by J A Whiting
John said warily, “As long as no ghosts come to the ceremony, it’s fine with me.”
“Tim is very generous to offer the yard to us,” Jeff said. “He’s going to provide drinks and hors d’oeuvres with butler service for all the guests prior to the ceremony.”
John smiled. “Tim said it’s the least he can do since he decided not to sell the Colonial and deprived me out of the hefty commission.”
“What if it rains that day?” Jeff questioned. “It’s New England. It could be ninety degrees and humid, or pouring rain and cold.”
“Tim is going to watch the weather,” Lin said. “If it’s going to be too hot or too rainy, he’ll have a tent set up either with portable air conditioning or heaters.”
“That guy thinks of everything,” John said, and then kiddingly added, “but he has lived more than one lifetime so he’s had lots of experience with the weather.”
Viv gave John a playful bop on the arm. “Who knows? Maybe you’ve lived before, too.”
John’s face drained of color. “No way. Once is enough for me.”
“I just remembered something Lori used to say about her dream,” Jeff said. “She told you the woman who sat in the rocking chair in the Colonial was always looking out the window at the water. But there’s no view of water from the house.”
“Lori looked that up at the historical museum,” Lin said. “In the 1700s, there was a small pond at the rear of the property that dried up over time and was filled in with soil. She was sure the woman in the rocker, who was actually her, was gazing out at water so she had to find out about it.”
“Does Lori remember being Abigail?” Viv asked.
“Only tiny bits and pieces. She knows the Colonial and she recognizes Tim from long ago, and now has snippets of memories of sitting in the rocking chair. She doesn’t recall the fall that took Abigail’s life. Once in a while, something bubbles up that seems familiar, but she can’t remember much about it.”
Jeff said, “It sounds like that déjà vu feeling we all have on occasion.”
After the meal, the foursome decided to walk the few blocks into town to get some ice cream cones. Nicky and Queenie chose to stay on the boat and watch the people strolling by.
Even though it was still spring, the streets were busy with tourists, sightseers, and townspeople walking past stores, heading to restaurants, going down to the docks, and meeting friends.
“It’s going to be a busy summer,” Viv pointed out. “The island gets crowded earlier and earlier.”
“I love the bustle. I love the good weather.” Lin held Jeff’s hand. “I love it when it’s time for the tourists to flock here.”
After getting cones, they walked around town and then headed back to the docks.
Under the streetlamps, Lin and Jeff stood by the water with their arms around each other’s waists watching a ferry from the mainland slide into its berth.
“We’re pretty lucky, aren’t we?” Lin asked. “We live in this beautiful place. We love our jobs. We have good friends. We have each other.”
Jeff kissed her on the top of her head. “I knew I was lucky the day I found you.”
A cold breeze blew over Lin and out of the corner of her eye, she saw two ghosts shimmering under the lamplight.
Sebastian and Emily.
They held Lin’s eyes and nodded to her.
And then she heard words form inside her head.
Thank you for your help.
Lin placed her hand over her heart and smiled at the spirits.
The ghosts held hands while their atoms swirled and glowed, and then in a white flash of light, they were gone.
Lin thought about how, in the past, she wanted nothing to do with her skill. She wanted it to go away and never come back. But now, she loved her ability to see and interact with ghosts and she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, doing anything else, with anyone else other than the people she loved on this island.
She looked up at Jeff and whispered something into his ear, and then he smiled, leaned down and gently kissed his fiancée as they stood together by the glistening ocean lit up by a million, sparkling stars.
Thank you for reading!
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Also by J. A. Whiting
OLIVIA MILLER MYSTERIES (not cozy)
SWEET COVE COZY MYSTERIES
LIN COFFIN COZY MYSTERIES
CLAIRE ROLLINS COZY MYSTERIES
PAXTON PARK COZY MYSTERIES
SEEING COLORS MYSTERIES
About the Author
J.A. Whiting lives with her family in New England. Whiting loves reading and writing mystery stories.
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