“We can just put them here for now,” I said as I motioned to the corner of the stock room.

  “Good idea. There’s still a ton of boxes in the show room,” Marty said as he turned to face me. “I think you’ll love what we’ve done with the place. In fact,” he started and then approached me, stepping behind me as he blindfolded me with his hand. “This would make a good surprise.”

  I took a cautious step forward, with my hands out in front of me like I thought I was Frankenstein’s monster learning to walk.

  “Surprise!” Marty said as he dropped his hand and I glanced around. And I couldn’t believe my eyes! My hands flew to my mouth to stifle a sound. A gasp, a laugh, a sob, I wasn’t sure which.

  Marty hadn’t constructed shelves. He’d bought them—dark wooden bookshelves and cabinets.

  And lots of them.

  Three mahogany bookshelves and two apothecary cabinets dominated the shop wall, facing the frosted glass windows. The bottommost shelves had been left empty for merchandise, but several of the top shelves had been stuffed full of fat glass jars you’d find in a candy store. They sat empty, but were full of promise.

  Along another wall, was a glass display case with glittering crystal handles. It was also empty, and the mirrored back wall reflected the executive desk just in front of it. The desk was constructed of dark wood with a chocolate leather top and a black wood, swivel chair appeared behind it. On the desk’s surface was an antique cash register, a ledger, and a ceramic mug full of calligraphy pens.

  “Oh my God, Marty, this is...” I couldn’t finish the sentence. I choked on a fresh wave of emotion, as I shook my head and faced him, in complete awe.

  “McFly,” he corrected me. “Remember? You call me McFly.”

  “McFly,” I said as I took a deep breath. “I… I can’t believe it.” I shook my head again, taking in everything around me with renewed shock and elation.

  Marty smiled at me, a boyish, hopeful gleam in his eye. “Do you like it?”

  I nodded until my neck hurt. “I love it.”

  He beamed even more broadly. “We’ve still got some things to get. I’ve got to pick up some more screws for one of the cabinets and some more light bulbs for the chandelier.” He looked up at the ceiling. “It doesn’t look like the lights in this place have been replaced in years and you may want to consider an area rug for the front entry. There might be some water damage on the wood floor.”

  “I just… I don’t even know what to say,” I said as I circled around again and felt like I wanted to cry.

  “Is it what you wanted?” Marty asked, sounding hopeful.

  “It’s above and beyond what I wanted!” I said, nearly singing. I looked at the store again. There wasn’t a speck of dust in sight. If I was a betting woman, I’d say Marty had scrubbed the floors, fixtures, and furniture with wood polish. “It’s just… you had to have spent a fortune on the furniture. This is way more than what we originally talked about…”

  He shook his head and held up his hands. “Everything was free, Poppy.”

  “Free?” My eyes about bugged out of my head.

  He nodded. “This stuff used to belong to Henner’s grandmother. It’s been crowding up his basement for years. Believe me, you’re doing him a favor by taking it.”

  “You really are,” another voice said, drawing my attention to an outcropping of boxes that were piled one on top of the other. There was a man hidden behind them, and he craned his neck around one side to wave at me.

  “Yeah, it was this or a yard sale,” he started. “No one wanted to take any of it!”

  I was shocked. “Why not?”

  He frowned. “Everyone was afraid it was all cursed.”

  “Cursed?” I repeated, frowning. “Why?”

  He nodded. “Because of the legends surrounding the old Tayir House.”

  “The Old Tayir House?” I repeated, looking at Marty for an explanation.

  “Henner’s grandmother owned the Tayir House, back in the day. Everyone called her Lady Tayir.”

  “You mean everyone called her ‘Witch Tayir’,” Henner corrected.

  I started forward, mainly to see what Henner was working on behind the tower of boxes. He was crouching over what looked like an old-timey radio. The insides had been gutted, and wires trailed out onto the floor like limp, multi-colored spaghetti.

