It'll Always Be Her, page 12
After retirement, Pearl had moved to Washington State to be close to her daughter and grandchildren. Bee still stayed in touch with her through social media, occasional emails, and Christmas card exchanges. Though their correspondence sometimes touched on Captain Marcus, they’d never had a reason to talk about him in much depth.
Until now.
Bee made a note to call Pearl first thing in the morning—or rather, at a decent hour—then spent the next few hours deciphering the captain’s sweeping, spidery handwriting and taking notes.
Last year, she’d organized all of the letters and diaries in chronological order, so she compiled the ones dated at the time the Gardenia House was being built or afterward. She also marked the correspondence dated in the fall months in case there was a reference to Halloween.
It was four o’clock in the morning before she finally set everything aside on the desk and went back upstairs. Puffalump was curled up in his bed like a big roll of cotton, his tail twitching even in sleep.
“All’s quiet on the ghostly front.” Adam walked down from the mezzanine, carrying a thick book under his arm. “We can wrap it up for the night. Go get some sleep.”
“Are you staying here?” Bee asked.
“I’ll grab a few hours’ sleep in my trailer.” Adam retrieved a backpack from the conference room and hitched one of the straps over his shoulder. “Find anything about Marcus?”
“I’ve organized some of his letters and diaries, but I’ll read them in more detail tomorrow.” Bee picked up her bag from behind the counter, pausing to kiss Puffalump between the ears before following Adam to the front door.
He held it open for her as they walked out into the gray dawn. The sun hadn’t yet started to peek over the horizon, and the sky was coated in a thick layer of marine fog. The production vans, cars, and trailers lined the edges of the parking lot. In a spot near the side of the house, the Airstream bookmobile glowed like a silver Twinkie.
“A lot of people we talked to in town had great things to say about the bookmobile,” Adam said. “How you drive it out to rural communities that don’t have libraries so everyone has access to books. Not only is it a great service, they think it’s a great representation of the town.”
“It is,” Bee agreed, looking fondly at the bookmobile. “I just wish everyone felt that way about the Gardenia House too. One of our assistants, Ray, drove the bookmobile all over the county this past summer. We’ve had to start increasing the number of days we take it out because so many communities want us to stop by. I love it, and it really is a fantastic way to expand the library’s services, but now I wish I’d used some of the money for the house. I hadn’t known at the time that the Gardenia House was in trouble.”
“If you had used the money for repairs, you might not have had such success with the bookmobile,” Adam pointed out.
“True.” Bee pulled her keys from her purse and stopped beside her car. “Thank you.”
Adam lifted his eyebrows. “For what?”
“I don’t know.” She chuckled and pushed the button to unlock her car. “This has been an interesting night. And oddly enough, it was also kind of fun.”
“Agreed.” He smiled at her, and her heart did its little hopscotch. “You know, as a scientist, even on the show, I do a lot of experiments.”
“I can imagine.”
“Experiments provide the basis for scientific knowledge,” Adam continued. “It’s how you test and either prove or disprove a hypothesis.”
Wondering where he was going with this, Bee nodded. “I appreciate experiments. Depending on what you’re trying to prove, of course.”
He rested one hand on the top of the open car door. The parking lot lights cast his strong features into shadows of light and dark.
Although he’d been clean-shaven that morning, a layer of scruff now covered his jaw. Bee wondered what that rough stubble would feel like rubbing against her skin.
Her breath shortened. Adam leaned closer. His blue-green eyes glinted.
“Your hypothesis is that your ghost has been interrupting us,” he said.
“Even you have to admit it was a highly coincidental series of…coincidences.”
“Okay.” He nodded, almost as if he agreed with her. “So we’ll put it to the test. The interruptions all happened inside the house.”
“Well, technically, we were outside on the widow’s walk,” Bee said. “But it all happened within the footprint of the house, yes.”
“Has Marcus ever been seen in the parking lot?”
“No. He doesn’t go beyond the boundaries of the house. Which, as you said, means he might be trapped there.”
“So if the ghost was the reason for the interruptions”—Adam raised an eyebrow—“then he shouldn’t bother us if we’re not in the house or within its footprint.”
Bee’s heart was beginning to speed up like a little engine. “Are you saying we should…experiment in other locations?”
“If you want proof.” His gaze drifted to her mouth. “Or a lack thereof.”
Although Bee wanted to kiss Adam again more than she’d wanted anything in a very long time, she was suddenly hesitant about the idea of her hypothesis being either proven or disproven. Because that meant one of them would be wrong.
And while Bee very much enjoyed being right and still needed absolute proof of the ghost, she didn’t love the idea of Adam’s belief system—or him—taking a hit.
But…lord in heaven. He was looking at her mouth as if he could already taste her. And she really did want to know what it would be like to kiss him, and maybe do even more, without worrying about Captain Marcus pushing over books or slamming doors. In fact, she wished the ghost would just stay out of the way where she and Adam were concerned.
“I suppose some experimenting might be helpful.” Her voice came out breathless. She was breathless, and all he was doing was looking at her. “But what about us being just friends?”
