Chapter 21

21

When Harlowfinally caught up to her sister, Imogen had already parked the four-wheeler and was striding into the barn. Harlow could tell by her gait that she was flustered, and Harlow prayed she was able to put the spirit out of her mind while she talked to her new client.

“How was the ride?” Mary Pelsh asked, appearing from the barn.

“It was gorgeous,” Harlow said, giving her a small smile. Then she grimaced. “Right up until a spirit attacked Imogen.”

“What?” Mary’s dark eyes widened in utter shock. “What spirit? Was she hurt?”

“No. I was able to dispel the spirit before anything terrible happened.”

“Thank the goddess!” Mary said, placing a hand on her heart. “I just don’t know what I’d do if that happened to one of our guests. Is there some way to ward off those things? Is there something we should be doing to protect the property?”

“There are things you can do,” Harlow said, taking the woman’s hand and squeezing it, immediately falling back into her ghost hunter persona she’d shunned for the last year. “But before you get too worried, let me ask you some questions.”

“Of course.” Mary stared at the trail as if waiting for a spirit to appear.

“Have you ever seen a ghost on your property before?”

“No, never.” She shook her head. “But I’m not a medium, either.”

“Has anyone else ever seen a ghost here that you’re aware of?”

“Not that I’m aware of, no,” Mary said.

Harlow sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. “That’s what I was afraid of.”

“Explain,” Mary said, studying her intently.

“It appears that either I or my sister attracted that spirit. I don’t think there’s any reason to believe that this property is haunted.” Harlow looked around at the serene vineyard. “If strange, unexplainable things haven’t been happening, then I’d chalk this up to a Thane sister issue for now.”

“You’re sure?” Mary asked, studying Harlow. “If anyone gets hurt here, I’ll never forgive myself.”

“I’d bet money on it, but if you ever want to cleanse the property or put in protection wards, Cash and I can help you with that. Just let me know.”

“Okay. Thanks. That’s reassuring. I’ll talk it over with Walter and see if we have extra funds in the budget for that sort of thing. Do you have a ballpark range?”

“Oh no!” Harlow said quickly. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t clear. There wouldn’t be any charge for that. I’d just want to make sure your property wasn’t susceptible to more unwanted ghosts. That’s all.”

Mary smiled at her. “That’s very kind of you. Thank you.”

“It’s no problem at all.” Harlow knew that if more spirits started showing up after today, it was likely that either she or Imogen had opened a door to the spirit world that she hadn’t closed when she’d banished the spirit that attacked Imogen. If that was the case, she’d for sure need to cast some protections spells. But usually if a door or portal was opened, ghosts started to show up right away, and so far they hadn’t. It didn’t look like the Pelshes had anything to worry about. “Thanks for the information, Mary. I’m going to go find Imogen. Give me a call if you need me.”

“I will.”

Harlow made her way back into the barn, and when she didn’t see Imogen or anyone else, she checked on the front patio. She immediately spotted her sister and a pretty blonde she recognized to be Sadie Lewis. They were sitting on some patio furniture under an awning to her right.

Even before Harlow reached them, she could tell that her sister was on edge. Tension lined her face, and she kept diverting her focus from the blonde in order to scan her surroundings as if she were waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“I have refreshments,” a woman said from behind Harlow.

Turning, Harlow spotted Candy Pelsh, Hanna’s cousin who also worked at Incantation Café. “Candy, hi.”

“Hey, Harlow. Beautiful day, isn’t it?”

“It is.”

They joined Imogen and Sadie. Candy handed wine to Sadie and what looked like lemonade to Imogen. She glanced at Harlow. “Did you want anything? We have wine, cider, beer, water, lemonade, and soft drinks.”

“I’m fine,” Harlow said, sitting next to her sister.

The tension radiating off Imogen made Harlow’s stomach clench. She wished there was something she could do for her, but other than whisking her away to the spa, she didn’t know what that might be.

“So, I like the idea of having the ceremony outside, but even in June, you never can be sure about rain around here, so I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” Sadie said to Imogen. “And if it’s inside, I think the barn is really overkill. We’ll only have about a dozen people.”

“The barn is pretty big for that,” Imogen said and then listed a bunch of places in town that might be more appropriate for the small wedding party. Most of them were restaurants, but then she said, “I think if it’s in the budget, how about A Touch of Magic Day Spa? I’ve heard they have a covered patio out back that is gorgeous.”

“I like that idea,” Sadie said, studying Imogen. Her brows were pinched, and she looked like something was bothering her, but she never said as much. Instead, she appeared to be fully engaged in the conversation. In no time at all, they’d worked out a game plan to see the spa and had a list of restaurants that would work for a small reception.

“Do you have any hobbies, Imogen?” Sadie suddenly asked her out of the blue.

“Hobbies?” Imogen was completely taken off guard as she looked up at the woman. “Why do you ask?”

Sadie shrugged. “Just curious. You seem a little tense today. I was trying to loosen you up a little.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Imogen said. “I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable. We had an… unusual morning today, and I think I’m just still trying to process it all.”

That was one way to put it. Still, Harlow was proud of her sister for her professional demeanor.

“No, no. I’m not uncomfortable,” Sadie said, putting her at ease. “That’s not it at all. I was just trying to help. I’m sorry if I overstepped.”

