Falling For Zoe (The Camerons of Tide's Way #1) by Skye Taylor Page B

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    “Are you Martin?” she asked the silent, solemn man. “Did you leave my doors open? Because if you did, I’d prefer you leave them shut. You can come and go any time you like, but if you don’t mind, could you please make sure to close the door after you?”
    Zoe laughed out loud at her absurdity, and Jet tipped her head at the sound of Zoe’s voice.
    “I know.” Zoe scratched Jet’s ears. “How dumb is that? Talking to a ghost. The picture of a ghost even!”
    The following morning, the kitchen door was ajar.

Chapter 12
    ZOE HAD JUST finished painting the cabinets a clean, crisp white when a soft knock came from outside her kitchen door. Scotch started barking. Hoover began to wag his tail, and Jet ran to find a toy. That meant friend, so Zoe hurried to open the door. Scotch dashed out and immediately began dancing around Jake’s legs. With a tool belt slung around his lean hips and a tank top that showcased his muscular torso, he looked wonderful. Zoe pushed the inevitable mop of escaping curls back into her elastic and wondered if he’d ever get a chance to see her at her best, rather than at her frumpiest. Then she noticed his eyes.
    She stepped aside and invited him in. “Don’t tell me Celia’s ghost was haunting you, too?” Smudges of exhaustion colored the skin beneath his eyes.
    “Martin wouldn’t bother me, even if I did believe in his ghost. This the door that’s giving you problems?”
    “This is the one. Doesn’t want to stay shut, but you didn’t have to come over today to fix it. It could have waited.”
    “Waited for what?” Jake’s eyebrows rose into questioning little arcs. “For someone to break in and rob you? Or worse?”
    “I didn’t think this was that kind of neighborhood.”
    “It isn’t, but a woman alone . . . I thought you’d want to know the doors could be secured. Besides, no point in putting it off.”
    “But you look like you didn’t sleep much last night.”
    “Got called out to a fire. I’m used to it.”
    “Oh, my gosh. Was anyone hurt?”
    “No, thank God. Someone left the burner on under the fryer at the Crab Shack down by the bridge. That place was a tinderbox. If you’d been awake, you’d have been able to see the glow in the sky. But we managed to contain it to just the one building. Place is a total loss, but no one was there at two in the morning, so no one got hurt.”
    “And I never got to try the crab cakes. I heard they were the best.”
    “They’ll rebuild. I’ll take you out to celebrate when they reopen. Now, what’s up with the door?”
    Had Jake just asked her out for a date? Albeit, some unknown date in the future, but still . . . Her heart fluttered excitedly.
    “The door?” Jake prompted, looking at her oddly.
    Right! The door was the real reason he’d come. Not to ask her out. “I—I thought maybe I just forgot to shut it the first time. But after Celia told me about Martin and how he leaves doors open all the time, I began to get a little spooked.” Zoe shrugged. “It just keeps happening. I push the door shut, and if I stand there long enough, it opens again all by itself.”
    Zoe reached past Jake and shut the door firmly, then waited. A minute stretched into two, and then suddenly, with a faint click, the door popped open and began to swing inward.
    “See? No ghost! But it beats me why it won’t stay shut.”
    Jake hunkered down into a squat and began tinkering with the lock mechanism. Twice he pushed the door shut and waited until it popped open again. Jet sat next to him, all attention riveted on the door, and each time it opened, she swiveled her gaze to Jake as if making a point. Jake patted her head, then stood. “Don’t worry, girl. We’ll get it sorted out.”
    “Just the house settling.” Jake turned his attention to Zoe. “I only wish my problems were as easy to solve as yours.”
    “That’s what you said last time, but they don’t seem all that easy to me. When I bought this