invisible, hovering out of chill range as they found Frederick’s fortune.
He’d seen the golden light beckoning, and he’d witnessed Frederick’s family calling to his friend. Daniel had tried to follow Frederick into the golden glow, and once again he’d found his way barred by an invisible barrier.
Here he remained with his attention fixed upon Meredith and his existence a maelstrom of emotions he shouldn’t have the capacity to feel. Letting loose a ghostly groan, he continued on to the saloon to await the arrival of the celebrants. The moment he drifted inside Keoghan’s, Daniel sensed the agitation. The other ghosts were somehow aware that one of their numbers had departed.
“Where is she?”
“Yeah! Where’s that woman who helped Frederick?”
“I want to go home …”
“Help me …”
They all spoke at once, clamoring for attention, and he imagined this was what Meredith faced all the time when in the presence of the dead. Daniel circulated among the linger of ghosts.
“I promise you’ll get your turn, and it will be soon. Don’t harangue the lassie this eve. Let her seek out each of you on her own,” he told them. It took some convincing and explaining about Meredith’s mission in Garretsville, but they finally understood and drifted into their usual routines.
The living entered then, carrying food, drink, and glasses. A phantom lump formed in Daniel’s ghostly throat as he beheld Meredith. Her aura shone more brightly this evening, the rainbow colors more vivid, and her smile lit up the entire saloon. If he were alive, he’d hand her his heart on a silver tray and pledge his lifelong devotion to her this very moment.
Even as he shook off the ridiculous notion, he couldn’t help but drift closer, nor could he prevent the smile and the rush of happiness seeing her brought him. “Good evening to you, Meredith.”
“Hi.” She beamed. “Daniel is here,” Meredith announced as she set the food on one of the larger tables. “We did it,” she told him. “We found Frederick’s treasure, and he crossed over.”
“Aye? That’s grand news indeed.” He sat beside her. “I’m happy my friend is at peace.”
Meredith nodded. “So am I. His family came to show him the way. Families always do that.”
“It’s freaky when you do that,” Oliver remarked as he set the camping lantern at the center of the table.
“Do what?”
He shrugged. “Hold what sounds to us like one-sided conversations, you know, with ghosts.”
“Meredith, do you prefer a cocktail or a shot?” John asked, holding up a bottle of whiskey and a can.
Her delicate brow creased as she considered the matter. “I think a shot. Make it a double.”
Daniel snorted.
She cast him a wry look. “We’re celebrating.”
“So I see. Pay me no heed. I’ll leave you to it, but I’ll be nearby should you …” Piercing grief and regret shot through him. He’d been about to say should you need me. What possible use could Meredith MacCarthy have for a dead man? “Should you wish me to introduce you to any of the others you’re here to help.”
“That’s most considerate of you,” she said, gracing him with another smile.
His phantom heart sinking, he drifted off, yet not so far away that he couldn’t hear what was being said or that he couldn’t keep Meredith in his sights. Oh, how he yearned to be needed by her, how he longed to be with her in life. Frustrated, and utterly depressed, he settled at a nearby table, listening and watching as the living talked, laughed, and drank.
“What’s it like to be part of a family that can do the things yours can?” Oliver asked.
“You can’t even imagine.” Meredith made a noise, part snort, part laugh. “You know the expression stranger things have happened? Well, stranger things are my family’s normal. If we had a clan motto, it would be ‘expect the weird and unworldly.’”
Oliver’s expression lit with curiosity. “Like what? Give us an example.”
Meredith shook her head. “You wouldn’t believe me.”
“Tell us,” Judy cried. “Tell us a the most outlandish thing your family has ever experienced.”
John draped his arm across the back of his wife’s chair. “I promise we’ll believe you. Judy and I have always had open minds when it comes to the paranormal.”
“Hmph.” Meredith glanced around the table at her companions and shrugged her shoulders. She slid her glass toward John. “Hit me with another, and I’ll think about it.”
Daniel couldn’t help smiling at her look of skeptical reticence. “Go on, lass. Tell them a story,” he called, receiving a disgruntled look for his input.