Ghostly Worries (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 4)

by Hart, Lily Harper

  Jared jumped when someone knocked on the front door, his heart pounding as he reached for the handle. He hadn’t even moved entirely into the living room yet and already someone was visiting. He had visions of finding a bloodied and beaten Zander on the porch, an irate Harper taking her wrath out on the only man brave enough to cross her path. He hated his cowardice, but he didn’t think he could face her after what occurred in the restaurant.

  “Dinner?”

  Jared lifted his eyebrows when he found Harper standing on the porch with a picnic basket in her hand. Her expression was neutral, but a duffel bag rested at her feet and Jared had the distinct impression she wasn’t going to let him get rid of her no matter what argument he managed to muster.

  “You brought me dinner?” It was a lame greeting, but Jared was so flummoxed he didn’t know what else to say.

  “I figured you would work late, come home late, and then go to bed late without food,” Harper said, kicking her bag over the threshold as she pushed Jared out of the way to make room for her entry. “After about an hour of pouting … and another hour of crying … I decided I wasn’t going to let that happen.”

  Jared wordlessly accepted the picnic basket as his eyes roamed Harper’s face. She wasn’t wearing any makeup – which was exactly how he liked her – but up close he could see her eyes were puffier than normal.

  Harper was exasperated with Jared’s silence. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

  “I didn’t mean to make you cry.” The words were barely a whisper.

  “Is this it then?” Harper asked, her voice cracking. “Are you breaking up with me?”

  The simple question was enough to jolt Jared out of his self-imposed pity party. “No! Why would you ask that?”

  “Because you left without even looking at me and didn’t give me an explanation or anything. Heck, you didn’t even give me a kiss.”

  Jared hated the glassiness of her eyes and lowered the picnic basket to the console table before pulling her in for a hug. She was stiff, initially refusing to melt into him. He tightened his grip until she relented.

  “I’m so sorry, Heart,” Jared whispered, kissing her cheek. “I didn’t mean for any of that to happen. I didn’t say anything because I was ashamed about how I acted.”

  Harper pulled back slightly so she could meet his gaze. “Compared to Zander you were the picture of sanity.”

  “Yes, but I don’t take that as much of a compliment,” Jared said. “I acted like an ass.”

  “No, you didn’t,” Harper argued. “What happened was a mistake. Zander got you riled up and told you Jason was a murderer so you let your imagination get away from you. Do you have any idea how often I’ve let Zander rile me up and done things that were ten times worse than what you did?”

  “I think you’re just trying to make me feel better,” Jared said, running his thumb over Harper’s cheek. “I’m really sorry.”

  “I know you’re sorry,” Harper said, sympathy coursing through her. Jared looked truly miserable. “Why do you think I’m here?”

  “Because Zander locked his bedroom door and you can’t get at him.”

  “Well, that’s true,” Harper conceded. “I didn’t want to be away from you, though. I took a chance on coming here and invading your personal space in the hope that you wouldn’t think I was a crazy stalker.”

  Jared barked out a laugh. “I would never think that,” he said, cupping the back of her head as he rested his forehead against hers. She felt good in his arms, as if she always belonged there. “I’m still sorry.”

  “Yeah? Thank you.”

  “That’s it?” You’re not going to yell or anything?” Jared was dumbfounded. “If I was in your position I think there would be yelling.”

  “I think you’re being too hard on yourself,” Harper countered. “I know … .” She broke off, unsure how far she should push the issue.

  “You know what?”

  “I know what Jason said to you,” Harper replied finally, hating the way Jared cringed and pressed his eyes shut. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I can’t believe he told you,” Jared said. “That was ballsy.”

  “He didn’t tell me as part of any master plan,” Harper clarified. “He thought that was why I was there asking questions and tripped over his own tongue to explain himself.”

  “Oh.” Realization dawned on Jared. “What did he say?”

  “He said that he told you he was going to ask me out even though he knew we were in a relationship.”

  “Anything else?”

  “He also said you refused to be controlling and told him that you had faith in our relationship and wouldn’t do something childish in an attempt to work against him,” Harper replied.

  “That worked out well, huh?”

  Harper giggled, relieved he seemed to be coming around. “What you said to Jason really touched me. Believe it or not, I don’t blame you for what happened today. I can practically see Zander storming into the station and whipping you into a frenzy.”

  “Mel warned me on the car ride over that things might not be as they seemed, but I didn’t listen.”

  “Mel has dealt with Zander and his whims for twenty-eight years,” Harper said. “You’ve only known him for a few months.”

  “Still, what I did … .”

  “Knock it off,” Harper warned. “I already said I wasn’t angry. If you want to know the truth, I was kind of flattered that you would drop everything and come running to save me.”

  “I’ll always come running to save you, but I think you got our roles reversed,” Jared said, his voice low and shaky. “You’re the one who saved me. I didn’t even know I needed saving until I met you.”

  Harper surprised Jared when she pressed a firm kiss to his lips. It took him a moment to adjust, but he was grateful to sink into the embrace. When they parted, Jared was out of breath and his house didn’t feel nearly as lonely as it did minutes before.

