He grinned at her. “Bathroom is right there to the side. The old man had all the old dressing rooms turned into bathrooms. Elijah.” He hesitated and shrugged. “He was a good man. Anyway, you’re welcome to prowl the kitchen below if you get hungry. I’m across the hall in the Gold Room if you should need anything. Or if you’d like something, I can get it for you now.”
“No, I’m going to try to sleep, thanks.”
“Okay, then.”
He looked at her for a moment. He’d just met her. She’d angered him to no end when he thought her a fraud.
And now...
He liked her. Really liked her. And that was…unexpected.
He noticed how her hair fell around her face in soft waves. How her eyes studied everything intensely. She was thoughtful and quick-witted. Smart and intuitive.
And he’d seen her in a bikini. Ryder smiled at the memory.
But he’d put her into extreme danger. Unless she had already done that to herself.
It didn’t matter. This was no time for his instinctive sex drive to kick in.
“Good night, then,” he said quickly. “Um, just amble down to the kitchen in the morning whenever you like.”
“Thank you,” she told him.
He smiled and closed the door behind him, hurrying to his room.
He had worried so much when he first arrived. He hadn’t wanted to leave Stephanie and the baby alone.
People would know about William Marley’s exhumation.
His presence had been required at the cemetery. And before that...
He’d been so angry when Stephanie had thought a quack medium had come to her. He’d taken off, trusting in Greg Farley, the morning shift guard, to keep the home safe.
Hovering at the house wouldn’t solve anything.
But...
He’d seen one of his prime suspects studying Casey’s shop. And there had been someone in the bushes at her home when she was out alone in the pool. She’d known it—and Lena had known it.
And now, he knew what had happened from Lena herself.
He decided to put a call through. He could get help when he needed it.
And he needed it now.
* * * *
The bed was amazingly comfortable. She’d brought her own things, but she felt as if she were staying in a hotel room. Anything anyone might desire was available in the bathroom, from toothpaste to soap, to shampoo, conditioner, and a hairdryer.
She wondered if—in the past—company executives had stayed at the mansion. Or if they were due to come again.
Not anytime soon, she imagined.
Despite the luxury of her accommodations, she lay awake.
She wondered if Lena would show up, but she didn’t. Maybe she was as polite in death as she was in life and not about to disturb anyone trying to sleep.
Casey still couldn’t believe that she was here. Even after the shock of seeing and accepting Lena Marceau as a ghost, she had never expected a day like today. And the last thing she wanted to do was think about the strange ghost-seeing FBI agent, who had come into her life like an exploding volcano—and become her most curious ally.
As she had become his.
She stared at the dark ceiling, remembering his voice. The way he stood, the way he’d held her when she burst into her apartment building, dripping...
How he hadn’t minded giving her a real apology, or the fact that he took her safety so seriously.
She was a link to Lena—and Lena’s killer.
Still...
She liked him. Too much. She was thinking about him in many ways...
Too much.
Finally, she turned on the television and fell asleep at last to a rerun of Cheers.
She woke late, at least for her. It was almost eight o’clock. For a minute, she blinked and then remembered her surroundings and why she was there. She rose, showered, dug into her little bag, and dressed for the day.
It was still so damned hot. She had brought—ironically, she thought—a blue halter dress and a black sweater to wear when the air-conditioning kicked in.
Jared and Lauren really liked to blast it at the shop.
Ready for the day, she left her room and hurried downstairs to the kitchen, where she found Ryder and Stephanie and the baby.
Annette was in her highchair, playing with her cereal as much as eating it. The highchair was pulled up to a small kitchen table. Stephanie was on one side, Ryder on the other.
Apparently, Annette loved to say, “Hi!” because she greeted Casey with the word and a big smile and then said, “Hi!” again.
“Hi, you,” Casey said, ruffling the little girl’s hair.
Annette took her hand.
“Good morning. Did you sleep all right?” Stephanie asked her.
“Yes, thank you. The room is lovely.”
Ryder was on the phone with someone, and he lifted a hand and gave her a smile, indicating he’d be off soon.
“Coffee?” Stephanie asked.
“I would love some. Can I do anything? You don’t need to wait on me.”
“No, no—the pot is right there. I’m not much of a cook. I’m afraid breakfast is cereal or toaster waffles.”
“Cereal is great, thank you,” Casey said.
Her cell phone rang as Stephanie poured her a cup of coffee. She excused herself and dug into her purse for her mobile.
It was Miss Lilly. She winced. She should have told her concerned neighbor that she’d be away.
“I’m so sorry, Miss Lilly. I’m fine. Just staying with a friend.”
Ryder had finished his call and was looking at her.
“Oh, don’t apologize, darling,” Miss Lilly said. “Joe and I are delighted you apparently spent the night with that tall, dark, and devilishly handsome fellow. I’ve been telling you for ages you can’t just work and read and swim. I mean, I love swimming, but—”
Casey wanted to sink under the table. Lilly was speaking loudly, and Casey was sure Ryder could hear every word.
“I mean, you’re a young, lovely thing. Sweet as molasses, too. Oh, wait, not sticky sweet. I mean, you have a mind on you, and you’re smart, too. But everyone needs a sex life,” Lilly said with a giggle. “Even oldsters.”
Casey knew she visibly winced.
“Joe and I...we just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m fine, Miss Lilly. I may be away for a few days.”
“Ah, you little scamp. You have fun! Life is short. You’ll have to tell me all about it when I see you next.”
“Um...sure, of course. Miss Lilly, I have to get back to—”
“Oh, get back to it. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Ryder was laughing. The baby was giggling, and even Stephanie must have heard Lilly because she was smiling, too.
“I’m so sorry,” Casey said, explaining to Stephanie. “One of my neighbors. She’s a sweetheart, worrying about me, really. And I...I’m sorry.”
“Hey, what are you sorry for? It’s nice that a neighbor cares,” Stephanie said.
Ryder had a smirk on his face. He passed her the box of cereal as Stephanie set down a bowl and a cup of coffee.
“It is nice,” he said. “She apparently likes us both. And me, from just meeting her at her main door.”
Stephanie smiled and joined them again as she looked at Casey. “Have you seen Lena this morning? She must have liked you very much. I mean, Annette likes you.”