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A wave of despair washed over him. How could he possibly compete with someone like Eric? The sheriff was everything Leo couldn’t be anymore—alive, warm, able to touch and be touched. The fact that she seemed so at ease with the other male was a stark reminder of the barriers that separated him from the world of the living.
She’d told him that Flora had advised her to seek out the local witch, although she hadn’t been able to visit her yet. But while he was aware that witches existed, the idea that one might be able to help him seemed too far-fetched to believe.
And if the witch couldn’t help him, what future could he offer Jessica? A life of whispers and fleeting touches, forever on the fringes of the real world? Eric could give her so much more—companionship, a family, a normal life. As a wave of jealousy and despair washed over him, the candles on all of the tables flickered. Damn. He had to get out of here before he lost control.
He headed blindly for the back of the restaurant. Without thinking, he pushed through the back door and found himself on the patio. He froze, stunned. This was the farthest he’d ever been from the house.
The cold night air drifted past him, carrying the scent of leaves and woodsmoke, and for a moment, his anger dissipated into wonder. Twinkling fairy lights adorned the patio, casting a soft, magical glow over the empty tables and chairs. The night was cool enough that no one had chosen to sit outside, but he could imagine it in warmer weather, with the tables filled and music drifting out from the restaurant. The thought of the life that was happening all around him, a life he would never truly be part of, sent a wave of frustration through him.
What if Eric was Jessica’s chance at a normal life? A life filled with warmth, touch, and the possibility of a family? His fists clenched as an icy breeze made the lights sway back and forth.
But even as these thoughts tormented him, a new fear crept in. What if his newfound abilities—the increased physicality, the ability to affect the world around him—were only temporary? He remembered Flora’s warning about time passing. What if all of his abilities vanished after All Hallow’s Eve? The thought of losing these new connections to the physical world, of being unable to touch Jessica again, even for a moment, was unbearable. Yet, the idea of her choosing a life with someone like Eric was equally painful.
He strode back and forth across the patio several times before his gaze snagged on the huge vine sprawling across the pergola. He’d planted that vine decades ago, when his hands were solid and warm with life. Now the trunk was as thick as his arm, a living testament to the relentless march of time.
He’d spent so much time in this garden, escaping from the unhappiness filling the house, but everything had changed and grown. Everything except him.
The realization hit him like a physical blow. Unless he could find a way to grow and change alongside the living world, life would inevitably move on without him. Jessica would move on.
He was so lost in his despair that he didn’t register the soft footsteps approaching until a voice broke through his brooding.
“Are you all right, dude?”
He turned to find Cody standing at the edge of the patio, his usually mischievous eyes now filled with worry, and somethinginside him snapped. All the frustration and jealousy he’d been bottling up came pouring out in a torrent of words.
“No, I’m not all right,” he growled. “How can I be? I’m stuck here, watching Jessica live her life while I’m… what? A ghost of a man who can’t offer her anything real?”
He paced back and forth, his words tumbling out faster and faster. “And then there’s Eric. Alive, solid, able to make her laugh and touch her without fading away. How am I supposed to compete with that? I’m jealous. God, I’m so jealous it’s eating me alive. Which is ironic, considering I’m already dead.”
“Chill out, dude. There’s nothing going on between Jessica and the sheriff.”
“She hid him in her office! And I saw them laughing together.”
Cody sighed.
“She was just helping the dude out. His pack keeps trying to set him up, but he’s not into it.”
“Because he’s into her?” he snapped.
“Nah. He doesn’t want a mate at all.” Cody’s gaze sharpened. “He can joke around with her because he knows she’s taken.”
“He knows about me?”
“Nah. At least I don’t think so. But he can tell she’s involved.” Cody shrugged. “Wolves are good at that sort of thing.”
Leo’s shoulders sagged. “Is she taken? She’s alive, and I’m not. I’m trapped in this fucking house, just a shadow of the man I once was.”
He sank into one of the chairs, giving the garden a brooding look. Cody hesitated, then took the chair next to him.
“You’re more than a shadow,” he said firmly. “And I know how hard it can be to be stuck like this.”
“How could you know?” he snapped.
“Brownies can be bound too.”
“You mean like when they serve a family?”
Cody laughed, but it wasn’t his usual cheerful laugh, and there was no mistaking the bitterness behind it.
