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"Then we're left with the ghosts. We can't solve this unless they tell us what it's about. No one else will."
She pursed her lips, lowered her head. Then raised it again when she felt his hand sliding over hers
where it rested on the table.
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"I know you're scared," he said.
"I'm not "
"The hell you're not. I'm scared too, Kiley. And not just about the damn ghosts."
A frown tugged at her brow and she stared down at their hands. Then, jittery for reasons beyond her
understanding, she got up from the table, slipping her hand from beneath his, turned and began pacing
across the room.
Jack got up, came to stand behind her, very close behind her. "I want this thing solved as badly as you
do," he whispered. "I want it out of the way, so I can see what's left when it's gone."
"I don't know what you mean," she said, turning to face him as she spoke.
"Yeah, you do." He lifted a hand and gently pushed her hair away from her face, tucking it behind her
ear. Then, slowly, he lowered his head, brushed her lips with his. Once, then again.
Kiley's heart fluttered and her stomach tied itself in knots. The soft, tender kisses went on, until,
trembling, she slid her hands up his chest, over his shoulders, and then linked her arms around his neck.
His arms closed around her waist, and he pulled her tight to him and kissed her long and deeply. She let
her lips part, tasting him, loving it.
Finally, he lifted his head away, and when she opened her eyes she found his probing them. Kiley licked
her lips, tasting him on them. She sought for words, and heard herself muttering, "B-but I don't even like
you."
He smiled, and it made her want to kiss him all over again. "Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, Kiley.
But trust me, it isn't gonna change a thing. It didn't for me, anyway." He leaned in, nibbling at her mouth
again. "And you can get rid of that notion that there's no affection involved here, lady. We kissed this
time."
"Is that why you kissed me? To prove it's not just physical so you can get me into bed?"
"No. I kissed you because I wanted to. I'd like to keep on kissing you all night. But we've got other
things to worry about, unfortunately."
Kiley wanted him. She wanted to make love to him, now, tonight. She pushed her hands through her
hair.
"This is so much to deal with. And with everything else going on ghosts and hauntings and dead
women in my bathtub "
He nodded, sliding his arms from around her waist.
"I know. I'm sorry, Kiley, I shouldn't have no. Hell, I'm not sorry."
She smiled up at him. "I'm not, either."
"Good. So now maybe you understand why I'm in such a hurry to get all that other stuff out of the way."
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She nodded. "Yeah. Okay. So& we'll have the sance."
"Great. I've got everything we need out in the car." He turned as if to go out and fetch his props. "No,
Jack," she said, stopping him in his tracks.
He turned to face her. "Don't tell me you've changed your mind?"
She shook her head. "We're not doing anything," she told him, "until I've finished my pizza."
CHAPTER TEN
Jack was setting up the table in the formal dining room, feeling more nervous than he'd ever been in his
life, when the doorbell chimed. Kiley was in the kitchen, putting away the leftover pizza, stacking the
dishes in the dishwasher. So he went to the door and pulled it open.
Chris stood there, smiling. Behind him were two of the psychics Kiley had nailed in her column over the
past year. Maya, a thirty something witch, blond, blue-eyed and petite, nodded hello to him as he
stepped aside to let them in. She wore jeans, a cozy-looking sweater, and a pentacle around her neck.
Right behind her was JohnRedhawk , a shaman. Aside from the turquoise beads and ponytail, he, too,
was dressed casually, jeans and a green polo shirt under a denim jacket.
Jack heard Kiley come in from the kitchen. She started to say something, then stopped in her tracks.
To break the awkward silence, Jack said, "I, uh thought you two couldn't make it."
John sent a tight look at Kiley. "If there are spirits trapped here, they need help to get across."
Maya nodded. "We can't punish them for her actions."
"Great," Kiley said. "They're on the goddamn ghosts' side."
"Fortunately your interests and theirs are the same," John said, moving farther into the room. "As are
your goals and ours to free them, so they can move on."
Jack turned to Kiley, knowing she was about to roll her eyes or make some sarcastic comment. But he
caught her in time.
"No doubt, Ms. Brigham, you think we can't be of any help anyway," Maya said.
Kiley pursed her lips. "I did catch you faking."
"You caught us being inaccurate," John explained. "There's a very big difference."
"You totally ignored all the times we were dead on target with our work," Maya added, "and focused
only on the times when we missed the mark."
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Chris nodded hard, then put his own two cents in. "You failed to take into account all the people they
helped. And the fact that no one was ever harmed by what they did."
Kiley pursed her lips, lowered her head. "I get it, Chris." Then she lifted her eyes again, took a breath.
"You two just admitted you're not always right. I suppose I need to do the same."
John nodded slowly. "Some of the people you condemned in your column were frauds, Ms. Brigham.
Some of them were doing harm, and were sorely in need of exposure. I was glad to see them go. They
just make the rest of us look bad. But it's a mistake to paint all psychics with the same brush. And it's just
as bad to hold us up to standards that are impossible for anyone short of a god to meet."
She nodded. "I'm starting to realize that." Then she frowned. "But if you're not batting a thousand, then
how the hell can an outsider ever tell the difference?"
"They can't," Maya said. "But we can. We know who's for real and who's just running a scam to make a
buck. Maybe in the future, you could work with us, instead of against us."
Kiley blinked, clearly stunned. "You& would do that? Work with me? My God, I never thought "
"Because you never asked," John said. "But believe me, we'd love to help you put the frauds out of
business."
Kiley shook her head in something that looked like wonder.
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