“You didn’t,” Imogen reassured her. “As far as hobbies go, I don’t have many. I’ve moved too many times the past couple of years. Things have been kind of up in the air.” She glanced at Harlow. “But I’m hoping I can put down roots now. I’m thinking of taking up hiking now that I live so close to all this beauty.”

Harlow could see that the conversation was helping Imogen, but her eyes were still narrowed, and she was clutching her notebook so hard that her knuckles had turned white.

“The hiking around here is great. If you ever need a hiking buddy, I’m available,” Sadie said.

“I’m not.” Candy let out a laugh. “I gave that up a few years back after I sprained my ankle. Now I stick to walks along the river, and I’ve taken up crocheting.”

“You have?” Harlow asked. “Are you taking lessons at Zya’s shop?”

“I am. So far, I’ve made three scarves and a cowl. It’s great in the winter. Now that it’s spring, we’ll see how we do once it gets warmer here.”

“I want to learn pottery,” Harlow said. “If I could find a teaching studio somewhere close by.”

Sadie gave her the name of a studio in Eureka.

The four of them talked about various hobbies and activities for a while until Sadie stood and said, “I better get going before I’m late for my shift at the brewery. Imogen, you’ll give me a call about the estimate and a time we can get together again to finalize details?”

“Absolutely.” Imogen stood and shook the woman’s hand. “Thank you for trusting me with this. It’s not every day someone’s willing to take a chance on a new business.”

Sadie laughed. “I’m sure whatever you do will be infinitely better than what I could come up with. Weddings, while lovely to attend sometimes, just aren’t something I’ve ever dreamed about.”

Candy let out an exaggerated sigh. “Oh, I do. One day some hot guy is going to walk into town and sweep me off my feet, and then the wedding will be epic.”

Imogen chuckled. “I hope you’ll give me a call to help you with the planning.”

“Are you sure you want to deal with all of this?” Candy waved a hand in front of her own face and laughed. “I’ve been told I can be a little… particular.”

Sadie snickered. “More like demanding and unreasonable.”

“Well, that was just rude,” Candy said, casting her a mock-offended look.

“Tell me I’m wrong,” Sadie challenged.

“No way. You just didn’t have to say it like that.” They both cracked up.

Harlow grinned at them, enjoying watching their banter. It was one of the things she loved about the town. The people were fun and truly seemed to love each other.

The three of them waved goodbye to Sadie as she retreated to her car. Imogen asked Candy to thank her aunt and uncle for her and said she couldn’t wait to hold an event there someday soon.

As soon as Imogen and Harlow were on their way back to the Subaru, Imogen tensed again.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Harlow asked.

“I just can’t shake the feeling that I’ve done something to deserve the wrath of these spirits.” There was a tremble in her voice when she added, “Why are they coming after me?”

“It’s not you, Gen,” Harlow said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “Sometimes spirits just look for an opening. You absolutely didn’t do anything wrong.”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t feel that way.”

Harlow wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t have answers for her sister. Neither of them could know what was going on unless they started digging around, and she was certain Imogen didn’t want her messing with more ghosts.

A red Toyota Camry was parked a few spaces from Harlow’s Subaru. As they passed by, Sadie waved through the open window and started the engine. As soon as the music came on, Sadie started to sing along.

A faint trace of magic tickled Harlow’s skin and she spun, looking to see who’d cast a spell. But when Sadie backed out and sped out of the parking lot, the magic vanished. “Did you feel that?” Harlow asked Imogen.

Imogen was staring after the Camry, her eyes wide. “She fixed me.”

“What?”

“The anxiousness that had me all tensed up,” Imogen said. “Sadie fixed me. I don’t know how, but she did. That magic was coming from her, right?”

Harlow nodded, still trying to wrap her head around what her sister was saying. “I don’t understand, Imogen. What do you mean she fixed you?”

Imogen turned to her, an easy smile lighting up her entire face. “Ever since last year, when Crazy Cora possessed me, it takes almost nothing at all to get my anxiety into overdrive. I’ve been battling it all morning since that spirit showed up here. But suddenly, after whatever Sadie did, it’s gone. I feel like a heavy blanket has been lifted off me.” She let out a small laugh. “Like I’ve lost ten pounds, instantly.”

Harlow had no idea what just happened, but she didn’t even care. All that mattered was that her sister was feeling better, and for that she was grateful. Harlow opened her arms and gave her sister a tight hug. “We’ll need to send her a thank you basket.”

“If this holds out, I’m thinking monthly ones,” Imogen said, squeezing just as hard. When she released Harlow, she asked, “What do you think she did?”

“Beats me. We can ask her later, though. Right now, I’m thinking coffee and lunch. What do you think about inviting Cash and Shaun?”

“Sounds perfect,” Imogen said, unable to keep a stupid grin off her face.

Harlow noticed her giddiness but kept her thoughts to herself. If Imogen was happy, that was all that mattered.

Just as they climbed into the SUV, Imogen’s phone buzzed with a text. “It’s the Mustang. It’s fixed already.”

“Perfect. We’ll go pick it up, drop this one off at home, take it for a spin, and then meet the boys at the Keating Hollow Brewery. Cam is opening the pub today, so I don’t have to be there until later this afternoon.”

Imogen nodded and then texted Shaun. Lunch at Keating Hollow Brewery with you and Cash. Meet us in an hour.

The response was almost immediate. We’ll be there.