Ghostly Wedding (A Ghost Hunter P.I. Mystery Book 3)

by Aubrey Harper

  “The one and only,” he said, lifting up his drink. “And who may you be, young lady?”

  “I can’t believe you don’t remember me. It’s Charity. I used to be a cheerleader. I cheered you guys on while you played football. Remember now?”

  “I’m starting to,” he said.

  “Go,” I said when I saw the look in his eyes. “But you’ll have to get your own ride.”

  Once Troy and Charity disappeared into the crowd, Kane scooted over and sat next to me.

  “So, that’s your brother,” he said.

  “Yeah. You don’t like him, do you?”

  “I didn’t say that,” Kane was quick to say. “But he’s certainly something, I’ll give him that.”

  I laughed. “He’s blunt and isn’t afraid to say what’s on his mind, that’s for sure. But he grows on you, I promise.”

  “It looks like he’s growing on Charity as well,” Kane said, glancing back into the crowd.

  Charity and Troy were getting cozy in one of the booths.

  “Keep ‘em coming, Danny!” Troy yelled at the owner and bartender.

  Danny rolled his eyes, but he kept the drinks coming.

  “Only the first was free,” he reminded Troy.

  “An acquired taste you say?” Kane joked. “So, how’s the wedding planning going?”

  “It’s done. Or at least my part of it. I went with Sarah the other day to look at the hotel where the reception will be.”

  “Any dead people walking around?”

  “Not that I could see. Though it wasn’t a surprise, it’s a new construction after all.”

  “So, now that your brother has ditched you, can I have you to myself for the rest of the night?”

  “Not so fast,” I started to say, but then I remembered that back at Gran’s my mother was waiting for me. Who knows, maybe even my father decided to stick around, just to annoy my mother. “All right, you can show me your new place.”

  “You were there when I signed the papers,” he reminded me.

  “Yeah, but I wasn’t there when you moved the furniture in. I want to see the finished product.”

  “There’s not much to see, frankly. I’m not the most tidy person.”

  I said goodbye to Troy. I offered him a ride back home but he said he was good on that front. Apparently, he and Charity had a lot to catch up on.

  I followed Kane’s van to his apartment building. It wasn’t much to look at but at least he finally settled some roots. I was getting tired of going to the local inn when I wanted to see him. And now that my father had rented a room there, I was even more glad that Kane had finally gotten a place of his own.

  Kane hadn’t oversold the place. It was basic and there were lots of papers strewn around everywhere.

  “Research?” I asked. “Did you get a new case?”

  “No,” he said as he tidied up. “I was just looking through some of my old cases. I do that from time to time, especially when I have too much free time on my hands.”

  We settled on the couch, but there was no television.

  “I can play some of my vinyl records?” He offered.

  “It’s pushing midnight. I highly doubt your neighbors would appreciate it.”

  “I guess not.” He put his arm around me and scooted in closer. “What do you suggest we do instead?”

  “You’re such a perv,” I said, but that didn’t stop me from returning his kiss.

  Seven

  I woke up in a strange bed. It took me a few seconds to realize that I had spent the night at Kane’s. He was sound asleep right next to me.

  Rebecca was nowhere in the apartment. She had left last night when things were getting heavy with Kane.

  I made myself a cup of coffee to prepare for the day. Pretty soon, Kane joined me at the small table.

  “Last night was nice,” he said, barely awake. Then he leaned down and kissed me softly on the lips. “Very nice.”

  “Well, don’t get used to it,” I said. “Last night was a moment of weakness.”

  Kane laughed. “We’re dating, remember? That’s what people who are dating do. They spend the night. It’s not a big deal. It’s not like we’re moving in together. Unless you want to? I’m all for it.”

  “You’re cute when you get all flustered,” I said and laughed.

  Kane shook his head in disbelief. “I’m flustered? I don’t think so. So, what’s on the agenda today?”

  I looked at my cell and saw that it was already past ten in the morning. I must have been exhausted to sleep so long.