He shrugged. “This is a scientific test. Science doesn’t have anything to do with friendship.”
Bee narrowed her eyes, even as her heart continued to rev right up like it was approaching the starting line of a race. “It doesn’t, hmm?”
“Nope.” He pushed away from the car door. “Science deals with chemistry, reactions, energy, force, bonding, magnetism…”
With every word, he moved an inch closer to her until she could feel his body heat filling the scant space between them, and her heart sped around the track so fast it was leaving all other racers in the dust.
“It has nothing whatsoever,” Adam reiterated, his gaze locked on hers, “to do with friendship.”
She grabbed the edge of the car door. She wanted him to kiss her so badly her knees went weak. And she couldn’t blame her reaction on fatigue either—not when every nerve ending was flickering with heat and energy.
“Well, then,” she murmured. “I guess we’d better do some scientific testing.”
Adam curled a lock of her hair around his finger and tugged, drawing her closer. She parted her lips to draw in a breath the instant before he lowered his head and pressed his mouth against hers.
Oh, yes.
All the hot, flourishing sensations bloomed through her again—pleasure, lust, excitement. The last time, she’d been so taken aback by the contact of his mouth that it had taken her a moment to even respond—but this time? She was ready for him and met him halfway.
She rose to her tiptoes and responded eagerly to the warm movement of his lips. Heat spread through her nerves, tightening her core. She fisted the front of his worn T-shirt. He settled his hands on her hips, angling their bodies closer. Her heart was winning the race, waving victory to the frenzied crowd.
An owl hooted somewhere nearby. Bee tensed for an instant, half-expecting a flock of bats to swoop in and interrupt them, but the sound only disappeared into the distant crash of ocean waves.
Adam tugged her more firmly against him, increasing the pressure of the kiss, his own body lacing with tension. Though he was so much bigger, they somehow fit together perfectly. Her curves yielded easily to the hard planes of his chest, and he folded his muscled arms around her as if he had no intention of ever letting go.
Everything inside her went soft and hot. She didn’t want to leave this warm, bright circle. She parted her lips and let him inside. He backed her up against the side of the car, sweeping his tongue into her mouth and edging his knee between her legs.
Her pulse skyrocketed. Desire clenched in her lower body. She wanted his hands on her bare skin, his lips on her breasts.
He brought one hand to her nape, tilting her head back as he continued caressing her mouth with delicious precision as if he already knew exactly what she both wanted and needed.
Dizziness washed over her. She had never been kissed like this before. She hadn’t even known kisses like this existed outside of fiction and fairy tales. She never wanted it to end.
Adam slid his hand to her shoulder…and lower until his big palm covered her breast. He brushed his thumb across her hard nipple, sending a shock of heat to her core.
She parted her legs wider as he pushed closer, and then the hard ridge of his erection pressed against her belly. Sharp longing speared through her.
Oh, how she wanted to see him naked, to touch all the planes and hollows of his purely male body, to open herself up and let him—
Bee pulled away from him so fast that the back of her head knocked against the edge of the car roof.
Adam straightened, his breathing hard and eyes dark with lust. He put his hand on the back of her head and rubbed the sore spot.
“You okay?”
She nodded, dragging in a breath. Her mind was spinning. It had been so easy. So natural. If he’d kept going, he might’ve taken her right up against the car. And she’d have let him.
Not to mention…nothing and no one had interrupted them.
Adam took a step back, his lust diluting into an expression of faint shock. As if he, too, were stunned by how quickly they could have combusted. Together.
“Well.” Trying to calm her still-racing heart, Bee straightened her skirt and attempted to smile. “I guess Captain Marcus doesn’t venture outside the house.”
For a second, he looked as if he didn’t even know what she was talking about. Then he huffed out a small laugh and shook his head.
“One test isn’t usually sufficient proof of anything,” he said.
Well, we just proved that we have an explosive reaction to each other.
“Said like a true scientist.” She took her keys out of her pocket.
“I just meant that you have to run a few experiments to make sure your evidence is solid and not prone to errors.”
Bee stared at him. A laugh bubbled up in her throat. “So you think we have to experiment more?”
Adam shrugged and scratched the back of his neck. “Wouldn’t hurt.”
The laugh broke free, easing her disconcertion. She slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine. “Good night, Adam.”
“Night, Bee. Drive safely.”
He waited until she’d reversed out of the parking space and started toward the exit. She waved at him through the front windshield and turned onto the road toward her apartment building.
She was still tingling. And though her eyes burned, she needed sleep. Her whole circadian rhythm was thrown off-balance, but she couldn’t wait to spend the night with Adam again.
Unfortunately, that was exactly the problem.
She liked him a lot. More than she’d liked a man in a long time. She felt good when she was with him. He made her laugh, and she knew she could talk to him about anything.
Even if they disagreed, their conversation would have depth, nuances, and respect. He was not only intellectually brilliant but also an easygoing guy. He had principles and integrity.
And of course, he lit her up like a whole booth of Fourth of July firecrackers and inspired enough dirty fantasies to power a porn website. And—if that weren’t enough—the man was a Capricorn.
