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 haunting.”
“I understand, and you’ve no need to apologize.”
He followed Meredith’s every move as she folded the piece of paper she’d used to take notes and slid it into her back pocket. In his day, women hadn’t worn trousers. Seeing their legs, their rounded hips and derrières in such close fitting garments was far too provocative. Even in his ghostly state he found the way the fabric hugged Meredith’s form unsettling.
“Did you know a man named Frederick Klein? He lived here around the same time you did.”
“Aye, I knew Frederick, his wife Prudence, and their three children. Charles and I ate at the Klein’s diner every time we visited town. Prudence was an exceptionally good cook, and she could bake. That woman made the best pies and cakes I ever had the pleasure to taste—may my own dear mother forgive me for saying so. Fine people they were. Fred and Prudence always leant a hand when help was needed.” He gazed out the shop’s window, his thoughts once again drifting to the past.
“Is Frederick here in Garretsville?”
“He is.”
“Judy Schulte is his great-great-granddaughter. She would very much like to speak with him. She