“I didn’t say I would definitely go into the basement,” Harper hedged.
“No, but I saw the look on your face,” Jared countered. “It was thoughtful, as if maybe you could get persuaded. You get the same look on your face when you say you’re not hungry, but Zander says he has ice cream.”
Harper pinched Jared’s arm. “That is a horrible thing to say about the woman you love.”
“I don’t believe teasing you about your eating habits reflects the depth of my love.”
“Then tell me what’s bothering you and I’ll see if I can fix it,” Harper suggested. “That would be an example of me showing you my love.”
“You’re on a mission.”
Harper widened her sea-blue eyes. “Excuse me?”
“You’re on a mission,” Jared repeated, refusing to back down. “You’ve decided to help Anna no matter what. Now that you’ve met someone who isn’t all bad in that place – and I think you had yourself convinced all of the spirits inside would be somehow evil or twisted – you want to see how many of them you can help.
“That’s not a bad thing because I absolutely love your huge heart,” he continued. “It worries me, though, because you tend to act before you think when your heart gets involved.”
“Is that what I did when I fell for you? Act before I thought?”
“Yes.” Jared bobbed his head. “I did, too. I never considered myself a rash person until I met you and I knew almost right from that first moment that I had to have you.”
Harper was absurdly warmed and embarrassed by the sentiment. “You thought I was a quack when you first met me.”
“I wanted you to be a quack when I first met you,” Jared corrected. “You weren’t and here we are. I knew that you were something special even though if I’d really thought it through the sensible side of me would have insisted on taking things slow.”
“Do you wish we would’ve gone slower?”
“No. Not for one second. Do you?”
Harper shook her head. “I knew when I saw you, too. It was as if I was struck by lightning or something.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that I need you to be careful,” Jared said. “I fell in love with you because of your big heart. It will kill me if that big heart somehow results in you getting hurt or … worse.”
Harper didn’t need to ask what “worse” he referred to. “I’ll be careful. I promise.” She leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Now, come on. I want to see the kitchen. I’m hoping Anna pops up again. I’m hoping she can introduce me to other ghosts right away.”
“See, that’s not being careful.” Jared shook his head as he watched her scramble away. “That’s the opposite of being careful.”
“LOOK AT THE equipment in here.”
Molly was tickled as she ran her hands over the antique stove. The front door was rusted through, the remnants hanging by a lone hinge, and the grates on top of the stove were missing.
“Can you believe people used to cook on something like this?” She was enthusiastic when she looked to Harper.
Harper shrugged. Industrial ovens didn’t whip her into quite the frenzy they apparently did Molly. “I don’t cook so I don’t have a lot of interest in the stove.”
“She doesn’t need to,” Zander explained. “I cook for her.”
“Yeah, explain that to me,” Steve prodded, walking around the dark kitchen and pitching his flashlight beam to various spots as he searched the floor. “Harper and Jared date. They don’t just date, in fact, they’re clearly infatuated with each other. You have a boyfriend who you’re tight enough with to go on a haunted vacation together. Yet you and Harper live together. How come?”
Zander shrugged, unbothered. “Because we’ve been best friends since kindergarten.”
“That doesn’t really answer the question,” Steve pointed out.
“Because we wanted a house and neither of us had money to buy one without help,” Harper supplied. “At the time, we were both single so buying a house together didn’t seem to be such a big deal.”
“And now?”
“And now … we’re a happy foursome,” Harper replied, unsure how to answer. Steve seemed interested in drumming up trouble and she didn’t want to give him ammunition. “I don’t see what the problem is.”
Steve didn’t immediately respond, instead flicking his eyes to Jared. “Doesn’t it bother you? Wouldn’t you like to share a roof with your girlfriend?”
“I’ve only been in Whisper Cove for six months,” Jared replied, his tone even. “The living arrangements are fine for now.”
“But what happens when you want to marry the blonde?”
“Then I’ll start ring shopping.”
Harper made a strangled sound in the back of her throat and the look Jared spared her was full of annoyance rather than understanding.
“Don’t worry. I haven’t started ring shopping. You have time,” Jared said, rolling his eyes.
“That’s right,” Zander supplied. “Jared knows better than to go ring shopping without me.”
“I do?”
Zander nodded without hesitation. “I’m the one who knows what type of ring she’s been dreaming about since she was in middle school.”
Jared stilled. “Good point. I do know better than to go ring shopping without Zander,” he said. “As for now, the living situation is fine. We spend every night together, whether at their place or mine. Zander and Shawn split up their time between two locations, too. No one is in a hurry to change things.”
“Well, at least you have a plan,” Steve drawled.
Unbelievably uncomfortable, Harper grappled for something to talk about that didn’t revolve around a ring and possibly moving. “So, who else thinks the really old stove is awesome, huh?”
Molly wrinkled her nose, disgusted. “You just said you didn’t care about it.”
“People can change their minds,” Harper shot back. “That’s what happened here. I changed my mind. I happen to find that stove … fascinating.”
“It must be a woman thing,” Trey noted, shaking his head as he filmed the stove. “I don’t see anyone else buzzing about the stove. It has to be hormones or something.”
