1
“Okay, what kind of cookies are we making?” Noel Townsend-Baker asked her six-year-old as she opened the pantry door.
“Chocolate chip! No, wait… peanut butter!” Poppy called out as she chased Buffy, the brindle-colored shih tzu, around the kitchen island.
“Really? Peanut butter?” Noel asked her with a frown. Chocolate chip were her youngest daughter’s favorite, and Noel couldn’t remember a single time in the past year that Poppy hadn’t requested them.
“Daddy likes peanut butter,” Poppy said and gripped Buffy around the middle, hugging her to her chest. The little dog licked her face once and then wiggled out of her grip and ran into the living room.
“That’s very sweet of you, baby,” Noel said, grabbing Poppy around the waist and giving her cheek a smacking kiss.
Poppy giggled and squirmed until she was free of her mother’s embrace.
The front door opened and her other daughter, Daisy, called out, “I’m home.”
“We’re in here,” Noel called out.
A moment later she heard her thirteen-year-old speaking to Buffy in a baby voice. “There’s my pretty girl,” Daisy said. “Did you miss me?”
Poppy darted into the living room to greet her sister, and Noel’s heart filled with joy. It was Friday afternoon, she had the weekend off from work, and her girls were home, safe and happy. The only one missing was her husband, Drew, who was due home any minute now.
There was a loud knock on the door, followed by Buffy’s incessant barking.
“Buffy, hush!” Daisy called out.
The front door opened, and familiar laughter filled the house.
Noel wiped her hands on a dish towel and went to find out what the commotion was all about. Her sister Abby was kneeling down, hugging Poppy, while her stepdaughter, Olive, was busy unleashing her golden retriever, Endora.
“Well, hello there,” Noel said as Endora ran over, demanding attention. Noel petted the dog’s head and added, “I wasn’t expecting you two until later.” Daisy and Olive were having a sleepover, and Abby was planning to drop Olive off right before dinner.
Abby glanced up. “Sorry. I should’ve called. Olive’s piano lesson was canceled. Uncle Chad’s a little under the weather today.”
“That’s too bad. I’ll give Hope a call later and see if they need anything,” Noel said, referring to their youngest sister. “But I’m happy you two are here early. Can you stay for a bit? Poppy and I were just getting ready to make cookies.”
“That’s what I was planning.” Abby looked at Poppy, who was still leaning into her. “What kind?”
“Peanut butter!” Poppy grabbed Abby by the hand and started tugging her aunt into the other room.
Noel laughed as she watched her daughter haul Abby into the kitchen.
Olive and Daisy had their heads together and were already planning their evening. The two cousins were good friends who hadn’t seen each other in a while due to their busy schedules.
“Olive, come over here and give me a hug before you two disappear into Daisy’s room.”
Her niece ran over and wrapped her arms around Noel, squeezing her tight. “Your house looks wonderful, Aunt Noel. The last time I saw it the walls weren’t even up yet.”
Noel laughed. “Yeah, it looks a little different now.” After Noel and Drew were married, they’d moved into his small, three-bedroom home. They’d finally sold it and purchased a fixer-upper on two acres just down the road from her father’s house after Drew was promoted to town sheriff. After months of a major remodel, they’d finally moved in. “Want a tour?”
“Heck yes!” Olive glanced back and said, “Daisy, can you keep an eye on Endora? I don’t want her messing anything up.”
“Sure,” Daisy said. “Check out the fancy dog bath in the mudroom. Endora’s gonna love it.”
“Fancy dog bath?” Olive asked Noel. “What’s that? A dog spa?”
Noel laughed. “Sort of. Let me show you.”
They walked into the kitchen, where they found Abby and Poppy searching one of the cupboards for something.
“Whatcha looking for?” Noel asked Abby.
“Chocolate chips,” Abby said, her voice muffled by the fact that her head was stuffed into the cabinet.
Noel laughed. “I thought you were making peanut butter cookies.”
“Aunt Abby said we could make peanut butter-chocolate chip cookies,” Poppy said, looking more than pleased with herself.
“Got them!” Abby said and then reemerged with the chips held high over her head. She turned to Noel. “How is your pantry this stocked when you’ve only been fully moved in for three weeks?”
“Please, Abby. You know the Townsend girls can’t go without their baked goods,” Noel said with a laugh. “Besides, after all that moving, we needed to replenish our calories.”
Abby cackled. “No kidding. My arms were sore for over a week.” Clay and Abby, along with their sister Yvette and her husband Jacob, had helped them move in earlier in the month, while their other sister, Faith, had entertained the kids.
“I’m giving Olive the tour. I’ll be back soon to help with the cookies,” Noel said.
“We’ve got this,” Abby said with a wave and turned her attention back to Poppy, who’d snatched the chocolate chips and was already tearing into the bag.
What could be better than this? Noel thought as she led Olive into the mud room and showed her the dog shower and grooming station they’d put in. “Now when Endora comes over and gets into the mud outside, we can just rinse her off.”
“Mom!” Olive called. “We need a dog shower for Endora.”
Abby called back, “When you make your first million, we’ll put one in.”
Olive rolled her eyes. “Mom thinks I’m gonna be some world-famous musician. I keep telling her that pianists just don’t make that much.”
“You never know. Maybe you’ll start a band with your cousin Frankie and become world sensations.” Frankie was Hope and Chad’s adopted daughter, and she was quite the singer.
“A band? Yeah, right,” Olive said, trying to play it cool, but Noel saw the interest sparking in her eyes.
“There are all kinds of possibilities for musicians. Just stay open about it, and your passion will find you,” Noel said and then took her around the rest of the farmhouse to show her the changes they’d made.
