“So that answers that question.” Gage stood, his hands on his hips, staring at her. “I guess I’m moving here.”

  She looked at him and nodded. “Well, you mentioned earlier about making New Orleans your home.”

  He nodded. “But I mean, all these ghosts, they are part of your family, aren’t they?”

  At that, Thomas faced Skylar. Elena turned and stared; even little Jackie lifted his head to look at Skylar.

  They all waited expectantly, as she smiled and replied to Gage. “Exactly. I’m glad you understand.”

  And, with that, all the ghosts beamed.

  Gage, with his new ghost sight, gazed around the room at Skylar’s tribe. He shook his head in awe. “That is absolutely stunning. I get it,” he said. “I really get it.”

  And, for the first time since waking up with that feeling of panic and knowing something was wrong in her building and flying out Gage’s hotel room door, Skylar relaxed.

  *

  “You know something? I think I finally found my tribe,” Gage murmured.

  Skylar looked up at him, with a shy smile.

  He tucked her closer, then leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips.

  She caught sight of her ghosts turning around, giving them some privacy. “And I thought that big old business was your tribe.”

  “You know what? It was my tribe back then, when I was driving and pushing to make something of myself, to be somebody,” he admitted. “I realize now that the years of feeling incomplete, even as a young child, without a mother’s affection or a father’s pride, it makes you work harder to fulfill that need for respect and approval from someone. And I did all that. I built a big business, and now I’ve successfully sold it.” He paused, felt no stress over this huge change he had just made in his life. “And that’s just not who I am anymore. My accident changed me.”

  “It did,” she agreed, with a gentle smile. “And I think for the better.”

  He looked at her, cocked an eyebrow, and asked, “Are you saying you wouldn’t like me, the old me?”

  “I don’t think the old you would have stepped foot in my store,” she noted, with a trill of laughter.

  He winced. “You’re probably right.” He studied her shop. “Back then, I would have said it was all a sham, and I wouldn’t have understood any of the nuances.”

  “It’s a whole other world out there,” she stated gently, “and most of the normal world, the society that you lived in, wouldn’t have seen it.”

  “That’s the thing,” he replied. “The part that just blows me away is that 99 percent of the world is asleep to this. It’s like finding a magical, mythical world right under your nose, and realizing that other people knew about it, and they didn’t tell you.”

  “Well, I didn’t know about you then,” she noted, “but you’re right. I wouldn’t have told you either.”

  He stared at her with a frown, and she laughed. A grin peeked out as he acknowledged her point. “And with good reason.” He nodded.

  She added, “And, if you had ventured in my store, before your accident, I probably would have tossed you right on your ear, due to all the bad energy.”

  “Probably.”

  “It’s a hard thing for some people to acknowledge that some things have been under their nose the whole time that they didn’t see because they simply weren’t willing.”

  “Is it that easy?” he asked, pondering her words. “Is it because I wasn’t willing to see it, or was it because I didn’t yet have the ability?”

  “Well, I’m sure Stefan and Maddy could give you answers about that,” she stated. “What I understand is that, in many cases, those two would say everybody has some ability, but, for whatever reason, we block it. You hear stories about children, who talk about coming back reincarnated, and, if you listen while they’re young, they will tell you where they came from. And some cases obviously are much more defined than others. Some have verifiable facts that you can go back and take a look at,” she noted. “And, for others, it’s a matter of going on blind faith, which, in your case, you don’t have much of.”

  “No, but I’m getting there because I believe in you.” He knew that pleased her because she beamed at him. He smiled and added, “I mean it. You’ve opened my eyes to something I had no idea existed.”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t open your eyes,” she argued. “That was you. Or maybe we should blame Maddy and Stefan for it.”

  He looked at her, remembering something. “You know what? That just might be the reason why, … why Maddy and Stefan said something about leaving some energy behind to keep the healing flowing and to keep me alive or to stay connected to them or some such thing,” he muttered, with a wave of his hand. “It was to counter the dark energy, they said. And they had wondered if they had brought something else into my system. I don’t remember their exact words. But I was scared at first. Now I think it was my own dark energy, my pre-accident mentality. If so, I’m glad to be rid of that.”

  “And it could be just that simple,” she agreed. “Still, the fact that you were actually helped by them is an absolute miracle in itself.”

  “And why would that have happened?” he muttered.

  “I don’t know, but I guess you owe your brother thanks for that.”

  He smiled. “Maybe I do at that. I’ll have to talk to him about it some more.”

  “And here I thought you were considering whether he might have had ulterior motives, hoping that you didn’t live.”

  “And maybe he did, but you know what? I just don’t understand him anymore,” he admitted quietly. “Right now, everything in that whole side of my family life is beyond confusing.”

  “I get it.” She nodded. “I don’t think anything is quite so puzzling as family, and that’s on a good day.”

  He smiled, looked around, and asked, “So, can we finish locking up and go back to bed?”

  She checked her watch and nodded. “I might be able to catch a few more hours before the shop opens.”

