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“You can’t deny you’re interesting yourself.”
I glowered at him. “Interesting how?”
“For starters, you see and talk to ghosts. She doesn’t seem to have a problem with it.”
“Yo-o-u are so-o lucky. You came so close to a second death.” I strode forward. “Like I said, no one’s perfect.”
“I might have to disagree with you there.”
Oh no you don’t. I couldn’t continue to go down a road of flirtation and needed to keep the topics light. “Do you like being a cop?”
Kipp fell into stride with me again. He smirked, clearly aware of my obvious change in the subject. “I loved being a cop.”
At the end of the street, the road forked and Kipp pointed to the left down Grand Cedar Lane. “What did you like about the job so much?”
“Not sure if I can give you one answer. I loved everything about the job—the adrenaline, the mystery and the end result of catching a killer.”
Seemed dangerous and depressing to me. Even I could get pulled down in the dumps if I’d helped too many ghosts in one month. The loss and sadness they suffered had always been pretty soul draining. To see what the family goes through, the despair they endure, not a job for me. However, part of me understood some of the appeal. “So you’re after the rush?”
Kipp winked. “A rush only equaled by one other thing.”
I ignored his drawback to regions south and focused the conversation away from naughty land. “Do you have any family?”
“I have a brother, Brett, who’s two years younger than me and works for the fire department.”
“Y’all are cops and firemen?”
“Mainly cops—generations of them, in fact. Brett was the first one to choose another career path. When you live and breathe community service, it tends to stick. I’ve known since the age of four what I wanted to do.”
He brought up a good point I had yet to consider. “Speaking of that, how old are you?”
“Twenty-eight.”
So young to have lost his life, but I wouldn’t go there. “Are you close to your brother? Maybe you’re staying around for him.”
He shook his head. “My brother and I are close, but I’m positive my sticking around has to do with Hannah’s case. I can feel a real pull to solve the case.”
No arguments from me. He’d know better than I would. “I can go and talk to your brother if you like—tell him you’re here and all.” Had I just offered to help him? When did I ever freely offer to do more for ghosts? Oh right, never!
He gave a sweet smile. “I appreciate your offer, but I’m sure that he has been through enough. I don’t want to make the situation any harder for him than it already is.”
Saddest thing I’d ever heard.
We stayed quiet for a few minutes and continued down the street. Kipp finally swiped his touch against my elbow, which sent a shiver down my spine. “So tell me, Miss Tess, why are you single and going on dates with complete fools?”
It took me a second to recover from his touch. “Isn’t it obvious?”
Kipp shook his head. “Not to me.”
“Well…” I glanced down to my feet and stared at the pavement. “I’ve had a few men come and go, but it’s hard to keep a normal life with my ability. The act of trying to hide my gift all the time is exhausting.” I looked back at him. “It’s not worth the energy to try to appear normal.”
“I don’t think you could pull off normal even if you tried.”
My eyes narrowed on him. “I beg your pardon?”
“You’re far from normal and it has nothing to do with your ability.”
My cheeks heated. “So says the ghost who needs me to help him.”
