by Rose Pressey
"Hi, Callahan,” she said, breaking the silence.
"Hi, Brianna, what can I get for you?"
She gave him a coy little smile that had sexual undertones flashing like a neon sign all over it. It was as if she'd cast a spell on him as soon as she'd walked in the door. Entrancing him with her ... with her ... Heck, I wasn't sure how she could hold him spellbound. But somehow she had. Was I somehow suddenly invisible? Finally, she acknowledged me, eyeing me up and down with a slight smirk on her face.
"Um. Nice to meet you. I need to get back and open my store. The coffee is great,” I said, lifting my cup to him as I walked toward the door.
I didn't say anything to Brianna, not that she cared either way. Her eyes were once again fixed on Callahan.
"Come back soon,” he mumbled, not looking at me.
I thought I detected something different in his voice, but I wasn't sure what. Strangely, it did somehow sound different. I shook off the thought, sure that it was just my imagination.
I walked hurriedly past the window, forcing myself not to look at the hottest coffee shop owner ever enjoying the company of another woman. Not just coffee shop owner, but the hottest guy I had seen in a long time. Maybe ever.
I sighed as I ambled back to Book Nook—Brianna had struck again. I took the key from my pocket and unlocked the entrance, flipping the sign back to open as I pushed the heavy frame of the door shut behind me.
Taking in a deep breath, I headed straight to work. The fragrance of the books encircled me and I never tired of smelling them. What could he possibly see in her besides her blonde hair, sexy eyes and great body? Okay, I guess all of those were reason enough, but take away the looks and there was just an empty shell, in my opinion.
I tried to block what might be happening next door from my mind. Of course, President Lincoln had followed me back to Book Nook. I was hoping I'd ditched him at the coffee shop, but no such luck. Maybe, just maybe, I thought, Brianna would have captivated him as well. Abe was no dummy though, and not as easily persuaded as Callahan. He didn't like her, there was no denying that. He was standing in the corner of the store giving me a disenchanted glare.
"What are you staring at me for?"
"Why did you run out of there like that? It was quite obvious to me that you were admiring the fellow."
"I can't talk about this right now, a customer is coming in. So shush."
Abe shrugged his shoulders and looked away.
A little old woman walked through the door, her cane clanging on the threshold as she entered. With her voice crackling, she asked for the local section, and I pointed her in the right direction.
Unfortunately, Abe was standing in that section as well. I gave him a ‘behave yourself’ look and, thankfully, with that he disappeared.
I had a lot on my mind lately and I didn't need him distracting me from my customers any more than I already was. I knew he'd be back soon enough, he always came back. He'd been around for a month already and didn't seem to be in any hurry to go away any time soon.
The bell above the front door chimed again and I snapped my head up to see who'd entered. I was hoping for another customer, but it was just Mindy. She smiled broadly as she walked toward me. I'd recognize that look anywhere; we had been friends since high school and I'd seen it way too many times. With the suspicious gleam floating in her eyes, I knew she was definitely up to something.
"I know that look. And the answer is no,” I said, shaking my head.
The old lady in the corner looked up from her book. She smiled, and then lowered her gaze back to the pages—she probably had a crazy best friend too.
"You won't be able to say no to this."
Mindy smiled and held up a bag, dangling it in front of my face. Instantly I recognized the sack: Dad's Bakery.
"No way.” I shook my head. “I need to lose five pounds as it is, and you bring those in here to tempt me? You should know better. How can I lose weight like that?"
"I brought your favorite too. Blueberry glazed."
Ugh. Blueberry glazed was my all-time favorite.
"You're evil, you temptress. Between doughnuts and the coffee, I'm going to be bouncing off the walls."
Mindy raised one of her perfectly arched brows as she glared at my coffee cup.
"And where did you get that?” she asked tauntingly, bouncing her eyebrows up and down.
I grinned and took a sip of my coffee. “It's chocolate covered cherry!"
