Double Dating with the Dead (19 page)

She took another drink of her coffee. “Okay, I accept your apology,” she grudgingly told him.

“Thank you.”

As long as it was coming from him and not someone else. “Your mother didn't put you up to this, did she?”

“I'm my own boss. My mother doesn't dictate to me what I should or shouldn't do.”

“I'm sorry.”

“I forgive you.”

Silence filled the room. She knew there was still a lot left unsaid. Words that needed to be said.

“My mother is a little wacky at times, but she means well.”

He didn't say anything. Why didn't he say anything? He should tell her again he didn't think her mother was
that
wacky. By not saying anything, he was agreeing her mother was wacky. She clamped her lips together.

He glanced up. When he noted her expression, his turned to confusion. “What?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all.”

He shook his head. “Something is bothering you. You might as well tell me and get it off your chest.” His eyes automatically lowered. He cleared his throat and returned his attention to his coffee.

That one look. One heated look and she nearly melted into a puddle in her chair. She was such a loser.

And he was right. She didn't want to spend the rest of the day wondering what he was doing. Besides, she really could use his help finding Dixie and Wesley's bones.

Ewww.

She kept picturing images from the Discovery Channel where people found bones with skulls that still had wisps of hair.

Ewww.

She didn't want to see Dixie and Wesley like that. Having Trent with her would make it a little easier. So maybe she shouldn't be so sensitive about her family.

“It's nothing. I love my mother very much, and I don't like it when people talk about her. I guess I heard enough snickers when I was growing up. I refuse to let anyone talk about her now. I mean, what would you do if someone talked about your mother?”

“I get your point.”

She crossed and uncrossed her legs at the ankles. “Are you going to help me hunt for bones today?”

“You're still on that kick?”

She hadn't expected him to jump at the chance, but she thought he might want to try to prove her wrong by not finding anything again today. She stood, taking her cup to the sink.

“Yeah, I'm still on that kick.”

“Okay,” he said after a long pause. “I'll help you look.”

There was a difference in his voice. Funny, but it was almost as if something had changed between them and it was more than the fact they'd had sex.

No, it was more than that. He was less on edge around her. She didn't feel like she was a bug under a microscope. She wondered if he noticed they were becoming…dare she even think it…friends?

T
rent wondered why the hell he was on his knees rummaging through another dirty, dusty closet.

“Tell me again why we're looking for bones?” he asked.

Selena pushed strands of hair out of her face. “So that Dixie and Wesley's spirits will be set free and they can cross over.”

He tossed an empty box to the side. “Cross over what?”

“To the other side.”

He rested back on his heels. “You mean heaven?”

She shrugged. “Well, yeah.”

“What if they haven't been good enough to cross over? What if they go to hell instead?”

A box on the closet shelf tumbled down, hitting him. He came to his feet, rubbing his head. A good thing it'd been empty. It must have inched itself to the edge while he prowled around below, banging into the wall.

He glanced toward Selena. She had an I-told-you-so expression on her face. “What?”

But he knew what she was thinking.

“It wasn't a ghost that made the box fall. I've been bumping against the back wall, and I bumped it once too often.”

“Wesley tipped it. He didn't like your remark that they might go to hell. I have to agree it wasn't a very nice thing for you to say.”

Damn, she was sexy and beautiful as she sat in front of the dresser and went through the contents of the bottom drawer. She wore a black tank top and pink shorts that showed enough thigh to make his mouth water.

“What?” she asked.

He returned his attention to her face. “What?”

“You were staring. I wondered if I had a streak of dirt on my face.”

“It wasn't your face I was staring at.” She even blushed pretty. Amazing. How could she blush after the sex they'd experienced?

“We have to find the bones.”

He could bring up specifics here, but she might think he was being a little crude. Instead, he said, “I'd rather make love. Do you know how much I'd like to pull your top off and unhook your bra? I want to hold your breasts in my hands, brush my fingers across your hard nipples.”

She sucked in a deep breath and made to stand.

“Trent,” Tye's voice rose from downstairs.

“Where are you two?” Paige's followed.

“My little brother has the worst timing.”

“Yeah, well, my cousin isn't any better.” Her words were raspy.