  “Tomorrow is Sarah’s wedding so I have to do maid of honor kind of stuff with her. Make sure her dress fits and all that good stuff.”

  “Good luck with that.”

  “And what are you going to be up to?”

  “You’re pretty much looking at it,” he joked as he sat down next to me. “Actually, I’m going to finish looking through my files.”

  “Why? Got any unfinished business I should know about?”

  “Don’t worry your pretty little head about that. I’m just trying to learn from past mistakes. Is there anything wrong with that?”

  “Not at all,” I said as I quickly finished my coffee. “See you at the wedding.”

  “I was hoping I’d get to see you before that. How about later tonight?”

  “Can’t. I promised to spend the night with Sarah. But I’ll be all yours after the wedding. Promise.”

  I left Kane with his old cases, with his figurative ghosts. I drove home for a quick shower and a change of clothes. I didn’t want to look a mess while I was helping my cousin with her wedding preparations.

  I found Troy sleeping in his room.

  “Rough night?” I asked him when I noticed that he was slowly waking up.

  “More like fun night. I just came in an hour ago.”

  “Where’s mom?”

  “She wasn’t here when I got in, thankfully. Maybe she’s helping Gran at the bakery.”

  We both laughed at the thought of that.

  “Well, I’ll be busy with Sarah today, doing all kinds of girly stuff. She’s going to pick me up soon, so you guys could catch up.”

  “Sounds good. Maybe I’ll ask her why she went for your seconds.”

  “You absolutely will not. Promise me, Troy, or you’re never leaving this room. And I’m not joking.”

  “Fine, fine,” he relented. “But only because you threatened me.”

  I found Rebecca in my room, with Marmalade and Ebony curled up on my bed.

  “I’m surprised you weren’t spying on Troy,” I said as I closed the door behind me.

  The cats just ignored me. I guess they weren’t hungry enough to bother getting up.

  “You have such a dirty mind, Meredith,” Rebecca said, but she didn’t actually deny it.

  “Sarah should be over soon. I better get ready,” I said as I headed for the bathroom.

  “I’ll be here, waiting,” she said.

  She didn’t look too happy, but that could wait. Right now I needed to focus on the living, not the dead.

  Once the shower was done, I was busy trying to figure out what outfit to wear. Then I heard the doorbell ring.

  “I’ll get it!” Troy called out.

  I was glad because I was nowhere near ready. I just hoped that Troy would behave while I was otherwise preoccupied.

  Fifteen minutes later and I looked presentable enough. It was in the seventies so I didn’t dress up too much. Just jeans and a nice shirt. I hoped that it wouldn’t get any colder later. I quickly checked the weather on my phone and saw that it was going to be a nice, sunny day. The forecast looked about the same for Saturday, the day Sarah and Jonathan were getting married.

  Sarah was downstairs, catching up with Troy. There was laughter, so that was a relief. She wouldn’t be laughing if he was insulting her, would she?

  “Ready?” Sarah said, eager to get the day started.

  I gave Troy a look.

  “What?” He ask
ed in mock shock.

  “Troy was just telling me about his Hollywood aspirations. He said that he’d cast me in one of his movies.”

  “He didn’t say that to me. I’m jealous,” I said.

  “Sorry sis, but Sarah has that small town girl look. Though your life could make a pretty interesting movie.”

  “Thanks, Troy, but my life is not that interesting at all and you know it.”

  Before Troy could get any more covert insults in, I practically dragged Sarah out of there. Sarah’s car was much nicer than mine, so she was driving. I left the keys to my car to Troy, in case he wanted to go somewhere.

  “You break it, you buy it,” I warned him before entering Sarah’s car.

  “Yeah, yeah, have a fun day. I won’t wreck your car, I promise.”

  Rebecca settled in the back seat of Sarah’s car, which was much bigger and comfier than mine.

  “This is nice,” Rebecca said, enjoying her surroundings. “A ghost could get used to this.”