  “Do you want to go to bed?”

  Harper smiled. “What about your dinner?”

  “I’m not hungry. Not for food anyway.”

  “In just a second,” Harper said. “I do have one question for you.”

  “I guess you’ve earned it,” Jared said, pressing his hand flat against her back as he pulled Harper as close to him as possible without climbing inside of her. “What’s your question?”

  “Why didn’t you tell me what Jason said?”

  “Because I knew that’s what he wanted,” Jared answered honestly. “He wanted me to run to you for reinforcement and force you to confront him. I wasn’t lying to him when I said I had faith in us. It’s just … .”

  “Zander messed with your head,” Harper finished. “Don’t worry, I’m going to mess with his head.”

  “It’s not just Zander, though,” Jared admitted. “When I’m with you I feel as if I’ve known you forever, but this is still relatively new. I have so much faith in you, but part of me was still worried that you might be attracted to him … or maybe he was the one that got away … or you know.”

  “I don’t know,” Harper said. “No one ever got away from me because I’ve only ever truly cared about one person catching me. That’s you.”

  Jared’s smile was rueful … and relieved. “Right back at you.”

  This time the kiss they shared was sweet rather than needy.

  “Can we go to bed now?” Jared asked.

  “Yes. We’ll take the picnic basket with us for after. I brought the pie Zander tried to bribe me with.”

  “And that is why you’re the best girlfriend ever.”

  Fifteen

  “Good morning.”

  Jared tightened his arms around Harper’s back as she cuddled close the next morning, internally thanking his lucky stars that she wasn’t more high maintenance and didn’t make him grovel for forgiveness.

  “Good morning,” Harper murmured, pressing her lips to Jared’s neck as he rubbed his morning stubble against her
cheek. “How did you sleep?”

  “I slept well,” Jared replied. “I think I would’ve slept better in your bed, if that’s even possible. That feels more comfortable to me these days. I guess I was exhausted, though. I dropped off five minutes after we finished eating.”

  “You were exhausted,” Harper agreed, rubbing her finger over his muscular chest. “Are you okay now?”

  Jared’s cheeks colored under her studied gaze. “I guess that depends.”

  “On what?”

  “Are we okay?”

  His expression was so earnest Harper almost couldn’t stand it. “We’re great,” she said. “Although … .”

  “What?” Jared prodded, pushing a strand of her morning mussed hair away from her face. He loved the way she looked in the morning and any other day he would take advantage of their close proximity … and nakedness … but he didn’t want to push his luck after the abysmal way he acted the previous day.

  “You can’t walk away from me without at least talking over the problem,” Harper said, her expression reflecting worry. “You really hurt my feelings when you took off and left me standing there like I didn’t matter. It was as if you just kind of … threw me away.”

  “Heart, I’m sorry,” Jared said, every fiber in his being straining under the weight of his shame. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. When I realized what I’d done … it wasn’t just you. I abused my position and made a mockery of being an officer. I promised never to do that.”

  “Something tells me you’re being a little dramatic,” Harper said. “Mel isn’t going to hold it against you because he knows how dramatic Zander is. As for Jason … he owes you because he set the whole thing in motion. Who tells someone they just met that he’s going after his girlfriend?”

  “Someone upfront about his intentions.”

  “I might have more sympathy for him if I hadn’t already explained to Jason that I was with you and that’s where I wanted to stay,” Harper grumbled.

  Jared couldn’t help but smile at her righteous indignation on his behalf. “I’m sorry I left you standing there. I was embarrassed … and I didn’t know what to do … and I panicked.”

  “I know that. Just … this isn’t going to work if you don’t even give me a chance.”

  Jared cupped her chin. “It’s going to work. I’ll do better next time … because I’m sure there will be a next time given Zander’s temperament.”

  Harper giggled as she kissed him, slipping her head in the hollow of his neck as he held her. “What time is it?”

  “It’s still early,” Jared replied. “We went to bed long before midnight. I should get going, though, because I need to track Jason down and apologize in person.”

  “You don’t need to do anything of the sort,” Harper argued. “Jason baited you because he wanted to set you on a certain path. It backfired on him. You don’t owe him anything.”

  “I stormed into his restaurant and announced he was under arrest.”

  “So? The only witnesses are you, Mel, Zander, and me. I have a bad memory, Mel has bad eyesight, Zander is never going to take Jason’s side, and you … .”

  “Feel like I need to apologize.”

  “No.” Harper was resolute as she shook her head. “You don’t owe Jason anything. He screwed up. He needs to face some consequences and learn from his mistakes. That’s the only way he’ll ever grow.”

  Jared was confused. “What does that mean?”

  “It means that Jason is on his own with Zander,” Harper replied. “I was going to try and be a mediator, but I think Jason is going to have to learn the hard way what happens when you order something that’s not on the menu.”

  Despite the surreal nature of the situation, Jared couldn’t help but smile. “Does that mean you’re my personal … menu? Huh. That’s kind of dirty no matter how you try to clean it up, isn’t it?”

