He stepped toward her and ran his hand across the back of the chair. “This is where they found his body.”
“Eww!” She shot from the chair as if it had bitten her and dusted off her backside. “You could have told me that before I sat down.”
Trent laughed. “Are you kidding? You nearly hit the ceiling, you jumped so high. I wouldn’t want to miss a show like that.”
“I see how you’re going to be, mister.” A playful smile tugged at her lips. “I’ll have you know I was the high school high-jump champion way back when.”
“Really?”
“I made it all the way to state only to be beaten by Sarah Vickerman. That tramp had legs up to her neck. It was unnatural.”
“Was that the first time you didn’t get what you wanted?”
“It was the only time I didn’t get what I wanted.” She slung her bag over her shoulder and marched toward the kitchen.
He stood there and watched her hips sway as she walked away. What was it about a confident woman that was so damn sexy? She could’ve had him if she’d wanted him three months ago. Right in the palm of her pristinely manicured hand. But not anymore.
Tina stopped in the foyer and picked up her coat from the floor. “I swear I hung this on the rack when I got here.”
Trent narrowed his eyes at the hunk of wood as she hooked the collar of her jacket over one of the arms. “That thing’s got a mind of its own.” He motioned toward the kitchen and followed her through the foyer.
She ran a finger across the Formica surface before setting her bag down. “I think this is the only room not covered in dust.” She glanced at his leg and narrowed her gaze. “Your pants are ripped.”
“I fell through the porch and cut up my leg. It’s okay now.”
She clutched the countertop. “Are you bleeding?”
“I think it stopped.” He reached for his pant leg. “Want to have a look?”
“That’s okay.” She paled and turned away, pulling a brown folder from her bag and pressing it to her chest. “Do you think this place is haunted?”
He let his pant leg drop and stood up straight. “What happened up there?”
She set the folder on the table and picked at the corner of the file. “I’m not sure. I had a weird nightmare last night, so it’s probably my imagination. But I thought I heard voices. And the shadows seemed to move after the lights went out.” She chuckled. “I suppose that’s a typical reaction to being in a creepy place. The heat kicking on probably caused a draft and slammed the door shut. Then I freaked out. I guess I’m a little gun-shy after…”
“I understand. I’ve had some strange experiences here too. I chalked it up to my imagination at first, but if you’re seeing things, it wouldn’t hurt to have it checked out.”
She nodded and let out a long breath. “I’ll talk to Allison this evening.”
“No, I’ll call Logan first. He’d kill me if she got hurt again.”
“Logan’s still working on his spirit sensors.” She made air quotes with her fingers. “If you want it done quickly, Allison needs to do it.”
“I want Logan to check it out first. Let him decide if it’s safe for her.”
She crossed her arms. “He’s not the boss of her. She can check it out on her own.”
“And you’re not the boss of me. This is my house, and I’m calling Logan first.” He straightened his spine and crossed his arms to mirror her posture. Damn, she was cute when she was flustered.
“If I’m the one who’s going to be listing it…” She sank into a chair and folded her hands on the table. “You’re right. I don’t want to argue with you.”
“Good. Now tell me what I can get for this hell hole and how fast you can find someone to take it off my hands.”
He plopped into a chair and fought to keep his eyes open as she rattled off a string of numbers and statistics. He needed a nap. Twenty minutes to recharge after all the excitement upstairs, and he’d be fine. But he would not fall asleep in front of her. A confident, take-charge woman like Tina would turn her nose up at a man with a weakness like his. If he was going to convince her he was worth her time, she could never find out about his narcolepsy.
Then again, it wasn’t like he could actually convince her of anything. She’d already shot him down once. He shouldn’t give her the chance to do it again, no matter how badly he wanted her…
“Trent? Are you okay?”
He opened his eyes to Tina’s concerned gaze. “I’m fine. You were saying?”
“You looked like you were falling asleep.”
Shit. “I didn’t sleep well last night.” He rose to his feet and paced around the table to keep himself awake. “In a nutshell, I’ll double my money if I clean the place up and put it on the market rather than going with a flipper.”
“The only thing that seems to need repair is the front porch. I know a fantastic contractor who can take care of that for you. Otherwise, a good, deep cleaning and a fresh coat of paint is all it needs. That and clear out the Dracula furniture.”
Damn. He’d had no intention of spending any more time on this place than he had to. But if he could double his money by giving the place a little TLC, it was a no-brainer. He could hire out most of the work, so it wouldn’t take too much time away from his own job. And of course, if he made more money on the deal, Tina would too.
Then he could use the money to take a nice, long vacation, far away from the temptress who wouldn’t stop smiling at him. Maybe he’d go to Mexico. “How long do you think it will take? I don’t want to waste any time.”
“A month, maybe.”
Hell, he couldn’t wait a month. That would give Tina way too much time to shred his heart again. He needed to get it over with so he could get on with his life. “That’s too long. If I’m going to do this, I want it done quickly.”
