Double Dating with the Dead

by Karen Kelley

  When Paige turned her attention to Selena, Selena had a strong premonition she should’ve just kept quiet and let them talk about her. Maybe even going so far as to slip out of the room.

  “So,” Paige began, “is there something going on? Was Barbara’s article correct? Has the old hotel become a love nest?”

  That stupid article again. “Barbara is a bitch and you know it.”

  Paige leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms in front of her. “We came to that conclusion a long time ago, but she’s also pretty good about gathering gossip, which we also agreed about. Now fess up. Is there something going on here that you might want to share?”

  Not on your life, cuz. She just had to put on her innocent look. Most of the time it worked. She widened her eyes and met her cousin’s gaze head-on without flinching.

  “Of course there’s nothing going on between me and Trent.” She was just about to waver from Paige’s all-knowing eyes when her cousin relaxed.

  “I didn’t think there was,” Paige said.

  “How can you be so sure she isn’t lying to you?” Tye asked.

  “She can’t lie. I’d be able to tell. I’m a witch, remember?”

  “Oh, yeah.”

  Selena slowly expelled her breath. When Paige looked at her again, she quickly pasted a smile on her face. “I’ve never been able to lie to you. You’re just too sharp.”

  “As a tack,” Paige quipped.

  And as long as she believed that, then Selena could get away with a lie or two now and then. Worked every time.

  Paige was good.

  Selena was better.

  “What do y’all do all day long?” Tye asked, still not looking as convinced as Paige.

  “Look for bones.”

  “Human bones?” Paige asked with a shudder. “Eww... ”

  Tye looked confused. “Let me get this straight.” He picked up another sandwich and pointed it at Selena before taking a bite and slowly chewing. “You talk to dead people.” He looked at Paige. “And you make weird potions with ground-up who knows what.” His frown deepened. “But the thought of searching for human remains makes you queasy?”

  Paige and Selena looked at each other, then back at Tye.

  “Ewww,” they said in unison.

  “Then why look for them?”

  “So that Dixie and Wesley can cross over.”

  “Cross over what?”

  “Go toward the light,” she explained.

  “Ah, now I see.” He frowned. “They can’t go toward the light without their bones?”

  It made perfect sense to her now. Some spirits had to know where their final resting place was going to be, according to what Dixie had told her.

  “They need a proper burial.”

  He nodded as if he finally understood. “Need some help?”

  Since it didn’t look as though he was going to leave anytime soon, and she wouldn’t be having hot and dirty sex anytime soon, she nodded. “Sure, you can help.”

  “Count me in, too, if it’ll further the cause,” Paige offered.

  Could there be a budding romance between her cousin and Tye? Interesting. Paige shrugged when Selena sent her a questioning look.

  “So, are there any ghosts here?” Tye glanced warily around the room. “I mean, are there any here right now?”

  Selena’s gaze moved to Wesley, who lounged on the counter, leaning back on one elbow, feet stretched out in front of him. He grinned and tugged on the brim of his hat.

  “No, they’re not here right now,” she lied and wondered if she really would go to hell for lying. She’d once had an elderly aunt who said she would after Selena had snatched a cookie and fibbed about it.

  This was for a good reason, though. She could use all the help she could get, and she didn’t want to scare Tye. Paige had cast a few lingering looks in his direction, so maybe there was something going on.

  “So, we going to look for bones or not?” Tye asked as he came to his feet.

  “Sure.” And maybe they could pull Trent into the hunt.

  Paige was right when she said Selena liked nothing better than opening someone up to other dimensions. But Trent had been burned once, so he wouldn’t be that easy to convince.

  Damn, why couldn’t the ghosts cooperate? Once she found their bones, they would have to. There’d be no getting around it. Before they walked toward the light, Dixie and Wesley had to show themselves to him.

  Or not, a voice inside her head told her.

  No, she wouldn’t let negative thoughts intrude. She’d find a way to convince him one way or the other.

