29. Ghost

"Hey, Spartan,"I greeted as he joined me in the backyard, where I was prepping the barbecue. "What have you been up to?"

"I've been shopping with Benni and Amy for swimsuits and lingerie," he replied.

I couldn't help but burst into laughter. I could just picture Spartan standing in the lingerie department while Benni scrutinized each pair of panties. If he opened his eyes, he would see that Benni was waiting for him to act on his attraction to her.

As the laughter subsided, I noticed Benni and Allison exiting the back door. Benni sported a daringly skimpy swimsuit, while Allison opted for a more conservative one-piece. Rebel"s whistle prompted a blush from Benni and a grin from Allison. Clearly, they were up to something, and if Spartan remained oblivious, he was either clueless or intentionally blind.

"Damn, Benni, why are you wearing that piece of cloth? I told you at the department store it wouldn't cover anything," Spartan mumbled.

"How else can I tan my entire body? I need the sun to reach everywhere," Benni retorted.

As Allison disappeared back inside, I sensed there was more to come. The next move didn"t take long.

"Rebel, can you please put some sunscreen on my back," Benni asked, flashing a smile. Rebel hesitated for a moment before obliging, only for Spartan to intercept.

"Give me that," Spartan said, snatching the sunscreen and applying it to Benni's back. I looked at Rebel to see if he had figured it out. He was grinning.

Spartan slapped the sunscreen on her back, and even I flinched at the sound it made. Allison came back out, and I watched as she turned her head to chuckle. They were definitely scheming something.

Spartan continued rubbing sunscreen onto Benni's back oblivious to the unmistakable sounds emanating from Benni. Damn, they must have forgotten they had an audience. I looked over at Rebel, who then got up and walked into the house so he could laugh out loud. I was following when I heard another slap, and Spartan stood up and walked inside.

Benni looked over at Allison, and they both grinned. "Can you please keep an eye on Amy? I need to get my wrap."

"Sure," Allison said. That's when we heard a vehicle leaving. Spartan was leaving, it must have slipped his mind that he was guarding Benni and Amy. "Damn it he left," Benni said. "I guess I'll have to crawl into his bed naked tonight."

"That's what I told you to do. He's not sure if that's what you want, so you have to take the bull by the horns."

I wondered if they remembered I was here. The two of them kept talking about how to get Spartan to take Benni to his bed and have wild sex all night long. "If you two don't shut up, I'm going to take Allison to bed, and you'll be cooking the steaks, Benni."

They looked over at me before both of them started laughing. "I'll get the steaks from the fridge; I'm sure Spartan will return," Allison said, standing.

"I'm going to change back into my shorts. Follow me, Amy," Benni said.

Allison was right. Ten minutes later, Spartan came back with Benni's robe. "What are you doing with my robe?"

"I thought you'd been naked long enough, but I see you came to your senses on your own," Spartan said, putting her robe down.

"How would everyone like their steaks," I interjected, hoping to steer the conversation in a different direction. Everyone gave me their preference, knowing they would all be the same anyway. Allison and Benni brought out the rest of the food, and we settled down and enjoyed our dinner.

Rebel"s phone rang incessantly until he excused himself to answer it. His discontent was palpable, and I could tell it was likely a woman on the other end. Despite Rebel"s repeated assertions that he wasn"t interested in serious relationships, some persisted in trying to change his mind. His resolve stemmed from a painful experience of being left waiting at the altar, a close call that solidified his decision to avoid commitment.

We were having a meeting, where phones were meant to be silenced, Raider and Reaper discussed their upcoming mission to Colorado. Their objective? Retrieving two children and accompanying them to their mother in Japan. I turned to Raider and inquired about Daisy"s taking care of his boys.

"The boys adore her. She's teaching them to paint and even provided iPads so they could stay connected to me while I'm away. But behind her cheerful demeanor, I sense lingering pain. It"s something that takes time to heal. I empathize, but I can never truly understand the depth of her suffering, having never lost a child myself," Raider said.

"She's been through a lot. I imagine it's hard for her to get through the day-to-day living. I'm sure being with the boys helps her a lot."