“I have a contractor who owes me a favor. I might be able to sweet talk him into sending a team out in the next few days. I can probably pull some strings to get the permits pushed through faster too.”
He handed her a key. “All right. Call the contractor. I’ll find a cleaning company.”
“Great. I’m looking forward to working with you.” She held out her hand to shake, and he took it.
Her smooth skin felt as soft as a rose petal. Delicate. Yet her handshake was firm. He held on a little too long, and as she pulled her hand from his grasp, she glanced at the floor before gazing into his eyes.
“I really am glad we’re talking again.”
Warmth filled his chest, and he cleared his voice. “Yeah. Me too.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Tina’s leg bounced under the table at Molly’s Place. With a restaurant serving delicious food in the back and a bar with live music in the front, it was one of Tina’s favorite places to hang out. Sports paraphernalia decorated the walls of the restaurant, and she’d managed to secure her favorite table beneath an old photo of the University of Michigan football team.
The entire establishment always swarmed with good-looking men, and a few had already tried to make eye contact in the ten minutes she’d been sitting there. But she couldn’t get her mind off the taste of that sexy lawyer’s lips.
And where the hell was Allison?
She pulled out her phone to text her best friend when Allison slid into the booth across from her and picked up a menu. “Sorry I’m late. My last session ran over. How are you?”
Tina clenched her fists in her lap and leaned forward. The anticipation of telling her about her screw up had been eating away at her since yesterday. “I kissed him.”
Allison dropped her menu. “Trent?”
“Yes.” She leaned back and covered her face with her hands. “Oh, God. What am I going to do?”
Allison grinned. “Did he kiss you back?”
“Yes, but…”
The waitress arrived to take their orders. Allison asked for a Greek salad, and Tina started to order a burger and fries but thought better of it. “You know what
? I’ll have the Greek salad too.” She handed the server her menu.
Allison raised an eyebrow. “Since when do you eat rabbit food?”
“I’m not getting any younger.”
“But you get hotter every day.”
“Please.” She rolled her eyes and waved off the compliment.
Allison leaned forward, drumming her fingers on the table. “Trent seems to think so. Tell me about the kiss.”
“There’s not much to tell.” Tina let out a heavy sigh and clasped her hands in her lap. “I kissed him. He kissed me back. Then he told me not to do it again.”
“He what?”
She slumped her shoulders. “Ugh. I don’t know what happened, Allie. That house is so creepy. I got locked in an upstairs room, and I freaked out and screamed. Trent came running in like a superhero and busted down the door.”
“How chivalrous of him.”
“I’m telling you, if he’d had guns, they would have been blazing. You should’ve seen the look in his eyes. He was going to beat the shit out of whatever was hurting me.”
“So you kissed him?”
An image of his soft, full lips flashed behind her eyes. The sexy way one corner of his mouth curved into his signature smile…
“Tina?”
She blinked and focused her gaze on her friend. “I went into the hall, and he checked out the room. Of course, there was nothing there. But I was flustered, and he hugged me, and his arms felt so good wrapped around me. I couldn’t help myself.”
Allison leaned toward her. “And then?”
“As soon as I realized what I was doing, I pulled away and apologized. And he told me not to be sorry, but not to do it again.”
Her friend studied her. “You’re sure he kissed you back?”
“Positive.” She shivered as the memory of his velvet tongue brushing against hers danced in her mind. “Then we went downstairs and talked about the house like nothing happened and went our separate ways. What am I going to do?”
“What do you want to do?”
That was the million-dollar question, and she had no idea how to answer it. She wrapped her arms around herself. “Crawl in a hole and die.”
“Seriously.”
“Go back in time and never return his call.”
Allison sighed. “Tina.”
“I still like him. A lot. But I don’t know what to do about it. Can you find out if he still likes me?”
Allison laughed and held up her hands. “Oh, no. We aren’t in high school anymore.”
“I know, but…” Her life would be a lot easier if he didn’t like her. Then she wouldn’t have to worry about what to do. She’d bury her feelings for him deep inside her chest and get on with her life. Like a normal person would.
“Look, babe. He was pretty upset when you dumped him before. I wouldn’t be surprised if he still has feelings for you. But, honestly, your excuse was lame. Trent’s a proud guy. I doubt he’s going to let you walk all over him again.”
She straightened her spine. “I didn’t walk all over him. I just walked out.”
“And you hurt him. Close enough. So, what are you going to do? Do you want to date him?”
“Maybe. I don’t know.” She rubbed her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut. If she dated Trent, she’d be throwing her rulebook out the window, and rule number one had always been don’t get attached. Ugh! She couldn’t think about this now. Her indecision made her head pound. “Let’s talk about something else. I think you need to check out the house before he sells it.”
Allison lifted her eyebrows. “You think it’s haunted? Is that why you freaked out?”
