Ghostly Worries (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 4) (6 page)

“Oh, that sounds nice,” Sarah said, smiling at Jared. “Just so you know, I’m not like Rosie. I don’t care how much people make.”

“That’s … nice,” Jared said, exchanging a quick look with Mel.

“In fact, I would be happy with anyone as long as they’re handsome,” Sarah added. “I could even make it on a cop’s salary.”

Jared froze as he reached for the door, risking a look in Mel’s direction and finding the man’s shoulders shaking with silent laughter as he hung his head. “Um … that’s good to know.”

“Okay,” Sarah said, waving brightly. “I’ll see you around.”

“I’m sure you will,” Jared said, waiting until he was outside and the door was safely shut before exchanging an incredulous look with Mel. “What was that?”

“You’d better hope she doesn’t have any of Rosie’s stalker-ish tendencies,” Mel said, chuckling. “I don’t think Harper is going to be happy if she finds that woman hiding in her bushes.”

“Harper isn’t the only one who wouldn’t be happy with that,” Jared said. “Still … it does sound like Rosie had a bit of a problem when it came to men.”

“It certainly does,” Mel agreed. “I think that’s definitely the place we need to start.”

H
arper sat
on one of the large rocks at the base of The Landing restaurant and stared out at the lake. The sun was bright overhead, casting shadows in very few places as the heat index grew.

Harper was frustrated, and the oppressive temperature only had a little to do with it. She was certain Rosie’s ghost was close and yet she couldn’t see her. She could feel the woman, almost as if the ethereal spirit was playing with her peripheral vision, and yet she couldn’t get a clear fix on her location.

“I know you’re there,” Harper called out, internally thankful the crashing waves were enough to drown out her voice over long distances. “I can feel you. You’re looking at me. You don’t have to be afraid.”

Harper sat perfectly still for a moment, her breathing even. The flash at the corner of her eye told her she’d been right, and when she swiveled quickly she almost knocked herself over she was moving so fast. “Ha!”

“Ha, yourself,” Jason said, catching Harper’s arm before she could topple to the sand. “What are you doing?”

It took Harper a moment to collect herself, color rushing to her cheeks as she realized it wasn’t Rosie she’d been sensing after all. “What are you doing out here?” she sputtered, stalling for time.

“I’m pretty sure I asked you first,” Jason said, chuckling as he rested his hands on her shoulders to make sure she was steady. “You’re not going to fall over, are you?”

“No,” Harper said, biting the inside of her cheek. This wasn’t what she envisioned when she came out here – and it certainly wasn’t what she had planned. How was she going to explain her way out of this one? “So, what are you doing out here again?”

“Yeah, we’re not playing that game,” Jason said, flashing a smile as he looked Harper up and down. She was dressed in simple cutoffs and a T-shirt, her hair pulled back in a no-fuss ponytail. His eyes lingered over her long legs for a moment before returning to her face. “What was I saying again?”

Harper took advantage of his momentary confusion to exert control over the situation. “You were telling me what you’re doing out here,” she pressed.

“I’m pretty sure you’re just messing with my head now, but I’ll bite,” Jason said. “I’m here because I have to get the restaurant ready for the big opening tonight. It’s a lot of work and even though a body was found under my deck yesterday, that work still needs to be done. Your turn.”

Harper ignored Jason’s pointed prod. “You’re opening tonight? I didn’t realize it was that soon.”

“I should’ve been clearer when I invited you,” Jason said. “Of course, I didn’t realize I was inviting two people when I extended one invitation.”

That was another pointed jab, but Harper felt more confident deflecting the second one. “You just got back into town,” she said. “You couldn’t possibly be expected to know Jared and I are together.”

Jason kept his smile in place, but Harper was almost certain she saw the corners of his lips momentarily dip. “So you are a couple. I figured, but … I couldn’t be sure.”

Harper almost thought he sounded disappointed. That was ridiculous, though.
Why would he be disappointed?
“We’ve been together for a few weeks,” Harper said. “It’s going well, though. I really like him.”

“You’ve only been together for a few weeks?” Hope flared in the depths of Jason’s eyes, and the realization made Harper uneasy, although she couldn’t identify why. “I guess that means there’s still a chance for me, huh?” He punctuated the question with a light tap on her arm, like they were buddies, but there was something sincere about the question.

“Not really,” Harper replied, hoping she didn’t sound too mean when she shot down Jason’s lame attempt at flirting. “We’re pretty happy.”

