Laure Donavan 2 - Ghouls Night Out (11 page)

“
Watching you sleep.” He
had little metaphorical hearts in his eyes.

“
Anthony, I told you to
stay out.” I pulled the cover up closer to my chin. As if it
mattered—natural reflex, I guess.

“
You look like an angel
when you’re sleeping. Not so much now, though. You’ve got that
nasty scowl on your face.” He pointed.

“
Well, it’s no wonder. If
you’d leave me alone, I wouldn’t have a reason for a
scowl.”

“
You look like an
angel…your smile is divine...” He sang the words.

What was with me and ghosts who liked
to sing?

Chapter Sixteen

As I sat on the stool behind the
register at Book Nook, I tapped my fingers against the counter,
then touched the necklace around my neck that Karyn had given me.
My stomach rumbled and I glanced at my watch. Mindy hadn’t shown up
yet. Mae and Anthony sat in the comfy leather chairs I had placed
in front of the fireplace. I had always loved the idea of curling
up in front of a fire with a book, and that’s what had given me the
idea to place the dark leather chairs in front of the old fireplace
in Book Nook. Seth was wandering somewhere in the history
section.

I moved to the front window to see if
I could spot Mindy walking down the sidewalk. If she didn’t come
soon, I’d give her a call. I hadn’t talked to her since last night
when she was with Cooper. Then the thought hit me: what if he was a
serial killer? No, remain calm. I was letting my imagination get
the better of me. I’d been watching too many episodes of 48 Hours
Mystery.

A few people ambled up and down the
sidewalk. When I’d almost given up on seeing her, she rounded the
corner, bouncing happily down the sidewalk. Unfortunately, the bag
of doughnuts was missing from her hands. She must have forgotten
which was unlike her. Oh well. I’d have to wait for lunch, although
now I had an excuse to pop over to Callahan’s shop for a little
treat…a pastry, of course.

My cell phone rang and I pulled it
from my pocket, continuing to watch the outside
activities.

“
Larue, it’s Mark,” the
baritone voice said.

Please tell me he wasn’t calling to
say there were more ghosts. I refused to go back and pick up
anymore. “Hi, Mark, how are things? Does it seem any
quieter?”

“
It’s hard to tell this
early, but I wanted to warn you. I got a bad vibe after you left. I
fear you may have taken the bad spirit with you.”

He had no idea. I took the spirits
with me all right, but the only bad I saw was Anthony’s constant
flirting. If I had a demon on my hands, I’d have known it by now,
wouldn’t I? Then I thought about the dark shadow in the woods.
Maybe Mark was right about his feeling.

It was probably only a coincidence
but, just in case, I’d do a cleansing of my house and bookstore
soon. I wouldn’t worry Mark by telling him the ghosts were with me
now.

I moved my position at the window for
a better view of Mindy. “I think everything will be fine, but I
appreciate your concern. You know me, I keep doing what I do. How
are the homeowners?”

“
Grateful.” The worry still
sounded in his voice.

“
Good. That’s the most
important thing.” I tried to sound confident for him.

“
Yes, yes, it is. I have a
customer, Larue. I’ll check on you soon,” Mark said.

“
You’ll call me if anything
else happens?” I asked.

“
You know I will, but
promise me you’ll be careful?”

“
I promise. Now stop
worrying. You need to take a breather and relax for the rest of the
week. You’re working way too hard.”

“
Ha, you’re one to talk.
You never take a break. Besides, I have to work, and we have
another case later this week. I pray that one will be something
simple like bad plumbing.”

“
Call me if you need
me.”

“
Will do.”

I stuffed the phone back into my
pocket, letting out a heavy sigh and praying he wouldn’t need me.
Normally I jumped at the chance for an investigation, but now more
than ever I needed to relax before taking on any more
ghosts.