“Maybe. It happened in that same room. The one I had to get into the first time I was there.” She told her about the shadow chasing her in her dream and the vision of the ghost at the foot of her bed. “It’s weird because I’ve had nightmares about the shadow my whole life. I always chalked it up to stress or from watching scary movies, and it’s always stayed in my dreams. This time, I swear I saw that same shadow in the third-floor room. It was coming for me. But when Trent busted in, there was nothing there. I don’t know if I imagined it or if it was real or what. What do you think?”
Allison pursed her lips. “It could be a little of both. I don’t have any experience with shadow monsters, but I’ll be happy to stop by and see if there are any human spirits that need help crossing over.”
“Thanks. I told Trent I was going to ask you to come out, and he insisted he talk to Logan about it first. I told him you’d be able to handle it, but he said it was his house, so it was his decision to make.”
“He has a point.”
“I know he’s right, but there’s something about that house. When he said that, my first instinct was to argue that it was my house too. I feel invested in it for some reason. Hell, if I could afford it, I’d buy it from him.”
“Even with the nightmares and possible shadow monster?”
Tina chuckled. “The more I think about it, the more I feel like it had to be my imagination. Once we got downstairs, all the fear drained away, and the house just felt like a home again.”
“A home that belongs in a horror movie from the way you’ve described it.”
She shrugged. “It needs a little TLC.”
“And you don’t think the reason you feel attached to the house is because you’re attached to the man that owns it?”
“I am not attached to him. I just like him a little.”
“Uh-huh.”
The waitress brought their orders, and Tina curled her lip at her salad. What was she thinking ordering a big bowl of grass? “I may need to stop by McDonald’s on my way home.”
* * *
Trent dropped the last slice of bacon into the frying pan, sending a dollop of grease splashing onto his arm. He winced at the sharp sting and wiped it with a towel. That’s what he got for making bacon for dinner.
He’d spent all morning trying to find a maid service willing to clean the thick layer of grime off everything inside his uncle’s house and half the afternoon waiting for them to return his calls. But as soon as they looked up the address, every one of them told him, “Thanks but no thanks,” and hung up the phone.
Seemed his uncle had a nasty reputation, and no one in town wanted anything to do with his estate. That wouldn’t stop Trent though. As long as Tina pulled through with the contractor to fix the porch, Trent could handle the cleaning himself.
Tina.
What was he going to do about that woman? The more time he spent in her presence, the more he craved holding her in his arms. Why the hell did she have to kiss him? And why did it have to feel so damn good when she did? Everything about her felt right, from her playful attitude to her confident nature to her soft, supple body pressed against him.
His arm jerked, and he splattered hot bacon grease across the stove. Damn it, he needed to stop thinking about her. His pulse was already racing. And now…
Fuck. Not again.
His shoulder twitched, and his arm froze up, knocking the frying pan off the burner. His knees buckled, and he barely caught himself with his other arm before he smacked his head on the tile.
From his position on the floor, he had a front row view of the grease fire that started on his stove and quickly spread to the paper towel rack on the countertop.
And all he could do was watch it blaze.
He was fully alert. His eyes were even open, for fuck’s sake, but he couldn’t move. His entire body was paralyzed as the flames licked up toward the wooden cabinets and spread to every goddamn flammable object in sight.
He tried to calm his breathing as he lay on his back, watching the thick, black smoke roll across the ceiling. It looked a lot like the shadow that had chased Tina in his dream.
Tina.
If he burned up with his house, she’d spend the rest of her life thinking he didn’t want her. Fuck, why’d he tell her not to kiss him again? He had to make it out of this. If he could just move his dam
n legs. Or even his arms so he could drag his sorry ass out of the house.
The heat from the flames warmed his skin, making sweat droplets roll down his forehead. He couldn’t move his arm to wipe them away. He should’ve been panicking, but there wasn’t a goddamn thing he could do until he got his body back, so what was the point?
The inferno grew hotter. The cabinets were fully ablaze, and the flames licked upward, charring the white ceiling. Why the hell couldn’t he have blacked out this time? At least if he was fully asleep, he might not have to feel himself being burned alive. He inhaled deeply, trying to calm his mind. Intense emotions triggered these attacks, so hopefully a sense of calm could end it.
The tiny fire extinguisher in his pantry would be no match for this blaze. If he ever moved again, he’d have get his ass out of the house and call the fire department.
His finger twitched. He could move his hand. Slowly, steadily, movement returned to his arms. He pushed himself upright and shook his legs. Finally, he had his body back. He clambered to his feet and ran for the front door.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Trent rolled his car to a stop in Logan’s driveway and pulled his suitcase from the trunk. The firefighters had put out the blaze before it did any structural damage to his house, but the stench of burnt, wet wood was enough to send him packing. All the sheetrock would have to be replaced. The floor. The countertops. It would be a month before the repairs would be finished and the place would be livable again.
He climbed the marble front steps and rang the doorbell. Allison swung open the huge, oak door and tilted her head to the side. “I thought Logan was going to pick you up after his dinner meeting.” She stepped aside so he could enter.
He paused under a crystal chandelier in the foyer. “He was, but I got tired of waiting. My place reeks of smoke.”
To Stop a Shadow Page 6