Gage nodded.
“That’s what it felt like.”
Gage looked at Richard. “We’ll set up some extra cameras in the kitchen. Seems to be a lot of activity in there.” He turned to Logan. “You said you hear the voices at the top of the stairs?”
“Yeah.”
“We’ll do some EVP work up there. See what we can catch.”
“What’s an EVP?”
“Electronic Voice Phenomenon,” Gage explained. “Basically, we use digital audio recorders to catch the voices of spirits that we can’t hear with our ears. We ask the ghost questions, and sometimes when we play back the audio, we hear answers.”
Logan chuckled. “That’s just weird, man.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“We need to get set up before dark, so uh…” Richard said.
“I’m on my way out. The housekeeper gets here at six a.m. Will you be done by then?”
“That’s perfect,” Gage said. “We’ll just be packing up.”
“All right. Thanks guys.” Logan shook both their hands and left them alone to bust his ghost.
On the way to his car, his phone buzzed in his pocket, and excitement fluttered in his stomach at the thought that it might be Allison. Maybe she was calling to say she changed her mind. He pulled out the phone and checked the caller ID. His excitement faded when he saw his sister’s number on the screen.
“Hey, Lisa.”
“Hi, Baby Brother! How are you?”
“I’m good. What’s going on?”
“I’m going to be in Detroit tomorrow working with a witness, and I thought you might want to have dinner with your favorite sister.”
He laughed. “You’re my only sister.”
“That makes me your favorite.”
“Doesn’t that also make you my least favorite?”
“All right. I see how you’re going to be. So, are we going to have dinner or what?”
CHAPTER NINE
Allison finished her healing session with her client and stared at the clock as she waited for Stacey. Her leg bounced up and down and her heart raced as the minutes ticked by. Was she crazy? She swore she’d never work with spirits again, yet here she was preparing to communicate with one. Maybe she should call Tina and let her know what she was doing. Just in case.
No, Tina would want her to hold off until she was there, and Allison didn’t want to keep her client waiting. She rearranged the pillows on her treatment table to keep her hands busy and glanced at the clock just as Stacey knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
Stacey’s eyes had swollen into thin slits, and tears still stained her cheeks. Her mousy brown hair was a tangled mess, and she kept her eyes focused on the floor as she entered the office.
“Hi, Allison.” She ran her hand through her hair and forced a smile. “Thank you for doing this. It means so much to me. My grandma…She was everything to me.”
Allison smiled and settled into her chair while Stacey sat on the treatment table. “You’re welcome. But like I said, I haven’t done this in almost a year. I won’t be keeping the channel open for long. I’ll do the best I can.”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The buzzing energy of Stacey’s grandmother indicated her presence, so she slowly and carefully let down the wall she’d spent nearly a year constructing.
“She’s here.” She opened her eyes and looked at Stacey.
Fresh tears streamed down Stacey’s cheeks as she brought her hand to her mouth. “Will you tell her I love her?”
“You can tell her. She can hear you.”
“Oh, Nana! I love you. I miss you so much. Why did you have to go?”
Allison didn’t so much hear Nana speaking. She felt her. Her empathic ability allowed her to feel the spirit’s emotion and to receive Nana’s thoughts. “She says she misses you, too, Stacey. And it was just her time to go. She wants you to know she wasn’t in any pain. Her passing was peaceful.”
“Oh, thank God.”
“She knows you worried about that. And she worries about you. She knows…” A sickening feeling formed in her stomach as she received the message from Nana. Suicide struck a personal chord with Allison, and she fought to protect herself from falling into that cycle of emotion. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She would not lose control.
“She knows what you were about to do when I called you, Stacey… You’re welcome, Nana. She’s thanking me for calling when I did.”
Stacey's gaze dropped to the floor, and a tear slid down her cheek. “I’m so sorry, Nana. I just don’t know what to do. I want it to stop. I want the pain to stop.”
