Kiss Me Hello by L. K. Rigel Page B

find out more about the man who left Turtledove Hill to Aunt Amelia. She was sure it contained information no one else knew. Perhaps it would identify who in Pelican Chase would have wanted Joss Montague dead.
    “Mrs. Blakemore.” Gracien Poole stopped her as they left the restaurant. “I meant to tell you earlier, a survey team will be out this coming week on the western vineyards taking measurements along the cliffs. We’re considering putting in more pinot gris next season. Don’t be surprised by them if you go out to tour your property.”
    Bram said nothing about Gracien’s offer, but on the way back to the house Sara sensed the wheels turning in his head.
    “You want to sell,” she said.
    “I’d like to quit the restaurant altogether and write full time. I’d like to go back to school for my master’s,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong. The house is great, like you’ve always said. But babe, it looks like it needs a lot of work.”
    If the check from Gracien Poole was any indication, the lease payments from Poole Haven would be enough for Bram to go back to school and to renovate the house too. He was her husband. She owed him that much—if they were going to stay together. She couldn’t get a divorce. She didn’t care what Dad would think, but her mother would weep in heaven.
    “It seems tacky to make plans for Aunt Amelia’s fortune so soon,” she said.
    “That’s true.” Bram kept his eyes on the road. “And I realize you probably aren’t in the mood to make my life any easier right now.”
    “You’re right,” she said. “But that could change.”
    While they got ready for bed, Sara told Bram about Aunt Amelia’s plea: Don’t let them have it. “We can’t sell Turtledove Hill, not yet. Not until we know why she was so desperate.”
    “You know what I think, babe?” Bram pulled back the covers, still wearing his boxers. Sara couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept naked. “I think she was delirious. Drugged. She didn’t know what she was saying.”
    “Maybe, but she was so insistent.” Sara stripped down to her panties and quickly put on her sleep shirt, Bram’s old practice football jersey. She wanted to sleep with Bram tonight, but for a change that’s all she wanted.
    “Bottom line, don’t do anything,” he said. “Not until you’re comfortable with your decision.”
    “Oh, Bram.” She threw her arms around him. “I appreciate your support.”
    He hugged her, though it was awkward, and against her will her body warmed to his.
    “After the long day I’ve had, I don’t know if I can keep the lights on, if you know what I mean.” His blue eyes twinkled and he threw his boxers across the room. “But I can try.”
    No. She just couldn’t. It was too soon.
    “The lights!” She remembered the observatory. “Just a minute. I’ll be right back.”

- 11 -
Lullaby
    S ARA HIT THE LIGHT switch just inside the door and turned to go, but something stopped her on the landing. She went back through the alcove to the observatory. Joss Montague’s journal lay open on the desk, outlined by blue-white moonlight shining in from the windows.
    She was sure she closed it earlier, concerned that damp and dirt would damage its pages. But how dumb was that? Better just to get it out of the observatory altogether. She tucked the journal under her arm and went down, careful to skip the weak tread and hold tight to the banister.
    At the bottom of the stairs a feeling came over her, a sense of someone watching her. She looked back, but there was no one. The ghost or spirit that saved her had felt solid, real. She’d felt surrounded by his will, but it was more than that. When he guided her to the rail, she’d sensed real emotion, his terror that she might be hurt. Real. And wonderful.
    No human being had ever cared so intensely about her. Not her parents. Not her husband. Pathetic.
    Ghost, hallucination, whatever, he wasn’t here. Her sense of him was a memory. A memory of a