Free Wanted: One Ghost by Loni Lynne Page A

lightly.
    Nothing had prepared him for being able to touch and interact with April Branford. This was a different time and era. She was a modern woman and he was a much older man. He had nothing to give her but his undying gratitude. He would need to be cautious of his ardor for fear of scaring her away.
    April drove him to the outskirts of his normal domain and he thrilled at finally being able to go beyond his usual confines. Kings Mill had spread out from the small village he’d known in his day. Marveling at the sites, they passed the cemetery and drove on past stores larger than his family estate in England. April tried to engage him in conversation but he was mesmerized by everything around him while they drove. He could do nothing but gape.
    “I had no idea! This is quite extraordinary!” he managed to say as April drove past each building or object along their way.
    He found everything fascinating. His brow furrowed when she turned to stare briefly at him.
    “What? For the past two hundred thirty-eight years, I haven’t stepped outside of the confines of Kings Mill.”
    April appeared a bit confused. “You mean from the historical district?”
    “In my day, the boundaries of the village stopped at the Episcopal Church and its graveyard.”
    “But I saw you out at the mill site. How is it possible?”
    He shook his head, wondering. “I live there. It’s my home. Though I’m still confused as how you were able to be in my time frame the other day when you showed up.”
    “What do you mean?”
    He watched as she guided the car behind another at a red signal light. He’d figured out over the years the red light caused people and these unique carriages to stop and the green ones to move forward. Signals were a right bloody good idea, seeing some of these damned horseless contraptions going so fast at times.
    “Nothing like it has ever happened before. I’ve been able to move between times somehow but never realized someone else could, too.”
    “I think it might have something to do with my gift.”
    “Gift?”
    April sighed. “I have the ability to touch objects or be in a surrounding of historical importance and somehow connect to the past. It’s referred to as archeological psychometry .”
    “Is that how you could see me?”
    “I’m not sure. The maternal side of my family has the ability to communicate with ghosts.” She paused. “I’ve never had the ability, until now.”
    “Perhaps it’s fate. We don’t control our own destiny. If we did, I would never have been murdered by Henry Samuel.”
    As they stopped at a red light, April turned away from her task to stare at him briefly. She nibbled on her lower lip and turned back to the road ahead when the light changed to green. The car lurched forward, and he clutched the side of the door as they traveled faster than any horse had taken him.
    Within moments they were in a paved field of other automobiles in front of a large building with a grand entrance. He stayed in the seat, still unsure how to work the restraining harness across his body. April walked around to the passenger side and opened his door.
    “Are you getting out?”
    “I seem to be at a loss as how to unlatch my seat belt.”
    She sighed as she reached across his lap again, like she had done to buckle him in, and pushed the small red button to release the silver clip. Their eyes held and James noted the catch in her breathing. She was just as affected by their closeness as he was—which was a good sign. He enjoyed having her stretched across his lap. He would have to remember to feign helplessness more often, if it meant having her in such close proximity.
    ***
    April grabbed a shopping cart and walked into the SuperMart with her colonial dressed man parading behind her in a stupor. It was Halloween, well technically according to her watch it was now the first of November. Still, she could use Halloween to her advantage for at least a few more hours.
    She hurried him through