Double Dating with the Dead by Karen Kelley (best fiction novels to read .txt) 📗

“Good.” He came to his feet.

“It was Dixie.” She stood. “You pissed her off.”

“Damn, I really hate that.”

He didn’t believe her. She’d figured as much. It didn’t stop her from trying to warn him. “You really have to watch what you say.”

He put his hands on her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. Damn, he had really beautiful eyes.

“There are no such things as ghosts,” he said.

For just a second, she forgot about Wesley and Dixie and let the warmth of his hands heat her skin. His touch was even better than in her dreams. Apparently, he was feeling something, too, because his eyes dilated and he quickly moved away.

“The rocker was old. That’s all there was to it, so don’t make more out of it than there was.”

She stomped her foot and planted her hands on her hips. “Trent Sanders, you’re an idiot!”

He backed up a step.

She sought words that wouldn’t come. They were all twisted like a pretzel inside her head, and she was afraid if any words did come out of her mouth, they’d just be a bunch of gibberish. Then he would call for the men in white coats. She settled for a glare and a snarl. Turning on her heel, she stomped into the hotel and up the stairs, muttering all the way.

Couldn’t she see he wasn’t going to fall for her so-called ghosts? Hell, if that were the case, he could blame everything bad that had ever happened to him on spirits that were caught between earth and another realm.

“Yeah, sure,” he muttered.

He picked up the pieces of the rocker and carried them to the end of the porch where he tossed them over the side. When he turned around, he paused thoughtfully.

It was strange that she hadn’t sat in one of the rockers, but chose to perch her sexy little bottom on the rail. His eyes narrowed as he went to the other rockers and checked them out. They seemed to be okay.

But he’d sat in the same one as he had the other night. There were four other rockers on the porch. Had she known it was human nature to go back to the same spot? A territorial type response. There was only one way to find out.

Damn, if what he suspected was true, Selena might not be as sweet as she looked. Did she hide an evil streak? Maybe what he’d told Tye wasn’t far off the mark. He swallowed past the lump in his throat and ran a hand across his neck. No, surely she wouldn’t slit his throat.

Just to be on the safe side, he hurried down the steps and around the side of the house. He carefully examined each piece of the broken rocker. The legs were intact and hadn’t been partially sawed or anything that he could see.

Tossing the leg he’d been looking at, he stood and slowly walked to the front again.

“You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?” Matilda asked.

He pulled himself from his thoughts. Great, he’d had an audience.

“No, I’m fine.”

“I told you that you didn’t want to anger Wesley and Dixie.” She shook her head. “That Dixie has a temper.”

Yeah, he remembered her telling him that exact thing the first time they’d met and how he’d suspected Selena of paying her to say it. He still thought she was in on the scam to a certain extent, even if she looked like a sweet little old lady. He didn’t quite trust her.

“You best be careful around the ghosts,” she continued. “They can be downright ornery when riled.”

He gritted his teeth and counted to ten, then pasted a fake smile on his face. “I don’t believe in ghosts.”

She wiped her hands on her apron. “Oh, I see.”

“Good. So now you can tell Selena that her plan isn’t working. Neighbors won’t convince me any more than she will.” He nodded in her direction and went up the steps.

When he reached the door, he paused with his hand on the doorknob. Damn it, his parents had taught him better than this. It wasn’t Matilda’s fault. She no doubt needed the money. Hell, she and Hiram were probably living on a fixed income.

Taking a deep breath and ready to apologize, he turned.

The yard was empty. Guilt washed over him. Damn. He’d apologize the next time he saw her.

That was if she decided to come over again.

He kind of liked her, too. Maybe he’d find that hole in the fence and drop by her house. It had to be next door.

But later. Right now he wanted to soak in a hot tub. His backside hurt. If he discovered Selena had sabotaged the chair, he’d warm her bottom and let her see how it felt.

A vision filled his head of Selena lying across his lap, her bare bottom right there for the spanking. Only spanking wasn’t what came to mind.

He really needed to get a love life. He was losing it.

As he walked down the hall to his room, he could hear Selena talking. No, it was more like she was yelling at someone.

He walked past his door and didn’t stop until he got to hers.

“Dixie, you could’ve seriously injured him.”

Silence.

“Well, yeah, I was there. Duh. I heard what he said, and I know he doesn’t believe in you, but collapsing his chair isn’t going to convince him you’re real.”

Silence.

“He’s what?”

Silence.

The door suddenly jerked open, and he was staring at Selena. Her mouth was set in a grim line, and she didn’t look a bit happy to find him eavesdropping.

How the hell had she known he was listening at the door?

She slapped her hands on her hips and thrust her chin out. “Dixie told me you were eavesdropping, but I didn’t believe you’d stoop so low after being caught the first time.”

“The ghost told you?” She looked sweet when she got all huffy. Sweet in an I-want-to-have-sex-with-you kind of way.

“Yes, Dixie, the ghost. Do you see another Dixie?” She waved her arm as she turned around, then faced