Page 5

I feel like that should be my line, Ethan thought, narrowing his eyes right back at this woman, who’d presumed to boss him around, make him get dog hairs all over his suit, and then, inexplicably, offer him a job.

Okay. But on the other hand, I did just walk into… what is clearly her place of business without explanation. Though I would have given her one if I’d had literally any time.

Not a full explanation of course – he could hardly tell her that he’d only come here at the behest of a ghost who was, apparently, bound to him for reasons neither of them had any idea about, who’d gotten more and more agitated the closer they’d gotten to Girdwood Springs, and had been practically vibrating with spectral unease as they passed this particular house.

~There!~ Curtis had cried out, pointing a transparent finger out of the car window as they’d passed it. ~This house! There is… something about it. I don’t know what, but…~

That had pretty much been the way of the journey so far: Curtis giving Ethan instructions based on somewhat unclear but very strongly felt instincts – though it seemed as if Curtis’s memories had been growing stronger and stronger the closer they got to Girdwood Springs, to the point where he’d remarked that things about it seemed different to how he remembered them.

~There was once a coach station here…~ he’d murmured as they’d passed what was now clearly a bus stop, and ~Could that be the old tavern?~ when Ethan had driven by what was now clearly a diner.

It had been hard for Ethan not to feel just a little sorry for Curtis – the ghost was confused, obviously, and staring around him as if everything that should have been familiar to him was now different somehow, as if it had all changed while he’d been sleeping.

But maybe that’s almost exactly like what happened? Ethan had wondered, as he’d taken his eyes off the road for a moment to glance at Curtis’s deeply perplexed face. What must it be like to suddenly find yourself in a strange, utterly different world, for no reason that you can understand?

All the more reason to send him back where he came from sooner rather than later, his pegasus had chimed in, with a shiver of fear it tried to pass off as annoyance.

Well, Ethan could agree with that. But Curtis definitely had had a strong reaction to this house, and Ethan had instantly turned in to its driveway when Curtis had told him to.

Who knew, maybe the house had held some kind of significance for Curtis in life, and bringing him back here would resolve whatever issue had pulled him out of the afterlife as soon as he set foot inside?

But it’s clearly not a house anymore. It’s been refurbished into, I suppose, a vet’s office.

That much Ethan could determine. Everything else – including why he’d even allowed someone who appeared to be the vet herself boss him around, and why he’d followed her instructions without even trying to set her straight – was a complete mystery to him.

There was something about the woman – Chloe, he supposed he should start thinking of her as – that just seemed to draw him to her, and he didn’t understand why.

Sure, she was stunningly gorgeous, with her dark hair, high cheekbones, and warm hazel eyes – but he’d seen plenty of beautiful women in his life, and never before had he felt like this. Like he would reach into the sky and pull down the stars for her if she asked.

Or hold down a dog that was in dire need of a bath while wearing a four-thousand-dollar suit, anyway.

Okay, so the dog obviously had needed help. And Ethan liked dogs. He just didn’t have the time to own one. Or at least one that he’d ever see, anyway, as opposed to just paying a dogwalker to take it out, feed it, and brush it for him.

None of that explained why he’d done… well, literally any of that, no matter how bossy – or beautiful – this Chloe woman was.

It was confusing, to say the least.

But one thing he did know was that Chloe was waiting for an answer from him, arms crossed, foot tapping lightly on the floor.

Ethan gulped. Chloe might have been at least a foot shorter than him, but he still felt like he was being skewered right through by her piercing gaze.

Come on, get it together, he told himself. You’re used to sitting across the table from some of the toughest negotiators in the business world. Are you really going to stand here and be intimidated by a vet?

“I think we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot,” he said. Direct, businesslike – that was something he could do. Reset the meeting on his own terms. “It seems like there’s been some mistake. I’m not here about a job.”

She already knows that, you ignoramus, his pegasus sniffed.

If you’re not going to help, you can go back to trembling in fear about the ghost, Ethan snapped back.

Which reminded him – where was Curtis? He’d seemed to have disappeared the moment they walked into the house, but Ethan had a sinking suspicion that the mystery hadn’t been solved, and Curtis would be popping up again sometime soon. Nothing in life was ever that easy.

