Haunted On Bourbon Street Part 35

"We've got to go. See you soon," Charlie said and grabbed Holly's arm to escort her out.

"Bye." Holly waved.

I watched them go and turned to Kat. "What took you so long?"

She sat down next to me. "I had to call Gwen back. She's been frantic ever since she felt you disappear."

"Oh my G.o.d, Gwen!" I reached over and picked up the phone. After leaving a short message, I turned back to Kat. "What did she say? Is she all right?" d.a.m.n it. That must have been h.e.l.l for her.

"She's fine. She felt you come back to the land of the living. But I think she's planning a visit soon, so prepare yourself."

My heart swelled. "I'd love to see her. But-" I stared at the door as if she would walk in any minute, "-c.r.a.p, I won't have any secrets after she gets here."

Kat laughed. "True. That woman can't keep anything behind those bright red lips of hers."

I groaned, but was still smiling. "Have you seen Bea? I want to thank her."

Kat's smile faded. "Yeah. I just came from her house. She nearly collapsed with exhaustion after holding Roy in a binding spell for so long."

"Oh, no. Is she okay?" I inched up on the pillows.

"I think she will be. Ian's going to stay with her until she feels better."

"Ian's staying with her? I didn't know they even knew each other." Then something hit me. "Bea is Ian's aunt, isn't she?"

Kat nodded. "Yes. I didn't know either until this week. They were together at some ghost hunt. That's why we couldn't reach either of them."

"Ian could have told us he was leaving," I said, slightly annoyed.

"They'd only planned to be gone one day, but things got a little wild, and they got stuck. Anyway, I'll let him tell you all about it later."

"Is he coming by?"

"No. He said to tell you he'd call. He doesn't want to leave Bea alone."

"That's good." My heart filled with grat.i.tude at what everyone had done to help me. I reached out to Kat and grabbed her arm. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me. I'm not letting you go that easily." Her tone was light, but relief mixed with residual fear pressed at my consciousness.

"Help me up," I swung my legs off the side of the bed. "I need to get out of this bed and into a shower." I'd been up a couple of times already. Once to use the bathroom and once to take a short walk. After lying down for a week, it wasn't easy.

Kat helped me shower and to my delight had a bag full of fresh clothes and toiletries waiting for me. "You're an angel," I said.

She laughed. "That's Lailah's thing. I'm just a good friend."

"The best," I agreed.

The doctors kept me one more night for observation and by the next morning I was ready to leave. I'd taken to pacing the halls just to get out of bed and move my muscles. When they couldn't find anything after poking and prodding me, they released me into Kane's care with strict instructions to take it easy.

I eyed Kane and chuckled.

"Stop that," he said.

"What?" I asked innocently as I imagined getting him naked.

"Never mind. Behave."

I m.u.f.fled another laugh as he pushed my wheelchair down the hall.

Kane drove me home in Pyper's Mini Cooper.

"You don't have a car?" I asked.

"Nope," he said. "I used to have a jeep, but a few months back a buddy of mine totaled it. I haven't replaced it yet. I walk almost everywhere I go and when I need a car, I just borrow Pyper's."

"That makes two of us without wheels."

"I know." Kane pulled up in front of the club. I spotted the sign I'd read the first night I'd moved in. Hundreds of Beautiful Women, and Three Ugly ones.

"Kane, what's with the sign?"

He glanced at it then back to me. "What?"

"The sign, what's the story behind it?"

He laughed. "You're kidding, right?"

I shook my head. "No."

"I can't believe after all of this, you didn't know." He moved his hands around indicating us, the club, and all that had happened.

"Come on, who are the three ugly women?"

"You're gonna love this." He smiled. "They're ghosts, of course."

"Ghosts!" I shouted. "What? Who? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"You never asked. Besides, it's common knowledge. Most likely everyone thought you knew." He shrugged.

"Why haven't I seen them?" I wondered aloud.

"You will," he replied.

"How do you know?"

"You'll see."

He got out of the car and came around to my side to help me out.

"Kanea"

He put a finger to my lips. "Shhh. Right now I have other things on my mind." He walked me to the side door of the building, pulled me inside and pressed me up against the wall. His eyes darkened to deep pools of melted chocolate and seconds after his lips and body touched mine, all other thoughts and questions vanished.

When he finally pulled away my heart hammered, and my legs had turned to jelly.

"C'mon," he said, pulling me up my stairwell behind him. When we reached the top, I was panting.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes. Just out of shape after my week-long hiatus." I smiled and opened my door. "Now, what was it that was on your mind?"

His eyes clouded over and his desire mixed with concern reached me.

"Stop worrying. I'm perfectly fine." I maneuvered closer to him.

He put his arms around me and turned his head toward the bed. "I've been imagining getting you into that thing ever since I brought it up here."

"That's odd. I've been imagining it ever since I saw the headboard in storage."

He pulled me closer. "My grandmother would be so pleased to know that bed is now in the possession of the woman I love."

"It's your grandmother's? You said you were going to give it to a restoration place." I jabbed him in the shoulder.

He shrugged. "I wanted you to have it. I knew you'd take care of it. And I knew you'd never take it otherwise. It's my curse to love headstrong women. Grandmother would be proud."

I shook my head and tried not to laugh at the triumphant look on his face.

"Forget my grandmother." He pulled me down onto the bed, and for the next two hours I focused on all things Kane and the pleasure we gave each other.

When we finally drifted off to sleep, Bobby appeared, highlighted in a warm, pale glow. I watched as he smiled down at me. After a moment he waved, and the light faded into darkness. Still dreaming, Kane appeared and wrapped me in his arms. Bobby was gone, and finally it was just the two of us.

About the Author.

Deanna is a native Californian, transplanted to the slower paced lifestyle of southeastern Louisiana. When she isn't writing, she is often goofing off with her husband in New Orleans, playing with her two shih tzu dogs, making gla.s.s beads, or out hocking her wares at various bead shows across the country. For more information and updates on newest releases visit her blog at www.deannachase.com.

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