Ghostly Liaison (12 page)

“I know.”

“What kind of game are you playing?”

“It’s not a game. I wish it were. God, do I wish it were. But it’s real. At least as real as Charlie tells me.”

“Charlie? Charlie who? Shit! You mean my sister?”

Bridget nodded. “She’s a ghost and is probably in this room. Watching us.”

He looked around like an idiot. What did he expect to find? “What do you mean, probably? Do you, or don’t you see ghosts?”

“I see Charlie whenever I’m alone.”

“That seems convenient.”

“It’s true. And Barnaby can see her, too. Show him, Charlie.”

The dog lifted his head at the mention of his name; otherwise, he remained lying by the fireplace.

“Bridget, are you all right?” A crushing pain enveloped his chest.

She wrung her hands. “Come on, Charlie. Show Rob. Why are you doing this to me?”

He placed his hands on her shoulders. Tears formed in her eyes. “Easy, now. Why don’t you sit down?”

“I’m not crazy. She said I wasn’t crazy.” Her eyes widened, loosening one lone tear. “Oh, God!” She buried her head in her hands. “Maybe you should leave.”

He couldn’t leave her in this state. He hugged her close and took in her scent of flowers and a little bit of pizza. She was scared from the kissing, right? She didn’t actually believe in ghosts, did she?

“Was your sister always unreliable?”

He laughed. “Boy, was she.” Oh great, did he actually believe her? “Listen, I don’t know what you think you saw, but ghosts don’t exist. They’re just stories people make up to scare one another.”

“Yeah, stories,” she muttered.

“Why don’t we sit down?”

She pulled away and looked at the floor. “It’s late. Would you leave, please? I want to go to bed.”

Maybe sleep was all she needed. She’d been through a lot today, what with Devin and her leg cramp.

He lifted her chin. “Are you going to be okay?”

She nodded, but averted her eyes. “I’ll have a color picked out by Saturday, so you don’t have to bother coming back until then.”

She might as well have sliced him with a knife, the pain felt the same. Being away from her that long would be damn difficult, but if she required space, then he’d give her some. “I’ll see you Saturday, then. Come on, Barnaby. Let’s go.”

The beast followed Rob to the door. He’d give her the rest of the week and take the time to do some investigating. There was more to her than she was sharing. He would find out what.

* * * *

A car door slammed and Charlie glanced out the window. Robbie was leaving? Already? She was sure he and Bridget were getting it on.

“Thanks for the TV, Mr. Murdock. We’ll have to do this again some other time.”

No response from the man in the chair. He couldn’t hear her, and not because he’d fallen asleep.

She willed herself back to her living room. Empty. “Yo, roomie! Where are you?”

“Go away.”

Ahh, the bathroom. She appeared at the door. “Why did Robbie leave so early? The way he was looking at you, I thought for sure you two would still be at it.”

The door swung open. Bridget wore her pj’s—a long-sleeve tee and flannel pants. Her eyes were red and swollen, as if she’d been crying. “You weren’t here?”

“No. Once I saw you two hit the couch, I hightailed it over to Mr. Murdock’s. I may be many things, but I’m not a voyeur. Especially where my brother is concerned.”

“Oh, great. Now you tell me.”

“Did he hurt you?”

Bridget stormed into the bedroom and slammed the door. As if that would keep out a ghost.

Charlie popped into the closed room and hovered as far away as she could, hoping distance would help with the headache. Bridget lay face down on the bed, hugging her pillow. “You’re scaring me. I love my brother, but if he hurt you, I’m gonna…well, I don’t know what, but I’ll figure something out.”

Bridget flipped onto her back and held her head. “He didn’t hurt me. He just thinks I’m crazy. Hell, so do I.”

“You asked too many questions about Nick, didn’t you? I was afraid he might get suspicious.”

“I told him I saw dead people.”

“You did wha— Hey, isn’t that the line from
The Sixth Sense
?”

“What, did you watch it with your brother?” Bridget crawled under the covers and turned out the light. “You might have warned me that he didn’t believe in ghosts.”

“I would have if I knew you were going to drop the G-bomb.” Damn Robbie and his closed mind. “You’re not giving up, though, are you?”

Bridget sat up and sighed. “Don’t worry. I’ll get what you need. But I need a computer. Rob said the whole incident was in the papers. I just have to find the articles. Kate’s computer is too slow, and I don’t have that kind of time during lunch.”