"I know being with her helps the boys, and they laugh all the time now. Josh and Jeremy love her. I'm worried that they are getting too fond of her."

"Where is the problem in that?" I asked.

"If she were to move away again, it could hurt them. I would hate to see them hurt."

"That could go two ways. If you moved away, I'm sure she would miss the boys. You can't look at life like that. You should live from day to day. Don't think about what might happen. Grasp what you can today."

"You're so right; I won't worry about what-ifs anymore. I'll enjoy this day and every day after this one. I have to stop thinking back to my other life before Cheryl died. Thanks, Ghost. I never knew you were so smart."

"It's Allison. She's changed my life. I always think about what's best for us now," I said, trying to explain how different my life is with Allison in it. Rebel sat back down. "Are you ready now?"

"I can't believe a woman won't listen when I tell them I never get serious. They think they are the ones who will change me. It makes me feel bad when I have to keep telling them until I have to block them from my phone."

"Why give them your number?" Raider asked.

"I don't give them my number, and I don't know how they get it."

"Well, someone is giving it to them. Do you pick them up at the club?" Raider asked.

"Most of the time."

"Well, then you should tell the club not to keep giving out your phone number," Raider said, smiling. Rebel got up and dialed a number. "I guess he's calling the club now," I said, smiling.

"I don't see his problem. Why not date for a few months and then break up?"

"He doesn't want to break their heart," I said, and we all laughed, sitting at the table. Rebel flipped us off, and we laughed harder. We worked for another hour before we had it all worked out. I was going to Boone, North Carolina because a man said his dead brother kept trying to talk to him. He wants to tell him who his murderer is. Rebel was going with me.

"If you confront any spirits, don't bring them home with you."

"What do you mean?" I asked, frowning.

"I've heard of spirits following a person from house to house. This one woman had a spirit follow her for fifty years. She moved twenty times, and that spirit stayed with her that entire time," Allison explained.

"What? Damn, Allison, I'm going to be worried about a damn spirit following me home. Do you believe this stuff?"

"I haven't experienced it, but who am I to say if it's true? As a doctor, I hear many stories about people who believe in these spirits. Once, a mother told me her newborn baby who died at birth stayed with her in spirit. I would never tell that mother that; that was nonsense."

"Well, I will keep my mind open to this man who says his brother wants to tell him something."

"Why does he want you there?"

"I think he's scared. He wants us to help him figure out what his brother is trying to tell him. He told me they all thought their brother fell from his yacht and drowned. But he keeps getting the pictures in his mind of his brother wrestling with someone on the yacht and pushing him overboard."

"Wow, I can't wait to hear about this job. But Rebel, really. He doesn't have the personality to have patience for something like this," Allison said.

"You think that because you only know Dash Bellmont. Dash and Ghost are two very different men. Ghost will do everything to speak with this dead brother. He'll make sure he talks to the brother. He's already getting ready for it," I said, smiling. I knew most people saw Rebel as this man who women loved. They didn't see the real Rebel.

"I wishI could go with you. I would love to find out what the dead brother is trying to tell his brother."

"I'm anxious to find out what is happening with this guy. His name is Robin Tulle," I said.

Robin Tulle owns Maple Mama's Diners—there are hundreds of them—so it was his brother Todd who died. They are twins. Both of them started this business when they were twenty. They are around our age right now." I was surprised Allison knew so much about the brothers.

"How do you know so much about them?"

"I watched a documentary about them when I was in the hospital. Wow, talking about a weird coincidence."

"What else do you know about them?"

"They started their first Diner with their grandmother. She passed away about ten years ago. It's all of the recipes they use in the Diners. That's about it. They grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains. They were poor; three hundred acres were passed down in their family. They talked the grandmother into selling some of the property so they could open their first three Diners."

"Their grandmother raised them; both parents were drug addicts, and they would only see them once in a while. I remember they said when they started making money, they would come around until the grandmother would chase them off. They tried helping them, but I guess they didn't want help," she shrugged.

"If you think of anything else, let me know?"

"I bet you can get the documentary on YouTube. If I think of anything, I'll tell you. I'm going to miss you."

"I already miss you, sweetheart. Hopefully, we'll find out what's going on quickly, and I'll be back home."