Mindy had stopped at the paper stand
on the corner, and was now making her way closer to Book Nook. Her
curls bounced with every step she took. Imagine my surprise when
she didn’t cross the street, but instead sashayed into Cooper's
store. It seemed strange to call it Cooper’s after seeing Brianna
hanging out in the window for so long.

Mindy pulled the little bag of
doughnuts from her gigantic purse. So she did have the doughnuts,
after all. And Diet Cokes, too. I waved, but she didn't look my way
as she walked through the door of High Fashion. What was she doing,
anyway? She most certainly had a thing for Cooper. She could deny
it all she wanted but, after many years, I knew by the look in her
eyes.

I decided to watch the interaction,
instead of tending to my paperwork. Sure, I needed to mind my own
business, but I was nosy. Mindy had taught me well. She’d have done
the same thing. Where were her binoculars when I needed
them?

I spied for a few minutes, but
couldn't see much from across the street. After a couple more
seconds, curiosity got the better of me. I decided to lock up and
go see what was going on over there.

After grabbing my keys, I hurried
outside and closed the door behind me. I flicked the sign to Closed
and locked the door. There wasn’t a lot of traffic out yet, so I
made my way across the street without getting smashed. Just a short
time ago, I'd almost been run over by an out of control car, thanks
to evil Brianna. Mindy had pushed me out of the way just in time
before the car could hit me.

I stepped onto the
sidewalk.
As I reached for his door, a
vague unsettling feeling moved from my throat and nestled austerely
in the bottom of my stomach. Why did I feel this way?
I pushed the glass door open, and walked into the
boutique. A tingling of jealousy hit my stomach when I saw them.
Mindy and Cooper were at the counter, laughing, and chatting like
the best of friends, eating the doughnuts and drinking my diet
soda. What the heck was going on? My mouth hung open as I stared at
the scene.

“
What's going on, y’all?” I
asked, drawing their attention away from each other.

“
Oh, hi, Larue. I didn't
see you come in. How long you been standing there?” Mindy
asked.

“
Well, hello, gorgeous. I
wondered how long it would take before you came to see me. What
took you so long?” Cooper displayed his dazzling smile.

What had taken me so long? He’d only
been in town for a day.

“
Can I help you find
something? I don’t know much about this girly stuff, but I can tell
you what looks hot on a babe like yourself.”

Ugh. Taking fashion pointers from him
would be like taking advice from the teenage boys who came in the
store to gawk over the Maxim magazine.

“
She could use a new
outfit.” Mindy smiled and looked me up and down, then stuffed a
bite of doughnut in her mouth.

What was that once-over for? Nothing
wrong with jeans and sweaters as far as I was concerned.

When Mindy spotted my frown, she said,
“I just stopped in to chat with Cooper. I didn't think you were in
yet.”

Um. I guess I could see where Mindy
might think the shop was still closed. The board on the door window
did cover part of the view. But she could have come over and
checked first.

“
That's okay,” I said. My
cheeks blushed. I felt a little stupid for jumping to conclusions.
I should have trusted Mindy. “I'm starving,” I said, as I moved
closer to the counter.

“
Oh, here are the
doughnuts. Grab one.” She lifted the bag toward me—the now empty
bag.

I scrunched my eyebrows.

“
Oh, sorry about that,”
Cooper said. “I guess I didn't realize I ate two.”

“
I can go get more,” Mindy
offered.

“
No, no, that won't be
necessary. I'll just get something from Full Cup. I want to stop in
and see Callahan anyway.”

“
I'll be over in a second,”
Mindy said. Was she trying to hurry me out the door?

Cooper stood. He walked from behind
the counter, sidling up next to Mindy. He draped his arm across her
shoulder. “You should stay and chat.”

Was I jealous? I hadn't been jealous
in years. What was wrong with me? The tension twisted my stomach
into knots.

“
Thanks for the offer, but
I need to get back to the store. Thanks, anyway.” I waved over my
shoulder, not turning around to see them stare at me. Because I
knew they had to be gawking.