  Seeing me, he stood to his full height, which seemed to be six feet, or so. The first thing I noticed was his black, hooded sweatshirt and the skeleton torso on it, making it look like he was half skeleton. He was wearing black shorts, even though it was freezing outside, with black combat boots. And on his head was what looked like a genuine, military-issue beret, covering part of his long, black hair.

  His smile was extremely friendly as he extended a hand to me. “I’m Henner Tayir, by the way. You’re Holly, right?”

  “Yes,” I started as I took his hand and shook it briefly. “It’s really great to meet you.”

  “Poppy,” Marty corrected us both and then patted me on the head. “We call her Poppy here.”

  Even though Marty patting me on the head made me feel like his trusted dog, it was still cute, all-the-same. It made me feel like I was one of the gang. And I liked that feeling.

  “Oh, cool,” Henner answered as I thought about the fact that Marty called me Poppy. I liked that too.

  But, going back to the conversation at hand, I couldn’t help but get a bit concerned about Witch Tayir. I had to wonder if Henner’s grandmother was a witch, was he a warlock, rare though they were?

  But when I’d touched his hand to shake it, I couldn’t feel any magic rolling off him. So, that would lead me to believe the answer to my question was a ‘no’.

  “Thank you for all of this,” I said, gesturing to my surroundings. I still couldn’t believe it—how amazing everything looked—how they’d completely gone overboard. For me.

  “That looks like a smile of happiness,” Henner said.

  “It is!” I answered with a laugh. “It’s... well, the shop looks incredible. I just don’t even know what to say or how to thank you.”

  “I think you just did,” Marty answered with a chuckle.

  “I… I still feel like I need to reimburse you, Henner,” I said as I faced the man in question. “For all your grandmother’s things.”

  Henner looked thoughtful for a moment as he scratched his chin with his index finger and I braced myself for a high number. After all, most of the bookshelves and cabinets appeared to be antiques. An alleged curse might dissuade those in the know in Haven Hollow, but it wouldn’t depreciate the value outside this strange, little town.

  Finally, Henner shook his head and dusted his hands off on his shorts. “No charge, Poppy. Consider it a ‘Welcome to Haven Hollow’ gift.”

  “But, there must be something…”

  “How about your friendship?” Henner asked with a big grin. “I can always use more of those.”

  I laughed, immediately drawn to him. He had the same goodness in his eyes Marty did. They seemed to be cut from the same cloth and it was no surprise they kept company with each other.

  “I’d love to be your friend,” I said, overcome yet again by a wave of gratitude.

  Aside from the nightmare visions and my unwelcome ghostly hitchhiker, life in Haven Hollow was shaping up to be exactly what I needed. It felt like the cosmic lashing I’d been experiencing in my life, thus far, was finally coming to an end.

  Tears of happiness welled in my eyes, and I had to blink them away. I wasn’t exactly keen on being emotional in front of people I’d just met.

  “What’s that on the floor?” I asked, scrubbing at my eyes.

  “It’s our homemade ghost box,” Henner answered.

  “What does it do?”

  “Well, it’s supposed to allow ghosts to pick up on radio waves, songs, and other signals to get their message across,” Henner answered. “I brought it to your store so I could show Marty and we could figure out what was wrong with it.”

  Marty looked at me then. “I think I mentioned it to you when we first met?”

  “Oh, right,” I said, but I honestly couldn’t remember the conversation at all.

  “Most of the spirits we’ve encountered are willing to move on peacefully,” Henner continued. “The sentient ones, anyway.”

  So they were aware there was a difference between residual spirits and intelligent ones. That was a good thing.

  “I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be to have people ignoring you day in and day out,” Marty went on with a heavy sigh. “I’d throw things across the room too, just to get a scrap of acknowledgement.”

  I considered him for a few seconds. The boyish exterior hid an exceptionally perceptive and compassionate man. And as he turned to smile at me, I couldn’t help the butterflies that suddenly swarmed my stomach. Just as quickly, though, I opened the window and released them. I had no business feeling silly butterflies with someone who seemed like he’d be a great friend. Even if that was all we were destined to be, I was still a lucky woman. In so many ways, friends were even better than romantic relationships. They definitely lasted longer.