“What about your folks?”

“Mom would want to know why I needed it. I don’t need her snooping around. One person thinking I’m nuts is already one too many. I’ll go to the library on Saturday.”

“I got a better idea. Ask Mr. Murdock. He’s got a computer. And he’s all alone. He’ll probably welcome the company.”

“I don’t know.”

“I’ll even leave you alone, so your head won’t hurt.”

“My head doesn’t hurt any less when you’re not around. I only get the stabs when you first appear.”

Charlie smiled. She wouldn’t have to leave as often. Hot damn!

Bridget pulled the covers up. “However, when I’m with Rob, I have no pain whatsoever. Almost seems unfair.”

Charlie understood unfair. “If Robbie helps, why not take advantage? Apologize and tell him you were only joking. I can tell he likes you. He’d probably believe it.”

“No. I won’t lie to him. And I certainly won’t use him like that. Besides, nothing is going to happen between us. Got it? And if thinking I’m nuts will stop his advances, then I’m not going to change his mind.”

“What do you have against my brother?”

“Nothing. Now, do you mind? I’d like to go to sleep.”

“Wait, Bridget. Before you do, could you….”

The covers flew off the bed and Bridget stomped over to the door. “What channel?”

“Seven.” Charlie wrapped her arms around her new friend. “Thank you. You’re the bestest roomie a ghost could ever have.”

Rob entered the sports bar and scanned the area. No Brian at the pool tables or dartboards, or even the bar. Figured. Giving Brian a specific time to meet was as useful as giving one to Barnaby. Hoping his wait would be short, Rob took a seat at the bar.

“Hey, Rob. What’s your pleasure?” John Pennington, bartender and owner of Wings, placed a napkin on the dark wood surface. Rob had become friends with him while working on a home-improvement project.

“I’ll have a Bud Light.” Yeah, he’d start out light. Then maybe hit the hard stuff after Brian left.

The day had been torture, and he was such a sap. Mooning over someone who clearly suffered from post-traumatic something or other shouldn’t drive him to drink. As if booze would solve any problems. It usually only added to the list. Still, getting lost for a little while seemed like a damned good idea.

John placed the pilsner glass on the napkin. “Everything okay?”

“Not really.” Rob took a swig of the beer. “Can I ask you a stupid question? If you don’t want to answer it, I’ll understand.”

“My mother always said the only stupid question is the one not asked. Shoot.”

“Smart mother.” Rob rubbed his face and took a calming breath. He should have downed the beer first, and then he wouldn’t care what John’s reaction would be. Oh, hell. Another sip wouldn’t hurt any. After another swig, he asked, “Do you believe in ghosts? I mean, really believe.”

John raised his eyebrows, clearly surprised by the question. Then a smile formed on his face. “There was a time I didn’t believe in anything but my work. Then life took a strange turn and opened my eyes to a whole ’nother world.”

“But you haven’t seen a ghost, have you?”

“I couldn’t tell you if I have or haven’t. I can say no one has ever introduced themselves to me as a ghost. Doesn’t mean I haven’t seen one. And not seeing one doesn’t mean they don’t exist. There are a lot of stars in the sky. More than you can see. Does that mean they don’t exist?”

“How do I know if she sees ghosts or is just delusional?”

John leaned against the bar. “Ahh, so there’s a
she
, huh? Someone you like?”

Rob ran his finger over the lip of the glass. “Probably too much.”

“Talk to her about other things. If she’s delusional, it will come out. Just pay attention.”

Now why hadn’t he thought of that? Bridget was smart and before that episode, had seemed totally sane. “You’re probably right.”

“I hope it works out for you.”

So did Rob, because no matter how hard he had tried, he couldn’t get her out of his head. He took another swig. “So, how are those UV windows working for you?”

John’s face lit up like a little boy at Christmas. “They’re great. Having sunshine in the house once again is a miracle. It was the best present I could give my fiancé.”

“I didn’t know you were getting married. Congratulations.” Rob extended his hand and John shook it.

Brian slapped Rob on the shoulder. “Better watch out. You might be next.” He laughed and turned to John. “Congratulations, man.”

John placed a napkin on the bar. “Thanks. The usual?”

Brian answered in the affirmative. “I see you started before me. Is that any way for a friend to act?”