Oh, Bee could get very attached to Adam Powers, all right. Epoxy-type attachment.
This was actually a bigger problem than their believer-skeptic troubles or even that he was here temporarily. Bee had lost track of the number of times she’d gotten attached to someone—a foster mother, a teacher, a would-be sibling who’d been kind to her, a friend—only to have them either walk away or be taken right when she dared to hope she might be with them forever. That this time would be different.
But it never was. She always ended up back in the social worker’s car, heading to either a new home or a group center. Finally, she’d learned how to smother any feelings of warmth and attachment. At least then, it hurt less when people left her.
She parked in front of the building and took the elevator to her third-floor apartment. After unlocking the door, she flicked on the lights. Edgar stirred and chirped, and she went over to spend some time with him.
Animals were different—she could take Edgar and Puff with her if she had to leave Bliss Cove…which she might very well have to do if she lost the Gardenia House and her job.
She ruffled the bird’s yellow feathers and rested her head against the slats of his cage.
Even though she’d practically just met Adam, she felt as if she’d known him forever. And already the old warning bells were going off in the back of her mind.
Don’t get attached.
Don’t like him too much.
Remember he’s going to leave, or you will. You’ve known that from the start.
If you let him in, you have no one but yourself to blame when it hurts…again.
But, a tiny voice argued…what if Adam is worth the risk?
Chapter Eleven
“…so of course he’s a genius.” Pearl finished her rundown of her five-year-old grandson’s intellectual abilities with a self-deprecating laugh. “Honestly, Bee, it’s ridiculous how much you can love a child or a grandchild. It’s like we’re too small to contain all that emotion.”
Bee smiled, deflecting the painful twinge in her heart. She’d been the recipient of that kind of parental love for the first five years of her life, and while she told herself she was lucky to have experienced it at all, she would always have an ache of longing for what she’d lost.
At the same time, she was happy to know it really did exist in the world, and that good people like Pearl could reap all of its joys.
“I saw the picture of his birthday party that you posted.” She rose from the rickety table in her kitchen and picked up her coffee mug. “How long did it take you to set up all those science experiments?”
Pearl chuckled. “Not long at all, actually. Those are all from the Mad Scientist Night we used to have at the library. Slime, elephant toothpaste, Coke and Mentos rockets, lava lamps. I just dug it all up from our curriculum. Don’t you have those anymore?”
“No.” Bee set her mug in the sink with a sigh. “Remember I had to allocate a big part of the budget to fix the water damage from those bad winter storms we had a couple of years ago? Well, Mad Scientist Night had to go. I approached the town council for funding, but they wanted to put their budget toward equipment for the high school science lab instead. Which I can understand, but…well, our programming budget is getting thinner every year.”
“That will change as soon as the Hex or Hoax? episode airs,” Pearl said with such conviction that Bee experienced a rush of gratitude. “How is the filming going?”
Bee told her about the crew’s professionalism and her somewhat disillusioning encounters with Clyde Constantine, but she avoided talking about Adam at all, much less his debunker worldview. She didn’t want Pearl to think she’d made a mistake in inviting the Explorer Channel into the library.
“I’m also doing more research about Captain Marcus to figure out why his ghost is still at the library,” she explained. “I know we both always thought it was because he just loved the house so much he didn’t want to leave, but I’m starting to realize that doesn’t make sense. Ghosts want to complete their unfinished business and move on to the next realm.”
“I’ve heard that too.”
“So what could it have been for Captain Marcus?”
“I don’t know.” Pearl’s voice held a shrug. “No one’s ever asked. Remember, he died when he was only forty years old, so it could have been any number of things. He had a contentious relationship with his younger brother, so maybe he wanted to resolve a feud? I don’t think it would have been business-related since his company was doing quite well at the time of his death. But he had a lot of friends, of course. Maybe he was having trouble with one of them, or with someone in town. Not everyone in town loved his influence or the fact that he fought to save the boardwalk when most of the townspeople wanted to expand the shipping port.”
Something nudged the back of Bee’s mind. “And they wanted to tear down the boardwalk?”
“Oh, yes. There was a big to-do about it. You can read the editorials and stories in The Bliss Cove Times archives. Another company wanted to get rid of the boardwalk and expand the port to allow more shipping traffic, and John Marcus fought against it. In fact, he actually bought up that whole stretch of coastline to save the boardwalk, even though his company would have benefited substantially from an expanded port. He also put his own money toward having the lighthouse rebuilt when it needed repair. I think there’s a letter to his brother back East in which he says the boardwalk is too important to the town and its people. And to him.”
“Why was it so important?”
“He never said anything specific,” Pearl said. “Maybe because his nieces and nephews spent so much time there? Or because it was a fun place to enjoy a Saturday afternoon? He was all about providing venues for families and children to be together and have fun, so that could be why. He advocated for the creation of Wildwood Park, he was on the committee for the Christmas and Harvest Festivals, and he hosted an All Hallows’ Eve party every year he lived here. He was one of the reasons the town became what it is. He even came up with the name Bliss Cove.”