“Later,” he told her, his gaze slowly roaming over her, noting the way her nipples pushed against the T-shirt. “I'll make slow love to you. I'll kiss every inch of your body.”

“Stop, you're killing me.”

“Killing you? Hell, I'm killing myself. Maybe you should go downstairs first.”

Her gaze lowered, and she saw the bulge in his pants. Hell, she couldn't miss it. Again, he saw her blush and was amazed at how different women were from men.

“I'll tell them you'll be down in a minute…I mean that you'll be coming…I mean joining…Oh, to hell with it.” She jumped to her feet and hurried out the door.

He laughed. He couldn't help it.

When he made his way downstairs they were in the kitchen eating sandwiches.

“Paige brought us sustenance from her tearoom,” Selena told him.

He still wasn't sure about Paige. She proclaimed herself a witch. How loony could a person get?

Unless it's someone who talks to the dead. Or someone who makes love to someone who says they talk to the dead.

That was it. He was the loony one, and everyone around him was sane.

He took one of the sandwiches from the plate Selena held out. Chicken salad? He turned it over. On white bread. It looked okay.

“Do you think I might have added some kind of potion that would vaporize you?” Paige's eyes twinkled up at him.

His frown deepened.

“They taste great to me,” Tye said, taking another bite.

“No, I don't think you poisoned them.” He tentatively took a bite. It tasted pretty good. It also crunched. Nuts or something. Not bad. “What's the crunchies?”

“Dried bat wings,” Paige said without skipping a beat.

“No shit?” Tye looked at the sandwich, then shoved the last bite into his mouth. “Tasty.”

Trent arched an eyebrow. “See, you did put something in them. They make a grown man say stupid things.”

Paige and Selena laughed.

Tye reached for another sandwich. “Now you have a sense of humor?”

Trent pulled out a chair and took a seat. Damn it, he shouldn't feel this comfortable around a proclaimed psychic and a witch.

But he did. That was the kicker. He felt too comfortable. The next thing he knew he'd start to believe in what they tried to feed to the public. Maybe he was more gullible than he thought.

Tye bit into his sandwich, chewing thoughtfully as he studied Trent. “You've changed. Don't tell me you believe in ghosts now.”

“Don't be stupid, Tye.” He looked around the table. Had he changed? Was Selena luring him to her side? He stood, feeling a sudden need to escape. “Thanks for the sandwich. It was good. I need to do some work, so if you'll excuse me.” He left before any of them could say a word. He had to get his head on straight. Trouble was, since he'd been around Selena his whole world felt out of kilter.

Maybe because all he could dream about, all he could think about, was making love to her, even if the career he'd carved out for himself was about to go flying out the window.

Damn it, dead people didn't walk around caught between two worlds. The idea was crazy, ludicrous.

There were no such things as ghosts.

Selena's laughter drifted out to where he had stopped in the hallway. Like warmed honey, it drizzled over him. He closed his eyes for a moment and let his thoughts wander, remembering how it felt to hold her, to touch her.

Man, he was in deep shit.

 

Selena had felt Trent's warring emotions. Did he think he was consorting with the enemy?

“What's his problem?” Paige asked. “He acts like we have leprosy or something.”

“He wasn't always like this,” Tye told them. “I remember when he used to be a hell of a lot of fun.”

“Trent?” Paige asked. “The Trent that just walked out of here looking like he'd been sucking on a sour pickle?”

“The one and only. If he wasn't smiling, he was laughing. We had some fun times.” Tye smiled, apparently remembering some of them.

“But Celeste changed him,” Selena said.

Tye's eyebrows rose. “He told you about her?”

She nodded.

“Who's this Celeste chick?” Paige asked.

“It actually started before Celeste,” Tye explained. “Dad had a massive heart attack. Trent dropped out of college to take care of the family. I was still in high school.

“Trent jumped in with both feet, but it was like dropping into a bottomless pit. He didn't have a clue what he was doing, and I was too young to help.

“Celeste came along and almost took every bit of his money along with Mom and Dad's. If the law hadn't been on to her, she would've ruined us.”

“So he set out to make the world a better place by grouping anyone who has different beliefs into one slot. No left, no right, just straight down the middle.” Paige shook her head, then turned her gaze on Selena. “You have to fix him.”

