AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That’s fine.” Damon frowned as he glanced back at the cottage. “Is it always like that when some guy shows up to take one of you out?” Then he grinned at her with a twinkle in his eyes. “Because I’m beginning to see why Tucker didn’t last.”
Kay laughed and thought about the reception Tucker had gotten when he’d come to get her for the fair. It wasn’t quite so harsh, but he had been peppered with questions. “You might be right. Perhaps being grilled by the Knight witches was too much for him.”
She paused by the back door before she opened it and cocked her head to study Damon with his impeccable appearance. “I imagine going out with you has its challenges too. It must be hard for a woman to measure up to such perfection.”
“If you’re telling me I look good, thanks. As for women measuring up, well, very few do. There aren’t many Kay Knights out there.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Careful. I’ll make you wait in the cottage with my sisters.”
“Damon,” Eileen said as she came into the kitchen from her office. “Kay told me you two were ghost hunting today.”
“Hello, Eileen. It’s nice to see you again.”
Kay was relieved her mother had come out to talk to him because that meant she didn’t have to find a way to entertain him while she got ready. She said, “I’m going to run upstairs and change. I won’t be long.”
“Take your time,” her mother said. “Damon and I will be fine.”
Kay had no doubt they would. If anyone could hold their own with the Knight women, it was Damon. She was more concerned about how she was going to hold her own with him.
10
Kay
Nancy Edmonds stoodin her doorway wringing her hands as Damon and Kay approached her. Her red hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, and her plaid shirt was hanging loosely over her jeans. The stench of garlic wafting off of her was so strong Kay’s eyes watered.
“This is not good,” Kay said quietly to Damon.
“It really isn’t,”agreed Celia, who was floating along next to them in a skin-tight sequined dress as if she was about to perform in a nightclub. She’d joined them on their way to Nancy’s house. Kay took in how beautiful the spirit looked. It was a pity she was currently invisible to everyone except Damon and Kay.“Nancy doesn’t tolerate messy. Poor woman is losing her marbles.”
“She’s right,” Kay said. Nancy ran the kitchen at the prestigious Weymouth Hotel on the island, and she was known for her attention to detail and strictness with her staff. Kay had never seen her like this.
Nancy said, “Thank goodness you two are here.” Damon held up his phone to remind Nancy that she’d agreed he could record what happened during their visit. She nodded at him with bloodshot eyes that made Kay think she hadn’t slept much in the past few days. “Come in.”
“Nancy.” Kay glanced at Damon with concern before she took the woman’s hands and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I haven’t slept a wink since the—” She glanced up at the ceiling before whispering, “Sincehearrived.”
“He?” Damon asked, a bit perplexed. Understandable since Kay was struggling to figure out how this woman could be so afraid of nothing more than the sounds her house usually made.
“Yes.” Nancy glanced around nervously. “I’m pretty sure he’s a vampire, too.”
“That explains the smell. She probably bathed in garlic.”Celia laughed softly.“We may have to take her Anne Rice books away.”
Kay was tempted to tell Celia to hush but didn’t want to spook Nancy any more than she already was. “What makes you say that? Tell us what you’ve experienced.”
Damon was walking around the entryway of the old Colonial-style house, and Kay knew he was trying to sense if a spirit was lurking anywhere inside the home. He’d clipped his phone into a harness that let him be hands free while he was recording.
“He touched me. With—” The chef shuddered. “Fingers of ice.” She reached into her blouse and pulled out a small gold cross pendant. “It’s a good thing I was wearing this. Because if I hadn’t been… Well, I don’t want to think of what might have happened.”
“I see,” Damon said as he held his chin. Probably to buy time to think of how to explain to Nancy that vampires were not on Night Meadow Island or on the mainland nearby, thought Kay.
Kay tried to appeal to the woman’s logic. “Nancy, I don’t sense a vampire here. There’s usually a coldness witches like Damon and I can feel when we enter a space they occupy. Besides, we haven’t had them in the area for more than a hundred years.”
Nancy wrapped her arms around herself and scowled. “Are you sure? They only come out at night, you know.”
“We are,” Damon said in a confident tone. “But there are spirits who like to trick people into thinking they are something they’re not. That might be what’s happening here.”
Kay wasn’t pleased Damon was entertaining Nancy’s thoughts. “Damon, I—” She frowned because second guessing him openly wasn’t going to instill confidence in Nancy. She reached out and touched the woman’s arm. “Your wellbeing is very important to us, so we’re going to check the basement to rule out vampires completely.”