  Chapter 22

  Trent watched Paige, Selena and Tye from the corner of his eye as they traipsed up and down the stairs, in and out of the foyer where he sat with his black book taking notes. They’d wanted him to join in, but he’d declined. Whether he liked it or not, he had to take notes about Selena.

  He glanced down. Two lines. That was all he’d written in the last two hours. Two lines and he’d mentioned only how cute she looked today.

  And she did.

  Lord, her pink shorts were so short and her legs were so long. Visions filled his mind of how they’d wrapped around his waist, pulling him in deeper and deeper.

  He struggled to take a breath—finally did. He might look relaxed sitting in the chair, but his body was so tight if anyone said boo, he’d probably crack into tiny pieces.

  That was what Selena did to him.

  Man, he couldn’t go on like this. He tried to concentrate on how Celeste had conned him. It just didn’t work like it used to. Celeste’s memory was fading. He could barely remember what she looked like.

  Tye came into the room again. “You glued to that chair or what?”

  He was right. Writing about Selena was going nowhere. He might as well give up for now.

  “Come on, Selena suggested we look around outside.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “For bones?” He closed his black book and laid it to the side.

  “Yeah.” Tye frowned. “You know I don’t really believe in that sort of thing.” He quickly looked around to make sure he wasn’t overheard, then cast a cocky grin toward Trent. “But Paige is damn easy on the eyes.”

  Figured. He’d wondered about Tye’s enthusiasm. He should’ve known Paige would somehow fit into the picture.

  He glanced at the blank page, knowing it probably wouldn’t get filled today. His elusive muse was being difficult.

  It wasn’t as if he had anything better to do. He came to his feet. “I was hoping you’d find something by now so this nonsense would stop.”

  “No skeletons yet, but it’s fun watching them search—all that stretching and bending, you know.”

  “You’re sick.”

  Tye’s smile was a little dreamy. “Nope, I just love women.”

  They walked toward the back of the hotel.

  “How they move,” he continued. “The gentle sway of their hips.”

  “You going to start writing poetry or something?” Trent asked.

  Tye ignored him, apparently still lost in his fantasy. “The look of ecstasy on a woman’s face when the first wave of an orgasm washes over her.”

  Okay, so maybe Trent couldn’t fault him for his way of thinking. He remembered the way Selena had looked.

  Crap! That was the last thing he wanted to think about right now. He cleared his mind. “Where are they, anyway?”

  “Upstairs.”

  Good, putting a little distance between them might not be a bad idea since all he could think about was sex with Selena. And in the future, he had to quit acting like a monk when he was in the middle of a book, too much of a buildup of testosterone. First woman who walked past him made him want to pounce.

  Correction, he had pounced.

  They stepped outside and into the jungle. At least that was what it looked like.

  Tye paused at the bottom of the steps. “We could always say we did, and don’t,” he suggested.

  Little b
rother didn’t look quite so enthusiastic anymore. Not that he could blame him. He was having a few misgivings right now.

  His gaze scanned the yard. What creatures were hiding beneath the tall weeds or the overgrown bushes that hadn’t been trimmed back in years?

  But then he caught a patch of blue, and the backyard didn’t look quite so uninviting.

  The flowers Matilda had picked, the same ones that were on the kitchen table.

  Still, he’d tell her it might not be a good idea to wander around behind the hotel. There could be snakes or she might twist an ankle.

  Hiram was probably older and apparently didn’t get out much since Trent had never seen him. If she fell after they left, she could lie out here for days. No, he’d tell her it was too dangerous to pick flowers or anything else back here.

  Tye stepped off the porch. Trent cautiously followed.

  “There’s a path.” The stone path wound around and disappeared. Trent had to admit he was a little curious to see what was out there.

  “This would’ve been great when we were kids,” Tye said.

  “How so?”

  “Look at all the places we could’ve hidden.”