  I had to laugh. “Rebecca approves of your car,” I said to Sarah when she gave me a strange look.

  “She’s in the back seat?”

  “Yup.”

  Sarah turned around, reminding me of Troy earlier. “Hi, Rebecca. I’m glad you like it. I’ve been trying to convince Meredith to get a new car, or even a new used car, but she refuses.”

  “It still runs. Once it stops running, I might start thinking about getting a replacement. Until then, I’m good.”

  Our first stop was Gran’s bakery for some breakfast. To my surprise, my mother was there, but she wasn’t helping Gran. She was just enjoying a cup of tea and flipping through some celebrity gossip magazine.

  We said our hellos, and while she and Sarah caught up, I got us something to eat.

  “There you are,” Gran said as soon as she saw me. “Both you and Troy disappeared on us last night.”

  “We had better places to be,” I said. “So, how has it been with mother around?”

  “Fine. She helped a bit but I sent her off pretty quickly. She kept messing up people’s orders,” Gran laughed good-naturedly. “Now she’s just hanging out. I don’t know for how long. You and Sarah doing some last minute wedding stuff?”

  I nodded. “Yup. And after tomorrow I can finally relax.”

  I came back with our orders and put it on a table next to my mother’s.

  “It must be nice to have a man in uniform,” my mother was telling Sarah. “Does he ever wear it after hours, if you know what I mean?”

  Sarah practically turned red before our eyes. “I…that’s…I don’t know what to say.”

  “You’ve already said more than enough, sweetheart,” my mother said and laughed. “Well, I’ll be off. I’ve gotta get ready for this wedding as well.”

  Once she was gone, I immediately relaxed.

  “That was awkward,” I said.

  “You’re telling me,” Sarah said and giggled. “Your mom’s really something. Mine would never say stuff like that.”

  “That’s because your mother was around when we were growing up.”

  Once we finished our food, we were ready to take on the rest of the day, but not before I turned several people away and told them that my offices were opening on Monday. I even stopped by and wrote a note that said exactly that and taped it to the inside of the door.

  “That should keep the vultures away. I hope,” I said as I locked the door behind me.

  “I’m so sorry for making you lose all this business,” Sarah said.

  “Don’t worry about it. It’s worth it if you have the wedding of your dreams.”

  Sarah didn’t look too reassured, but thankfully she also didn’t mention it again. It was a beautiful day and we weren’t going to waste it by arguing.

  We picked up her dress, which needed some last minute adjustments. She tried it on one last time before the wedding, and I had to admit that it looked stunning on her. If I was one of those women who obsessed over their wedding, I’d be jealous. All right, maybe I was a little jealous, but I’m only human and I tried not to show it.

  Next up, we went to the nail salon, where we both got our nails done.

  Then we went to the hair salon. Sarah was going back there tomorrow as well, but right now she focused on getting the right cut. Tomorrow, she’d get the right style for the wedding.

  All in all, our day went by pretty fast. Sarah’s hair was one color now, her natural blonde. I added purple highlights to mine, just because. I was getting bored with always looking the same.

  “Kane will love it,” Sarah said when she saw how it turned out.

  “Do you really think so?”

  “I know so,” she said. I wondered if she and Kane ever talked about me while I was not there. I guess it was possible, but I didn’t like the idea of it for some reason.

  She flipped her hair back and forth. “Do you think Jonathan will like it?”

  “If he notices it, probably. But the more important thing is if you like it.”

  She looked at herself in the mirror.

  “I love it,” she said.

  Once we were back at her house, we caught up a bit with her mother, Madeline. Then we went upstairs to Sarah’s bedroom. It felt like the olden days when we used to sleep over in each other’s houses.

  Pretty soon, we were in our pajamas and it did feel like we were in high school again, talking about boys. Of course, the only boy in my life at that time was Jonathan. Now we were talking about Sarah’s wedding to him. It was a bit surreal, I had to admit.

