by Bobbi Holmes
“Are you saying Evan had a Christmas dream hop?” Chris asked.
“It appears so and with Eddy and his father. Of course, at the time the chief had no idea it was a dream—or a dream hop. It all seemed real to him.”
“How does he know it wasn’t just a dream?” Noah asked.
“He said he woke up to this sense of euphoria. But then he realized it had all been a dream—and for a brief moment he felt profound sadness. And then Evan came into the room and, well, seems they had the same dream. Evan knew all along it was a dream hop. As for the chief, knowing his wife had really visited him and it wasn’t just a dream, it made his Christmas.”
“What about Eddy?” Walt asked.
“He woke up this morning and told his father about the dream he’d had of his mother, and how it had felt so real, like she had really been there. They didn’t say anything to him about having the same dream. The chief didn’t want to confuse him. But he did tell Eddy he believed it was possible for our departed loved ones to visit us in a dream. That seemed to make Eddy happy.”
Danielle then went on to tell them what Evan had told his father about Colin being Santa.
When Danielle finished recounting the tale, they all sat in silence for a moment.
Finally Chris said, “Last night after Colin did his disappearing act on you, we all decided without a doubt he was a ghost.”
“Yes, I sort of figured that one out when he vanished,” Danielle said before taking another sip of coffee.
“But is he the ghost of Saint Nicholas?” Chris asked.
“You are talking about the real Saint Nicholas?” Danielle asked.
“According to what Evan told his father, Colin eluded to being Santa Claus. And he did tell Evan about his friend Thomas Nast—and I recall him mentioning something about modeling for a friend name Tom. Could it be possible that the spirit of the real Saint Nicholas inspired Thomas Nast’s drawings?” Walt asked.
“I remember now why he is familiar,” Noah said excitedly. “I saw him once, when I was a child. It was after our mother died. It was a Christmas party at the group home I had been sent to.”
Walt looked at Noah. “Christmas party—that’s it. That’s why he is familiar to me too. It was a Christmas party during the war.”
Danielle picked up her cellphone, which she had set on the tray earlier. She started doing an internet search.
“What are you looking up?” Chris asked.
“I just remembered something else Colin told us. He mentioned another friend from New York. One he wrote a Christmas limerick with. I think he said his name was Clem…” Danielle focused her attention on her search, and when she found what she was looking for, she began to silently read. After a moment she began to laugh.
“What?” Walt asked.
“Clement Clark Moore wrote The Night Before Christmas—he was also from New York, and according to this wiki page, he was involved with the Episcopal church, like Colin’s friend Clem.”
“Are you suggesting the spirit of the real Saint Nicholas helped Moore write The Night Before Christmas?” Chris asked.
“I am not suggesting anything. I’m just repeating what Colin told us when he was here.”
The Bartley family, along with Heather, Adam and Melony, joined the current residents of Marlow House for Christmas dinner. Also present were the spirits Eva and Marie. Danielle wanted to ask Eva about Colin, but she arrived after Adam and Melony showed up, making it impossible to have a conversation with the spirit.
When dinner was finished, everyone pitched in to clean the kitchen and then met in the living room to open more Christmas gifts.
Adam and Melony sat next to each other on the floor by the Christmas tree, where Adam watched baby Connor, who was nearby on a baby blanket, smiling and cooing happily. Adam was impressed at how well behaved Connor had been all afternoon, never once fussing or crying, and now he seemed quite content to be alone on his baby blanket, staring up at the tree and making gurgling sounds. Yet what Adam failed to see was his Grandma Marie, who had spent the evening keeping the baby entertained.
Danielle passed out presents, and Adam was surprised when Danielle handed him two from her and Walt. He tore the gift paper off the heaviest package, and when he lifted off the box’s lid, his eyes lit up. “Please tell me this is Grandma’s recipe,” he asked, looking down at the box of divinity.
“You tell me. Taste it,” Danielle urged.
