The Ghost Next Door

by Ginny Baird

  “Sounds like a great plan,” Elizabeth said. “Truth is, I’m all cooked out.”

  And she was too. Even though all she’d done was follow the cooking instructions from the back of the chili mix, the entire ordeal of browning meat and mixing in beans had proved exhausting. Elizabeth didn’t know why preparing this simple meal had taxed her so, beyond the fact that she’d hoped to make things perfect. It was hard not to hold that ambition with the perfect dinner guest coming over. Since the rest of the meal was ready and the table set in the next room, she invited Nathan and Claire to go ahead and start serving their salad and chili.

  “Ladies first,” Nathan insisted, stepping aside.

  “But I’m the cook!” Elizabeth protested.

  “All the more reason you should serve first and get off your feet sooner.”

  Elizabeth flushed at the fact that he could likely read her exhaustion. It wasn’t as if she’d cooked a four-course meal, for heaven’s sakes. Yet still, she felt a little lightheaded from her extended efforts. Or maybe it was having Nathan’s gorgeous hazel eyes upon her that made her head swoon. He noted two empty wine goblets on the counter beside a bottle of red. “Want me to open this?”

  “That would be great,” Elizabeth answered, ladling chili into her bowl.

  Claire subtly nudged her elbow. “Mom,” she said in a hushed whisper.

  Elizabeth studied her plate with a start, seeing she’d completely missed the bowl’s lip and had been heaping chili onto the floor! Not that Phantom seemed to mind, as he coiled around her ankles and lapped at the mess by her feet. “Oh, no!”

  Nathan quickly set down the wine and snatched some paper towels off a nearby holder, stooping to help her as Claire pulled Phantom out of the way. “Why don’t you go take a load off while we clean up here?” Nathan told a mortified Elizabeth.

  “Yeah, Mom. I can serve your chili.”

  “And I’ll bring the wine!”

  When Elizabeth slipped from the room, Nathan addressed Claire. “She always this nervous around dinner guests?”

  Claire met his gaze with big dark eyes. “Not typically.”

  When Nathan had his first taste of chili, he saw it was true. Nobody could be a nervous Nelly in the kitchen full-time and yet learn to cook like this. “Great chili,” he told Elizabeth, sampling another bite. “Is that a hint of cinnamon in there?”

  “Just a dash,” she answered proudly. Elizabeth seemed to have calmed down quite a bit since the kitchen mishap. Perhaps the glass of merlot she was drinking helped. It sure assisted with Nathan’s state of mind. Being here with these two gals felt real relaxed and homey. If he was the imagining sort—which he wasn’t—Nathan could almost picture the three of them in some far-flung real estate ad Robeson concocted. Get away from it all in Blayton. Laid-back country living and clean country air. The perfect respite for you and your family.

  Family? Nathan set down his wine with a jolt, the berry-colored liquid nearly splashing over the rim of the glass.

  Elizabeth’s pretty face creased with concern. “Everything all right?”

  “Fine. Just fine. The whole meal was delicious.”

  Claire eagerly stood to clear their plates. “Can I serve the dessert?”

  “That would be great, honey.”

  “Great kid you’ve got there,” Nathan told Elizabeth once Claire had gone.

  “Thanks. I’ll keep her.”

  “Wish all teenagers were that easy to deal with.”

  “Claire has her moments, trust me.”

  “None that I’ve been able to spot so far.”

  “Would you like coffee with your apple cake?”

  “I’d like that, thanks.”

  “If you’ll excuse me a second, I’ll go and put some on.”

  Elizabeth passed Claire in the kitchen as she headed to the dining room with dessert plates. “It’s going good, Mom,” Claire said in a low whisper.

  “Stop it.”

  “I saw how he gazed at you when he nearly spilled his wine.”

  Elizabeth primly flipped back her hair. “And how was that?”

  But Claire just shot her a cat-that-swallowed-the-canary grin and kept walking.

