a handsome fellow. Elisabeth said you were. Our dear girl here doesn’t have many callers who stay until the morn, and certainly none as attractive as yourself. Jonathan again bowed at the waist.

Caleb coughed and Morgan took a step toward the ghost. I’m going to buy some sage and place it in every room of the house. Then I’m going to light it.

Jonathan shuddered and grabbed his neck with both hands to strangle himself.

Morgan never removed her gaze from Jonathan but turned slightly to speak. Caleb, you briefly met Professor Jonathan Wilkerson on our first date. He taught English Literature and Theater Arts at the university when he was alive. He loves drama.

I can see that. Caleb nodded to Jonathan.

Jonathan, I met an old friend of yours this morning. Esmeralda Camarillo Castillo, Morgan said above Jonathan’s gurgling noises.

Jonathan suddenly fell to the ground and covered his head. Where is my wife? Please don’t say that name around her. She loses all control and becomes very jealous.

Elisabeth went to play canasta. Esmeralda was wrapped all over Caleb and Elisabeth made her go away.

Jonathan stood up and dusted off his pants with both hands. Really? That’s it? There wasn’t a cat fight? My dear, sweet, tolerant Elisabeth has a deep mistrust and hatred for Esmey, not that I can blame her. That ravishing devil woman has nothing but sensual pleasures on her mind. He looked wistful. Well, I do need to get out of these clothes as I have many other things to accomplish today besides driving. By the way, I love the non-key fob. Another brilliant marvel of invention.

What do you have planned? Morgan growled through clenched teeth.

Nothing you’d be interested in, dear girl. Nothing. No, no, no. Jonathan disappeared with a popping sound.

I don’t like it when he has plans. Morgan faced Caleb and inhaled through her nose.

Tell me again about this woman who caressed me and thinks of nothing but sensual pleasures. Maybe I should have a conversation with her.

Morgan rolled her eyes and led the way back up the steps, across the porch and into the house. She held the door open for Caleb. Truthfully, I don’t know anything at all about her other than what Elisabeth just said. I hope she doesn’t live here, though. It’s enough having Elisabeth and Jonathan in residence. This is not a big house. Morgan paused and whispered, You know, I have a hunch that things are going to get wilder and bumpier around here.

Caleb shrugged, Well, we both hate boredom.

So true, but do you want a deceased, over-sexed female in the house as well? I think not. Well, I hope not anyway. Morgan added, I don’t know why you didn’t feel Esmey touching you. Maybe it’s a guy thing, but when I was manhandled in the shower by a cold, dead hand, it took a while to get over the shock. Morgan shivered and asked, Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?

Seriously, you’re going to make breakfast? Caleb asked.

Me? I know what a kitchen is, but I don’t have a clue about what it does. I was going to get carryout from the diner.

Uh, do you mind if I cook?

Go for it, Doctor, but don’t leave dirty dishes anywhere. Elisabeth freaks out about that because the kitchen is her favorite room.

Cooking is therapy for me. While I do that, would you tell me more about how all of this supernatural stuff at your house works?

Morgan nodded and watched Caleb open the fridge to remove eggs, cream cheese, bacon, butter, bread, and a tomato. He placed the items on the counter, turned his back to the food, and leaned against the counter.

Morgan, I’m genuinely fascinated with the Wilkersons. She’s so reserved and he’s so melodramatic. Caleb smiled as he folded his arms across his chest.

Morgan nodded and got glasses from the cabinet before she opened the fridge. She took out the bottle of orange juice and grimaced as she poured it into the two glasses.

Why are you irritated with the juice?

Oh, I’m sure it’s fine, but I haven’t been food shopping in months and fresh stuff constantly shows up around here. Fruit, milk, perishables. I wonder if maybe Elisabeth orders from Amazon. Or Jonathan steals it from the neighbors or a passing delivery truck. Hard to know for sure. But I poured enough for both of us and look at this. She held the bottle for him to see that it was still full.

Caleb blinked several times. He said nothing, turned, and grabbed a bowl to scramble eggs.

Morgan sat at the table and watched him prep the ingredients. Okay, you want to know the history. Well, Caleb, you remember I told you that an aneurysm burst in my brain a few months ago? I couldn’t focus or move very well from so much pain. Fortunately, I was at work and Savvy was with me when it happened. She and the neurosurgeon saved my life. The damage was repaired and I went through physical therapy and occupational therapy for weeks. When it was finally time for me to go back to work at Good Sam, I heard parties in progress on the first floor of this very house, which is my sanctuary and private place. I don’t have parties very often.

She continued, At first, I thought the experiences were either very real dreams or hallucinations. Then all my senses were engaged and I could smell the food they served, hear every sound, and see the people as they partied. When they saw me, it would all end with a loud sucking sound. At first, I believed it was totally my imagination in overdrive. Then, my worst fear was that I had a tumor or something wrong with the wiring in my brain.

What did you do? Caleb put bread in the toaster.

Well, I tried to talk to my doctor, who thought I was crazy. He did an EEG and CT scan of the head and said it was all healing properly. He would have none of it because his patients never had symptoms like that before. Then I told Savvy and she tried to provoke an encounter with the other side and that’s when I did the automatic handwriting. Jonathan responded to her through me and made himself known. Then Elisabeth followed. And the rest is history.

You never had an experience like that before the aneurysm?

Nope. I would even say my instincts in my work as a nurse were always spot-on, but my instincts for life in general left a lot to be desired. I always picked the wrong line at the grocery store or bought clothes the day before they went on sale. You know what I mean.

Caleb nodded and asked, So why are the Wilkersons here?

"Elisabeth told me that she and Jonathan bought this lovely little home right before World War II and lived here until 1965 or so. Jonathan was a professor at Detroit University and Elisabeth raised their six kids mostly in this house.