Grave Insight (A Maddie Graves Mystery Book 2) (15 page)

Kreskin snickered. “Nice.”

“It was the best moment of my life,” Nick said, shifting his gaze back to Maddie. “Until yesterday.”

Kreskin clapped him on the back. “You’re officially love whipped, boy. Enjoy it.”

“I have every intention of enjoying it,” Nick said.

“Keep her close,” Kreskin added, lowering his voice and moving to leave the clump of trees. “She’s kind of cute.”

“She’s totally cute,” Nick said. “And, trust me, she’s going to be right by my side for the rest of my life.”

Kreskin grinned. “Good for you.”

“Good for us.”

Once Kreskin was gone, Nick focused on Maddie. “Is she here?”

Maddie raised a quizzical eyebrow. “Who?”

“Tara.”

“Oh,” Maddie said, realization washing over her. “That’s why you wanted me here. You wanted to see if I could talk to Tara’s ghost.”

“I wanted you here because I can’t bear to be away from you right now,” Nick replied, earnest. “I want to touch you every second of the day, and I want to be able to see you every possible moment.”

“Because of the danger, I know,” Maddie said. “I didn’t mean … .”

“Not just because of the danger, Mad,” Nick said. “I just don’t want to be away from you. My heart can’t take it.”

Maddie’s stomach clenched. “You’re so sweet.”

“I love you. I finally get to say it, and I finally get to mean it, and I finally get to embrace it. I have no intention of leaving your side.”

Maddie couldn’t hide the tears that filled her eyes.

“If you cry, I’m going to be so upset,” Nick said. “I don’t want you to ever cry.”

“Sometimes women cry because they’re happy, not sad,” Maddie explained.

“I know. I just … if you cry, I’m going to cry. That’s going to ruin my street cred.”

Maddie made an exasperated sound in the back of her throat. “Fine. Just know, I’m going to think about this moment when we’re alone tonight, and I’m going to cry then.”

“If you hold off until then, I’ll reward you with a back massage.”

Maddie’s face brightened. “Really?”

“Really,” Nick said. “Now, focus on the scene. Can you … I don’t know … see anything?”

“What do you want me to see?” Maddie asked, torn.

“How do you usually see things?”

“In my dreams.” Maddie tilted her head to the side, considering. “And I didn’t dream last night.”

Nick swallowed hard. “Is it because you were with me?”

“No. I think it was because I was exhausted. No offense, sweetie, but the past few days have been emotionally draining.”

“And physically draining because of your ankle,” Nick said. “Shouldn’t Tara’s ghost be here?”

Maddie glanced around ruefully. “Even people who die under violent circumstances don’t always come back as ghosts. Some are enlightened enough to just let it go.”

“Well, that’s disappointing.”

“Not necessarily,” Maddie said. “If Tara passed on, at least she not trapped here and suffering.”

“That’s not what I meant, Mad,” Nick said hurriedly. “I was just hoping we could get some insight into what happened to her. She might know who killed her.”

“It usually doesn’t work like that, at least not right away,” Maddie said. “Most ghosts take time to register the worst moment of their life. Dying is … traumatic. Most souls want to forget it, so it takes them time to remember. Something usually jolts them.”

“Tara’s not here, though,” Nick pointed out. “We don’t even have the option of giving her the time to remember.”

“Just because she’s not here right now, that doesn’t mean that she’s not still here,” Maddie said. “It’s hard for them at first. They can’t control when they pop up, or even where sometimes. Manifesting exhausts them.

“In fact, I haven’t seen my mom in almost two weeks,” she said, her voice cracking.

“Are you worried she’s gone?”

“She wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye,” Maddie replied. “Granny is convinced she’s staying until they can go together. I believe her.”

“I’m sure she’ll be back, love.”

“That night, in the water, she appeared to me,” Maddie said. “She was in the water, and she was trying to get me to swim. It was so cold, and I tried so hard, but I just couldn’t make my body move. She kept telling me you were waiting for me.”

Nick licked his lips. “I was waiting for you. I heard her that night, too.”