"Uh huh. I did not ask what kind it was. I asked where you got it.” She glared at me expectantly. “There are only a couple of coffee shops in town. And considering one of those shops is located right next door with a whole lot of hotness in it, and by hotness I mean a hunk of a man, I'm going to venture a guess that's where you got it."
She tapped her French-manicured nail on the counter, demanding an answer. The sound of her fingernail echoed through the quiet store.
"You know very well where I got it. I saw you walk past gawking in the window and you know I saw you walk past. So quit the act because I'm not falling for it."
She laughed. “All right you caught me. I saw you go in there on my way to the bank. I had to pick up some cash to buy the doughnuts and, lo and behold, who do I see walking into the new coffee shop she said she wasn't interested in? You got it, Larue Donavan."
"So you just came here to tease me?"
"Actually, Miss Smarty Pants, I came to see if you needed any help today. I thought maybe you might need help straightening books or cleaning up."
"Yeah, right. Since when do you ever worry if I need any help?"
She flounced out her hip and placed her hand squarely on it. “I resent that comment! You just went in there to see the new guy. Admit it."
"All right. All right. You caught me red handed, chocolate covered cherry in hand.” I smirked and dangled my coffee cup in front of her face. “I went next door, so what?"
"So when are you going out with him?” Mindy slipped the doughnuts from the bag and placed them on napkins in front of us. She immediately began stuffing one in her mouth.
"Ha. I barely spoke to him."
I glanced over to see that Abe had reappeared and was standing next to the little old lady. I'd love to have seen her face if she'd known Abraham Lincoln was reading over her shoulder. Although I was pretty sure that would cause her to never set foot in my bookstore again. I shot Abe another warning glare to be on the safe side.
Ignoring Mindy's gaze I looked down at the napkin, with the tasty treat placed squarely on top, lying on the counter taunting me. The glaze on the doughnut was gleaming under the light and I couldn't resist it any longer. I grabbed the pastry before Mindy had a chance to eat it herself.
Damn her for bringing that evil enticement around me. My mouth was watering as I broke off a piece of the doughnut, like breaking it off in pieces would make it less fattening or make me eat less of it. Trying to ignore Abe, who was following the woman around the store at that point, I focused my eyes on my irritated friend instead; I couldn't avoid her glare any longer.
After stuffing the last piece of her doughnut in her mouth and practically swallowing it in one bite, she said, “Tell me, why did you barely speak to that gorgeous man? Have you completely lost your mind?"
"I spoke to him. What was I supposed to do? Ask him out?"
She eyed me for a second, pondering the thought.
"Yes,” she said pointedly.
"That's never going to happen. I tried that once, remember?” I said as I put another piece of the blueberry yummy in my mouth.
At Mindy's urging, a couple of years ago I'd tried to ask someone out and it had been a complete disaster. Mindy had told me the editor of the local newspaper had said I was cute. The next time I saw him, I walked right up to him and asked him out.
Turned out he wasn't interested in me. In fact, he wasn't interested in any women. He had a boyfriend and I don't think he'd meant cute in the way she thought. Mindy had a tendency only to hear things
the way she wanted to hear them.
"Are you still talking about that? All right, I may recall a slight incident, but that was an honest mistake. So one time didn't work out, it doesn't mean you should never try again."
"That's exactly what it means!"
The old woman raised her head suspiciously and looked at us. Quickly she set down her book and walked toward the door.
"Thank you! Come again,” I said, giving her my friendliest smile possible.
"See what you did? You ran off my customer. Probably the only one I'll have today,” I whispered. I flashed Mindy the evil eye.
"Oh, she wasn't going to buy anything anyway.” Mindy waved her hand dismissively, and then grabbed the last bite of my doughnut.
"Hey! That's mine.” I protested.
She smiled sheepishly, her mouth stuffed with doughnut. “So, what did you say to him? I want details."
"Maybe next time I should take a recorder with me so you can have a play by play.” Hmm. Maybe I shouldn't put ideas in her head. With Mindy, that could be a very bad thing.
