Kerri was almost ready to flip her fourth house. The first one had made only a marginal profit due to some unforeseen issues that had cost both time and money. But she had learned some valuables lessons, and more importantly, had managed to meet her financial obligations with the bank. That made it easier to get a second loan for her next project. When she flipped that one, she had come much closer to her estimated profit and was forming relationships with the bank and some other contractors.

The loan for her third home flip had come with a better interest rate, and the profit she made on it was exactly what she had estimated. She had finished it on time as well, allowing her to snag the property she was finishing up now. This was by far her most extensive project, and she was ahead of schedule. Kerri had managed to get some discounts put into place for materials that would also help with future costs.

For her next project, Keri was hoping to rehab an old farmhouse that had been vacant for nearly two years. She had walked around it several times since she started flipping properties. It had finally come on the market about seven months ago, and Kerri had gone to see the inside more than once. On one visit, she had heard a lot of creaking and moaning, which she had hoped did not indicate major structural issues. If the price eventually became within her reach, she would have it thoroughly checked before making an offer.

While Kerri was waiting for the delivery of the kitchen appliances, she had been surfing the web. If Kerri got the farmhouse, she was looking to restore it to period appearances as much as possible. To that end, she was checking junkyards and restoration warehouses for cabinets and hardware. Word was that the price might be reduced soon, and the hope was her current project would be sold as soon as it was done. The realtor she worked with had put out feelers and said she had a few nibbles already.

The knock at the door brought her back to the present. It was the truck with the appliances. They brought them all in and got them hooked up and running. All that was left was to call in the cleaning crew to make sure all the construction debris and dust was gone, then her realtor could start bringing in the buyers she had lined up. It didn't take long, and after several competing bids, Kerri accepted one. She was thrilled as it exceeded her initial profit estimate by nearly $16,000, finally giving her a bit of a cushion.

The buyer was pre-approved, so as soon as a short closing date was set, she checked on the farmhouse again. When Kerri saw the price has indeed dropped, she called her realtor to put in a bid, then called her bank to set up a meeting with the loan department. By now, she had a good reputation with the bank, so did not think she would have any problem securing the loan. Besides the farmhouse, there was also about seventeen acres of property.

One of the contractors she worked with had mentioned in the past that he was looking to buy a piece of property that he could develop into a small subdivision of ten to fifteen homes. Kerri calculated that once she had the farmhouse purchased, she could look into dividing the property and selling a portion to the contractor if he was still interested. Depending on what he was willing to pay, that alone might cover the majority of her loan. That, along with the profit she was hoping to make when she sold the farmhouse, would set her up.

Kerri stood at the gravesite, watching as the tiny casket slowly lowered into the ground. Other than her, there was just a minister and two workers ready to fill in the grave and set the small stone. She thought back to how she had come to be here watching the bones of a child long gone, finally buried next to her mother's grave.

She thought of the night a ghost had come to her and begged her to find her child and finally bring her the peace she had waited so long for. And then she thought about the woman that had made love to her that night… or rather the ghost that had touched her very soul. It was the first and last time she ever saw Annabelle, but she hoped in her heart that she had crossed over and was now holding her child in her arms once again.

Kerri had been with a number of women since she was sixteen, some more memorable than others, but Annabelle was one she would never forget. As she stood there, she thought about how she had come to learn about Annabelle and finally meet her.

A few weeks later, after closing on the house she just finished, she bid on the farmhouse. She had made sure that the house was sound even though it was over one hundred years old, but was going to need a lot of work. The inside would need to be gutted, and the plumbing and electrical systems completely updated. Insulation had to be added, as well as a new furnace, water heater, and AC. It only took a few days before her bid was accepted.

The basement was just a dirt floor with a low ceiling, so that would need to be dug out and a new cement floor and footings poured. That was the first thing that would have to be done, so Kerri set the process in motion. The contractor said the best way was to raise the house, dig it out, and replace any utility connections coming into the house as needed. When that was done, the new floor and footings could be poured, and the furnace and water heater brought in before lowering the house again.

When Kerri went to see the house before the work started, she heard the moaning again. It seemed more intense this time and sent a slight chill down her spine, but she waved it off as the wind was rather strong that day. She took measurements and pictures of every room so she could start drawing up some plans. As this would be quite a significant project, Kerri was allowing herself six to eight months to complete it.

On other projects, Kerri had brought in contractors as needed, while doing much of the other work herself or with only one or two part-time helpers. For this flip, she was planning on hiring a full-time crew of five or six workers. She could likely keep one laborer busy just hauling out debris and moving construction materials around or running to the hardware store when something was needed.