  Elizabeth’s pulse pounded in her ears as she filled the coffee canister with water. It was crazy for her to feel like a nervous teenager just because she was having some guy over for dinner. Some guy who’d been incredibly nice and welcoming to both her and her daughter. A guy who looked like sin in a uniform, and like someone Elizabeth wouldn’t mind sinning with when he was out of it. Elizabeth swallowed hard, shocked at her raging thoughts. She couldn’t actually want to…? She hadn’t even kissed a man in over a decade and had long since given up on the idea of love. But when Nathan met her eyes, her insides went all marshmallowy.

  She scooped grounds into the basket and switched on the coffeemaker, thinking she’d need to watch herself. Here she was, the new girl in town, and she had her daughter to think of besides. She couldn’t go jumping headlong into some far-flung relationship with a man she barely knew. That would mess up everything. Yeah, right. Like her excellent life of solitude and lonely hearted existence. She could hear Claire and Nathan chatting easily in the next room and felt glad they were getting along. It was nice for Claire to visit with a man for a change. An adult man who was kind and seemed interested in what she had to say. Claire was young and already making friends at school. Soon Claire would be driving herself around and be out having fun more often than she stayed home. A few years after that, she’d be leaving for college, and Elizabeth would still be here—something whined at her feet, and she glanced down—with Phantom, forever angling for his next meal.

  “Sorry, buddy,” she told him, “no coffee for you.” But she knew what he was really after: the creamer that Claire habitually snuck him when Elizabeth’s back was turned.

  They were just finishing up Nathan’s superbly moist and tasty apple cake when the landline rang. “I’ll get it!” Claire stood quickly and strode toward the kitchen.

  “We don’t seem to get very good cell reception out here,” Elizabeth told Nathan.

  He nodded in agreement. “I’ve heard they’ve planned some new towers, but I haven’t seen any going in yet.”

  “Isn’t that a problem for you? In your line of work, I mean?”

  He thumbed the transistor at his belt. “Short-wave radio. Works like a charm. In any environment.”

  “Maybe I should get one of those to keep track of my daughter,” Elizabeth joked.

  As if on cue, Claire reappeared, a happy upturn to her lips. “Can I go to Harvest Night with Perry?”

  “Tonight?” Elizabeth asked with surprise. “Isn’t this a little sudden?”

  “Teenagers are always so last minute,” Nathan said with an informed smile.

  “He only found out he’d have the night off just now,” Claire said.

  Nathan explained that Perry helped his Uncle Dan run the orchard. They had a big fall festival the first Friday of October. It was a huge town event and loads of fun.

  Claire waited expectantly, her hand cupped over the mouthpiece of the handset. “Puleeze?”

  Elizabeth glanced uncertainly at Nathan.

  “He’s a good kid,” Nathan said. “I can vouch for him.”

  “How will you get there?” Elizabeth wanted to know.

  “Perry’s picking me up.”

  Elizabeth swallowed hard, not sure she was ready for this. “He’s driving already?”

  “He’s got an early birthday,” Nathan filled in. “But I wouldn’t worry. Never had any trouble with him, and the orchard’s not far away.”

  Elizabeth studied her daughter practically bobbing up and down in place, the extension cord from the phone stretched tight. “If you think it’s all right…?”

  Nathan met her gaze with warm assurance. “I think it will be fine.”

  “Well, okay, then,” she told Claire, who did a little dance and a silent squeal. “You can go. But be home by ten.”
>
  Belle leaned toward the muscular, good-looking man with close-cropped hair beside her to speak above the commotion. “You’ve done a really great job in turning this place around these past few years.”

  Dan angled his handsome face to hers as kids milled by munching apple cider donuts and parents nursed cups of coffee. “I’ve had fun with it. Sure beats the heck out of dodging landmines in the desert.”

