“Hear what⁠—”

  “Shh!” Snapping into warrior mode, Liam launched off the sofa and mouthed, “Voices. You stay here.”

  To hell with that.

  If there was an intruder inside her shop, she had every intention of confronting them. She’d do it while standing safely behind her big scary former-military boyfriend but still, she wasn’t going to hide in her apartment alone while he went out there.

  Natalie stood. She tiptoed behind Liam into the darkened shop lit only by the shaft of moonlight streaming inside. It illuminated the front table with the new releases on it but not much more.

  It certainly wasn’t enough for her to see any burglars or vandals who might be hiding amid the shelves.

  She reached for the light switch and found Liam’s hand already there. He flipped the switch, flooding the shop with light, then he paused, listening. “There. Again. A man’s voice⁠—”

  Natalie stopped listening to Liam when Gabe came into view and said her name.

  “Oh my God. You’re alive! Uh, I mean—you know what I mean.” Teary-eyed, she rushed forward then stopped. “I’d hug you if I could.”

  He smiled. “Missed me, did you?”

  “I thought you were gone. Everyone. I looked everywhere. I couldn’t find even one of you. Not even train track dude.”

  “We’re all in that really nice, big old house up on the hill. You know the one with the stone columns along the road and the long driveway?”

  She shook her head. She didn’t know the house, but she didn’t care. Gabe was all right. They all were.

  “Everyone else is still there but I wanted to come down and get an update on the exorcism. What happened at Harper’s?”

  Breathing in, Natalie tried to slow her speeding heart. Everything was fine, her head knew that but it was taking her body a little while to catch up.

  “It was ridiculous. I wish you had been there. This woman has to be a complete charlatan and I’m glad if she is because that means you were never in any danger. And Millie too. I didn’t see her over there. Did you get her out?”

  “Yeah, actually, about that.” Gabe glanced behind a bookcase and extended one hand. “Come on. It’s okay.”

  At that urging, the ghost formerly known as Twenties Girl came into view.

  Gabe took her hand in his and said, “Natalie, I’d like to officially introduce you to Millie. Millie, this is my friend Natalie, the living who can see us.”

  “Pleasure to meet you,” Millie said, so shyly Natalie barely heard her.

  Liam clamped one big hand so tightly onto Natalie’s shoulder she said, “Ow.”

  “Nat,” he said, his voice sounding strange.

  “Yeah?” She covered his hand with hers and began to pry his fingers off her before he left bruises.

  When she twisted enough to see his face she saw something she’d never seen before. Not even when they’d been tied up by a murderer. Fear.

  “I heard that. Him. Gabe. And her. I hear them.”

  “What?” She turned from Liam to Gabe. “How is that possible?”

  He shrugged. “I have no idea.”

  “I have no idea,” Liam repeated Gabe’s words verbatim. “That’s what he just said.”

  What was happening?

  Gabe dropped his hold on Millie’s hand and took a step forward.

  “Can you see me too?” he asked Liam directly.

  When he received no reaction at all, not even a blink from Liam, Gabe turned to Natalie. “Am I going in and out, like a shoddy cell signal?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Liam turned to Natalie. “I don’t hear him anymore.”

  “I know. We’re trying to figure out why,” she told him while Gabe reached back and took Millie’s hand again.

  “You all right?” Gabe asked the girl.

  It sounded so much like what Liam had said to Natalie so many times tonight while she’d been upset, that she realized what Liam had suggested might be true. Gabe liked Millie. Liked her as more than a friend.

  “He just asked, are you all right,” Liam said, his eyes wide again.

  “He heard that?” Gabe asked.

  “I heard that,” Liam answered.

  “What is going on?” Natalie asked, looking from one man to the other.

  Millie took a single step forward then lifted her and Gabe’s entwined hands. Looking at Gabe, she said, “It’s when you’re holding my hand.”

  Gabe frowned then glanced at Natalie. “I think she’s right. Do you hear me now?”

