Ghostly Holiday (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 11)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “But ... .”

  “I was messing around with you last night,” he volunteered. “I thought you would be more likely to stay at home rather than question potential kidnappers if you thought you had to clean the new house from top to bottom.

  “However much I would like to keep you safe, though, I’m not comfortable lying,” he continued. “I love you. Yada, yada, yada. She’s staying at the hotel.”

  Harper relaxed, although only marginally. “Yada, yada, yada?”

  His smile was back. “Come here and I’ll show you what I mean by that.”

  She wagged a finger. “Uh-uh. You’re in trouble. I can’t believe you didn’t at least tip me off that she was coming. I would’ve remembered if we set a date.”

  “She didn’t give me much choice. I thought she forgot about it, too. She called three weeks ago to tell me, I was surprised at the time, and then I forgot.”

  “You forgot?”

  “Hey, we’ve had a lot going on. Between your ex-boyfriend coming back from the dead and a missing girl, I’ve had other things on my mind. In truth, I thought I told you. It was only after you acted so shocked last night that I realized I hadn’t.”

  “The house isn’t ready for anyone to see it.”

  “Your parents have seen it.”

  “My parents are lost causes. Plus, they already like you. My mother thinks you’re her only shot to unload me. She’s embarrassed because she thinks I can’t hold on to a man other than Zander.”

  “Your mother is much nicer to me than she is to you,” he agreed. “You don’t have to worry about my mother, though. She’s easy. She never gives anyone a lick of trouble.”

  “Yeah, but ... what does she know about me?”

  “That I love you.”

  “But ... what about the ghost stuff?”

  Realization dawned on his face. “Oh, is that what you’re worried about? She knows what you do for a living. I wouldn’t keep that from her. Besides, you’re proud of it. You should be, by the way. You’re good at what you do. She’ll probably ask a hundred questions, but she won’t judge you for it.”

  “Yeah, but ... what if she doesn’t like me?”

  “Oh.” He made a sad face to match hers. “Are you worried my mother won’t like you? If so, don’t. She’s going to love you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re lovable.”

  “I don’t know.” She glanced around, fearful. “I think I’m going to be sick. Maybe you should spend time with your mother and forget about me until after the holidays.”

  “No way.” Jared turned serious. “I need you to be there with me for lunch. She’s dying to meet you.”

  Harper sighed at his earnest expression. “Okay, but if she doesn’t like me, I’m going to be all kinds of sad.”

  “You’re not going to be sad.” He held open his arms. “Come on. I want to show you how to yada, yada, yada.”

  No matter how much she wanted to fight the effort to smile, Harper found she didn’t have the strength. “How can I turn down an offer like that?”

  BECAUSE SHE WAS A BARREL OF nerves, Harper insisted Zander and Shawn go with her to lunch. Jared hadn’t exactly okayed the guest list, but she was determined to have people there who genuinely liked her in case things went south.

  They met at the hotel restaurant, and Harper was so jittery she bounced between Zander and Shawn as the hostess showed them to their table.

  “How do I look?” she asked for the twentieth time.

  “You look like I’m going to drown you in a toilet if you don’t stop asking that question,” Zander warned. “Seriously, I wouldn’t let you leave the house looking like a fashion loser, would I?”

  “No, but ... .”

  “Shut up.” Zander was at the end of his rope as he smoothed his peach polo shirt. “You’re driving me crazy. I’m sick of talking about your outfit. Let’s talk about my outfit. How do I look?”

  Shawn bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. “You guys are quite the pair today.”

  “You should’ve seen us picking out stuff for prom,” Zander said.

  “I’m sure that was delightful.”

  “Then you’re imagining it wrong,” Harper said, making small animal noises in the back of her throat when she caught sight of Jared.

  He sat at a round table in the center of the restaurant, three places set in addition to the ones he and his mother already occupied. The woman who sat with him was small — if Harper had to guess, she didn’t clear five feet — and she was laughing so hard at something Jared told her that she didn’t bother looking in their direction.

