The Ex Who Glowed in the Dark (Charley's Ghost) (25 page)

“How did you know?” she called after him. “How did you know where to find us?”

“Ask your mother.” He got in the car, started the engine and pulled around the sturdy Mercedes with its scratched paint and the van with a crumpled front end.

Ask your mother?

Which one?

She looked around to see Beverly beside her car, studying the point of impact. “With all this dust, it’s hard to tell how much damage those people did.
And driving so fast over this awful road probably ruined my car. I didn’t even know they had roads like this in Texas. I’m going to speak with someone about it.”

Sunny and Amanda looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

“It’ll be fine, Beverly,” Sunny said. “Your car is much sturdier than that minivan, and you have good insurance.”

“Let’s get in and start the air conditioning,” Amanda suggested, reaching for the rear door handle. “In you go, Dawson. You get to sit in the middle, Grant, because you’re a kid and kids have no choices.”

Dawson started toward the open door then stopped and looked back at the laptop. “How did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“The sparks,” Grant said, peering at the black rectangle which now lay quietly in the dust, no longer emitting smoke or any sign of life. “You weren’t even close to it when it blew up.”

Charley took a bow.

“Bad battery,” Amanda said. “Exploded when I threw it on the ground.”

“But you warned me to hold it away from me, that it might hurt,” Dawson protested. “That was before it even sparked. How did you know?”

Charley floated over to stand beside the object under discussion. “Go ahead, Amanda. Tell them how you did it. Don’t worry about me. I don’t need public adulation. Just your private adoration will be fine.”

That was so like Charley. Put her in a difficult situation and then gloat about it. She’d tell the world about him if not for the fact the world would think she was nuts the way Sunny had yesterday.

Dawson and Grant waited quietly for an answer. Her mother was dusting the Mercedes emblem on her hood with a tissue. Sunny watched Amanda intently as if she too was waiting for an explanation of the inexplicable.

Okay, it wouldn’t be a good idea to go with
Charley’s ghost
for her explanation. “Adrenalin. We can do amazing things when we’re in a critical situation.”

She could tell from
Sunny’s expression that she knew Amanda was lying.

Beverly completed her dusting and moved to the driver’s side door. “I’ll drive this time. We’re in no hurry and while I am very grateful that you were able to drive fast enough to save my—our daughter, I believe my car and I will both feel more comfortable with me at the wheel.”

Sunny nodded slowly and went to the passenger side.

Amanda, Dawson and Grant slid into the back seat. For the first time Amanda was glad her mother had such stodgy taste in cars. The heavy Mercedes had survived the crash with only cosmetic damage, was still drivable after the race over
this awful road
, and had enough room in the back seat for the three of them.

“We need to stop just a little way up the road so I can get my purse, helmet and jacket,” Amanda said.

The engine purred to life and cool air flowed from the vents. The comforts of life had never felt more comfortable.

“How did you know where to find us?” Amanda asked. “I couldn’t get cell phone reception, so I thought my GPS didn’t work.”

“It didn’t,” Sunny said, “except for that call you made to your mom.”

“The call I made to Mom? When I left her a message about the baby shower?”

“No,” Beverly said, “the one when you shouted at Charley, telling him to stop.”

“I called you and shouted for Charley to stop?”

“You called me, Jake and your mother,” Sunny said, “but neither Jake nor I was available to answer the call, and you didn’t leave a message. Your mother was the only one of us who answered, and Jake was able to get a lock on your location from that call.”

Charley settled on the console between the seats, facing Amanda. “Remember when I made your cell phone work?” Charley asked.

“Oh, yeah! My phone cycled from one number to another then another then another, and I—” She’d yelled for Charley to stop making the phone work in such a bizarre way.

“I realized you were trying to tell me you needed help because I’d know that Charley was dead and you couldn’t possibly be talking to him.”

“She called the chief of police,” Sunny said, “and made sure Jake got the message, then she called Irene in Silver Creek and made her go down to the courthouse and get me out of the courtroom.”

“I knew you were in trouble. Mothers and daughters have that connection.”

Amanda wondered if that comment was a bit of a slam against Sunny, but Sunny didn’t seem upset. “Thank goodness Beverly was relentless. When I think of how close we came to losing you—” Sunny shuddered and bit her lower lip.

“
Sunny’s driving skills got us here in time,” Beverly said magnanimously. “When we found out Dawson was gone too, we knew we had to hurry.” She smiled—almost warmly—into the rearview mirror. “I’m so glad you’re all safe. We were quite worried.”

Sunny grinned. “Yes, we were. Your mother and I were frantic, and so was Jake. I think he was a lot more concerned than just a cop performing his duty.”

“I knew it!” Charley shouted, spreading his arms in a gesture of anger. One arm passed through Beverly and one passed through Sunny.

Both women shivered. Beverly reached over and turned down the air conditioning. Sunny looked back at Amanda for a long moment. Finally she raised one eyebrow questioningly.

Amanda nodded, feeling an immense relief. Sunny believed her. 

“Speaking of your sister’s shower,” Beverly said, “we need to get those invitations out soon. Tomorrow when you finish with those police, you need to go to the engraver with me.”

Amanda sighed. Beverly was who she was. Part of her was incredibly annoying but another part was a darn good mother. She was very different from Sunny, and for the first time Amanda realized that was okay, maybe even a good thing. She had two mothers who loved her. She was a very lucky person. She resolved to make an effort to help with that blasted baby shower.

She settled back into the plush seat. The horrible day was over, and all of them had survived. Tonight she’d have dinner with her friend and his brother, her father and her two mothers then sleep in her old bedroom. Tomorrow she’d meet with Jake, and who knew where that would lead? She didn’t even mind that Charley still sat facing them, smiling as if he’d personally saved the day.

Okay, maybe she couldn’t quite go that far. Charley was still annoying and she did resent that smug smile.

THE END

I hope you enjoyed The Ex Who Glowed in the Dark! I had fun writing it and plan to write more adventures of Amanda, Charley and Jake. Will Amanda ever be able to have a moment alone with Jake without Charley?

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