  “No thanks.”

  Tye glanced over his shoulder, then continued forward. Trent felt a moment of regret. He and Tye had drifted apart over the years. He couldn’t even remember the last time they’d gone anywhere together.

  Growing up, they’d been best friends. His little brother had been a pain in the ass, but there’d been a bond. They’d changed.

  No, he’d changed.

  And he had to be the one to make it right again.

  “What about us going to a few games? Football season will be starting soon.”

  For a moment, he wondered if Tye had heard him.

  “Yeah, I’d like that. It’s been a long time since we did anything together.”

  “Too long.”

  Something crunched beneath Tye’s foot. Trent grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “Careful, little brother.”

  “What is it?”

  Trent looked at the rotting piece of plywood, then bent and raised one corner. The smell that rose up gagged him.

  “I think it’s a well.” He dropped the board back in place. “The cover has just about had it, though. I’ll let the city know so they can fix it.”

  “There’s a gazebo over there.” Tye pointed. “We can check it out and then go back inside.”

  “Sounds good.”

  No bones today, either. Selena was beginning to wonder if Dixie and Wesley were having fun at their expense again. She certainly wouldn’t put it past them.

  On the other hand, what if they couldn’t cross over until the bones were found? Major guilt trip if she could help them and didn’t. Major pissed off if they were only having fun because they didn’t have anything better to do.

  Paige had left, as well as Tye. Trent was at the store and she was bored. She could meditate. No, she hadn’t been able to concentrate since making love with Trent.

  She hugged her middle and sighed.

  Meditation had taken on a whole new meaning. She had only one thing on her mind. Like the way his hands had roamed over her naked body. Oh, God, what about when he’d poured the wine on her? Damn, every time she had a glass of wine she’d remember. He’d given a whole new meaning to the term wine tasting.

  Which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

  She wandered into the foyer where Trent had spent part of the day. For just a moment she closed her eyes and inhaled. His scent lingered, drawing her in.

  Maybe they wouldn’t wait until tonight.

  She sat in the chair he’d used. This was large enough, cushy enough, that they could just make love right here. She squeezed her thighs together and could almost feel him buried inside her.

  I’m so bad.

  She smiled and laid her head on the arm of the chair, bringing her feet up and drawing them beneath her, and closed her eyes.

  When Trent returned, they would have hot, get-down-and-dirty sex. Her body ached with need. If she didn’t stop thinking about sex, she was going to implode.

  She opened her eyes. For a moment she stared at the books stacked on the small table. It took her a second to recognize the one in the middle of all the others.

  Trent’s black book.

  Oh, this wasn’t good. She bit her bottom lip. Don’t even think about it.

  Basically, Selena had good values. She didn’t steal. Once, she’d forgotten to pay for a package of gum, and she made a trip all the way back to the store to give the clerk the money.

  And she didn’t curse. At least, not often.

  Occasionally, she had a glass of wine and sometimes a frozen margarita, but she wasn’t a drunk. Getting plastered at her cousin Zelda’s wedding shower didn’t really count.

  Tentatively, she reached out and brushed her fingers down the spine of Trent’s book. Leather. Nice. She nudged it just a little, and it fell to the floor, along with two more books.

  “Oops.”

  Leaning over the side of the chair, she picked them all up, but put only two of them back, then glanced out the window. The coast was clear, not that she wouldn’t hear him when he drove up.

  “No, I’m not going to look inside.”

  She fanned the pages, seeing that he’d written quite a lot, but she didn’t read any of the words. She certainly wouldn’t want anyone prying into her diary or notes. She firmly closed the book and started to set it back where she’d gotten it, but paused at the last second.

  There had been that one time she’d sneaked a look inside Paige’s diary. She’d practically saved her cousin’s life. If not for her, Paige would have let that horrible new boy, Eric, kiss her all because he’d worn a leather jacket to school.

  What was it about men and leather?

