Zander scowled. “Fine. When that five minutes is over, though, I’m going nuts.”
“Fair enough.” Shawn turned an apologetic smile toward Maddie. “You’ll have to excuse him. He was absent the day they were handing out filters. He didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. He’s just ... all mouth.”
“I have muscles, too,” Zander hissed.
Harper slapped her hand over Zander’s mouth and debated how she wanted to approach the situation. “I saw you with Jack,” she said finally, ignoring the way Zander squirmed under her hand. “You tracked him. You didn’t talk to him or anything, but I was watching you. I know you saw him.”
“Is that his name?” Maddie managed a nervous smile. “He looks ... interesting.”
“He’s a Great Lakes pirate.” Harper smirked at the terminology. “That’s what he tells me anyway. He’s been around a long time. I’ve offered to help him cross over, but he’s not interested.”
Interested despite herself, Maddie leaned forward. “Have you helped a lot of souls cross over?”
Harper nodded. “Yeah. I use a dreamcatcher. It’s something I kind of created myself, with a little help from Zander.”
“Harper did all the work, though,” Jared offered, smirking when Zander huffed out an indignant sound.
“You use a dreamcatcher?” Maddie furrowed her brow. “I don’t understand.”
“I only use it for the stubborn souls,” Harper explained. “We don’t just conduct tours. We also get called out on jobs where persistent hauntings are happening. For the souls who don’t want to leave, we kind of force them along … and sometimes it turns into something of a fight.”
“Huh.” Maddie rubbed her chin before accepting the menu Nick handed her. “I just help those who want to be helped. To be fair, I haven’t run across many souls that don’t want to cross over.”
“It’s our job so we kind of make a habit of seeking them out,” Harper explained. “How long have you known what you can do?”
Maddie held out her hands and shrugged. “I’m not sure how old I was when I realized I saw people that others didn’t.” She hesitated and then barreled forward. She was amongst friends, she reminded herself. It was rare that she found others who had some form of paranormal ability and she was always curious to hear about the experiences of others. “My mother could see and talk to ghosts, too. She warned me from a young age that I should be very careful who I revealed my secret to.”
“Which is why she never told me even though we were best friends,” Nick volunteered. “She kind of fled after high school and took off for ten years, breaking my heart in the process.”
Maddie shot him an exasperated look. “I thought we were going to stop talking about that.”
“I still like to make you feel guilty.” He grinned before patting her hand. “We’re over it. Mostly. When she came back, she told me what she could do, although reluctantly. After that, with all the barriers gone, we basically fell into each other’s arms.”
Maddie snorted. “I don’t remember it happening exactly that way. You’re not far off, though.”
“And you’re okay with her seeing ghosts?” Jared queried.
“Are you okay with Harper seeing ghosts?” Nick challenged.
Jared nodded. “I knew she could do it when we met, though. She told me ... although I might not have initially believed her because it seemed so fantastical. It didn’t take me long to figure out she was telling the truth.”
Nick nodded in in understanding. “I always knew there was something different about Maddie. I could never put a name to it, but I understood at my core that she was something special. Your experience is obviously different.”
“Obviously,” Jared agreed. “We’re still kind of outsiders. We can’t see and yet we love women who can.”
Nick hesitated and then shook his head. “I’ve seen a ghost.”
“You have?” Harper leaned forward in her chair. “I didn’t realize you were sensitive, too.”
“I’ve only seen the one.” Nick glanced at Maddie and then shrugged. “Maddie came back to Blackstone Bay following her mother’s death. Olivia was like a second mother to me. We were close, even after Maddie left. One night, when Maddie was in trouble ... .” He trailed off.
“My mother remained behind as a ghost,” Maddie explained. “She’s waiting until my grandmother passes — which hopefully won’t be for a long time — and then they’ll cross over together.”
“Oh, that’s kind of nice.” Harper brightened. “You lost your mother, but she’s still around. Now that you’re having a baby, that has to be some form of comfort.”
“It is.” Maddie bobbed her head in agreement. “One night, not long after I returned to town, I was in trouble. A former classmate decided he was going to kill me — that’s a whole other story — and my mother led Nick to the lake to save me.
“The water was freezing, and I knew I was going to drown, and she kept telling me to hang on,” she continued. “I thought that was the end of me until Nick showed up and dragged me out of the water. He breathed life back into me ... and now we’re having a baby.”
Zander let loose a wistful sigh. “That is such a romantic story. Isn’t that a romantic story?”
Shawn nodded in agreement. “It’s a very romantic story.”
“How come you’ve never breathed life back into me?”
Shawn sighed. “Yup. Who didn’t see that coming?”
Jared chuckled and then sobered. “Was it Jack that led you to cross into the bushes? You left that part out of your statement — and I don’t blame you — but I was wondering. Harper was convinced she saw you reacting to Jack. I was uncomfortable asking you about it, though.”
“I did see him,” Maddie acknowledged. “He was following Harper. It looked as if he was telling her a story. She kept nodding but not responding. That told me that he wasn’t one of the ghosts she was expecting to find on her tour.”
