Page 4 of Ghost Town I Do

* * *

Anna’s childhood home was different in many ways, but at the same time it was still home. The shape of the living room hadn’t changed, the floor plan was as it had always been.

After the fire all the furniture had been dumped. If it hadn’t been singed or burnt to ash, it smelled of smoke. Very little had survived, but the house wasn’t bare. A few pieces had been replaced. Not everything, there was no need to fill the place with furnishings, but the real estate agent wanted to place to look homey, lived in, and that made it possible for her mother to stay here when she visited, until the place was officially on the market.

If the house ever made it onto the market at all. Nina Miller had been trying to convince her daughter to live here. With or without Colt.

Nina had never been sure that a record store owner who talked to himself more than most was good enough for her daughter.

If she could tell her mom that Colt didn’t talk to himself he talked to the ghosts he saw all the time, would that make things better or worse? Mac knew, though he didn’t quite accept what he’d been told. Tuck and Olive were aware of the ghosts Colt saw and spoke to. Her mother would just be one more, but she didn’t want to share the news without Colt’s permission. It was his secret to tell.

Besides, one big announcement at a time…

Nina kept peering out the window, as if she thought a good stare might make the rain let up. Her fella, Harlan, had settled himself into a new recliner with a book about some baseball player Anna had never heard of. The silence was so deep Anna could hear the clock — a new clock that looked very much like the old one — ticking away. Slowly. Too slowly.

The silence was too much, it was too deep and full. She couldn’t help herself. “I have news.” One thing at a time, right?

Nina Miller spun away from the window. “Have you decided to call off the wedding? You have to admit, this weather does seem like a message from the universe.” Was that hope in her mother’s voice? Yes, yes it was.

“No, I’m not calling off the wedding. I’m… pregnant.”

Nina glared at her daughter. She went pale for a moment, then a bloom of color rushed into her face, and then, the smile. A big, wide, happy smile as the news sunk in. “I’m going to be a grandmother?”

Anna nodded.

Oh, the expressions that crossed Nina’s face! Maybe this would be the end of her reservations about Colt. More than once she’d said Colt was squirrelly, but giving her a grandchild could mean all was forgiven. Eventually.

“Harlan, what would you think about moving here, to Seawolf Beach? If I have a grandbaby I have to be nearby to help out. There’s just no question. I must be here.”

It was hard to ruffle Harlan’s feathers. Anna liked that about him. “Well if there’s no question, that answers it. I can live anywhere.” He looked at Nina with love. “If you’re here that’s where I’ll be.”

Anna hadn’t wanted to like Harlan, but she did. Unlike her Mom’s first Florida boyfriend. “What about Aunt Sally?”

Nina lifted one hand and gave a dismissive wave. “Sally will be fine. She’s been talking about moving closer to Emily since Christmas. She misses the kids, she misses her daughter. I understand both, all too well. She was refusing to leave her home out of sheer stubbornness, but she’s seen the error of her ways.” She glanced at Harlan. “Besides, we tried, but Sally and I don’t live together well. I love my sister, but we’re both set in our ways and we butt heads far too often. I’d been wondering how long it would last, but this settles it.”

Anna’s mom drove her crazy at times, but she had to admit, it would be nice to have her close after the baby came. And before. “I have so many questions. Do you know, the doctor said this is a geriatric pregnancy?”

Nina pursed her lips. “How dare he?”

Now, that was the response she’d been looking for…

* * *

Olive Carson must be a witch, or a magician. She was definitely some kind of miracle worker. Colt stood just inside the depot front entrance studying the sight before him in awe.

Tuck, already properly dressed in a gray suit, circled around and went straight to Olive. He knew, everyone knew, she’d have jobs lined up for him.

Colt hardly recognized Hart’s Vinyl Depot. If Olive had had the time to paint the green walls a more acceptable color, which she surely would’ve done given the chance, the space would’ve been entirely unrecognizable. An arch that looked as if it might’ve come out of someone’s formal garden had been placed in front of the checkout. Gauzy white fabric and silk flowers in pale colors disguised the plain counter. Rows of folding chairs had been placed on either side of the space that had been cleared earlier in the day, leaving an actual aisle. Up against one wall was the small cake they’d ordered weeks ago, as well as a number of bakery boxes with who knew what in them.

The wedding wasn’t set to start for half an hour, but several guests already milled about. Only a few of them were damp from making the trek in the rain. A coat tree near the front door held several raincoats. Two umbrella bins — he had no idea where they’d come from — were already half full.

Colt’s reservations melted away. He felt himself let go of the stress he’d been carrying all day. Why had he wasted time worrying about the where? This wasn’t the beach he loved, and there were a few familiar ghosts hanging around, but all in all, it was perfect. He was getting married. Today.

Perfect didn’t last. He should know that. His cell rang. He should’ve silenced it, but he hadn’t.

The minister from his mother’s old church had agreed to perform the ceremony. Judd Simms was long retired, but Colt had decided his mother would approve and Anna had been a quick and easy yes to the suggestion. A simple phone call took care of that plan. The old guy’s driveway had been washed out, there was a tree down across his road, and at eighty years old he wasn’t about to hike, swim, or whatever it took to get to downtown Seawolf Beach.

Judd sounded truly sorry, and suggested a delay of a week, or maybe two.