  Jared, who was also laughing, did. He got to his feet when he saw her and extended his hand. “Hey, Mom, I have someone I want you to meet.”

  Pamela swiped at the corners of her eyes as she hurriedly climbed to a standing position. Her smile was so wide it threatened to swallow her entire face and she pushed Jared aside so she could get a better look at Harper.

  “Oh, aren’t you pretty? You are just adorable.” Pamela threw her arms around Harper and engulfed her in a tight hug. Since Harper was a good seven inches taller than her, she had to bend over to accept the embrace. “She’s lovely, Jared. Why didn’t you tell me she’s so pretty?”

  “Yeah, Jared,” Zander intoned, his tongue practically dripping with sarcasm. “Why did you tell your mother that Harper was such a dog?”

  Jared’s scowl was pronounced, but before he had a chance to give Zander a piece of his mind, Pamela was already directing her attention to Zander.

  “You must be Zander. Jared said you were a flashy dresser. Look at this outfit. It reminds me of Miami Vice.”

  Harper tried to swallow her laughter, and couldn’t. The mutinous look on Zander’s face would have her laughing for days. “Oh, you’re Sonny Crockett.”

  “Ha, ha, ha,” Zander muttered, extending his hand. “Mrs. Monroe, I can’t tell you how happy I am to meet you.”

  “Oh, that’s not greeting enough for me.” Pamela jerked Zander into an equally enthusiastic hug, laughing gaily as he awkwardly patted her back. “Jared was just telling me stories about you. I can’t wait to hear more of them. It sounds as if you have quite the happy home.”

  “Not always,” Jared muttered, earning a stern look from Harper as Pamela turned her attention to Shawn.

  “That means you must be Shawn, right?” Her smile for him was as bright as for everybody else. “Jared says you’re the peacemaker in the group when everyone starts fighting. It was the same way for me in my family because I had three sisters. I was always the peacemaker.”

  “It’s not so bad,” Shawn countered. “They only get out of hand four or five times a week.”

  “Oh, I can tell I’m going to like you.” She gave him a hug, insisted that everyone call her “Pam,” and had to be forced into her seat by Jared before she would settle. “So, tell me everything about yourself.” Her eyes were on Harper as she spoke. “I hear you can see ghosts. What’s that like?”

  “Oh, well ... .” Harper paused, a menu in hand. “It’s different. I don’t know how to explain it.”

  “Basically she just stands around and talks to air most of the time,” Zander explained. “Occasionally we get a rowdy ghost who doesn’t want to leave and it throws things. While I can’t see the ghosts, I can see the breaking crockery and stuff. That’s always fun … unless I get hit in the head, which has been known to happen.”

  Harper made a face. “When have you ever found that fun?”

  “Every single time.”

  “Yes, that’s why you whine for hours after each event,” she muttered, shaking her head. “Name one time you’ve ever liked it when a ghost threw something at you.”

  “I can’t think of a time off hand, but I’m sure one exists.” Zander raised a hand to quiet Harper so he could focus on Pam. “So, tell me about Jared as a kid. Was he a pain in the butt? Did he boss around the other kids? Did he always have freakishly large nipples
?”

  Harper was mortified by the last question. One look at Jared’s ruddy cheeks told her he was equally flummoxed. Pam, though, laughed so hard Harper was surprised she didn’t cough up a lung.

  “Oh, you are everything Jared described,” Pam enthused, rubbing her hands together. “He said you suck all the oxygen out of a room and he was right. I think we’re going to be the best of friends.”

  Despite herself, Harper felt a small pang of jealousy lodge in her throat. Their whole lives, Zander was always the one who had an easier time making friends. She shouldn’t have been surprised that he schmoozed Jared’s mother before she had a chance to make an impression.

  “That sounds delightful,” Zander agreed. “I think you should bond with Harper, though. She has a terrible maternal influence. She needs more help than I do.”

  “Hey!” Harper shot him a look. “I have your mother.”

  Zander chuckled. “That’s true. We’ve always shared my mother.”

