Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

"You don't do anything halfway, do you?" Liam asked, arms crossed, judgmental brow cocked high.

Natalie slumped in one of the chairs in the meeting room. "Have you met me?"

That dark brow remained high. "Yes, I have. Yet in spite of that you still continue to surprise me."

"Surprise is good in a relationship. Keeps things fresh. Don't you think?"

"Depends on the surprise," Liam grumbled. "You couldn't just say what I did? That based on the evidence on the recording it's possible ghosts were real. Instead you had to go off and declare that not only do you speak to them but that Letisha only pretends to."

"I thought you all wanted me to confess."

" You all? I can't speak for Gabe but I for one only wanted you to confess to Harper and Stone. Not the entire viewership of the Paranormal Channel."

Speaking of the Paranormal Channel—the crew had packed up and left after having gotten all they needed. Plus more than they'd probably hoped for after Natalie had spilled more than she'd intended to.

The ghosts had left right after the crew. They went off to report on the morning's happenings to the others.

And after congratulating her on an amazing performance for the producer and cameras, Harper and Alice had both rushed off to pack since apparently they all had to be in Utica Monday.

That was the most ironic part of this whole thing. Now that she'd actually told the truth, Harper and Alice assumed it was an act.

It was… a lot. It wasn't even ten in the morning yet and Natalie was completely exhausted already.

"So what now?" Liam asked, leaning against the arm of the chair in which she sat.

Her eyes drifted closed momentarily as he began to work the tension out of her shoulders with those magic hands of his.

"Now I have to unlock the front door." It was time. There was no denying that as the grandfather clock began to chime for the ten o'clock hour.

"I'm not talking about the shop. I'm talking about the confession," Liam said.

She let out a laugh. "You saw their faces. Nobody believed me. The show's crew thinks I'm a nut. And our friends just think I'm an amazing actress."

But at least the ghosts—who seemed to have lost the capability of accurately reading human reactions—were happy about her confession. Now all she had to deal with was the reaction of the living world.

Natalie groaned. "They're going to make me look like a lunatic in editing."

She'd watched enough reality television to know how it worked. Very early on the producers chose which role each cast member would fill. She'd be positioned as the amateur nutcase who thought she could speak to ghosts while claiming a well-known professional medium could not.

Liam sniffed out a laugh. "That won't take much editing."

She slapped at his leg. "Hey, you admitted on camera to hearing Gabe too."

"I did. With the existence of that recording you made of Gabe, I didn't have much choice, did I? I can only hope that doesn't come back to bite me in the ass in the science community. I'll just have to claim I was forced into that admission based on the empirical evidence. And let's remember I didn't do it quite as enthusiastically as you. You know, you could just have Gabe talk in front of the cameras and crew. Once everyone hears him, they won't be able to question your sanity."

"I could have had Gabe speak today, except that Millie's not here. She's still in Sharon Springs visiting her family. And I don't know if Gabe and Millie can travel as far as the theater." Natalie slumped lower with a renewed wave of defeat.

"Why can't they? Isn't Utica about as far from here as Sharon Springs?"

"Is it? I don't know." Excitement began to build.

Liam nodded. "I looked into taking a train from the station there once. Both towns are about an hour and a half drive… I don't know how long that would be converted to ghost travel time, but the distance is probably about the same."

Natalie sagged again. "But what if Millie can travel to Sharon Springs because she has relatives buried there? Just like how Train Track Tim can visit Afton because his cousin is there."

"Tim's gone away too? These ghosts do more traveling than I do," Liam grumbled.

"Liam. Focus. The point is maybe my ghosts won't be able to go to Utica if they have no connection to there."

"Do you know that for certain?"

"No. Nobody knows anything about this for certain . Not even the ghosts. There's no rule book. We're all just guessing here."

"Well, that's real scientific." He rolled his eyes.

"Spoken like a true scientist." She scowled.

That's what she got for dating a doctor.

She looked up at him above her. "You could come and be there with me."

"Nope."

"Liam—"

"Natalie, I love you, but public humiliation on a major television network that could cost me my professional reputation, my career, my grant and my life's work is where I draw the line."

"What about my reputation and my work?" she asked.

"Babe, being known as the kooky ghost lady will only increase business. The shop will end up being a tourist destination with you as the main attraction. Believe me. You'll be fine."

She scowled again, hating that he was probably right. And not just because she hated when he was right, but more because the scenario he'd just described sounded like a living hell.