  Dan had come here after doing a second tour in Iraq. He’d left the Marines with distinction, having received the Purple Heart. Now he focused on achieving other accolades, like being named best apple producer in the valley. Perry coming to live with him last year had been a plus. After Perry’s family tragedy, the boy had nowhere else to go and Dan had welcomed him with open arms. He genuinely seemed to care for his nephew and did as good a job of parenting as any biological father. Belle respected him for it, knowing firsthand the sorts of challenges he faced.

  “How are things going with Melody?” he asked her. “I heard about that latest thing.”

  Belle frowned, figuring Perry had filled him in. “I sure wish she’d get over it—her penchant for stirring up trouble, that is.”

  “She’ll outgrow it, sooner or later.”

  “Sooner would be best.”

  Dan laughed good-naturedly and eyed her with admiration. “You’re a good mom. She’ll come out okay, you’ll see.” He plucked two apples from a barrel beside him and handed one over. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

  She accepted one and took a bite. “We’ll see.” She spied Melody in the distance, laughing and cavorting with Joy and some other girls. They were piling onto a flatbed trailer hitched to a tractor, about to take a hayride. From this perspective, Melody appeared as normal and happy as any other girl. But Belle knew she was hurting on the inside. They’d tried a stint of family counseling, but that had only made Melody more stubbornly morose. She’d slammed herself in her room after every session, proclaiming to hate her mom for dragging her through it. Eventually, Nathan had convinced Belle that perhaps now wasn’t the time to force Melody into therapy. So Belle had continued going herself, to gather tips on how to handle her daughter. How she wished Melody would pull out of it and begin to see some of the good in life. The only thing that appeared to bring her joy these days was causing others misery, and Belle’s heart hung heavy with that knowledge.

  “I don’t want you to lose faith, Belle. It’s always darkest before the dawn.”

  “Hope so.”

  Dan took her hand on the hay bale between them as they sat in companionable silence.

  It felt good being here beside him, and his presence was a warm comfort. While they weren’t technically dating, she and Dan had formed a sort of closeness that was more than friendship, but not quite intimate.

  She’d gotten to know him slowly during the past several months, mostly through his regular trips to the library. She’d initially been impressed by how much he read, tearing through a whole stack of books every few days. She’d begun to think he’d surpass Martha in his rabid hunger for literature, until she pondered his reading list. The fact that he’d started with action adventure was no big surprise. By the time, he’d resorted to checking out nonfiction books on home decorating, though, she’d suspected his routine visits had less to do with books than they did with her. Each time he’d come by, he made sure to ask her opinion on something or another, or request her help researching gardening strategies for the orchard. Once she learned he’d grown up on one, Belle realized his pleas for help were all bunk. He equally didn’t appear to be reading the books he’d been borrowing. At least not most of them in detail. She’d found several returned with one of Martha’s old bookmarks in place, meaning that Martha had forgotten to remove them while Dan had never happened upon them at all. After a while, he’d asked her out for coffee. They’d even been to lunch a time or two. But mostly they talked over the counter at the library, in hushed tones so as not to disturb the others.

  “You know what we should do sometime?” he asked her.

  “What’s that?”

  “Go out to dinner.”

  Belle’s heart leapt in her chest.

  “A real dinner, I mean. You know, the sort where a waiter brings us wine?”

  Heat warmed Belle’s cheeks. She’d dreamed forever of him asking her but had never imagined he actually would.

  “That would be fine. Some time.”

  He gently squeezed her hand and smiled. “It would, wouldn’t it?”

  Elizabeth watched Claire dash to the red pickup in the drive, hair flying behind her as she went. A cute, dark-haired boy waited in the cab. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Jennings!” he called through his driver’s side window. “I’ll get her back safe and sound!”

  A slight queasiness took hold as Elizabeth watched Claire slide in the truck, buckle up, and drive away, a happy grin on her face all the while. “Hoo boy.” Her heart pinged and her throat muscles tightened.

  “You doing okay?” Nathan asked from beside her. They stood on the porch as the old red truck chortled down the road, kicking up dust and tiny pebbles.

