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Lance reached for the knife so he could start cutting up the tomatoes for the salad he was making. Beside him, Angus was preparing the steaks to take out to the grill. Outside, Dawn, Scott, and Isaac sat talking. Jeremy was supposed to drop by as well, but they had yet to see him. "Are you sure that telling your captain that I see ghosts won't be an issue for you at work?"

"He'll be fine with it. After tonight, any doubts he has about ghosts will be gone. If he was going to cause problems, he would have done it already." Angus washed his hands. "If I have any worries about this at all, it's that he'll want to take advantage of you and my mother to try and talk to people for him."

"I can only talk to ghosts I see. It's not like I can call them back from the light." Lance shrugged. "Your mom and I will handle things if he starts asking. We both have our limits. We'll just let Captain Marshall and his wife know that we don't do casual conversations for the living and dead. What I did for Megan and her father was personal. I won't do it for just anyone."

"And it turned out well since it might actually help bring down some of the drug traffickers in the area." Angus turned as the doorbell rang. "That will be Mom and Dad." He left to get the door.

Lance continued working on the salad, excited but a bit nervous about what the night would bring. Outing himself as a person who could see ghosts always made him worry. As hard as he tried to be like Lizzy and not worry about what the world thought of her, he just couldn't do it. He worried about his career and reputation. He didn't want to be known as the weird guy who talked to himself, or the crazy man who claimed to see ghosts.

"Are those cheesy biscuits?" Martin, Angus's father, walked into the kitchen.

"They are. They're hot, but you can have one if you want. I made plenty." Lance smiled at the older man. He loved Angus's parents as if they were his own.

"I might have to taste test just one." Martin reached for one of the rolls cooling on top of the stove. "How are you?"

"I'm good. It was a long week. I'm looking forward to the weekend. How about you? Ready for that trip to Hawaii?" Lance asked.

"I can't wait for it. While Lizzy and Betty do their thing, I'll sit in the sun, feel the mist of the ocean on my skin, and just enjoy myself." Martin bit into the biscuit and moaned in pleasure.

"He means he'll be watching all the girls in bikinis." Lizzy walked up to him and placed a soft kiss on Lance's cheek. "Thanks for inviting us."

"You know you don't need an invite to come over, but I'm glad you're here. This will be easier with you here when we talk to Captain Marshall. I admit I'm a bit nervous." Lance set the knife down.

"Nonsense. You'll be just fine. He's already a believer. We won't have to do anything more than speak for the ghosts. It will be a fun night. You'll see." She gave his shoulder a squeeze, then grabbed a biscuit for herself.

"I wish I could snag one." Betty came to stand beside Lance. "You're becoming quite the cook."

"Thanks to Cel," Lance told Betty. She'd been one of the first ghosts he'd met. As Lizzy's best friend, she was like a second mother to him. "I'm glad you're here tonight."

"Who is our new young ghost?" Lizzy asked as she looked out the window into the backyard.

Lance looked out the window to where the ghosts sat. "That's Dawn. She was murdered recently. We caught her killer. I'm not sure what her plans are now, but she was excited when I offered to have her here tonight. The other man is—"

"Oh, I know the other two. That's Senator Gifford and Scott Mayburn. I knew both of them when they were alive. Let's go say hello, Betty." Lizzy headed out the sliding door into the backyard.

"Senator Gifford is here?" Martin raised a brow. "Interesting."

"He's looking for some help dealing with an issue his son has. We'll discuss it when Captain Marshall and his wife arrive," Angus told his father. "Franks just pulled up out front."

"You got enough food for everyone?" Martin asked.

"We do. In a bit, you can help me get the steaks on the grill." Angus walked over and kissed Lance on the head. "Lance has made us several side dishes. He did a potato salad, those biscuits, the salad, and for dessert he made some fancy banana pudding dish Cel gave him the recipe to. It looks amazing."

"You keep this up and you can have your own Sunday cooking show like Cel did. Where is she anyway?" Martin asked.

"She's with her family today. They were having a birthday party she wanted to be at." Lance turned and pulled a bottle of water from the fridge. "Want a drink?"

"You got soda?" Martin asked.

"Sure do." Lance handed him one he knew Martin preferred.

Franks walked into the kitchen and went right for the biscuits. "Evening everyone."

Lance's eyes went wide as Franks reached for the biscuits and he saw the scratches all over Franks' arm. "What happened to your arm?"

Franks laughed as he shrugged. "Pix and I might have played a bit too hard. I had my hand under the blanket and was teasing her. She's a wild thing. She goes after my feet too."

Lance cringed at the thought of a cat clawing into his foot. "Are you okay? "

"Oh yeah. I'm good. We were just playing. I went out after work today and bought some new toys for her. Some with long wands so that she can chase those instead of my hands or feet." Franks popped a biscuit into his mouth.

"So things with the cat are good?" Lance asked.

"Really good. She loves all the room to play. She spends most of the time near the front window on her tower, basking in the sun. We've become good friends." Franks shrugged again. "Who would have thought a cat would steal my heart? But she has."