“I’m sure you won’t have any problems catching up.” And then when Brian left for his wife and home, Rob could really get hammered. Maybe. “I’m glad you called. Because I wanted to talk to you about Bridget.”

“Yeah, about her.” Brian picked up his beer. “Let’s get a booth.”

Well, that couldn’t be good. Rob took his drink, followed his friend to an empty booth, and sat across from him. “Is something wrong with Bridget?”

“Not that I know of. Man, I hate this, but you know how Kate can be. I haven’t seen her this agitated since before we got married.”

Rob should have known Kate had instigated this meeting. No way would his friend call for an impromptu meeting in the middle of the week. Leave it to Kate to give him more grief than Bridget’s mother. “Does she think you’ll change anything?”

“I don’t know. I just know I’ll have peace if I’m able to truthfully tell her we talked.” His friend leaned across the table. “So how bad do you have it for Bridget?”

So bad he was willing to ignore the fact she might be crazy? “Why don’t you tell Kate you told me to stay away? It’s what she wants, isn’t it?”

“Oh, man, you do have it bad.” Brian took a drink of his beer. “Are you aware of what happened to Bridget?”

Finally, getting to the information he craved. “I heard about the car accident, but she doesn’t look like she was hurt all that bad. I figured she broke her leg or something. How bad was it?”

“Try the or something. She technically died. And after they brought her back, she was in a coma for almost nine months. No one thought she would come out of it until one day she woke up.”

Died? That one word lingered in his head, and he couldn’t shake it free.

Died. That one word caused him all sorts of pain in his chest.

Death was more than a broken leg. Death was final. Well, usually. Thank God this time it hadn’t been or he’d never have met her.

Wait. Could that be why she saw ghosts? Had her near-death experience opened some kind of spiritual doorway or had she always had the ability? Shit! He did have it bad when he not only started to believe her, but didn’t care if she did or didn’t see ghosts.

Rob sucked down some brew. “She seems okay now, though. So what’s Kate so worried about?”

“She thinks Bridget is still grieving. She lost her best friend in that accident. A friend who was eight months pregnant.”

“Ah, man.” How much guilt was she carrying around? Worse yet, was anyone blaming her? “Was this friend’s husband by any chance named Devin?”

“Yeah. Some doctor hotshot.”

“Does he blame Bridget?”

Brian shrugged. “I don’t know. He shouldn’t. Bridget was driving, but she wasn’t at fault. In fact, she pulled over after stalling out the car. It had started snowing and the roads were untreated. Some drunk lost control at a stop sign and plowed right into them, sending them into the river. By the time the emergency crews arrived, Suzie had drowned and Bridget nearly bled out.”

Wiping the gruesome scene from his mind, Rob concentrated on her pretty face instead. She was alive. He held onto that.

“Kate’s reaction still doesn’t make sense. So what if Bridget is grieving. Does that mean she’s not allowed to date?”

“Hey, I never said I understood my wife. All I can say is that before the accident, they were close. Like sisters. Now, Kate only sees Bridget at work.”

“You can’t blame her for that, now can you? I mean, you two are still newlyweds. Maybe Bridget thinks three’s a crowd. You don’t see me as often.”

“Which reminds me, we’re having a Memorial Day barbecue on Monday and you’re invited. Should I tell Kate you’ll be over?”

Rob smiled. Guess Kate wasn’t too mad at him if she could reprimand and invite all in one visit. “Will the invitation still stand if I continue seeing Bridget?”

“So you are seeing her? You’re dating?”

Hell, yeah, if he had any say in the matter. “It’s still a work in process. Can I ask you a question, though? Do you think Bridget has changed? Is there something I’m not seeing because I hadn’t met her before?”

Brian drained his beer. “I only met her a few times before the accident. She’s probably a little more subdued now. Quieter. She used to crack some pretty raunchy jokes, ones she heard at the hospital, back when she was a nurse. I haven’t heard her laugh since the accident.”

Rob had
made
her laugh. That had to mean something.

“If she’s a nurse, how come she’s working for Kate?”

“No idea. You’ll have to ask Bridget.”

“You don’t think she’s crazy?” Oh shit. Why the hell had he asked that? He downed the rest of his beer.

“Crazy? Why? Did she do something?”

“No, no, no. I just wondered because of the way Kate is acting.” Yeah, that was why.