Free Double Dating with the Dead by Karen Kelley Page B

then he would win the bet. That wasn’t going to happen. No way, no how.
    â€œYou are so not funny. I know your game, and it won’t work.”
    â€œKind of like the Miami Vice taunt you threw at me earlier?”
    She opened her mouth, then snapped it closed. Raising her chin, she looked down her nose at him. Until he stood. Damn, he was tall, with really broad shoulders.
    â€œThat was different,” she said.
    There was no humor in his laugh. “Different. How so?”
    Caught red-handed. Darn, she didn’t think he’d catch how she’d baited him. Any decent psychic would’ve known he would eventually figure out her game. She was really slipping.
    â€œIt doesn’t matter. I’m going to explore the hotel. You might see a ghost, and then again, you might not, but they’re more likely to appear around me since they’ve already made contact. It’s your choice if you go or stay.”
    â€œHeaven forbid I might miss Whistle or Ditsy.”
    â€œIt’s Wesley and Dixie, and if I were you, I wouldn’t make them mad.”
    â€œI’ll take my chances.”
    He had no idea what they could or would do. Just as long as she didn’t get caught up in the middle that was fine with her.
    â€œWhere are we going?”
    â€œI’m going to the basement.” He could go to hell. “The Realtor said there’s a lot of boxes down there that we can go through if we want—things that have been stored by previous owners.”
    â€œAnd it’s still here?”
    â€œThey left in a hurry. Ghosts, you know.”
    He chuckled.
    Wait until Dixie did more than pinch his butt. Then he wouldn’t be laughing quite as much or mocking what he couldn’t explain.
    She opened the door leading from the kitchen to the basement.
    â€œLet me go first,” he said, practically lifting her off the floor to move her out of the way.
    She clamped her lips together. He had his nerve! She raised her hands to assist him on his way down the flight of stairs, then thought better of it. Murder wasn’t on her list of things to do this weekend…yet. Besides, it wouldn’t count if he saw his own ghost.
    He switched the light on as he went down the stairs, testing each step before he put all of his weight on it.
    â€œAre you sure you want to come down here? It’s in pretty sad shape,” he said.
    â€œI want to look through some of the boxes. It’s not so bad,” she said, looking around.
    She sneezed. When he glanced over his shoulder, disbelief was written all over his face.
    â€œOkay, maybe it is,” she conceded. “But I still want to look around.”
    He continued down the stairs. She carefully followed, watching her steps. She didn’t trust the staircase not to collapse beneath her.
    Once her feet were on the concrete floor, she looked around. The basement was pretty dismal, but she wasn’t about to back down now.
    A thick layer of grime coated the windows, letting no light in whatsoever. It didn’t matter. There was enough light from the bulb that she could see what she was doing. And right now her palms were itching to see what was in some of the boxes that were stacked against the wall. She made a beeline for them.
    â€œLet me get it down for you,” Trent offered.
    â€œBack off,” she told him. “I can get it myself.” The boxes were only stacked chest high, and she didn’t need his help. He was only there in case the ghosts showed up. Besides, she was still ticked by his earlier remarks. Her breasts weren’t sagging. They were…perky!
    â€œFine,” he said and backed away.
    She wrestled with the box. Okay, it was a little heavier than she’d expected, but nothing she couldn’t manage.
    A low table sat in the center of the room. She clamped her lips together to keep from grunting as she carried the box over to it so she could spread out her