"I'm so glad. Dawn will be excited to hear that." Lance smiled.

"I'm sure she already knows. I'm convinced she comes over to see Pix. It's the way Pix rubs up against thin air. You know the way Haunt does when she is playing with the ghosts. I try not to think about it much. I know you said ghosts don't invade our privacy, but I'm rushing through my showers just in case."

"No one is spying on you." Angus slapped Franks on the shoulder. "Don't even worry about that."

The doorbell rang again, and Lance moved to get it. "That will be our guests of honor."

Angus went with him. "Ready for this?"

"I hope so." Lance reached out and opened the door, fighting back a wave of nerves. "Hi, welcome."

"Thanks for having us." Captain Marshall walked in. "This is my wife, Maria. Maria, this is Detective Angus Young, and his boyfriend, Lance Tuner. He's our assistant medical examiner. "

She gave them a warm smile and offered her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet the two of you. I'm so excited to be here tonight." She looked around. "Is it just you two?"

Angus laughed. "Here at the door, yes. The others are all in the backyard. Come on in and we'll introduce you. You can visit while I get the steaks on the grill."

Lance let Angus lead them into the backyard where Lizzy and Martin were already sitting with the ghosts. Lance had moved two long folding tables into the backyard so that everyone, including the ghosts, would have somewhere to sit. He smiled as he noticed Haunt pressed to the chair beside Dawn. He'd barely left her side since she'd arrived.

As Angus made introductions, Lance took a seat beside Lizzy. They'd filled her in on how the captain and his wife were interested in learning about how she communicated with ghosts, but also about how Isaac wanted to try and find a way to help get his son away from the drugs that were destroying his life. Lance had also told her he was ready to let a few more know about his ability. She knew how nervous he was but was proud of him for taking one more step into not hiding who he really was from the world.

"So how many ghosts are here?" Captain Marshall asked.

Lance pointed. "We have Betty, who is Lizzy's best friend. Then we have Dawn Belamy, who died recently. Angus and Franks handled her murder case this week. And then we also have Scott Mayburn, who you might have heard recently passed away. Beside Scott, we have Senator Isaac Gibbons."

Maria gasped. "Senator?"

Lance nodded. "When we mentioned to the senator that we were having you over, he asked to be here so he could talk to you about a few things."

"Of course. I was sad to hear of both of your deaths. The Mayburn Hotel has been a wonderful place through the years. I attended many events there." The captain smiled at Lizzy. "Can they hear me?"

She laughed. "Yes, they can. Sadly, you'll need either Lance or I to know what they say back."

The captain's gaze flashed back to Lance. "You see them as well?"

Lance nodded. "I'm just not as comfortable letting people know as Lizzy is."

"Well, that explains a lot. I was wondering how Angus's mother was finding ways to involve herself with all of this." Captain Marshall shook his head. "How interesting your lives must be since you're able to see both the living and the dead."

Lizzy laughed. "It's a blessing. I'm proud of how many people Lance and Angus have been able to help. We would have never known about Scott's mother being murdered if he hadn't met Lance at the morgue."

"Tell them I go by Isaac now," Isaac told Lance.

"And the senator wants me to tell you, he goes by Isaac now. He quit being Senator when he died," Lance told them .

"Of course." Captain Marshall looked around the table. "Where is the senator… I mean Isaac sitting?"

Lance pointed. "He's there."

"This is so strange." Maria put a hand to her chest. "They are really here?"

"Isaac says he still remembers that beautiful necklace you won at the raffle at the police officer's ball last year," Lizzy smiled at Maria.

"Tell them I remember them there for Mother's Day about ten years ago."

"And Scott wanted me to mention the weekend the two of you stayed at the Mayburn for Mother's Day about ten years ago," Lance added.

"You remember that?" Maria gasped.

"He said he remembers all his guests." Lizzy smiled.

"That was what made the Mayburn so perfect. You felt like you were the most important guest when you were there," Martin told them.

"Scott said to tell you both thank you." Lizzy leaned back in her chair.

"I’m going to get dinner going. Dad, care to help?" Angus asked his father.

"Of course." Martin stood.

"And I'm going to leave you with Lizzy while I finish up in the kitchen. I'll join you soon." Lance stood, needing to make sure he had all the side dishes ready.

"Need help?" Franks asked.

"I'm good. You stay and enjoy the night." Lance headed inside .

Once there, he took a deep breath and looked out the window. That had been a lot easier than he'd expected. He was almost let down that nobody was shocked he could see ghosts. He hadn't wanted to make it a big deal and it hadn't been, so that was good. He started gathering things that would need to go outside once dinner was ready and set everything on the table. He'd give Lizzy and the ghosts time to speak with Isaac and Scott and discuss ghostly things. He'd join them later when they ate and when the conversation got more serious. Lizzy was good at this and she'd call if it got too much and she needed him to join in. For now, he'd focus on making sure dinner was perfect.