Page 96 of Ghost Walk
“You’re a bit of a taskmaster, love.” He picked up the shovel and resumed work. “It can be quite a trying trait. …Outside of the bedroom, anyway.”
“You know what else is trying? You not having a social security number or birth certificate to take downtown and get a wedding license.” She retorted. “If we want my greedy techno-nerd of a nephew to make them for you, we’re going to have to pay him with something other than magic beans. Trust me. Magic beans are not worthnearlywhat you’d think they’d be worth.”
“That Justice lad will use magic to make me theneeded documents and then we can wed?” Jamie stipulated, wanting to be sure of the fine print.
He’d been living in the twenty-first century for two weeks now and Grace was still not his wife. All the rules of the modern world seemed designed to vex him. Serenity had promised to host a lavish reception for them and he was ready to get on with it. Grace’s aunt had taken quite a shine to him, if Jamie did say so himself. She said that it was a crime against nature that someone who looked like him had been invisible for so long, which he thought was a grand compliment.
“Justice isn’t going to use magic to make your phony documents. He’s going to use Photoshop, but basically yeah. That’s the plan. We’re going to pay him several thousand dollars and he’s going to make Jamie Riordan a bona fide citizen of America.”
“I’malreadya bona fide citizen. I was here when the country was founded.”
“Trust me, it would be better if we didn’t have to explain that part to Homeland Security. Let’s go with Justice’s fake IDs and save ourselves from a trip to Area 51.” She wrinkled her nose. “Although, Idothink he could’ve offered us more of a discount, considering I singlehandedly changed the family’s fortunes with that financial tip to Loyal. You realize that this is the first timeeverwe haven’t been broke?”
Jamie couldn’t argue with that. Loyal had eventually figured out that a cotton gin had nothing to do with liquor and invested heavily in the machine. The Riveras weren’t nearly so reviled now that they were the richest family in Riveraburg.
Personally, he wasn’t at all sorry that Harrisonburg had been renamed after Grace’s great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather. Maybe Loyal had used magic and money to achieve his ends, but at least Gregory Maxwell wasn’t governor anymore and Ned Hunnicutt had been booted back to England. The next time Jamie saw Loyal, he planned to thank the man.
In truth, all his zany in-laws were growing on him. Jamie had never had a family before and he appreciated the novelty. Besides, he saw how much the Rivera clan loved Graceand how much she loved them in return. He could tolerate foul-tasting potions and misfiring spells forever to make her happy.
…Although, he had to wonder how long they’d hold onto their new-found respectability, as they were already nagging Grace about troll powder, again.
Grace crouched down next to the hole that Jamie had dug. “How deep did you bury this treasure, anyway?”
“I’ve no idea. As you delight in reminding me, I’d drank quite a bit of rum that evening.”
“Maybe someone else came along and found it.” She theorized. “It’s been a long time.”
“Aye, but the spot is isolated. T’was why I picked it in the first place.”
Luckily, the stretch of water and shoreline had become a seabird sanctuary seventy years back, so it had never been filled up with hideous condos and boxy vacation homes. No one came to this spot except gulls and pelicans. …And maybe an ex-ghost, his lovely fiancée, and their professional-grade metal detector, of course.
His gold was still under the ground, waiting for them. Jamie could feel it.
He glanced up at Grace, who looked adorable in her camisole top and breezy white skirt. A straw hat covered her head and she smelled of ocean and sunscreen. He fully planned to have his way with her on the sand before they left. “If my treasure was stolen, I’ll just have to hire some bonny detective lass to track it down for me, again. Any idea where I could find one?”
She grinned, optimism shining from her eyes. “I might have a couple of suggestions.”
Like magic, crime-solving was in the girl’s blood. She’d never be happy with any other job. Working for the police department might be too much for her, now that she’d discovered her gifts, but there was no reason for her to give up her passion, altogether. Jamie had come up with the idea of Grace becoming a freelance investigator. That way she could pick the cases she wanted to pursue and focus on saving oneperson at a time, instead of the whole world.
Besides, he quite liked the idea of being married to a private detective. It brought to mind those Film Noir movies he’d watched in the 1940s. God, when motion pictures had been invented, he’d spentdecadesinside theaters, watching them flicker by. He’d thought films were the closest he’d ever get to connecting to someone.
He’d been wrong.
Jamie smiled at his Partner. His bride. The reason his heart beat and his soul was full of love. She was why he had a second chance at life and he intended to live every second of it beside her. He wouldn’t have changed one magical hair on her fay little head for all the treasure maps in creation.
Except for the fact that the woman was stubbornly fixated on ignoring her own talents.
“Perhaps our first case should be discovering what happened to poor Robert.” He suggested, because it just never got old that the bastard was gone and that Grace’s incredible magic had been the thing to send him away.
No one had seen a wanker-y trace of the wanker since the basement, but the police had a warrant out against him for striking Grace. Like the law-abiding girl she was, she’d dutifully reported that he’d attacked her in the museum and she had the bruises to prove it …though her version had Robert escaping out a window and not poofing off to who-knew-where. The police had been quite conciliatory towards a member of Riveraburg’s first family and promised to track him down soon. They had men watching his house, just in case he showed up.
Jamie had a feeling they’d have better luck searching the outer rings of Saturn.
Grace might not care for spells, but the lass had a true knack for casting them. The magic inside of her glowed brighter each day. Given a bit of time, he was sure he could convince her to fully embrace her power. It was a part of her, after all. Already he could tell she was more interested in the idea that she was ready to admit.
“Wherever Robert is, I hope he stays there.” Gracesaid staunchly. “And what is this aboutourfirst case? I don’t need a chaperone, Jamie.”
“I know that, love!” He splayed a hand across his bare chest as if he was offended she’d say such a thing. “Why I’d never suggest otherwise. I was merely thinking I could be your glamorous, occasionally sarcastic, sidekick. Someone to bounce your brilliant ideas off of.”
