“Great. That means Oliver knows we left.” Meredith muttered, following the couple inside.
Oliver sat at the kitchen table and glared at each of them in turn. “I can’t believe you three went …” He waved a hand in the air. “Exactly where did you go, and why didn’t you let me know?”
“You were asleep, and it’s after midnight. We didn’t want to wake you for a spur of the moment decision on our part,” John told him nodding his head toward her. “We followed Meredith to the saloon.”
Oliver’s gaze zeroed in on her. “Why would you go to the saloon alone in the middle of the night? Aren’t you the one who told me not all the dead are like Casper the Friendly Ghost?” he asked, throwing her warning back at her.
Heat filled her cheeks. “I went to the saloon because I promised the ghost from the gift shop that I’d meet him there.”
“Wait.” Oliver’s brow rose. “You can talk to them?”
She swallowed a few times. “Yes.” She glanced at each them in turn. “This is not something I admit freely to total strangers, but you three chose to come here because of the linger of ghosts, so—”
“What the hell is a linger of ghosts?” Oliver’s glare shifted to a look of confusion.
“It’s what we in the business of ghost whispering call a group of spirits haunting the same site.” She lifted her chin and sent her sisters a silent nod. “You know, like a flock of sheep, or a herd of horses.”
“Makes sense I guess,” Oliver said.
Judy and John jumped in then, explaining why they’d followed her and what they’d discovered. By the time they’d brought Oliver up to speed on everything, including how Judy’s ancestor had been murdered, Meredith could hardly keep her eyes open.
“We all need to be very careful,” she said. “The murderers Judy mentioned are also haunting Garretsville. Malicious spirits love to possess the unwary. They gain energy from fear, and those types always cause trouble of the worst kind.” She yawned. “Can we talk more about this later? I need sleep.”
“Sure, sure.” Oliver rose from his chair and stretched. “Just don’t leave me out in the future. I’d like to help.”
“Fine.” No way was she going to allow any of them to put themselves in harm’s way. She’d give Oliver made up tasks, and hopefully that would make him feel useful. The Schultes were a different story. Judy wanted to connect with her ancestor, and Meredith would facilitate that if possible.
“John, do you have more moonrise crystals? Oliver needs to protect his living space. We should also smudge the entire cabin every few days,” she said.
“Sure do. Place them around the perimeter of the loft, Oliver. Wait here. I’ll go get a handful.” John strode to the bedroom he and Judy shared.
Meredith dragged herself to bed. She needed to call her aunt and her dad. She was in over her head, and the time had come to seek help from the pros.
4
“Good morning to you, Meredith MacCarthy.” Daniel couldn’t take his ghostly eyes from Meredith as she dusted and arranged items on the shelves. How was it he could see when he no longer had physical eyes. For that matter, how was it possible for him to think when he had no physical brain? None of these questions had ever occurred to him before meeting Meredith. He hadn’t cared enough to ponder the mysteries of his existence until now. He simply … was.
“Good morning to you, Daniel Cavanaugh. Garretsville is open for business tomorrow, and I’m assigned to the gift shop. I’m a little nervous.” She flashed him a half-smile. “So what brings you here?”
“It’s you who drew me, and you’ve no reason to worry about tomorrow. You’ll do fine. I know this because you’re here to see that everything is in order today.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” She glanced at him. You said you’re eager to move on, and I’ve thought of something that might help.”
“Oh? And what might that be?”
“I can research what became of your family. Knowing what happened to them might ease your mind enough that you’ll be able to let go.”
Such a kind and generous soul, and beautiful as well. If only he’d met her when he’d been alive. Foolish thinking that, for she would not have been born yet when he’d lived. Still, Meredith was the sort of woman he’d always dreamed of finding, beautiful, generous and intelligent. “You’d travel all the way to Ireland for me?”
“If the need arose, I would. I’m always happy to visit Ireland.” She straightened a pile of hats and cast him look over her shoulder. “However, I won’t need to go any farther than Missoula to find a coffee shop that has free Wi-Fi. I’ll do ancestry searches on the internet.”
He chose not to expose his ignorance about why-fie or whatever net she intended to use to trap bits of information—as if they were fish in the sea. “That would be grand.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” She moved to the counter and took a pen out of the cup sitting beside the register. Then she tore a sheet of paper from the ledger where visitors left comments. “I’ll need the names and dates of birth for your father, mother, and siblings, along with the county and parish where they were born.”
For the next half hour, Daniel reveled in Meredith’s warmth and the pure light of life radiating from her. He gave her all the information he could, including the date and location of the church where his parents were wed. Reluctant to leave her, he cast his own mental net for reasons he could remain awhile longer.
“Daniel, when we met at the saloon, you disappeared when the Schultes arrived.”
“Aye, and I must apologize for leaving so abruptly. Speaking of my death is … disquieting. I feared my agitation at their sudden intrusion might spill over into a physical