“She says you’re a special girl. And she loves you very much. She wants you to promise that next time you get that low, you’ll get help. Go to the hospital.”
“I promise, Nana. I promise.” Stacey folded over, sobbing into her hands. The emotion was too much for Allison to bear. Too close to home. She couldn’t shut out Stacey and stay open for Nana when they were both feeling such strong emotions. Tears welled up in Allison’s eyes as she felt herself slipping into Stacey’s depressive state. Pain ripped at her heart. Destructive. She had to close it out before it consumed her.
“Stacey, I’m going to have to shut it down now. Is there anything else you want to say to Nana?”
Stacey sat up straight and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Just that I love her. And I promise I’ll try to get better. I’m going to see a therapist tomorrow.”
“That’s good. But she wants you to spend the night with your sister, Jenny. She wants me to call her. Can I do that for you?”
“Yes. Yes, of course.”
“Okay. She says she loves you, and that she’s going to stay around for a while to watch over you. You can talk to her any time you want, okay?”
“Okay. Thank you.”
Allison took a deep breath and slid her wall back in place. Relief washed over her as the emotions from the two women drained from her body. She was herself again, and she was okay. She smiled and looked at Stacey.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m good. Thank you, Allison. You…You saved my life.”
She sat on the table and put her arm around her client. “You’re welcome. Just remember that there are people who love you. And even when you feel like their lives would be better with you gone…They wouldn’t. You’d hurt them more by taking your own life than by anything else you could do.”
Stacey took a deep, shaky breath and nodded. “I’ll try to remember that.”
“Now, what’s Jenny’s number? I’ll call her to come and get you.”
Allison called Stacey’s sister and waited for Jenny to pick her up. A conflicting mix of emotions swirled in the air as Jenny embraced Stacey—relief, worry, love, disappointment. Stacey was in good hands now.
“Thank you so much.” Jenny hugged Allison. “How can I ever repay you? You saved my sister’s life.”
“Just take care of her. Make sure she gets some professional help.”
Allison watched the two sisters leave the shop, and she smiled. It’s funny how things work out that way. It wasn’t a coincidence she decided to give spirit work another try at the precise time Stacey needed her. The universe worked in mysterious ways, and Allison wasn’t one to question it.
“How did it go?” Lucia moved from behind the counter to stand in front of Allison. “You’re okay?”
“I’m great, actually. I mean, I started to get a little overwhelmed towards the end, so I had to shut it down, but I did it. I shut the spirit out, and she was gone. I did it, Lucia.” Allison bounced on her toes as excitement flooded her body.
Lucia hugged her. “I knew you could, Allison. And you feel better now, yes? You conquered your fear.”
“I guess I did.” She giggled. “It was so natural. Like nothing had changed. The past eleven months of hiding from my ability just slipped away.”
“I’m proud of you, dear. But you should take it slow. Why don’t you
go home early today and relax?”
“Oh, I can’t. I didn’t finish clearing your auction items.” She looked longingly at the door. An afternoon off sounded so appealing, it didn’t take much pushing from Lucia for her to accept it.
“It can wait,” Lucia said. “The truck isn’t coming for them until noon tomorrow.”
“Okay, then. I’ll come in early tomorrow morning to finish up.”
“That will be fine. Now, go take care of yourself.”
“Thanks, Lucia”
She left through the back door, climbed into her Toyota, and took the short drive to her apartment. She felt good. No, not good…exhilarated. Overcoming her fear of spirits had been so easy. She chuckled at herself. Of course it was easy. All she had to do was focus her intent on what she wanted. She told her clients that all the time. But sometimes it was hard to take her own advice.
The sun shone high in the cloudless sky, and the crisp fall air nipped at her arms as she sprinted up to the third floor. It was a perfect afternoon for a run. She changed into her running clothes—lavender pants with a matching jacket and sports bra—and sat on the edge of the bed to put on her tennis shoes.
