Good Tidings (12 page)

“
Oh?” Kevin asked with a smile. “I got the feeling that you and Bradley…”

“
We’re friends,” Mary said, smiling a little too brightly. “Good friends.”

Kevin leaned forward and placed his hand over Mary’s. “That’s music to my ears.”

*****

”
Well, this certainly has been an interesting evening,” Mary said as they entered their hotel suite later that evening.

“
Have you and Kevin known each other for very long?” Bradley asked.

She shrugged. “He was one of the neighborhood kids,” she said. “He liked to hang out at our house with my brothers.”

Yeah, while trying to get close to the sister
, Bradley thought.

She sat on the large couch that faced the window. Bradley sat on a chair adjacent to the couch, his feet propped on the coffee table.

“
Thanks for stepping in when I slipped the information about Joey,” she said, “Sean doesn’t like telling people about my talents. But he was fine with you pretending to be the one with psychic ability. I don’t understand him.”

Bradley smiled. “I do,” he said. “He was protecting his sister. Sean doesn’t want anyone worried that you can see their dirty little secrets.”

Mary sat back on the couch and sighed. “Should I say the obvious, that really, I don’t need to be protected?”

He chuckled. “Sure, say it,” he said. “I can agree with you.”

She turned and looked over at him. “Then why did you tell Kevin you could see ghosts?”

“
It seemed like the thing to do at the time,” he said. “I don’t think it had anything to do with protecting you, just deflecting.”

She smiled. “Bradley, deflecting is another word for protecting.”

“
Not in my dictionary. Mary, when I left to get dinner, what did you and Kevin talk about?”

“
Once you walked away I could see ghosts again,” she said. “I saw the cop…and you are going to have to explain how you did that. But I saw a young girl standing behind Kevin. I guess I was…worried, so I asked him about his cases.”

“
Okay, I saw her too,” he said. “What did he tell you?”

“
First, how did you see her?”

“
When you and I make contact, I can see ghosts, right?” he asked.

She nodded.

“
Okay, well, even though I’m clearing them off the radar for you, I can still see them,” he said. “It’s really weird, like movies superimposed on each other.”

“
Yeah, that’s what I see,” she said. “So, you actually saw that cop…”

“
And the girl,” he said. “I saw her at your parent’s place, at the Martins and then again at the restaurant. She seemed connected to Kevin.”

“
Yes, he told me he was working on a case, trying to save her,” Mary explained. “He said he thought she might have developed a crush on him. Then she disappeared. He is presuming she’s dead.”

“
Well, he’s right,” Bradley said solemnly. “She looks pretty bad.”

“
I told him that you might be able to help him,” she added. “I hope you don’t mind.”

No problem as long as he keeps his hands off of you.

“
No, problem,” he said, “A friend of yours is a friend of mine.”

In a pig’s eye,
Bradley growled silently.

“
Thanks! Maybe after we find Jeremy we can help him,” she said, yawning. “I think I need to get some sleep.”

“
Yeah, tomorrow is going to be a busy day.”

She walked to her bedroom door and turned to him. “Thanks for coming with me,” she said. “You’ve made a big difference. I’m lucky to have you as a friend.”

“
Mary,” he started.

What can I say? I want to be more than friends, but I’m married. Yeah, that would sound brilliant.

“
Yes?” she asked, pausing by her bedroom door.

“
Sweet dreams.”

He sat back on the chair and stared out the window into the sky over Lake Michigan. Things were getting more complicated with each moment he spent with her. A couple of months ago he thought she was completely nuts, and now he was seeing ghosts too. What happened to his quiet, self-absorbed world? He chuckled softly,
Mary happened
.

He got up and walked over to his bedroom, picked up a couple of pillows and a blanket and carried them back to the couch. Placing the pillows on one end, he threw the blanket along the length of the couch. Glancing over to Mary’s closed bedroom door, he nodded.
Close enough to keep her safe tonight.

In the time it took him to wash up and change into sweats, something had changed in the layout of the make-do bed. A large depression had appeared in the middle of the couch. Bradley moved closer and sniffed.

“
Oh, no, you don’t,” he said, “I am not sharing my bed with a dog, ghost or not. Off!”

The depression disappeared.

“
Good boy,” Bradley said. “You might as well take my bed; no one is going to use it.”

Bradley glanced through the open door in his bedroom and saw a depression appear on the remaining comforter. “Smart dog.”

He lay down on the couch, his eyes turned toward Mary’s door and hoped for at least a little sleep that night.

Mary was dreaming she was on a boat in a lake, the waves lapping up against the side, rolling gently up and down in the water.

“
Come on, baby,” a man’s breathless voice panted urgently, “we’re almost there. Gotta hurry so Al don’t miss us.”

“
Take it easy, Sonny,” a woman’s petulant voice responded. “I ain’t no racehorse.”

Mary slowly turned her head and opened her eyes. Platinum blonde hair shared her pillow. Looking up she saw the flaccid naked man looming above her, his forehead covered in sweat. He looked down at Mary and smiled. “You want a turn, baby?”

Mary rolled out of bed and hit the floor with a loud thump. Scooting backwards across the room, she heard the shrill laughter of the two ghosts echo in her ears. When she hit the wall, she jumped up and bolted towards the door. She wrenched the door open and ran straight into Bradley who had woken immediately when he heard the thump from her room.

Bradley caught Mary to him, and moved to shelter her from whatever had frightened her. With Mary in his arms, he had a complete view of what was going on in her room. He couldn’t help himself, he laughed.

