Chapter 11

11

Harlow’sentire world narrowed to the man in front of her. After an entire year of denying herself the one person she wanted most in the world, all of her resistance had vanished, and she felt like she was finally home.

Cash’s arms came around her, and Harlow deepened the kiss, wanting to stay lost in him forever.

But all too soon, Cash gently pulled back, and in a breathless voice he whispered, “Damn, I missed that.”

She looked up at him, her pulse racing with both anticipation and fear. There was no denying that she wanted him, wanted to be back in his life and back in his arms forever, but she was also terrified of what that might mean for the future.

Cash reached up and brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. “As much as I want to do that again, don’t you think we should talk about what happened?”

Harlow took a step back, realizing that as long as she was in Cash’s arms she was never going to be able to think clearly. Stumbling over one of the discarded floorboards, she went down with a hard thunk and winced when she smacked her elbow on the subfloor.

“Careful,” Cash said gently, reaching down to help her up. “The last thing we need is both of us with an egg on our noggins.”

“Holy hell, Cash,” she said, feeling like an idiot. “Here I am supposed to be taking you to the healer, and I jumped you instead.” She kept a tight grip on his hand and started to tug him toward the door. “Let’s get going before it gets any later.”

“Hold on.” He held still and pulled her back toward him until she was standing in front of him again. “Just to be clear, I’d go through another dozen whacks on the head if it meant I’d get another kiss like that.”

She gave him an are-you-kidding-me look and rolled her eyes. “Seriously? You could have a concussion.”

“I could. I could also be hallucinating this right now, but if I am, I’m not interested in returning to reality. It’s been hell living here in Keating Hollow, knowing you’re just a few miles away and not being able to be with you. All I want is for you to tell me that we’ll find a way to work this out.”

“I wish I could, Cash. You know that. But I just can’t go back to the way things were before.”

“I never said we had to go back to that life,” he said gently.

“You weren’t ready to give it up a year ago,” she countered.

“But I did it anyway, didn’t I?” He glanced around the room. “What do you think I’ve been doing since I settled here?”

“Torturing me?”

He chuckled. “Is that what I was doing?”

“Yes,” she admitted. “How was I supposed to move on with you here in Keating Hollow?”

“You weren’t supposed to,” he said, his eyes flashing with jealousy. “I knew that the moment I realized we’d somehow ended up in the same town, hundreds of miles from Ojai. What we have, Harlow, it’s forever. We both know it. We just have to figure out how to make it work. I have faith. Do you?”

She didn’t know if she did, but she nodded anyway, desperate for it to work out between them.

“Good. Now take me to the healer so they can put a stop to this massive headache that’s forming behind my eyes.”

“Right.” Harlow turned and led the way out of the house as Cash kept a tight grip on her hand all the way to the Mustang.

“Celia,” Cash said, running a hand over the fender of the car. “I’ve missed you, too.”

“You can flirt with her later,” Harlow said, opening the passenger door for him. “After we see the healer.”

“You’re not jealous?” Cash asked, forcing a smile.

Harlow stared at his narrowed eyes and the strained expression on his face and frowned. There was no doubt he was struggling with the pain. “Just get in, Cash. I’ll worry about the car stealing your heart later.”

He did as she said, and they headed into town.

* * *

The old farmhousewas dark when Harlow pulled into the driveway two hours later. The healer had confirmed Cash had a mild concussion, gave him a potion to help both the concussion and his headache, and told them someone needed to watch him through the night to make sure his symptoms didn’t get any worse. Cash had said that was no problem. His brother would be home.

But there was no sign of him now.

“Is Shaun still with Imogen?” Harlow asked, noting that the only vehicle she saw was Cash’s Jeep.

“Maybe?” Cash pulled his phone out and called his brother. “There’s no answer.”

Harlow killed the engine of the Mustang, fumbled around for her phone, and hit Imogen’s name. “She’s not answering either.” A trickle of fear started to work its way through Harlow’s consciousness, and she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Ever since her sister’s possession last year, Harlow hadn’t been able to shake the anxiety that paralyzed her every time she couldn’t reach her sister.

“Let’s check the house,” Cash said. “Make sure Shaun isn’t here. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s fooled me into thinking no one was home.”

“What? Why would he do that?” Harlow asked as she scrambled after him.

“Something about waiting to see if his vision came true, I think. I’m not sure. Better to just check.”

The pair of them searched every room of the house, including the one Aunt Jane had used to trap them. Thankfully, there wasn’t any more activity from her. Their search came up empty, and as they were on their way back outside, Cash tried Shaun again.

“Nope.” He climbed back into the Mustang. “Chances are high he went to go get a beer or something. I’m sure he’ll be back. Let’s just go check on Imogen and make sure she made it home okay.”

“I just don’t know why she isn’t answering her phone. She knows how worried I get,” Harlow said, trying to shut down all the horrific scenarios that were flashing through her mind. Had Crazy Cora returned? The spirit had just reappeared yesterday on the solstice. Harlow had been fairly sure she’d be sent back into the shadows after the sun rose due to the salt circle she’d trapped her in, but what if she hadn’t? It wasn’t as if Harlow had gone back to her old apartment to check.

