Ghostly Issues (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 2) (3 page)

“We live together. She doesn’t.”

“But … .”

Zander wagged a finger in front of Eric’s face. “Don’t even think about it,” he said. “You’re going to end up crushed and she’s going to feel awful about shooting you down. This is a losing situation for everyone. If you want to ask someone out, ask Molly. She adores you.”

“Molly is a kid,” Eric countered. “She’s nice enough, but she’s not my type.”

“That’s exactly how Harper feels about you.”

Eric mulled the words and then squared his shoulders. “I’m going to do it. I’m going to do it right now and prove you wrong.”

Zander lunged at Eric’s elbow to still him and missed. “Don’t do it,” he hissed.

Thankfully, Harper’s dramatic announcement to Molly put the kibosh on everything so Zander didn’t have to think of a way to fake a fire alarm before Eric walked twenty feet.

“I am completely done with men,” Harper said, her voice carrying. “I’m going to set the next one who asks me out on fire. That’s how done I am with men.”

Eric swiveled quickly and moved back in Zander’s direction. “Now probably isn’t the best time.”

“That’s a wise choice.”

“There he is, my wayward partner. I thought you changed your mind about moving to Whisper Cove and decided to stay on the west side of the state.”

Mel Kelsey leaned back in his desk chair, his fingers linked as he rested his head against the palms of his hands.

Jared shot his partner a rueful smile and moved toward his desk. “I’m sorry for dropping everything on you the way I did,” he said. “My mother was in a lot of pain, though, and my sister was on a business trip so she couldn’t help. I didn’t know what else to do.”

“It’s fine,” Mel said, waving off Jared’s apology. “We haven’t had much going on. Everything has been quiet. I told you that having a murder your first week on the job was a fluke. The only thing happening last week was Donna Frisbee’s mental breakdown.”

“Who is Donna Frisbee?” Jared sat at his desk and started rummaging through the stack of accumulated paperwork and messages.

“She’s one of the big social ladies in the area,” Mel explained. “She fights with all the other social ladies. She turned up naked in the downtown square one day last week.”

Jared arched an eyebrow. “Naked?”

“Well, she had on garter belts and nothing else. It was quite the sight.”

“How old is she?”

“Seventy-five.”

Jared made a face. “Nice. That’s going to give me nightmares.”

“She had a gun, too,” Mel added. “She was looking for her husband. The sad thing is Big Bart died about twenty years ago. We took her over to that mental hospital in Mount Clemens and they’re running some tests.”

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that,” Jared said, although his grin said otherwise. “At least the talk of the town wasn’t murder or something truly awful.”

“Yes. You look broken up about it,” Mel teased. “So, why did you come to the office today? I thought you were due back tomorrow.”

“Well, I thought I would get a start on all of this paperwork,” Jared replied. “I also thought it would give me an excuse to be in town so I could stop at Harper’s house on my way home. I want to surprise her.”

Mel snickered, causing Jared to shift a wary look in his direction.

“What was that?” Jared asked.

“What?”

“You cackled like a witch there when I mentioned Harper,” Jared pressed. “What’s going on?”

“Why do you think anything is going on?” Mel asked, faux innocence and light practically wafting off of him. As Whisper Cove’s longest serving cop, he was up on all of the hamlet’s gossip. He was also Zander’s favorite uncle, and he knew a thing or two about Harper’s state of mind that Jared was obviously missing.

“Did something happen to Harper?” Jared asked, leaning forward. “I … she’s okay, isn’t she?”

“Last time I heard – which was about an hour ago – the only thing wrong with Harper Harlow is her attitude,” Mel replied, holding his hand up to caution Jared about getting ahead of himself. “Well, that’s not entirely true. I guess something went wrong at their ghost-busting extravaganza down in Detroit today. She just skinned her knee, though.”

“See, your tone tells me something else is going on,” Jared said. “I don’t like the look on your face.”

“You’re not the first person to tell me that.”

“I’m going to be the last if you don’t tell me what’s going on,” Jared threatened. “I’m worried now. Maybe I should go over to her house instead of playing games with you.”

