Ghostly Fears

by Lily Harper Hart

  Harper held her hands out and shrugged. “I have no idea. I’m not really a séance person.”

  “Can we get out of it?”

  The question caught her off guard. “I don’t know. I mean … Byron is paying us to be here. From the sound of the invitation, this is Harris’s idea. I’m sure he wants to put himself on display and act like an idiot. He might actually be able to draw a ghost or two in, though. Who is to say?”

  “I’m to say. I don’t happen to believe he’s the real deal.”

  Harper couldn’t stop herself from smiling. “I think a lot of the people in this business are frauds.”

  “You’re not.” He was stalwart and loyal above all else, which was one of the things Harper loved most about him. “You’re the real deal. I think you should be calling all the shots.”

  “That’s funny because Zander believes he should be calling all the shots.”

  “No. It should be you.” He managed a smile as he leaned in to kiss her. They’d retired to their bedroom for a bit of alone time before dinner once he returned from his trip to the woods. He pictured some cuddle time, and maybe a little something else. She was agitated, though, even though she did her best to cover. “What’s wrong, Heart?” His fingers were gentle as he brushed her hair away from her face.

  “What makes you think anything is wrong?”

  “You have an expressive face and you’re not a very good actress.”

  She frowned. “Should I take that as an insult?”

  “Absolutely not. I like that you’re straightforward and there are never any games.” He leaned close and pressed his lips to her neck. “Er, well, any games that we both don’t want to play.”

  She laughed as she slid her arms around his neck and leaned close. She needed this, she realized. She needed to be close to him, to be held by him. He anchored her and that’s what she needed now.

  “What’s wrong?” he repeated, growing more concerned.

  “Nothing is wrong,” she reassured him quickly, pulling back so she could look into his eyes. “I’m fine. I just … we saw a ghost.”

  “Jennifer?”

  Harper shook her head. “I don’t know who she was. I have a feeling she was Byron’s grandmother, Beatrice.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  Harper told him about the rest of her day, about trying to get into the upstairs room and her conversation with Bates. As she talked, she allowed Jared to direct her toward the bed so they could get comfortable and wrap themselves around one another. When she was finished, he was thoughtful.

  “It sounds like she doesn’t understand what’s going on,” he noted. He understood more about the ghost world than he ever thought possible thanks to his relationship with Harper. “Why do you think she’s hanging around?”

  Harper shrugged. “I honestly have no idea. I guess something traumatic happened to her back in the day, but I haven’t been able to find anything on how she died. It was a long time ago and there’s no information on the internet.”

  Jared pursed his lips as he stared into her eyes. “Well … maybe she’ll grow to trust you.”

  “We don’t have a lot of time left here. I mean … I’m starting to wonder why Byron even invited us. We’ve done nothing to track down the truth regarding Jennifer’s disappearance.”

  “Maybe Byron just wants to think he’s doing something. I mean … it has to be hard. That’s his daughter. She vanished into thin air one day. He’s been plagued with questions for ten years. It can’t be easy.”

  “I get that.” Harper was earnest. “I do. That doesn’t change the fact that we still have no idea if Jennifer is even dead. I mean … she could’ve run. That’s a legitimate possibility. Byron doesn’t want to see it, but if Jennifer was really as unhappy as she seemed, why would she stay?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t have an answer for you.”

  “I don’t have an answer for me either.” She pressed her head to his chest as he stroked her hair. “Sometimes I wish I didn’t see ghosts.”

  He arched an eyebrow, surprised. “Why do you say that?”

  “Because I’m supposed to have this special gift that helps people and what’s the point of being odd and different if I can’t help people? I’m not helping anyone right now.”

  “That’s not true.” He scooched lower on the bed and lifted her chin so he could stare into her eyes. “You’re helping me.”

  “With what?”

  “This.” He kissed her, grinning when she rolled her eyes. “And this.” He kissed her again, nudging loose a sigh.

  “You’re pretty charming when you want to be,” she noted as she stared at his curved smile. “I love you, Jared.”

  “I love you, too.”

  “I kind of want to tune out the rest of the world for an hour or so,” she admitted, mischief flitting through her eyes. “Do you have any ideas for distracting me?”

  His face split with a wide grin. “As a matter of fact, I do.”

  “Somehow I knew you were going to say that.”

  TWO HOURS LATER, THEY MADE THEIR way to the main house. Everybody else was already seated and Harper offered up a lame apology when they settled at the table.

  “Sorry we’re late.”

  Byron smiled indulgently at her. “That’s quite all right. I assume you were preparing for Mr. Fontaine’s séance this evening. I have to admit, I’m looking forward to it. He believes we might even be able to have a conversation with Jennifer.”

  Harper didn’t bother hiding her surprise as she shifted her eyes to the psychic in question. Byron had arranged the seating chart to make sure Harris was to his right and Harper to his left this evening. It seemed – at least to Harper – to signify a change in the pecking order. Since Jared was seated next to her for the first time since arriving, though, Harper was fine with it.

  “I don’t really participate in a lot of séances,” she admitted after a beat. “They’re not part of my work.”

  “And how do you communicate with the dead?” Harris asked.

