Chapter 2

2

Cash moved justbefore Harlow drove her spike right through his left shoulder. He knew instantly that Harlow had been going after the spirit he’d named Stella. It was hard to miss when Stella was grabbing his ass. He yanked his iron chain out of his pocket and spun on one heel.

Jackpot. He felt the chain wrap around the still-invisible spirit, securing her in place. It took a few moments, but soon enough the spirit materialized and shot daggers at Harlow with her wide, sunken eyes.

“He’s mine,” Stella hissed, thrashing about but not quite able to free herself from the iron.

Harlow let out a very put-upon sigh and walked up to the ghost.

Stella glared at her. “Stay away from my man.”

Harlow ignored her and looked at Cash. “Is this the real reason you came to find me?”

“No,” he said adamantly, wishing he could throttle Stella. The ghost had been obsessed with him for a couple of months now and always seemed to show up at the most inopportune times. He’d eradicated her from his life over a dozen times, but nothing he did seemed to stick for very long. He was starting to think someone had cursed him to never be rid of her. “But I have to admit that if you manage to banish her, it’s going to be an excellent perk.”

“You weren’t able to?” Harlow asked, tilting her head to study him.

“Obviously not. At least not permanently.” He waved at Stella, who would likely break free of her restraints any moment. “Want to get on with it, or are you hoping you get another chance to aim that spike at me?”

Harlow rolled her eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic. I wouldn’t⁠—”

Stella threw her arms up, breaking the hold the iron chain had on her, and then went straight for Cash.

He instantly put his arms up as if to shield himself. It was a rookie move, but she’d already broken his favorite ghost-hunting tool. The iron chain had served him for many years, trapping ghosts so that Harlow could banish them. Though the past year, he’d had to do his own banishings. And while he usually managed it, some of the banished spirits didn’t take it kindly. He’d been haunted by more than his share of pissed-off ghosts recently.

Stella was different though. She wasn’t mad; she was just persistent. For some reason, she seemed to think that if she tried hard enough, Cash would agree to be her boyfriend. Never mind that she was a ghost and completely out of touch with reality.

Harlow sprang into action, her skills just as sharp as they had been a year ago before she’d walked away from ghost hunting. In seconds, she had the ghost pressed up against the bar and the iron spike through her hip, pinning her to the wood structure. She glanced at Cash. “Do I need to question her?”

Sometimes ghosts only hung around until they delivered a message. In those cases, just listening to them was sometimes enough to get them to cross over. This wasn’t one of those times.

“No. She doesn’t have any unfinished business. She just refuses to cut ties with this world,” Cash said.

“It looks more like she’s refusing to cut ties with you,” Harlow said, eyeing the ghost.

Stella was staring at Cash, her expression filled with longing. She met Cash’s gaze and licked her pouty lips. “I could make you happy. All you have to do is give me a chance.”

“Send her away, please,” Cash begged Harlow.

Harlow smirked, and for a moment Cash thought that she might not grant his request. He envisioned the ghost sitting with him at the dinner table, tagging along on a hike, lying next to him in his bed, invading his shower… A shudder ran through him, and he made a face.

“You know I wouldn’t do that to you,” Harlow said, apparently reading his mind. In one swift motion, she grabbed her spike again, twisted, and called, “Eicere!”

Magic coated her hand and shot into her spike.

Stella’s mouth formed a wide O as her eyes widened, and then suddenly the spirit shattered into a million pieces before fading into nothing.

“Thank you,” Cash said, sitting on one of the barstools as he let out a sigh of relief. “I’m not going to miss that one.”

“Where’d you find her?” Harlow’s lips twitched into a tiny smile. “666-STALKER?”

“Cute.” Cash chuckled. Gods, he’d missed working together. Missed her and their easy rapport. He was just about to tell her that when she crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she accused, all of her humor gone. “The answer is still no. Especially since we both know that while you might want to work with me again, you’re here in Keating Hollow because of that harlot who wouldn’t leave you alone. Don’t tell me that you wouldn’t have throttled her if you’d had the opportunity.”

Cash stared at her for a long moment. Harlow was wrong. He was in Keating Hollow because he’d inherited his aunt’s home. It wasn’t even until after he’d come to settle the estate that he’d realized she was in town. But he hadn’t told her that. He didn’t even know why. Instead, he’d tried to coax her into partnering with him again. She flatly refused, and he’d reluctantly let it go. But he hadn’t been able to move on from her. And he knew he never would. He stood and walked over to her.

Harlow blinked up at him with her suspicious brown eyes. “What are you doing, Cash?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he pressed his palm to her cheek and caressed the bone lightly with his thumb.

Her eyes drifted closed as she leaned into his touch, and Cash knew right then and there that she wasn’t over him. She might have left him and kept pushing him away, but it wasn’t because she didn’t want him. No. She absolutely did. That much was clear. He just needed to figure out how to help her heal from the past, and then maybe, just maybe, they could put their relationship back together.

“Showing you that not everything is about that ghost,” he said softly. That much was true. He hadn’t intended on staying in Keating Hollow. Not until he’d realized she’d made it her new home and that decision had nothing to do with the spirit.

Her eyes snapped open, and she took a step back. She averted her gaze and said, “It’s getting late. I think you should probably go now.”

