Ghostly Charms

by Lily Harper Hart

  “We have a lot of tourists in the spring and fall, too,” Harper offered helpfully. “I wouldn’t worry too much. Winter is kind of a dead zone, but you can get any traveling you want to do out of the way then.”

  “That’s what I figure. Plus, Rain and I enjoy skiing, so we’ll be heading up north for that on weekends quite often.” His hand landed on the taciturn teenager’s shoulder and he gave it a light squeeze. “Doesn’t that sound fun, Rain?”

  For her part, Rain had her role as sullen killjoy down pat. She looked as if she would prefer being anywhere but Whisper Cove. Her shorts looked to be Calvin Klein, her sandals Guess, and her sunglasses were Coach. That told Harper she was a bit spoiled and used to getting what she wanted, and maybe she’d come from a more affluent area. The people in Whisper Cove certainly weren’t poor. There was a more laidback attitude, though, and that might not necessarily appeal to a teenager.

  “You’re coming in late to the school year obviously,” Harper said. “Still, if you need help meeting any of the kids, I’m available to introduce you around.” She was trying to say something, anything really, to draw the kid out of her shell.

  It didn’t work.

  “I’m making friends fine,” Rain said finally, petulant. “I’m not completely helpless, no matter what Ezra thinks. I’m capable of making friends on my own.”

  “I didn’t mean to suggest otherwise.” Harper held up her hands in capitulation. “I was just trying to help.”

  “I don’t need help.” Rain folded her arms over her chest and slid a sidelong look toward Jared. She seemed to like what she saw. “What about you? Do you want to help me make friends?”

  Jared’s smirk was friendly. “I haven’t been here all that long myself. I moved to town a little more than a year ago. I can’t help you. Harper has lived here her entire life, though. You should take her up on the offer.”

  Rain rolled her eyes. “I’m not interested in her help.”

  Ezra flicked Rain’s ear and sent her an admonishing look before turning back to Harper and Jared. “You’ll have to forgive my sister. She’s not used to living in a community this small and she’s still ... adjusting. It’s been a difficult time for her — not that I’m trying to excuse her attitude — and she’s a real pain when she wants to be.”

  Harper wanted to ask what circumstances led them to move, and from where, but she didn’t want to pry. Rain was obviously having a hard time of it, though. She looked to be about sixteen, which was a rough age to have to pick up and start over. Making new friends at her age, at a school where all the kids had been together for the bulk of their lives, was bound to be difficult.

  “Well, just keep it in mind,” Harper said finally. “I’m always around. I own GHI around the corner. You can stop by if you’re ever bored.”

  “What’s GHI?” Ezra asked.

  “Ghost Hunters, Incorporated.” Harper saw no reason to lie. She didn’t exactly fly under the radar when it came to her job. She could see and talk to ghosts — a reality for her since she was a small child — and she’d turned that ability into a moneymaking endeavor. She wasn’t ashamed of who she was and wouldn’t pretend otherwise. “We basically remove problematic ghosts and conduct tours in the cemetery.”

  “I see.” If Ezra was turned off by the news, he didn’t show it. “That’s an interesting job. How did you get involved in that line of work?”

  “I’ve always had an affinity for the dead,” Harper replied. “It seemed like a natural fit. My best friend is a whiz with numbers and he handles the business side of things.”

  “That’s ... very interesting.” Slowly, Ezra tracked his gaze to Jared. “Are you a ghost hunter, too?”

  “No. I’m a detective with the police department.”

  Rain’s back went rigid. “For real? You’re a cop?”

  Jared was amused despite himself. “I’m a detective,” he confirmed. “That means you have to stay out of trouble while you’re here or I’ll arrest you.”

  The way Rain’s eyes roamed Jared’s body told Harper that the girl didn’t necessarily think that was such a terrible fate. “Okay.”

  Harper pressed her lips together to keep from laughing as Ezra rolled his eyes. Rain was obviously a healthy girl with a developing crush. Given how handsome Jared was, she wasn’t surprised. She managed to rein in her amusement, though, because she didn’t think Ezra would appreciate it. He was obviously at the end of his rope with his sister.

