Chapter 2
“Drink some coffee, Cece,” Willow said. “You look nearly frozen.”
Cece reached obediently for her coffee, stopping when her hands trembled so badly that she couldn’t grip the cup.
Willow reached out and took both her hands, squeezing them tight before saying, “It’s the adrenaline, Cece. You’re okay, honey. Take some deep breaths, okay?”
“I almost died,” Cece said in a low voice.
She glanced around, her gaze lingering on Briggs, who sat at a table behind theirs in the small coffee shop. His blue eyes met hers only briefly before he studied their surroundings, his big body stiff and alert.
“Why isn’t he sitting with us?” Cece asked. Her voice sounded weird and muffled.
“Don’t take offense,” Willow said. “He’s a polar bear shifter, and they’re naturally grumpy and introverted.”
“Right.” Cece stared at Willow. “I think I might faint.”
“Deep breaths,” Willow said firmly. “C’mon, Cece, do what I do.”
She breathed deeply, and Cece mimicked her, until a dozen slow inhales and exhales later, she felt mostly normal.
“Better?” Willow asked.
Cece nodded, and when Willow released her hands, they had stopped trembling enough that Cece could pick up her coffee and take a sip. The hot liquid warmed her frozen insides, and the jolt of caffeine gave her some much-needed clarity.
She watched as Willow sipped at her tea before grimacing. “Ugh. I miss coffee so much.”
Unlike Cece, who was still bundled up in her winter jacket, Willow’s jacket was draped over the empty chair next to hers. Cece stared at the gentle curve of the tiny woman’s belly as Willow stared longingly at Cece’s coffee.
“Mal says I should just drink decaf. He says there isn’t a taste difference, but he’s so wrong,” Willow said glumly. “I can’t believe I’m mated to a guy who thinks it’s a good idea to tell his pregnant wife she should just drink decaf coffee.”
She laughed and patted the curve of her belly, then smiled at Cece. “Drink some more, honey.”
Cece took another few sips, feeling a little more normal with each one. “Is this your first baby?”
“It is,” Willow said. “I’m five months.”
“Congratulations,” Cece said.
“Thank you.” Willow gave her a warm smile.
“I… oh, hold on.” She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out her phone.
It buzzed loudly, and she gave Cece a one-minute gesture before answering it.
“Hi, honey. No, I’m fine. Yes, I’m talking with her now in a coffee shop.
It was a good job I didn’t wait because some guy tried to go after her tonight. ”
She paused and listened for a few minutes before she said, “No, you don’t need to leave.
Becky will never forgive you if you pull her from the game early.
Yes, I’m sure. We’re perfectly safe. It was a human, and he basically wet his pants and ran away when he saw Briggs.
Yes… No, it’s all good. I promise, Mal. Okay. I love you. Bye, honey.”
She ended the call and then glanced over at Briggs. She rolled her eyes when his phone rang, and Briggs answered it with a, “Hey, boss.”
Willow sighed before giving Cece a grin.
“My husband Mal is a wolf shifter and, in general, overly protective. Now that I’m carrying his little wolf baby, his protective instincts have gone over the top.
It’s both annoying and adorable. Honestly, I’m surprised he even let me contact you tonight.
He had to take his little sister to her basketball game because his parents are out of town, so he couldn’t come with me like he usually does.
But I had a feeling that we couldn’t wait even a day later, so he assigned Briggs to go with me. ”
She smiled at Briggs, who was still on the phone. “Mal also wanted to send Hudson, but Kat and Bishop convinced him that one polar bear shifter was more than enough.”
Cece’s feelings of confusion were at an all-time high, and she stared blankly at Willow. Christ, she was tired, and she really wished she had just stayed the fuck home tonight.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re crazy, right?” Cece said.
“I am a bit loony,” Willow said cheerfully, “but not about seeing ghosts. It’s a gift.”
“Right,” Cece said. “And you’ve been communicating with my dead aunt.”
“That’s right,” Willow said.
Cece glanced at Briggs again. He returned her look, and she had a brief flashback to kissing him. She blushed furiously before looking away.
“So, if you’re friends with Briggs, then do you know my best friend, Elora?” she asked Willow.
“Well, I’ve never met her personally, but I know of her,” Willow said. “But I didn’t know who you were. In fact, I had no idea you knew Elora until Briggs saw you tonight and told me. Your aunt never mentioned Elora to me. It’s just a total coincidence and a small world kind of thing.”
Cece stared at her. “I am so confused right now.”
“Sorry, let me try to explain better,” Willow said.
“My husband, Mal, is one of the owners of Burke, King, and Frost Security. I work as a receptionist at the security firm, and I see ghosts. I help ghosts reconnect with their loved ones before they transition to the other side, and sometimes I use the security firm’s resources or employees to help me do that. ”
“I… I think I’ve met your mate,” Cece said. “At Elora’s house, when the dark witch was trying to kill her.”
Willow nodded. “Yes, Mal was there. But, as I said, I had no idea who you were until Briggs told me. Anyway, your aunt found me about four days ago and begged me to talk to you.”
She leaned closer, resting her elbows on the table and giving Cece a solemn look. “In the wise words of Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost… you’re in danger, girl.”
Cece stared wide-eyed at her before bursting into giggles. She laughed until her stomach hurt and tears came to her eyes. Some of the other patrons in the coffee shop stared at her, but Willow just sat serenely, one hand rubbing her baby bump and taking the occasional sip of tea.
When her giggles finally subsided, Willow said, “Better?”
Cece nodded. “Weirdly, yes.”
“Sometimes you just need to laugh or cry after a near-death experience,” Willow said.
“I’m not trying to be rude, but you can understand why I don’t believe that you’re talking to my dead aunt, right?” Cece said.
A blast of cold air washed over her, and she shivered, pulling her coat tighter around her as she glanced at the coffee shop door. It was closed tight, and there was no explanation for that blast of cold air, but Cece could see her breath and Willow’s.
Willow cocked her head, staring just behind Cece’s shoulder and listening to something only she could hear - or thought she could hear - before she nodded and turned to Cece.
“When you were fifteen years old, you and your aunt were watching a comedy show on TV, and you laughed so hard that you peed your pants.”
Cece’s mouth dropped open, and the rest of the air expelled from her lungs in a harsh rush.
“You were really embarrassed and begged your aunt not to tell anyone. Made her swear she wouldn’t say a word. And she never did, until now,” Willow said.
She listened again before saying, “You had a stuffed dinosaur that your mother gave you when you were five. You slept with it in your bed until you were seventeen. You and your aunt once tried to clean the rust stains off the upstairs tub with a combination of cleaners, and the resulting fumes were so toxic that you had to call 9-1-1. Your aunt -”
“Stop!” Cece’s voice was shaky and a little too loud, but she ignored the looks from the other customers. “Please, stop.”
“I’m sorry, Cece,” Willow said gently. “But I need you to believe me because, honey, you are in terrible danger.”
“You really can see my aunt?” Cece asked.
Willow nodded. “That cold air you feel? That’s her presence.”
“Does she look… is she…” Cece didn’t know how to finish her sentence.
Willow gave her a sweet smile. “She looks good, honey. Worried, but good. Your Aunt Sybil needs me to tell you something so important. Will you listen?”
Cece took a deep breath and glanced briefly at Briggs again, before turning back to Willow. This was madness, it had to be, but she said, “I’ll listen.”