4 Witching On A Star (16 page)

Then I just stood there and stared.

The water was empty. Open tableaus of rolling waves kept moving, but there was nothing else. There was no other boat in sight and yet, still, Erika’s words haunted me. I took in a long, shaky breath. Landon was right. I had to figure this out. Being a baby wasn’t going to solve this problem.

I turned to move back towards my car but froze when I heard a door shut. Instinctively, I dropped to my knees on the dock and waited. I wasn’t sure if I had heard the door of the Dandridge or of a car. After a second, I realized it had to be the door of the Dandridge – because there was a no way a car could get into this immediate area until some of the trees were cleared out.

After a few seconds of not being able to see – or hear – anything, I stood up. I figured it was probably Dean, and he wouldn’t mind if I was looking around. The figure I saw moving away from the Dandridge, though – the one that didn’t bother to turn around and scan the area to make sure no one else was present – was not Dean.

It was Karen.

I thought about following Karen, but decided against it. I really didn’t have a reason to think she was up to anything nefarious. For all I knew, she was merely meeting with Dean to discuss the renovations that would be starting soon on the Dandridge. Actually, that was probably exactly what she was doing out here.

I let out a shaky breath, internally lambasting myself for acting like an idiot. There wasn’t always some evil plot brewing in Hemlock Cove, I reminded myself. I headed back towards my car. There was no reason to make things harder than they already were.

I returned to the guesthouse and pulled out my laptop. I decided to work for the rest of the afternoon. The Whistler’s weekly edition would come out tomorrow, but I had already done all the work for that edition and turned it over to the paginator. Basically I was just doing busywork for the next week – but it was something to take my mind off my fight with Landon.

I expected him to show up at the guesthouse that night. When he didn’t, I felt my heart drop to my shoes. Could he really be that angry? I thought about texting him, but that sounded too needy. So I did what anyone else would do under the same circumstances – I took a long bath and went to bed early. Sure, some may call it pouting – but I thought it was a perfectly acceptable way to deal with my inner strife.

The next morning I was woken up by the sound of my cell phone dinging on the nightstand next to me. I reached over to grab it, instinctively hoping it was Landon and hating myself for the need to hear his voice at the same time. I had to push down the feeling of bitter disappointment that threatened to engulf me when I saw the number of the inn pop up.

“What’s up?”

“That’s not how you answer the phone,” Aunt Tillie said irritably.

“Do you want me to hang up so you can call again?”

“Well, you’re in a mood,” Aunt Tillie grumbled.

“What do you want?”

“The contractors are down here and they want to talk to whoever is in charge,” Aunt Tillie sniffed. “I told them I was in charge, but they said that you had to sign off on everything.”

“Fine,” I blew out a sigh. “I’ll be down in a half hour. Give them some food and coffee and I’ll be quick.”

“What’s wrong with you?” Aunt Tillie actually sounded concerned.

“Nothing,” I said evasively. “You just woke me up. I’ll be down soon. I promise.”

I showered, dressed and headed towards the inn in record time. I spent very little time on my makeup or my hair. I really didn’t care how bad I looked.

When I got to the construction site, I found Aunt Tillie holding court. “I’m giving you all fresh donuts and fresh coffee, but don’t expect me to do it everyday. You’re here to work, not eat for free.”

“Thanks for the donuts,” Dirk Langstrom said with a small smile. “They’re very good. I promise we’ll still work.”

“Of course you will,” Aunt Tillie said knowingly. “I’ll be watching.”

“Okay,” Dirk laughed.

I plastered a welcoming smile on my face and walked over to Dirk. “Good morning. She’s not getting in the way, is she?”

“No,” Dirk shook his head. “I wish all of our clients were this . . . enthusiastic.”

“Is that the word we’re using?” I glanced over at Aunt Tillie briefly. “We’ll go with that.”

Dirk tried to hide his smile when Aunt Tillie frowned at me. “Do you want a donut? Although,” he sniffed. “It smells like you already had breakfast.”

Aunt Tillie’s evil smile told me she was enjoying this too much. “I’m fine,” I said. “Thank you, though. Aunt Tillie said you needed something?”

“Yeah,” Dirk said. “I just wanted to make sure that you want electricity on both the inside and the outside of the building.”

“Why is that important?” I asked.

“Well, inside is obvious,” he said. “There might be instances where you need to plug things in like grow lights or even a radio.”

“Right.”

“Outside, though, it’s just a convenience,” Dirk said. “You might want to plug in decorative lights or even lawn care equipment.”

“And is there a big difference in price?”

“No, not really,” Dirk said. “It’s just a preference really.”

“Let’s go for inside and outside.”

“Okay,” Dirk nodded.

“Is that what she wanted?” I angled my jaw in Aunt Tillie’s direction.

“Yep.”

“Well,” I sighed. “Let’s do it anyway.”

Dirk narrowed his eyes, amusement flirting with his features. “Okay.”

“Dirk,” I stopped him quickly. “You know, you’re doing a lot of work out here – and you’re putting up with a lot of distractions you probably wouldn’t necessarily have to on another job.”

“It’s fine,” he said quickly. “I’ve been hearing about this inn for years. It’s just a pleasure to be able to see it up close.”

“It’s not fine,” I said. “She’s just . . . she’s just her. I can’t explain it. Why don’t you bring your family out for dinner tonight,” I suggested. “The inn has very few guests
right now and my mom and aunts love to cook for people. I promise it will be a good meal.”

“It’s no problem? You’re sure.”

“Absolutely,” I said.

“Well thanks,” he smiled. “That sounds really nice.”

“I’ll see you tonight then.”

“Yeah, tonight.”