Mindy laughed. “That's a fantastic idea."
"He just asked me about the store and said he was expecting a bookworm and that I didn't fit his idea of what a bookworm looks like."
"Oh, he was flirting with you."
I shrugged. “I don't know. Maybe he was, but it was certainly cut short when you-know-who sashayed in with her tarantula eyelashes. You know, I heard she buys cases of that mascara from Lancôme."
"That bitch! She's tried to get her nasty talons into every eligible bachelor in town. And her fair share of married men, too, for that matter. She needs to be stopped. Someone needs to save the men of Magnolia before it's too late."
"Well, whatever. I'm too busy to worry about her."
Mindy looked around the empty store. “Um. Yeah ... I can see you're swamped."
I laughed. “Well, granted the store is not that busy, but I have a lot of work coming in with my investigations."
"Really? That's great! What exotic locations are you headed to next?” Mindy grabbed her purse and began rooting around, finally pulling out her tiny compact.
"Well, I don't have anything in the immediate future.” I walked over and straightened a stack of books, trying to act busy.
"Uh huh,” she said smugly as she examined my face.
"Ugh, there she goes,” I said, pointing out the window toward Brianna.
As if feeling our stares, she suddenly glanced to her side and gave us an evil smirk as she glided back to her shop.
"That bitch! She's gloating,” Mindy barked. “You've got to do something. Don't let her get away with that."
"What am I supposed to do? I'm just going to ignore her. Maybe if I do, she'll go away. I have work to do, I don't have time to play her games,” I said, grabbing a stack of books.
"Well, we're not going to let her get by with it."
"We're not?"
"Nope, we're not.” Mindy stomped toward the door.
I had never seen her so steamed. I was waiting for the smoke to appear billowing from her ears.
"I'll call you later,” she said over her shoulder.
I waved her off.
As she slipped past, Abe was shaking his head in obvious disapproval.
"I don't want to hear it,” I said as I meandered toward the front window.
"It's hard to stay out of it when I see you are smitten with the young man,” Abe said.
"I'm not smitten."
He raised an eyebrow, which in turn tilted his stove-pipe hat on his head. I gave a sigh and went back to work. Why couldn't everyone stay out of my non-existent dating life?
Later in the day, as I continued my daily paperwork, I wished I could have gotten a refill on my coffee. It was the best I'd ever had, and I wasn't just saying that. Way better than Starbucks. Undoubtedly, slinking back into Full Cup would make me look incredibly desperate. So I opted against the refill.
Just then, my cell rang and I ran over to retrieve it. Oh ha! See? I really was busy. Too bad Mindy wasn't there to see I was getting a very important call. Damn. I hoped it wasn't her calling.
Who was she to judge how busy I was anyway? Her business wasn't exactly overflowing with customers, either. Actually, I had warned her she may have started the worst business possible for our small town. She'd started one of those pole fitness studios. I mean, really, pole fitness? I could just see the little old ladies of Magnolia trotting in to learn how to pole dance. I grabbed the phone and flipped it open.
"Hello?” I said breezily.
"Larue Donavan?"
"Yes, this is Larue."
"Hi Larue, my name is Monica Walker. I was given your number by the National Ghost Investigators Society."
"Hi, Monica. What can I do for you?"
"I'm the director at the Manchester Mansion in Greensburg. Have you heard of us?"
"As a matter of fact I have. I've heard you've got quite a haunting going on there."
"It appears that we do. It's been getting worse ever since we began construction work on the mansion. I had no idea a little construction work could stir up such bizarre activity. But I guess that's what happened. Honestly, we don't know what to do. We're at our wits’ end. I really can't handle it anymore. I decided to find someone to help and that's when I found you. I've heard you're the best person to contact for these things. You do get rid of ghosts? At least that's what I was told."
"I'm so glad you called, Monica. I'd love to help you any way I can, and I'll do my best. Can you tell me what's been happening there? Just share some of the encounters with me?"