Pushing the thought aside, he held out his hand to Chloe. “Maybe we can get things started on the right foot this time.”

Chloe stared at his hand, looking for a long moment like she was going to take it… before dropping her own hand to her side. It left Ethan feeling oddly… not hurt , he would never feel hurt by something so trivial, but definitely surprised.

Maybe a little hurt. He would’ve liked to have taken her hand, and felt its warmth.

What is going on with me today? he thought despairingly.

“I’m Dr. Chloe Fenwick – uh, just Chloe,” she said, with the slightest hint of a very fetching blush dusting her cheeks.

“I’m sorry, I would shake your hand, but I’ve just been touching a dog’s mouth…

uh…” The blush rose higher. “I’ve just got to go wash my hands.

Be right back! And I still want an explanation! ”

She hurried out of the room before he could respond, with the sound of running water and irritated muttering coming from the next room a moment later. She had been wearing gloves, so he doubted it was that essential that she wash her hands, but he guessed that maybe it was protocol.

Or maybe she was just feeling a bit intimidated, being approached by a large man in a building that was supposed to be closed to the public.

Not that she seemed like she couldn’t handle herself, but he could understand why it might be a bit worrying.

He moved back a little and removed his jacket, slinging it over his shoulder and leaning against a doorframe in an attempt to look at least a little bit less imposing.

Okay. Think rationally. How are you going to explain this whole situation?

Badly, his pegasus sneered.

Chloe came back out before he could retort, her face still pink, though now it looked like she’d splashed some water on it and made a half-hearted attempt to dry it off.

Tiny droplets of water sparkled from the wisps of hair that had come loose from her ponytail, and the overall effect was enchanting.

The annoyance that she was clearly radiating just somehow made it even more mesmerizing.

Her eyes widened as she saw him leaning on the doorframe. Maybe she didn’t appreciate him getting himself all over her new clinic. He straightened awkwardly.

“I’m sorry about the confusion,” Ethan said. “It wasn’t my intention to get in the way of your work.”

“Then why did you do that?” she asked, sounding agitated. “With Bella, I mean?”

“Well,” Ethan said, while he tried to think of something that was a balance between the truth and what would please Chloe to hear, just in case Curtis needed more time to figure out why this house in particular was so special to him.

Really, who knew with ghosts? “It seemed like the right thing to do?”

“I guess I can’t argue with that,” Chloe said, softening ever so slightly…

before her jaw hardened again. “But that still doesn’t explain why you were here in the first place.

The clinic is closed, and unless you have a hamster in your pocket, I don’t see you with an animal in dire need of veterinary care. ”

Oh, crap.

“I’m here for a… a research project,” he blurted out, before he could stop himself.

His pegasus shook its head in disgust. “I’m a lost tourist and I was looking for help” was right there, you know.

Ethan barely managed to refrain from tearing his hair out. Then why didn’t you suggest that at any point in the past five minutes?!

Chloe raised an eyebrow. “Veterinary research? Not sure this is the right place for it. It’s just a one-person show here, nothing fancy.”

“No, I’m doing research about the town,” Ethan said, trying not to sound flustered. He was winging it, which normally he’d be fine with, but in this instance he felt completely out of his depth. But it wasn’t a lie – he did need to find out why Curtis had wanted to be brought here.

“Oh, really?” Chloe looked intrigued, despite her obvious doubts about him. “What kind of research?”

“Oh, nothing that interesting,” Ethan said breezily. “Just about… stuff.” At Chloe’s confused expression, he quickly added, “Historical stuff. About the town, the old buildings, that kind of thing.”

He nodded in what he hoped was a convincing fashion, warming to the story as he spoke.

“One of my clients had some family history in this area that he wanted to look into. He couldn’t make it up here himself, so I thought I’d take a mini-break up in the mountains to check it out.

I came here because I’d heard that this was one of the older houses in town, but obviously it’s a business now.

So I really should get out of your hair and let you get back to work. ”

He attempted a smile, which hopefully didn’t look entirely like a grimace. “Best of luck with your business.”