“
It’s not funny,” Mary punched him, her head still buried in his chest.

“
No, of course, not,” he said, still peering into the room. “It’s more disturbing than anything else.”

“
Bradley, stop watching, that’s disgusting,” she said.

He shrugged. “It’s kind of like a train wreck,” he said. “You can’t help yourself.”

Suddenly Mary’s bedroom was riddled with the sound of Tommy-gun fire.

“
Well, now we know why they’re still here,” Bradley said, guiding Mary over to the couch. “You sit here and I’ll close the door.”

He walked over to the bedroom door. Without Mary’s touch, all he saw was a hotel room with a slightly mussed bed. He was glad he didn’t have to view the bullet-riddled bodies of the lovers. Pulling the door closed, he turned and saw Mary sitting in the corner of the couch, her arms wrapped around her body.

He grabbed his blanket and placed it around her, pulling her gently into his arms. “Sorry,” he said, “Not very sensitive of me to laugh. It must have been frightening to wake up with those two sharing your bed.”

Mary nodded. “I was dreaming I was in a boat on a lake, rocking gently on the waves.”

Bradley turned his head away.

“
Are you laughing at me?” Mary demanded.

“
Sweetheart, I am trying my best not to laugh,” he confessed.

“
Yeah, it was real funny when he asked me if I wanted a turn.”

“
He said what?” Bradley growled, he turned her to face him. “I thought they couldn’t connect if you didn’t respond to them.”

Mary shook her head. “They can’t connect to me,” she said. “But they can see me and they can try to interact. They were very much aware I was in that room with them.”

He tightened his hold around her. “Okay, we are quickly changing from funny to creepy,” he said. “How are you doing now?”

She yawned. “Better, thanks.”

She looked around the room, finally putting two and two together. “Why are you sleeping on the couch?”

He shrugged. “The dog wanted the bed,” he said.

“
He can have mine,” she said, grinning.

“
Can ghost dogs bite ghost people?”

“
I’m willing to give it a shot.”

“
I have a better idea,” he said, grabbing one of the pillows and placing it on the arm of the couch where they sat. “You rest here for a while, then we’ll figure out the rest.”

Too tired from several nights of no sleep to argue, Mary let Bradley lower her head to the pillow and stretched out along the couch, still held in his arms. “Why are you still holding me?”

“
So, I can keep the bad guys away,” he replied.

“
But how will you sleep?” she asked with a yawn.

He lifted his feet onto the coffee table in front of him. “Don’t worry,” he whispered. “I’ve slept in far worse positions than this.”

A few minutes later, her even breathing told Bradley she had finally succumbed to sleep. He looked down at her and tenderly pushed her hair from her face. “Ahhh, Mary, what are we going to do with each other?”

“
Woof.”

Looking over, he saw the Golden Retriever standing next to the couch, wagging its tail and eager for fun.

“
Do you want to play, fella?” Bradley whispered.

The dog stretched his forepaws in front of him and wagged his tail harder. “Good boy,” he said. “Go get the ghosts in Mary’s room. Sic ‘em boy!”

The dog cocked its head to the side for a moment, then grinned, his tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth and darted through the door into Mary’s room. The sounds of several ghosts yelling and a dog barking were music to his ears. “Good dog,” he whispered, before sliding down on the couch, pulling Mary closer and falling asleep himself.

*****

A sharp knock on their hotel room door had Bradley rushing from the bathroom to open it before Mary woke up. With only a towel slung around his waist, he pulled the door open to see Sean standing in the doorway.

“
What the hell are you doing running around half-naked with my sister in the suite?” Sean asked.

“
Quiet, she’s still sleeping,” he said. “And if you hadn’t pounded on the door like a jackhammer, I might be a little more presentable.”

Sean walked in and looked around the suite. Through the open door to Bradley’s room he could see the blankets and pillows had been stripped off. Glancing at the couch, he saw the missing items and his sister, snuggled up in them.

“
You playing sleep-over with my sister?” he growled.

Bradley rolled his eyes and worked to control his temper.

“
Listen, big brother, you picked the most haunted hotel in Chicago for your sister to stay in, knowing damn well that she would be able to see what happened to make them ghosts,” he said. “Would you like to sleep in a bed with two people shot to death by a Tommy-gun?”

Sean leaned back against the door, his face white. “Damn, I didn’t think,” he said. “I didn’t realize that she could see… I only thought she could…”

“
Yeah, well, she’s fine. She slept,” Bradley said, “But she had a rough night, so I thought she could sleep in for a while.”

Sean nodded. “Good idea,” he said, “Thanks for taking care of her. I appreciate it.”

Bradley glared at Sean. “I don’t give a damn what you appreciate. I take care of Mary because I want to.”

Bradley walked away and closed his bedroom door behind him. He didn’t know who he was angrier with, Sean or himself. Sean should have never placed Mary in this kind of situation. And he needed to put some space between himself and Mary. He couldn’t have feelings for Mary until he knew whether Jeannine was alive or not. He leaned against the dresser and closed his eyes.
Be honest, Bradley
, he thought,
you already have feelings for her and now you are going to have to figure out what to do about them.

Mary woke slowly, her eyes adjusting to the brightness of the room. It took a moment for her to remember where she was and what she’d been doing when she fell asleep.

Bradley.

How do you walk that fine line between admiration and friendship, and love?

She rubbed her hand over her heart. Damn, she’d crossed the line.

She sighed. He wasn’t ready to love again; his heart was still attached to Jeannine.
Well, crap, another secret I’ll have to keep to myself.