  “Usually I just have a conversation with them.”

  “But … how do you call them?”

  “I don’t call them. I usually stumble across them and ask a few questions. Occasionally I get called to a home because of a troublesome haunting and I have to capture a ghost so I can send it to the other side. It’s basically a fifty-fifty split.”

  Harris’s expression was hard to read. “I see … and you actually make money doing this?”

  “I do.” Harper bobbed her head, doing her best to keep from snapping at the man. He had one of those tones that stabbed to her very marrow. “How do you communicate with ghosts?”

  “I force them to come to me.” Harris puffed out his chest, obviously feeling very self-important. “It’s necessary to set the right tone when dealing with the dead. They can make life difficult for the living if you don’t make them aware you’re in charge.”

  Harper kept her face placid, but just barely. “And how do you let them know you’re in charge?”

  “By calling to them, of course. If you can force them to appear when they don’t wish to do so, you become their master. Surely you already know this.”

  “Not really.” Harper forced a flat smile. “That’s not how I operate.”

  “Perhaps that’s because you don’t know what you’re doing.”

  Jared stirred. “I’ve seen Harper work her magic more times than I can count. She knows what she’s doing.”

  “You’re her fiancé, right? I believe you’re required to say that.” Harris didn’t wait for Jared to respond, instead turning his full attention to Byron. “I believe we should have the séance in the library, the one where your daughter enjoyed spending her time. That’s probably where her ghost will feel most comfortable.”

  Byron nodded without hesitation. “That sounds like a fine idea to me.”

  Harper narrowed her eyes as she met Harris’s gaze. There was an unsaid challenge passing between them, but
she refused to call him out in front of an audience. If he wanted to put himself on display with a séance, who was she to judge? Sure, she had her doubts it would work, but it was his show.

  Honestly, she was mildly curious to see how it would all turn out.

  BY THE TIME THEY FINISHED DINNER and escaped to the library, Harris made a big show of giving Byron a list of things he would need for the séance. That meant the library was dripping in ambiance when they arrived … and a bevy of small candles.

  “This is perfect,” Harris announced, rubbing his hands together. “This is everything I need.”

  Harper glared at him out of the corner of her eye before folding her arms over her chest and leaning against a wall. She was embarrassed for him … an emotion that he neither seemed capable of recognizing nor admitting to.

  “We don’t have to stay,” Jared whispered as he slid behind her. “I know this isn’t your idea of fun.”

  “Actually, I want to see what he does,” she admitted. “I assume he’s going to make a jackass of himself. I’m just curious how far he’s willing to take it.”

  What Jared didn’t tell her was that he believed Harris was willing to take it all the way. He figured he would simply let her enjoy the show and be surprised.

  Harris clearly relished being the center of attention because he made a series of humming noises, as if testing the ambiance, and then held out his hands as he sat cross-legged on the ground. “The spirits are ready,” he announced.

  Harper rolled her eyes until they landed on Margot, who was having the exact same reaction as her. Delphine, however, appeared intrigued and readily joined Harris on the floor. Apparently she wanted to bask in his attention.

  “I’ll help call to the spirits,” she offered.

  Harris pinned her with a serious look. “I don’t need help. You’ll screw it up if you’re not careful.”

  “Nonsense. I’ve been doing this for years. I’ve never failed when it comes to a séance.”

  “Neither have I.”

  “So … this should work out well.”

  Harper pressed her lips together to keep from laughing and slid her eyes to Jared. He looked as amused as she felt and he slipped his arm around her waist to keep her close.

  Harris and Delphine spent the next ten minutes chanting over top of one another, fighting to see which one could draw the most attention. A quick look at the Jessups told Harper they were already bored with the show. Well … other than Byron. He seemed legitimately taken with Harris’s efforts.

  And then the man started calling out Jennifer’s name. He did it in such a loud voice he caused Harper to jolt.

  “What the … ?”

  Jared tugged her tighter against him, frowning. “That’s ridiculous,” he muttered under his breath.

  Byron seemed to feel the exact opposite. “Is it Jennifer? Is she here?”

  “She’s here,” Harris intoned, causing Harper to straighten. When she looked around the room, she came up empty.

  “She has a message for you,” Delphine added. “She wants you to know that what happened to her wasn’t your fault.”

  Harris openly glared. “She’s talking to me, not you.”

  “She’s talking to both of us.”

  “Oh, geez,” Harper muttered, shaking her head. “She’s not even here.”

  Byron shushed her and focused on Harris. “What is she saying? Does she know what happened to her? Where can I find her body? I want to put her to rest?”

  “Her voice is very faint,” Harris explained. “It’s going to take a moment – and absolute silence – for me to make out what she’s saying. I’m going to need everybody’s cooperation.”

  “I can’t even … .” Harper pulled away from Jared and circled, her gaze going to the second floor of the library as she shook her head. When her gaze finally focused, her heart skipped a beat as she realized an ethereal face was watching them.

  “Jared.” She gripped his hand tightly, drawing his attention to the second floor.

  Of course, he couldn’t see anything. “Is it her?” he whispered, keeping his lips close to Harper’s ear as Harris continued acting for the crowd.

