Haunting Danielle 27 The Ghost and the Mountain Man by Bobbi Holmes (great novels to read TXT) 📕

Chris arched his brow at Danielle. “Wow, you really have a knack of coming up with plausible scenarios.”

“Only one problem with that one,” Walt said.

“Only one?” Chris snickered.

“What?” Heather and Danielle chorused.

“Mountain Man wasn’t carrying a fishing pole up in the mountains; he had a rifle. And my father didn’t hunt,” Walt said.

“My point being, his issue with your dad could be anything,” Danielle said.

Heather glanced at the time and stood up. “I would love to stick around and help brainstorm, but Bella has been in the house alone a long time, and I really need to check on her.”

“Doesn’t she have a litter box?” Chris asked.

“Yes, but that doesn’t prevent her from climbing the curtains in retaliation when I’m gone too long,” Heather said.

“When you leave, make sure you shut the gate all the way. Hunny’s in the side yard,” Chris told her.

“I wonder why Hunny hasn’t come in the house yet,” Danielle muttered, thinking of the pet door.

When Heather stepped out the kitchen door into the side yard a few minutes later, Hunny didn’t greet her. Instead of calling the dog, Heather glanced around, wondering what mischief the pit bull had gotten into. She spied Hunny’s wiggly butt at the fence separating Pearl’s yard from Walt and Danielle’s.

Careful not to make a sound, she made her way toward Hunny to have a closer look. Hunny, so focused on the attention being given her, failed to hear Heather’s approach. When Heather reached the fence, she stifled a laugh. There was her grouchy neighbor on her knees, alternating between letting the dog kiss her nose and hand-feeding the dog treats.

“Well, what do we have here?” Heather snarked, sending a startled Pearl to her feet while Hunny turned and greeted her with a wiggling butt. “Imagine my surprise to find you kissing a ferocious pit bull.”

Pearl returned Heather’s snarky glare and replied, “And imagine my surprise at finding you kissing Officer Brian Henderson earlier today.”

Heather’s eyes widened in surprise. Speechless, she stared at the older woman.

“I suppose we all have our secrets,” Pearl huffed indignantly. She tossed the remaining dog treat to Hunny and then turned, flouncing back to her house without another word.

“Damn,” Heather grumbled as she turned toward the gate leading to the alley, Hunny trailing along her side. She glanced down at Hunny and said, “Now I can’t very well tell Chris what I saw you and Pearl doing, can I?”

Six

After pulling into Ian’s driveway, Kelly Bartley parked and turned off the ignition, but she didn’t immediately get out of her car. Instead, she rested her hands on the steering wheel and studied the diamond on her left ring finger. Wiggling her fingers slightly, she watched as the diamond glittered from the afternoon sunshine streaming in the car windows.

It wasn’t that she hated the ring; she found it endearing that Joe had proposed with his grandmother’s engagement ring. He had told her she could change the setting if she wanted, but she could tell by his expression he didn’t want her to take him up on the offer. Plus, his beloved grandmother—now a widow—was very much alive. She doubted the woman would appreciate the grandson’s fiancée remaking the ring given to her by her dead husband.

Unfortunately, it was not her style. Yet strangely, the damn thing fit perfectly. According to Joe, he had not had the ring sized. Apparently, Joe’s grandmother and she shared the same ring size.

She had always imagined that when Joe finally proposed, they would pick out the ring together. Letting out a sigh, she looked from the ring to her brother’s front door. If honest with herself, Kelly understood that on Joe’s salary, he really couldn’t afford to be buying engagement rings. Lily didn’t have that problem when Ian had proposed to her, considering his annual income. Heck, Lily had her own fortune after her settlement with the Gusarov estate.

With another sigh, Kelly looked back to the ring. She and Joe had been together for over three years now. In the beginning she worried Joe still had feelings for Danielle, but then she moved in with him, and things seemed to get better. But every once in a while, she had that nagging feeling Danielle could have snatched him away from her if she had been so inclined. Recently, she began wondering if Joe was ever going to propose, and even her mother had made cracks about what she called her daughter’s “uncertain future with Joe Morelli.”

But now that she was officially engaged, she vowed not to let an ugly engagement ring spoil her moment. Kelly cringed when the word “ugly” popped into her head. She had been avoiding that word. She looked down at the ring.

“It’s a nice diamond,” Kelly muttered.

Marie sat in the rocking chair, watching Evan and Connor play on the nursery floor. She smiled at the patience Evan displayed with young Connor as the pair arranged blocks and pushed around toy trucks and cars. Marie had arrived minutes earlier and intended to have Evan tell Lily and Ian she was here, but that could wait. She rather enjoyed watching the boys play and didn’t want to interrupt them.

In the living room, Ian and Lily were just about to turn on the television when Sadie jumped up from her place by the sofa and raced to the front door, her tail wagging. Ian got up from the sofa to see who was at the door, and a few minutes later he returned to the living room with his sister, Kelly, by his side.

“Hi, Kelly,” Lily greeted her.

“My sister says she has some big news,” Ian announced.

Lily looked curiously at Kelly, who stood next to her brother with her hands behind her back while she danced from leg to leg, reminding Lily of one of her students who needed to use the bathroom.

Ian stared at his sister, waiting for her to say something. She flashed him a grin and then