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Excerpt:

“ Heeeeeeeeeeelp !”

Nolan Frey's eyes flew open, her sleep disrupted. Glancing at the illuminated dial of the clock on her bedside table, she squinted at the glowing numbers.

Two a.m.

Doors slammed. The patter of feet and frightened voices came from the rooms down the hall.

She flipped the switch on her bedside lamp and the soft light spilled onto the walls. Rising from the bed, she took a step toward the door, but stopped when she saw a dark mist creep under the doorway. Her body shook as the mist tweaked her bare toes, its icy fingers touching her feet.

She moved away, the backs of her knees bumping the side of the mattress. As the dark mist crept around her head, she heard a low, deep voice in her ear.

I am here Nolan, you won't get rid of me.

Jack! It sounded just like… Jack.

A lone tear slipped down her face. Then another.

Feel it, Nolaaaaaaaaaaaan, feel my power.

Afraid Jack would materialize any second, she tore out of the room, running toward the sound of another panicked cry. Nolan stopped when she saw a shimmery, translucent figure dressed in white cross her path. Chills shot through her body as she watched the woman walk directly through a wall!

Who was that strange woman?

In the next instant, something hard slammed into Nolan, followed by a loud ‘Ooooooomph!'

She turned, and gazed up into the golden face of Jake Hunter, the general manager of Bride's Inn .

He grabbed her shoulders. “Are you all right?” His sherry-colored eyes locked with hers.

She could only manage a nod.

“Jake, come on!” A tall man with long, jet-black hair approached. “We've got to—” The man narrowed his eyes. “Nolan, what are you doing out of bed?”

Nolan blew out a shaky breath and stared into the gray eyes of another one of Bride's Inn owners, Anthony Zodan.

“I heard a woman scream, then I—” she shook her head. “Never mind.” How could she explain that black mist she saw? Or the strange woman in white who had walked through the wall?

Nolan peeked over Jake and Anthony's shoulders to see Seth Masters, the third owner, standing behind them.

Nolan turned, her eyes locking with Anthony's, then her gaze settled on his brow chakra—the space between his eyes. After a few seconds, she saw his bright, powerful orange aura surround him, suffused with a murky, mustard colored aura of anger and unease.

Her eyes traveled to Jake and Seth, where mustard tones mingled with their bodies' bright colored auras—Jake's a dynamic turquoise and Seth's a powerful survivor's blue.

Jake gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze then took off in the direction of the rooms where the woman's scream echoed once more. Anthony followed behind.

Seth looked at Nolan, his dark eyes pleading. “Will you stay with Serena, Miranda, Crystal and the kids?”

Nolan held up a hand. “Of course. Go help Jake and Anthony.”

“Thanks.” He gave her a nod then tore off down the hall.

Nolan marched down the hallway, her determined steps reverberating down the corridor.

She ran a weary hand over her eyes, blinking back sleep, her mind filled with the haunting images of that black mist and the strange apparition.

Glancing behind her, she saw only an empty hallway…

Or was it?

Bitter cold seeped into her bones, even though the thermostat she passed on the wall read a balmy seventy degrees. She opened the door to the nursery. Seth and Serena's three-year-old toddler, Gregory, ran to her, his eyes filled with tears.

Nolan gathered him close. “It's okay,” she crooned. He rested his head against her chest, his thumb finding its way into his tiny mouth.

Gregory gazed at Nolan. “My friend came to play with me, today.”

She smiled. “That's nice. What's his name?”

Gregory shrugged. “Dunno his name. He plays ball with me.”

Nolan kissed the top of his head. “Is he your age?”

“Uh-huh.”

Nolan gazed at a very pregnant Serena sitting in a chair, her freckles more prominent than ever as her pale face tightened into pinched lines.

“I'm so glad you're here,” she whispered, placing a hand on her swollen belly.

Miranda, Jake's wife, stroked the pale hair on the head of her oldest, David, a stocky one-year-old. He huddled against her chest. His loud, fitful cry made Gregory cry harder. Nolan rubbed his back as she gazed at Crystal, Anthony's wife, cuddling Miranda's baby girl, Michaela.

Serena ran a hand through her long, red curly hair. “I just can't believe this is happening again—this is the third time this month that we've had guests screaming in the middle of the night.”

Miranda's large purple eyes grew round. She bit her lower lip. “Jake said we couldn't afford to return any more money. We've already lost so much.”

Nolan sat down next to Crystal .

“We've just got to do something about the lady in white.” Crystal shook her head of long, pale blonde hair.

Nolan angled her head. “Who is the lady in white?”

Crystal replied. “She's the ghost that haunts this inn. Usually, she doesn't bother anyone.”

Maybe that's who I saw!

Miranda nodded. “She's helped all three of us at one time or another.”

Serena let go of a sigh. “Except now, she's scaring our guests in the middle of the night, and I just don't understand why.” She glanced at Nolan. The minute she put her arms out towards Gregory, he took his thumb from his mouth and grabbed hold of her. “Thank you, Nolan. You seem to have a way with children.”

Nolan gave him to Serena, instantly missing the feel of his small, warm body.

Miranda shook her head. “What are we going to do about the lady in white? We've all invested so much time and money in Bride's Inn .” She chewed her lower lip as she rocked her baby girl in her arms.

Serena eased her body into a chair. “I-I don't know, but there has to be something we can do.”

“I think I know how to solve this.”

All three women turned to face Nolan. “How?” they asked in unison.

Nolan winked. “You'll see.”