Before Adam had a chance to take a piece, Melony reached over and snatched a square and quickly popped it in her mouth. The next moment she shouted, “Oh, it is! This is Marie’s divinity!”
When she tried to grab a second piece, Adam swatted her hand away and grabbed a piece for himself. Instead of wrestling him for more divinity, Melony sat back and watched as Adam took a bite of the candy. He closed his eyes and moaned.
“I think he likes it.” Melony laughed.
Adam looked at Danielle. “How did you do it? It tastes just like Grandma’s.”
Danielle shrugged smugly and said, “I like to think Marie’s spirit guided me.” She gave Marie a wink.
“Guided you, my foot,” Marie chortled. “I made it while you sat there and ate cookies.”
Heather and the other mediums suppressed their amusement over Marie’s comment and Danielle said, “Adam, consider the gift from me and your grandma.”
Adam smiled up at Danielle. “Thanks. This was the best gift. You didn’t have to give me anything else.”
“Oh, go ahead and open the other one. It’s just something Walt and I picked up—thought you would like it.”
Adam quickly opened the second gift while everyone watched. A moment later he held the framed picture in his hand, studying it. “Is this Grandma’s father?”
“Yep.” Danielle nodded. “We picked it up in Astoria. It came from the Winterborne estate. I assume Eloise bought it at a yard sale. We were going to use it as one of the white elephant gifts, but after we got it home, we thought there was something familiar about one of the men in the photograph. I started looking through some of the pictures I got from the museum—the ones that belonged to Walt Marlow,” Danielle lied. “And I realized the man in the picture is your great-grandfather.”
“Wow, this is really cool,” Adam said.
“Oh, there is one other thing.” Danielle pulled a small gold key out of her pocket and handed it to Adam.
“What’s this?” Adam asked with a frown, taking the key.
“We picked up this key from the estate too.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. “And then I remembered seeing a frame like this in a catalog of my mother’s. It has a hidden compartment. The key seems to fit, but I didn’t open it. I thought it might be more fun if you open it, see what is inside. It may be empty, but when I shake it, sounds like something might be in there. Who knows, maybe you will find a hidden treasure.”
Adam stared at the key a moment. “I seriously doubt I will find a treasure like you have a habit of doing. I don’t imagine there is anything in here, but a frame with a secret compartment is kinda cool.” Adam shoved the key in the small hole in the back of the frame while they all watched. Not sure how the secret compartment was supposed to open, he gave it a little wiggle, pushing it to and fro.
“It doesn’t seem to work. Just my luck,” Adam said with a laugh. The next moment the hidden compartment flew open, sending a glittering ring from its hiding place—landing in Melony’s lap.
Pearl opened her front door and looked outside into the Christmas night. Earlier that evening she had spied her neighbor Heather walking over to the Marlows’ house, and then the Bartleys from across the street walking over. There was just one car parked in front of Marlow House. While they obviously had company, the street was significantly quieter than it had been on Christmas Eve.
Draped over her shoulder was her afghan, which she intended to use to keep warm. It was cold outside, but there were no clouds in the sky, and the near half-moon cast light on her front porch. She had mad
e herself a turkey sandwich and intended to eat it under the stars. Awkwardly she made her way outside on her crutches while holding onto the sandwich. Once on the front porch, she sat down on a patio chair and wrapped herself in the afghan.
Pearl sat quietly in the chair for a good fifteen minutes, holding her uneaten sandwich and looking up at the moon. While she was grateful to be home, a wave of loneliness washed over her. It was then she heard a scratching sound. Looking toward the fence separating her property from the Marlows’, she watched as the head of a pit bull popped up from the tunnel the dog had dug under the fence on the day of her fall.
She watched as the dog wiggled its way to her side of the yard and then stood there a moment, just looking at her, as if debating what to do next.
“It’s you,” Pearl said to the dog. “I understand your name is Hunny.”