  “Well, I wish you well with your gallery and I will definitely stop in when it’s open,” Harper volunteered. “I think an art gallery is a great idea and it will draw people from all across the area.”

  “Thank you.” Ezra’s smile was amiable. “What about the blue, though? Do you think the building will look good in blue?”

  “Blue is my favorite color,” Jared replied, lacing his fingers with Harper’s as he started prodding her toward the street. The hammock was calling to him. “Harper’s eyes are blue. You should go with that color.”

  Harper’s cheeks colored as Ezra snorted.

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said. “Have fun with the rest of your afternoon.”

  “We intend to.” Jared smiled at Rain before dragging Harper away.

  Harper waited until they were safely out of hearing distance to speak again. “I think you have a fan in young Rain.”

  “I can’t help it. Women love me,” Jared replied cheekily. “It’s just something I’m used to.”

  “Uh-huh.” Harper rolled her eyes. “She’s a pretty girl.”

  “I have the prettiest girl already. As for Rain, she has a poor attitude. I hope her brother can perk her up a little bit.”

  “I think something happened,” Harper admitted after a moment’s contemplation. “He’s a good fifteen or so years older than her, which means she was probably a surprise baby for her parents. He’s got her now, which indicates to me that something happened to the parents. Maybe it was a recent thing.”

  “Huh.” That honestly hadn’t even occurred to Jared. “I didn’t think about that, but it makes sense. Now I feel bad for her.”

  “I think she’ll be okay. Her brother is obviously doing his best. In this case, the fact that he’s older is better for her. He won’t be afraid to set boundaries.”

  “Still, it’s kind of sad for her.”

  “She’s got you to fantasize about. I’m pretty sure she’ll be okay.”

  “Yeah. She’ll be fine.” He slipped his arm around Harper’s waist and snapped her close. “If you play your cards right, there will be more than fantasizing in your immediate future.”

  “Bring it on.”

  3

  Three

  An afternoon in the hammock had Harper and Jared acting like ridiculous teenagers as far as Zander was concerned. By the time the duo arrived for the first barbecue of the season, their skin flushed and their eyes bright, he wanted to strangle them both.

  “Don’t make me separate you,” he warned as he checked his marinating steaks. They were on the other side of the kitchen island pawing at one another and giggling. “I’ll do it, too. I might even get the hose just to cool you off.”

  “Oh, don’t be such a spoilsport,” Harper teased, dragging herself from Jared’s embrace and focusing on her best friend. “Why do you have to be such a downer? We had a nice day.”

  “You had a nice day. I had to work.”

  “You didn’t have to work,” Jared countered. “Without Harper there, you basically just hung around the office because she does all the heavy lifting. I’m sure your day wasn’t all that taxing.”

  Zander’s mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me.” Jared picked up a cherry tomato from the vegetable tray and popped it into his mouth as he settled at one of the stools. “You can’t hunt for ghosts without the woman who sees ghosts.”

  “No, I can’t,” Zander agreed, his tone icy. “Not everything at GHI revolves around Harper, though. Someone has to do th
e books, pay the bills, and handle our employees. That someone is me.”

  Harper sensed trouble. “Zander does a lot of work,” she offered quickly. “He does the work that I can’t do.”

  “Because she’s bad at math,” Zander muttered.

  “I’m terrible at math,” Harper agreed. “I’m the absolute worst at math. Zander is my hero when it comes to the accounting.” The look she shot Jared was pointed.

  “I’m sorry,” Jared said finally, although he didn’t sound sincere. “I didn’t mean to upset anyone. I was just making a statement.”

  “That I do no work,” Zander challenged.

  “I didn’t really think about the books,” Jared admitted. “You do a lot of work. I apologize.” He slid his arm around Harper’s waist and tugged until she was directly next to him. “You shouldn’t begrudge your friend a day off, though. She occasionally needs the downtime.”

  “Did I say I begrudged her anything?”

