Ropes and Revenge (7 page)

“Oh, wow, this feels strange.” She laughed shakily as she stood, her arms held out for balance. “My knees are already jelly.”

“You’ll get used to it,” he said with a gentle bounce, giving her time to get accustomed to the unfamiliar sensation.

“What if I fall?” she asked, chest fluttering as the black fabric wobbled beneath her.

“It’s soft. It won’t hurt,” John said, then added in a kind voice, “And I won’t judge. I’ve fallen my fair share.”

“I doubt that,” she said, glancing his way. “You don’t seem like a faller.”

“You don’t either,” he said, bouncing a little higher. “Come on, girl. If you can handle ghosts, you’re tough enough for a trampoline.”

Heart already leaping in her chest, Percy bent her wobbling knees and jumped.

Her belly flipped on the way up and her throat tightened on the way down, but by the time she took her third, increasingly confident, bounce she was hooked. She jumped higher and higher, her hair flying around her shoulders, her blood rushing faster, and her grin widening with every giddy sail through the air.

Within a few minutes, her nerves had vanished and she wasn’t thinking about anything except how good it felt to let go.

“This is so fun!” she said, laughing as she lifted her arms over her head, wiggling her fingers at the sky.

“You know what’s even more fun?” John asked, a wicked twinkle in his eye. “This.”

He bounced twice in swift succession, his feet making contact with the trampoline a half second before hers touched down. The ricochet effect sent her soaring even higher into the air with a squeal of terror and delight.

“Oh my God!” She landed with a huff, her legs folding beneath her as she collapsed onto her knees in a fresh fit of laughter. “That was so scary.”

“But fun, right?” John bounced down to sit beside her, his breath coming faster but not nearly as fast as hers.

“Very,” she said, pushing her hair from her face. “I can’t remember the last time I did something so wonderful and silly. And fun. Simply fun.”

“Me either.” John’s smile faded as he lay down on the black fabric, staring up at the rapidly darkening sky above them. “So why are you so serious, Spooky?”

Percy cleared her throat. “I don’t know. Part of the job I guess.” She lifted one shoulder and let it fall. “And I’ve lived alone for a long time. My great-aunt passed when I was seventeen. I’ve been on my own ever since. It can be hard to find the courage to play alone.”

John’s head swiveled. “You said your parents passed, too?”

She nodded, blood cooling as the light-hearted mood shifted. “When I was six.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, brow furrowing. “I was twenty-two when my dad passed, but it was still so hard. I can’t imagine what it’s like for a kid to lose a parent.”

She knew he wasn’t just talking about her, but about his two little boys, the owners of all the balls littering the yard. “It’s difficult, I won’t lie, but as long as you have at least one person who loves you the way a child needs to be loved, that’s all you need.”

“You think?” he asked, his worry clear in his eyes.

“Love is a powerful thing,” she said softly.

He held her gaze for a long moment before turning his attention back to the stars popping out overhead. “So is anger.” He sighed. “I’ve been so angry…”

“I couldn’t tell,” she said, hoping a little teasing might lighten the mood again. “I thought you kicked all of your mother’s guests off of your property.”

He winced, but the hint of a smile curved his lips. “I felt like an asshole as soon as you left. I should have followed you and apologized right then, but…” He shrugged and his smile faded. “I’m not as good a man as I used to be.”

“Good isn’t always easy.” She stretched her legs out in front of her. “Especially when all you can think about is the injustice in the world. It can make it seem like a waste of time to be good. I mean, why bother when it seems like half the world is racing to see how quickly they can destroy everything that makes life worth living.”

He grunted and was silent for a long moment before he said, “You’re different than I thought you’d be.”

She glanced down at his face, his features barely visible in the thickening shadows. “How did you think I’d be?”

“Out of touch with reality,” he said. “Weird.”

“Well, I am weird,” she said with a laugh. “But I think most people are once you get to know them.”

He looked her way, smiling that smile that made her heart do unexpected flipping things in her chest. “Well, I think you’re grounded. And smart. And I appreciate—”

John was interrupted by the slamming of the back door. The porch light flickered on, and a second later, two pint-sized silhouettes ran across the darkened yard.

“There you are, Dad,” the larger one said as he arrived breathless at the entrance to the trampoline. “Nonny’s friend fell down the stairs and she has to go to the hospital, but you weren’t answering your phone.”

“I don’t want to go to the host-i-pole,” the second little boy cried out. “I hate the host-i-pole.”

“I’m sorry, guys, I left my cell inside,” John said, scooting toward the hole in the net just as his older son tumbled through. “Is Nonny in the house?”

“I’m here, John.” Laura Mae appeared on the back porch. “I didn’t realize you had company or I would have taken the boys with me. It’s no trouble.”

“No, it’s fine,” John slid to the ground and began stuffing his feet into his boots. “Percy and I were just talking history.”

“No, really, let me take them,” Laura Mae said before calling in a chipper voice. “Hi there, Percy, nice to see you again!”

“You too, Mrs. Lawson.” Percy lifted a hand, fluttering her fingers uncomfortably. It was obvious Laura Mae thought something more than “talk” was going on, and equally obvious that she wasn’t opposed to the idea.

But then, her son had been lost in grief for months. She would probably be excited for him to go on a date with an Equinophobe who hated Texas if it meant he was moving past his pain.

“I’ll be right back,” John said, starting across the yard.

Percy tried to follow him, but before she could reach the exit, the second little boy tumbled in and rolled to a stop by her feet.

“Who are you?” he asked, squinting up at her in the orange glow of the porch light.

“Percy,” she said. “Who are you?”

“I’m Peyton,” the boy said, grinning up at her. “Peyton and Percy both start with P.”

