“You had a daughter you didn’t know about and she was a teenager and you willingly moved back to be a single dad to her?”
Declan gave a short laugh. “Yep. I’m not saying I didn’t have a few nights I woke up in a cold sweat wondering what the hell I was doing, but here I am. Couldn’t be happier—especially now that all the ugly stuff was put to rest and we all lived through it.”
“All right, you’ve got me hooked. How about another beer—and then you can tell me about this ugly stuff?” Oscar rose from his chair.
“That’s a deal.”
When he came back, Declan was just slipping his phone into a pocket. “I let Leslie and Steph know I won’t be back for a while.” He took the longneck. “Leslie—she’s the other part of why this was the best decision I ever made, in spite of—or maybe because of—all the crazy stuff that went on last fall.”
Oscar took his chair and said nothing. He could see Declan was gearing up to tell the story.
“So I move here to Wicks Hollow and get called over to look at Shenstone House—that big mansion, just on the south side of town, on a big hill overlooking the town. You know the one.”
“No, actually, I haven’t been into town yet,” Oscar said.
“Well, that’s unfortunate, because it’s really a nice place, even when overrun by tourists. And we’ll have to get you downtown to Trib’s—or if you prefer a hole-in-the-wall burger joint, over to The Roost, where they’ve got about twenty beers on tap—sometime soon. Anyway, I get called over to Shenstone House where this woman’s working on turning it into a bed and breakfast.
“First thing I realize is she’s hotter than an iron-bending fire…second thing is, she’ssmart. She’s—Leslie—is the former CEO of a tech company that went public, and she made some money and got out of the business world. So I go over there, and I don’t know what a ball-busting exec from Philly is going to do here in tiny Wicks Hollow, but I’m looking at the job, and she hires me to fix the iron railing for the staircase in the main vestibule of that mansion. And I’m thinking, it wouldn’t be too bad hanging around this hot, smart woman every day for a while.” He grinned, his eyes narrowing as if he were remembering something pleasant. “Anyway, long story short, we somehow disturb a ghost when we’re tearing up the railing base.”
Oscar blinked. “A ghost.”
Declan glanced at him. “Yep. Honest-to-God specter. Saw her myself. Heard her, too.”
“Right.”
Declan shrugged. “I learned—after the fact—that Wicks Hollow is ripe with supernatural stuff like that. There was a haunting in an antiques shop up on the north side of town just a few months back, and last summer, one of the Tuesday Ladies died and was haunting her house. She had reason to because she was murdered in her own bed.”
Now Oscar realized Declan was messing with him. “All right. Got it. Lots of ghosts and goblins around here.” He gave a short chuckle. “So you said something about almost not living through some craziness.”
“Right. Turns out there was a big secret in Shenstone House that someone wanted to make sure didn’t get out during the renovations. So they started breaking in and messing with Leslie. She was almost murdered herself one night when everything hit the fan. That’s when I realized—well,” Declan said, his eyes going soft again, “I’m not leaving Wicks Hollow as long as she’s here. We’re going to be getting married someday soon.”
Oscar felt a little twinge of envy. “Congratulations. But can we go back to your daughter and the whole single-dad-parenting-a-teen thing? How’s that working out?”
“Steph’s great. Her mother raised her well, and though we’ve had some testy moments—like when she wanted Mickey Mouse wallpaper in the john, for crying out loud; how the hell would I ever have the guys over to watch football with that going on?—she’s absolutely the best thing that ever happened to me. Even edges out Leslie a little—but not much.”
“Lucky you.” Oscar realized he’d ignored his second beer, and now lifted the bottle to drink. “Well, Teddy thinks we saw a ghost here at the lighthouse—so if you tell her about Leslie’s experience—or did you already?—she’s going to think there really is one.”
“You saw a ghost?”
Oscar shook his head. “It wasn’t a ghost. It was some sort of greenish alga or moss that glows in the moonlight. But it was caught up near the top of the lighthouse, and she’s convinced it’s a ghost.”
“So you don’t believe in ghosts,” Declan said.
“Of course not,” Oscar replied, and pointed his longneck at Declan. “And I can tell when a guy’s yanking my chain.”
But the blacksmith gave a smug smile that didn’t do a thing to dispel Oscar’s twinge of nerves.
* * *
When it was almost time to leave for the beer tasting the next evening, Oscar closed his laptop and took a quick shower. The truth was that he was glad to have something specific to do, for he’d not seen anything of his housemate all day again, except the back of her head when he dropped off a plate with a grilled cheese on it for lunch. Her hair had been a wild mass, half in a bun and half hanging to her shoulders, as if Teddy had been pulling at it, or running her hands through it, forgetting she’d pinned it up.
Yet, feeling a little guilty about leaving her alone—even though there was no reason he should; he wasn’t responsible for her at all, and she probably wouldn’t even notice he was gone—he left her a note in the kitchen explaining his plans for the evening and that he’d bring her back a sandwich or something from the Lakeside Grille. Otherwise she’d probably starve.
As he navigated his way to the Lakeside Grille in his Jeep, he once again mulled over the conversation he’d had with Teddy’s cousin last night.
Ghosts in Wicks Hollow. An infestation of them, if Declan Zyler was to be believed.Riiight.
That was probably just what they told tourists—after all, a reputation like that would certainly draw people to the village. Declan’s significant other owned a B&B; it made sense he’d help to promote the town’s party line, bring in more tourists and curiosity seekers.
