older, but his personality hasn’t changed. I don’t know what Tory ever saw in him.”
Tory Lambert was the first person in Sweet Pepper to make friends with Stella. She’d been instrumental in getting the fire brigade going. She was Greg Lambert’s wife and had died in a house fire soon after Stella had arrived in town.
“I wonder why he brought up that little tidbit about Barney Falk’s grandson. I’m sure he wanted us to know about it for some reason.”
“
You
,” Eric corrected. “He wanted
you
to know about it. He doesn’t know I’m here. If you start talking like that people will start gossiping about you.”
She rolled her eyes and started the Cherokee back down the steep road. “Thanks for the advice. I’ll have to get used to you being around all the time.”
“I suppose. Can we go out to the lake?”
Stella glanced at her watch. “Sure. Then we have to head back to town hall.”
Eric raised a questioning brow.
“Okay. Then
I
have to head back to town. Stop talking to me. I have to forget you’re here.”
“That seems a little rude.”
“You’re a ghost. Rudeness doesn’t figure in.”
They drove out to Sweet Pepper Lake. It was roughly a three-mile circle of water surrounded by mountains and ringed with expensive houses like Barney Falk’s. The scenery was spectacular, with the clear lake reflecting the mountains and the sky.
Stella had taken the tourist boat around the lake when she’d first arrived. The boat captain had talked about how the lake had been created by a nearby dam project. The water had covered the original town of Sweet Pepper. He told stories about a church that couldn’t be moved, and hearing its bells tolling during dark nights.
Stella took Eric to the public access area. He vanished from the Cherokee and was at the shoreline before she could even open the door.
“When I was a kid,” he said when she’d reached him, “I used to come down here every day. I don’t think I could ever get tired of this view. I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed it. Thanks for bringing me here.”
Stella sat down on a large rock while Eric ran up and down the shoreline, scaring away lake gulls. The breeze was strong coming down from the mountains, but no wind touched his clothes or hair. She wondered what it was like for him to attend his own memorial and have another chance to see his hometown.
She got an idea as he explored. Maybe he could help her with Barney’s death. When he’d finished enjoying the shoreline, he came back and sat beside her.
“Do you think you could talk to other ghosts?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I’ve never tried. Why? Do you have a ghost you need to talk to?”
“I was thinking about Barney Falk. We’re right out here. Maybe you could talk to him and find out what happened.”
A gust of wind caught at the dress cap she wore and would have blown it to the rocky beach as it was swept from her hair, but Eric caught it—solid when he wanted to be—and handed it back to her. It only took a moment for the wind to blow the strands of her red hair loose around her face.
“I could try.” He grinned at her. “You should always wear your hair down, Stella. The sun makes it look like it’s on fire.”
When she’d been a child, she’d received such remarks on a regular basis. It had been years since anyone had remarked on the deep red of her hair.
To cover her embarrassment at having her hair likened to fire, she laughed. “I guess I shouldn’t do it too often. Somebody on the fire brigade might douse it with a hose.”
His blue eyes stared off at the lake. “Do you have any regrets about your life so far?”
“Not really.”
“Not even that your relationship with Doug got messed up?”
Doug had been the deciding factor in Stella coming to Sweet Pepper. He’d been her longtime boyfriend back in Chicago. They’d discussed getting married from time to time. That had been before she’d found him in bed with one of her
Tory Lambert was the first person in Sweet Pepper to make friends with Stella. She’d been instrumental in getting the fire brigade going. She was Greg Lambert’s wife and had died in a house fire soon after Stella had arrived in town.
“I wonder why he brought up that little tidbit about Barney Falk’s grandson. I’m sure he wanted us to know about it for some reason.”
“
You
,” Eric corrected. “He wanted
you
to know about it. He doesn’t know I’m here. If you start talking like that people will start gossiping about you.”
She rolled her eyes and started the Cherokee back down the steep road. “Thanks for the advice. I’ll have to get used to you being around all the time.”
“I suppose. Can we go out to the lake?”
Stella glanced at her watch. “Sure. Then we have to head back to town hall.”
Eric raised a questioning brow.
“Okay. Then
I
have to head back to town. Stop talking to me. I have to forget you’re here.”
“That seems a little rude.”
“You’re a ghost. Rudeness doesn’t figure in.”
They drove out to Sweet Pepper Lake. It was roughly a three-mile circle of water surrounded by mountains and ringed with expensive houses like Barney Falk’s. The scenery was spectacular, with the clear lake reflecting the mountains and the sky.
Stella had taken the tourist boat around the lake when she’d first arrived. The boat captain had talked about how the lake had been created by a nearby dam project. The water had covered the original town of Sweet Pepper. He told stories about a church that couldn’t be moved, and hearing its bells tolling during dark nights.
Stella took Eric to the public access area. He vanished from the Cherokee and was at the shoreline before she could even open the door.
“When I was a kid,” he said when she’d reached him, “I used to come down here every day. I don’t think I could ever get tired of this view. I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed it. Thanks for bringing me here.”
Stella sat down on a large rock while Eric ran up and down the shoreline, scaring away lake gulls. The breeze was strong coming down from the mountains, but no wind touched his clothes or hair. She wondered what it was like for him to attend his own memorial and have another chance to see his hometown.
She got an idea as he explored. Maybe he could help her with Barney’s death. When he’d finished enjoying the shoreline, he came back and sat beside her.
“Do you think you could talk to other ghosts?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I’ve never tried. Why? Do you have a ghost you need to talk to?”
“I was thinking about Barney Falk. We’re right out here. Maybe you could talk to him and find out what happened.”
A gust of wind caught at the dress cap she wore and would have blown it to the rocky beach as it was swept from her hair, but Eric caught it—solid when he wanted to be—and handed it back to her. It only took a moment for the wind to blow the strands of her red hair loose around her face.
“I could try.” He grinned at her. “You should always wear your hair down, Stella. The sun makes it look like it’s on fire.”
When she’d been a child, she’d received such remarks on a regular basis. It had been years since anyone had remarked on the deep red of her hair.
To cover her embarrassment at having her hair likened to fire, she laughed. “I guess I shouldn’t do it too often. Somebody on the fire brigade might douse it with a hose.”
His blue eyes stared off at the lake. “Do you have any regrets about your life so far?”
“Not really.”
“Not even that your relationship with Doug got messed up?”
Doug had been the deciding factor in Stella coming to Sweet Pepper. He’d been her longtime boyfriend back in Chicago. They’d discussed getting married from time to time. That had been before she’d found him in bed with one of her
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