“They do. And they’re both a little unusual, which is fun.” She reached out, grabbing a handful of the net as the bigger boy began to jump and the trampoline bucked beneath her.

“I’m Carter,” he said. “Want to see me do a flip?”

“Very much, but I’d like to get off first,” she said, edging toward the hole in the net. “I don’t want to get in the way.”

“You won’t,” the bigger boy said. “I do flips while Peyton is jumping all the time. See?” He finished by doing a complete revolution in the air, drawing a gasp from Percy’s throat.

“Wow,” she said. “That was quite a trick!”

Carter grinned. “I can do a double, but sometimes I fall on my head.”

“No doubles,” John warned, pointing a stern finger Carter’s way as he returned to the trampoline. “And you guys have fifteen minutes to jump before it’s time for showers and pj’s.”

“But we just got here,” Peyton whined.

“No whining or you’ll come inside right now,” John said. “Here Percy, let me help you down.” He reached a hand through the net, which Percy took gratefully.

Carter was one-third his father’s size, but he made the trampoline feel like it was being hit by an earthquake. It made Percy realize how careful John had been while they were jumping.

He was different than she’d thought he’d be, too. Kinder, more thoughtful, and vulnerable in ways she hadn’t expected.

“Thank you,” she said, dropping his hand as she stepped down onto the grass. But even when they were no longer touching, warmth continued to spread through her chest.

“I’m sorry,” he said, running a hand through his shaggy hair. “My mom’s heading to the hospital so I’m going to have to get the kids showered and ready for bed. Are you going to be in town for a while? Could we maybe try this again?”

She nodded before bending down to tug her boots on. “Of course. I’m in town for another week and I don’t have any firm plans except my ghost town tour on Monday. So maybe tomorrow night?”

“Tomorrow night would be great,” John said. “That will give me time to do some more searching on Jenner. From what I found today, it looks like he works for a few different travel magazines. I thought that might be a good place to start, see if he’d worked on any photo shoots that might have put him in the area last spring.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” she said, following him back toward the house. “Is there anything I can do for you while I’m in town tomorrow?”

He shook his head. “No. I…” He stopped at the foot of the stairs leading up to the porch and turned back to her. “I don’t know. What is it you do, exactly, when you’re investigating something like this?”

“Well, I haven’t done much of this sort of thing,” she confessed. “Usually I only work with distressed spirits who need someone like me to help them find their way to the other side. But from what I’ve experienced here so far…”

She trailed off, suddenly unsure whether she should tell John the truth.

Would it hurt him to know that his wife’s spirit didn’t seem to be lingering on this side of the veil? Or, that if she were lingering nearby—if she was the timid spirit Percy had sensed on her first morning on the ranch—she didn’t seem to be in a state of unrest?

John’s features tightened, proving she hadn’t shut her big mouth in time. “So Lily’s not distressed?”

“She doesn’t seem to be.”

“Does that mean she wasn’t murdered?” John asked softly, casting a worried glance toward the trampoline where the boys were jumping.

“No,” Percy said. “It just means that she’s made peace with her death.”

His lips pressed together and a muscle in his jaw leapt before a bittersweet smile curved his full lips. “Sounds like her. She was never one to stay angry.” He paused, his gaze falling to the grass at their feet. “I know she’d probably want me to let this go, but I can’t. Sometimes I’m not even sure… Even if I find out the truth…”

Percy waited, but John didn’t finish his sentence. He didn’t have to. She understood what he was afraid of. “You will find peace and happiness again,” she promised, reaching out to give his hand a squeeze. “I know you will.”

“How?” he asked, his fingers curling around hers. “Psychic vision?”

“No,” she said. “I just know. You’re a strong person.”

His chest rose and fell. “I used to think so. But lately I’ve been questioning almost everything. Including that.”

“Questioning things doesn’t make you weak,” she said. “Questions are the only way to learn new things and learning new things makes us smarter and stronger.”

“New things like how to jump on a trampoline?” He gave her hand one last squeeze before releasing it with a grin. “Admit it, you’re hooked, aren’t you? You’re going to be bouncing in your dreams tonight.”

She laughed. “There is a distinct possibility of dream bouncing.”

“We’ll have to have you over to jump again before you leave,” he said, his smile fading. “Thank you for coming tonight. I enjoyed getting to know you better. You’re interesting people, Spooky.”

“You too,” she said, backing toward the door, knowing it was time to leave. “So I’ll talk to you tomorrow?”

“I’ll call you as soon as I have a plan,” he said. “And babysitting covered.”

“All right. Then good night. I can show myself out.”

“No, let me walk you,” he said, starting toward her.

“It’s fine. Really. I don’t mind,” she said. “You should probably stay back here and make sure there’s no double-flipping.”

He grinned, setting the butterflies in her belly to stirring again. “All right. See you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow.” She turned and forced herself to walk calmly through the house, ignoring the part of her that wanted to skip to the door. But she’d let something loose inside of herself that didn’t want to be bottled up again, and once she was down the front porch steps, she quit trying to keep the spring from her step.

She skipped down the driveway to her car, wondering if maybe she’d misread her intuition at the beginning of the evening. Maybe she wasn’t simply meant to help John get his life back on track. Maybe he was going to teach her a thing or two, as well.

CHAPTER FIVE

John

The next night, John swung into the Blue Saloon Hotel parking lot just before seven o’clock, but after he parked, he didn’t get out of the truck.

Instead, he sat watching the evening shadows darken the stone edifice of the old hotel and the lights flicker on in the rooms facing Main Street, torn about what to do next. Part of him insisted he should get his ass in gear and be on time for his meeting with Percy, but the other part of him warned it might be better for everyone involved if he called to cancel and cut whatever was happening between him and the ghost whisperer off at the pass.