He studied her face for a beat, registered the serious tilt of her head, and smirked. “I think that can be arranged.”
She was surprised by his response. “I thought you would be upset.”
“Because you don’t want to go camping?”
“Maybe.”
“I hate to break it to you, but I’d already come to this conclusion myself.”
“You had?” Suddenly Harper felt guilty. “I don’t want to take this from you.”
“You’re not taking anything from me. I thought we agreed that Shawn and I would take future kids camping so you and Zander could have spa weekends.”
“I know, but I also said I would be willing to camp close to home.”
“Ah.” His lips curved. “I take it you’ve changed your mind on that front, too.”
“Yeah.” She traced her finger over his bottom lip. “I like the outdoors. I enjoy hiking ... and there’s nothing better than an afternoon spent in a hammock.”
“I happen to agree.”
“I just don’t like camping. It’s ... stupid.”
He had to swallow his laughter. “That’s a very Zander thing to say.”
“I know. I think that’s why it’s taken me so long to say it. I mean ... nobody wants to be the Zander of the group. I love him, but he’s so much work. I don’t want to be that much work.”
“You’re not work. You’re just being honest.”
“Yeah, well ... I hate camping.”
He smirked at the way she jutted out her lower lip.
“I miss hair dryers, too,” she continued. “I also miss being able to take a hot bath.”
“You loved the s’mores.”
“Yes, but we can build a bonfire pit at our house and make s’mores. I figured we would do that this summer anyway. There’s nothing better than snuggling up in front of a fire and staring at the sky.”
“Just not in a tent.”
“Pretty much.”
He was silent for a beat. “It’s okay. We don’t have to like the same things. I’m not a big fan of the spa. That can be your thing with Zander. The hammock can be your thing with me.”
“Oh, I plan on having multiple things with you. The hammock is just going to be one of my favorites.”
“I like that idea.” He trailed his fingers over the back of her neck, briefly wondering if he could lull her back to sleep for another hour. She was silent for so long he thought he might’ve accomplished his goal. Then she spoke.
“Holly Horton.”
“Hmm?” Jared was a bit sleepy himself when he stirred.
“Holly Horton,” she repeated.
“Am I supposed to know who that is?”
“It’s the other ghost.”
He was taken aback. “How can you possibly know that?”
“I had another dream.” She shifted again to stare into his eyes. “I remembered it just now. She was sad — like really sad — and angry about almost everything. She said she didn’t live around here.”
“Okay.” His mind was already working. “Did she tell you where she lived? There might be more than one Holly Horton out there.”
“No.” Harper slowly shook her head. “She was difficult to talk with because she was bitter. She talked in circles a bit, warned me that I would be in danger if I stayed. She wouldn’t stay on one particular subject very long.”
“Hold up.” Jared cupped the back of her head, changing the angle so she had no choice but to look directly into his eyes. “She said you’re in danger?”
“Yes, but that’s not the important part of the dream.”
“Um, yes it is.” He was adamant. “If you’re in danger, we’re leaving early.”
“Um ... no.” Harper wasn’t in the mood for a fight, but she would put her foot down if it became necessary. “This is the last day we’re here and I feel as if we’re close. I don’t want to leave before we solve this.”
“That’s all well and good, but satisfaction in an investigation well solved is not worth your life. I think we should go.”
“No.”
“Harper ... .”
“Jared.” She mocked his tone perfectly, arching an eyebrow.
Even though he was deadly serious, he couldn’t swallow his laughter. “I don’t want to put you at risk.”
“Then I guess you’re going to need to stick close to me, huh?”
He let loose a sigh, one of those long-suffering ones only a man resigned to his fate, a man who loved with his whole heart and accepted the woman he’d chosen to share his life with without any qualms, could muster. “Oh, I’m going to stick close to you,” he said finally. “I’m going to stick so close you’re going to be sick of me.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s impossible.”
“Let’s hope so.” Jared stroked the back of her head. “Well, if we’re going to figure out who this Holly Horton is, we should probably get up. I need to call Mel and ask him to run her name. Is there anything else you can tell me?”
Harper searched her memory. “She said she grew up on a farm. She didn’t say where, but I’m convinced it was Michigan. She said she had dreams to run away to Chicago when she graduated, but she got pregnant instead.”
“That’s something. Do you know how many children she had?”
“I think only one, a daughter. She said she tried to instill a competitive spirit in her daughter because she thought it would help her excel. Then she said it didn’t work, that she wished she hadn’t done it. I don’t know why she felt that way, though. She didn’t say.”
Jared pursed his lips, his mind busy. “Maybe Holly wanted her daughter to be competitive so she would get away. If Holly had a dream that died when she got pregnant, maybe she was determined to make sure her daughter achieved the dream.”
“I guess that’s possible. Heck, it makes sense. I got the feeling that Holly blamed her daughter, though. It made me … uncomfortable.”
Jared offered up a sympathetic tsking sound. “Do you think Holly abused her daughter?”
Harper hesitated. She wanted to say no, but she honestly couldn’t be certain. “I think it’s possible she said some horrible things to
