Page 27 of Ghost Town Boogie

CHAPTER 9

Colt didn’t run as he made his way toward the Miller house, but he did step a bit quicker than was necessary. Nicole, the woman she’d been and her confused and angry ghost, stayed on his mind. The idea of Anna out alone on a night when there was a cold-blooded murderer on the loose was more than he could stand.

He should’ve ignored her text or turned down her offer of company. There were plenty of reasons to steer clear of her, and they’d been in his every thought the past few days, especially this afternoon after she’d kissed him. He’d done his best to not kiss her back, but for one really great moment he’d failed. Anna was not for him. He knew that.

She didn’t know Jack was dead, and he couldn’t tell her.

She didn’t know he saw ghosts, and he couldn’t tell her.

That meant he couldn’t – wouldn’t – share the news that he’d be steering clear of Treasures Past as long as Nicole’s ghost was hanging around, taking off her blouse and tossing it at him again and again while she complained about the unfairness of being murdered. He’d take another route when he walked to work. Maybe he’d drive his truck more often and take the long way around. The secret of the inquiry into the duck picture would remain with him, shared with no one unless he could find a logical way to bring it up.

Secrets were the death of a relationship, no matter the reason for the lies.

So why hadn’t he ignored Anna’s message? Tomorrow he could’ve told her he’d been sound asleep and hadn’t heard the text come in. He’d wanted to see her, needed it the way he hadn’t needed anything or anyone for a long time. But still… all those secrets…

He was overthinking this. There didn’t have to be an actual relationship. One night, maybe two. If things went well they might even be together for a week or so, or as long as Anna stayed in Seawolf Beach. When she was gone she’d be gone for good, with no reason to return. He needed to stop thinking about old relationships that had fallen apart when he’d shared too much and focus on the here and now.

How many years had it been since he’d been foolish enough to share his secrets? Five years, maybe seven. He couldn’t remember, not precisely. He did remember how fucking painful it had been.

Anna was temporary. He didn’t have to tell her everything. Hell, he didn’t have to share anything. That didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy one another’s company for a while.

She sat casually on the porch steps of the Miller house, the house she’d lived in for her entire childhood, relaxed on an evening that had been anything but relaxing. About the same time he saw her, she noticed him and stood. By the light of the moon, the porch lamp, and a streetlight a couple of houses down, she was beautiful. A grown woman, not the girl he so often remembered. A living, breathing woman he wanted so badly it hurt.

If she took off her clothes and threw them at him…

He ignored Jack, who stood on the porch just a couple of feet from the steps where Anna had been waiting. The ghost glared, but did not shout. There were no orders tonight, no anger. Well, a trace of anger remained, but Colt was pretty sure it wasn’t directed at him.

Pretty sure.

“Nice night,” Anna said as she walked down the sidewalk to meet him.

“It is.”

“I couldn’t sleep,” she said in a lowered voice, as if someone might be around to hear. “After hearing about Nicole…”

“Same here,” Colt said. He did his best to keep the image of Nicole, living or dead, out of his head.

“Should we go for a walk?” she asked, turning her gaze toward downtown.

He didn’t want to go there, not again, not tonight. The living would be gone; the dead would remain.

Colt took Anna’s face in his hands, in much the same way she’d done to him earlier in the day. He kissed her, and after a moment of surprise she kissed him back. She tasted good; her lips were soft, yielding. Her tongue explored, and in an instant he fell in, he lost himself in her until there was nothing else. Walk? He’d take her right here if he had less self-control.

The kiss ended; he turned Anna away from downtown and took her hand. “The only place I want to walk is to my house. I have a new bed.”

“Sounds interesting.”

“I haven’t even slept in it yet, so it definitely needs to be broken in.”

“Is it a hard mattress or a soft one?” she asked. “Will it bounce?”

The image of a naked Anna bouncing around on the bed sealed the deal. As if he needed more encouragement.

“Let’s find out.”

Anna was so focused on Colt she didn’t make note of much of the house until they were in the bedroom. She’d instinctively dropped her purse onto a couch soon after they’d walked in the front door, but that was it. Just as well. This was all she cared about, at the moment. Colt. The power of being held and kissed. The need that came over her like an out-of-control freight train.

They could just get naked and fall into the bed, but they didn’t. She and Colt could have this night, maybe they’d have a couple of weeks or even a month. But if all they had was one time she didn’t want it to be too quick. She wanted to savor, to remember this feeling when everything else was going to pot. She wanted taste, smell, touch… everything. She’d carry spectacular mental pictures with her when she returned to Nashville, her boring but stable job, and that lonely apartment.