“But you haven’t been together very long,” Jason said. “How do you know you wouldn’t be happier with someone else?”

“I guess I don’t
know
that,” Harper conceded. “I feel in my heart that I’m happy with Jared, though. I’m not interested in anyone else.”

“Fair enough,” Jason said, holding his hands up. “I can’t explain it, but for some reason I haven’t been able to get you out of my head since I saw you yesterday. It was like a blast from the past and all of sudden I was back in high school and I had a second chance to wow you with my really depressing pick-up skills.”

“Jason, I don’t know what to say,” Harper said, instinctively thankful that the sun could be blamed for the added color to her cheeks. “It’s flattering, but … .”

“You’re with Jared,” Jason finished.

“I’m definitely with Jared.”

“And you’re happy,” Jason added.

“We’re definitely happy.” Harper flashed a sympathetic smile. “If you’re looking for a date, though, Jenny mentioned she’s open for offers. She’s been looking for a man for … well … forever.”

“Yes, Jenny mentioned to me that she was looking for a date, too,” Jason said. “It was awkward and there was no graceful way to dodge it.”

“I know that feeling.” Harper realized too late that her statement could be misconstrued as an obvious insult toward Jason. “I didn’t mean … .”

“It’s okay,” Jason said, barking out a laugh. “Man, you’re exactly the same. It’s as if time has stood still where you’re concerned.”

“Is that a good or bad thing?”

“It’s definitely a good thing,” Jason said. “You still say whatever comes to your mind and completely wow me with your beauty. How could that ever be a bad thing?”

Harper shrugged. “My parents aren’t keen on that ‘saying whatever comes to my mind thing.’ In fact, if you listen to my mother, she’s had to live with the shame of it for twenty-seven years and it’s making her hair go gray.”

Jason laughed, delighted. “How are your parents?”

“In the middle of the world’s most contentious divorce,” Harper replied. “How are your parents?”

“They’re the same,” Jason said. “I’m sorry your parents are having a rough go of it.”

“Frankly, I thought my parents would get divorced when I was a kid and it never happened,” Harper explained. “They waited until I was an adult to spring it on me. Somehow I think that’s worse. They stole all that angst I could’ve exploited when I was younger and now I have to listen to them arguing over who is going to get the wooden hangers and who is going to get the vintage S
tar Trek
Enterprise pizza cutter.”

This time Jason’s hearty laughter bordered on shrill. “Oh, man,” he said. “I forgot how funny your parents were. I remember the few times I got the nerve up to visit you at your house and your dad walked around with a drill and said he was looking for things that needed to be fixed. Good grief, I was terrified of him.”

Harper giggled at the memory. “It’s funny the things you remember about high school,” she said. “I thought I would never get over the embarrassment of that, but now it’s a really fun story.”

“We have a lot of good memories,” Jason said. “We didn’t spend a lot of time together and yet … .”

“I bet Jared would love that story,” Harper said, missing the flash of annoyance that crossed Jason’s face when she brought up her boyfriend. “He loves stories about when Zander and I were younger.”

“Yeah?” Jason forced his eyebrows up so he looked quizzical instead of irked when Harper glanced in his direction. “I think it’s neat that you and Zander are still so close. You guys work together, right?”

“We do.”

“Doing what?”

Harper balked at the question. She should’ve realized it was coming and yet she didn’t manage to deflect it before he asked her a question she had no hope of evading. The time was here. “We own Ghost Hunters, Inc. We help identify ghosts and send them over to the other side.”

“Uh-huh.”

Harper wet her lips as she found herself becoming defensive because of Jason’s tone. “I’m not joking. That’s what we do. If you want to say something snide … .”

“What makes you think I want to say something snide?”

“I don’t know,” Harper admitted. “You have an odd look on your face. I’ve seen that look before. Whenever people whip it out, it generally means that they’re going to make fun of me.

“Here’s the thing, though, I don’t care if you make fun me,” she continued. “I’m proud of what I do. I’m proud of who I am. If you don’t like it … I don’t really care.”

“Wow, that was a mouthful, huh?” Jason’s eyes filled with mirth. “I know about the business.”

Harper stilled, surprised. “You do? How?”

“You took off like a lightning bolt yesterday,” Jason replied. “Yes, I get that Zander was the one fueling the storm, but you avoided my questions about why you were at the house. After you left I asked Jenny some pointed questions, and since she’s my real estate agent she had no choice but to tell the truth.”

