by Terry Spear
Meghan took Tom’s hand and headed back to his vehicle when nobody else made a move to leave. Fine. Maybe Laurel or Ellie could deal with the ghost in more of the “proper” way.
Sometimes Meghan had to get stern with uppity ghosts and then they’d settle down.
When she climbed into the car, she saw Lena was gone. Her sisters shook their heads at her, then headed back to their vehicles with their mates. Peter was still standing there, looking at the house.
Did he really return to the homestead all the time? She knew she should have resolved this before they mated. Meghan frowned as she watched the house while Tom backed the car down the drive. She felt suddenly uneasy, her skin felt all prickly, and though she turned up the heat in the car, she was chilled to the bone.
Tom pulled off his parka as if the heat was too much for him.
She thought she heard a whisper, but unearthly, not all there.
Oh. My. God. Meghan didn’t even want to think what that could mean. She glanced into the back seat of the car, but no one was there. That didn’t mean Lena hadn’t tagged along for the ride.
“I need to drop you—” Tom started to say.
“Off at the inn,” Meghan quickly said. She was certain Tom had planned to drop her by Peter’s place to pick up her car, and she really felt seriously spooked right now.
Meghan felt uneasy, as if she had a ghostly hitchhiker with her. She couldn’t see her, but she just felt…as though someone was lurking nearby. Wolves were sensitive to their surroundings. They had to be to survive. She always wondered if wolves who could sense spirits had a more attuned ability.
If Lena was now with her… Meghan shook her head. Somehow, she had to know if Lena had attached herself, and she had to let everyone know she suspected that’s what had happened. That meant she and Peter couldn’t act like mated wolves until this was resolved.
Her cell rang, and she saw it was Laurel.
“Hey, is everything all right with you?” Laurel asked. “Ellie and I are worried.”
“Yeah, you have every right to be. I…really can’t discuss it right now.”
Looking worried, Tom cast a glance at her. She hoped he didn’t believe he was the reason she couldn’t discuss this with her sisters, but she’d never had a ghost attached to her, and she had no idea what to do.
“Uh, okay. Tell Tom to take you to your house. We’ll meet you there. We still have babysitters for the inn. We’ll get this resolved, Meghan. I’ll let, um, you know who know what’s going on,” Laurel said. “See you in a few minutes.”
“Okay.” Meghan loved her sisters, and she was glad they all had these abilities. She just hated to have to tell Peter what had happened. “Tom, scratch that. Just park behind the inn. I’m going home and meeting my sisters.”
“Sure thing. Who’s going to be watching over you?”
“CJ and Brett, I imagine.”
“All right. I’ll just make sure.”
Meghan was glad Tom didn’t ask about Peter.
Then he pulled into the parking area by Meghan’s home. She waited for Tom to open her car door. She immediately took his hand and walked him toward her house, and he looked down at her. She hoped he’d figured out what could be wrong.
“Uh, hey, honey, I’ll be home after I help the others look for Rollins.”
“Okay, thanks, Tom.” She opened the door to the house, and her sisters and CJ and Brett greeted them.
She thought they all looked a little worried. Meghan imagined she looked worried.
“Hey, will all of you be okay, or do you need me to hang around?” Tom asked.
“We’ll be fine, Tom,” CJ said.
“All right. See you all later.” Tom pulled Meghan into a hug and kissed her on the mouth.
She was trying hard to make it seem real. She really didn’t want to upset his mate. Or her own. But she was in a real pickle now. If she didn’t figure out a way to make peace with the ghost and send her on her way, Meghan could be stuck with her forever.
Chapter 24
Peter paced across his sheriff’s office. He couldn’t believe Lena had actually attached herself to Meghan.
Jake watched him for a few minutes, then said, “The sisters are all good at what they do. They’ll sort it out.”
No way in hell did Peter want Meghan to go through this because of him. He wanted to be by her side through this ordeal and any other she might have to face in the future.
“I want to be there for her.”