I watched Dirk head back to his crew and found myself amazed at how much they had already managed to get done. Most of the walls were already up. Sure, it was just a frame, but it was still quick work. Once he was gone, Aunt Tillie moved over to me.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing,” I said. “Why do you think something is wrong with me?”

“You don’t look like you’ve slept in a month,” Aunt Tillie said honestly.

“Well, I have,” I said briefly.

“Is Landon keeping you up too late at night?”

I turned on Aunt Tillie tiredly. “Landon wasn’t here last night.”

Aunt Tillie nodded knowingly. “That’s what’s wrong. You’re in a fight.”

“We’re not in a fight,” I lied.

“You can’t lie to your Aunt Tillie,” she said.

“Well, if that’s the case, do you think you can get rid of the bacon smell? It’s starting to become a real distraction.”

Aunt Tillie pursed her lips. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Apparently that lying mandate was one-sided. I decided to change the subject. “How do I get a ghost to move on when she’s been hanging around for a really long time?”

Aunt Tillie considered the question. “We’re talking about the little girl?”

“Erika,” I corrected her.

“Erika,” Aunt Tillie said. “We’re talking about her?”

“Yeah,” I sighed. “Most ghosts just need closure. Chief Terry reminded me yesterday of when his mother moved on. All she wanted was for him to know that everything was going to be okay and not to feel guilty for taking the locket. It’s not that easy in this case.”

“No, it’s not,” Aunt Tillie agreed. “What do you think her unfinished business is? Why didn’t she cross over when she died?”

“She says she just went to sleep on the boat and woke up by the Dandridge,” I said. “We found out that she was on a ship that was transporting her to Canada to make sure she wouldn’t be swept up in any slavery sweeps in the south. That was a hundred and sixty years ago. Her family is gone.”

“Thistle and Clove told us what you found out at dinner last night,” Aunt Tillie said. “A dinner you weren’t present for, by the way.”

“I had other things going on,” I replied briefly.

“Fighting with Landon,” Aunt Tillie said.

“No, I did that earlier in the afternoon. I just needed to think.”

“And pout.”

“I wasn’t pouting.”

“Don’t lie,” Aunt Tillie admonished me. “There’s no harm in pouting. I’ve done it from time to time myself.”

That wasn’t exactly a surprise.

“You just can’t dwell on it,” Aunt Tillie said. “If you were in the wrong, call him and apologize.”

“I don’t think I was in the wrong,” I said stubbornly.

“Then wait him out,” Aunt Tillie said. “He’ll come back.”

“How can you be sure?” I asked her curiously.

“I told you, I know all and see all.”

“Right, I forgot.”

“I don’t know how you could.”

“I really don’t have the energy for this today,” I sighed. “I need you to help me find a way to get Erika to move on.”

“Why is this so important to you?” Aunt Tillie asked pointedly.

“I don’t know.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“I just . . . I just don’t want her to be out there wandering around alone anymore,” I said. “She has no one. She was on the boat with her brother, Solomon. He told her to wish on a star and she would be fine. She wasn’t fine, though.”

“I used to tell you to wish on a star when you were little,” Aunt Tillie mused.

“I remember.”

“Did your wishes come true?”

“Some of them,” I said, a smile playing at the corner of my lips.

“Is that what Landon is?
A wish come true?”

I frowned.
That made me sound a little pathetic. Aunt Tillie seemed to read my mind. “I can see wishing for him. He’s worth a wish or two – even though he needs a haircut.”

I glanced at her in surprise. “Really? You don’t think that makes me weak?”

“Nope.”

“You like him,” I laughed hollowly.

“He reminds me of your Uncle Calvin.”

Uncle Calvin had died before I was born, but I had seen pictures. Landon and Uncle Calvin didn’t look anything alike.

“Not that way,” Aunt Tillie said knowingly. “They don’t resemble each other. They just have the same spirit. They’re both good men drawn to . . . difficult women.”

“I’m not difficult,” I sniffed.

“Oh, please,” Aunt Tillie scoffed. “We’re all difficult.”

In truth, Aunt Tillie idled at difficult.

“That’s not a bad thing,” Aunt Tillie continued. “It keeps men interested. They all think they want some meek homemaker that dotes on them. They want a challenge, though.”

“And I’m a challenge?”

Aunt Tillie met my gaze kindly. “You’re the most difficult of us all,” she said. “You’re probably the one most worth the effort, too.”

I was flabbergasted. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

Aunt Tillie sobered. “Well, don’t get used to it.”

“Of course,” I said primly, hiding the smile playing at the corner of my lips.

“So, are you going to call him and apologize?”

“Probably not,” I admitted.

“You’re going to wait him out?”

“Yeah,” I sighed. “I guess I’m more like you than I want to admit.”

“Good girl.”

“That still doesn’t solve the Erika problem,” I reminded her.

“You worry too much,” Aunt Tillie waved off my concerns. “That’s always been your problem. Ghosts hang around for a reason. You can’t figure out why. You have to give Erika the chance to let you know why.”

I opened my mouth to protest but Aunt Tillie silenced me with a look.

“The rules are simple,” she said. “Erika has something she has to do before she can go. You have to help her, to be sure, but it’s up to Erika in the end.”

“She’s just a little girl,” I said.

“She’s a little girl with big help,” Aunt Tillie corrected me.

“Me? I don’t know how much help I am.”

“Alone? Not much at all,” Aunt Tillie said honestly. “You’re never alone, though, Bay. You need to remember that. We’re all here with you, whether you want it or not.”

I don’t know why, but her words warmed me. The minute the wind picked up and I smelled myself again, though, the feeling faded. This bacon thing had to end soon. Right?