Dead People In Love (Haunted Hearts) by Edie Ramer Read Free Book Online Page A

held-in breath and glanced around. There was only her and Donovan and the two dead bodies in the condo. Olivia was gone already. Probably off haunting one of her so-called friends.
    If anyone called Cassie to get rid of Olivia, she wouldn’t go.
    Scooting down next to Donovan, she put her hand on his shoulder. “Rose is gone,” she said.
    “No!”
    “Yes.” She made her voice firm. “She left some messages.”
    He continued the CPR.
    She started repeating Rose’s last words. When she got to the message about Frankie, Donovan stopped pumping and she stopped talking. Slowly, he sat back.
    “Do you know who Frankie is?” he asked.
    She shook her head.
    “A cocker spaniel.” He tilted his head back and laughed and laughed.
    And then he was crying. Over his sobs, Cassie heard the whine of sirens outside the red brick building.  
    “Your grandmother’s happy.” She bent and put her hand on his arm. “She’s with Herb. They kissed.”
    “Can ghosts kiss?”
    “They did.” Cassie guessed there was some ectoplasm involved. Something they did without even knowing it. Just from wanting it so badly. “She wanted you to be happy, too. I forgot to give you one last message.”
    “What?” he asked, not taking his gaze off Rose’s still body.
    “She said you should marry Bridget.”
    His head snapped to her. A choked sound came from the entranceway, and he swiveled. Looking straight at Bridget.
    He jumped to his feet and in two strides, he was holding her. “Don’t cry,” he said. “Don’t cry.”
    But she did.
    He comforted her, his arm around her back. Holding her close.
    Cassie lifted her head to the high ceiling of the condo that Olivia wanted badly enough to kill for. “It’s going to be all right,” she whispered, her eyes blurry even though everything had happened for the best.
    The elevator chimed, and she guessed the hall door was still open. She hurried to pick up her purse so she could call Luke and tell him she’d be late.
    But as soon as the police released her, she’d be all his again.
    Her job here was over.

 
    Chapter 8
     
    “Stupid,” Luke said, his voice sleepy.  
    This wasn’t Cassie’s favorite way to wake up from a late afternoon nap. She turned over in their king-sized bed at the hotel and punched him in the bicep.
    “Ow!” Luke crossed his arm over his bare chest and covered his abused muscle. “I wasn’t talking about you. And how come your knuckles are the only bony part on you?”
    “Because I don’t kill myself dieting.”
    “Don’t ever diet.” He let go of his bicep and held out his arms for her.
    For that he deserved a kiss, which she gave him. If they hadn’t just made love thirty minutes ago, the bedroom still smelling of sex, it might have led to something more. Instead she gave a happy sigh and rolled off him.
    “So, who’s stupid?” she asked.
    “Donovan. For making a will like that before he married her.”
    “Olivia was manipulative. He isn’t rich but she saw his possibilities. She was smart that way. Plus, he’s young and attractive.” She paused and grinned at Luke. “With a great body.”
    “Not as great as mine.”
    “If you say so.” She grinned wider and laughed, then thought of Rose and her grin slipped. But the happiness remained, a quiet glow inside her chest. “When he signed the will, he probably didn’t even think of the condo as his property. In his mind, it was Rose’s. Until Olivia planted doubts about Rose’s mental stability.”
    “I can see how it happened. I’ve been stupid over a woman a few times.” Luke rolled to his side, cupping Cassie’s cheek with his hand. “But when I met you, I was very smart.”
    The glow inside Cassie grew louder. “It’s fixed now. They’re all going to have a happy ever after. Rose and Herb in the afterlife. Donovan and Bridget in this life.”
    “With some bumps in the road,” he said.
    She nodded. “Except for Olivia. I don’t know what’s going to happen to her, and I