Maddie was stunned. “What? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t know,” Nick said. “It was weird. I wasn’t sure I was hearing her. It was like a whisper. She was telling me how to find you. I don’t know what you remember, but I parked on the road and went through the woods – even though I didn’t know them – because something told me I had to get to you.

“It was like she was guiding me,” he said. “I never made a wrong turn.”

“That sounds like her,” Maddie said, thoughtful. “If she expelled enough energy for you to hear her, that would explain why I haven’t seen her. She’s just regrouping. That makes me feel better.”

“I heard her in the hospital, too,” Nick said. “When I was sitting at your bedside, I heard her tell you that we were all there for you. Then I heard her whispering to Maude while she slept. I don’t know what she said, but Maude was smiling in her sleep, so it must have been good.”

“Granny told me she had a dream about Mom that night,” Maddie said. “She said Mom told her we were about to go on an adventure. I chalked it up to Granny’s imagination. She’s never been able to talk to ghosts before. Now, though, I’m not so sure.”

Nick grinned. “We are on an adventure, Mad,” he said. “It’s going to be the best adventure ever.”

“Better than
The Goonies
?”

Nick nodded. “You have no idea how great it’s going to be.”

Maddie hugged him tightly, lifting her lips so he could give her a sweet kiss. “I love you, Nicky.”

“I love you, my Maddie.”

“I see you two finally managed to get together.”

Maddie stilled in Nick’s arms, swiveling quickly when she heard the voice. When her eyes landed on Tara’s ghost, she was both heartbroken and relieved. “Tara.”

“She’s here?” Nick kept his voice low.

“So, in addition to being psychic, you can see ghosts, too, huh? That’s handy,” Tara said. Her face was drawn, her tone dark.

“I’m so sorry,” Maddie said. “If I had seen this happening to you, I would have stopped it. I just didn’t see.” She slipped her hand into Nick’s. “I don’t know why I didn’t see it.”

“You saved me on the street, Maddie,” Tara said. “I’m guessing I was supposed to die then. You did the best you could.”

“It wasn’t enough.”

“You can’t do everything, can you?”

“I guess not.”

“I’m glad to see you and Nick finally found each other,” Tara said. “He bought your flowers from me. Did you like them?”

“They were beautiful,” Maddie said. “I didn’t realize he bought them from you.”

Nick’s face was unreadable as he watched Maddie talk to air. He was comfortable letting her do her thing, which was the best gift he ever could have given her – even better than the turtle and the flowers.

“He was nervous,” Tara said, smiling. “He was cute, though.”

“He’s always cute. Do you know what happened to you?”

“I’m not sure,” Tara said. “We were listening to the band. I was getting a headache. There was only so much bitching I could put up with. Marla was really pushing Cassidy’s buttons.

“You should know, I don’t think every horrible thing Cassidy has done was her idea,” she continued. “I didn’t realize until last night that Marla was pulling her strings. She’s been putting ideas in her head.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.”

“Anyway, I needed a break,” Tara said. “I volunteered to go to the beer tent. I remember talking to someone … I think it was Alan. He was really drunk, and he wanted to dance. It was better than talking to Marla, so I told him after I dropped the drinks off at the table I would love to dance.

“The line was kind of long, and I was waiting in it, when … I don’t know … it kind of goes black,” she said. “I think something caught my attention in the trees. That’s not really a memory. It’s just something I think I know.”

“It’s okay,” Maddie soothed. “You’re doing great. What’s the absolute last thing you remember?”

“Knowing that I’d made a terrible mistake.”

Maddie swallowed hard. “Did you see who it was? Did you see his face? Can you describe him?”

Tara shook her head. “No.”

“Did you get a feeling of familiarity? When you think about it, do you think you recognized him?”

“I don’t know,” Tara said. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry,” Maddie said. “Hopefully it will come back to you. You’re probably not going to be able to stay here long. You’ve already expelled a lot of energy. When you come back, find me. Go ahead and come to the house. Granny knows everything, so I’ll be able to talk to you without worrying about it.”

“I see Nick knows, too,” Tara said, fading slightly. “Is that why you left him when you were a teenager?”

“Yes.”