"Well, like I said, about a year ago we began some maintenance work on the mansion. It's needed repairs for years, but we've just recently gotten the funding for it. After the work began, strange occurrences started. At first, the workers’ tools would vanish, only to be found later in the exact location they'd left them. I was witness to that with my own eyes. Then voices could be heard throughout the mansion, murmurs really. Sometimes you can make out words and I've even heard my name called out, as well. Recently, people have spotted an apparition. And ... This is very hard for me to say...” She paused.
"I understand how frightening all of this can be for you. Please remember I'm here to help you any way I can. You can tell me anything, I've seen it all."
"I was...” she paused again, and let out a pent-up breath.
Clearly, she had reasons to be very frightened by her experiences with the unknown. I sympathized with her because I knew how terrifying it could be. I could sense the uneasiness oozing through the receiver like current flowing through wires. What could have scared her so badly? I was about to find out for myself.
"I was violently pushed down the stairs yesterday,” she finally mumbled.
"I'm so sorry to hear that. Were you injured? Are you all right? That's absolutely terrible."
"Needless to say, I was extremely shaken up. I feel like I can't go back to work until this spirit or whatever it is, is gone. I just can't force myself to go in there before something is done. I pray you can help me."
"Don't worry, I can help you. I can be there as early as this weekend. Would that work for you?"
"Two days?” She hesitated. “Yes, I suppose that will be fine,” she said reluctantly. “I'll take tomorrow off. Like I said, I can't go in there."
"I'd come sooner, but I'll have to get someone to run my store for me. I'm terribly sorry I can't make it before that."
"I understand completely. I'm just thankful for your help. I hope it's not too big an inconvenience for you?"
The bell chimed and I glanced up to see who had entered. My stomach did a somersault when I saw who was steadily walking toward me.
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter 3
Callahan and his gorgeous smile were moving my way. The best way I would describe my expression would probably be gawking. I was gawking at him. I couldn't believe my eyes.
"Hello, Miss Donavan? Are you s
till there?” Monica's voice snapped me from my musings.
"Um, er. Yes, I'm still here. Sorry, I had a customer walk in. I'll take down your number and give you a call as soon as I arrive in Greensburg."
"Thank you so much, Larue, this means so much to me. You have no idea how much this means to me."
"Maybe you'd better not thank me until your problem is solved.” I didn't want her to get her hopes up too much. What if I couldn't get rid of the spirit?
Callahan was eyeing me as he leafed through Stephen King's latest book. What could he possibly be doing here? Duh. I'm so stupid. Of course, he'd come for a book. Why else would he be in a bookstore?
But ... What if by some crazy chance he'd come to ask me out? Maybe he would take me to the new fabulous French restaurant in town; we'd have wine and gourmet food, then we would go for a leisurely stroll in the park and gaze up at the twinkling stars, chatting for hours. He'd tell me how beautiful I looked, and of course I'd be unbelievably witty and charming the entire evening, making him laugh and immediately fall in love with me.
Monica jarred me back again as she rattled off her phone number. I had to get off the phone with her, pronto. With all the long pauses I was giving her, if I didn't, she'd think I was even more nuts than she probably already did. Most people thought that about me because of my hobby anyway.
Grabbing a pen, I scribbled her number on the pad of paper next to me.
"I got it. I'll call you soon, all right, Monica?"
"All right, Miss Donavan, and thanks again."
"You're welcome. And please, call me Larue."
Callahan smiled, peeking above his book, flashing his glittering blue eyes at me. Swoon.
"Thanks, Larue."
I clicked off from Monica, almost wishing I still had the phone between Callahan and me. At least then I wouldn't have to talk with him, because honestly, I worried I'd say all the wrong things. I slowly put the phone down and nervously smiled at him. The silence between us was quickly becoming very awkward.
"I've been meaning to buy a new book for some time now,” he said as he raised the book in a gesture for emphasis.
