Page 20 of Chasing Your Ghost

Noah frowned. “You want to help my dad build a bookcase?”

“Yeah. My dad and I built a shelf three or so years ago, and it was surprisingly fun.” It was also quite hard work—the kind of work that was a good distraction. Both she and Noah could use that, it seemed.

“Huh. Are you sure you’re related to Olivia?” he asked as he dried himself with his towel. “She hasn’t even stepped foot inside the garage in years.”

“Pretty sure. How about we see if your dad needs help, and after that, we can watch a movie?”

Yeah, sure.” He wrapped his towel around his waist and slipped his feet into the pair of flip-flops he’d left next to one of the loungers. “You know you’re not so bad, Riley,” he told her as he backed away toward the house.

“What? Were you expecting me to be an ass?” she asked with a smirk.

“Nah, nothing like that. I was expecting you to be a rebellious, leather-wearing, purple-haired, foul-mouthed, teenaged alcoholic.”

Riley covered her face with her hands and groaned into her palms. “Edith told you about that?”

Noah chuckled, but he didn’t sound mocking. “She told my dad last night, and I might have overheard.”

She lowered her hands and met his gaze. “You know that wasn’t something I’d usually do, right?”

He smirked. “I mean, I don’t know that for sure,” he began, earning a glare from Riley. “But yeah, you don’t seem the type from what I’ve seen.”

Riley winced. “Your dad is probably freaking out about the devil child he’s let into his home.” It hadn’t seemed that way at breakfast, but he could have been hiding what he really thought about her.

“Nah, my dad’s not like that,” Noah assured her. “You know those annoying holier-than-thou Christians who go around shouting and screaming about how everyone else is going to burn in hell for all their sins?”

Riley smiled at his description. “Yeah, I know the type.”

“Well, he’s the exact opposite. He’s the kind of Christian who isn’t a judgmental hypocrite. It doesn’t matter if you’re Christian or not, straight or gay, stinking rich or homeless, he treats everybody the same.”

“With sanctimonious hate and disdain?” Riley teased.

“No, you idiot,” he chuckled. “He treats them all with respect and kindness.”

Riley nodded. “I can see that. There’s no other explanation for why he’s been so nice to me if Edith told him about my moment of weakness.” Not to mention that Riley had made his wife cry. He should hate her, yet he’d been nothing but kind to her.

“But be careful,” he warned her. “When he does get mad, he is scary as hell. As nice as he is, my dad has one hell of a temper if you mess up badly.”

“I’ll try to be on my best behavior then.”

Noah opened one of the French doors before looking over his shoulder and saying, “Do or do not. There is no try.”

“Did you seriously just quote Yoda?”

“Hell, yeah, I did.”

“Nerd,” Riley shouted as he shut the door behind him.

She finished drying off and went back into the pool house. After changing back into her shorts and T-shirt, Riley headed to Hugh’s workspace. The garage door was open, saving her from having to go in through the house, and Hugh was in the center of the space, humming a song she didn’t recognize the tune of as he ran a paintbrush over the top of a horizontal bookcase that was roughly the length of a car.

“That’s one big bookcase,” Riley commented as she stepped into the work area.

Hugh jumped slightly and twisted his head to look over his shoulder.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”

He set his brush down on a lid of white paint and turned to face her fully, wiping his hands on a paint-stained towel. “That’s no problem. I wasn’t expecting you, is all. Did you make that list of science equipment?”

“I’m still working on it, but I thought I’d offer my help if you need it.”

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