The Ghost of You Lingers by Cat Washington

Author:Cat Washington [Washington, Cat]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Third Alternative
Published: 2025-10-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Dinner was already on the table when I entered the kitchen. I joined the meal in progress, shooting a quick glance at Yasmin. With my expression, I dared her to make a smart remark about my tardiness or our conversation at lunch.

“You’ve got to try this,” Nate said. He filled my empty plate with pieces of chicken and piled it high with mashed potatoes. He handed me the plate and pointed to the wine bottle to ask if I wanted a glass. “Your roommate is an amazing cook.”

I mouthed the word “roommate” to Annabelle, who wore an amused smirk. They’d pulled the table out from the wall so it could accommodate four people. Yasmin and Nate had already filled their glasses with wine, and I held mine out while Nate poured. Tonight, he was wearing a polo shirt and khaki pants. They were a little wrinkled, but he’d made the effort. His hair was even gelled in place.

“Gibson,” Yasmin said meaningfully, “don’t you have something to tell Annabelle?” The sweet smile she wore had teeth of its own.

I cleared my throat and smiled right back. “Yes, I do.” Turning to Annabelle, I said, “I’m writing a song.”

“Really? That’s wonderful, dear!”

Deciding to return fire on my cousin, I said, “Yas, did you want to tell Annabelle about your magical breakthrough?”

If she wasn’t sitting all the way across the table, I think Yasmin might have kicked me.

“Did you make progress on what you were trying to figure out, Yas?” Annabelle asked innocently. Nate watched the three of us, looking completely oblivious to the layers of conversation happening between two cousins and a ghost.

“Yes, I did,” Yasmin said. “I discovered the time frame for the ritual and that it requires angelica. I scoured the backyard for it but couldn’t find any. Miranda is trying to track it down via sketchy sites on the internet.”

“That’s lovely, dear,” said Annabelle, taking a pretend sip from her empty glass of wine.

Yasmin and I glared at each other until my stomach growled and I had to back down so I could take a bite. The food really was delicious. I told Annabelle so, and she accepted the compliment, seeming to glow even brighter. As I ate, she talked about the recipe she’d used and which book she found it in. Then she regaled us with a story of how she had almost burned down the house trying to teach Agatha to cook a turkey for Thanksgiving. Apparently, they’d had to call the Mackinac Island Fire Department, and then Miranda had flirted a little too hard with one of the firefighters and that led to a whole other story. By the end of it, all three of us were cracking up.

In the lull that followed, Nate asked, “So, Gibson, you live in New York? What’s that like?”

“It’s, uh, exactly like what people think living in New York is like,” I said. “Rats. The best food in the world. Etc.”

“Cool.” Nate’s eyes were wide. The man didn’t have a sarcastic bone in his body.

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