  “Yes, and I heard her,” Liam answered. “Jeezus, this is nuts.”

  “Wait.” Gabe dropped Millie’s hand. “How about now? Liam? Hello, Liam.”

  They all turned to see Liam waiting patiently.

  Gabe took Millie’s hand again. “Liam?”

  Liam sucked in a breath. “Yes, Gabe.”

  “That’s what it is. He can hear us whenever I’m touching Millie. And it must have worked for Harper too. I had grabbed Millie before I knocked over the tree and she ran away.”

  Natalie moved the sign that read New Releases closer to Gabe and said, “Hold her hand and knock that over.”

  He didn’t question her but poked at the sign. It tipped over onto the table.

  Liam’s eyes got impossibly wider. “Ho-ly shit.”

  Gabe spun back to Liam. “But you still can’t see us?”

  “Correct,” Liam confirmed.

  “I still don’t understand. Why do we think this is happening?” Gabe asked as he pulled Millie closer to him and gazed down at her face.

  “I think I might know.” Natalie couldn’t help the small, sad smile that bowed her lips.

  Things were about to change, and that included her and Gabe’s friendship because it was obvious to her that her best friend was in love.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Natalie shot Liam a glance across the small table in what served as a kitchen area in her apartment. “You all right?”

  A mug filled with his first coffee of the morning clutched in one big hand, he said, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “You just heard your first ghost last night.”

  “You hear and see them all the time and you’re okay,” he pointed out.

  “Now I am. At the beginning, not so much.”

  She remembered the first day when she realized she could see and hear members of the spirit realm. She’d wondered if she needed to see a neurologist or possibly a psychotherapist.

  But unlike her, Liam wasn’t alone in his experience. He had Natalie there as a spiritual guide, so to speak. And he’d already known of Gabe’s existence before being able to actually speak with him.

  That they could speak now still blew her mind. It was as amazing as it was concerning. Hopefully Gabe would keep all of his many snide comments to himself now that Liam might be able to hear them.

  And it was all because of Millie… Amazing.

  Love was a powerful thing. This seemed like indisputable proof of that.

  “I’ll be fine. How are you?” Liam asked, turning the question back on her.

  “I’m good. Why?”

  “Well, you have to share your bestie now.”

  Denying the truth of her concern, she waved his comment away. “I’m sure he’ll still be hanging around here too often for my liking, in spite of his relationship with Millie.”

  “Hmm. Interesting.”

  She frowned at Liam. “What’s interesting?”

  “I was talking about how you’ll feel sharing Gabe with me now that I can talk to him myself directly instead of going through you as an interpreter. Yet you jumped right to the fact that you’ll have to share him with his girlfriend.”

  Natalie rolled her eyes. “I’m not interested in Gabe romantically.”

  Liam bobbed his head. “Maybe not.”

  “I’m not!”

  “Okay, you’re not. But you’re still used to him being at your beck and call.”

  She shook her head and frowned. “No.”

  “Yes,” Liam countered. “When I wouldn’t go to that meeting with you, Gabe did. When I’m busy working, he keeps you company in the shop. When you want to discuss ghost stuff, he’s your go to. Maybe he won’t be so accessible to you now he’s in a relationship.”

  She scowled. “You’re being silly. Harper’s engaged and I still see her all the time.” Not even close to half as much as she saw—or used to see—Gabe, but…

  “We’ll see.” Liam shrugged. “So what’s next?”

  “What’s next for what?” she asked grateful for the subject change.

  “For you. For the ghosts. Whatever. Now that Harper’s appeased her house is ‘clean’, the ghosts are all safe from Madame Letisha, and I can hear Gabe without you being the go between, there’s nothing more for you to worry about. Whatever will you do with all your time, Ms. Chase?” he asked with a smirk.

  “Well, smart ass. Besides my full-time job running the shop, there’s still the mystery of the backyard bone to worry about.”