  And who says you’re interested in romantic relationships, anyway? I asked myself.

  Right. No one.

  I quickly thought of my Match.com profile, which had sat untouched since I’d matched with Marty. Now it was keeping company with a choir of crickets.

  “Why are you dismantling the ghost box?” I asked, looking to Henner for an answer.

  “The wires keep getting crossed,” he muttered, shaking his head. “I swear I’m picking up on people’s television sets. Hard to understand spirits when they suddenly start sounding like Jerry Springer or some old Western.”

  I laughed even as Henner frowned and Marty shook his head, like the whole thing was one huge sham.

  “Is that the only thing you use in your ghost hunting expeditions?” I asked. I had my own ways of helping spirits move on and wasn’t very familiar with the more technological side of ghost hunting.

  “Ha!” Henner laughed and then shook his head. “As far as spectrographic analysis goes, we have a whole ton of tools we use.”

  Marty smiled at me and gave me a nudge in the arm. “Now you’ve done it.”

  I laughed but then gave my attention back to Henner, who was already taking in a deep breath, apparently to enlighten me.

  “I use an oscilloscope to measure changes in frequencies, a thermal scanner to measure air temperature changes, and an EMF meter to measure levels of electromagnetic radiation. We use multiple cameras to record audio and video, including subsonic and ultra-high frequencies beyond normal human hearing. And the video can detect objects beyond the visible spectrum, such as ultraviolet and infrared. We also use a tool to measure changes in air density and a camera that employs infrared thermal vision and a DVR that can be set to detect movement in pixels. We use several motion sensors. Also a barometer, a psychrometer, an ion meter and a static meter.” He tapped his finger on his lower lip for a few seconds. “I think that’s about it.”

  “I understood about two words in that whole explanation,” I answered with another laugh.

  “Me too,” Marty said as he shook his head. “Henner is our tech guy, and I don’t even try to understand his jargon.”

  “The other key,” Henner went on, his expression one of someone who just remembered something, “is minimal lighting. You don’t want to confuse sensitive instruments.”

  “About the whole ghost subject,” Marty started as he looked at me.

  I wasn’t sure why, but my entire stomach dropped as I wondered at what he might say next. Did he somehow know about the ghostly visions I’d been having? But, no, there was no way...

  “Yes?” I started.

  “I have a particularly… difficult case I’d love to get your feedback on.”

  “Difficult?”

  “We can’t get the ghost to leave the property,” Henner filled in, shaking his head.

  “And we’d love it if we could get your help,” Marty added. “I told Henner about your banishment potions and the fact that you’ve got experience with exorcising spirits.”

  “Okay,” I started. “My help as far as?”

  “Could you give us a few banishment potions to try?” Marty asked.

  “Yeah,” Henner added. “I’ve never tried one before and I’m really curious as to how they do.”

  “Of course!” I answered with a big smile. I was worried Marty was actually asking me to help banish the ghost, something I’d sworn to Finn I would never get involved with again, not after how difficult it was to get rid of Frank.

  “Yo, yo, yo!” A high voice called from the doorway, drawing our collective attention.

  Finn took a step inside the store, the hardwood creaking under his gray Skechers. His eyes grew a little round as he absorbed the radical change in the shop. An orange plastic bag swung limply to his side, and I caught a glimpse of a sea of candy corns before he got a firmer grip on it. Someone had spent his allowance at Sweeter Haunts. Not that I minded.

  “Whoa,” he breathed as he looked around.

  “Yeah,” I said with a laugh. “Henner and McFly are miracle workers.”

  “Told you McFly was great,” Finn said with a sage nod.

  “Ah, thanks, buddy,” Marty answered.

  I introduced Henner to Finn, and the latter was immediately absorbed in Henner’s explanation of the ghost box and how it worked. Of course, Finn was a little nervous as soon as Henner mentioned the word ‘ghost’, but that fear soon turned to childhood interest as he asked Henner questions about how the thing worked. Or maybe Finn just wanted to keep his fears to himself, lest he be judged for them.