“I think that’s a good way to get yourself shot,” Mel said, enjoying the power he had over his younger partner. Harper’s bad mood had been Zander’s favorite gossip topic for days. Since Zander enjoyed gossiping with his mother – and his mother happened to be Mel’s favorite sister – that meant Mel was up on all of Harper’s meltdowns and shenanigans. He’d known Harper since she was a child. He’d seen her vicious streak up close and personal when she wanted revenge on someone.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” Jared admitted, his frustration showing. “Why would I get shot if I go to see Harper?”

“Because she’s not speaking to you.”

Jared frowned. “Why?”

“She’s mad as a zombie without human intestines to munch on,” Mel replied, tapping his fingers on his desk. He didn’t know Jared well yet, but he was enjoying sampling as many methods as possible to torture the young police officer.

“How is that even possible?” Jared asked, confused. “She was in a good mood when I left. I mean … she wasn’t happy that we were going to have to delay our first date … but she was fine.”

“That was ten days ago.”

“Thanks. I’m so glad to know you can count.” Jared’s tone was snarky and irritated. He had no idea what he could’ve possibly done to upset Harper.

“Son, as much as I’m enjoying this, I have to ask you an honest question now,” Mel said. “The thing is … well … I’ve been hearing a lot of gossip because Harper has been taking her mood out on Zander. My nephew and Harper have always been co-dependent, but he can’t take it when she’s upset … and right now she’s really upset.”

“At me?” Jared’s voice was unnaturally squeaky. “I haven’t done a thing to upset her. I swear I … .” He broke off, racking his brain. “I haven’t done anything to upset Harper. If she’s saying I’ve done something to her, well, she’s mistaken.”

Mel licked his lips. “Well, let’s retrace your steps,” he said, enjoying the game. In truth, he’d been bored during Jared’s absence. Whisper Cove wasn’t known as a hotbed of illegal activity. At least with Jared back he could torture his partner to break up the afternoon ennui. “What did she say to you the last time you called her?”

Jared faltered. “I … well … .” Jared pressed the heel of his hand against his forehead, not stopping until he dragged it completely through the top of his dark hair. “I didn’t talk to her while I was out of town.”

Mel feigned surprise. “What? I thought you liked her.”

“I do like her!”

“Then why didn’t you call her for ten days?” Mel asked.

“I … my mother was hurt and … um … crap.” Jared realized too late what he’d done.

“Well, let’s not panic,” Mel cautioned, refusing to let go of the game. “I’m sure you texted her, right?”

Jared dejectedly shook his head.

“Messaged her on Facebook?”

“I didn’t do anything,” Jared said. “I … .” He made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat. “What is she saying?”

“Oh, well, she’s saying a whole heck of a lot,” Mel said, delighted with Jared’s hangdog expression.

“Just … lay it on me,” Jared said. “I need to know what I’m up against if I’m going to get her to forgive me.”

“First off, I think you should probably know that Harper is hurt more than anything else,” Mel said, sobering. “She’s not used to dating. She hasn’t done it in a long time … not since Quinn.”

Quinn Jackson was Harper’s last serious boyfriend. He’d died in a car accident years before and his body was never recovered. Jared knew the story. He knew how upset Harper was thinking his ghost wandered the woods looking for closure. He did not want to be the reason for causing her more pain.

“Harper is taking out her anger on Zander – and he’s mean as a rabid raccoon right now, too – but Zander told his mother that Harper is really hurt,” Mel continued. “She doesn’t want anyone to know she’s hurt, though, so she’s being mean.”

“Mean how?”

Mel shrugged. “You’ll have to ask Zander for specifics,” he said. “I know there was some incident with an angry ghost and putting herself in danger even though Zander told her not to do whatever she did. Apparently he had to step in and save her life – although he claims he saves her life every single day they go out, so that could be an exaggeration.”

“I don’t understand this,” Jared admitted. “If she’s so upset, why didn’t she call me?”

“Why didn’t you call her?”

“I didn’t think it was a big deal,” Jared shot back. “We’re not even technically a couple yet. I didn’t want to seem pathetic and call her four times a day.”

“So you combated that by not calling her once in ten days? That sounds like a great way to go.”

Jared scowled. “I didn’t want her to think I was weak.”

“No, you didn’t want to cede the power position in the relationship,” Mel corrected. “There’s a difference.”

“I don’t even know what that means.”