“I know. I would feel the same way. I suspect she believes things will be worse if you show up. Which is why Tom told me to see you so that you don’t barge into her house in the middle of whatever the sisters are planning to do.”
“I should be there. Hell, Tom’s pretending to be her mate! What if Lena wonders why he doesn’t stay the night with her?”
“Meghan will spend the night at CJ and Laurel’s place with the ruse that Tom’s chasing down Rollins.”
Peter ran his hands through his hair. “I can’t believe this. Maybe Meghan shouldn’t have told her I was tearing down the house.”
“Darien and everybody else have said it’s the only way. I thought you made arrangements to have it torn down in the morning.”
“Yeah. But then Lena wouldn’t have a place to return to, and she could be stuck to Meghan. Even though Meghan said Lena wanted to protect others and have me tear it down.” Peter could just imagine trying to sleep with his mate and having to share his bed with two of them. Though only Meghan would truly be aware of it. Still, talk about a wet blanket.
Ellie called Peter, and he immediately answered, hoping it was good news, though he suspected if Meghan wasn’t calling him, it wasn’t.
“Hey, Peter. Brett and I are home now, so I wanted to call you right away. Meghan’s staying with Laurel and CJ tonight. Jake probably told you she might, but it’s for certain. From what we could gather, Lena has decided to follow Meghan wherever she goes. None of us could see her, but Meghan told us, in a cryptic way the three of us would understand, that she senses Lena’s presence and can’t shake her. Lena talked to her too, so Meghan knows for sure she’s hanging around her. Meghan plans to meet Jessup in the mine to see his son again tomorrow first thing. You could meet them there as additional protection so you can see her.”
“I’m having the old homestead demolished first thing in the morning.” Peter had decided to once Meghan had talked to him about it. Mostly, he wanted to tear it down before someone was hurt or killed in it. He hadn’t been there in eons and hadn’t realized how bad a shape his house was in.
“Okay, well, Meghan could go there first, and then maybe Lena would return to the property. Maybe if Lena sees the house being torn down, she’ll want to leave our world. There’s never any way of telling with spirits. Meghan will pretend to call Tom tonight, but she’ll be calling you and saying whatever she wants to you,” Ellie said. “She hopes she can convince Lena to move on without her learning the two of you are together. She’s afraid if Lena learns the truth, she might stick with her for good.”
“All right. What can I do to help?”
“Until she says differently, stay away from Meghan, except in a sheriff’s capacity. We’ll figure something out. Ghosts are all individuals, so there’s no telling what would work on one and not on another. They’re totally unpredictable.”
He didn’t want to ask Ellie how many times they’d failed to exorcise a ghost who didn’t want to leave. “I guess you tried calling Lena or whatever you do to try to send a spirit on its way.”
“We did. We tried several different techniques. Laurel is usually in charge of them, so she went first, but when that didn’t work, Meghan did. We didn’t think it would make any difference, but I tried. Even CJ tried.”
Peter smiled. He couldn’t imagine CJ trying to call on a spirit in whatever rituals they might ha
ve performed.
“Okay, Brett and I are headed for bed. Just wait for Meghan’s call, all right?”
“Yeah, thanks, Ellie.” They ended the call, and Peter told Jake what Ellie had said. “You might as well go home to your mate. I’m headed home too. Though I sure would have preferred being with Meghan tonight.”
“I can’t imagine what that would be like.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. And the worst of it is,” Peter said, grabbing his hat and leaving the office with Jake, “Meghan would be the only one having to deal with it.”
When Peter arrived home, Meghan called. He quickly answered the phone.
“Hey, Tom, I sure will miss all your kissing and hugging and loving tonight.”
Peter grimaced and began stripping off his clothes. “Me more than anything, honey. I’m so sorry about all this.”
“Don’t be. We’ll get it worked out. I just wanted to tell you Jessup said his wife still doesn’t want to see their son in the mine. But Jessup wants to speak with him again. Maybe we can find another means to help him find his way to his final resting place. Maybe you could meet me there?” Meghan asked.
