Dead People

by Edie Ramer

  Erin gasped, her eyes wide. “I know who you are.” She pointed at him, her arm wavering. “You’re a ghost like the other one.”

  “Not like the other one at all.” Joe sounded aggrieved. “First, I’m a man. Second, I’m tall, handsome and nice. Aren’t I, Cassie?”

  “Of course.” She refrained from rolling her eyes. “Can’t you see how handsome he is?”

  “And the other ghost is meaner than me and...not handsome.” He grinned, aiming more charm at Erin than a live man should have, much less a dead one. “Gentlemen don’t comment on a lady’s looks, so my mouth is zipped.”

  “Wow.” Erin’s eyes widened more. She gave Cassie an is-he-real? look.

  Cassie nodded. Yep, he’s real.

  Erin turned back to Joe, her eyes narrowing. “You sure you’re dead?”

  Joe chuckled, his face crinkling with pleasure. A small smile replaced the suspicion on Erin’s face.

  The tension eased out of Cassie’s tightly wound muscles. Erin, honey, you’ve been charmed.

  “I like you. Will you tell her to take me to my mom?” Erin jabbed her thumb toward Cassie, never taking her gaze from Joe’s face with its irregular features and a smile that would reel in a tougher fish than a small, scared girl.

  His smile flattened. “Do you know what will happen to Cassie if she does that?”

  Cassie winced. Erin already took too much blame on her thin shoulders. She didn’t need this added to the load. Especially coming from a man for whom she’d obviously developed an instant crush.

  “Don’t, Joe.”

  He gestured at her to stay out of it, his attention focused on Erin’s paling face. “Taking you across state lines is a federal crime. She’ll be arrested. Is that what you want?”

  “Stop it!” Cassie lifted her hand to grab Joe’s shoulder and shake it. A half inch away, cold radiated toward her palm and she yanked her arm back. “You have no right to talk to her like that. Adults are kicking her around like a football, and she’s doing the best she can. Nothing is her fault. Do you understand? Nothing.”

  “Don’t yell at him.” Erin kicked the back of the driver’s seat. “Just take me back to my dad.” Tears sparkled in her eyes and she turned her head sideways, staring out the window.

  Cassie glared at Joe. He swiveled then slid into the passenger seat and peered out the windshield. His lips pursed, he whistled a boogie tune she’d never heard.

  Her movements choppy, Cassie stowed her suitcases in the trunk, then closed it and slid into the driver’s seat. A moment later, she backed out of the parking spot. Men. As far as she was concerned, they were unwanted—dead or alive.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  “It’s just a spark plug wire.” The kid from the car repair place lifted his head from beneath the SUV hood and gave Luke a pitying look, as though Luke was a lesser man because he didn’t know anything about the innards of a car.

  “Fix it,” Luke commanded. At least the kid was honest. He could’ve towed the car and taken him for a few hundred bucks.

  A sound caught his ear, a car engine. He wheeled around. Behind him the kid was talking about a song he’d written with his band that consisted of three guitar players and one drummer, but his voice became background noise. Luke concentrated on watching the beige sedan drive down the tree-lined lane.

  Was that a smaller head behind Cassie’s...? He angled his head. The car drove closer, and he recognized the blonde hair. The fear whooshed out of him. He closed his eyes for a second and sent a silent thank you to a God he didn’t believe in.

  He hiked to the other side of the driveway. The kid’s voice faded and Luke felt his curious stare. Cassie braked the car in front of Luke, and he pulled the door open. Erin jumped out of the back seat.

  He reached out to gather her to his chest, but her glare stopped him, making him draw back as Cassie slid out of the driver’s seat.

  “It’s okay, Erin, your dad’s happy to see you.” Cassie curved her hand over Erin’s shoulder. The look she gave him smoldered with unspoken threats.

  Luke bent down until his gaze was level with Erin’s. “Erin, I’m new to being a dad. I’m still learning. I’m going to make mistakes. We both are. But don’t leave every time it happens. I’m just going to come after you. I’m not letting you go.”

  She stared at him with as much expression as a wall. A tide of panic surged up inside him. Had he screwed up their relationship forever? Dammit, no! There had to be a way to gain her trust. He was her father, for Christ sake.