“That’s because you haven’t dated much either.”

“I’ve dated tons of women!”

Mel rolled his eyes. “You know Harper tells Zander everything, right? And Zander tells his mother everything. So either you lied to Harper – which I’m going to have to tell my sister because my family is loyal to Harper more than you – or you really haven’t dated all that much. Which is it?”

“Well, great,” Jared huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as embarrassment washed over him.

“You wanted Harper to be the one to call you because that meant she missed you and you could have the power in the relationship,” Mel said. “The problem is that it wasn’t Harper’s place to call you in this particular situation.

“You were the one to leave town to take care of your mother,” he continued. “The polite thing for Harper to do was wait for you to contact her when everything was settled and you had a moment. You never did that.”

“But … .”

Mel shook his head to cut Jared off before he got a full head of steam. “She made excuses for you the first five days,” he said. “I don’t think she was sitting by the phone and waiting for you to call, but Zander says every day that passed and you didn’t call was like a knife to the heart. Would it have really hurt you to call the girl once?”

Jared’s heart rolled. He’d never considered it from Harper’s point of view. He’d been waiting for her to call him. He understood disappointment. He felt it every night when she didn’t call. “I … made a mistake,” he said finally. “After the first few days when she didn’t call I realized she wasn’t going to call. By then I felt like an idiot and it was too hard to call. I thought we would just make up for lost time when I saw her again.”

“Yes, well, she doesn’t want to see you right now,” Mel said. “She’s too hurt and if she sees you she’s going to explode all over you.”

Jared couldn’t help but grin at the mental picture.

“Not in that way, you pervert,” Mel hissed. “She’s genuinely depressed. That shouldn’t make you happy.”

“That doesn’t make me happy,” Jared argued. “I just … I missed her. I know it seems weird to say it because I don’t know her all that well, but I got used to seeing her face. I was looking forward to going over there and hanging out with her tonight.”

“You know Zander lives there, too, right?” Mel asked dryly.

“Yes, well, I was going to lock Zander in his bedroom … or bribe him to go away … .” Jared tugged on the ends of his hair, frustrated. “I screwed this up already. That has to be a record.”

“The good news for you is that Harper is a forgiving girl,” Mel said. “The bad news for you is that she lashes out when she’s upset. You’re going to have to find a way to sneak past her anger and get at her heart.”

Jared licked his lips. “I don’t suppose you have any suggestions, do you?”

“When dealing with women, I’ve found begging works like a charm.”

“I would rather not beg,” Jared admitted. “Then I’ll really lose power – and self-respect – where she’s concerned. I would like to make up without losing my pride.”

“Well, in that case, I would suggest flowers and chocolate. They’re clichés for a reason. Women love both of them.”

“Does she have a favorite flower?”

“I have no idea,” Mel replied. “If I remember right, she and Zander had some huge blowout about acceptable flowers once. I can’t remember who won that argument, though. If I were you I’d go with the classic roses – red, not pink – and get some of those expensive chocolates with caramel in the center.”

“Does she like caramel?”

Mel shrugged. “I do. Why wouldn’t she?”

Jared sighed, resigned. “Okay. Flowers and chocolate it is. Tell me why I don’t want pink roses, though?”

“Pink roses mean friendship. Is that the type of message you’re trying to send? Men who send pink roses never get past the friend stage. I don’t think that’s what you ultimately want.”

“Definitely not,” Jared muttered. “So red roses and chocolate … I think I can handle that.”

“You also might want to duck,” Mel added.

“Duck?”

“She throws a punch like a man when she wants to,” Mel said. “She’s got a hell of a right cross. She knocked Zander out when they were teenagers and he told her she had wide hips and should never wear a pencil skirt because she could be mistaken as a crossdresser from behind.”

Jared laughed. He couldn’t help himself. “I’ll cover my face to be on the safe side.”

“Oh, and one other thing,” Mel said, his eyes sparkling. “Try being honest with her. If you tell her you were scared to call her because you didn’t want to look pathetic she’ll probably understand that because she felt the same way.”

“I hope you’re right,” Jared said. “I would hate to lose her before I really get her.”

“Let’s hope that doesn’t happen, shall we? I’d like to see the girl smile … and you seem to make her smile when you’re not being a dope.”