by J A Whiting
Viv scowled and said with sass, “I’m sure she thanked you for saving her life after she collapsed with a heart attack.”
“She didn’t.” Lin shrugged.
Libby told the group that a few days ago, Rose Weston had been buried in the cemetery next to her father and mother. “May they now all rest in peace.”
“John will be here soon.” Viv got up to go below to get the burgers and veggie burgers to put them on the grill. She stopped at the top of the stairs and turned to Lin. “Have you seen William Weston since all the excitement?”
Lin shook her head.
“You will.” Viv went down the stairs.
Jeff brought Lin an iced tea, kissed her head, and went below to help Viv bring up the food.
Anton pushed his glasses up his nose and sipped from his glass of wine. “Perhaps we’ll have a peaceful last few weeks of August. Try not to see any more ghosts for a while, Carolin. Everyone needs a break.”
Lin smiled and rolled her eyes at the historian. “I’ll do my best.”
“By the way, where is Leonard?” Anton asked. “I haven’t seen him lately.”
“He’s been on the mainland for several days.” Lin took a long drink from her glass. “After Mrs. Perkins was taken to the hospital and Jeff and Viv brought me outside, I noticed I had a text from Leonard.” She smiled. “He told me to be careful at that party.”
“That man has a very strong sense of intuition.” Anton nodded.
John arrived at the boat looking dapper in a tan fitted suit grinning from ear to ear. “I sold that house over in Cisco.” He wrapped Viv in a bear hug. “A huge commission is coming my way.” John practically whooped as he went below to change into a polo shirt and shorts.
Everyone enjoyed the meal and spent the next couple of hours playing cards, chatting, and laughing with one another as the sun set and the stars came out to twinkle overhead in the dark night sky. The group reluctantly cleaned up and disbanded wishing a good night to all.
Jeff took Lin’s hand and with the dog following along behind, they walked through the cozy streets of Nantucket town up the brick sidewalks under the streetlamps to the Civil War memorial where they took a left and continued their stroll to Lin’s cottage. Even though Lin was pleased and grateful that Rose’s body had been found and that William Weston could rest now, Lin’s heart was heavy when she thought of the wickedness that humans could inflict on one another.
As they walked, Jeff talked about the work he had been doing on his own house in between all of the projects he had been working on for Kurt’s company. Lin loved the way that Jeff took pride in every aspect of his craft and how he threw himself into everything he did. He was steady and kind and fun, and being with Jeff always made Lin feel safe and loved and valued. She looked up at him and smiled.
“What?” Jeff asked.
Lin grinned and shook her head, realizing that she had to focus on all the good there was in the world and that the man walking beside her was a whole lot of good. “Just thinking about how lucky I am.”
“I spend a good part of my day thinking the very same thing.”
Nicky gave a happy woof.
As Lin wrapped her arms around Jeff and rested her head against his chest, a whoosh of cold air swept over her and she shifted her eyes across the road.
With the atoms of their forms shimmering like diamonds, William Weston stood with his daughter, Rose, next to him and with a woman on the other side of Rose who Lin thought must be William’s wife, Yvette. The three ghosts smiled at Lin, nodded, and then hand in hand, slowly turned to walk away. With her head still pressed against Jeff, Lin watched as the ghosts’ particles sparkled and swirled, and then disappeared into the night air.
Lin took Jeff’s hand and they continued their walk down Vestry Road with the dog bouncing along ahead of them.
“Kurt has a new project. His team has been hired to work on an old lighthouse and he’s asked me to join them. It’s going to be interesting work. I was going to drive out there tomorrow and take a look, but I wondered if you’d like to bike there with me instead.”
“That would be fun. I’d love to bike with you. We can pack a lunch and eat by the water. It would be nice to relax for a while. Which lighthouse is it?”
When Jeff told her, Lin felt a ping of something jump down her back. She decided to ignore it, knowing that whatever it was, it would find her if it needed to.
Until then, she was going to enjoy the rest of this perfect and lovely night.
Thank you for reading!
Books by J.A. WHITING can be found here:
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Books By J. A. Whiting
LIN COFFIN COZY MYSTERIES:
A Haunted Murder (A Lin Coffin Cozy Mystery Book 1)
A Haunted Disappearance (A Lin Coffin Cozy Mystery Book 2)
The Haunted Bones (A Lin Coffin Cozy Mystery Book 3)
A Haunted Theft (A Lin Coffin Cozy Mystery Book 4)
A Haunted Invitation (A Lin Coffin Cozy Mystery Book 5)
The Haunted Lighthouse (A Lin Coffin Cozy Mystery Book 6) - soon
And more !
SWEET COVE COZY MYSTERIES:
The Sweet Dreams Bake Shop (Sweet Cove Cozy Mystery Book 1)
Murder So Sweet (Sweet Cove Cozy Mystery Book 2)
Sweet Secrets (Sweet Cove Cozy Mystery Book 3)
Sweet Deceit (Sweet Cove Cozy Mystery Book 4)
Sweetness and Light (Sweet Cove Cozy Mystery Book 5)
Home Sweet Home (Sweet Cove Cozy Mystery Book 6)
Sweet Fire and Stone (Sweet Cove Cozy Mystery Book 7)
Sweet Friend of Mine (Sweet Cove Cozy Mystery Book 8)
Sweet Hide and Seek (Sweet Cove Cozy Mystery Book 9) – soon!
And more !
OLIVIA MILLER MYSTERIES:
The Killings (Olivia Miller Mystery – Book 1)
Red Julie (Olivia Miller Mystery - Book 2)
The Stone of Sadness (Olivia Miller Mystery – Book 3)
About the Author
J.A. Whiting lives with her family in New England. Whiting loves reading and writing mystery stories.
Visit me at:
www.jawhitingbooks.com
www.facebook.com/jawhitingauthor
www.amazon.com/author/jawhiting