“No,” Harper agreed. “He told me that we had a problem. He didn’t get far enough into the tale for me to know what the problem was, though. He tends to meander. Obviously the problem was Jeff Morton.”
“Do you have any idea what he was doing in the cemetery?” Nick asked.
Jared shook his head. “No. The cause of death seems pretty obvious. My partner is making notification. Tomorrow we start the legwork.”
“I would appreciate you keeping me apprised.” Nick slid a sidelong look to Maddie. “Even though they weren’t close, Maddie still feels sad about what happened. I would like to be able to put her mind at ease if I can.”
“I have no problem keeping you apprised,” Jared promised. “For now, though, it’s just a waiting game. We should talk about something happier. How long until your baby arrives?”
“Four months,” Maddie replied, rubbing her stomach. “Our goal is to have the nursery done in three months. That’s why we’re down here. You guys have a lot of fun baby boutiques.”
“We do,” Harper agreed. “There are more in a few of the outlying communities if you want to check them out, too.”
“Do you know if you’re having a boy or a girl?” Zander asked, holding up his hand to quiet Shawn. “My five minutes is up. I know because I was watching the clock.”
Shawn chuckled. “Go nuts.”
“We’re not sure,” Nick replied, his hand moving absently over Maddie’s back. “I kind of want to find out, but she wants it to be a surprise.”
“That seems old school in this day and age,” Jared noted. “Still, will you be disappointed either way?”
“No, but I would like to know what sort of clothes to buy. I also wouldn’t mind knowing because it might influence how we paint the room.” He cast Maddie a pointed look. “I think a little girl should have a pink room.”
“Is that what you want?” Harper queried. “A little girl, I mean.”
Nick shrugged. “I’ll be happy no matter what we have. For some reason, I have this picture of a little girl wi
th blond hair forcing me into tea parties in my head. I can’t quite shake it. I guess it’s fair to say I would love a little girl. A little boy is hardly going to break my heart.”
The table lapsed into comfortable chatter after that, the worries from an hour before dissipating. There was still a mystery to solve, but new friendships would ease the way.
It was the start of a new adventure, and they were all ready to embark on it together.
5
Five
Nick found the anxiety he’d been carrying around regarding Maddie’s sweaty countenance had disappeared by the time they headed back to the hotel. He held her hand, laughing as she vigorously swung their arms back and forth, and watched the traffic as they crossed the street.
“You seem to be in a good mood,” he noted. “Much better than when we entered the restaurant.”
“The food was good.”
“I noticed. You ate your entire entree and my half of the dessert.”
She shot him a sidelong look. “That was my dessert. You said you only wanted a bite.”
“And that’s all I got.”
“If you want more than that, you’re going to have to order your own from now on. Your offspring doesn’t like to share.”
“My offspring sounds like a real pain.”
“I think he ... she ... it ... is only going to get worse.” Her forehead creased as they landed in front of the hotel. “It feels weird to call a baby an it, but it feels even weirder to call a female a male or vice versa.”
“We could come up with a name,” he suggested, holding open the door. “It can be one of those names that can be good for both a boy and a girl.”
Maddie found she was intrigued by the notion. “Like what?”
“Like Alex. That can be for both a boy and a girl.”
“I don’t like that.”
“What about Jamie?”
“I don’t like that either.”
“Maybe you could come up with a suggestion rather than just shooting down my ideas. That might help.”
Maddie recognized the tone. Her moods had been hard on him. Most of the time she didn’t even recognize she was making an ass of herself until it was already too late. He was used to her being amiable and easy to get along with. Despite that, he never snapped at her or picked a fight. Instead he continued to dote on her. She figured she owed him for that alone.
“How about Spot?”
He froze, unsure if she was being serious or joking. “Spot? That’s a name for a dog.”
“Yes, and we won’t have to worry about getting used to calling the baby Spot.” She turned a set of sheepish eyes to him. “Half the fun of having a baby is talking about names. If we choose Alex and get attached to it, then we won’t be able to pick a different name.”
“Ah.” He nodded in understanding. “Spot wouldn’t be my first choice but there’s a hint of charm about it.”
She grinned in delight and slipped her arm through his as she drew him to the elevator. “I have something else that’s charming I want to show you.”
He recognized the flirty glint in her eyes. “Really? I have to say, while I’m not a fan of the hormones making you cry over soup commercials, I am a huge fan of how horny the hormones make you.”
Maddie’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t like the word horny. It makes me sound like a frat boy.”
“Excitable?”
“That I can deal with. Now, come on.” She gave his arm a firm yank. “I want to take you upstairs and get you excitable, too.”
“Now that’s something I can get behind.”
AT HOME, AS THEY WERE GETTING READY FOR bed, Harper found the dinner they’d shared with Maddie and Nick had made her thoughtful. She hadn’t even realized she’d abandoned her bedtime preparations until Jared walked out of the bathroom and found her sitting on the side of the bed, staring into nothing.
“Deep thoughts?” he asked as he joined her, using his finger to turn her chin toward him. She didn’t look especially upset as much as pensive. “What are you thinking?”