Harper tamped down the urge to guffaw at Jason’s “lightning” reference, mostly because it melded with Zander’s thunder stealing theory a little too easily. Instead she focused on Jason’s admission. “Oh. I didn’t think of that.”

“You don’t have to hide it,” Jason said. “I think it’s pretty cool.”

“Most people think I’m crazy.”

“I’m not most people.”

“No, I guess not,” Harper conceded. “Still, whenever I tell people what I do I either get sympathetic stares because they think I’m insane and should be locked up or suspicious glares because they think I’m a con artist trying to steal people’s money.”

“What does Jared think?”

Harper wasn’t sure how to answer the question so she took a moment to think it over. Jason opted to fill in the silence with his own theory. “He doesn’t know, does he?”

“Of course he knows,” Harper scoffed. “How do you think we met?”

“I … don’t know,” Jason hedged.

“We met on a murder case where I was talking to a ghost and he was trying to discover what happened,” Harper said. “He knows all about it.”

“And?”

“And he’s fine with it,” Harper answered. “Okay, he wasn’t fine with it at first. He thought I was a crackpot. He warmed up quickly, though. The ghost thing isn’t even remotely a problem between us.”

“I see.” Jason looked mildly disappointed at the admission.

“The only problem we have is Zander,” Harper added.

“Zander doesn’t like Jared?” Jason was intrigued. “Is he mean to him?”

“Zander likes Jared fine, although he’s convinced his nipples are too big for his body and now Jared has a complex about being shirtless in from of him,” Harper explained.

“Why would Jared be shirtless in front of Zander? Does he undress at Zander’s house?”

It took Harper a moment to realize what Jason was asking. “Oh, no. Zander and I live together.”

“You do?” Jason was back to being amused. “That’s got to be rough on Jared.”

Harper made a face. “Don’t be mean about my Zander,” she chided. “He’s an amazing friend and man.”

“I agree,” Jason said. “He’s also territorial and has a problem whenever anyone shows you any interest.”

“That’s not true.”

“He hated me in high school.”

Harper didn’t have the heart to tell Jason that it wasn’t girlfriend jealousy but guitar jealousy fueling that rift. “Zander had attitude with a lot of people in high school. He doesn’t dislike Jared, though. They get along pretty well. In fact they were up eating cookies together at midnight last night.”

“Well, that’s cozy,” Jason said. “If Zander likes Jared, why does Jared have issues with Zander? I’m not going to ask about the nipples thing. That’s just a little too weird.”

“Try living with the situation,” Harper said dryly. “Jared’s only problem is that Zander climbs into bed with us some mornings. He doesn’t like waking up to an extra person in bed.”

“I can’t blame him there,” Jason said. “It sounds as if you have quite the cozy set-up at your house. I’m kind of jealous.”

“It’s nice,” Harper said, smiling. “I’m sure you’ll get a cozy set-up of your own once you get settled.”

“I hope so,” Jason said, his expression crossing over to wistful. “I can’t worry about that too much right now, though. I have the opening tonight.”

“Right,” Harper said, bobbing her head. “I should let you get to it.”

“While you do … what?”

“While I look for a ghost,” Harper replied, not missing a beat. “I love the view here, don’t get me wrong, but I was trying to help a lost soul when you found me.”

“I guess that’s why you jumped out of your skin when you saw me.”

“A little bit.”

“Well, hey, I’ll let you get back to your work and go about my day if you promise to come and check out the restaurant tonight,” Jason offered.

Harper balked. “I’m not sure … .”

“I’m inviting you and Jared … and Zander, if that’s your thing when going out,” Jason said. “I promise. I want you all to have a good time.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Harper said, flashing a warm smile. “Jared might have to work late. He’s got that pesky murder investigation and all.”

“And you?”

“I just have to talk to Jared first.”

“Okay,” Jason said, offering Harper a half-hearted wave as he moved toward the deck stairs. “I’ll come looking for you if you skip the opening. You won’t like it if I have to make a scene and drag you back here.”

“I’m quaking in my flip flops,” Harper teased, watching Jason ascend the steps in silence until a hint of movement caught her attention. When she looked to her left she found Rosie Sawyer’s nearly transparent ghost watching his retreat with great interest. In fact, Harper couldn’t be sure, but she was almost positive the look she saw reflected on Rosie’s face was one of regret. The expression was gone before Harper could study it further, though. The second Rosie caught Harper staring at her she blinked out of existence.

That was weird, right?