Peter loved hearing her beautiful Irish lilt. He wished he was hearing it in his ear while they were snuggling in bed. “Ellie was telling me about it. I have a wrecking crew tearing down the old house first thing in the morning. Do you want to meet me there first? I could ask Tom to take you or meet up with us to continue the charade.” As much as Peter hated to see Tom still pretending to be Meghan’s mate, he’d do it a while longer. “And then I can be one of the ones protecting you at the mine after that.”
“Sure. I’ll call Jessup and see if he can meet me in the afternoon instead. I’ll try to get ahold of him right now, and then I’ll call you back.”
“All right. Love you, honey.”
“Love you right back,” Meghan said, and Peter again wished they were sharing another night of mated bliss.
He hoped that this business with his former mate wouldn’t cause trouble for them much longer. He didn’t think he could hold out for very long.
* * *
Meghan was about to call Jessup when Lena suddenly appeared and sat down on the end of the bed. Annoyed with her for not having shown herself earlier, Meghan ignored her while she phoned Jessup. “Hi, Jessup, I hope this won’t be too inconvenient for you, but I have to go to another site first thing in the morning. I’m not sure how long it’s going to take. Did you want to see Oliver—”
“Oliver?” Lena asked, her eyes rounding.
Meghan stared at her, surprised Lena knew him. Though they had all lived in Silver Town at the same time, and he had been around her age.
“Um, did you want to see your son in the afternoon?” Meghan asked Jessup. “I can call you as soon as I’m done with the other matter.”
Lena was staring hard at Meghan, probably not liking that Meghan hadn’t answered her. But Lena had been rude to ignore the sisters’ entreaties to appear before them and tell them what she wanted. Lena was being a total pain in the butt.
“Yeah, sure. We can do that. I’ll be looking forward to hearing from you, and maybe I can convince Clementine to go with me by then. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Jessup said to Meghan.
“All right. Good night.”
“Night, Meghan.”
She wanted to call Peter right back, but instead she decided she’d better learn what she could from Lena if the woman was going to open up with her more. At least Meghan hoped she would. “You knew Oliver?”
Lena looked down at her lap and brushed off her long skirt as if she had a piece of lint on it. “Is he mated?”
“Oliver?” Meghan sat down on the bed, surprised to hear the question. Lena still wasn’t looking at her, but when Meghan didn’t answer, she looked up.
“No. He died two years after you did,” Meghan said.
Lena’s eyes grew big again.
Hmm, now this was interesting. Maybe Peter wasn’t the only one Lena had cared for. But how could Meghan ask Peter about Oliver as it related to Lena without saying it in front of her?
“He’s stuck in the mine because Clementine won’t go to see him. At least we think that’s the reason,” Meghan said.
Lena snorted.
Meghan looked at her in surprise. Lena wasn’t anything like the way Peter had described her. Then again, if Meghan had lived through what Lena had, she probably would have been an entirely different woman too. Even she had changed after she’d had to deal with Rollins. She’d never walked to the grocery store at night again, for one thing. And she’d always carried a Taser to the store after that, even when she walked during the daytime.
“Do you believe there’s another way to help him move on? I was able to help a couple of others, but Oliver still can’t leave. He wanted to see his mother first. At least that’s what we assume is keeping him from leaving.”
“His mother,” Lena said derisively.
“Right. She doesn’t like me. Which is part of the reason she won’t go to the mine. I’m too Irish for her liking.”
“I have a New York accent she didn’t like.”
Meghan stared at Lena. Ohmigod, had Lena and Oliver been an item before she hooked up with Peter? And Clementine was the reason Oliver and Lena never had a chance? She was the woman Oliver loved?
“Uh, yeah. And that you’re not from Silver Town, born and bred? That’s what she doesn’t like about me and my sisters,” Meghan quickly said, hoping to make more of a connection.
“Oh yes, same with my parents and me. We were foreigners, as far as Clementine felt. Not as foreign as you, though,” Lena quickly added, twisting a loose, dark curl dangling by her cheek.
