44 Book Four by Jools Sinclair

also a good chance that she had heard about me dying and then coming back to life.
    But she still didn’t say anything.
    “Your brother…” I started, but she wouldn’t let me finish.
    “Stop it,” she said, holding up her hand. “I don’t know what scam you’re working, but I’m not buying it. Just leave me alone. Back the fuck away, Love Hewitt.”
    Her voice was shaky and sharp.
    “He says he needs help. But I don’t know how to help him without knowing more about him. He’s following me around. He was even here, over in that corner the other night.”
    She turned around and looked at the table I was pointing to.
    “He wears a Guns N’ Roses T-shirt and jeans and has scars and bruises all over his face. I’m just trying to help him, Mo. But I need more information about him.”
    She walked over to a table and picked up a balled-up napkin and stuffed it in the trashcan.
    “You seem all buddy-buddy with my dead brother,” she said. “Just ask him and leave me the hell out of it.”
    She walked back over to the machines and finished cleaning them out. We didn’t speak the rest of the night.
     

 
    CHAPTER 17
     
    As I took a batch of lemon cookies out of the oven, I couldn’t stop thinking about Mo. Asking about her brother and then telling her that I had seen his ghost lurking around the coffee shop had been a mistake. We had worked together two times since that night, and she still wasn’t talking to me, even though I had gone out of my way to be friendly. She was still angry, her energy dark.
    But I couldn’t just drop it. I needed a new plan.
    The cookies were for Ty, who was on his way over. We were going out to dinner and a movie.
    I let them cool on the rack, and then ate one before sliding some into a tin. It was the first time I had used the recipe and they were sweet and tart at the same time.
    Kate was in the hallway, up on a ladder.
    “I left you some cookies under the glass dome,” I said, standing under her.
    “Thanks,” she said, gliding a paintbrush across the wall, right under the ceiling. “They smell like hazelnut.”
    “What color is it?” I asked, thinking it odd because I hadn’t used hazelnuts.
    “Hazelnut,” she said.
    “Sounds like a good one.”
    She glanced down at me.
    “You look nice. When is Ty picking you up?”
    “He should be here any minute,” I said. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?”
    “No, but thanks. I want to finish.”
    I was happy that Kate was almost done with all the painting, although I wasn’t sure what she would do now with her extra time. I was really looking forward to not smelling those strong paint fumes every time I came home and opened the door.
    “All right,” I said. “Oh, I forgot to tell you that I bumped into Conner the other day.”
    “Conner? Oh, yeah. You mean that worthless punk you dated in high school?”
    “Yeah. I was buying some new soccer socks and as I was checking out, there he was. He works at Dick’s.”
    Kate stopped painting.
    “How apropos,” she said, smiling. “Being that he is one.”
    I heard a noise out front. I went to the living room and saw Ty outside in the driveway. He grabbed something from the bed of his truck. When I opened the door, he was coming up the path, carrying two of the old coffee cans we had found in the desert, each one full of daffodils.
    He handed me one and gave me a quick kiss. I had those usual fluttery feelings that flew around inside whenever I saw him.
    “Wow, this really does look cool,” I said, staring down at the can. “Thanks.”
    He greeted Kate and handed her the flowers and told her the story about how we had found hundreds of burned out cans in a pile when we were hiking in the Badlands.
    “I thought it looked kind of Western and artsy,” he said. “Perfect for the lodge theme you have going on here.”
    I was surprised how she really seemed to love the can and flowers as much as he did. She put hers on one of the new tables.
    “They’re