She paused at the back of the grounds, just before the trailhead of a hiking path that led through dense woods to the peak of Bride Mountain. They eventually planned to do a bit more development here, hoping to create a quiet meditation garden complete with a koi pond.
Movement to her right made her turn. A massive dark shape separated from the shadows to bump against her, a low rumble issuing from its throat. The dog’s head came higher than her waist, so she didn’t even have to bend to give him an affectionate pat on the head. He growled louder when she rubbed his ears, a sound that she’d always thought of as Ninja’s version of a purr. The dog almost never barked, but he made this sound frequently, leading some wary observers to think he was growling at them.
“I thought you and Ninja had already made your rounds for the evening,” she said to her brother.
His hard-carved face mostly in shadow, Logan Carmichael would probably have appeared inti
midating to anyone who didn’t love him as much as his younger sister did. “Guess we’re both restless tonight. Nothing good on TV.”
“You want to come in for cake and tea? I have a little left of that coconut cake I made for dinner last night.”
“Thanks, but not tonight. Ninja and I are just going to walk the trail a bit.”
Looking up from the dog, she raised an eyebrow at her brother. “Hiking in the dark?”
“Not a hike. Just a short walk. There’s enough moonlight to guide us. And I’ve got a flashlight if needed.”
“Still…”
He chuckled and lightly flicked the end of her nose. “Afraid your ghost will get me?”
She rolled her eyes. Her brother and sister had always teased her about being the only one in the family who believed the more-than-a-century-old legend that a ghostly bride was occasionally seen on the grounds of the inn, almost always glimpsed by couples on the verge of committing to happily-ever-after. Uncle Leo swore that he and Aunt Helen had seen the bride the night he proposed. They had enjoyed a blissfully happy marriage until her death had parted them.
Since Kinley had tumbled into love recently with travel writer Dan Phelan, she had been quieter on the subject of the ghost bride, about whom she’d once had very strong—and somewhat negative—opinions. Kinley had been concerned that having a ghost legend attached to their newly reopened inn would be a negative factor, garnering the wrong sort of attention or discouraging the wedding clientele they hoped to attract. Now she merely got a funny look on her face on the infrequent occasion when the bride was mentioned. But characteristically gruff and pragmatic Logan still managed to get in a few cynical jabs toward Bonnie’s admitted romanticism.
Refusing to take the bait this time, Bonnie simply shrugged and retorted, “I’m more concerned about you becoming the next ghost to haunt the inn. Don’t fall off any embankments and break your neck while you’re out walking off your restlessness, okay?”
“I won’t. And if I do, I promise to haunt you only on your birthdays and Christmas.”
Laughing softly at his rare joke, Bonnie pushed her hands into her skirt pockets as she watched man and dog disappear into the dark woods. Something crinkled crisply against her right hand and she pulled out the check Paul had given her. Glancing down at it, she smoothed the paper slowly between her fingers, thinking of Paul’s distinctive jade eyes and charming, slightly crooked smile.
The more time she spent with him, the more she liked him. Though she’d tried to be more subtle than Jennifer, she thought she’d made it clear enough that she wouldn’t mind spending more time with him. If her recently reawakened feminine instincts could be trusted, he felt the same way about her. Maybe she’d hold off a bit on that online dating profile.
Something moved at the corner of her vision, this time in the densest part of the woods. Thinking it might be her brother and his dog, she turned, but saw nothing there but the thinnest line of late-night mist. She shook her head, deciding she must be more tired from the long day than she’d realized.
Holding Paul’s check tightly in one hand, she headed for her apartment, telling herself she should put him out of her mind for the rest of the night. As if that were possible.
Chapter Three
The woman who sat across the coffee shop table from Paul Thursday afternoon was gym-toned and impeccably styled, not a blond hair out of place, her makeup subtle but perfect. Though he knew her to be only fifteen months from turning forty, Holly Bauer looked a good half decade younger. In fact, she’d been mistaken for twenty-one-year-old Cassie’s older sister rather than her mother.
Appearing to be a polar opposite to his sleek, fashionable wife, Holly’s husband, Larry, was pudgy and habitually rumpled, with a shiny, balding head and kind, twinkling brown eyes. He had a brilliant mind, a generous heart and an infectious smile. Holly adored him, as did Cassie. Paul was fond of the guy, as well.
Holly sipped delicately from her coffee—black, no sugar—then set the cup on the table. “So, anyway,” she said, continuing the solemn conversation they’d been engaged in for the past fifteen minutes, “I thought you should be told right away. And I believed I should be the one to tell you, rather than Cassie. After all, this move will affect you, too, in a way.”
“In a rather big way,” he agreed, tugging at the open neck of his polo shirt which felt as though it had somehow tightened. “I’ll miss you guys.”
Holly had just informed him that she and her family would be relocating in August, only a week after Cassie’s wedding. Holly had accepted an offer from a law firm in Dallas and Larry was taking a faculty position teaching in the engineering department at UT Dallas. The twins were understandably nervous about changing high schools and leaving their friends, but also excited about moving to Texas. Paul had known the move was a possibility, but now Holly had confirmed that it had become a reality.
“We’ll miss you, too,” she said with a sincerity he didn’t doubt. “The first question Jenna asked when we told them was whether you’ll be moving, too.”
He supposed he could understand Jenna’s assumption. After all, twelve years ago he’d followed the family to Virginia from North Carolina, where he and Holly had both grown up, when Holly and Larry had moved here for Larry’s career. Without close family of his own, there’d been no reason for Paul to remain in North Carolina rather than settle close to his daughter. He’d found a teaching position very quickly, bought a nice little house with three extra bedrooms for when Cassie and her siblings visited overnight, and he’d been happy here as part of their extended family. But as much as he cared for them, he couldn’t see himself following them to Dallas. Not with his daughter married and living in London.
He forced a smile for Holly’s benefit, hoping it looked natural. “I won’t be moving to Dallas.”
Holly nodded as if she had expected that decision. “It’s going to be hard to say goodbye—for all of us,” she murmured, just a little tremor in her voice.
Reaching across the table, he took her hand and gave her fingers a squeeze. “It won’t be forever,” he assured her. “I expect to be invited to the twins’ birthday celebrations and graduations, and I’ll try to be there if I can get away. And if they want to come back here to visit their friends during vacations and holidays, they’ll always have a room in my house.”