Haunting Danielle 27 The Ghost and the Mountain Man Bobbi Holmes (best pdf ebook reader for android .TXT) 📖

of his brothers stole the love of his life, so he moved away from the rest of his family and settled in Oregon and eventually married his kindred spirit, fellow temperance devotee,” Danielle said.

Walt cocked a brow at Danielle. “Nice to know I have someone to go to when I need help working out a plotline.”

Danielle grinned at her husband. “Always happy to help.”

“In Old Man Becker’s case, I think it was more about an already married sister-in-law, from what he said. Of course, he didn’t get into specifics. He was rambling mostly, trying to work it all out, wondering if he should move on or stick around. I think seeing me convinced him he could avoid punishment by remaining here. After all, he truly believed actors were doomed to hell,” Eva explained.

“But he moved on?” Danielle asked.

“Yes, I believe so. Although I suppose he might have followed his body to the cemetery and stuck around for a while. As you know, back in those days I avoided Frederickport Cemetery because Angela was there. She was simply too annoying. But since I’ve been going back there, I’ve never seen him. So I have to assume he eventually moved on,” Eva said. “But I don’t suppose you wanted to see me to talk about Old Man Becker. What’s this Marie told me about the ghost from the mountains following you down here?”

Walt and Danielle took turns filling Eva in on the recent events involving their mystery ghost. When they finished, Eva let out a sigh. “There are no rumblings on my end. But I will certainly keep an eye out.”

Fourteen

Danielle was taking the lid off her slow cooker to check its simmering contents when a knock came at her kitchen door. She re-covered the cooker and glanced toward the knock. A moment later the door opened, and Heather stepped inside.

“I didn’t hear you say come in, but I saw you standing there,” Heather said as she closed the door behind her.

“Ahh, a peeping Tom!” Danielle teased.

Heather shrugged. “I figure it’s payback for your cat snooping on me.”

“Fair enough,” Danielle said. “Want a glass of iced tea?”

“Sure.” Heather watched as Danielle reached into one of the overhead cabinets and retrieved two tall glasses. “What’s in the Crock-Pot? Smells good.”

“Chicken. I’m making chicken tacos for dinner,” Danielle explained as she set the glasses on the counter next to the refrigerator. She opened the freezer and began filling the glasses with ice.

“Sounds good. I came over to see if you’ve found out anything new about our mountain man, and I have a baking question.” Heather took a seat at the kitchen table.

“Baking?” Danielle closed the freezer and opened the refrigerator. She removed the pitcher of tea and filled both glasses.

Heather continued to watch Danielle. “Have you ever made sourdough bread?”

“No. But Lily used to make it.” Danielle carried the glasses over to the kitchen table. After setting them down, she removed the lid of the cake plate sitting on the center of the table, revealing a stack of moist brownies. She nodded to the plate. “I’m more of a dessert baker. Help yourself.”

Heather snatched a brownie, and Danielle re-covered the platter.

“Although, I have toyed with the idea of giving sourdough bread a try. But I buy it from Old Salts, and they make great sourdough, so I haven’t bothered,” Danielle said.

“I want to try. I like the idea I can make bread without relying on store-bought yeast and baking powder.” Heather took a bite of the brownie.

“You still have to buy flour,” Danielle reminded her.

“Now you’re sounding like Brian.”

Danielle grinned in response.

“By the way, I talked to Brian before I came over here. He said he saw you and Walt at the museum.”

“Yes. In our quest to uncover the identity of our mystery ghost, we were hoping to go through some newspapers that were recently donated. But they aren’t there yet.”

“He told me about the woman who donated those newspapers. And how Kelly is trying to set him up with her.” Heather glanced down at her brownie and pulled off a piece.

“Ahh, he told you. Well, he didn’t seem very interested. He made an excuse that he had to talk to Walt about something so he could wait outside for Joe,” Danielle explained.

Heather nodded. “Yeah, Brian told me that too. So, tell me, you think this woman would be perfect for Brian?”

“Obviously Brian didn’t think so.”

“Yeah, I suppose. But I don’t really get why he wants to hang out with me.” Heather took another bite of her brownie.

“Can I ask you something?” Danielle asked.

Heather swallowed her bite of brownie and looked up to Danielle. “What?”

“Why do you want to hang out with Brian?”

Heather shrugged. “He’s funny. When I first met him, I didn’t think he was funny. I thought he was kinda a jerk. But he’s got a silly side, and he’s more open-minded than most people. I remember how Ian totally flipped over the entire ghost thing, but Brian, well, he takes it all in stride.”

“Life is short. Spend time with people who make you happy. Don’t overthink it.”

Now finished with her brownie, Heather absently fiddled with her glass of tea. “Brian also told me Joe proposed to Kelly.”

“Yeah, Lily mentioned it before I ran into them today. I congratulated Joe and Kelly when I saw them at the museum,” Danielle said.

“Did you see Kelly’s ring?” Heather asked.

“Um… yeah.” Danielle took a sip of her tea.

When Danielle did not elaborate, Heather asked, “Well, what does it look like?”

Danielle shrugged. “It’s a ring.”

Narrowing her eyes, Heather studied Danielle for a moment. “Okay, spill it. What aren’t you saying?”

Danielle looked at Heather and cringed. “It’s the most gawd-awful ring I’ve ever seen.”

Heather’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“I guess it’s a family heirloom. Lily told me about the ring when she told me about Kelly being engaged.”

“And what did Lily think about the ring?” Heather asked.

Danielle shrugged and cringed again. “She thought the same thing—but you have to promise not to say anything.”

“Considering