caressed her palm in a very more-than-friendly manner.
Gods, that feels good, Grace thought. Resisting the urge to close her eyes and revel in his touch, she forced out a laugh. “Owen,” she said as she pulled her hand away, regretting the broken connection instantly. “Stop. Friends, remember?”
He placed his hands face down in front of himself and grinned. “Friends. Definitely. Seven then?”
Saying yes would be a mistake. There was no doubt in her mind. She opened her mouth to suggest lunch later in the week instead, but all that came out was, “Sure. Seven.”
Grace walked along the stone pathway, through the overgrown foliage, and onto the porch of the Victorian at 5 Seaside Drive. The old dingy yellow paint was peeling, and she noted rot around the front door right away.
“Oh, man,” she said to no one. It was obvious just by the little she’d seen that the place needed a lot of work. She wouldn’t be surprised to find out the roof needed to be replaced along with electric, some plumbing, and the HVAC. Those were the big four and if any one of them was on the fritz, it could be a deal breaker. All four? It would take a miracle to find a buyer unless the price was attractive enough. But she already knew that wasn’t the case. She’d either need to convince Mr. Saint to lower the asking price or spend some money to get it into better shape.
Grace punched the numbers into the lockbox, retrieved the key, and steeled herself as she entered the large home. After a quick glance around, she let out a huge sigh of relief. The inside was infinitely better than the outside. The place had gorgeous wood floors. They weren’t in perfect condition, but they had enough character that the right buyer would likely fall in love with them. The den to the left had vintage built-ins, and everything appeared freshly painted. Even the kitchen had been updated at some point.
“I can work with this,” she said, peering into the downstairs bathroom and nodding at the subway tiles and raised glass sink. Maybe the big four weren’t as bad as she’d thought. Someone had put some money into the place at some point. After she toured the home, she made a couple of notes about a crack in a bedroom wall, a running toilet, and a window that needed a new pane of glass. She also made a note to ask the seller about the electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and the roof. Just because the inside was pretty, that didn’t mean they hadn’t neglected the unsexy parts of the house.
She’d just finished taking new pictures for the listing when she heard a knocking sound coming from upstairs. Frowning, she followed the sound up to the master bedroom, which was completely empty.
Ghosts? Probably. The place was known to be haunted.
“Do you do this every time someone views the property?” she asked, inviting the spirit to communicate with her. As a witch, she didn’t have the power to see ghosts, but she could get them to talk sometimes.
The knocking sound vanished and there was complete silence.
“Are you trying to scare off buyers?” she asked.
The knocking started back up immediately, only this time it was twice as loud.
“Whoa! Stop with the crazy noise. I got the message, okay? This is your house, right?”
The lights flashed on and off.
“Understood. But if you don’t let someone else move in here, then the place is going to start falling down around itself and your house will cease to exist when the city demolishes it. Do you want that?” Her threat wasn’t a lie. She’d watched it happen to another property when a ghost wouldn’t stop harassing people.
The lights flickered again, and there was a zap and a sizzle as smoke puffed out of a nearby outlet.
Grace cursed. “Perfect. You just shorted out the wiring.”
Grumbling to herself, Grace made a note to have Mr. Saint call an electrician and left the upstairs, knowing there was nothing she could do about the ghost without supplies. She’d need a dozen smudge sticks and the help of her coven to deal with the haunting.
After locking up, Grace visited the second house. It was a large white cottage overlooking the ocean on the opposite end of town. Everything about the place was sunny and perfect except for the ominous feeling that overtook her the moment she stepped into the place. There was a darkness that settled over her, making her chilled to