Deadline Page 20

Caroline hunted for some sweet treats while Cade checked out the stove to survey the damage from Delphine's accident.

  This had been a very long, crazy day and she needed something to take the edge off. Finally, she found chocolate chip cookies in the cookie jar. Snagging two, she retrieved the milk from the refrigerator. Cade found two glasses, and they sat at the kitchen island sharing a midnight snack.

  "I really didn't pull your hair."

  She rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. I'm not falling for that." She didn't really want to believe it was a ghost. She fidgeted with the napkin fraying the edges into tiny pieces. "So, how'd you get your arm on the other side of my head without tipping me off?"

  She despised the shaky tone of her voice, but couldn't prevent it. What happened up there had freaked her out. She knew all signs pointed to paranormal activity, but she wanted to believe Cade somehow had a hand in it. That she wasn't being haunted by a tormented soul lost in between worlds.

  Cade stepped up behind her to massage her shoulders. The heat from his fingers transferred to her skin telegraphing pin points of electricity lighting up all over her body. A ghost in the bedroom and a taboo attraction in the kitchen. She could barely make a coherent thought. If this man hiccuped, she'd know it, she was so aware of him. Heart palpitations, a result of the heated emotions invoked from their buzzing chemistry, reminded Caroline how little she knew of Cade. An entire year with Trevor passed before she craved his presence like this. She would have definitely known if Cade had leaned across the bed toward her. . .and she would have possibly leaned back into him.

  "Caroline, I understand if you don't want to believe me. But I'm not lying to you. I did not pull your hair."

  "Well. . .somebody or something did. It wasn't just a tug or snag on my shirt, it was a full-fledged yank. And it hurt."

  He deepened his massage, squeezing her tense muscles thereby eliciting a moan from her. Surprisingly not embarrassed by her bold reaction, she didn't want to move for fear he'd stop melting her with his magic fingers.

  "Think about it, sweet girl. It happened right after you said you were hallucinating, right?"

  She tried to remember. "Yeah, I think so."

  "Open your mind just a little bit. Maybe it was Rachel because she's frustrated that you won't believe it's her?"

  He drew his fingers across her overheated skin and made his way to the column of her neck. His calloused thumb worked penetrating circles at the base of her skull while his hand cradled her face. Caroline's thoughts stumbled over one another. No one had ever made her feel this safe, this beautiful, this lov. . . What in the world was wrong with her? She jerked upright now desperate for an escape from his fingers, even if it meant considering the possibility of a real live ghost. A ghost that seemed intent on getting her attention.

  "Yeah, I guess."

  They finished their cookies and milk in silence. Her curiosity over Rachel and what she wanted got the better of her. "Cade, I'd like to try it again. You game?"

  "I've grown up in Louisiana, ghosts come with the territory." He shrugged his shoulders causing the fabric of his T-shirt to bunch right along with the cluster of butterflies in her stomach. "I've never seen one before, but I know all the stories. I believe she needs you for something. You're the key." They trekked upstairs to her room, and, as always, Cade politely let her enter first. She took two steps into her room and froze. Cade ran into the back of her, not paying any attention to the fact that she'd stopped moving.

  "Oh, man, I'm sorry, I didn't realize. . ." His voice trailed off as he stared at the same thing she saw.

  The flashlight beamed brightly, lighting up the dark room.

  "What the. . ." Cade was equally creeped out now. "Well, I guess that's our answer."

  Sixteen