The property also had an old barn that was beyond saving as well as a newer garage and two other small buildings. Part of her plan was to tear down the barn and use some of that wood in restoring the farmhouse, then hopefully using some of it in trade for other items or just selling it outright. Old barn wood was in demand and might fetch a handsome price. Something else she added to her list to research.

Initially, she had been considering just tearing down the other two buildings. But when she checked out the larger of the two, saw that it was built to be made into an apartment or coach house. The outside was finished nicely, and the inside was just an open space. Still, the electric and plumbing had been roughed in with insulation and perimeter walls already added. Most of the fixtures for the bathroom and kitchen were stored inside. A pile of flooring material was even there. It would really just need the interior walls to be added and appliances purchased. It would make a great mother-in-law or rental unit and increase her profit if she finished it.

While she was waiting for the basement of the house to be done, she began the teardown of the barn, storing the wood in the garage where it could be locked up. Some wood had already gone missing in the time the property was vacant. The large support beams that were too big to fit in there were stored behind the garage, where they were out of sight and covered with tarps. The smaller of the two extra buildings was also torn down, and several dumpsters of debris hauled off.

While she was doing the work, she continued hearing odd noises and what sounded like moaning or crying coming from the direction of the farmhouse. A couple of her workers also said they heard noises a few times, but only on really windy days. One evening as she was locking up the coach house, she could swear she saw a light in one of the windows of the house, as well as a shadow moving across the room. Since that was impossible, as the house was still raised and all power disconnected, she chalked it up to the setting sun and the clouds.

Every now and then, someone would stop by and talk to her about what she was doing. A few were neighbors who said they had known the family that had owned the farm for several generations. One of the people mentioned one day they had heard the place was haunted, but that was just a rumor as far as they knew. Kerri decided to do some research before going any further. Not that she believed in ghosts, but if there was something odd about the house, it might just be better to tear everything down and start from scratch. Or maybe even just sell all the property to the contractor looking to build a subdivision.

After a bit of research, she found a child had gone missing, and the body had never been found. The mother was convinced the child was still alive and had vowed never to leave so that if the child ever returned, she would still be there. At the time, there had just been a small house, and when the woman died, her husband had sold it off. The new owner tore down the existing house and built the current farmhouse, as well as adding quite a bit of acreage. When he got sick, he sold it to the family that had still owned it for several generations when she finally bought it.

Kerri did more research, but nothing turned up about the rumors of the house being haunted. Everything she read about the missing child seemed to point to the child had just gone missing and was presumed dead. One theory was the child was killed by a pack of wolves that lived in the area at the time. No foul play was ever suspected. She finally decided to see if she could reach any of the family members of the last owners left to see if any of them had ever heard anything.

She finally reached one of the children and after explaining who she was, brought up the subject of the missing child. The woman who had agreed to talk to her, hesitated a bit, then finally answered.

"We all heard those stories, and one of my great aunts told stories about seeing and hearing the ghost of the child's mother. But she said the ghost was not considered evil, just that she was still waiting for her child. Other than that, my aunt didn't go into any details. I heard some strange noises from time to time that I suppose could be interpreted as crying or moaning, but it was an old house with all sorts of creaks. I never saw any ghosts, and the feeling in my family was the ghost, if there was one, had finally given up."

"Thank you for talking to me about this. It makes me feel better. I hope you will come and see the house when I get through with it. One other thing, are there any family photos of any parts of the house that I might be able to get a copy of? I would like to restore it as much as possible to its original style."

"I think my sister has some old photos. Let me check, and I will get back to you."

"Thank you again."

Two weeks later, the new basement and footings had been poured, and the new furnace installed. The house was scheduled to be lowered by the end of the week, so she could have the crew inside and gutting it the beginning of the next week. Once that was done, the electrical and plumbing contractors could come in and do the work to update everything inside. While they were working in there, others in her crew could start working on finishing the coach house.

The lease on her current apartment was almost up, and she was considering moving into the new unit instead of renewing it. That would allow her to keep an eye on everything and save some commuting time as she was forty-five minutes away now. She decided to get the coach house done first. The area was not that big, and Kerri felt it could mostly be done in less than a month.  Once she moved in, she could spend her evenings putting on the finishing touches. As soon as it was livable, she moved in

They had torn out the plaster walls in the farmhouse to put in the new wiring and plumbing as well as heating ducts and new insulation. She had really wanted to do the house as close to the original construction as possible. Still, the cost to re-plaster the walls was prohibitive and would have added quite a bit of time if it was even possible to find someone with the expertise. They had managed to salvage the crown molding, many of the doors and other woodwork, and sent it all out for the many layers of paint to be removed. The clawfoot tub in the upstairs batroom was also sent out to be refurbished.

