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

“Do you have any big plans tonight?” Kelly asked.

“Just me and my remote,” Brian said with a chuckle.

“Oh good! Then you don’t have any plans,” Kelly began.

“Kelly,” Joe said in a warning tone.

“Oh, come on, Joe, Brian doesn’t want to stay home alone tonight,” Kelly said.

“Actually, I do,” Brian said.

“No, you don’t. I have this friend who would be perfect for you,” Kelly began. “And I’ve told her about you, and she’s dying to meet you. I talked to her earlier today, and she’s not doing anything tonight.”

“Are you talking about setting me up on a blind date?” Brian asked.

“Think of it more as a double date with me and Joe. She’s one of the new docents at the museum. I interviewed her for my podcast.”

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Brian said. “I’m not really interested.”

“But, Brian…”

“Kelly, he’s not interested,” Joe said.

Kelly let out a sigh. “Come on, Brian, if not tonight, at least consider another night. She really is nice and perfect for you. She’s just a couple of years younger than you are.”

Brian grinned and patted Kelly’s arm. “Thanks for the thought, but I’m not really interested in dating anyone right now.”

“Why didn’t you try talking Brian into going out with us tonight,” Kelly asked Joe as the two got into Kelly’s car.

“He said he wasn’t interested.” Joe slammed the car door shut and hooked his seatbelt.

“It’s sad the way Brian is all alone. He needs a nice woman in his life.”

“Considering Brian’s track record, he’s probably better off this way.” Joe snorted.

“Oh, please, that’s why he needs someone like me to help him. Ginny would be perfect for him. She’s only been married once. She’s a widow, not divorced.”

“She’s a widow? Did she kill her husband?” Joe teased.

“Why would you ask that?” Kelly shoved the key in the ignition.

“The last woman Brian dated killed her husband,” he reminded her.

Kelly rolled her eyes and turned on the engine. “Was Beverly Klein the last woman Brian dated? If that’s true, we really need to get him out there again. Ginny would be perfect for him, and no, she did not murder her husband.”

“Not that you know, anyway.” Joe snickered.

Seven

“You think he’s coming back today?” Chris asked.

“I wish he would, and if he does, I’d like him to stay around long enough to explain his accusations against my father,” Walt said.

“It’s always a little nerve-racking when they decide to pop in and out, and you don’t know why. Ultimately, the goal is to help them move on,” Danielle said.

“He can move on after he tells me what I want to know,” Walt said.

“He probably headed to the cemetery,” Chris said. “After all, that’s where Danielle told him your mother was.”

“It was kind of the truth. But now that I think about it, I probably should have said something else, especially if we want him to come back,” Danielle said.

“Why do you say that?” Walt asked.

“If he goes to the cemetery and starts reading the headstones, he’s going to figure out it’s no longer 1904,” Danielle said.

“And he might decide to move on?” Walt asked.

“Not necessarily,” Chris said. “He’ll still be confused, and he obviously assumes you’re your father.”

“I should go to him,” Walt suggested.

“To the cemetery?” Danielle asked.

“Yes, if that’s where he is. I see no reason to draw this out. If he’s looking for my mother, he might be ready to talk to me as opposed to making demands and then disappearing,” Walt said.

“He has a point,” Chris said. “And like you suggested, reading those headstones will help anchor him in the here and now, which might make him more amendable.”

“And I should go alone.” Walt stood up.

“Why?” Danielle asked.

“Because he might be less distracted if it’s just me,” Walt said. “And less likely to disappear before he tells me what I want to know.”

After Walt left for the cemetery, Danielle called Lily and told her she could send Evan back over to Marlow House if she wanted. Danielle didn’t think the ghost would be returning. Since Connor was ready for a nap, Lily agreed it was probably a good time for Evan to go back to Walt and Danielle’s.

“Did he show up?” Evan asked Lily as he prepared to go to Marlow House.

“Yes, only briefly. But they want to talk to him some more, so Walt left for the cemetery,” Lily explained.

“Why did he go to the cemetery?” Evan asked.

“I guess after he left Marlow House, he headed down there. Isn’t that where ghosts often go?” Lily asked.

“Oh gee, so I probably won’t see him again,” Evan grumbled.

“You want to see him again?” Lily asked with a grin.

Evan shrugged. “Kinda. Ghosts don’t really scare me anymore. Eva said they can’t really hurt me. The universe wouldn’t let them.”

Lily’s grin broadened. “Well, that’s good to know. I’m going to watch you cross the street, okay?”

“Sheesh, Lily, I’m not a baby anymore,” Evan reminded her.

Lily laughed. “Yeah, I know. But humor me.”

Evan stood on the sidewalk across the street and waved goodbye to Lily. A moment later he entered the front gate to Marlow House. When he looked back across the street, he saw Lily had gone into her house. He continued to the front door, and just as he was about to ring the doorbell, the mountain man’s apparition appeared.

“Are you one of Walt’s friends?” the ghost asked.

Evan’s eyes widened as he took in the sight.

“I saw you here earlier. You were with that police officer.”

“That’s my dad,” Evan said.

The ghost looked Evan up and down and then asked, “Aren’t you a little old to be playing with Walt?”

Evan giggled.

“What’s so funny?” the ghost asked.

“I thought you were at the cemetery.”

“Why did you think that?” the ghost asked, his voice less friendly.

Evan shrugged. “Lily said Walt went down there to talk to you.”

“Why would Walt want to talk to me? I don’t want to get him involved in this. It’s not his fault.