“Definitely,” Steve agreed. “How about you, Lucy? Do you like the stove? You’re the only other woman here so you have to answer.”
Lucy didn’t do as instructed, causing Harper to flick her eyes to the spot where she could have sworn the woman stood when they entered the room. The area was bare, though, and a quick scan of the kitchen told her Lucy was nowhere to be found.
“Where did she go?” Jared asked, catching on to Harper’s unexpressed worry.
“She was just there a few minutes ago,” Zander offered. “I know because she saw a spider and we both crossed ourselves to make sure it didn’t fly at us.”
Eric snorted. “Spiders don’t fly.”
“I guess you haven’t seen Arachnophobia.” Zander folded his arms over his chest, obstinate. “Spiders most definitely fly.”
“We’ll talk about your love of bad movies later,” Harper said dismissively, nudging Zander to get him to move so she could get a better look at the room. “Jared said everyone is supposed to have a buddy and yet Michael is here and Lucy isn’t.”
“Where is your buddy, Michael?” Jared queried, his shoulders squaring as he shifted from tour taker to detective. “She was supposed to be with you at all times.”
Michael, who had been listening to the conversation with mild disdain, held his hands out. “She was here a second ago. I wasn’t really paying attention to her.”
“Don’t you think that’s your job?” Jared challenged.
“I think I’m her boss,” Michael replied, his tone clipped. “It’s my job to make sure that we have a good show when this is all finished – which is not going to happen if we don’t go in the basement – and that’s what we were talking about not more than fifteen minutes ago. She probably went down there
to scope it out.”
Jared’s spine stiffened, his temper threatening to erupt. “So you sent her down there to make us look for her?”
“I most certainly did not.” Michael tugged on his pastel Polo shirt to smooth it. “She didn’t mention going down there. I just assumed she did.”
“We’re getting ahead of ourselves,” Steve said, stepping between Michael and Jared in case they came to blows. “She might’ve simply slipped out to use the restroom.”
“That’s a good point.” Jared gripped Harper’s hand. “We should probably go back out to the main foyer to see if we can find her.”
“She wouldn’t go to the bathroom there,” John argued. “None of the facilities in this place would work now and even if they did, well, would you sit on a toilet in here?”
Harper involuntarily shuddered when she considered it.
“Speaking of flying spiders,” Eric muttered.
“Then we’ll check outside.” Jared moved his jaw as he decided what to do. “In fact, we’ll split up. Our group will search outside and you guys can search inside.”
Michael balked. “How is that fair?”
“She’s your team member,” Jared answered, refusing to back down. “Our team members stuck together as they were supposed to. Your team members do whatever they want while spouting rude crap every five minutes.”
“What does the rude crap have to do with anything?” Zander asked, genuinely curious.
“It just bugs me.”
“Fair enough.” Zander crossed his arms over his chest. “I agree with Jared. We’ll check outside and you guys handle inside. If we find her, we’ll make sure you know it.”
“But … .” Michael didn’t look as if he favored the idea at all. “You want us to go into the basement without the ghost whisperer? She’s here to talk to the ghosts.”
“Yeah, maybe the ghosts can help her,” Trey deadpanned, rolling his eyes.
“Not only are you not getting chicken tonight, but the cookies I plan to bake under the stars will be out of your grasp, too,” Zander hissed.
Trey’s mouth dropped open. “You’re making cookies?”
“Remind me to always go camping with you,” Jared said, tugging Harper so she wouldn’t make a mistake and volunteer to stay behind and search the asylum with Michael’s team. If she tried, they would have a big fight. He wasn’t looking forward to it, but he wouldn’t shy away from it either.
“Now I kind of want to go camping with him and I always thought camping was for idiots,” Eric noted, falling into step behind Jared.
“You think everyone who isn’t you is an idiot,” Molly muttered, drawing Harper’s curious eyes as the woman scuffed her feet against the floor. “You’re so smart and everyone else is dumb. We get it.”
“Do you have something on your mind?” Harper asked, catching Molly by surprise.
“Um … no.” Molly pressed her lips together and dragged a restless hand through her short-cropped hair. “Let’s go outside and look for Lucy.”
“Yell out if you find her,” Jared ordered, leading the way out of the kitchen. “We’ll do the same.”
“But … .” Michael was flustered. “Don’t you think you should search the basement? We’ll send a camera crew with you if that makes you feel better.”
“We’re good,” Jared said. “Be careful when you search. This place is haunted, after all.”
JARED WAITED UNTIL his six-member team was fully accounted for outside to begin speaking.
“I don’t like this one bit.”
“I never would’ve guessed,” Harper said dryly, her lips twitching as her eyes darted around the open expanse of the island. “I don’t see Lucy here.”
“I don’t understand why she left without telling anyone,” Eric argued. “If she had to go to the bathroom, why didn’t she tell that windbag Michael?”
“Maybe she didn’t want to go in front of him,” Shawn suggested. “Zander won’t go to the bathroom in front of me because it makes him uncomfortable. They have different parts. Maybe she was embarrassed.”