  Pam’s gaze was quizzical when it landed on Harper. “I was under the impression your parents were alive ... and local. Isn’t that what you told me, Jared?”

  “They’re both local,” Harper answered. “They’re just ... a lot of work.”

  “So much work,” Zander echoed. “This week they’re fighting over garden gnomes.”

  “Fighting over?”

  “They’re getting divorced,” Jared explained to his mother. “They’ve apparently been getting divorced for a long time. They fight over very odd things ... like spoons and garden gnomes.”

  “Perhaps they don’t want to get divorced and the fights are merely a way to drag things out,” Pam suggested.

  “I’ve thought that myself, but they’re hateful to each other,” Harper admitted. “I love them both, but they’re a lot of work. They’re work together, and work apart. I don’t know how things will finally end between them, but I try to stay out of the arguments. They’re nothing but a headache.”

  “Of course they are.” Pam turned solemn. “You seem sad, dear. Is something wrong? Are you upset that I came to town?”

  “Oh, no,” Harper said hurriedly, internally cursing herself. “It’s just ... there’s a lot going on right now and I let my mind drift for a second.”

  “To where?”

  Harper pointed at the poster hanging on the wall on the far side of the restaurant. It was a missing person flier, and Zoe’s face was front and center. “I was momentarily distracted by that.”

  Pam made a clucking sound with her tongue as she studied the poster. “Yes, Jared filled me in about the case on our drive back from the airport. That is simply tragic. Do you have any further leads?”

  Jared shook his head. “No, but that’s the reason I can’t spend the afternoon with you. I need to check in with my partner. We’re desperate to see if we can find a trace of that little girl so we can get her home in time for Christmas.”

  “Well, I think we all want that. Don’t worry about me.” She patted Jared’s arm and focused on Harper. “If you’re busy, that will give me time to get to know your girlfriend. I think we have a lot to discuss.”

  The way she said it made Harper nervous. “Oh, I’m not very interesting.”

  “You see and talk to ghosts.”

  “Yes, but that doesn’t make me interesting.”

  “Don’t listen to her, Pam,” Zander chided, waving his hand. “She’s extremely nervous, and when she’s antsy like this, she says stupid things. She’s the most fascinating person I know ... other than myself, I mean. I wouldn’t have pledged myself as her non-romantic life mate if she wasn’t interesting.”

  Pam’s eyes lit with amusement. “She’s nervous, huh? Why do you think that is?”

  “I’m right here,” Harper muttered, annoyed.

  “I know you’re here,” Jared whispered, patting her knee under the table.

  “You also knew I would bring Shawn and Zander. You had places already set for them.”

  “I knew you were afraid.” His fingers were gentle as he tugged a strand of hair behind her ear. “There was no need for you to be afraid, but I knew you needed a safety blanket. That meant Zander.”

  “He’s not my safety blanket.”

  “Oh, but he is.” Jared gave her a soft kiss and smiled. “It’s okay. Mom wants to meet everyone. I told her you were nervous.”

  “I have no idea why I’m so terrified,” Harper admitted. “I’ve taken on hundreds of ghosts and never thought a thing of it. Meeting your mother, though, has completely knocked me for a loop.”

  “I already told you. She’s going to love you no matter what.” He gave her another kiss, this one so soft it nudged a sigh out of her.

  She wasn’t the only one at the table sighing, though. The moment their lips separated, Shawn and Pam both sighed, too. Zander merely glared at both of them and rolled his eyes.

  “You guys are so cute I can’t stand it,” Pam said, shaking her head as her smile widened. “I mean ... look at you. You’re so pretty together, and you’re so romantic.”

  “They’re schmaltzy,” Zander corrected. “They’re mushy freaks.”

  “Oh, you stop that.” Pam wagged a finger at Zander. “They’re adorable together. What’s not to love?”

  “I say the same thing to him at least once a week,” Shawn volunteered. “He doesn’t always agree with me.”

  “They’re annoying,” Zander complained. “They should spend less time worrying about each other and more time worrying about me. I’m the interesting one.”