  Harper’s laughter was so adorable Jared’s heart warmed at the sound of it.

  “It is, but I know what you mean.”

  “What are you going to do about Zander?” Jared asked, pressing his lips to Harper’s forehead as he tightened his grip on her. “It seems to me he needs some punishment, too.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about Zander. He’ll shoot himself in the foot before it’s all said and done. He’s obsessed with Jason, but now he’s going to be paranoid that Jason, you, and I are all out to get him. He’ll make a fool of himself much easier than we could ever do. We just need to sit back and enjoy the show.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Trust me. I’ve known Zander long enough to know when he’s going into self-destruction mode. We’re nearly there.”

  “I do. You know that, right?”

  “What?”

  “Trust you,” Jared said, cupping the back of her head and lowering his voice. “I trust you with my heart.”

  “That’s good, because I trust you with my heart, too.”

  Jared closed his eyes as he basked in their shared warmth, internally groaning when he caught sight of the clock. “I don’t want to get up and start my day. I would rather stay here.”

  “Really?” Harper was unruffled by the prospect of getting up. “I’m excited to start my day.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because I’m starting my day in the shower … and I don’t plan on being alone,” Harper teased, kissing the tip of Jared’s nose before pulling away from him and scurrying toward the bathroom.

  “I love the way your mind works,” Jared said, tossing the covers off and following her. “I think this is going to be a good day after all.”

  “SO WHAT is on your agenda today?” Harper sat across from Jared in the booth of the local diner an hour and a half later. Jared sipped his coffee and picked over the remains of his breakfast while Harper munched on her toast. “If an apology is in there, we’re going to fight.”

  “I have to go back out to the cottage,” Jared answered, flashing a smile. “I won’t apologize, although I can’t guarantee I won’t at least try to make some sort of amends if I run into Jason again.”

  “That’s because you’re a good guy,” Harper said. “Do you want some help?”

  Jared cocked an eyebrow. “I would love some help, but … don’t you have work?”

  “We don’t have anything scheduled today and if someone calls the office Molly or Eric will get in touch with me,” Harper replied. “I’m not keen on seeing Zander when things are still so fresh. After our nice night together I’m not exactly thrilled with the idea of ruining everything with a screaming fit.”

  Jared’s expression was unreadable but his eyes were sympathetic. “You know you’re going to forgive Zander, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why not get it out of the way?”

  “Because he deserves to do some squirming and I’m really angry with him,” Harper explained. “I love him dearly, but … he is a lot of work.”

  “He is. I would love some help, though. You might be able to see something I miss. You’re psychic now, right? Isn’t that what Zander said?”

  Harper’s previously flirty expression turned serious. “I don’t know. It does bother me that I had a dream of a cottage I hadn’t seen in a really long time and somehow knew it was important to Rosie. Doesn’t that bother you?”

  “Not particularly,” Jared said. “I already knew you were special.”

  “Oh, so cute,” Harper cooed. “Still, though, why do you think it happened?”

  “You had dreams before,” Jared said. “You had one when we stayed on Harsens Island.”

  “That didn’t turn out to be true, though,” Harper reminded him. “I think that was merely my subconscious mind’s way of extrapolating data and thinking it through while I was asleep.”

  “You are a geek,” Jared teased. “Whatever it is, I wouldn’t fight it. You figured out an important piece of the puzzle. I don’t know how you did it. We might never know how you did it. That doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the gift and use
the information to solve this case.”

  “So, what do we know?”

  “We know that Rosie had a job, but her big ambition in life was to snag a man who was rich enough that she probably wouldn’t have to work.”

  “And she wasn’t above doing underhanded things to secure what she wanted,” Harper added. “Stalking was apparently perfectly fine in her book. I couldn’t get that out of my head when I was bringing your picnic over last night, by the way.”

  “Oh, Heart, if that’s stalking then you can chase me around anytime,” Jared teased, resting his hand on top of hers on the tabletop. “Rosie’s type of stalking seemed to be of the malevolent nature.”

  “We need to find out who she dated,” Harper said. “Any of those guys could’ve had a motive for killing her if she wouldn’t go away quietly.”

  “That’s true,” Jared said. “I’m more interested in who she rented the house for. That book story she told Jenny seems … out there.”

  “Whoever it is had to be someone desperate to keep their relationship a secret,” Harper said. “I can see only one reason for that because Rosie was an attractive woman and most people would be thrilled to be seen out and about with her on their arm.”

  “You think she was seeing a married man, don’t you?” Jared was intrigued by the suggestion. “She would have plenty of access at the dentist’s office. She would even know limited financial information.”

  “Like if someone needed to go on a payment plan for dental fixes they were out, but if someone paid in cash they were a possibility?”

  Jared shrugged. “I’ve heard stranger stories,” he said. “I wonder if there’s a way to find out if she dated any of the clients at Kennedy’s office.”

  “You said Kennedy tried to keep out of his employees’ personal lives so if none of her co-workers have that information … .”