“No,” he said mildly, knowing that would get a rise out of her.

“No? You’re joking, right?” She was staring at him, her expression incredulous. “What makes you think you can just walk in here and do whatever the hell you want?”

“I’m not doing whatever the hell I want,” he said patiently. “I’m just refusing to leave because we both know that the closer it gets to midnight the easier it is for spirits to appear in our world. And since it seems this building is some sort of magnet for them, I’m not leaving you here by yourself.”

Her jaw tensed, but she didn’t argue the point. Instead, she said, “It’s not usually like this. In fact, the winter solstice and New Year’s Eve were tame. I think there was just so much magic in the air today that was exacerbated by the reverie, and all that energy is probably calling to them. Any spirit that’s been wanting to materialize has been taking their chance.”

“That’s why I’m staying until you close up,” Cash said as he grabbed a rag to start wiping down tables.

“You don’t have to do that,” Harlow said, reaching for the rag.

Cash took a step back as he hid the rag behind his back. “I know I don’t have to. I want to. Now just relax and let me help you, Harlow. It’s not a big deal.”

She nodded, but they both knew it was, in fact, a big deal. Because today, after three hundred and seventy-eight days, Harlow Thane had let Cash Moses back into her life even if it was only for an evening.

He’d take it.

Forty-five minutes later, once the entire bar had been wiped down, swept, and mopped, they did a thorough sage cleansing.

“I hope that does the trick,” Harlow muttered as she and Cash walked out the front door.

He waited while she locked up and then stood there with his hands in his pockets, unable to physically make himself leave her side.

“I’ve got it from here,” Harlow said, tucking her keys into her small bag that was draped across her body.

“I’ll walk you to your car,” Cash said, pressing his hand to the small of her back. Harlow opened her mouth to protest, but Cash cut her off. “Just let me do this, okay? I want to make sure you’re safe. Just be glad I’m not insisting on taking you home.” Though he really wanted to. If he had his way, he’d tuck her into his Jeep, take her back to his great-aunt’s house, and tuck her into his bed where he could keep an eye on her until the equinox was over. But he knew better than anyone that she’d never agree to that.

Harlow laughed. “Okay, Cash. You can walk me to my car. Just this once.”

“Thank you.” He glanced down the cobblestone street, looking for her car, but he didn’t see it. “Where’s the Mustang?”

“Gone,” she said with a sigh.

He paused and stared down at her. “You sold the Mustang?”

“To my sister,” she said with a shrug. “It wasn’t practical for driving around here in the winter, and she needed a new set of wheels, so… It was better to keep it in the family, right?”

“I guess,” he said, feeling a pang of loss. Even though he hadn’t seen the car since he’d been in town, it hadn’t occurred to him that she’d have let it go. He’d assumed it was parked somewhere other than on Main Street or she’d gotten another vehicle and kept it at home in a garage. How many memories did he and Harlow have in that 1965 Mustang? There were so many burned into his brain. Their first date. First kiss. First… everything. It was also where he’d asked her to marry him and where she’d broken off their engagement just a year earlier. That memory was a punch in the gut. He reached into his pocket and ran his fingers over the small velvet box that held the engagement ring he kept with him at all times. He didn’t know why. He just knew he always had to have it near him.

At least Imogen had the Mustang now. Though he was skeptical that she’d keep it maintained the way Harlow had. She’d treated that car as if it were a precious treasure. As far as Cash was concerned, it was.

“Where’s Imogen now?” he asked. Because Harlow had kept him at arm’s length the past three months, they hadn’t caught up on anything personal. He hadn’t even told her about inheriting his aunt’s house. He wondered if she knew and just never said anything about it. Or if she was just doing her best not to think about him at all.

“The Napa Valley,” she said, sounding tired. “She’s working at a winery, handling their weddings.”

“That’s good.” He glanced at her face and saw the raw pain there. Taking her hand in his, he squeezed it. “She’ll come around… eventually.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” As they approached a Subaru Crosstrek, Harlow turned to him. “Thanks for your help tonight. Though I’m not sure I would have needed it if you hadn’t stepped into the pub.”

He chuckled because it was true. He’d been the one who’d attracted the ghost she’d had to banish. And while she’d had to deal with another one, it’s not like Cash had done much of anything to help her. She’d have been fine on her own. “It wasn’t worth the risk leaving you alone in the pub. We both know that having two people present instead of one can be enough to keep spirits away.”

“That and the sage from the cleansing,” she quipped.

“You’re enjoying busting my balls, aren’t you?” he asked, once again amused.

“Always.” She paused for just a second, then she pressed up onto her tiptoes and gave him a ghost of a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you again. Goodnight, Cash.”

“Night, Harlow. Don’t hesitate to call me if anything or anyone pops up.”

She gave him a quick nod and then climbed into her small SUV.

Cash stood on the street for a few minutes, waiting until she backed out and then disappeared into the night. It took everything he had not to jump into his Jeep and follow her home. He rubbed at his chest, right where the ache remained from his heartbreak just over a year ago. But when the area didn’t pulse beneath his fingers, he realized that finally, after twelve months of aching for Harlow, the pain had started to fade.

It had happened when she’d kissed him.

Now all he needed to do was give her a reason to do it again.