  Not to mention the holes from the search crew that her insurance company would no doubt consider a liability.

  “And I would love to interview Millie and learn what her story is. I never got around to telling you, but Gabe heard a rumor in the graveyard⁠—“

  “Is that where all the good ghost goss comes from. The graveyard?” Liam laughed.

  “The ghost goss? And yes, it is. Shh. I’m telling a story.”

  “Sorry.”

  “I forgive you. Anyway, he heard there were rumors that someone was killed in Agnes’s house and they never found the body. I’m thinking it has to be Millie. And what if the reason they never found the body is because it was buried behind the train depot?”

  Liam tipped his head. “A few leaps there but I guess anything is possible.”

  “The question is, how did she die?” she asked.

  “The ghost rumor mill didn’t supply that?”

  “Not that Gabe said. And he said he hasn’t been able to get her to talk about it. You haven’t seen her but she’s young and beautiful. She looks completely healthy. I mean there’s no visible sign of what killed her. I’m kind of intrigued.”

  Liam grunted. “Hmm. And now so am I. Intrigued. All right, Nancy Drew. Then let’s plan it. Invite Gabe and Millie over.”

  “Like a double date?”

  He laughed. “Well, no. I was thinking more like for a chat but call it whatever you want.”

  “Okay. I’ll ask next time he comes into the shop. If he’s not too busy and has time to stop by.”

  “Jealousy…” Liam sang.

  She stuck her tongue out at him. “If that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black.”

  Liam laughed. “So I’m not broken up that my girlfriend’s ghost boyfriend got himself a ghost girlfriend. Sue me.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Natalie glanced at the clock for what had to be the tenth time in the past few hours. Was the day moving extra slowly today? Or was it her imagination?

  There had been customers to break up the hours. Not a ton but an average amount, she estimated while trying not to admit why the day was moving so slowly.

  Gabe.

  He hadn’t stopped by. Not at all. Not even for a quick pop in.

  His absence had left a glaring gap in her usual workday.

  She hated that she’d noticed. She hated even more that Liam might be right. Not that she was jealous, per say, but she was envious of the time he was obviously spending with Millie instead of with her.

  The urge to lock the door and close the shop early was strong. Although then what?

  If Liam was still at the lab working she’d just be sitting alone in her apartment, which seemed even more depressing than being in the shop.

  It wasn’t like she could call Gabe and ask if he and Millie wanted to come over. Not for the first time and probably not for the last she wished ghosts could have cell phones.

  Liam was smart. He studied people’s brains. It would be nice if he could use his own brain to figure out some sort of communication system between her and the ghosts. That was most likely impossible but it was nice to dream.

  With a sigh she glanced at the clock one more time and snapped to attention when she saw it was just a few minutes before six. For the first time that day she didn’t curse the old grandfather clock she’d recently purchased from a local estate sale.

  Springing into action Natalie headed for the door and flipped the sign to Closed.

  Poking her head outside, she checked left and right.

  No Gabe or Millie. Though she did see the uniformed ghost of a long ago departed railway employee who walked past the shop to work each morning and home each evening. He always ignored her and since today was no exception, she ignored him as well.

  With a sigh she closed and locked the door then turned back to the cash register. It didn’t take long to check and record the day’s credit card receipts and grab the big bills out of the cash register. She shoved those into a cash bag and stowed that in the safe Liam had bolted to the floor for her under the register.

  That was it. Another day gone.

  Reaching beneath the counter, she flipped off the stereo, cutting the steady stream of music that pumped through the shop from ten until six every day.

  That’s when she heard the sound of the television and smiled. Liam was already there, waiting for her. Feeling lighter she moved fast to the door that led to her private apartment in the back.

  Swinging the door wide she stopped dead at the sight that greeted her. That being Millie, Gabe and Liam sitting side-by-side on the sofa watching some sort of sports on the television.

  “Hey, babe,” Liam said, raising his beer to her in a salute with a quick glance before his eyes went back to the TV.