She glanced at her nightstand. Logan’s business card sat by her telephone. Jesus. She’d been so distracted by Stacey and her grandmother she hadn’t thought about him since their lunch date. Why on earth did she have to leave that card right by her phone? Her fingers twitched with the urge to dial his number, but she couldn’t do it. She needed to stay away from him. She’d conquered one fear today; she didn’t need to push it. Baby steps. Maybe one day she’d be open to letting a man into her life, even one who reminded her of her father, but this wasn’t that day.
She headed back outside with her phone strapped to her arm and The Eagles blasting in her ears. The sunlight streaked the sky with shades of red and orange as she jogged up Rivard Street. Two blocks ahead, just across East Jefferson Avenue, her favorite jogging trail awaited her. She needed some more upbeat music first, though, so she focused her attention on the screen on her arm. Flipping through the albums, she searched for some tunes to match her mood. Never breaking her stride, she pounded ahead and crashed face first into the hood of a stopped car.
* * *
Logan took the side streets on his way to Trent’s house. The freeway would’ve cut fifteen minutes off his drive time, but he wasn’t in a rush. Trent wouldn’t be home from the office yet, and a long drive might help him clear his mind.
He could always sell the house, but that would be giving up. And he was anything but a quitter. No, he’d have to tough it out. Figure out a way to get rid of that ghost.
Then there was Allison. Christ, he wanted that woman. And she wanted him too. He could feel it. But she was better off without him; that was for sure. He had to stay away from her. For her own good.
He turned onto East Jefferson Avenue and stopped at a light. A jogger approached on the sidewalk, her gaze trained on the phone attached to her arm. Without even hesitating, she ran smack into his car and bounced off the hood, landing on the pavement.
Holy shit!
He threw it into park and jumped out of the car to help the woman. She was just getting to her feet when he rounded the front of the hood.
“Allison?” His eyes widened. “Are you all right?” Fear shot through his system that she might be badly injured, but his tension eased as she cursed under her breath and dusted off her pants. Her hands and arms were scraped, but she was on her feet and coherent, so she wasn’t hurt too badly.
“Logan?” The surprise on her face dropped into an embarrassed grin. “Yeah, I’m okay. You…hit me with your car?”
He chuckled. “You ran into me, actually. I was stopped at the light. What were you doing?”
She picked a piece of gravel out of her palm and winced.
“Jesus, Allison, you’re bleeding. Here, get in and I’ll drive you home.” He led her to the passenger door and opened it for her.
“I don’t live far. I could walk.” She protested, but she got in the car anyway.
He smiled and shook his head. So much for staying away from Allison. “Where do you live?”
“Just two blocks ahead. The apartments on the right.” She pointed to the complex, and he drove into the parking lot.
“Wow, you didn’t get far, did you?” He put the car in park and killed the engine. They looked at each other, and an awkward silence fell between them.
“Well, thank you for the ride. I better go get cleaned up.” She smiled and hesitated with her hand on the door handle. He could feel the indecision rolling off her again, and he wasn’t about to let her get away this time.
“Can I walk you up?” Without waiting for an answer, he got out of the car and opened her door. “Your hands are pretty scraped up.”
“Yeah. Concrete’s a bitch.”
He laughed and followed her up the stairs. What the hell was he doing? Hadn’t he just decided to leave her alone? He wasn’t good for her. He knew he shouldn’t get involved with her. Not with the visions that haunted his dreams. But right then, the only thing he could focus on was the way those lavender pants hugged her curves as she climbed the steps. Maybe he could spend a little time with her.
“Well, this is it.” She stood by her door and played with her keys, that same indecision swirling around her. She wanted him as much he wanted her, but she hesitated. Clearing her throat, she glanced at the ground before lifting her gaze to his eyes. “Do you want to come in?”
His heart pounded. He wanted to. God, did he want to. But he shouldn’t. “Yeah. If you want me to.”