“I was just thinking what it would’ve been like to grow up with someone who could do the same things as me,” she admitted. “I mean ... I had Zander and I would never trade him for anything, but things might’ve been easier if I had someone who could see the same things I could see.”
“Like Maddie?”
She shrugged. “From talking to her, it seems she realized she could see ghosts about the same time I could.” She watched as Jared pulled back the covers and motioned for her to roll in. “I haven’t put on any pajamas.”
His grin lit with evil intent. “You’re not going to need them.”
“Ah, I see romance is in order.” She giggled as he tucked her in and then walked to the other side of the bed to join her. “What was I saying again?”
“How you love Maddie and want her to be your new BFF.”
Harper’s expression darkened as Jared snuggled up to her. “Don’t ever say that again. If Zander hears even a whiff of that ... .”
“Zander is at home playing with Shawn.”
“He knows things sometimes, though. In fact, he’s so knowledgeable there have been times I’ve thought he had our house bugged.”
Since Jared had considered that, too, he didn’t laugh off the statement. “I’ll sweep the house for bugs tomorrow. Go back to what you were saying.”
“Oh, right.” Harper plucked his hand from the top of the blanket and traced the lines in his palm with her fingertips. “It’s not that I didn’t have a good childhood. I did. Zander was the best friend I could’ve ever asked for. He accepted me for what I was without a second thought.”
“And you accepted him, too.”
“That was different. Only the ignorant wouldn’t accept him because he’s gay. I’m not ignorant.”
“No.”
“Believing that a six-year-old can see and talk to ghosts without questioning the statement even once is going above and beyond. If I hadn’t had him growing up, I’m not sure I would be the person I am today.”
And that was one of the reasons Jared put up with Zander. As annoying as he found the other man, he knew that Harper was bonded to him for life. Sometimes he found their antics amusing. Other times, like tonight, he often wanted to gag Zander for the betterment of society. Overall, though, Jared recognized that Zander was a good man and gave Harper what she needed emotionally on a day-to-day basis. He would never be able to pay him back for that.
“You’re wondering how you would’ve turned out if you’d had someone like Maddie to confide in,” Jared mused. “What have you come up with?”
Harper shrugged, noncommittal. “I don’t know. In some ways I think it would’ve made life easier. We could’ve talked to ghosts together. I wouldn’t have been as afraid.”
She rolled so her chin rested on his chest. “You know I love my parents, right?”
“Yes, even though they drive you crazy.”
“They definitely drive me crazy ... and then some. That doesn’t mean I don’t love them. In their way, they tried to protect me from what they thought was a dark road by telling me to keep what I could do to myself. They didn’t understand what was happening and were fearful of it.
“Maddie’s mother, on the other hand, understood what was happening and was still fearful of it,” she continued. “When I was growing up, I assumed I was the only person like me. It gave me an ego boost of sorts. Maddie knew there were others and grew up even more fearful than me.”
“I get what you’re saying.” Jared nodded in understanding. “You think knowing there were others, including an adult who had the same gift and insisted on keeping it a secret, would’ve changed who you are. Well, baby, I don’t happen to believe that’s true. I think you grew up to be the person you were always meant to be.”
“And I think you’re just saying that because you want to play ghost games under the covers.”
He chuckled when she tickled his ribs. “I do like a good ghost g
ame. I’m being serious, though. I think you are who you were always meant to be.” He pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. “I think that’s a very good thing because we were destined to find each other and live happily ever after. You’re perfect for me, and hopefully I’m perfect for you.”
“You’re definitely perfect for me.” She kissed the corner of his mouth. “I still like Maddie. I find her ... interesting. She’s going to have a baby in a few months. Do you think she’s worried the baby will be like her?”
His smile disappeared as he studied her serious features. “Is that what you’re worried about? If so, I need you to get over it. If we have a baby that can see ghosts, we’ll deal with it. We won’t be like your parents. We’ll allow our child to embrace his or her full potential.”
Even though she expected the answer, Harper found she was relieved to hear the words spoken out loud. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you, Heart.” He cupped the back of her head and stared into her bold blue eyes. “Whatever happens, it’s you and me forever. I’m more worried about the influence Zander is going to have on a kid of ours. I mean … I can just imagine the mouth Zander is going to pass on to a five-year-old. The ghost thing isn’t even a slight worry. Everything is going to work itself out.”
Love for him bubbled up and she shifted until she was on top of him. “That’s good. I’m done with the heavy talk for the night, though. How do you feel about playing an old-fashioned game of ‘What’s that Hiding Under the Covers’?”
He choked as she started tickling him. “I think that’s the best offer I’ve had all day.”
“Stick around. I might have a few more offers before the night is over.”
MADDIE ATE TWO FULL PLATES OF BLUEBERRY PANCAKES the next morning and immediately regretted it as she and Nick sat in the front lobby making plans for their day of shopping.
“Why did you let me eat so much?” she complained as Nick studied a map provided by the hotel.
Ghostly Graves: A Harper Harlow and Maddie Graves Mystery Page 5