Beach House Mystery

Chapter 2

MORGAN SEAVER TUGGED on the hem of her sweater as she shivered, not sure if it was the cold air coming off the ocean or the excitement of the approaching holidays that caused her reaction. Leaning back from her perch on the ladder and studying the wreath she had just hung, she frowned. Something was missing.

"Easy there, Morgan. The last thing you need to do is fall off a ladder."

Warm hands gripped her waist to steady her, and she looked down with a smile at Gabe Holleran, who was helping her decorate the beach house.

"No kidding. This is my first Christmas on Pearl Island that I can remember. I certainly don"t want to spend it hobbling around on crutches." Holding her hand out to Gabe, she pointed to the box by the ladder. "Would you hand me that red ribbon? I want to make a bow for the wreath, and then this window is done."

A few moments later the bow was in place and Morgan was climbing down the ladder to stand next to Gabe. He put his arm around her shoulder as they stood and looked at the handiwork they had been working on all morning. While they were admiring their work, a long-haired, tawny-colored cat was busy digging in the box of decorations. The sound of jingle bells coming from the box made Morgan look down, knowing full well what the cat was up to.

"Again, Misty? These aren"t toys. Get out of that box before you get in trouble," she scolded with a chuckle.

But Misty was too fast, and before Morgan could scoop her up, the cat jumped out of the box, one of the jingle bells hanging from a ribbon in her mouth. Morgan swore the cat grinned at her as she ran off, the bell jingling with her movements.

"Your sneaky thief has struck again." Gabe laughed as they watched the cat disappear through the cat door and into the house.

"Lately, she"s not so much of a sneak. She"s gotten pretty brazen with her thefts. And she has a new hiding spot that I haven"t discovered yet, so who knows what I will find?"

"She has a track record of hiding and discovering things that are important,” Gabe said. “I say let her have some fun for now. What do we need to tackle next on that decorating list of yours?"

Morgan pulled a sheet of paper from her back pocket containing her Christmas to-do list and grabbed a pen out of the box to check off a few items. She was pleased to see they had completed more than half of the tasks. Tapping on the paper with her pen, she showed Gabe the next item on the list.

"Putting up the lights in the palms will have to wait until Ben checks to make sure I have the proper electrical outlets. We can do the roof line at the same time. Then the outside will be done. Except the widow"s walk. I"m not sure what I want to do up there, but it has to be special."

"Then we"re done for the day?" Gabe asked.

"Not even close. I said that was it for the outside. We still have the whole inside of the house to do." She grabbed Gabe"s arm with one hand when he pretended to back away, wagging her finger in warning with the other hand as she gave him a stern look. "You don"t get off that easily, mister. Besides, Ben will be here in a couple hours with the Christmas tree and fresh strings of lights. If you don"t want to help me in the house, you can help Ben."

"You know, Morgan, I would swear you"ve never celebrated Christmas before," Gabe teased, but stopped at the look of sadness that Morgan tried to hide.

"Actually, this is my first big celebration. I never returned to the island for Christmas. My aunt would always pick me up from boarding school, and we would go somewhere wonderful to enjoy the holidays. But I never had a home to come to for all the excitement of the holidays." Morgan shook her head, as if to rid herself of the sad thoughts, and looked up at Gabe, knowing he understood.

But before he could answer, a voice spoke from behind them.

“I always regretted not having you home for Christmas, but I made a promise to your mother. I hope our holidays together weren"t too lonesome for you, Morgan.”

The two turned together and faced the shimmering form of Meredith Seaver, Morgan"s aunt. Morgan"s dead aunt.

"I loved our time together, Aunt Meredith. You made sure my Christmases were always wonderful. I wasn"t complaining, honest."

Meredith shimmered a bit brighter, her form becoming more visible. She nodded in understanding and gave Gabe a soft smile at the same time. It had been almost six months since her murder, a murder they had blamed Morgan for, and she was becoming used to her aunt’s ghostly form. Only lately, Meredith had showed up on Pearl Island visible to others other than Morgan. Meredith was careful not to be seen by many, but she considered Gabe family and didn"t shy away from seeking out her niece if he was around. Morgan knew that her aunt had visited a few places away from the beach house, such as the lighthouse, and had made herself known to her best friend, Winnie Colbright, who ran the Maritime Museum.

"When I summoned you home, I had looked forward to our celebrating the holidays for the first time on the island. I used to love decorating the beach house with your mother and grandparents when I was a child. I had hoped we would decorate together this year." If the ghost could have cried, Morgan was sure her eyes would have been full of tears.

"And we will. It will just have to been done differently than you planned." Morgan smiled at her aunt, willing her to cheer up. "You will have the role of supervisor. And you can tell me the history behind all of those lovely ornaments I found inside the house."

Meredith shared a smile with her niece. It might not be how they wanted to share their first Christmas on Pearl Island, but they would make do. Then she gave a laugh that held a touch of mischief in it.

"Do you mean the ornaments on the tables inside? The same ornaments in easy reach of that cat of yours?"

Instantly, Morgan knew what her aunt meant, and with a yell for the cat, ran for the front door, not waiting to see if the others would follow. There was too much temptation for Misty lying around within easy reach, and Morgan hoped the kitten had been content with the jingle bell she had run off with. Not that she believed the cat would ignore the glittery ornaments laying in their boxes, but she could hope.