by Karen Kelley
“Is that so?”
She nodded, her bright orange curls dancing around her head. “It’s an unwritten law. Everyone fifty or older knows about it.”
Her mother set the casserole on the counter and faced Selena. Selena laughed and hugged her mother. “Do you know just how much I love you?”
“I think you’ve mentioned it on occasion.” She returned the hug, then moved away, her expression turning serious. “Have you seen any ghosts?”
“There are two haunting the hotel. Wesley and Dixie. They’re from around the 1800s as far as I can tell.”
She clapped her hands. “I knew it! I could feel them on that first day. They’re very strong. Once you’ve been a psychic as long as I have, you’ll be able to sense when they’re around before they make themselves known.”
Dixie chuckled. She was sitting on the counter right next to where Selena’s mother stood. Selena cast a warning look at Dixie.
“Don’t worry, I won’t say anything to scare your mother,” Dixie assured her. “She’s kind of cute. Fancies herself someone who can talk to us, doesn’t she?”
“Yes,” Selena told Dixie.
“But you’re getting better at early detection.” Angela patted Selena’s hand.
Carrying on one conversation with her mother and one with Dixie was confusing.
Her mother moved around the kitchen, arms stretched out. “I can feel them now.” She took a deep breath.
So deep that Selena grew nervous when she saw her mother’s face turning red. She exhaled at the last second.
“Ghosts from beyond. Neither here nor there. Caught betwixt and between worlds.” Angela spoke in a deep voice, then spun around in a circle.
When she came to a stop, she was weaving. Selena hurried to steady her before she toppled over. As soon as her mother gained her balance, she smiled and raised her hands above her head.
“Spirits, show yourselves to the unbeliever who dares enter your... your... ”
“Sanctuary?” Selena supplied.
“Sanctuary,” her mother continued, never losing her momentum. “Show yourselves so he will stop spewing his lies, his evil!” She ended with a wave of her arm, bracelets jingling on her wrists.
Dixie smiled and pushed a packet of sugar off the counter. It landed with a little splat on the floor.
“They’re here,” Angela screamed.
This was great. She sent Dixie a look that said she wasn’t amused. Then noticed Trent standing in the doorway. Now he would really think her family was off their rocker.
Angela’s eyes grew round, and she pointed a finger in Trent’s direction. “See and believe!” She then pointed toward the packet on the floor.
Dixie raised her hand.
Oh, no.
Selena sent Dixie a silent warning not to encourage her mother. After all these years around Angela James, Selena knew her mother didn’t need an ounce more of encouragement.
“Can you deny the packet fell to the floor?” Angela asked him.
Trent shook his head. “I wouldn’t even try.”
Angela smiled. “Good. Selena, get your things and we’ll go back to your apartment. We could do some shopping on the way. There’s this really big sale at—”
“I didn’t say I believe in ghosts. Just that the packet fell to the floor. The way your shawl was flapping around, I would imagine that’s what knocked it off.”
Angela opened her mouth, then snapped it closed.
“I’m going to town for a bit,” Trent continued as if her mother wasn’t about to explode. “I won’t be gone long, so if you see any ghosts, tell them I’ll be back in an hour or so.” He sauntered out of the room without a backward glance.
“Disbeliever,” Angela spat with enough venom to make a rattlesnake slither away. As soon as Trent was gone, she turned to Selena with a bright smile as if nothing out of the ordinary had just taken place. “Isn’t this a lovely old hotel?”
From hot to cold, that was her mother. And Selena knew her bark was a lot worse than her bite. She’d never met a kinder, sweeter person than her mom.
Selena leaned her elbows on the center island and looked around the kitchen. A row of windows along one wall let in the morning light, casting the room in warmth. Her gaze moved around the room. Beautiful crown molding and tall cabinets with frosted glass fronts decorated the walls.
She looked back at her mother. “Yes, it is beautiful.”
“Do you feel its heartbeat?”