  “Do you think I’m making a huge mistake?” Sarah asked me seriously, once we stopped laughing about the silly old days and our oh-so-cool looks that were only embarrassing now.

  “Don’t tell me you’re having cold feet? You know, one of the articles had a section on that, but I skipped it right over because I never thought you’d have that problem.”

  “You read articles about being a maid of honor? Really? I find that hard to believe,” Sarah had to laugh.

  “I take my job very seriously. I do research when it comes to ghosts, why wouldn’t I do research when it came to this?”

  “I guess that makes sense.”

  Rebecca gave me a knowing look.

  “Though I will admit that I skimmed most of them. Guilty as charged. Good thing Jonathan is not here to arrest me. Though, I wonder if he has an extra pair of cuffs around here?” I looked around the room.

  “You’re more like your mother than you realize,” Sarah said.

  “Take that back,” I warned her, holding a pillow over her head.

  “Fine, I take it back! Jeez! We’re not kids anymore, Meredith. I’m going to be a married woman tomorrow and it scares the crap out of me.”

  “You’ll be fine,” I said seriously. “Do you know why I think that?”

  “Why?” She asked, looking genuinely interested in the answer.

  “Because you and Jonathan love each other. Not only that, but you treat each other with respect. And that’s sometimes more important than just love. You’re just having pre-wedding jitters. It’ll be stressful and beautiful, but then you’ll be on your honeymoon and all of this will be a distant memory.”

  “You know exactly what to say. Thanks, Meredith. That made me feel a lot better.”

  “Good. Now get some rest. You want to look beautiful on your wedding day, don’t you?”

  She nodded and went to sleep right there and then.

  I turned off the lights and stared at the ceiling.

  Tomorrow, Jonathan and Sarah were going to be husband and wife. Now the only one who needed to get used to that idea was me.

  Eight

  The day of the wedding. Finally. Pretty soon all of this would be over and I’d be free to focus on my own life. Not that I didn’t like spending time with Sarah, but I definitely needed a break.

  Our first stop was the salon.

  Then we made sure that everything else was in order. I checked and triple checked with the ch
urch and the hotel. Everything was set to go.

  The church was packed with friends and family, most of whom I didn’t even talk to. Sarah’s father was dead so her mother walked her down the aisle.

  Standing on the sidelines while my cousin married my ex-boyfriend was an experience, for sure, but I kept my smile on.

  Rebecca liked the energy. She also liked seeing Father Young in action, since he was the one officiating the wedding.

  The vows were spoken, which I mostly tuned out, or at least wished I had. Kane looked handsome in his tux. Once the ceremony was done, I gladly took his hand. We drove to the hotel in his van.

  The new hotel wasn’t by the lake like a certain billionaire planned to build his, but it was in a nice part of town. There was a lot of nature there and people talked about how back in the day they used to play on the train tracks. A train that no longer ran through town. In fact, the train tracks were mostly gone as well, since the area became a boon for new constructions.

  “You survived,” Kane said. “How do you feel now that it’s done?”

  “I’m happy for them,” I was quick to say.

  Rebecca gave me a look from the back seat. Kane gave me a look of his own.

  “It’s just me, Meredith. You don’t have to pretend that you’re fine with this. You’re only human.”

  “Or am I?” I joked.

  “Well, you do see dead people, so I guess I see your point…”

  “I was just joking! Of course I’m only human. And as a person that’s only human, I’m happy this thing is finally over. And no, I’m not jealous of them, because there’s nothing to be jealous of. Marriage is for other people.”

  “I guess that answers that,” he said, looking a bit disappointed.

  “Oh give me a break. Let’s just get this reception over with so that I can go home and take a nice long nap. After that, I’ll see how I feel. I’m too tired now to care.”

  There were already a dozen or so cars parked by the time we got there.

  Once I saw that my parents and me and Gran were seated together, I sighed.

  “God help me,” I said.

  “I’m not God, but I’ll try my best, all right?” Kane joked.