Hunny cocked her head slightly at the sound of her name. She continued to watch Pearl.
With a sigh, Pearl slapped the side of her good leg and said, “Come here, Hunny.”
Hunny trotted to Pearl, her butt wiggling with the stump of her tail wagging. When she reached Pearl’s side, she rested her chin on Pearl’s knee as she looked up into her eyes.
“I suppose I owe you a thank-you,” Pearl said, stroking the dog’s head. “You are kind of a big baby, aren’t you?”
Hunny licked Pearl’s hand.
Pearl laughed. “Okay. This will be our secret. Do you like turkey?”
“I think Adam is in shock,” Chris said after Adam and Melony went home on Christmas night. Minutes earlier they had all walked the couple to the door and had since returned to the living room.
“He almost accidentally proposed to Mel,” Heather said with a laugh.
“Almost accidentally?” Chris repeated with a laugh.
“He’s really going to be in shock when he gets that thing appraised,” Danielle said. “He has no idea it is the Winterborne engagement ring.”
They all laughed.
“If you’ll excuse me, I have a few more stops to make,” Eva said as she stood up.
“Before you go, I have something to ask you,” Danielle said. “I couldn’t with Adam and Mel here.”
“What is that?” Eva asked.
“Colin—we now know he is a ghost—”
Eva arched her brows. “You do?”
“But what we want to know—is he really the ghost of Saint Nicholas? I mean the real Saint Nicholas?” Danielle asked.
“If you are asking if the man you know as Colin was Saint Nicholas—also known as Nicholas of Bari—who was born over seventeen hundred years ago—the generous priest and philanthropist who inspired what we know as Santa Claus—yes. But if you are asking if he is his ghost, no.”
“What do you mean he isn’t his ghost?” Danielle asked.
Eva smiled at Danielle and, before disappearing, said, “Nicholas is an angel, not a ghost.”
The Ghost and the Silver Scream
Return to Marlow House in
The Ghost and the Silver Scream
Haunting Danielle, Book 24
Hollywood descends on Marlow House in preproduction for the movie adaptation of Walt’s bestselling novel, Moon Runners. Hoping for inspiration, they found death instead.
There’s a murderer loose, and as the body count increases, secrets are revealed—and it starts to get a little crowded with all these new ghosts hanging around.
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Haunting Danielle Series
by Bobbi Holmes
The Ghost of Marlow House, Book 1
The Ghost Who Loved Diamonds, Book 2
The Ghost Who Wasn’t, Book 3
The Ghost Who Wanted Revenge, Book 4
The Ghost of Halloween Past, Book 5
The Ghost Who Came for Christmas, Book 6
The Ghost of Valentine Past, Book 7
The Ghost from the Sea, Book 8
The Ghost and the Mystery Writer, Book 9
The Ghost and the Muse, Book 10
The Ghost Who Stayed Home, Book 11
The Ghost and the Leprechaun, Book 12
The Ghost Who Lied, Book 13
The Ghost and the Bride, Book 14
The Ghost and Little Marie, Book 15
The Ghost and the Doppelganger, Book 16
The Ghost of Second Chances, Book 17
The Ghost Who Dream Hopped, Book 18
The Ghost of Christmas Secrets, Book 19
The Ghost Who Was Says I Do, Book 20
The Ghost and the Baby, Book 21
The Ghost and the Halloween Haunt, Book 22
The Ghost and the Christmas Spirit, Book 23
The Ghost and the Silver Scream, Book 24
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Most are available in audiobook.
Bobbi Holmes
Also known as Anna J. McIntyre
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Sundered Hearts
After Sundown
While Snowbound
Sugar Rush
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The Coulson Series
by Anna J. McIntyre
Coulson’s Wife
Coulson’s Crucible
Coulson’s Lessons
Coulson’s Secret
Coulson’s Reckoning
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Also by Bobbi Ann Johnson Holmes
Havasu Palms, A Hostile Takeover
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