southern ghost hunters 02 - skeleton in the closet Read Free

joined the last of the audience filing into the long benches and began working my way up, hoping to find a single seat…anywhere. I was craning my neck, distracted, when the last man on earth I wanted to see climbed up behind me and blocked my escape.
    "You look gorgeous today, Verity." He had that slight, sweet, humble-if-you-didn't-know-him Southern drawl that made me want to punch him in the face.
    I straightened and turned, already knowing what I'd find. "Beau."
    Beau Wydell appeared quite harmless on the surface. Tall, with Matthew McConaughey good looks and a self-effacing charm that had bedazzled plenty of women over the years. He'd sure fooled me.
    My ex-fiancé tilted his chin down and treated me to a shy smile, as if he didn't have a care in the world. And why should he? He was the one who'd cheated on me, lied to me, and then made me look the fool when he tried to force me to show up at our wedding. That was the day after he hit on my little sister, by the way. She'd gone to get another bottle of wine for our suite and he'd trapped her in a corner to paw at her. I didn't dare mention that here. No one knew. So far, Melody had stayed clean of this and I intended to keep it that way.
    I'd told him the wedding was off. He'd waited at the altar anyhow, in front of the whole town. He'd made it appear as if I'd stood him up, and I became persona non grata to just about everyone who ever mattered to me.
    "Please leave," I said, knowing I'd have to face him sooner or later, my heart racing all the same.
    He shrugged. "The way I see it, you're standing in my family section."
    I was? I almost dropped my popcorn. "Then I should leave," I said, trying to figure out a way to make it around him. We had folks on the seats above, watching us, along with several packed rows underneath, straining to hear.
    Lord have mercy.
    "It's all right if you sit by me, darlin'," he said, drawing closer.
    "I'd rather set my teeth on fire." Before today, I hadn't seen or spoken to Beau since he'd invited me to join him at our reception. The whole town was there, he'd said, enjoying our five-course sit-down dinner. Dancing to the ten-piece band his mother had insisted we hire. Consoling him. Assuring him he was better off.
    He'd sent me photos of the cake.
    I'd snapped. That he would play the victim, that he would humiliate me like that after what he'd done… I'd like to plead temporary insanity, only I knew exactly what I was doing when I drove straight to the Hamilton Hotel, marched right into my almost-reception, and plastered Beau's face straight into our almost-wedding cake. Only I hadn't counted on everyone taking pictures. And videos. Not to mention the way I'd slipped on frosting and fallen on my rear.
    I needed to escape. Now. Maybe I could shimmy under the seat and drop down to the ground below. Would I even fit? My luck I'd get stuck. Then we'd have more embarrassing pictures of me for Beau's Facebook page. 
    His mouth tipped into a slow smile. "Are you going to make another scene?" he asked, smugly, as if he'd read my mind. "Can't say that I don't enjoy your moxie."
    His words hit me like a bucket of cold water. My outburst at the reception had consequences. Beau's mother had sued me for the entire cost of the production she'd orchestrated. I'd had to sell everything I owned. I'd darn near lost my family home. Half the town still thought I was crazy.
    No. I would not let Beau Wydell humiliate me again.
    A cry erupted from the crowd around us. "Sit down," the woman behind me hissed. "The Yankees are coming. For real this time!"
    I sat, next to Beau Wydell, and tried not to cringe as our shoulders touched.
    He took it as an invitation and leaned his lips toward my ear. "I'm kind of glad we got stuck like this, darlin'. We should talk."
    "Don't call me darling," I said, keeping my voice down and my eyes on the town square. "We have nothing to say."
    The camera crew from the History channel sprang into action. I focused on the drama of