The first few nights in the coach house were uneventful. Kerri spent some time on the plans for the farmhouse, as well as finishing off the tiling and flooring in the bathroom and kitchen. She had put in quite a long day and fell asleep in the chair while watching TV. After a while, Kerri felt someone shake her awake and jumped up. When she looked around, no one was there, and her cat was sound asleep in the corner. She decided it was just her imagination. But when she went to close the drapes, she thought she saw a flicker of light in the farmhouse.

Kerri grabbed a flashlight, her phone, and a bat and headed over to the house. There were a lot of tools inside as well as other materials. Even though the house was locked, it would not be all that hard for someone to get in. First, she walked around the outside of the house looking for signs of a break-in or a vehicle. When she saw nothing, she unlocked the door and went inside, walking through the entire house. Everything was right where it had been left, and there was no sign of anyone inside.

Kerri was sure she had seen the light and thought possibly someone had seen her coming and snuck away before she got to the house. First thing in the morning, she would get an alarm installed. After returning to the coach house, she went to bed, falling asleep quickly.  She dreamt that the mother of the missing child was calling her and asking for her help. Kerri could almost feel a presence reaching out to her, but when she woke suddenly, no one was there.

Over the next few days, she kept getting the feeling that someone was watching her, and the dreams got more vivid each night. While she did not believe in actual ghosts, she did believe in an afterlife. And while the thought of the house being haunted freaked her out somewhat, she felt no malice from whatever was there. None of the workers said anything, so it seemed the spirit was just contacting her. About a week later, she had the most vivid dream so far.

The mother came to her in a dream and said her name was Annabelle. She had had an unhappy marriage arranged by her parents, but her child had been the light of her life. After her child went missing, she refused to leave the farm in case the girl was found or came home. She and her husband lived separate lives in the same house. As soon as she died, he sold the farm.

Over the years, her spirit had stayed in the house, and she had tried a few times to connect with 'receptive' women, but she had never been able to find the right one. The first time Kerri had visited the house, she felt she had finally found a kindred spirit that could help her finally move on. When Kerri woke in the morning, she remembered the dream but wasn't quite sure what it all meant. However, she felt no fear, just a need to help Annabelle find peace. Annabelle continued to visit her in her dreams, and each visit, it became clearer what she wanted.

Annabelle told her that at first, she had just felt the lack of love with her husband was because of the age difference. But eventually, Annabelle realized she had never had crushes on any boy like other girls but had felt especially close to her best friend. After her parents had arranged the marriage, Annabelle had hated it every time her husband had touched her or made her have sex. She had gotten pregnant quite soon after they were married, but miscarried in her third month. Two subsequent pregnancies also resulted in miscarriages.

She had only been seventeen, and her husband was over forty when they married, and tired of her inability to carry a child. When she finally got pregnant a fourth time and managed to get past her first trimester, he seemed thrilled until she gave birth to a baby girl. He had wanted a son to carry on his name and was pretty disgusted with her. He took up with another woman who eventually got pregnant but also had a daughter. After her child had gone missing, what was left of the marriage dissipated, and he took up with another woman who finally had a male child. Annabelle died of a broken heart from the loss of her child.

A lot happened over the next months; work on the farmhouse was progressing nicely. Kerri had received a packet of photos from the family of the last owner, giving her a few ideas about the house. She had been scouring places to find some antiques or reproductions and scored several items. Kerri had talked to the contractor interested in purchasing part of the property, and they had settled on a price. As soon as she got the property officially split, he bought it.

Kerri also found a buyer for whatever barn wood was left after the house was completed. She had plans for some of it, but there would be a significant amount left, even after trading some of it for a few items. She discovered a place that fabricated old-style looking fronts for modern appliances, and a very modern stove, designed to look like an old fashioned wood burner.

Kerri finally realized she needed to try and interact with Annabelle's spirit in real-time. And that could only happen in the farmhouse itself. So the next Saturday, Kerri returned to the farmhouse after all the workers had gone home. Though they had power in the house, Kerri felt candlelight would be more conducive for Annabelle to appear. She brought a few lanterns over and lit them. She used a pile of drop cloths as a cushion and carried over her sleeping bag and pillow. She settled in and waited to see what would happen.

It wasn't long before she felt a presence in the room.

"It's okay, Annabelle. I am here to meet you."