  “Kind of.”

  “Well, I don’t. I just don’t like it when you two act like you’re in heat.” He splashed some of the red wine from the marinade at them and turned his eyes to the door as his live-in boyfriend Shawn Donovan strolled over the threshold. “And there’s someone I want to see.” Zander beamed at him. “You won’t be a schmaltzy mess and turn my stomach.”

  “You don’t know that,” Shawn countered, sharing a quick kiss with Zander before shrugging out of his track jacket. “I can be schmaltzy with the best of them.”

  “Oh, I know that,” Zander intoned. “You generally keep it for private times, though. How was your day?”

  “Normal.” Shawn took the stool on the other side of Harper and grabbed a stalk of broccoli. “I had lunch with a few other business owners. Everybody is up in arms over these break-ins. Do you guys have any leads, Jared?”

  “What break-ins?” Zander asked, his forehead wrinkling. “I haven’t heard of any break-ins.”

  Harper quickly filled him in, ending with what happened at Jason’s restaurant earlier in the day. “So, basically nothing much is being taken, but it’s been happening for almost two weeks now.”

  “That doesn’t sound like something to worry about, although it’s a little weird,” Zander said. “I’m surprised I didn’t hear about it. We’re business owners. Shouldn’t someone have made us aware?”

  “Why would anyone break into GHI?” Harper countered. “We don’t keep any cash around.”

  “No, but there’s expensive equipment,” Jared noted. “Zander is right. All the business owners should’ve been notified. I assumed they were. Mel talked to the head of the Downtown Development Authority and he said he was going to inform everyone.”

  “Oh, Charles Boring?” Zander rolled his eyes. “Yeah. He doesn’t like me.”

  Jared’s eyebrows drew together. “I don’t think that was his last name.”

  “No, it’s Boardman,” Harper explained. “Zander just finds him boring.”

  “Meaning you missed the joke,” Zander said as he grinned at the detective. They got along, for the most part, but enjoyed needling each other. It was clear it was going to be a long night given the way they were sniping. “You often miss the jokes, don’t you?”

  “You can’t ruin my mood no matter how hard you try,” Jared shot back. “I had the best day ever, despite the trip to Jason’s place. That even worked out for us because now we have a venue for the reception. My day, which was spent entirely with my girl, was perfect.”

  Instead of issuing a witty comeback, Zander straightened. “Wait ... are you saying you did wedding stuff without me?”

  Jared realized his mistake too late, and when he looked to Harper for help, he found she had her head in her hands. “Um ... I think I’m going to leave this one to Harper. I’m going to run out to ... somewhere else.”

  Jared moved to stand, but Harper grabbed his arm before he could escape and held him firmly in place.

  “Don’t even think about it,” she admonished, pinning him with a dark glare. “You created this mess. You’re going to help me clean it up.”

  He made a protesting sound with his lips. “How is that fair? It’s our wedding. I should be able to talk about our wedding whenever I want.”

  “It’s our wedding,” Zander corrected, pointing at Harper, Jared, and himself in turn. “That means all three of us are making plans.”

  “No, it’s our wedding,” Jared stressed, his finger moving between Harper and him. “We get to decide. You’re the Zander of honor. You get to handle things on that end, like the wedding shower and bachelorette party ... although I don’t want my girl seeing other naked dudes so maybe go to a library or something instead.”

  Harper snorted. “You don’t have to worry about that. We’ll probably just go to a bar or something.”

  “Oh, no. There will be strippers.” Zander’s gaze was dark as it lanced Jared. “Now that I know Captain Steal My Wedding doesn’t like strippers, there will be a hundred of them.”

  “Well, this took a turn,” Shawn said as he got up and headed to the refrigerator. “Does anybody want a beer?”

  “I’ll take ten of them,” Jared replied, sighing. “As for the wedding, Zander, Harper and I are the ones getting married. Our choices are what matters. While I’m sure you’ll be a great Zander of honor for Harper, that doesn’t mean you get a vote.”

