2
Drew Baker pulled into the long driveway that led to the newly remodeled farmhouse his family had just moved into a few weeks earlier. There were still plenty of projects he had on his list to improve the property, like prune the trees that lined the driveway and eventually wrap them with twinkle lights like his father-in-law had at the Townsend residence. He also wanted to build Noel a chicken coop. She’d been making noise about raising her own eggs. But most of all, he wanted to build a dedicated garden that was fenced to keep the wildlife out.
To say that he was knee-deep in domestic bliss with his wife and kids was an understatement. Here he was, dreaming about greenhouses and chicken coops. If only his teenage self could see him now.
He pulled his truck to a stop in front of the house, and as he opened the door, his daughter Poppy came flying out of the house, her arms raised as she called, “Daddy!”
“Hey, Poppy girl,” he called back, his arms out, waiting for her. As soon as she reached him, he picked her up and spun her around, making her laugh with pure joy. This was the best part of his day. Coming home to the people he loved most in the world always took away the stress of his job. Even in a town as quaint and tranquil as Keating Hollow, being the town sheriff could really take it out of a person.
Drew spun Poppy around a few more times before planting a kiss on the top of her head and setting her back on the ground. The moment Poppy’s feet hit the earth, she ran off again back into the house.
“Hey, handsome,” Noel said from the front porch railing.
“Hey, beautiful.” Drew strode up onto the porch, grabbed Noel by the waist, and dipped her back, making a big production of giving her a kiss.
She smiled up at him. “This is quite the greeting. You must be really excited to be off for the weekend. It’s about time Keating Hollow hired a new officer. Are you nervous about leaving Adrian in charge?”
“Not at all. Adrian’s only new to Keating Hollow, not police business.” His new hire, Adrian Hunt, had come from Befana Bay and had quickly turned into Drew’s right-hand deputy. When it came to protecting the citizens of Keating Hollow, Drew knew he could trust the man. Pauly Putzner, on the other hand, the former deputy sheriff, had just been demoted to school crossing guard and reprimanded after he’d gone on a three-day bender and accidentally fired his weapon, putting a hole in his neighbor’s garage. To be honest, as much as Drew hated the circumstances, he was glad Pauly was no longer his second-in-command.
Drew pulled his wife back upright and then brushed a lock of her long auburn hair out of her eyes. “But yes, I’m excited about the weekend. Especially tonight. It’s been forever since I’ve been able to take you out on a date.”
“Date?” she asked, looking surprised. “Did we have plans?”
“We do now.” He grabbed her hand and hauled her back into the house. “Why do you think Abby is still here?”
“Because she’s baking cookies with Poppy?” Noel said, eyeing her sister who was standing in the doorway of the kitchen with suspicion. “Did you two set this up without telling me?”
Abby shrugged. “I wasn’t going to pass up spending time with two of my favorite nieces.”
Noel turned to Drew. “Daisy could’ve watched Poppy.”
He shook his head. “Nope. Not overnight.” He gave her a mischievous grin. “Go pack a bag. We have reservations.”
His wife blinked up at him, shock in her pretty blue eyes. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope. It’s all planned,” he said and then frowned. “Unless you don’t want to. Did you have plans I didn’t know about?”
“No, no plans.” Noel shook her head. “Just surprised and…” She glanced at Abby. “Clay is fine with you staying over? What about Lynette and little George?” she asked, referring to Abby’s other two children.
“Grandma asked for an overnight with the kids, and Clay is busy at the brewery. He said something about maintenance on the tanks.” She pumped her eyebrows. “Honestly, this is more of a mini vacation for me. You know George is a little ball of energy. And since Olive was already spending the evening with Daisy, it all worked out perfectly.”
“Okay then. If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure,” Abby said. “Poppy and I have big plans that include a blanket fort, streaming the Taylor Swift concert, and making popcorn if the cookies run out. You two go have fun and don’t worry about us at all.”
Noel beamed at her sister. “You’re the best.” Then she bit down on her bottom lip and asked, “You’ll call if anything unusual happens?”
