Spooky Business (The Spectral Files #3) - S.E. Harmon Page 0,109

me and let me back in.

I made it back just before visitor’s hours were over on Sunday night. The hospital was quiet and dark. I found that if I got back before the end of visitor’s hours, they let me stay. When I entered Danny’s room, I wasn’t surprised to see his mother, reading aloud in a chair by the bed.

I was momentarily flummoxed by the silent man sitting in the windowsill, arms folded across his chest, eyes closed. It took me a few seconds to realize he was a ghost. The man opened one eye and glanced at me briefly before closing the eye again.

My fingers curled almost involuntarily. I was tempted to search for his energy trail and vanquish his ass on the spot. I wasn’t too fond of ghosts these days, and word had spread. I sensed a couple of them lurking about and following me, but they usually disappeared when I turned around. I knew they weren’t all like Joseph, but it was hard to forget that the last time I tangled with a ghost, it put Danny in the fucking ICU.

Paula finally realized I was in the doorway and took in my rumpled appearance. “It’s only been a few hours,” she fretted. “There’s no way you got any real sleep in two hours.”

I stuck out my chin stubbornly. I tried to think of a nice way to tell her that mules modeled their temperament after me. “I ate and showered, and then I took a short nap. I did everything you asked me to do.”

She sighed. “He’s not going to thank you for running yourself into the ground. And I’m only going to give you a few more chances to take care of yourself before I start doing it.”

As long as she got her rump out of my chair and left me alone with Danny, I didn’t give a damn what she did. When we were alone in the dark, I could hold his hand and talk to him, from the nonsensical to the mundane to the deeply personal. It was about the only place I got any peace nowadays.

As if she could read my mind—or maybe my antsy body language—she put her ereader in her oversized purse and stood. “I’ll be back in the morning with breakfast,” she said. It sounded like a warning.

She went over to Danny and pressed a kiss on his forehead. She stared down at him for a few moments, her hands tight on her purse. “He reminds me so much of my Jack. It’s hard to believe they weren’t blood-related.”

The man rose from his perch in the window and drifted closer. His eyes held a sad, faraway look. I knew without asking that he was the dearly departed Jack.

“I lost him the year after we adopted Daniel,” she went on. “He was hit head-on by a drunk driver.”

“Danny told me,” I said sympathetically.

“These were supposed to be our golden years, you know. Jack always wanted to buy a boat and just sail around the world, stopping wherever we wanted, whenever we wanted. He never did tell me what he was going to name it, though. No matter how much I guessed.” She chuckled. “He said it would just have to be a surprise.”

Jack laughed. “I was going to name it the Life is Good,” he said. “Because it certainly was.”

“Paula,” I said hesitantly.

“Don’t.” Jack shook his head. “She wouldn’t believe you anyway. It would just make things strained between you again. My Paula only believes what she can see. Taste. Touch. She’s always been that way.” He smiled a little. “I was the dreamer, and she was the pragmatic one. We made a perfect team.”

Paula’s gaze turned questioning when I didn’t go on. “What is it, dear?”

“Nothing,” I finally said.

She sighed, looking back at Danny again. She brushed his hair off his forehead gently. “Jack’s death was the roughest time of my life. I certainly wouldn’t have made it without Daniel. He’s always been my rock.”

“Well, I guess we have something in common.”

“More than one thing, I’d imagine.” She smiled a little. “You probably think I hold on a little tight.”

You think? As a kid, I had a toy with a kung-fu grip—Paula could teach him a thing or two. “I don’t have room to talk,” I said. “My mother and father live a stone’s throw away. Literally.”

She nodded. “I met them a few times. They seem… nice.”

“They’re wonderful,” I said, not caring that my tone was a little