  The statement only served to infuriate Zander even more. “Well, that’s gratitude for you. I’ll have you know, the two of you wouldn’t even be getting married if it weren’t for me. I’m the reason she agreed to go out with you in the first place. She was nervous that night and was considering bailing on you, but I talked her out of it. Me.” He thumped his chest for emphasis. “I can’t believe you’re paying me back this way.”

  “Oh, man.” Shawn hung his head as he delivered a beer to Jared. “This is about to get ugly.”

  “I figured that out myself,” Jared said as he twisted the top off the beer. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Zander. Harper is going to be my wife. We want to make the decisions ourselves. Do you have a problem with us using Jason’s restaurant as a venue?”

  “He’s a thunder-stealer,” Zander pointed out. “He stole my thunder all through high school. He’ll steal your thunder at the wedding if you give him a chance.”

  “And how is he going to do that?” Harper queried. “I mean ... Jared’s thunder is pretty much untouchable.”

  “Did anyone else’s head just go to a dirty place?” Jared asked.

  Shawn raised his hand and sipped his beer.

  “I think that place is too small anyway,” Zander argued. “Forget the fact that he’s a thunder-stealer — although I’m still going to make him pay for that at some point — but how are five hundred guests going to fit into that restaurant? I think the capacity is like a hundred and twenty max.”

  Harper’s eyebrows practically flew off her forehead. “Five hundred people? I don’t even know five hundred people. It’s going to be a small wedding. We haven’t put together a list or anything, but I think it’s far more likely we’re looking at seventy-five people ... and that might be a generous number.”

  “That sounds about right to me,” Jared agreed.

  Zander’s glare was withering. “You just ... shut it.” He wagged a finger in Jared’s face. “Five hundred people is a low number. My family alone, when you count all those Arkansas relatives nobody speaks about, is going to make up two hundred people.”

  Harper shifted from one foot to the other, suddenly uncomfortable. “Yeah, about that ... .”

  Zander folded his arms over his chest and waited for her to find her courage.

  “I’ll be inviting your mother ... and a few of your closer cousins ... and Mel, of course. I’ll invite your grandmother because I’ve known her forever. The rest of them aren’t going to be on the list, though.”

  “What?” Zander’s voice was unnaturally shrill. “How can you cut out our entire family this way? That’s just ... r
ude.”

  “They’re your family,” Harper countered, refusing to back down. “You’re my family, but they’re not. I mean ... I love your mother and Mel. I love you more than words. I’m not inviting all your shirttail relatives, though.

  “And, quite frankly, Jared and I have already talked about it,” she continued. “We want a small wedding. We want it to be people we care about, something romantic, on the beach at sunset. Then we want people to have a good time at the reception, with good food and a fantastic cake, and then we’re going to leave on our honeymoon for two weeks. That’s what we want.”

  “Oh, well, if that’s what you want.”

  Zander’s tone told Jared things weren’t going to get better anytime soon.

  “That’s what we want,” Jared agreed. “If you don’t like it, I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to get over yourself. This is Harper’s wedding – and mine, too – and we want things a specific way. That means it won’t be your way.”

  “Well, how great for you.” Zander rolled his eyes and viciously poked a fork into foil-wrapped potatoes. “This day sucks. I can’t believe I’m being cut out of the wedding plans.”

  Shawn absently patted his shoulder as he took a pull on his beer. He waited until he was done swallowing to speak again. “There will be other weddings.”

  “What other weddings?” Zander’s expression lit with annoyance. “Harper is only going to get married once. Even I can see she and Mr. Ruin My Day are built to last. This is my only shot.”

  Shawn remained calm in the face of Zander’s wrath. “Aren’t you going to get married one day? Isn’t us getting married a possibility?”

  Zander looked taken aback by the question. “I ... hadn’t really thought about it.”

  “Well, think about it,” Shawn suggested. “I want to get married one day. That’s non-negotiable. If you don’t, maybe this isn’t going to work out. I’m not saying it has to happen right away, but eventually, I would like it to be a reality. Can’t you focus all your attention on that wedding?”