Slowly an apparition appeared in one corner of the room. At first, it was pretty transparent and formless, but little by little, the shape of a young woman solidified. It faded in and out a bit like it was having difficulty appearing, but then she was there. She was wearing a long skirt and very simple shirt. Her hair was red and hung in a single long braid down her back. She was quite petite, and her hands were very delicate looking.

"Hello, Annabelle. It's nice to finally see you after all the dreams you have put in my head. I want to help you, but I am not sure how I can do anything."

Annabelle's mouth moved, but no sound came out. After a minute or so, she finally spoke.

"How long have I been here? In this place, I mean. This is not my house."

"From what I understand, you died over a hundred years ago, and your husband sold the house and property as soon as you were gone. Your house was torn down, but the basement and some of the foundation remained. This house was built over that. It is probably why your spirit is still here, and why you are bound to this spot. I would like to help you if you can tell me how."

"I feel myself growing weaker and don't know how much longer I can stay on this earth. I have tried many times to make contact with others that have lived here, but the connection has never been strong enough, until you. Somehow I knew you were my last chance. I want to put my child to rest. And just once, I would like to feel the touch of a woman. Love between women was taboo when I was alive, and I am not sure I even understood my needs or desires back then. I just knew that my marriage was not a good one, save for my daughter. When she disappeared, I lost my reason for living."

"I understand, but I still don't know how I can help."

"Over the years, I have watched the people that have lived in this house. there was one I nearly connected with. Perhaps it was because she loved another woman. I used to watch her sometimes at night when she was with another woman. They were about the age I was when I married. They seemed quite happy. Are you like them, Kerri? I have sensed something different about you, more like them, than others that have lived here."

"If you mean, do I prefer women over men, then yes. I am a lesbian, and these days, it is a more widely accepted lifestyle. Though there are still those who think it is wrong or a sin."

"Then maybe that is why I was able to reach you. I watched you leave here each night and go to that smaller house nearby, but could not follow you. I tried to put thoughts in your head while you were here in the daytime."

"Perhaps that is why I have been dreaming about you at night. But are you sure you have never come to me yourself? I fell asleep in a chair there one night and felt someone shake me awake. That was the first night I saw you through the window, though at the time I thought it was a burglar."

"It was not me, but the spirit of my child. I sent her to wake you."

"Then you have found her? Why haven't you moved on yet?"

I have not yet found her remains, but I know what happened to her. She fell into an old well that then collapsed on top of her. After all these years, she has felt vibrations in the ground that awoke her spirit, and she found me. I don't know the exact location, but she is nearby. I was hoping you could find her and lay her to rest next to me."

Kerri thought of the contractor that had purchased the property. The machinery preparing the ground and digging out the basements must be the source of the vibrations. If the bones had not been found already, then the well must be nearby one of the sites.

"I promise you I will do my best to locate her and put her to rest so you can finally cross over."

"Thank you, Kerri. You are my last hope to find peace."

Annabelle reached out and touched Kerri's cheek, then leaned in and kissed her. Her touch was light as a feather, yet Kerri felt it deep inside her. They spent hours together that night, feeling without touching, exciting and arousing each other in a way Keri could not explain, but that left her physically spent. When she awoke in the morning, Annabelle was gone.

Kerri reached the contractor and asked him to meet her at the property where she explained about Annabelle and the lost child. While he was a bit skeptical, he agreed to help her look for the well. There were only two lots currently being worked on that might have provided the vibrations Annabelle mentioned, though they had cut down and removed a number of trees. They walked around the sites first but saw nothing that looked unusual. They walked around the property, checking where trees had been removed.

At one point, they saw a depression in the ground that did not appear to be natural. On Monday, he had a few of his workers start digging. When they found stones and part of a wall down a few feet, he brought in a small backhoe to dig. About ten feet down, the rocks stopped and they ran into mud. He sent his in men to hand dig, and after finding a few bones, they stopped and called the sheriff. A forensic team was called in and verified the bones were that of a young girl.

Kerri had located Annabelle's grave in the only cemetery that was there when she died and made the arrangements for her daughter to be buried next to her mother. She touched the tiny casket before it was lowered, then looked off in the distance. Kerri could swear she saw a red-haired woman in a long skirt and simple shirt holding the hand of a little girl with the same red hair walk off into a brilliant fog.

"Rest in peace, Annabelle."

When the contractor was ready, he named the subdivision Annabelle's Acres. For her part, Kerri finished the farmhouse and sold it for a substantial profit. For her next project, she bought a house she intended to remodel and keep for herself before moving on to her next flip.