Page 150 of Just This Once

But Hope caught my wrist. When I glanced back, she looked suddenly worried.

“Is it scary?” she asked.

She reminded me of her brother and his aversion to ghosts.

I released the handle to turn back and loop my arms around her waist. “Robin’s okay. You’ll feel a cold spot when she’s near, and if she wants to talk, she’ll use books to communicate. But other than that, nothing else is even remotely abnormal or frightening.”

Bobbing her head jerkily, she answered, “Okay. Good. I mean—” Tucking a curl behind her ear with trembling fingers, she sent me a nervous smile. “If she’s still hanging around just to make sure her son finds true love, then she can’t be too mean and terrifying, right?”

“Exactly,” I assured. “She’s a librarian; how mean can she be?”

Hope snorted, only to take my hand and squeeze hard, moving right up against my side as I opened the door and stepped into the basement. “Oh, I’ve met a couple of frightening librarians. Damn, it’s cold down here. And it stinks.”

When she huddled closer to my side, I wrapped an arm over her shoulders and led her to the study nook in the back where I’d first seen Dugger’s mom move books.

It’d been eerie as hell.

Not that I was going to mention that to Hope.

She acted as if she were going to run at the slightestboo.

“Robin?” I called as I pulled the ghost amulet from my pocket and held it out to let the little glass bauble dangle from my keychain. I extended my arm away from Hope as far as I could so she didn’t activate it with her green smoke. “Are you here?”

Hope and I waited in silence, not speaking, not moving, until a minute later, a cold draft shifted across the back of my neck. Next to me, Hope sucked in a quick breath and squeaked, “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.”

A white cloud started to fill my ghost amulet, and I smiled. “There she is. Hey, Robin. Do you remember who I am?”

From a nearby shelf, a book fell to the floor, landing with a thud that made Hope yelp and jump nearly out of her skin.

We shared a look before I stepped over and leaned down to pick the book up. The title readThe Cow in the Parking Lot: A Zen Approach to Overcoming Anger.

I chuckled and looked up. “Yeah,” I told the ghost. “I’m Parker. The angry one. Very good.” Hitching my head toward Hope, I added, “So I just wanted to introduce you to Hope, if that was okay.”

A second later, another book tipped off the shelf and landed on the floor. This time Hope picked it up, and we read the cover together.Hope Rising: How the Science of HOPE Can Change Your Life.

With a grin, Hope looked up. “This is so cool.” She glanced at me, then turned back to address the room at large. “I know your son, Keene, too. And actually,” she added as if it were an afterthought. Biting her lip, she sent me a quick glance before whirling away. “I’m completely in love with him.”

I had to lift my eyebrows over that announcement. “Saywhatnow?”

Hope waved me silent and kept gushing to Dugger’s mom. “Yeah. He’s just so—” She floundered for a moment before saying, “Keene. You know? He’s such a good dancer and so handsome. I just—I want to spend the rest of my life loving him. So I guess I wanted to get your approval before—oww!”

When a book came flying from the shelves and smacked her in the arm, she threw up her hands with a screech to guard her face.

“Hey!” I boomed, stepping between her and the shelf. “No more of that. She reallyisone of Keene’s friends.”

From my fingers, the cloud in the amulet dissipated, letting me know Robin had left.

I turned to Hope to check on her, and a new cloud appeared, turning a dingy green.

“You okay?” I asked.

She nodded, gulping unsteadily before she bent down to pick up the book that had struck her. The title readHow to Stop Lying.

Lifting her gaze, she sent me a sad sigh and admitted, “Something tells me she didn’t believe me.”

“Gee, I wonder why not,” I answered, tipping my head sympathetically. “You weresoconvincing about it.”

“Oh, hush.” Slapping my arm, she rolled her eyes and huffed, “I just thought I’d try to help Keene out. Alec says it really bothers him that she didn’t move on.”

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