I trudged out the door and made my way
across the street. The welcoming atmosphere of Callahan's shop and
his waiting arms would make me feel better. And a cherry pastry
wouldn't hurt either. Plus, I could get my favorite
chocolate-covered-cherry latte.

Callahan made the best coffee I'd ever
had. And I wasn't biased. I swear. All right, maybe a little. I
opened the old door and sniffed the air. The rich aroma whirled
around me and warmed my entire body. His coffee shop, Full Cup
Coffeehouse, was cozy, like so many of the other stores along the
main street in town. Right next door to mine. We shared the same
historic building. Hmmm. That’s not all I’d like to share with
him.

Exposed brick walls were covered with
prints of different style coffee cups and mugs. Oversized leather
chairs were placed into groupings with cherry-wood tables in the
middle. It was the perfect mixture of old and new. The intoxicating
aroma of coffee swirled around the room, enveloping my senses with
its strong scent as I approached the counter.

Then I saw Callahan.

Chapter Seventeen

I was lost in the moment. Any woman
could easily get entranced by his smile. Callahan swooped me up in
a tight embrace. His body was pressed hard against mine. I ran my
fingers through his hair. Our mouths danced together, as we
explored with our tongues. His kiss was full of passion, need, and
want. Anyone could have come in his shop and we wouldn't have
noticed. A fire could have been raging around us for all I knew.
Heck, it felt like there were flames nipping at my heels, with all
the heat coming off our bodies. A loud crash rang out from behind
Callahan's head. We broke free. I stepped back with weak knees,
sucked in a deep breath, and clutched my chest.

“
That scared the heck out
of me,” I said breathlessly.

The entire shelving behind him had
come raining down, leaving paper cups, lids, and napkins scattered
around the floor.

The three ghosts stood a few feet
away. I knew immediately who was responsible for the mess. Anthony
was closest to the corner, attempting to look casual as he studied
his fingernails.

He could have disappeared and I
wouldn't have known he had done it. But no, he wanted me to know it
was him. He was jealous of Callahan.

Anthony looked at me, shrugged, and
then said, “I love you, my dear. I can't bear to see you in another
man's arms.”

I couldn't believe it. He was out of
control.

Callahan jumped back over the counter.
His muscles bulged again under the restraint of his T-shirt. He was
so sexy.

“
I have no idea how that
happened. I guess the screws came loose.” Callahan studied the
wall.

“
The screws are loose all
right,” Anthony quipped.

“
Shut up,” Seth
said.

“
Let me help you clean up,”
I said, ignoring the ghost chatter.

“
Don't help him,” Anthony
barked.

“
You stay out of it. If I
weren't an old man and dead, I'd kick your butt. You leave my
grandson alone, you understand me?”

“
Calm down, grandpa. I
didn't hurt him. But he doesn't own her. It's up to her who she
wants to be with.”

I wanted to tell him that wasn't a
dilemma he should be worried about. Dating him wasn’t an option.
There was only Callahan.

Seth shuffled closer to Anthony. “I'm
warning you. Stay out of their business.”

“
Why don't you stay out of
Larue's business? She doesn't need you meddling around.” He leaned
against a table, crossing his feet in front of him.

“
Larue, a man’s kiss is his
signature,” Mae said. “And I like the way he signs his name.” Mae
displayed her usual cheekiness. She ignored the men’s fighting,
instead deciding to focus on the steamy scene between Callahan and
me.

I couldn't stand the arguing. But I
couldn't yell for them to shut up, either. And they knew it. I'd
have to endure the bickering.

“
You don't have to help,”
Callahan said. “You have enough to worry about with your shop. I
have it under control.”

“
Let me help, it's the
least I can do after you fixed my door.”

“
It was nothing, only a
board.” He hoisted the wooden shelf from the ground.

“
Well then, this is
nothing.” I gestured toward the mess as I reached for a package of
cups. “We'll pick up the mess, and then you can hang the shelf
back. Luckily, it doesn't look like anything is broken.”