I adore the spooky season! You too?
Lately, I’m fascinated by ghost stories, and what’s a historic lighthouse without a ghost?
Lighthouse keeper Kieran Gallagher, MMC of this cozy, funny, angsty, slow-burn Halloween romance novella in the Trappers Cove Romance Series, struggles with ghosts of his own, as does FMC Dr. Addy Connor, who’s haunted by the horrors of battlefield surgery. Then there’s the Lady in White.
Here’s Kieran, telling Addy about Trappers Cove’s resident ghost:
She gifted him a brilliant smile. “You’re a lucky man, Kieran Gallagher.”
“I am today,” he agreed, drinking in the sight of her—jade eyes shining, dark hair whipping in the wind.
She tossed off a laugh. “Are you flirting with me, sir?”
“Just a wee bit, ma’am. Do you mind?”
Her gaze held a playful twinkle. “I suppose not. What happens at the beach stays at the beach, right?”
He inched closer. “And how long might you be staying at the beach?”
“A week.”
A grin stretched his lips. “You’ll be here for Halloween, then. Might even see the ghost.”
She rolled her eyes. “Pfft. Save your blarney for the tourists.”
He gripped the railing, his hand mere inches from hers. “No blarney, my lovely skeptic. I doubted too, when I first arrived, but I’ve seen her with my own eyes and shivered at the sound of her voice.”
She arched one dark eyebrow. “A talking ghost?”
“Mary Darrow, wife of Jonathan Darrow, captain of the Ivanova.” He pointed to a rocky outcropping barely visible beneath the surf. “Her husband’s vessel ran aground in 1822, returning from Alaska with a cargo of furs. I’m sure you’ve heard how treacherous these waters can be near the mouth of the Columbia. Everyone aboard perished. But when the moon is full, you can still see her, a ragged ship with glowing sails.”
Okay, that part was a local legend—he’d yet to see a ghostly ship, and not for lack of trying.
“And down below,” he pointed to the tower’s base, “the captain’s widow paces the shore, a spyglass in her hand, watching for her husband’s return.”
That part was real enough. The first time he’d seen the mournful spirit, he’d stood frozen in place as the misty outline solidified into a woman with upswept hair and long, wind-blown skirts, a lantern in one hand and an old-fashioned spy glass in the other. Movie ghosts floated gracefully, but this phantom’s movements were jerky and agitated as she searched the horizon.
And when she turned to look right at him, a wave of sadness chilled him to the marrow.
“Jonathan?” she cried, her anxious voice somehow ringing inside his skull. Her dark eyes wide, she stepped toward him. Panicked, he stumbled backward, and when he looked again, she was gone.
Since then, he’d seen her a dozen times, usually from the safety of the lighthouse gallery. Poor, restless spirit, endlessly searching for her lost love.
Addy’s shoulders rose and fell on a deep inhalation. “A ghost, huh? I carry around a lot of those.”
Well, shite, he’d hoped to entice her into another visit, and instead he’d brought up bad memories.
***
Just your luck–Kieran’s Light is on sale for October, just 99¢ for the e-book, available on all the vendors! I hope you’ll check out this delightful, spooky tale.
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