  “I’ll live,” she replied, not entirely certain that was true. My baby girl. Just like that! And it was only yesterday, it seemed, she first noticed boys…

  Nathan laid a steadying hand on her shoulder. “It was bound to happen someday.”

  “I know. I just wasn’t prepared for some day to come so soon. You’d think I’d have some sort of warning.”

  “Teenagers don’t talk much.”

  “Claire has always talked to me!”

  “Hmm.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Just don’t let it hurt your feelings if she suddenly stops.”

  “Suddenly, I’m not feeling so well.”

  “Why don’t you have a seat here?” he said, motioning to one of the cushioned rattan chairs on the porch. “I’ll bring you a glass of water.”

  “That would be great, thanks.”

  Elizabeth sank down in a chair, wondering where the years had gone. It seemed like only yesterday she was holding Claire’s hand and walking her into her first day of kindergarten. Nathan returned with the water and shared a sympathetic smile.

  “I don’t want to impose on your time, but with Claire being out for the evening now, I’d hate to leave you alone.”

  Elizabeth blinked as she registered what he was saying. “Oh no, don’t go! What I mean is, please stay. I’d rather not handle this evening alone.”

  “Should I bring us more coffee?”

  “That would be super. Thanks, Nathan. There should be plenty in the pot.”

  Nathan strolled to the kitchen, considering this stroke of luck. While he’d badly wanted to spend time with Elizabeth and Claire, he hadn’t hoped for time alone with Elizabeth. That was something he’d considered striving for later. Maybe after she got to know him a little more and trusted him a bit. He’d thought he might ask her out to lunch downtown one day while she was working and needing a break. There was so much about her he didn’t know and wanted to learn, and had reasoned he’d get there, given some time. He just thanked his lucky stars he’d have the opportunity to start early. Nathan poured them two steaming mugs and carried them onto the porch.

  She gave him a grateful smile. “I appreciate your staying awhile. It really helps with the transition. Having someone to talk to.”

  “There are a lot of nice folks in town. You’ll be talking to them all before long.”

  “That may be the case,” she said. “But in the meantime, I like who I’m talking to now.”

  Nathan felt the back of his neck warm but wasn’t at all sure whether she was flirting. There was a nice crispness in the air as night settled in, a quarter moon angling over the graveyard. “Looks like we’ll have a full moon for Halloween this year.”

  Elizabeth laughed. “What does that mean? That I have to worry about werewolves now?”

  “Hardly.” Nathan sipped from his mug. �
��Just that things should be nice and clear. Good for trick-or-treaters.”

  “I miss those days when Claire was small.”

  “You’ll miss these days too.”

  “I know.”

  “I guess we’ve all got to savor what we’ve got while we can.”

  “Yes.”

  Elizabeth stared off in the distance, her gaze skimming the dark ridge of the mountains. “It really is a beautiful view, if you can forget that there are tombstones in the way.”

  “You travel much, Elizabeth?”

  “Beg pardon?”

  “Around the country. Or maybe abroad?”

  She sighed and shook her head. “Never even been so far as over those mountains.”

  “Is that a fact?”

  “Yeah. How about you?”

  “A few years back I did some hiking. Camped my way across the entire US of A, all the way up into Yellowstone.”

  “Wow. That’s impressive.”

  “I had a good time with it. It’s what I wanted to do.”

  “Have any exciting experiences?”

  “A few harrowing ones, yeah.”

  “Like?”

  “Like the time I got stuck in Yosemite in a blizzard. Took the rangers a full ten days to dig me out.”

  “How did you survive it?”

  “Wasn’t easy, I can tell you that.”

  “What brought you to Blayton?”

  “I’d known Bernie back in the day, and he spoke well of it. By then, Belle and Melody had moved here too. I guess I was looking for something to do, seeking to find my place. I’d trained at the police academy back home and served about ten years out of high school before deciding I’d had enough. It was rough work in the city, and I needed a break. A long break…away from sirens and neon lights, if you know what I’m saying.”

  “So you went on your big adventure. Head west, young man.”