Selena straightened in her seat. “Why do I have to fix him?”

“Because your job depends on it?” Tye asked.

“Because you can't resist enlightening people?” Paige chimed in.

“Because you like my brother?” Tye said.

Paige rested her elbows on the table and focused her attention on Tye. “You think there might be something going on between them?”

“Well, yeah,” Tye said. “I thought it was obvious. I mean, didn't you see the way they look at each other?”

“Now that you mention it…”

“People! I'm right here.” Selena bowed up. Damn, now she knew how ghosts felt, everyone talking about you when you were right there to hear each word.

When Paige turned her attention to Selena, Selena had a strong premonition she should've just kept quiet and let them talk about her. Maybe even going so far as to slip out of the room.

“So,” Paige began, “is there something going on? Was Barbara's article correct? Has the old hotel become a love nest?”

That stupid article again. “Barbara is a bitch and you know it.”

Paige leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms in front of her. “We came to that conclusion a long time ago, but she's also pretty good about gathering gossip, which we also agreed about. Now fess up. Is there something going on here that you might want to share?”

Not on your life, cuz
. She just had to put on her innocent look. Most of the time it worked. She widened her eyes and met her cousin's gaze head-on without flinching.

“Of course there's nothing going on between me and Trent.” She was just about to waver from Paige's all-knowing eyes when her cousin relaxed.

“I didn't think there was,” Paige said.

“How can you be so sure she isn't lying to you?” Tye asked.

“She can't lie. I'd be able to tell. I'm a witch, remember?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Selena slowly expelled her breath. When Paige looked at her again, she quickly pasted a smile on her face. “I've never been able to lie to you. You're just too sharp.”

“As a tack,” Paige quipped.

And as long as she believed that, then Selena could get away with a lie or two now and then. Worked every time.

Paige was good.

Selena was better.

“What do y'all do all day long?” Tye asked, still not looking as convinced as Paige.

“Look for bones.”

“Human bones?” Paige asked with a shudder. “Eww…”

Tye looked confused. “Let me get this straight.” He picked up another sandwich and pointed it at Selena before taking a bite and slowly chewing. “You talk to dead people.” He looked at Paige. “And you make weird potions with ground-up who knows what.” His frown deepened. “But the thought of searching for human remains makes you queasy?”

Paige and Selena looked at each other, then back at Tye.

“Ewww,” they said in unison.

“Then why look for them?”

“So that Dixie and Wesley can cross over.”

“Cross over what?”

“Go toward the light,” she explained.

“Ah, now I see.” He frowned. “They can't go toward the light without their bones?”

It made perfect sense to her now. Some spirits had to know where their final resting place was going to be, according to what Dixie had told her.

“They need a proper burial.”

He nodded as if he finally understood. “Need some help?”

Since it didn't look as though he was going to leave anytime soon, and she wouldn't be having hot and dirty sex anytime soon, she nodded. “Sure, you can help.”

“Count me in, too, if it'll further the cause,” Paige offered.

Could there be a budding romance between her cousin and Tye? Interesting. Paige shrugged when Selena sent her a questioning look.

“So, are there any ghosts here?” Tye glanced warily around the room. “I mean, are there any here right now?”

Selena's gaze moved to Wesley, who lounged on the counter, leaning back on one elbow, feet stretched out in front of him. He grinned and tugged on the brim of his hat.

“No, they're not here right now,” she lied and wondered if she really would go to hell for lying. She'd once had an elderly aunt who said she would after Selena had snatched a cookie and fibbed about it.

This was for a good reason, though. She could use all the help she could get, and she didn't want to scare Tye. Paige had cast a few lingering looks in his direction, so maybe there was something going on.

“So, we going to look for bones or not?” Tye asked as he came to his feet.

“Sure.” And maybe they could pull Trent into the hunt.

Paige was right when she said Selena liked nothing better than opening someone up to other dimensions. But Trent had been burned once, so he wouldn't be that easy to convince.

Damn, why couldn't the ghosts cooperate? Once she found their bones, they would have to. There'd be no getting around it. Before they walked toward the light, Dixie and Wesley had to show themselves to him.

Or not
, a voice inside her head told her.

No, she wouldn't let negative thoughts intrude. She'd find a way to convince him one way or the other.