Selena nodded. Her mother didn’t have to be a psychic to teach her that each place or object had a life of its own. Some houses emitted a good feeling, like when you stepped through the front door and just knew you’d come home, while other dwellings made you want to leave as soon as you pulled into the driveway.
The hotel had good, strong vibrations. It was a shame it had been let go like it had. There was a sadness surrounding the place. A feeling that it was unloved.
“I feel the heartbeat,” she quietly told her mother.
They walked to the foyer, admiring the fine workmanship they’d uncovered beneath the layers of grime and dirt. Not that they’d been able to clean the whole place. For the most part, they’d only given it a lick and a promise.
“After you leave here it’ll probably go back to the way it was. All covered in cobwebs, dirt and grime. A few more years and it’ll fall to the ground.” Her mother sighed.
Ouch. She didn’t want to think about that.
The sound of a car pulling into the driveway drew their attention. They walked closer to the window and peered out.
Not Trent.
Selena walked to the door as a woman carrying a brown paper sack climbed out of her car and strolled toward the hotel.
“Now, who could that be?” Angela asked.
“I guess we’ll find out soon enough.” She pushed open the door. “Can I help you?”
Startled, the woman looked up. “Oh, hello.” A smile brightened her face.
Selena returned it. The slender woman wore a powder blue skirt and a white top with a row of ruffles down the front. She had a beautiful cameo pinned at the neck; it spoke of age and a time gone by. The woman could’ve stepped right off the cover of a Victorian magazine.
She made her way up the steps. “I’m Winnifred Sanders, Trent’s mother. I thought he might need some staples.”
This was Trent’s mother? There was no resemblance, but when Selena looked closer, she could see a bit of his brother, Tye. She felt her mother stiffen beside her.
“Please, come in, Ms. Sanders. I’m Selena, and this is my mother, Angela. Trent went to town, but should be back soon.”
“Oh, just call me Winnie. I was on my way to the store and thought I’d drop off this food. Trent doesn’t always eat like he should.” She looked at Angela. “But I guess you probably already know that since you have a daughter.”
Why did she suddenly feel as though she were on trial? Not that it mattered as her mother relaxed beside her and beamed at Trent’s mother. Angela might not like Winnie’s son, but she’d apparently accepted his mother.
“Selena’s the exact same way. That’s why I’m here. I brought a casserole.”
Lord save her from meddling mothers.
“Oh, my, what a beautiful place.” Winnie set her sack down on a nearby table and slowly looked around the room. “I couldn’t be here to help clean the day they moved in. My assistant was ill, the flu that’s been going around. I had to open the shop.” She returned her gaze to them. “I own an antique store.”
Angela’s eyes widened. “Antiques?”
“I’ve always been fascinated by very old objects. It’s almost as if they have a life of their own, like a bit of the last owner’s spirit was captured within the piece. Do you know what I mean?” She blushed. “I guess I’m sounding fanciful.”
Angela grinned and looked at Selena. “Not on your life. We absolutely know what you mean. Do you have time for a cup of tea or coffee?”
She glanced at he
r watch. “Actually, I do. I even have some lemon cream cookies with me.”
Cookies?
Not chocolate, but they’d do in a pinch. Now she knew she liked Trent’s mother. But she did have to wonder what Trent would think when he returned. She had a feeling his mother was more open to what lay beyond their world.
Interesting that she would have a son who was such a close-minded ass.
Trent turned down the street the hotel was on. He’d bought a few groceries. No big deal. He liked to cook. He wasn’t out to impress anyone. Especially not Selena. She’d invited him to share what her mother had brought, so turnabout was fair. He’d invite her to dinner tonight.
Besides, he could take only so much prepackaged and take-out food. He lived on the stuff when he was in the middle of writing a book. His only decent meals came from his mother and her care packages, as he called the food she’d bring over.
