LITMIR.BIZ

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front entrance. “Come on. You can visit with Miss Prancy Pants later. We have business.”

      I kissed Allie and moped out the door with Shelby, my head down and my shoulders sagging.

      “You’ve done it this time,” Shelby said over her shoulder. Her blond hair was a little longer than her sister’s, and she was the fashion guru of the two. Today she wore an off-the-shoulder, long, form-fitting red dress with a slit up one leg. It was a nice look that revealed a tan she actually had to work for, unlike Allie.

      “Not everybody can be as dashing as your soul mate,” she thought to me in an extra sour tone. “Keep it up, and my lips might get a little loose where your motel room adventures are concerned.”

      I’d wondered how long it would be before one of the twins heard my concerns about the hotel room incident. They missed nothing.

      Another reason why I felt semi-safe leaving her with them while I did my canine soul searching.

      I followed, thankful for Shelby’s discretion.

      Chapter 3

      Shelby stopped by the third row of trees in the front yard. Searching for anyone around us, she looked over my shoulder and down the drive. When she was sure we were out of the earshot of guests, she turned on me. “What the hell did you do?”

      My hands in my suit pockets, I stared off at the sweeping gardens of the front grounds. “There are so many things; where should I start?”

      “You could start with being in the bed with some naked woman while you were away? What the hell? You were supposed to be taking time to find yourself, not all the STDs you could get in two weeks or less.” Shelby’s livid gaze pierced me. She shoved a lock of golden hair over her ear, revealing more of a golden loop earring.

      I turned to her. “You’ve only heard my thoughts or saw them. I’m not sure how your little tricks work exactly, but what you’ve seen or heard wasn’t the whole story.”

      “I have exactly fifteen hours until you’re married. If I decide to let her go through with it. I saw you naked, in bed with another woman. That’s plenty enough for me. I thought you were different. Any good best friend would run straight to Allie and warn her of her pending marriage to a womanizer.” Shelby’s lips pursed into a perfect furious heart.

      “It was right after my shift back. My mind was foggy, and my vision hadn’t returned to normal. I wasn’t all there. I walked into my room and thought Allie had found me. I ended up tackling some girl that in a haze looked exactly like Allie. Luckily, I figured it out before it was too late. I swear that’s the truth. Take your mental backhoe into my brain and dig a landfill if you’d like. That’s the only thing you’ll find.”

      Shelby’s suspicious gaze faded as she walked over to a white rose bush bordering the drive. She pinched the bridge of her nose. “It’s impossible for you to stay out of trouble. I thought your dead ex being out of the picture would lessen some of the drama around you. What’s worse is that’s not even why I wanted to talk.”

      The change in Shelby’s voice got my attention. “What’s up?”

      She turned and crossed her arms, her long leg revealed with the movement. “Besides you being a nimrod, there’s a problem with the pond.”

      My insides chilled. “The pond?”

      “While you were off roleplaying with your waitress, the pond sprang a leak. Flooding has never been an issue until these stupid stipulations of the water having to stay still to keep Grace’s soul inside the Amiante stone came into play. Now our buried ghost might not stay buried for long, if she’s not already out roaming around making a bitch of herself, as usual.” Shelby wrenched her hands and paced.

      “What happened? How is the water moving?” A vice grip took hold of my heart. This couldn’t be happening. That pond never had water running to or from it.

      “The storm we had last night was a doozy. I haven’t said anything to Allie yet. I didn’t want to ruin her day, and I wanted your help in dealing with the matter before we told her she couldn’t have a wedding. It appears the creek that supplies your waterfall bathing spot has redirected. Now it’s running into the pond from one end and out the other side.”

      “Oh, God.” I swiped at my forehead where a rivulet of sweat trickled. Voices neared us, but a car cranked and pulled down the drive.

      “Now you’re going to have to break it to Allie that not only have you sort of cheated on her, but the girl who ruined your first wedding a hundred years ago is more than likely about to become the wedding crasher of the century.” Shelby stopped and stared at the dark fourth floor.

      “The positive spin you put on every situation is rivaled only by your ability to sympathize.” A low growl rumbled in my chest.

      She shook her head and took a deep breath as she turned back to me. “Sorry. I tend to make light of things when I’m freaking out. How do we tell her?”

      “I’m going to take a look at the pond. Keep her occupied until I figure something out.”

      “Don’t keep her in the dark. You remember what happened last time.”

      * * * *

      At the back of the property, instead of slipping and sliding down the embankment until I found a foothold, I ambled down a set of new wooden steps built into the wall.

      This is what the lumber was for, but Thomas could find no good way to let on that Allie had decided to build a direct path straight down to Grace’s watery grave. And where she wanted to flaunt a long overdue wedding.

      This place should have been fenced off, not remodeled.

      At the bottom of the steps, the pond was lit with lampposts at intervals. The bridge over the pond had been reconstructed and widened, and rows of chairs were placed at the edge of the pond.

      Holy. Shit.

      I didn’t know whether to laugh or yell in frustration.

      This was definitely Annabeth Rollins at her smartass finest. She had planned to have the wedding over the bridge with hopes that Grace could see from the murky depths of the pond where her body and soul had been laid to unrest.

      Now, the naked waitress was the least of our worries.

      Just as I started to call Grace from out of the darkness, if she was in fact out there stalking us, Allie’s voice stopped me.

      “What do you think?” Her voice brimmed with excitement. “I know you lost a lot here, but I wanted to right the wrongs done to you so long ago.”

      With her hand resting lightly on the handrail, she was three steps from the bottom.

      “Here? You were going to do this here?” I wanted to hug her and throttle her at the same time.

      “It holds sentimental value for us.” Her bright eyes shined in the lamplight.

      My mouth hung open.

      Her grin fading, Allie leaned on the railing and ran her finger in a quick swirl. She didn’t make eye contact with me. “It is where we met each other for the first time, this time around.”

      “You. Are. Crazy.”

      “Nope. Just in love and a little vindictive.” She skipped down the last few steps and landed with a happy plop.

      “Fate doesn’t exactly like us, and you’re trying to piss it off further.” Something broke sticks in the woods. Allie wouldn’t hear it, but my animal instincts couldn’t have missed them.

      “It doesn’t have to be out here if you hate it.” Her mouth worked into the cutest pout.

      “No. that’s… That’s not what I’m worried about right now. I’m just…” I paused. I wanted to laugh and kiss her at the same time. She had balls. “Look. We have a problem. You might not

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