  Pam’s giggle was infectious as she stared at Zander. “You guys have quite the little family, don’t you? I was worried about Jared moving to the other side of the state because we had no family over here. It looks like I didn’t need to worry. He merely started a new one.”

  Jared’s grin was indulgent. “I like most of my new family. However, if you want to take Zander with you to the other side of the state when you go, Mom, I would be fine with it.”

  “Ha, ha,” Zander muttered as Pam clapped.

  “Just delightful,” she enthused. “I can’t wait to spend the afternoon with all of you.”

  Harper wasn’t sure she felt the same way, but the nerves from earlier were mostly gone. “We’re looking forward to it, too. It’s going to be a great afternoon.”

  Fifteen

  Harper managed to loosen up over lunch, and by the end of the meal she was laughing and having a grand time. Pam was so amiable and easy — something she wasn’t used to with her own parents — she found she liked the woman, immensely. That made bonding with her a joy rather than a chore.

  Once lunch was finished, Jared had to excuse himself to head to the station. He promised to keep in touch and join the small group as soon as possible. That left Harper, Zander, and Shawn to give Pam a short tour of Whisper Cove (it could hardly be long because the town was so tiny) before heading over to the houses.

  Pam loved the beach locale, gushed over Jason’s restaurant and the view. She laughed at the kitschy shops and happily drank coffee from Rose’s place before absolutely freaking (in a good way) over the new house. She ignored the boxes spread everywhere in the living room and kitchen, commented on the endless potential of the space, and chuckled when Harper pointed out the back window and showed her the spot where they were going to put a hammock.

  By the time they returned to the other house, Zander was in a mood because it was time to start his holiday baking extravaganza. Harper worried Pam would be bored hanging around the house and was debating a trip to the mall when the older woman declared she absolutely loved baking and insisted on serving as Zander’s apprentice. This was too much power for Zander, who roped in Harper and Shawn to help, too, so by the time Jared returned to the house early in the afternoon, the smell of baking cookies wafted through the house and the laughter in the kitchen was contagious.

  “What are you doing home so early?” Harper asked as she approached him, wiping her hands on the apron Zander supplied.

&
nbsp; “And hello to you, too,” Jared drawled, amused. He swiped at a light dusting of flour on her face and grinned. “Have you been replaced by an android?”

  Harper was confused. “What?”

  “An android,” he repeated. “I didn’t know you could bake. I’m worried this is the opening scene of our own version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers or something.”

  Harper’s lips curved down. “Ha, ha, ha. You’re a funny guy.”

  “If I didn’t become a cop, I would’ve become a clown,” he agreed, wrapping his arms around her slim waist and giving her a kiss. “How are things going?” he whispered so only she could hear. “Are you okay?”

  “Your mother is wonderful,” Harper replied honestly. “She hasn’t made one passive aggressive comment about my outfit.”

  Amused, Jared placed both hands on her cheeks and smacked a theatrical kiss against her lips. “My mother doesn’t care about things like that.”

  “She loves Zander.”

  Jared slid his eyes to the kitchen, watching as Zander barked orders. Pam followed them without complaint while Shawn rolled his eyes. “She loves Zander because she knows that Zander is the key to your heart.”

  “I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration.”

  “No, it’s not.” His smile was rueful. “I knew when we met that I was going to have to get on Zander’s good side if I expected to have a chance with you. He’s too important for you to disregard his opinion, so even though he drives you nuts, you listen to every word he says.”

  “Not every word.” Harper was firm. “An hour ago he was explaining his theory of why all men should wear pink and I totally tuned him out.”

  Jared chuckled. “Fair enough.”

  “Hey, you two, stop smooching over there and get with the program,” Zander ordered, drawing their attention. “Harper, you’re supposed to be handling the sprinkles on the Christmas tree cookies. I don’t see much sprinkling going on.”

  Jared turned to glare at Zander and found his mother staring at him with thoughtful eyes. “What are you smiling at, Mom?” he asked after a beat.

  “You.” Pam beamed. “You’re very happy together. That’s exactly what a mother wants to see.”