“I do.” A slight smile curved her lips as she slid her key into the lock and pushed the door open.
He followed her into the small living room and admired her as she turned on the lamps, filling the simple space with warm light. A small television, a bookcase by the window, mismatched coffee and end tables. Her modest possessions were few, but they definitely had character. She smiled at him as she turned on the last lamp.
Good Lord, she was beautiful. Even in leggings and a pony tail, she had his heart racing. She walked past him, lightly brushing his arm with hers as she made her way to the kitchen. Chills ran down his skin, and he couldn’t help but follow her. He watched silently as she scrubbed the scraped skin of her hands. The bleeding had stopped, and she dabbed at the raw flesh with a dish towel before turning to him.
“What were you doing in this area?”
“I was going to Trent’s place. Just thought I’d take the scenic route.”
She put the towel on the counter and glided toward him. “Oh, do you need to go?”
“No.” Her body was inches from his, and he could feel the roller coaster of emotions emanating from her. She was nervous, not quite sure what to make of the situation. But she was excited too. He could almost feel her heart pounding in her chest as her eyes held his gaze. “I guess you didn’t see my car.”
She flashed a sheepish smile and brushed past him. “I was messing with my phone, not paying attention to where I was going.”
“Obviously.” He grinned and followed her into the living room.
“I’m embarrassed enough as it is. Don’t make it harder on me.” She sat on the couch and patted the space next to her, inviting him.
“I’m sorry.” He laughed. “It’s not every day your car gets hit by a pedestrian.”
“Well, there’s a first time for everything.”
“I guess there is.” He sat next to her, so close his thigh brushed hers. “What now?” His gaze traveled from her eyes to her lips and back again as he slowly leaned in, the memory of her taste lingering on his tongue.
She responded, leaning toward him until their lips almost touched. “I don’t know,” she whispered against his mouth. Then she kissed him. Slowly, tenderly, her lips parted as he tasted her. He cradled her face in his hands and drank in her sweet essence. Her kiss was better than he remembered, and he couldn’t get enough. He moaned softly as his tongue b
rushed with hers.
She laughed and pulled away. “We’re not doing a very good job of not getting involved, are we?”
He took her hand and gently touched her bruised palm. “No…No, we’re not.” He looked into her eyes and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. Who was he kidding? There was no staying away from this woman. He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life, and if it wasn’t for that stupid vision, he would have told her right then.
“Do you believe in destiny, Allison?”
She smiled. “Of course I do.”
“Do you believe you can change your destiny? Take a different path than what you’re meant to?”
“True destiny? No, I don’t think you can change it. Whatever the universe wants to happen is going to happen no matter how hard you try to stop it.”
He bit his bottom lip and looked at their hands in his lap. That wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear.
“But,” she continued, “I also think people get confused on what it actually is. We’re not meant to know our destiny. If we were, that would make life a little too convenient. Don’t you think? You have to live your life and let whatever happens, happen. You may get off course from time to time, but if it’s meant to happen, it will. Nothing is a coincidence.”
“So you running into my car wasn’t a coincidence?” He slid his hand up her arm, resting it on her shoulder.
“I don’t think so.”
“Is that why you invited me in? Because the universe wants us to be together?”
She put her hand on his cheek and stroked it with her thumb. “I invited you in because I wanted to invite you in. Isn’t that reason enough?”
“Works for me.”
He slid his arms around her, taking her mouth in another kiss as she roamed her hands over his shoulders, her painfully intimate touch awakening masculine urges inside him. He unzipped her jacket, sliding it off her shoulders to reveal nothing but a sports bra beneath. Christ, this woman was gorgeous.
She tugged at his shirt, pulling it over his head, and her soft fingers traced the patterns of muscle on his stomach and chest, raising goose bumps on his skin. Desire rolled off her in waves, tangling with his own emotions until he couldn’t tell where hers ended and his began.
To Catch a Spirit Page 9