That was an interesting idea, although Harper wasn’t convinced. “Then why not ask Molly or me to go with her?” she challenged. “By the way, that bathroom thing is a sign of respect. I don’t go to the bathroom in front of Jared either.”
Shawn looked to Jared for confirmation.
“She doesn’t,” Jared agreed. “It’s not that I’m weird and want to watch her or anything, but she won’t even talk through the door when she’s in there. She pretends she can’t hear me.”
“The bathroom is a private place,” Harper hissed.
“I hear that.” Zander offered Harper a fist bump. “Why don’t people get that?”
“I guess we must be slow or something,” Jared drawled. “As for the rest, I want everyone to break up and search the island for signs of Lucy. Do not go back in that asylum. Harper and I will take the boat.”
“We will?” Harper didn’t bother hiding her surprise. “Why?”
“Because I want to check something,” Jared replied. “Don’t split up. Stay with your partner.”
“Oh, joy,” Molly muttered.
“I’m not kidding.” Jared extended a warning finger. “I don’t like this. At all. It feels wrong. That said, I don’t think they’re above generating their own sort of publicity so I want to check on something before they get the chance to embark on a cover-up.”
“You don’t think she’s dead, do you?” Shawn was horrified at the prospect.
“Probably not,” Jared replied. “She’s probably hiding and this was simply an effort to get Harper into that basement. By the way, until she shows back up, the basement is out of bounds. I’m not rewarding them for bad behavior.”
Harper sensed his distress so she wisely kept her mouth shut even though she wanted to point out that if Lucy was somehow taken by one of the ghosts, she might very well end up in the basement through no fault of her own. Jared wasn’t ready to hear that, though.
“We’ll meet back at the campsite in thirty minutes,” Jared said. “Stick together.”
Harper had to struggle to keep up with Jared’s long strides as he turned in the direction of the boat. She huffed and puffed a bit as she broke into a run, growling when he refused to slow down even though she knew he heard her toiling behind him. “You’re really worried, aren’t you?”
“I’m … concerned.” Jared hurried down the dock, helping Harper on the boat before following her over the side.
Harper had no idea what he was looking for so she merely stood back and watched as he strode into the small cabin and picked up the radio.
Jared was calm as he turned the dial, trying every frequency on the board before slamming his hand down in frustration.
“What’s wrong?” Harper knew nothing about boat communication, but Jared clearly wasn’t happy.
“The radio isn’t working.”
“Maybe the boat needs to be on for that.”
Jared’s glare was withering. “Heart, I love you more than anything, but that’s not how a boat works.”
“How was I supposed to know that?”
Jared adjusted his tone. “The radio should work regardless. I don’t know a heck of a lot about boats either, but this one has no juice for the radio.”
“Will the engine still start?”
Jared pursed his lips. “That’s a good question.” He strode to the central spot where the ignition was located and found the key missing. “I wonder who has it.”
“Maybe they were simply worried someone would steal the boat,” Harper suggested.
“Or maybe your buddy Michael wanted to make sure that we were unable to leave the island while he played his little game,” Jared said, extending his hand. “Come on. There’s one other thing I want to do while we’re alone.”
“Now is so not the time for that.”
Jared wasn’t happy, but he managed to muster a genuine smile. “We can always find time for that. Just … not
right now. Come on. We don’t have a lot of time.”
10
Ten
“Where’s the boat key?”
Jared wasn’t messing around when the groups met up in the asylum’s foyer forty minutes later.
Michael, much paler than when they left, slapped Jared’s hand away when the police officer patted the side of his shorts. “Do you mind? I believe that’s a private area.”
“Only if you’re hung like Michael Fassbender, which I sincerely doubt,” Zander quipped, shrinking back when Michael murdered him with a diabolical look. “Or … maybe you are.”
“Where’s the boat key?” Jared repeated, his temper getting the better of him.
“Why do you want the boat key?” Steve asked, his face impassive. “If you want to leave, I can’t allow that until we find Lucy.”
“We’re not all leaving,” Jared clarified. “Only one of us is leaving.”
“Who?”
“Eric.” Jared jerked his thumb in the stoic equipment manager’s direction. “He’s going back to Whisper Cove to get us some backup. Apparently the radio isn’t working correctly so we need to get our own help.”
“I am?” Eric’s eyebrows hopped up.
“You are,” Jared confirmed. “I tried texting Mel from the beach. I got minimal service out there last night, but I have no bars now. Since the radio isn’t working, that doesn’t leave us with a lot of options. I want help on this island.”
“Why don’t all of us head back?” Eric argued. “Wouldn’t that make more sense?”
“We can’t leave Lucy,” Molly scoffed, ignoring Eric’s pronounced eye roll. “She could be in trouble.”
“Or this could all be part of a bit,” Jared corrected.
“What is that supposed to mean?” John leaned against one of the foyer’s filthy walls, arms crossed over his chest. It was a clear sign he was going to put up a fight, but Jared was beyond caring. “As for the radio, it was acting funky during the trip out here. I thought it would hold, but I guess it didn’t.”
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