Almost Midnight (Shadow Falls: After Dark #3.5)(118)

Brandon walked into the garage to collect the paint that must have been delivered that morning.

“Have you told the police that you think this old boyfriend could have hurt her?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah. Why do you think he came over the other day? He was outraged that I told the police that he could be responsible for her being missing.”

“Why do you think he would have hurt her?” she asked, grabbing one of the ladders and following Brandon outside.

He set his ladder down beside the porch. “Because two days before she went missing she told me that they’d had a bad argument and that she was going to break up with him. She even told me that she was … kind of afraid of him.”

He passed a hand over his face as if to wipe away his frustration. “I got upset and told her she sucked at picking boyfriends. I told her it was because she had daddy issues. And while I was telling the truth, it hurts that my last conversation with her was me criticizing her.”

Fredericka put her hand on his shoulder. “I’ll bet she knows you just got upset because you were concerned.”

“I hope so,” he said.

They spent the next two hours painting, working side by side. They talked about art and their plans for the gallery. He asked her to send some photographs of her pieces so he could start posting things online and hopefully drum up some business. She found herself getting excited about the prospect of selling some of her work.

Around five, when the sun was slowly sinking behind the western sky, she finished off one last section and told him she’d better start packing up her things. She got ready to go wash her brush.

“Why don’t I take you out for dinner?” he asked. “It’s the least I can do for you helping me.”

She wanted to say yes so badly, but her gut said she needed to get back to Shadow Falls and see just what crap Cary had set out for her this time. She moved into the garage where she’d seen a sink, a perfect place to wash out the brush. He followed her.

“How about a rain check? Maybe Friday evening?” she offered, knowing Thursday was the full moon and she really shouldn’t be seeing him again until afterward, especially when temptation was present.

“Then it’s a date,” he said.

“Great.”

“What about tomorrow?” he asked. “Can you come by and help me plant the flowers?”

She hesitated, knowing she shouldn’t, but damn it, she didn’t want to go two whole days without seeing him. It was only when she was with him that she felt happy.

“Sure,” she said.

“You don’t have to,” he said as if he’d noted her pause.

“I want to,” she said as she turned on the faucet and stuck the brush under the stream of water. “I won’t be able to come by on Thursday, though. I have to … study for a big test.”

“I could always help you study,” he said and moved in close. His hip brushed against hers as he held his brush under the water as well.

She felt the tingle of his touch. She dropped her brush and faced him. Leaning in, she lifted up on her tiptoes and kissed him. His brush dropped to the bottom of the sink with a slight thud.

His arms came around her and she held on. After several long seconds, and before she wanted to, she pulled away. “If I came here to study, I’m afraid I wouldn’t remember a thing, but … how blue your eyes are, or how your smile is just the slightest bit crooked, or how good your lips feel on mine.”

He smiled. “You’re probably right.” He pressed a finger over her lips. “But I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Yeah,” she said. “As long as the creek doesn’t rise.” Or Cary doesn’t do something to prevent me from coming.

*

As she drove away, Brandon stood on the porch waving. But as she pulled past the house, her gaze automatically shifted to the side of the house where she’d seen his sister twice.

Her breath caught when she saw her there again, kneeling at the flower bed. In her rearview mirror, she saw Brandon move inside. She drove away slowly, remembering Holiday’s advice.

You need to talk to her. When you see her next time, approach her. Ask her if she remembers what happened to her.

But holy hell, Fredericka didn’t want to do that. Nope, not even a little bit.

Then she remembered Brandon talking about his sister. How he wanted to find out what happened. Fredericka owed it to him to do this.

She pulled over and parked. Getting out of her car, she walked down the street. Linda still kneeled at the flower bed. The closer she got, the colder it got. Chills crawled up Fredericka’s spine.

Stopping about five feet from the spirit, Fredericka forced herself to speak.

“Linda?”

When she didn’t answer, Fredericka spoke again. “I just want to help.”

The woman shifted back just a bit. “I’m dead, aren’t I?” she asked, then she slowly looked over her shoulder.

Half the woman’s face was beaten to a pulp, her eye dangled out of the socket.

Fredericka screamed. When she went to step back, she tripped over her own feet.

She landed on her ass, and was still screaming, butt-scooting backward, when Brandon came running over.

“What happened?”

Panic still gripped Fredericka. She glanced back at his sister, but the woman was gone.