  But, the longer he spent talking to Henner, the clearer it became that Henner wasn’t the type to judge anyone, least of all, Finn. The two started laughing and talking over each other and asking each other questions, and it was fairly obvious they were kindred spirits.

  “You ready, buddy?” Marty asked, placing a big hand on Finn’s narrow shoulder. He pretended to covertly reach for a candy corn from Finn’s overflowing bag and smiled when Finn drew the bag back with a laugh.

  “I’m just kidding,” Finn said. “You can have as many as you want.” Then he turned to face Henner. “Hey, Henner, you want some candy corns?”

  “I would love some candy corns,” Henner answered as Marty turned to face me.

  “Looks like I’ve got competition for the title of Finn’s best friend now.”

  I nodded. “Hmm, it appears you do.”

  Finn turned to face me and smiled broadly. “You ready, Mom? I’m starving my nuts off!”

  “Finn!” I said, shocked as Marty and Henner erupted in chuckles.

  I watched my son beam at both of our new friends and something strange happened. A tingling started just above my breastbone and warmed me from the crown of my head to the tips of my toes.

  Chapter Ten

  From the outside, the Half-Moon Bar and Grill looked more like an old barn than a restaurant. A faded wooden sign hung above the entryway, script done up in big, block letters and punctuated with a silvery crescent moon. A set of creaking wooden stairs led to a side entrance and a screen door. My mouth immediately began to water as the smell of barbeque wafted out to greet us.

  We’d invited Henner to join us, but he said he was too busy with the ghost box, which he’d packed up and loaded into the truck in the back of the shop. We’d left all the boxes and bubble wrap in the store, to be dealt with another day.

  Now, Marty held the door for Finn and me, allowing us to step inside, ahead of him. Several unvarnished pine benches sat just to the side of the door, occupied by a happily chatting couple, a family with a squalling baby, and a group of gossiping teenagers. A perky blonde stood behind a hostess podium and beamed at us. She was young, probably not much over twenty-five and dressed in distressed jeans, a pair of cowboy boots, and a plaid top. She immediately smiled at Marty as we approached the podium.

  “Marty! Look at you, mingling with the living!”

  He returned the smile. “Hey there, Shelby. How’ve you been? How are Stanley and the kids?”

  Shelby shrugged. “Same as usual. It’s the running of the bulls every day at the Stomper house.”

  Marty’s smile was as bemused as mine. Ah, small town eccentricity at its finest.

  “I had a reservation for three. Is the table ready?” Marty asked.

  “Sure is,” Shelby said, giving him a glittering grin. She’d barely glanced at Finn or me, her focus all on Marty. Maybe that ought to have made me jealous. After all, I was here with him. Then again, she’d basically admitted she was married with kids, so I was probably just being silly.

  Besides, Marty and I were just friends.

  Right. And why did I have to keep reminding myself of that?

  Shelby sashayed toward the back, gait long, leggy, and confident like a show horse that knew its paces.

  The booth Shelby led us to was set just beneath a rounded window in the back. If you squinted, you could see a large pergola patio, sheltering a much nicer dining area outside. It allowed guests to dine al fresco and afforded a view of the sprawling countryside beyond. Water features decorated the lawn, alongside a few wicked looking garden gnomes. I could have sworn one of the little buggers stooped down to pick up a tree frog but, when I blinked next, the tiny bearded man was stationary.

  Hmm.

  Must have been a trick of my mind.

  Kind of like the creature I’d seen in the graveyard and in my nightmares?

  Yeah, that was a subject I’d firmly placed inside a tomb and sealed shut, never to see the light of day again. After I’d decided I couldn’t help the murdered man, even if he was posthumously reaching out to me, I’d changed the subject whenever my thoughts had returned to him or the nightmare visions. And, luckily, I hadn’t had the nightmare in a while.

  Still looking through the window, I watched as the wind tossed yellow, orange and red leaves in the treeline beyond, dislodging several and carrying them to land elsewhere. This town really was beautiful.