“Did you think he wouldn’t understand?”

“Yes.”

“He’s a better man than you gave him credit for,” Tara said, almost invisible now.

“He’s the best man in the world,” Maddie said. “When you come back, find me.”

“I will.”

Once she was gone, Maddie exhaled heavily and turned to Nick. “She doesn’t know who it was. The last thing she remembers is Alan asking her to dance. She thinks something grabbed her attention by the trees, but she’s not sure what. She doesn’t remember dying. I’m not sure I want her to.”

“It’s okay,” Nick said, kissing Maddie softly. “It’s okay.”

Maddie wrapped her arms around his waist and basked in his warmth for a few minutes. “Can we get out of here? I don’t want to be here anymore.”

“Sure,” Nick said, kissing her forehead. “Let’s get some dinner, because I don’t want to cook and I don’t want to order pizza again, and then we’ll go. We’ll watch a movie.”

Maddie was intrigued. “What movie?”

“How about
The Goonies
?”

Maddie smiled. “That sounds … perfect.”

Nick linked his fingers with hers as they emerged from the trees. “As much as I’d like a repeat of the funhouse, I was thinking we could put it off until the next festival. It’s Blackstone Bay, after all, and it will only be a few weeks before we get another chance.”

“Thank you,” Maddie said. “I just can’t deal with that stuff right now.”

“I can’t either,” Nick said, leading Maddie through the crowd. “You have to make me a promise, though.”

“What promise is that?”

“You’re going to let me feel you up when we finally get to go to the funhouse.”

Maddie chortled. “Seriously?”

“I’m easily pleased.”

“I promise.”

Nick smiled. “So, what do you want to eat?”

“I want Middle Eastern from Paul’s stand.”

“The food is good,” Nick agreed. “That sounds good. I’ll buy you a kabob and some rice, and then we’ll pick up elephant ears on the way out. I figured we could also get caramel corn, cotton candy, and ice cream cones for the walk home.”

“Do you want me to get sick?”

“No one says you have to eat it all,” Nick reminded her.

“Yes, but you also know I have zero willpower. Why do you think I run five miles a day?”

“Because you know you look hot in those tiny shorts,” Nick shot back.

“I’ve probably gained five pounds since I hurt my ankle,” Maddie said.

“You’re the most beautiful person in the world, Mad,” Nick said. “Your body is amazing. Some junk isn’t going to hurt it, at least for one night. I want junk food and you tonight. That’s it.”

“I guess you’re going to get your wish,” Maddie replied. “That’s what I want, too.”

“See, we really are perfect for each other.” Nick stopped in the middle of the fair long enough to grace her with a smoldering kiss.

Maddie was happily encouraging him with her tongue when a voice interrupted their interlude.

“Oh, you two really have no shame, do you?”

Maddie moved to pull away from Nick, but he stilled her with a forceful arm around her waist. “What do you want, Marla?” he asked, irritated. “No one invited you to our personal party.”

“This is a public fair,” Marla said, tugging on Cassidy’s arm and pulling the woman closer so they were standing shoulder to shoulder. “Are you two happy?” Maddie noticed that Charles was present again, although he was hanging back and staring at her rather than Marla.

“We are,” Nick said. “You should try it. You’d be surprised how happiness eradicates the need to hurt others from your life.”

“Oh, is that what you’re doing?” Marla asked, sarcasm dripping from her tongue. “I thought you were rubbing your indiscretion in your ex-girlfriend’s face.”

Nick’s was neutral as he regarded Cassidy. “I’m sorry to hurt you,” he said. “I had no idea you’d be here. We didn’t have plans to come, but Tara’s death kind of threw our day into disarray.”

“Oh, what a great apology,” Marla said.

“Shut up, Marla,” Nick snapped. “I’m not putting up with your crap tonight. We’re getting food, and then we’re leaving. Why don’t you two go away for ten minutes, and then we’ll be out of your hair.”

“That would make things so much easier for you, wouldn’t it?” Marla pressed. “Maybe Cassidy doesn’t want to make your life easier. Right, Cassidy? You want to make them pay, don’t you?”