She mentally berated herself as she flew down the country roads of Keating Hollow. Why hadn’t she warned Imogen that the spirit had appeared? She knew why. She hadn’t wanted to scare her. She hadn’t wanted to rock the boat.

But that had been stupid if not downright dangerous. Even though Harlow had done her best to protect their new house, Imogen wouldn’t be protected from the spirit when she was out and about in Keating Hollow. She shouldn’t have just assumed everything would be fine. Especially since that spirit had a connection to Imogen.

But she had her pentacle and her herbs that Harlow had given her last year. Both were helpful with repelling unwelcome spirits. Though Harlow knew if one was determined enough, there wasn’t much an inexperienced witch could do if the spirit wanted to haunt someone.

“Harlow,” Cash said quietly.

“Huh?” She glanced over at him, tightening her grip on the steering wheel.

He gave her a small smile. “Breathe.”

“I’m breathing,” she said as air rushed out of her lungs.

“Barely. Just don’t worry yourself to death until there’s something to worry about, okay?”

“I can’t help it,” she said and concentrated on filling her lungs with air. “She never ignores my calls. Not for this long. She knows how I worry.”

“Chances are she’s still with Shaun and they’re out getting a drink or something.”

“Yeah, I hope so.” Still, Harlow couldn’t help the dread that was coiling in her gut. “If something happens to her…”

Cash reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “Everything will be okay. Shaun wouldn’t let anything happen to her. You’ll see.”

Harlow just nodded, praying he was right.

When they arrived at Harlow’s rented house, she parked behind her Subaru and peered at the unfamiliar gray truck. “Please tell me that’s Shaun’s truck.”

“It is. I told you they were together somewhere,” Cash said with a nod.

Harlow raised both eyebrows. “But why aren’t they answering their phones? It doesn’t make sense.” She climbed out of the car and rushed over to the Subaru to grab her backpack of ghost-hunting tricks. Without saying a word, she handed an iron chain to Cash. “Be ready.”

“You really think we’re walking into something involving a spirit?” he asked as he admired the chain. Then he held it up and said, “Thank you for this. I was feeling a little lost without the one I broke yesterday.”

“I figured you were. As far as spirit activity goes, you know what I always used to say, expect the unexpected.”

He nodded. “That and better to be prepared than knocked on your ass when an angry spirit comes for you.”

She snorted. They had always said that. But then she quickly sobered and said, “Let’s go.”

The house was lit up with light shining from the windows, and Harlow half expected to see Shaun and her sister just sitting on the couch, blissfully ignoring everyone and everything. Or at least that’s what she hoped for.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. When Harlow stepped through the door, she scanned the abandoned living room, finding nothing but two half-empty wineglasses and a broken plate on the floor.

A chill crawled up her arms, and suddenly her vision blurred as panic started to take over. Something terrible must have happened.

Cash moved past her into the kitchen. When he returned, he shook his head, indicating he hadn’t found anything.

That’s when she heard it. A small cry that came from the back of the house.

“This way!” Harlow said in a harsh whisper as she hurried down the hall. To the right, the door was open to Harlow’s darkened room. And to the left—a low moan sounded. To Harlow, it sounded like a wounded animal.

Without a second thought, she burst through the door and then froze, her eyes wide as her brain caught up with the scene before her.

“Harlow!” her sister cried, frantically reaching for the sheet to cover her naked body.

Shaun, who’d rolled off Imogen the moment she’d cried her sister’s name, muttered a curse under his breath as he placed a pillow over his naked bits.

Cash chuckled softly behind Harlow as he placed both hands on her shoulders. “Looks like they are more than fine. Let’s give them some privacy.”

“Imogen?” Harlow asked, still in a state of shock.

“Harlow, just go!” Imogen ordered. “Gods, you’d think I was a teenager and my parents just walked in.”

“Right.” Harlow cleared her throat. “Sorry. Carry on.”

“Carry on?” Cash asked as they retreated to the hall. “Seriously?”

Harlow threw her hands up in defeat. “I don’t know. I went from thinking that my sister was being tortured to finding out that your brother has a mole on his right butt cheek, just like you do. I was flustered, okay?”

“I did not need to hear about my brother’s mole,” he said with a groan.

A laugh bubbled out of Harlow’s lips. She clamped her hand over her mouth, but there was no stopping the hysterics. The laughter intensified and she doubled over, holding her stomach, unable to control herself.

“Okay, gorgeous, get ahold of yourself,” Cash said, his voice full of humor. “Let’s get out of here and give them some privacy.”

“Wait,” Harlow said, gasping for air. “Let me pack an overnight bag. Someone still needs to stay with you tonight. And from the looks of things, it’s not going to be Shaun.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to stay the night with me?”

“Don’t read too much into it, Keys,” she said, still smiling as she used her nickname for him for the first time in over a year. She’d started calling him that when she’d learned he was the keyboardist in a bad metal band back in his high school days.

He grinned. “Keys?”

“Don’t read into that either.” Harlow disappeared into her bedroom, and after a few minutes, she met him outside. Instead of taking the Mustang, she waved him over to the Subaru.

“I prefer Celia,” he said as he pulled the passenger door open.

“I’m sure you do, but it’s Imogen’s car now, and I’m certainly not going back in there to ask if I can keep borrowing it. My eyes are already due for a good bleaching.”

He laughed. “Fair point.”