  “Let’s make a deal. You and your mother can still email each other, but I’ll monitor your emails.”

  The tight line of her mouth wobbled.

  “He’s trying,” Cassie murmured, bending, her mouth inches from Erin’s flyaway hair. “It’s a compromise. Tell him what you’re thinking.”

  “Right.” He fought to keep his voice soft. “Tell me what you want?”

  “I want you to apologize.”

  He looked into her blue eyes, the same clear color as his. “I thought that’s what I just did. I’m sorry, Erin.”

  She gave a hefty-sized sigh. “Not me.” She pointed at Cassie. “You fired Cassie. Apologize to her.”

  He stood and faced her. Cassie grinned, enjoying this too much.

  “I’m sorry.” Even as he said the words, he knew it wasn’t enough. “I want you to come back.”

  Erin’s face lit up and she gave the first happy squeal he’d heard from her. His heart pounded a funky hip hop tune.

  Cassie put her hand on her nicely rounded hips, the move commanding his attention. “How do I know you won’t do the same thing again?”

  Women. Why couldn’t they accept apologies like men? “I try not to make the same mistake twice. Will you—” He stopped himself from saying “stay for Erin’s sake.” That wasn’t the right way to do this. It was between Cassie and him, not Erin. “Will you stay?”

  Her lips pressed together.

  Erin grasped Cassie’s hand. “Please, come back. Please.”

  Luke saw the “Oh shit” look in Cassie’s face. He didn’t blame her. She had pride, and he’d bruised it.

  “Erin, don’t pressure Cassie. She’ll make the decision without emotional blackmail.”

  Erin sucked her breath in, her face paling.

  He felt as though an iron fist struck him in the gut. What the hell was wrong with him? If there were a “Dad Fuck Up of the Decade” award, he’d win the gold.

  He and Cassie bent at the same time. “I didn’t mean—” he began.

  “All right,” Cassie cut him off. “I’ll stay.”

  “Not this way.” He stood. “Stay because you want to stay.”

  She straightened, glaring at him. “I want to stay.” Then she smiled at Erin. “All right?”

  Erin bit her lower lip, her chin tucked down. “I don’t want to blackmail you.”

  “I want to stay. How many times do I have to say it before you’ll believe me?”

  “Really?” Erin looked up, hope shining in her eyes.

  “Really.”

  Erin squealed and danced between them. She looked...happy. He caught Cassie laughing at Erin and his heart pinched. He forced a smile. Unlike Cassie, he didn’t feel like laughing. He felt like kneeling down and grabbing his dancing daughter and crying.

  “We’re just one big happy family, aren’t we?” Cassie laughed louder.

  The pinch in his heart became tighter. He’d never seen Cassie like this before either, glowing with happiness. He fought an impulse to stop her laughter with his mouth.

  “Is everything all right?” the kid from the auto repair shop asked from behind them.

  “Just fine,” Luke and Cassie answered at the same time. He stared at her face, her startled eyes, her parted lips. Looking back at him, she swallowed.

  “How much?” His question was directed at the mechanic, but he didn’t take his eyes off Cassie’s wide-eyed face.

  “I’ll write up the bill.” Footsteps tro
d on the driveway as the kid headed to his truck.

  Still he stared at Cassie. Still Cassie stared at him. He wanted her. He. Wanted. Her. He’d known that before, but then it had been soft lapping waves of desire. Now it overwhelmed him like a tsunami, battering him, flattening him until he wanted to whimper with defeat.

  If he wasn’t mistaken, she was ready to whimper too.

  ***

  Cassie walked into the Home Away From Home motel office with a bad case of déjà vu. Here she was again, going for round number three. She was like one of those blow-up dolls that got knocked down and kept bouncing up again.

  She still didn’t know what happened on the drive from the motel to Luke’s home that made Erin change from hating her to demanding that Luke apologize to her. To wanting her to stay.

  Maybe she was the lesser evil.

  Maybe Erin realized she was her biggest ally.

  Maybe she wanted to see Joe again.

  Behind the counter, Tricia looked up from the magazine that lay open on the counter. Her gaze met Cassie’s and her smile slid downward.