It was an entirely different story when he was in between books. He liked to indulge in finer cuisine. So he’d added a bottle of wine to his shopping cart. It was to replace the one he’d helped polish off.
But when he pulled into the driveway, food was the last thing on his mind as his heart skipped a couple of beats. Angela’s car was still here. That wasn’t the worst of it, so was his mother’s.
His very gullible mother.
Oh, hell, they were probably filling her head with all kinds of rubbish.
He came to a quick stop and grabbed the sack off the front seat as he climbed out of his car.
Why was she here? As if he didn’t know the answer to that. His mother liked taking care of him. It didn’t matter that he’d been taking care of the family financially since dropping out of college. She still liked to cook things for him. Not that he normally minded. His mother was a great cook. He just didn’t want her here. Not around Selena and her mother.
He hurried up the sidewalk, taking the stairs leading up to the porch two at a time.
As he went through the foyer, voices drifted in from the back. He hurried through the hotel and into the kitchen, coming to a grinding halt when he saw his mother at the table with Selena and Angela. Angela was waving her hand over a teacup and humming.
“The tea leaves will tell me what your future holds.” Angela stared into the cup. “It looks like you’ll have great success in the near future. More than you have now.”
His mother beamed and leaned in a little closer. “Oh, what else do you see?”
“Mom!”
Winnie jumped. “Oh... Trent, I didn’t hear you come in. We were just having a bit of tea, and Angela was... uh... ”
“Reading the leaves,” Angela supplied with a wide smile as if she and his mother were old friends.
This was just fantastic. His mother had bought in to their game. His accusing gaze swung to Selena. She shrugged her shoulders as if to say they hadn’t twisted his mother’s arm, but he knew better. Cons worked like that.
“I don’t see what it hurt,” his mother said, then frowned. “And I’m sorry, but I think there’s more to our world than just our five senses. So do Angela and Selena.”
He slammed his sack down on the counter.
His mother quickly looked at her watch. “Oh, where has the time gone? My customers will wonder why I’m not open yet.” She jumped to her feet.
“It was nice meeting you, Winnie.” Selena stood, as did her mother.
“I need to be going, too,” Angela said, then whispered to Winnie loud enough that Trent heard her. “You have my number. Don’t forget to call me.”
This was great. Just fantastic. His mother had crossed over to the enemies’ camp. Hadn’t she read any of his books? Did she not see through Selena and her mother? Apparently not.
“Bye, dear,” Winnie waved, then seemed to change her mind and hurried across to where Trent stood and placed a kiss on his cheek. “Don’t fret so, dear. You don’t want a lot of wrinkles. And I really like Selena.” Then in a whisper of her own. “You could do worse. It’s not as if you have the women calling you like they do Tye, what with you acting like a hermit most of the time.”
“Mom... ”
She was gone before he could reprimand her again. He loved his mother, but sometimes she made him want to stick his head into a sink full of water and drown himself.
A few minutes passed, and Selena returned to the kitchen. “I really liked your mother.”
“She’s gullible.”
“She’s curious. There’s a difference. Besides, my mother doesn’t charge anything for her services.”
“Probably because she doesn’t talk to the dead or read tea leaves.”
“You’re right, she doesn’t.”
That took him back, and he couldn’t think of anything to say. Was Selena tired of staying at the hotel and ready to throw in the towel?
“You’re admitting your mother is a fake.”
She grimaced. “I don’t think I’d put it quite like that. Mom thinks of herself as a psychic, but no, she doesn’t talk to the dead. Her heart’s in the right place, though.”
Finally, she admitted this was all a hoax. That ghosts didn’t exist.
Suddenly, throwing Selena to the wolves didn’t feel quite as good as it had when he’d first come to the hotel.
He drew in a deep breath, knowing what he was about to say would probably cost him his next book deal, but how could he completely destroy her? Maybe she wasn’t one of the actual shysters he’d run up against in the past. She was just... misinformed.
