The Haunting of Hotel LaBelle
Page 16
“Annoyed,” a man whined. “It took forever to get through tonight.”
“Well,” she soothed, “we speak almost every evening, don’t we Chris?”
“Yes, but I like to be the first caller so I can ask the good questions first.”
“Do you have a question for Tallulah?” Brooke rolled her eyes.
Tallulah guessed every talk radio show had a few like Chris.
“How much you charge for getting rid of hotel ghosts? I’m thinking if you can go after haunted hotels, I can go for the bed and breakfasts and youth hostels. It’s a niche market. I just need to know how much money I can plan on earning. My first case has gotta cover the five hundred dollars for the deluxe ghost hunting kit.”
“I have a nondisclosure clause with my clients. I cannot discuss the names of the hotels or details of a consultation without their written permission.”
“Ball park it for me, will ya?”
This guy’s like a pit bull with lockjaw. He won’t let go.
“It varies with the magnitude of the case, so I really can’t give you a price. I can tell you at this point in my career, I don’t leave my office for less than five thousand dollars, including travel expenses. Does that help?”
“Oh boy! I’m ordering that kit online now. Thanks!”
Brooke shook her head and smiled.
“Oh, we have another caller. Lou from Louisiana, you are on the air with our guest, Tallulah Thompson.”
“Thank you.” The decidedly male caller did not have a trace of a southern accent. “My hotel is haunted, and I need help.”
Brooke nodded. “That’s what we’re here for, Lou. Tell us what’s going on.”
“I see her everywhere I go, can’t stop thinking about her.”
“How do you know it’s a female?” Tallulah puzzled over the voice. Where had she heard it before?
“Oh, she’s like flesh and blood, she’s so real. Here one day, gone another. Tall, wild blonde hair, eyes that will strike terror into a man’s heart.” His voice dropped lower, and a flock of butterflies took flight in her stomach. “Wears a white flannel nightgown that shows all her curves.”
Franny shrieked like a banshee, and Tallulah leaped to her feet to see what happened to her pug. The little dog dug at the door of the booth as if the tastiest bone in the world waited on the other side. Tallulah stared through the glass, and her heart thudded so loudly she was sure the entire WBOO listening audience could hear it.
Time and motion stopped, fused into this one instant. Forcing herself to remember to breathe, his magnetism drew her to him. Their gazes locked. Tearing up, she placed her palm on the glass and whispered, “Is it really you?”
On the other side where the On Air sign shone brightly, a weary looking Lucius Stewart leaned his forehead against the glass and whispered into his own itty-bitty phone.
“She haunts my days and nights. She saved my life one night, and then took it away.” A mournful note crept into his voice, plucking at her heart. “I hurt when I inhale because her rose-scented perfume isn’t in the air. I can’t exorcise this spirit. When something good happens, I want her to be with me—but she’s not there. I can’t live without her, can’t make my life’s music. She’s the violin to my bow. I have to have her at my side in real life. I can’t stand the taunting memories, the ghost of the love of my new life. Can you please help me, Tallulah?”
His pleas tapped at the wall she’d built around her heart, the one made with tears and sorrow. Could she have a happily ever after with a man from another era? Was she fooling herself—again? Her breath came in ragged little gasps, she could barely breathe. “You’re from different worlds, perhaps she thinks you can never truly be together.”
“I can live in her world. I love her more than I love my hotel.”
More than he loves his hotel? Hotel LaBelle had kept Lucius and Mourning Dove apart. He was willing to sacrifice his baby, his life’s work, for Tallulah?
“Perhaps she’s afraid she can’t compete with another more important ghost.”
“I made peace with the old ghost, sent her to her resting place, at last.”
Brooke tapped her on the shoulder and glared at Tallulah. “My guest has a caller with a particularly pesky problem, doesn’t he? We’ll return after we pause for station identification and pay some bills.”
Tallulah opened the door, and Franny leaped at Lucius. She pawed at his feet, her whole body and curlicue tail wriggling in joy.
Lucius reached for Tallulah and yanked her in for a long, hard kiss.
Breathless, she put her hands on his chest. “I saw you holding a photo of Mourning Dove; you were crying—”
“I was saying goodbye. Telling her I was moving on.” He hugged her closer. “I’m ready now, Tallulah, please believe me.”
Barely able to think coherently, she gasped and pulled away. “I don’t understand. How did you find me here?”
He gave her a slow, sexy smile. “Well, ya know that old sayin’ about teaching old dogs new tricks? I’ve learned a lot about cars, computers, and telephones. Did you know pretty much everything about everybody, including me, can be found on the Internet?”
“In that case, smarty pants, what took you so long?”
His searing kiss cut off her complaints.
He was here. With her. In her world.
Although she would never force him to give up Hotel LaBelle, his willingness to sacrifice his wants for hers made her head spin. And, more importantly, he’d made peace with his memories of Mourning Dove.
He loves me; he really loves me! And I love him!
Brooke yanked the door open. “The phones are going wild. Get Romeo in here. The chemistry between the two of you is scorching the airwaves. Listeners are clamoring to know everything about you two.”
Tallulah white-knuckled his hand and shook her head.
“It’s okay, darlin’, I can’t wait to tell everyone about how I’m the long-lost relative and namesake to the original ‘Love ’em and Leave ’em Lucius,’ the very same spirit you helped to move on to the next world.”
No one would ever believe the truth—even among this radio show audience.
He placed the tip of his finger on her lips. “You have to promise me one thing.”
She kissed his palm. “What’s that?”
He pressed his forehead against hers and placed his hands on her waist. “Tell me you love me, and you’ll never leave me again.”
She released a long, slow breath. “Until death do we part?”
“And beyond, darlin’, and beyond.”
A word about the author…
After working in health care delivery for years, Sharon Buchbinder became an association executive, a health care researcher, and an academic in higher education. She had it all—a terrific, supportive husband, an amazing son, and a wonderful job. But that itch to write (some call it an obsession) kept beckoning her to “come on back” to writing fiction. Thanks to the kindness of family, friends, critique partners, and beta readers, she is now published in contemporary, erotic, paranormal, and romantic suspense.
When not attempting to make students, colleagues, and babies laugh, she can be found herding cats, waiting on dogs, fishing, dining with good friends, or writing.
You can find her at www.sharonbuchbinder.com
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Paranormal Romance Guild Winner—Best Mystery/Thriller, 2012
EPIC’s eBook Award Finalist—Romantic Suspense, 2014
Paranormal Romance Guild Winner—Best Historical Paranormal Romance, 2015
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Other titles by Sharon include…
Kiss Of The Silver Wolf
Obsession
Kiss Of The Virgin Queen
Some Other Child
Thank you for purchasing
this publication of The Wild Rose Press, Inc.