  “You’re back.” She sounded as happy as Santa spotting the Grinch on Christmas Eve. “Did you forget something?”

  Cassie nodded. Was this was the same woman who professed sadness to see her leave only an hour ago? “I’m checking in again. Same room?”

  “Uh, I think Maria’s cleaning it. How about the one two doors from mine? That’s open.” She turned to take a key off the corkboard on the wall behind her. When she faced Cassie again, she beamed as if Cassie’s return was the answer to her prayers. “I’m so glad you’re back. Are you working at the house again?”

  “Yes.” Cassie glanced down at the open magazine, her gaze caught by a half-page photo of Luke standing on a stage next to Erin’s mother. He was playing his guitar and Vanessa held the microphone to her open mouth.

  Tricia whisked the magazine off the counter. “You must be wondering—”

  “I’m not wondering anything. I’m here to do my job, nothing else.”

  “Nothing?” Tricia’s smile wobbled as she held out the key. “You probably noticed I have a crush on Luke. It’s silly, I know, but he’s so gorgeous.”

  “I can think of a different word than gorgeous.” Cassie took the key. “Dangerous.”

  Tricia’s face brightened. “I guess that means you’re not interested in him.”

  “He’s the last man I want to get involved with.” If she said it often enough, she might start to believe it.

  “That’s wonderful.” Tricia clapped her hands together.

  Cassie nodded and turned to leave before Tricia decided to do a cheer. If she were ever like Tricia over a man, she hoped someone would give her a hard slap across the face.

  ***

  “Tricia mentioned that you work in the clinic where Dr. Rudolf practices.” Holding the phone to her ear, Cassie sat on the motel bed, leaning on two pillows piled against the headboard, waiting for Darleen to answer. After schlepping her suitcases into the room, she’d collapsed on the bed and slept for nearly an hour.

  She’d woken sweaty and smelly with the remnants of a dream: Tricia’s mother holding a chef’s knife, wearing a doctor’s stethoscope and jacket. Cassie’s subconscious telling her in images what her conscious mind should have been saying in words.

  Chewing noises came over the phone. “Uh huh. Why?”

  “I need to ask her about Isabel’s health before she died. I called for an appointment but the receptionist won’t give me one.”

  “You’re wasting your time. Doc Rudy wouldn’t cross the street against the Don’t Walk sign, much less fill you in on a patient’s problems, even if she is dead. Her nurses say the stick up her butt is longer than my mop handle.”

  Cassie ran her fingers through her hair, then caught sight of herself in the dresser mirror. Her hair looked like she’d been in a windstorm, and a pit bull would envy her snarl.

  She averted her gaze from the mirror. “Is there anything I can do to change her mind? Does she have a favorite charity? A patient who needs my bone marrow?”

  Darleen hooted. “You’re a tryer, I’ll give you that. I hardly know Doc Rudy. She keeps to her side of the door, I keep to mine. The only time she went out of her way to talk to me is when she heard Luke Rivers bought Mrs. Shay’s house. She’s a big fan. I’d like to help you. Tricia says you’re nice to her and the little girl. But there’s nothing I can do.”

  Cassie felt a smile stretch across her face, punching up her cheeks. “You’ve been a huge help.”

  “Well, I don’t know what for.”

  When Cassie hung up, the smile changed to a grimace. Now came the part she hated—calling Luke and telling him he needed to suck up to the doctor.

  If he said no, she’d remind him that Isabel was his ghost, his problem. Men prided themselves on being reasonable, but from what Cassie saw, they did most of their reasoning with the head below the belt instead of the one above the neck.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Luke hadn’t gone happily to the clinic with Cassie. They got there a few minutes before closing time, the waiting room empty except for a bored looking young woman reading a magazine. Cassie spoke to the woman behind the reception desk, and a moment later a nurse led them to a small office at the end of a long hallway.

  Dr. Rudolf, a big-boned blonde a couple inches shorter than him, hurried around her desk. She beamed, her teeth a brilliant white and her gums pink and healthy. Her handclasp was firm. She greeted Cassie with less teeth and no visible gums, then gestured to them to take the two chairs in front of her austere maple desk.

