Chapter Six
Mouthagape,Addystaredat the glowing mist hovering just beyond the bluff’s edge. “What is that?” she whispered.
Kieran’s strong arm encircled her waist, but his body heat couldn’t chase away the chills that raised every tiny hair on her arms and nape. The air seemed to thicken, heavy with static charge, as if lightning were about to strike. But no clouds obscured the full moon’s glow—except the mysterious shade floating before them.
“It’s the White Widow.” Kieran whispered, his breath fanning her cheek.
Icy dread turned her knees to water. When he’d suggested they go out ghost-watching, she’d assumed it was a flirtatious ploy to extend their dinner date. But the spectral form loomed closer and elongated, solidifying into a distinctly human shape.
Kieran’s other arm came around her, bracing her against his broad chest. “She’s never hurt anyone. She’s simply looking for her husband.”
Clearer now, a woman with upswept dark hair and trailing white skirts paced back and forth, treading on thin air, a lantern in one hand and a telescope in the other.
“This bluff used to extend further.” Kieran’s voice was soft but steady. “Over the years, storms wore it away.”
As if hearing his words, the specter turned to stare right through them. She was young, her beautiful face contorted in grief, her eyes bottomless dark pools. Her lips moved. “Jonathan?”
The question seemed to come from far away, but the poignancy of that single word brought tears to Addy’s eyes, and she shivered in Kieran’s arms.
As if addressing a human visitor, Kieran answered, “Just the lighthouse keeper, ma’am.”
A faint moan drifted on the wind as the figure turned away to search the horizon again. She gradually faded into mist, and then nothingness.
Tears blurred Addy’s vision, her heart heavy with an ache not her own. Or was it? Loss, regret, guilt, trauma—it all swam together in a tide of overwhelming emotion.
“Hey now.” Grasping her shoulders, Kieran pulled her into his embrace.
She buried her face against his broad chest. “She never gave up on him.”
“No, she never did. They say she died of a broken heart.” For the second time that night, he rubbed soothing circles on her back, his gentle touch and reassuring solidity exactly what she needed. Hell, she should be comforting him after the wrenching story he’d just shared.
She wound her arms around his waist and hugged him tight. “What a terrible way to exist, always yearning for what you can never have.”
“Hmm.” He nuzzled her temple, and his beard tickled pleasantly. “Some say a ghost is a spirit with unfinished business.”
Addy chuckled through her tears. “Doesn’t that describe everyone?”
Kieran’s lips brushed her forehead. “Others say it’s merely an echo of strong emotion.” He pointed toward a clump of pines near the lighthouse. “She lived where the lighthouse stands now. Grand house, it was. Burned down after she died, and the lighthouse was built on the spot. Perhaps we’re just experiencing shadows of the pain she felt here.”
“That makes more sense to me.” She sighed into the crook of his neck. “I’ve felt those echoes.”
Ghost stories she’d read described lost spirits anchored to a particular place, but her ghosts trailed her everywhere—agonized faces, mangled bodies, ragged voices begging for help.
“I think we’ve all encountered ghosts. We just rationalize them away.” With his fingertip, Kieran lifted her chin until she met his gaze. “Listen, when I invited you up here, I envisioned a cozy evening, not a tsunami of bad memories. I’m sorry if I’ve caused you pain.”
What a cruel twist of fate, meeting someone so compassionate, kind, and enticing when they only had a short time together.
But they had tonight, and the rest of the week. Liv always said that things happen for a reason—and right now, Addy was inclined to agree with her.
She quirked an eyebrow. “Honestly? You had no plans for a post-ghost snuggle?”
Kieran’s laugh lines crinkled. “Well, the thought did cross my mind, but the other bits, the flashbacks and painful memories—that’s not exactly the cozy date I imagined.”
“Yeah, things took an unexpected turn. But such is life, right?” She caressed his cheek, his beard scratchy-soft beneath her palm. “Thank you for trusting me with your story, Kieran the Lighthouse Keeper. You are a brave, wise soul.”
His gaze flicked to her lips. “Likewise, Addy the Soldier-Surgeon.”
Once again, the air between them thickened, crackling with electricity. But this time, ghosts had nothing to do with it. She rose on tiptoe and tilted her head, a silent invitation.
