Ghost of a Chance (Banshee Creek Book 2) Read Free

Enterprises."
    Patricia looked puzzled. "That makes no sense," she said.
    "Spell it out." Elizabeth waited while her friend mouthed the words.
    "PRoVE?" Her friend grimaced.
    "Isn't it great?" Caine spread out his arms grandly. "It's search-engine friendly. We're now Google's number one English-language paranormal site."
    "You say that like it's a good thing," Elizabeth snarked.  
    "Face it, Hunt, no one comes here for the Early American History seminar. They come for the ghosts." His gaze grew sympathetic. "I know that doesn't do much for the real estate values."
    Her spine straightened. "And that's on my list of things that must change."
    Caine shook his head. "You're a good egg. You were making it as an actress in L.A. and you gave that up to come take care of your mom. Now you're taking care of her business. The whole town is proud of you."
    "Wow, multi-syllabic words. I'm impressed." She knew her tone was sharper than it should have been. He meant well, but she didn't want his pity.
    "But this Joan of Arc act has to go." Caine looked at her sternly. "I know your brother's death put you off the otherworldly stuff, but you tend to take things too far, and this time you've gone all the way over the edge and hic sunct dragones . " His face softened. "Anyway, shouldn't you be chasing down he who makes your heart sing?" He looked around the room. "I hear he's around here somewhere."
    "Oh, don't you start." She felt her face flush. The Saint Joan dig had hit its mark, but thanks to Caine, everyone would think she was blushing at the prospect of a Gabe Franco sighting. Small towns had long memories, and her love-struck teenage self was, unfortunately, one of those.  
    "You may have a chance with him now," Caine continued. "Your stint in the City of Angels did you good. You don't look like Wednesday Addams anymore."
    Elizabeth shook her head in exasperation. Caine was incorrigible. She liked her new highlights and heels, but still, she had rocked the goth drama geek look in high school. Wednesday Addams, indeed.  
    Caine laughed again and turned to give a caramel apple to a little girl in pigtails and pink glasses. The girl's shirt sported a Mythbusters logo. Talk about corrupting today's youth.
    Elizabeth assessed Caine's contributions to the refreshments table. Patricia's red velvet cupcakes were no longer the only baked goods on offer. The table was now laden with candy-corn cannoli, ghost-shaped meringues and candy-studded rice cereal treats. One of Caine's employees was unpacking bottles bearing Haunted Orchard Cidery labels. Elizabeth wasn't surprised. Haunted Orchard had developed an aggressive marketing campaign based on their spectrally challenged hometown. They'd probably donated the cider.
    "Looks like the paranormies are pulling out all the stops," Patricia chimed in, picking up a cannoli and examining it. Her face hardened. "These are from Manhattan," she said, glaring at the innocent pastry cylinder. "Well, we can play dirty too."  
    Caine's laugh boomed out. "Don't bother, girls. Accept defeat gracefully."
    Patricia put the cannoli down and stepped away from the table, dragging Elizabeth with her. "C'mon, time to counterattack. I have donuts and more lemonade in the car."  
    She pushed Elizabeth to the library entrance, making her stumble, and led her to the parking lot.   As they headed out the door, Elizabeth tried to pep herself up.  
    Cookies and banners didn't matter. She had logic on her side. Banshee Creek didn't need the ghosts to be successful; the town had many other attractions.  
    Take this street, for instance. The cobblestone streets glowed as the remaining sunlight streamed through amber leaves. The inevitable fall drizzle hadn't dampened any spirits and the crisp fall air smelled like wet leaves, burnt sugar and apples. The town's vintage houses looked lovely in their period-appropriate moldings and historically correct paint colors.  
    All except one.  
    Elizabeth frowned at a crowd of