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A couple of times, I had to ball my hand into a fist to keep from groaning aloud. But I’d always been a sucker for getting my hair played with. I absolutely loved the sensation. She applied just the right amount of pressure, too, which was basically all I felt. There was no hot or cold. Just…pressure.
It was the best pressure ever, though. She could touch me every minute of the day if she wanted to.
When I drove to Archer House that evening, she sat on the center console and rested her elbow on my shoulder. “I wonder how Keene’s going to react when he learns his mom’s a ghost.”
“I don’t know,” I murmured with a shake of my head. “I only ever really heard him talk about her during grief group. Outside that…” I shrugged.
“So he was in your grief group, too?” she asked, intrigued.
I nodded and glanced up before slowing to a stop at a light. “We all were. The seven of us. That’s how we met.”
Lips parting, she breathed, “Oh…That’show the seven of you became the seven. I didn’t realize.”
“Yep. That’s how we started.”
“Well, that’s nice,” she answered softly. “I’m glad you had them.”
“Yeah,” I had to agree. I was glad too. Then I blew out a breath as I parked in front of our destination. “Here we go,” I murmured, killing the engine and glancing at Raina, who was studying the house with a melancholy expression.
“I think I’ll always remember Kins whenever I come here,” she murmured sadly.
“You can stay out here if you don’t want to go in.”
But she sent me an incredulous glance. “Oh, hell no. I gotta see how Keene reacts when he’s told. Besides, I’m supposed to talk to Parker, aren’t I? So…”
She vanished, only to reappear outside on the sidewalk. Glancing at me through the windshield, she lifted one arm and tapped her wrist to let me know she was waiting.
I laughed and grabbed the boxes of pizza I’d had sitting in the passenger seat before opening my door.
We entered through the main entrance, walking straight into the front room where Alec and Keene were playing a video game.
“I got pizza,” I announced, lifting my voice so everyone could hear.
Keene glanced over warily, then scanned the room, asking, “Is she with you?”
“Raina?” I asked, walking around the couches to plop the pizza on the coffee table before I fell into a seat. “Yeah. Why?”
Gaze frosting with discomfort, he tossed down his controller and pushed to his feet, mumbling, “I’m not hungry.”
As he started from the room, Alec sent me a worried glance, so I lifted my hand and called, “Hold up. Before you go, Rainawould like a word with you.”
Next to me, she straightened in surprise. “I would?”
Keene froze, then turned back to me with a wince. “She would?”
I nodded. “Yes. She wants you to know she doesn’t blame you at all for anything that happened that night.”
“Oh!” Raina tipped her head before shrugging. “Well, that is true.”
“And you shouldn’t blame yourself either,” I went on, lifting my eyebrows sternly.
Keene’s throat worked as he stared back hopefully. “She really doesn’t blame me?”
“Not even a little,” I assured, glad when Raina patted my shoulder in agreement.
“Actually, could you thank him for me,” she said. “Right up to the very second of the accident, my sister was happy. And she had a smile on her face because ofhim.”
I sent her a wince. “I don’t want to tell him that. Do I have to tell him that?” Leaning in toward her, I lowered my voice. “He’s already got enough of an ego as it is.”
