Page 45 of The Woman By the Lake

More shaking of my head. “No.”

“Run trails?”

“Only when chased by a ghost.”

The kid cracked a smile.

We both whirled to Riggs with the way he whispered, “Fuck.”

“Is everything okay?” I asked a question I knew was stupid considering the look on his face.

“I need to ask a favor,” he replied urgently.

The urgency got me, and I said softly, “Anything.”

“I’m gonna call Ledger’s gramme and ask her to come look after him. But she probably won’t be able to get here for at least half an hour. I know you two just met.” He glanced at Ledger. “Sorry, buddy.” He came back to me. “But can you look after him until she gets here? I gotta get to the hospital.”

“Why?” Ledger asked, a little-kid thread of alarm snaking through that syllable, and my heart lurched at hearing it.

“Something’s happened to Uncle Bubs,” Riggs told him.

Ledger went pale, so obviously “Uncle Bubs” meant something to him, and he definitely meant something to Riggs.

Riggs approached his son and wrapped his fingers around his boy’s shoulder. “I don’t know what’s happening. But I gotta go. I’ll let you know what I know as soon as I find out.”

“’Kay, Dad.”

Riggs looked to me.

“We’re good. Go,” I urged.

At that, Riggs shocked the breath out of me when he came right to me, wrapped his hand around the back of my head and bent to kiss my forehead.

As fast as that happened, he did the same to Ledger.

Then he vanished into the murky alcove staircase.

I looked to his son who was staring after his dad.

Then I went to his son and touched his shoulder.

He looked up at me.

“Finish your sandwich?”

He nodded.

“Wanna see a haunted cabin?”

He smiled, not entirely committed to it, but it was there.

“Sure,” he replied.

“Righty ho, let’s go so we can be back before your grandmother gets here.”

He nodded and led the way.

I followed.

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