“I think if you walk away quietly, it will cause you the least amount of embarrassment. I’ll tell my agent and publicist not to make a big deal out of you admitting there are no such things as ghosts.”
“How nice of you and to what do I owe this act of kindness?”
Trent had the strangest feeling that she wasn’t the least bit grateful. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what was keying him to that fact.
Maybe it was the way she’d stiffened her spine, crossed her arms in front of her and raised a sardonic eyebrow in his direction. He’d give her the benefit of the doubt. She might just be feeling a little awkward.
“I think we’ve gotten to know each other, and I don’t believe you would deliberately bilk the public. You just don’t know any better.”
Now what had he said? She looked ready to spit fire.
“When I said my mother would like to be a psychic, I spoke the truth. She’s fascinated by the paranormal, but she doesn’t have the gift. Not everyone does.”
He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like what she was about to say.
“I do have that gift.”
Damn, he’d known she was going to say something like that.
She marched over to him, pointing her finger at his chest. “When our two weeks are up, I’ll have made a believer out of you, too.” She narrowed her eyes. “And the next time you eat the last chocolate doughnut, your ass is mine. Got it? You have no idea what a woman without chocolate will do.”
He reached into the grocery sack and brought out a box of chocolate doughnuts, handing them to her. “Replacements.” Her anger fizzled right in front of him.
“Oh.” She took the box. “Thanks. But that still doesn’t let you off the hook.” She strode to the table and set them down, then seemed to think about what she was doing and scooped up the box and marched out of the kitchen.
“Well, hell,” he muttered. He reached into the sack and brought out the extra box of doughnuts. He’d already guessed she wouldn’t share. His eyes narrowed. No, she’d been way too territorial about that last box. She’d offered him one, but she damn sure hadn’t liked it when he’d eaten the last doughnut.
His mother would have practically shoved it down his throat. Most women were like that. They liked to make sure a man was taken care of. Not Selena. No, she was feisty, mean-mouthed... and sexy as hell.
He smiled. He’d have to think of a new way he could annoy her. He bit into the doughnut and chewed. It shouldn’t be too hard co
ming up with something.
Chapter 11
How could one man aggravate her so much? Selena wanted to have sex with him one minute and kill him the next.
First he said he was willing to quietly ruin her career—as if she’d ever let that happen. Not in this lifetime. And if it ever did, she would so haunt him after she croaked. Then, when she was ready to kill him, he gave her chocolate glazed doughnuts.
He remembered.
Okay, it was only yesterday, but it was a well-known fact that men didn’t have brain storage capabilities for things such as remembering what a woman liked. No floppy disk to put everything on. Not that she could complain a bit about his hard drive, though. He had a very nice hard drive.
Except Trent had fooled her and remembered she liked chocolate glazed doughnuts. Damn, he’d given her the warm fuzzies. That wasn’t good.
Exercise. That was what she needed. Then she would eat a couple of the doughnuts guilt free, and she wouldn’t think about the fact Trent had remembered the exact kind she liked.
He was the enemy.
He was out to destroy her.
Take a career she loved and rip it away from her.
Her foe.
Her opponent in a war he’d started, but she would finish!
But his mother was nice. And she owned an antique store. Anyone who surrounded herself with the past every day and loved her work that much was someone Selena could relate to.
It didn’t hurt that she was interested in the paranormal. A closet believer. Trent had unknowingly forced his mother to hide her fascination with the supernatural. She’d have to change his mind. She planned on changing his mind.
She donned her jogging shorts, a loose T-shirt and running shoes, then left her room and trotted down the stairs. She didn’t see Trent as she went out the front door. Maybe that was for the best. She was still ticked at him.
Stretching relaxed her as she let go of any remaining bad vibes. She stood on the porch and bent at the waist, legs spread apart, bouncing her upper torso and reaching forward—until she heard a distinctive cough behind her. She leaned down a bit more and looked between her legs. Even an upside-down Trent looked pretty damned sexy.