  “Um, hey. What’s going on here?”

  “Ask him,” Liam said, hooking a thumb toward where Gabe sat. By the set of Liam’s jaw there was a lot she had missed.

  Gabe dropped his hold on Millie’s hand and said, “He’s still holding a grudge.”

  Was Gabe being sneaky? He knew Liam couldn’t hear him if he wasn’t physically touching Millie.

  What the hell was going on?

  “Um, why?” she asked Gabe.

  Liam’s head whipped to the side as he said, “I’ll tell you why⁠—“

  She realized Liam—who hadn’t heard Gabe talking about this so-called grudge—thought her question was meant for him.

  Liam planted his beer bottle on the coffee table with a clunk. “I was in the lab working.”

  “Cutting into my body, he means,” Gabe elaborated to only her.

  “When suddenly Gabe starts screaming, Ow! Stop! It hurts!” Liam narrowed his eyes at where she supposed he thought Gabe was sitting, though he missed by a foot or so and instead it looked as if he was just glaring at the stack of books on the side table.

  Natalie bit her lip picturing the scene. Liam, scalpel in hand—or perhaps his saw because as horrifying as it was she knew he used a saw a lot in his work—cutting into a cadaver and hearing it scream.

  If she didn’t know laughing would get her into big trouble with Liam she’d be hysterical by now.

  “I’m sorry,” she managed between tight lips as she wrestled with the giggles that threatened to surface.

  “I see you trying not to laugh,” Gabe accused. “You think it’s funny too. Come on. Admit it. It was a good joke.”

  She didn’t answer Gabe but she did question Liam. “If you’re so angry with him, what are the two of you doing sitting here next to each other on the sofa watching TV together?”

  “He’s next to me?” Frowning, Liam scooted farther toward the arm of the sofa. “I thought he was sitting in the chair.”

  “I can’t sit next to Millie if I’m in the chair,” Gabe explained. “And the view of the TV is better from the sofa.”

  “Can you please make it so Liam can hear you?” she asked with a frustrated huff. “I thought I was done interpreting for the two of you.”

  “Sorry.” Gabe grabbed Millie’s hand.

  “And neither one of you has explained how this little gathering came about,” she reminded.

  “We declared a truce. I promised to never do that to him again,” Gabe said. He released Millie’s hand and added, “Millie said she won’t go back there with me anyway. Seeing my body in pieces freaked her out.”

  Natalie didn’t blame the girl one bit for that.

  “And he and Millie agreed to meet with us this evening to chat,” Liam added.

  “We came over to wait for you to close the shop and I saw he’d turned on the TV. What was I going to do? Not watch the game?” Gabe asked, his hand laced through Millie’s again.

  “Maybe Millie would prefer to watch something else?” she suggested trying to be a good host.

  Gabe waved away her suggestion with his free hand. “She’s tired of all those chick movies. She told me Harper leaves them playing all day, on repeat, while she’s writing. She’s happy to watch anything else. Even college basketball.”

  Millie’s gaze cut to Natalie and she shrugged the delicate shoulders exposed by her flapper dress.

  This entire interaction might be the strangest thing Natalie had ever experienced in her life. And she’d met with a prohibition bootlegger inside a secret tunnel and hosted a fake séance with real ghosts for the citizens of Mudville, so that was really saying something.

  “All righty. Well, I’m glad you’re here.” Now maybe she could get some answers.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The two men in her life declaring a truce was a big display of growth on both of their parts… Gabe’s tendency to let go of Millie's hand so he could comment about Liam to Natalie without the other man hearing notwithstanding. Although she had to admit it was clever, albeit childish.

  Drawing in a breath, she moved to the freezer and pulled out two frozen meals. She was starving, but even so, she hesitated. Was it rude to eat in front of their guests?

  “Would you mind if we ate?” she asked as she worked to free the two dinners from their boxes before sliding them into the microwave.

 

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