“Of course,” Abby said, sounding offended her sister even felt she had to ask.
“Unusual?” Drew asked, glancing between them in confusion. Noel was obviously excited about a night out. He just didn’t understand why she was acting so hesitant. He’d thought she’d jump at the chance to unwind for an evening. He peered at Noel’s frown. “You’re worried about something. What is it?”
She let out a long sigh. “It appears that our dream home came with a ghost.”
“That’s not really a surprise, is it?” Drew asked. “It’s an old house. The chances of a spirit hanging around were pretty good, right?”
“Yep,” Abby and Noel said at the same time.
Noel chuckled softly and shook her head as she and Abby grinned at each other. Then she turned back to Drew. “I shouldn’t be shocked about the ghost. It is Keating Hollow after all, but if that smudging Abby and I performed didn’t work and she starts dumping flour on my head, we’re gonna need to bring in reinforcements ASAP.”
“Flour?” Drew raised one eyebrow. “Why do I get the feeling I’m missing something?”
“Because the ghost got both me and Poppy,” Abby said. “But don’t worry. I’ve got this handled. You two go on and have a nice evening.”
Drew finally understood why Noel was being so cagey. Having a docile ghost that just hung around was one thing, but an active one was entirely another. “Is this something we need to be worried about? Maybe we should cancel and stay home.”
“No!” Abby called over her shoulder as she disappeared back into the house. “Get out of here before I force you out.”
Noel laughed at her sister and then stepped in to wrap her arms around Drew. “She’s right. Let’s not talk ourselves out of this rare opportunity for a little alone time. The smudging probably did the trick. If not, the worst thing that’s happened was a little flour mess. Abby can handle things, but she’ll call us if anything gets out of hand.” Then she paused and stared up at Drew, her expression softening. “How long have you been planning this night out?”
Pulling Noel in closer, Drew gave her a little smile and said, “A while.”
“Drew!” She reached up and placed both hands on his cheeks. “Why are you being so evasive?”
He chuckled, loving it when he riled her up. Her inner fire was what had attracted him to her in the first place. “A few months. The remodel took so much out of us in both time and resources, and while I think it was more than worth it, we both deserve a break. Now come on. Let’s get dressed for dinner and pack something to wear in the morning.” His lips twitched into a mischievous grin. “But don’t worry about tonight. Once I get you alone, you won’t be wearing much for long.”
Her eyes flashed with desire. And then without a word, she grabbed his hand and hauled him upstairs.
Drew was busy shoving his toothbrush into his toiletry bag when he heard Noel’s phone start to ring. He didn’t think anything of it when she refused the call, but when she immediately started texting, he frowned her direction. “Who is it?”
“Oh, just Bianca at the inn. She’s having trouble finding the extra coffee pods.” She shoved her phone into her pocket and went back to packing.
Bianca was the manager Noel had hired for the inn six months ago. She was the reason Noel was able to take more time off these days. For the first time since she’d opened the place, Noel was able to leave the day-to-day details to her staff while she managed special events and filled in for vacations and sick days instead of having to actually run the front desk. It was the perfect situation she’d been working toward for years.
“She didn’t know where the coffee pods were?” Drew asked.
“They were hiding in the pantry. It happens,” Noel said with a shrug as she disappeared into the walk-in closet.
Drew nodded, but for some odd reason, he’d just gotten the feeling that Noel wasn’t being completely honest with him. Like she was hiding something. But why would she lie about coffee pods?
He went back to packing, and when his wife stepped out of the closet a few minutes later wearing a gorgeous red dress that was cut just right to show off her curves, all thoughts of coffee pods vanished from his mind. Letting out a low whistle, he walked over to her, unable to keep his hands to himself. “If this house wasn’t full of kids and your sister, that dress would be on the floor in ten seconds flat.”
She pressed her hands to his chest and kissed him so thoroughly that they were both breathless when they pulled apart. She gazed up at him with a soft smile and said, “The wait will only make it that much sweeter.”
Drew let out a low growl, grabbed their bags and her hand, and led her out the door.