Page 22 of Ghost Walk
“Is that ‘nothing’ the reason you burned up?”
“Burnedout.” She muttered and ate some more ice cream. “And that’s none of your business.”
Jamie tried not to notice the way her tongue licked over the spoon. For a fleeting second it occurred to him that he’d been wrong before. The worst aspect of being a ghost was being unable to kiss Grace Rivera’s lush mouth. To feel those perfectly shaped lips beneath his, tasting the essence of her and swallowing the gentle sounds she made.
Of course, even if he was still alive, he wouldn’t have been allowed to touch her. Ladies like Grace were looking for “husband material.” Someone normal and pleasant to keep them safe. Jamie was nothing more than a passing diversion to everyone he met.
God, but that pissed him off.
“You might as well tell me what happened to you.”Jamie flopped down in the seat across from Grace. “I’m going to be here for the next seventy years, so there’s no sense in keeping secrets.”
She froze, her gaze jumping back to his. “Seventy years? Wait, what do you mean seventy years?”
“Well, you’re --what-- thirty?”
“Thirty-two, but…”
Jamie cut her off. “Still very young for your century.” He assured her. “Now, I donea understand all of the medical advances of this time period, but I’ve seen that they work wonders. A hundred-and-two will be a perfectly average age, when you’re an old woman. I’ve no doubt that you’ll live to see it.”
“Even if I do,you’recertainly not going to be there. You have togo, Jamie.”
That was the first time in nearly a quarter of a millennium that someone had addressed him by name. The sound of it melted Jamie’s insides and hardened his resolve. For whatever reason, this girl had been given to him. Handed into his care. He wasn’t sure why or how, but he knew she was a gift from Heaven itself. Without Grace, he was nothing at all. Just a lost voice, screaming into a void.
Prickly or not, he would never,everleave her.
“Oh no, lass.” Jamie shook his head. “As long as I’m stuck in this plane, I’m going to be right by your side. And since I sure seem to be stuck here until my name is cleared… and you won’t help me clear my name,” he shrugged helplessly, “it looks as though we’d best be getting used to each other’s company.”
He reached over to give her knee a pat and that strange electrical charge zapped through him again. Ghosts didn’t need to breathe, but Jamie still released a shuddering breath. He hadn’t been imagining it before. He could feel her. Jamie’s hand couldn’t make contact with her skin, but he couldfeelher.
And she felt better than anything he could imagine.
So many times, over the decades and centuries, he’d tried to recall what it was like to be alive. To be able to touch someone. To have them know he was there. Tofeelthem. Ashard as he’d tried to cling to the memories, the reality of it was overwhelming. Feeling Grace Rivera was simply… magic.
Maybe she really was part fay.
Grace felt him, too. She jerked back, looking frantic. “No! I mean it, nowayare you staying here. I have a nice, normal life to live and it can’t be infested with spirits.” She waved a hand around. “I don’t care how sexy your accent is, you’releaving.”
Jamie decided to focus on the positive aspects of that rant. “I like your accent, too, lass. Southern ladies always have the nicest drawls.”
She appeared ready to strangle him. Too bad the lynch-mob had beaten her to it.
“I don’t have a…” She stopped and took a deep breath. “No. This isn’t going to work. I see what you’re doing, but, no matter what you threaten or try, I’mnothelping you solve those murders.” She staggered to her feet, hampered by her bulky bathrobe and the unaccustomed quantities of wine she’d consumed. “I just can’t, okay? I’m sorry. I wish you luck, but I’m afraid our association is over. I am going to go in my room and close the door. Come morning, you will be gone and I’ll pretend this was all a dream.”
“No, I donea think so.” Jamie stacked his hands behind his head and leaned back in the chair. “I’m content to stay right here in my new home.” He looked around with a sigh. “Granted, it’s not the furnitureIwould’ve chosen, but we’re both making compromises in this relationship, so I’ll endure.”
Emotion put color into her face and made her even lovelier. “We don’thave a relationship and thisisn’tyour home!I’mthe one who pays the rent and I want you gone!”
“You say thatnow, but I’m a grand fellow to have about. Very witty andfullof useful advice.”
“I don’t want your advice!”
“Open your mind, lass! I can help you select your next beau, so you donea end up with another rotter like Robert.” Lie. He had no intention of letting any other man near her. “I can follow along on your job each day, so you get all yourhistorical facts straight.” Another lie. Grace needed to find other employment, because being a tour guide was clearly crushing her spirit. “Oh and I’ve got a tremendous singing voice.” Damnable lie of there ever was one, but pirates weren’t known for their scrupulous honesty. “Why, in a few decades, you’ll wonder how you ever got along without me.”
Her perfect lips pressed together in frustration. It was a crying shame what she did to that lush mouth. Never letting it smile and forever compressing it into disagreeable lines. “You can’t just move into my apartment. I won’t allow it.”
“How do you plan to stop me?”
Brown eyes narrowed, desperately trying to think of a way to physically boot a ghost out the door. There wasn’t one, of course. There was nothing harder to get rid of than a specter intent on staying put.