  He nodded. “Upstairs or back to my place?”

  “Upstairs. It’s closer, and, if I can grab a couple hours of sleep, I really need to.” And, with that, she locked the front door and then stopped. “I don’t even know why I bother to lock up, since it seems like these guys can get in without any trouble. I’m not too sure how or why, but maybe it’s not that difficult to be a thief,” she noted. “I mean, this time they broke a window, so it’s not a crime that required any particular skill.”

  He nodded.

  “And, like last time, I actually wondered if I’d forgotten to lock and set the alarm,” she murmured.

  He stared at her, and his gaze narrowed. “I know. I know,” she admitted, “but I was a little tired.”

  She used that word rather than saying rattled or anything else, he figured, trying to think back to when it had happened and realizing that he hadn’t known her well enough the first time someone broke in for her to tell him more.

  He nodded. “Well, let’s hope it doesn’t happen again.”

  Thomas spoke up. “Perhaps we can try to scare the next intruder.”

  Skylar and Gage shared a glance, not sure how to address that. “Only if you can trip him or something, like an accident, not like a ghostly visitation,” Skylar suggested.

  Thomas gave it a thought and nodded. “Good night.”

  Gage led the way out of the store, and, once it was secured under his watchful eye, they headed to her apartment upstairs.

  As they got closer, Skylar waved at Elena and said, “We’re heading to bed. It’s been an eventful night.”

  “I knew you’d sort it all out.”

  Gage just stared at her in shock, and, when they got to Skylar’s bedroom, he whispered, “Dear God, she’s gorgeous.”

  Skylar’s laughter peeled out and surrounded the room, as he flushed.

  “I get how you are used to seeing Elena,” Gage began, “but you don’t really realize it until you see her, as she just sits there and shimmers.”

  “Shimmers is a good word for it,” she agreed, with a smile. “And don’t worry. I don’t take it personally.”

  “Good,” he replied, “because I’d rather have flesh and blood any day.”

  He joined her on her bed, grabbed her in his arms, and pulled her close. Only then did he note she was lying on top of the covers, fully dressed. He frowned. “Are you sure you don’t want to get undressed and actually get some quality sleep?”

  “No, that’s not even close to possible tonight—this morning.” She yawned. “If I can just catch a few hours, I’ll be grateful.” And, with that, she closed her eyes.

  He wrapped her up, pulled her closer, and just hung on, before falling asleep himself. His last thought as he went under was how different his world had become. Now if he could only get to the point where he could help her with some of her work and could make things easier on her, then he would be a happy man.

  And that reminded him of something else he needed his lawyer to do. He’d take care of it first thing when he woke up—in just a couple hours.

  Chapter 18

  Later that same morning Skylar stood in front of the broken window, contemplating it, with Gage at her side.

  “Insurance should cover this,” he noted.

  “Yeah, it sure will, and I’ll pay the deductible, and they’ll probably jack up my premiums for like three years for having made a claim.”

  He muttered at her side, “Probably longer.”

  “Right, so I don’t know. Maybe I can just get a quote from somebody I know around the corner, who does glass.”

  “Why don’t you give me his name and number, and I’ll go talk to him?”

  She looked at him, contemplated the idea, and then nodded. “Sure, why not?” She told him about the little glass store on one of the back streets. Gage took off, as if on a mission, and she opened up her store. The first couple customers who came in exclaimed over the broken window.

  She just smiled and said, “It’s all right. It’s all being handled. New glass will be in shortly.”

  “Oh, good.” They bustled about, looking at her wares.

  Skylar should clean the energy again. Grabbing the broom, she opened up the front door to let some of the brighter energy in, and she did her best to smooth it all out. Yet already she felt an odd sense to it. The women obviously felt it too, and they left without buying anything. And that was enough of that.

  The only reason she kept the business was so she could keep herself going in terms of paying the bills. As long as the money flowed, then she was good. When the money didn’t flow well, then things got ugly, and she’d have to find another way to make a living. She didn’t want to return to reading palms or to doing online psychic readings. She could, and she had when times were tough, but that should be the least of her worries right now.

  As soon as she had the broom, she cleaned out the front and then moved to the back, opened up the rear door, and started smoothing the energy out that way too. A few people came in, wandered around, then left again. By the time she finished in the back, she noted still more of the negative energy in the front. Groaning, she swept out more and more and more. By the time Gage came back, she was flustered.

  He looked at her, frowned, and asked, “Problems?”

  She just shrugged and smiled at the workman at his side.

  “I sure hope you can give me a reasonable quote for this,” Gage told him.

  The man looked at the window and shook his head. “This used to be a nice town.”

  “Yeah.” She grinned. “When was that?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Before the tourists.”

  She wouldn’t say anything to that because they all needed the tourists.

  He quickly measured the window and nodded to both of them. “I’ll send you a quote later today.”

  “You can send a text, if you like,” she suggested, giving him her contact information.

  “Good enough.” And he took off.

  Gage added, “He’ll see if he can patch this up later today as well. Meanwhile, I’ll go get some food. Do you want anything in particular?”

