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Kay
Kay Knight tossedher head and watched in the mirror as her wavy hair shimmered and swayed. She hadn’t always thought so, but she was lucky in the hair department. She’d inherited her father’s thick, wavy mane of chestnut-red locks that turned to fire in sunlight. It was one of the best features she shared with her twin, Corinne. Their worst, if she had to admit it, was their propensity to scheme. It was a family trait that ran deep, and she now believed it was inevitable, because even she wasn’t above doing it to get what she wanted.
And she was about to scheme in a big way. Tucker Eagan was on his way over to pick her up so they could go rid a house of a troublesome spirit. Tucker had recently returned to Night Meadow Island and worked for the police force on the mainland, which also served the island. A few months back she’d helped him oust the spirit of a man who’d died in his own home and hadn’t wanted to leave.
Once she’d gotten rid of the ghost, she’d been weak from using her powers and had almost fainted. After Tucker had carried her to the police car and held her for a while, Kay was sure something had begun to simmer between them. But he’d made no effort in the following weeks to kindle that fire. She knew he wasn’t one for drama and that might have influenced his behavior. Unless she went out of her way to bump into Tucker, Kay was fairly certain they’d never see each other at all.
Satisfied with her hair and an outfit of tight jeans and a fitted long-sleeve T-shirt in teal that enhanced the blue of her eyes, Kay turned to walk down the hall. Her feet thudded softly over the worn Oriental carpet. She was taking matters into her own hands when it came to a relationship with Tucker. Especially since two of her three sisters were happily in love and talking about marriage and families of their own. Things Kay wanted, too. While scheming wasn’t her preferred method of finding a husband, she figured if she couldn’t use her magic for herself, why have it?
“You look pretty,” Bri, the youngest Knight sister, said as Kay descended the stairs into the living room.
“Thanks.” The scent of onions and peppers from the breakfast omelets her mother had made for them earlier was still in the air. “Tell me we’re all set for today.”
Bri’s eyes shone with her excitement as she grinned from the couch. “Celia is thrilled to be doing this. I contacted her while you were in the shower, and she told me she’s looking forward to today’s performance.”
Kay sighed as her stomach flipped with nerves. Celia was a friendly spirit who’d been an aging actress when her time was cut short, and she loved a chance to pour on some theatrics. She’d been a regular for the annual Halloween haunting the Knight witches used to perform. Unfortunately, sixteen years earlier the Brannigan witches from over on the mainland decided to get in on the action and took things too far, and the Knights decided it was time to abandon their yearly mischief. While Celia was currently sharing her talents up in Northern Maine at a horror writer’s home that had been turned into a museum, it had been years since the spirit had played her ghost role on Night Meadow Island, and Kay imagined she was having a good time with the break from her usual routine.
Kay’s brow was knit with concern as she nodded at Bri. Her unease over her plan was warranted. Spirits were fickle, unpredictable beings who had the upper hand. There wasn’t much a witch could do to punish a spirit who failed to live up to a promise, and that made the chances something could go wrong very high. If Celia decided to be difficult about leaving the house when Kay asked her to, the scene that would unfold wouldn’t impress Tucker much. She needed to show him she was calm and collected so he’d understand she wasn’t a high maintenance woman. But she wasn’t about to walk away from the job of sending Celia away, and she’d have to resort to force if necessary, showing Tucker she was just as capable of dramatics as the rest of her family. That would probably scare him away for good.
Bri stood up and wandered into the kitchen behind Kay. “This is going to work, you know. I even have an idea who we should haunt next.”
“Let me just get through this one,” Kay said as she lifted the coffee pot off the burner to pour herself another cup. “Hopefully, it will be enough to light a fire under Tucker and make him see he belongs with me.” But Kay wasn’t so confident it would work. As the bitter flavor of black coffee filled her mouth, she thought about how it was likely she was going to need to usher multiple spirits away from homes before Tucker had spent enough time with her to have the nerve to ask her out.
“He won’t see you belong together yet,” Bri said confidently, confirming Kay’s worry. “But I have a perfect plan. We need to plant a spirit in Nancy Edmonds’ house next. It will make things so easy. You know the second she figures it out she’ll tell Jeannie.” Nancy was best friends with Jeannie, who, along with her husband, owned the local hardware store and was the ultimate source for gossip in town. Bri continued, “And when you rid Nancy of her ghost, people are going to believe the town’s spirits are up to their old tricks. Before you know it, you’ll be getting calls from all kinds of people convinced their houses are haunted because ordinary noises will suddenly be suspect. You won’t even need to find any spirits to help us.” Bri let out a little gasp. “My goodness, we could make money off of this, Kay!”
Corinne entered through the back door, chuckling as she held an empty container she used to feed the chickens food scraps. “By selling ghostbusters T-shirts?”
“We could,” Bri said. “We need a clever logo. Maybe something cute with witches on brooms.”
“The tagline could be ‘You’ve been Knighted,’” said Amelia, the oldest Knight sister, as she came into the kitchen, too. She pushed a lock of her wild, curly hair out of her face as she continued to brainstorm. “You could give them to people who’ve paid you for successfully removing spirits from their home.”
“Yes!” Bri said. “If the shirts are cute enough, people would hire you just to get one.”
Eileen Knight, their mother, called out from her bedroom, which was near the kitchen. “No scheming for profit!”
Bri rolled her eyes at her sisters. “We’re not scheming!” she yelled back.
Eileen appeared in the doorway of the kitchen with a silk scarf in her hands, making Kay think her mother was getting ready for another meeting with her editor, which was happening a lot more frequently these days. Eileen said, “We do not need to cheat the people of this town for income, and even if we did, I won’t allow it.”
“We’re not cheating anyone,” Bri said. “We’d be providing a little excitement. It’s called entertainment.”
Amelia shook her head as she smiled. “Don’t worry, Mom. We just let our imaginations take over for a bit. We’re not going to actually do it.”
“Says who,” Bri muttered under her breath, but Kay knew they were just taking an idea and running with a fantasy, nothing more.
Eileen trained her gaze on Kay. “How far do you plan to take this ruse of yours to get Tucker interested in you?”
“He’s interested, Mom,” said Corrine. “Kay just has to help him realize it.”
Eileen cocked her eyebrow at Kay’s twin. “There’s a fine line between coercing and uncovering the truth.” She looked at Kay. “Make sure you don’t cross it.”
“I won’t. Trust me, I don’t want to end up with a man who doesn’t really want to be with me.” When her mother narrowed her eyes with skepticism, Kay added, “I swear it.”
“Well then, I hope you’re successful today. It would be nice to have a cop in the family to keep you girls out of trouble.” Eileen retreated back into her bedroom.
Amelia plopped down on a chair at the kitchen table next to Bri. “So, what’s the plan? What’s Celia going to do when you try to get rid of her?”