  But Selena had his number from the very start. When she overheard him bragging to some other boys that he would have kissed every girl in the senior class by the end of the week, well, she’d warned Paige in the nick of time. Saved her from being the object of humor.

  Maybe she’d read just a paragraph or two. What could be the harm?

  She settled back into the chair and opened the book.

  First impression: Miss James is cute and very determined.

  She smiled. So he thought she was cute. Trent was off to a good start earning points with her. She read further.

  I wonder if she actually believes what she writes in her columns. Up close, she doesn’t look the type who would be out to make a buck, but one can never be too sure.

  Cute and she didn’t look like someone who would take advantage of anyone. That was okay, but she wasn’t too sure of his remark about wondering if she actually believed in what she wrote. She continued reading.

  Her opinion of Trent dropped rapidly after the first page.

  Several pages later, she slammed the book shut and raised it above her head. Just before letting it fly across the room, she took a deep breath and returned it back to its resting place.

  How could he? How could he!

  She jumped to her feet and began to pace across the foyer. It was bad enough that he believed she was ripping off the public, but to be gathering information so he could write an exposé about her? That was so low.

  And to think she’d had sex with him. He was probably going to write about that, too.

  She reached into her pocket and flipped open her cell phone, hitting speed dial. Paige answered after one ring.

  “I need a hex that will knock Trent into tomorrow.”

  “What’d he do? Y’all seemed to be getting along okay before I left.”

  “He left his black book out. You know, the one I was telling you about. The one he’s always scribbling in.”

  “And you snooped?”

  Selena suddenly had a bad taste in her mouth. When Paige said the words out loud it made her feel kind of... well, bad. It still didn’t change the fact he’d been researching her like a bugologist.


  She squared her shoulders. “Yeah, I snooped.”

  “Good for you. So what’s he been writing?”

  She plopped down in the chair and crossed her legs. “He thinks I’m crazy, and he’s going to write a book about how I’m conning the public. It’s not enough that he wants to ruin my career. No, he wants to tell the world I’m up to no good.”

  And that was what rubbed her raw. She’d thought they were becoming friends. That he might be a little open to her beliefs. No, that wasn’t the case at all. He’d been dissecting her. Everything between them had meant absolutely nothing to him.

  So who was conning whom?

  Damn it, she only wished it didn’t have to hurt so much.

  “That’s so low,” Paige said. “What are you going to do? I mean, I can put a hex on him, but we both know my hexes have a tendency to go just a little awry sometimes.”

  She had a point. Suddenly, Selena knew exactly what she had to do. “I have a better idea. He thinks I’m crazy? Okay, I’ll give him crazy.”

  “I’d hate to be in his shoes,” Paige mumbled, but Selena was no longer listening. She said a quick goodbye and closed her cell phone.

  Trent Sanders was so going to regret crossing her, and it didn’t take psychic powers to figure that one out.

  Chapter 23

  Trent pulled to a stop in front of the hotel. Tye had left before him. Paige’s car was gone, so apparently she’d left. It was just him and Selena.

  Strange that he almost felt as if he were coming home. He liked the idea that Selena was inside waiting for him.

  His gut clenched. He’d seen the look in her eyes before he’d left. Her gaze had lingered for just a second longer than it needed to, then slowly lowered. When she’d looked up, her desire was unmistakable.

  Yeah, she wanted him. She wanted his body. They were going to have hot sex. The kind that got nasty.

  If Paige hadn’t been there, he would’ve been having hot sex right now. He’d left them with a mumbled excuse about having to run to the store. It was either that or he might have gotten rude and asked Paige to leave, and he doubted Selena would’ve appreciated his gesture.

  Having sex with Selena was going to be even better than the last time, though. Besides grabbing a dozen condoms, he’d picked up a bottle of wine, some cheese and crackers. He planned on making them a little picnic in the middle of the floor—just them and the candlelight and as naked as the day they were born.