  “Yes, I want it all.”

  He laughed. “Good thing I’ve got lots of money, and I can feed you, huh?”

  She immediately frowned.

  He frowned right back, wagging a finger under her nose. “Oh no you don’t. Don’t you even start with me.”

  She glared at him. “I can pay my own way.”

  “No, stop it. I have so much money that it’s ridiculous. And that was before the stupid sale went through.”

  She shook her head. “I thought you needed it in order to live the life you wanted.”

  “And I was a fool,” he stated shortly. “Believe me. I’ve had a few paradigm shifts and realizations since this all started. It definitely won’t break me to feed you, and, if you’ll be difficult about this,” he stated, “I’ll just show up with food and not even talk to you about it.”

  She frowned, not liking the tone in his voice. Then she realized that getting upset was mostly due to her lack of sleep and the added irritation over whatever was happening in her space. Plus, she needed time to adjust to this new life of hers, now that Gage was in it. “Fine,” she said, with a wave of her hand. “Just go get food. Maybe it’ll make me less cranky.”

  He smiled. “And, for the record, this is the first time I’ve really heard that term apply.”

  She lifted the broom in a half-threatening manner, but he laughed and took off. She smiled, as she watched him disappear down the block.

  She turned around and headed toward the counter, thinking she’d sit until the next tourists came in. Hearing the back door, she walked to the rear of the store and came face-to-face with a man dressed all in black, though that wasn’t the issue.

  The snub-nosed revolver in his hand was.

  He looked at her, smiled. “There you are.”

  “Who are you?” she asked, backing up slowly.

  “Don’t move,” he snapped, waving the revolver around. “Now that your lover boy is gone, you and I will have a talk.”

  “Yeah?” She was already judging the distance to the front door, wondering if she could dodge the bullet, by running through the store around the shelving.

  Thomas whispered in her mind, Don’t be foolish. I’ll go alert Gage.

  “Don’t even think about it,” he ordered. “You can’t outrun a bullet.”

  She studied the gun in front of her, wondering just what her options actually were. Energy maybe, but she’d never used it to hurt anyone. “What do you want?” she asked, furious that her gunman had waited for Gage to disappear, and what if Thomas didn’t find Gage soon enough? They wouldn’t be back for quite a while now.

  “I want the tarot cards.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Why is everybody after the tarot cards?” she asked, infuriated.

  “Because they’re worth a lot of money,” he replied.

  “Is that the only reason?” she asked, turning her head to look at him. Because, if it was only about money, she’d be tempted to give the deck to him.

  He frowned. “Is there any other reason?”

  “There are rumors about them being magical. Or evil, rather,” she corrected herself, with a casual hand motion. And, with that simple motion, she tried to move some of the energy around her. But she found that it wasn’t very open to being moved, realizing that this was the source of the energy she had been trying to clear out of the store. She glared at him now, more pissed than ever because he was responsible for her losing what looked to be a full day’s worth of sales.

  “I don’t believe in that wacky woo-woo stuff,” he declared. “I know somebody who spent way-too-much money on all that crap, blowing it just as fast as he could get his hands on it.”

  At that, she froze. “That’s just your opinion. Some collectors are pretty crazy when it comes to whatever they’re collecting.”

  “Crazy obsessed,” he added, “he blew so much money.”

  “And I get the impression that you feel like that money was yours.”

  “Well, some of it was coming to me,” he confirmed. “And it’s not even so much that I care, but it’s a means to an end.”

  She frowned at that, not liking the suspicions in her mind. “Money should always be a means to an end,” she stated. “Like for housing, food, clothing. Money only becomes a problem when you start clinging to it, worrying about not having enough. Hoarding money is always associated with fear.”

  She was just warming up to a subject she hadn’t really had a chance to talk to Gage about because he had so much of the damn stuff. “It’s really sad the way the world is right now,” she muttered. “Just so many things out there in life could be done so much better, yet everybody is hung up on greed instead.”

  “Well, it’s obvious that you don’t have any money,” he declared. “From the looks of this store, you’re pretty poverty-stricken yourself.”

  She stiffened and glared at him. “There’s nothing wrong with my store,” she snapped, “just because it’s not up to whatever Taj Mahal level you seem to think it should be.” She glared. “It’s my livelihood.”

  “Yeah, little trinkets and scummy shit,” he sneered. “You’re just capitalizing off New Orleans.”

  “Everybody has an opinion.” She refused to get dragged into an argument with a gunman over what she sold in her shop. It was hard enough to find things that the tourists wanted to buy without having to deal with criticism from an asshole like this. “And I don’t have your damn tarot cards. Some guy came in here a few days ago and looked for them. He asked me about them too. I’ll tell you the same thing I told him. I don’t know anything about it.”

  “But you do, don’t you?”

  She frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you know something about them.”

  “Sure, I know that they existed. I don’t know if they still do, and, for all I know, the old man was chasing a dream, and it had nothing to do with anything,” she told him.