  “It’s not Jennifer.” Harper sighed as her gaze locked with that of Beatrice. The ghost looked just as worried as she had earlier in the evening. She wasn’t, however, alone. She had two friends with her, both female, and both dressed in outfits that went out of style a good fifty years before. “I don’t think Jennifer is here.”

  Jared moved his hand to her back and lightly rubbed as he stared at the spot that had captivated her attention. There were times he wished he could see what she did simply so she wouldn’t always be alone when the terrifying things appeared. There were other times he was glad he couldn’t see because he was convinced it was something that would forever change his outlook on life. He didn’t know how Harper managed to function – and well – seeing the things she did.

  “Tell Byron,” Jared suggested. “He should know he’s being taken for a ride.”

  Harper shifted her eyes back to Harris, who was nowhere near done putting on a show. “If I do that, I’ll look like I’m jealous or something because I haven’t found any answers. It’s not exactly as if I’ve found any proof that she’s still alive.”

  Jared studied her for a long beat. “Well, then I don’t know what to tell you.”

  Harper didn’t know what to do either. Because of that, she remained where she was and watched Harris lie through his teeth.

  “She says that there was an accident,” Harris explained. “She was out walking in the woods and she fell, hurt herself. No one came to save her. She died out there alone, but she doesn’t blame you.”

  Byron exhaled heavily. “Where is she? I want to find her, bring her home.”

  Harper frowned. This was a ridiculous load of nonsense as far as she was concerned. Apparently she wasn’t the only one who believed that.

  “There’s no ghost here,” Margot announced, taking everyone in the room by surprise. She didn’t look up, didn’t take in the three ghosts watching the show with impassioned faces. Instead, she remained focused on Harris. “Jennifer isn’t here. You’re making it up.”

  Harris’s eyes filled with fire. “I most certainly am not making it up. I’m an expert. There’s a reason my services are in such high demand. Jennifer is here.”

  Byron glanced between his two “experts” before shifting his eyes to Harper. “What do you think?”

  She sucked in a breath. She hated being put on the spot. “I think that she’s not here.” No matter how she felt about what was going on, Harper couldn’t lie. She didn’t have it in her. “I think someone else is here, though. Maybe a couple of someones, in fact.”

  Byron wrinkled his forehead. “Someone else? I don’t understand.”

  “Your grandmother. How did she die?”

  “Grandma Beatrice? I … she died in her sleep.”

  Harper glanced at the ghost on the second floor. “I don’t think that’s true. Is that what you were told?”

  Byron was officially bewildered. “What does my grandmother have to do with Jennifer’s death?”

  “Probably nothing. I don’t know that Jennifer is dead, though. No matter what Harris tells you, she’s not here. He’s making it up.”

  Harris hopped to his feet, fury on full display. “That is a vicious lie. She’s here. She doesn’t want you agonizing over her death. She’s mostly at peace.”

  “If she is dead, she won’t be at peace until she crosses over,” Harper countered. “She’s not here, though. We don’t know what happened to her. That’s the truth.”

  “I know.” Harris refused to back down. “It was an accident. She wants her father to find peace.”

  “I want her father to find peace, too,” Harper offered. “This isn’t the way, though. I won’t participate in a lie.”

  “Then perhaps you should leave,” Harris suggested. “If you don’t believe, why are you even here?”

 
; Byron found his voice. “Because I want her here. Harper knew Jennifer. As for all of this … I need time to think.” He looked conflicted … and shaken. “I’m sure you can entertain yourselves for the rest of the evening. I need to retire.”

  He was already out of the room before Harris found his voice.

  “Well, I hope you’re happy.” His gaze was dour when it landed on Harper. “You’re totally ruining this for everybody. This trip has turned into a whole bunch of suck.”

  Harper couldn’t agree more. The trip sucked … but that didn’t mean it was a total loss. She flicked her eyes back to the second floor and found the ghosts were gone. There were souls on the property who had answers. She simply needed to track them down and make them talk.

  That was going to be easier said than done.

  14

  Fourteen

  Harper woke cocooned in warmth, Jared’s breath hot on the back of her neck. Once Delphine and Harris started arguing the night before, they excused themselves for bed. Zander and Shawn stayed behind, seemingly amused by the show. Harper expected a full report when they left the relative safety of their bedroom … but she wasn’t in the mood to deal with it yet.

  “What are you thinking?” Jared murmured, his voice thick with sleep. “I know what I’m thinking. It’s too early to get up.”

  Harper smiled as she rolled to face him, taking a moment to enjoy his stubbled profile. “You’re so pretty.”

  He snorted. “I was just going to say the same thing about you.”

  “Oh, yeah?” She snuggled closer. “If we were home, I would suggest we spend the day being pretty together in bed. Like … the entire day. We could order food delivered and everything.”

  He arched an eyebrow, amused. “Do you want to go home? I can have us there in an hour. We can be undressed and back in bed before breakfast.”

  She considered the question. “I want to go home.”

  Her answer surprised him. “Okay. Then we’ll go home.”

  “I want to go home, but I can’t just yet,” she clarified. “Something is really wrong here. I mean … really off. There are three ghosts running around.”