“Right. We have the added issue of seeing ghosts. And she really doesn’t like that.” Meghan wasn’t sure how Lena would respond to that, but she thought she’d throw that in.
Lena studied her for a long moment. “That would make you odd.”
“It does. Some folks appreciate what we do for their loved ones, though.”
Lena scoffed. “You’re trying to send me away when I want to be with Peter, just like he said we’d be—together forever.”
“But you’re not with him. You’re with me.”
“Well, he can’t see or hear me, now can he? I can talk until I’m blue in the face to him and he ignores me, so what good does that do me?”
“You didn’t talk to him when you had the chance.” Meghan didn’t know why Lena would hitch a ride with her unless she suspected Meghan and Peter were courting and she wanted to interfere.
Lena shrugged. “There were too many people at the house. I can’t handle that many people.”
So what Peter had said about Lena not being very sociable must still be true. Meghan hated to ask, but if it helped her move on, she had to. “What if I arrange to have Peter meet us? I’ll pass along anything you want to tell him. It’ll be just the three of us.”
Lena raised her brows. “You have a mate.”
“Yeah?” Meghan realized what Lena was getting at. “In this day and age, women aren’t chaperoned. No one believes a woman might be having an affair just because she’s alone with a man who isn’t her mate.”
Lena tsked.
Meghan considered telling Lena about the plans to tear down her home tomorrow. Wouldn’t it be better to forewarn Lena rather than spring it all at once on her when Meghan went to the site and they began ripping Lena’s beloved home to shreds in front of her?
Meghan thought so. “Tomorrow, I’ll be meeting with others who will be demolishing the old house and carrying off the debris.”
“Mine and Peter’s?” Lena asked.
“Yes. It’s just too dangerous to leave standing. It won’t be standing for long in any event. Another heavy snowstorm and the roof will collapse.”
Lena rubbed her arms as if she�
��d taken a chill.
Meghan decided not to mention Lena wanting Peter to join her in death. Lena might have just spouted off because of feeling so isolated from him and not meaning it at all. And then she might clam up again.
“Anyway, then I’ll be seeing Jessup and Oliver at the mine that afternoon. You can come with me to both places, if you’d like.” Meghan had to try to appear at least helpful to the ghost if she was going to convince her to leave.
“As if you’re going anywhere without me.”
Meghan didn’t know if Lena was being so contrary because she couldn’t help herself at this point or not. “I still don’t know why you attached yourself to me.”
“I have no idea. One minute you were telling Peter all those lies about me wanting my house torn down, and the next, I was”—Lena shrugged—“stuck to you.”
“Because you were angry with me,” Meghan said.
Lena looked at her long skirt and brushed off more imaginary lint.
“It’s okay. I’m sorry I didn’t tell Peter all the things you said. I didn’t want to say anything to hurt him. He loved you, and he still does. He felt terrible about not being there to protect you. He went after the killer and ended his miserable life, but that wouldn’t bring you back. Did you hear him howling for you?”
Lena brushed away tears and nodded. “I was afraid he was going to die. He wasn’t eating. Just drinking alcohol. It killed me to see him that way. And then he left, and I thought maybe he had died. The next time I saw him, he came to the house as a wolf. He would run out there daily, then he began to let me go. I watched out the window for him every day, just standing there like an idiot, hoping to catch sight of my beautiful gray wolf. Then he stopped coming all the time. Maybe a month would pass? I don’t know.”
“It’s been a long time since he came to see you, hasn’t it?” Meghan asked.
“Maybe. I don’t know. Time runs together for me. It seemed like only yesterday I died.” Lena rose to her feet and walked over to Meghan’s guest-room window and peered out through the curtains. “I saw the way you and Peter looked at each other. The way he touched your arm with protectiveness. You pulled away as if you didn’t want him to do anything so scandalous. Not when you’re mated to Tom Silver.” She glanced back at Meghan as if wanting to know the truth.