Epilogue

Two weeks later…

"Turn left here," Kate instructed. She winced as Jaxson raised a hand to his temple. "Do you need me to take the wheel while you take another aspirin?" she offered.

He shook his head, glancing toward her with a smile that looked only a little pained. "It's just a headache."

"I can drive, you know."

"I think I'm good for at least another hour, babe," he said, reaching out to twine his fingers with hers on the seat between them. "So, how hot do you think it is today?" he asked idly, setting the cruise control to fifty-five and leaning back with a sigh.

"Poor baby," Kate teased, using her free hand to turn up the dial on the air-conditioning another couple of notches. "There. Better?"

"I guess," he grumbled.

"Do you suppose you'll survive in Georgia for the next twelve months?" she asked, only half joking.

"As long as you're there with me?" He paused, seeming to consider this for a moment. "Yeah, I think I'll live," he finally murmured, tightening his hold on her.

"Georgia is a little cooler than Florida. Sort of," she added, mumbling that last bit. "Well, it's better than prison, anyway," she was quick to point out. "It was nice of your uncle to get the judge to agree to let you do your probation at my aunt's house—and to make sure I was never questioned any further in Roger Klein's death. I was worried I'd have to answer for that. But I couldn't exactly tell the police that a ghost killed him."

"A clear case of legal self-defense," Jaxson said, quoting the Crystal Cove sheriff's office. "I wish you'd have told them I did it, though. So, what time is your sister expecting us?"

"In about three hours." Her cell phone pinged, and she untangled her hand from Jaxson's in order to check the display. "Lindsey's already there. And she can't wait to see us." She grinned. "I miss her so much, Jax. I can't hardly wait. Me, you, my sister, and Lindsey, and of course, Gollum," she said, turning around to smile at the small, gray cat that lay snoozing in a sunny patch in the back seat of the car. "We're getting there just in time for a good old-fashioned Georgia Thanksgiving." She twisted back around in her seat, toward Jaxson. "You know what I'm thankful for?"

"That Chad wasn't real?" he guessed.

She laughed. "Well, yeah. That, too."

"Kidding. What are you thankful for?"

The phone rang. "Hold that thought," she said. "Hello? Oh, hey there," she greeted. She placed one hand over the phone. "It's Rita Cash." Putting the phone back to her ear, she listened for a moment, then grinned. "You're kidding. That fast? Well, okay. Yes, absolutely yes. Okay, great. We'll swing back by in about a week or so and sign the papers then? Oh, you can fax the contract? Terrific. They understand we can't fix the glass in the upstairs bedroom, right? Okay, then. Good." She nodded. "Yes, thank you. You, too. Bye."

"The house is sold?"

"Full asking price," Kate gushed. "Can you believe it?" She sighed. "I think our luck has finally changed."

"Who's the buyer?"

She shrugged. "A single father from somewhere up in Ohio. You know, I almost feel guilty, though…"

"Because of Mira."

"I'm basically selling these unsuspecting people a haunted house, right?"

"In a way." Jaxson shrugged. "But we haven't seen or heard from Mira Rathe since she killed Roger Klein. Besides, she wasn't the only thing in that house, and you never felt uncomfortable there before, right?"

Kate nodded slowly. "Not because of ghosts, anyway."

"You'd be amazed how many places are haunted," he said. "The new owners will be fine."

"You think so?"

"Absolutely. And you still haven't told me what you're thankful for."

"Oh, that." She winked, then became serious. "This year, I'm thankful for family, and good friends … and for new beginnings."

* * *

The house looked like crap. Amber stood on the cracked sidewalk and breathed in the hot, humid air. Beside her, her brother Logan stood silent and brooding. Clearly, he wasn't any happier to be in the so-called "Sunshine State" than she was. Why did they even call it that, anyway? So far, it had done nothing but rain and storm, and there were mosquitoes everywhere.

"Come on, kids." Their dad passed them on the sidewalk and held up a set of keys, jiggling them so they clinked together merrily. "Let's get out of this heat."

"But it's a dry heat," she reminded him, rolling her eyes toward the gray, cloud-filled sky.

"Bullshit," Logan coughed beside her.

"I don't see why we had to leave Ohio," she complained loudly, tucking a section of chocolate-brown hair behind one shoulder and crossing her arms over her chest.

Logan nudged her and shook his head, then followed their dad into the house, leaving her standing on the sidewalk, alone. Overhead, the streetlight flickered, throwing strange, long shadows on the pavement before her. A chill crept along her spine, and she had the strangest sensation of being watched. Quickly she glanced back to the house, to the second story, where a shadow lingered in the house's only brand new window. But when she blinked, the shadow was gone. Shaking her head, she followed her father and Logan into the house.

The inside wasn't as bad as she'd thought it would be. She wandered up the stairs after Logan, shaking her head as he called out "Dibs!" from the largest of the bedrooms. She opened one door after another, pausing in the hallway over a dark stain in the rug. It was faded, like someone had tried to wash it out, but the marks were still there, slightly darker than the droplet-type stains on the staircase. These almost looked like…

"Is that blood?" she asked Logan, watching him amble down the hall toward her.

"Maybe." He shrugged, totally unconcerned. "Who knows. This place is old. What's in there?" He gestured to the door behind her at the end of the hall.

"My room," she shot back, turning her back on Logan and striding forward to twist the knob and shove the door open.

"What in God's name…"

"Woah."

Inside, the entire room was one perfectly seamless, spotless glass box.