“I can’t believe this is the same house,” Olive said, shaking her head when they finally ended up back in the living room. She turned to Daisy. “You even have your own bathroom!”
Not quite. It was a Jack-and-Jill bathroom that was between the girls’ rooms, but they did each have their own private vanity area while the tub and toilet was a shared space right in the middle.
Noel left the two teenagers and went back into the kitchen to join the cookie-making party.
Flour coated her six-year-old from head to toe, and there was a mound of it on the floor. Noel raised both eyebrows. “What happened here?”
Poppy’s lower lip trembled when she haltingly said, “The flour container attacked me.”
Abby hid a smirk and whispered, “It tipped over when she was pulling it out of the cabinet.”
“Awe,” Noel said, crouching down to look her daughter in the eye. “It’s okay, love. I have more. Let’s go get you cleaned up.” She took her by the hand and led her into the downstairs bathroom where she got her washed up and then fetched her a clean shirt. “All better. Let’s go finish helping Aunt Abby, okay?”
Poppy shook her head.
“No? But I thought you liked making cookies.”
Poppy’s voice was tentative, completely out of the norm for her, when she said, “She said Aunt Abby is next.”
“Who said Abby is next? Next for what?” Noel frowned, suddenly worried. Poppy was a rambunctious little girl who was rarely afraid of anything. Something had happened in that kitchen, and it wasn’t just a flour accident.
“The lady,” Poppy said, glancing around as if looking for her.
“What lady, sweetheart?” Noel asked.
“The one with the pentacle necklace,” she said.
Abby appeared in the bathroom doorway and Noel mouthed, Do you know who she’s talking about?
Abby shook her head.
“Where did you see this lady with the pentacle?” Noel asked Poppy.
Her daughter scrunched up her face, concentrating, and then said, “In front of the stove. She just appeared and told me she saw a prem… premission?”
“Premonition?” Noel asked, trying to fill in the blanks.
Poppy nodded. “Yes, that. And then she said I’d be covered in flour.”
“That happened right before the flour slipped from your fingers?” Abby asked.
“Yes.” Poppy nodded furiously. “I don’t know how she did it, but I’m sure it was her that dumped it on my head.”
“Did this all happen when Aunt Abby was in the kitchen with you?” Noel asked, a ball of trepidation forming in the pit of her stomach.
“Yes. The lady was right behind Aunt Abby,” Poppy said.
Noel didn’t want to scare her daughter, but that sounded an awful lot like a ghost. She shared a knowing look with her sister. Neither of them was a medium, but seeing ghosts in Keating Hollow wasn’t unheard of. In fact, Charlotte Pelsh, Abby’s deceased best friend from high school, had shown herself to Abby once before.
“Tell me about this woman,” Abby said. “What did she look like?”
“Tall. Skinny. Curly brown hair,” Poppy said. “She was wearing a dress with boots and a long necklace with a pentacle on it.”
“That doesn’t really sound like someone we know,” Noel said, wondering if the house was haunted by a previous resident. It was possible. It was an old farmhouse that was built a hundred years ago.
“Well,” Abby said, sounding unconcerned. “It appears that she was just trying to warn you about the flour. If that’s the case, then she was actually being helpful, right?”
“Not if she’s the one who poured it on my head!” Poppy declared.
Noel chuckled. “You have a point, but it really sounds like the container just slipped.”
Poppy crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her bottom lip out. “I don’t think so.”
“Okay, okay. It’s possible. Are you ready to go finish making cookies?” Noel asked her with wink.
“The dough is ready to be scooped onto the cookie sheet,” Abby added.
“All right.” Poppy clutched Noel’s hand and walked very slowly back to the kitchen. When they reached the doorway, Poppy stopped suddenly and scanned the room. Finally, she let out a sigh of relief. “The flour lady is gone.”
“Good. Let’s get those cookies done.” Abby gestured for her to join her at the counter, and the two of them went to work while Noel dealt with the dirty dishes.
Just as Noel was finishing up and closing the dishwasher, she heard a startled cry from behind her. She whirled and froze as she took in the scene before her.
“That lady said Aunt Abby was next!” Poppy called and then started giggling.
Abby, who was standing at the pantry, was covered in flour. She blew out a breath, sending a puff of flour into the air and said, “I think Poppy’s right. The lady is responsible for this.”
“There she is,” Poppy said, pointing into the dining room.
Noel followed her daughter’s gaze and saw just an outline of a silver shadow before the image disappeared into the ether.
“Mommy? Is the lady a ghost?” Poppy asked, sounding more curious than scared.
“Yeah, honey. I think so. It looks like we’ve got a trickster sharing our house,” Noel said.
“I’ll get the sage,” Abby said. “Just give me a second to clean up.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Noel said, her voice hitching as she tried to swallow a laugh. She leaned down and whispered to Poppy, “Abby’s covered in so much flour she almost looks like a ghost herself.”
Poppy covered her mouth as she giggled again.
“I heard that,” Abby called over her shoulder. “Paybacks are hell!”
“I’m not scared!” Noel replied and then winked at Poppy. “Come on. We have flour to clean up.”
As Noel was sweeping the kitchen, that silver outline appeared again, catching her eye. The outline shimmered and in the next few seconds, the tall woman with the long curly hair and pentacle necklace materialized for just a moment, her gaze piercing Noel.
Abby reappeared, catching her sister’s attention. “I found the sage,” Abby said, holding it up. “I had a bundle in my glovebox.”
“Good.” Noel turned back to the spirit, but she’d vanished. And Noel had a sinking suspicion that whoever it was wouldn’t be deterred with a simple smudging. But they had to start somewhere. She put her broom away and turned her attention to Abby. “Ready?”
Abby pulled a lighter out of her pocket and together, they spread the sage around the house, inviting any and all spirits to move on.