  “It’s an honor to have you in my office” She rounded her desk to her chair, walking backward to keep her gaze on him.

  He shifted uncomfortably. “I write simple songs. It’s not saving lives.”

  “Music is the soul of life. Which reminds me...” Dr. Rudolf slid open a drawer, took something out, and stood. She reached over the desk to hand him a Dirty Secrets CD. “Would you sign this?”

  Luke stared at his younger self gazing at Vanessa as though he couldn’t wait to throw her in bed and start banging her—which pretty well summed up their relationship. Had it been only eleven years ago? It felt like decades.

  Cassie nudged his arm with her elbow. He took out the insert and signed his name above his shoulder-length rocker hair.

  “I haven’t bought any Dirty Secrets’ albums since you left.” Dr. Rudolf stared at him with an adoration that made him shift again. “Are you ever going back on stage? In the Rolling Stones article last December, you said you were writing songs for other singers—”

  “No.”

  “But you have such stage presence.”

  Cassie leaned forward, catching the doctor’s gaze. Luke relaxed a fraction. About time she took over.

  “Luke moved to Bliss to give his daughter a normal home. He’s here for the long haul and going back to one-night gigs is out of the question. You understand, don’t you?”

  Luke’s fingers curled on his thighs. How the hell did she know all that?

  “Of course, I understand.” The doctor gave him the disbelieving smile of someone who couldn’t see past the glitter—not the pain when a song was thrown out because it didn’t have a hook, not the executives who cared only about the money, not the hype, not the sex, not the drugs. Especially not the drugs and the way they ruined good people. “I honor you for putting your daughter over your career.”

  “That’s why he’s here to see you.” Cassie slid to the edge of her chair, her eyes wide and her expression earnest. “He loves living in Bliss and has so many plans. He’d love to get involved in the community. Maybe give a benefit.”

  He glared at her. What the fuck?

  “That would be fabulous!” Dr. Rudolf slapped her hands on the clean desktop. “Absolutely fabulous! I can assure you, we have a number of families who could use help with their medical expenses.”

  “That’s just the kind of thing he’s thin
king of,” Cassie continued. “But there’s a problem.”

  Dr. Rudolf stilled and her eyes narrowed. “What problem?”

  Cassie sat back and crossed her legs. “Have you heard that his house is haunted?”

  “I don’t believe in ghosts.”

  “Neither did I, before I came to Bliss,” Luke said. He saw where this was going, but so could the doctor. Cassie was as subtle as Lizzie Borden. With her tongue, she didn’t need an axe.

  “Believe it,” Cassie said. “The ghost of Isabel Shay haunts the house, and she’s not a pleasant presence.”

  “What does this have to do with me?” Dr. Rudolf’s voice stiffened along with her spine.

  “If you could answer a few questions about her health history,” Cassie said, “it might help to—”

  “Isabel was my patient.” Dr. Rudolf’s face closed like a slamming door. “Even though she’s deceased, I can’t comment on her medical records. It wouldn’t be ethical.”

  “She’s dead and no one who lives here or anywhere else cared about her,” Luke said.

  “If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears,” Dr. Rudolf said, “the tree still fell, didn’t it?”

  Cassie looked like she’d swallowed something rotten. “But—”

  “No buts.” Luke cut Cassie off. She wanted him to be a player, and it was time she knew he played hardball. He stood. “Looks like I won’t be staying in Bliss. I’ll find a house that’s not haunted in another Midwestern town.”

  Cassie got to her feet, not saying a word. Though he didn’t look her way, he felt her seething frustration.

  The doctor stood too. Luke heard the door creak open behind him. Dr. Rudolf peered over Cassie’s head at someone behind her. “Yes?”

  “Angie’s parents are here,” a woman said. Luke recognized the voice of the nurse who led him and Cassie to the room, but he didn’t turn his head. He was watching the uncertainty flicker over the doc’s face.

  “Send them in, please.” Dr. Rudolf strode around the desk, her gaze on Luke. “There’s no need to make hasty decisions. I can’t defer this appointment.” She frowned, looking harried and unhappy. “The Morrells are my last appointment for the day. This shouldn’t take long. Would you mind waiting?”