Kiss And Dwell (21 page)

“
You think that
’
ll do it?
”
Monique asked, spraying his hair with water then
parting it.

“
It should get them considering the possibility, but just in case it isn
’
t
enough, I also asked Chloe if she has a favorite toy. She does, a pink stuffed
rabbit named Stinky.
”

“
Stinky?
”

“
She said she spilled milk on it once, and Stinky hasn
’
t smelled the same since,
even after several washings.
”

“
I see.
”
Monique snipped away the excess baggage on
Dax
’
s
head while she
listened.

“
Chloe wants me to come to the beach so she
’
ll be able to communicate with her
parents. And I get a beach vacation and more time with Chloe and Celeste before
they cross.
”

Monique
’
s scissors stopped momentarily, and she eyed her brother in the mirror
above her counter.
“
You like them, don
’
t you?
”

Dax
’
s
brows dropped a notch, as though he were about to frown, but he caught it
and converted it to a small smile.
“
Why wouldn
’
t I like them? Chloe
’
s a little
doll, and I admire the fact that Celeste saw the light and could have gone on
over to the other side but chose to stay and help Chloe.
”

“
What do they look like?
”
Monique asked.

“
Celeste and Chloe?
”

“
Yeah. I
’
m curious.
”
Monique was more than curious, but she didn
’
t want to let
Dax
in on her thoughts entirely, not yet. Could it be that their grandmother
expected the two of them to work together to fix Ryan
’
s problem with crossing?
And would
Dax
be interested in trying?

“
Chloe is tiny, with big eyes, a full mouth and a cute little dimple that
creases her left cheek when she grins real big.
”
He smiled, evidently thinking
of the little girl, then he took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and added,
“
Celeste is tall and thin, with long blond hair that falls in spirals to her
waist and eyes that are dark and round and inquisitive. She
’
s got the same type
of full mouth, except on a grown woman, it
’
s more—sensual—I guess you
’
d say.
”

His face colored a bit as he spoke, but Monique pretended not to notice.
“
Hell,
Monique, she
’
s the most beautiful woman I
’
ve ever met in my life. She
’
s
stunning, inside and out, and she
’
s a ghost.
”
He shrugged.
“
If she were living,
I
’
d ask her out in a heartbeat, but she
’
s not. Sucks, but that
’
s the way it is.
”

Monique kept cutting, and wondered if Celeste might be meant for Ryan.
“
I guess
it was nice to find out so much about Celeste and Chloe, when you visited with
them,
”
she said.
“
I don
’
t know that much about Ryan.
”

“
You never want to know anything about them,
”
Dax
reminded her.
“
Or you never
have before,
”
he corrected himself.

Her eyes inadvertently darted to the computer by her cash register. She kept
records for all of her customers, their cuts, colors, makeup and so on in a
database on that computer. But she wasn
’
t thinking about any of that now. She
was thinking about her high-speed Internet access, where she could potentially
find almost anything she wanted to know about Ryan
Chappelle
with the mere click
of a few keys.

“
Uh-uh, sis,
”
Dax
warned,
“
Don
’
t even think about it.
”
He
’
d obviously followed
her eyes to her monitor and keyboard.

“
Think about what?
”
she questioned, trying to play dumb and failing.

“
If we try to find out their pasts in order to help them, that
’
s one thing, but
if we
’
re doing it out of curiosity, that
’
s another. Don
’
t you remember what
happened when
Jenee
tried finding information on her very first assignment,
before she realized that was off limits? Her computer blew up. It didn
’
t merely
crash, or even lose the hard drive—the sucker was annihilated. Tiny little
pieces everywhere. I know you remember.
”

“
I do,
”
she said, hating the rules more than ever. And that rule wasn
’
t even on
the list. They
’
d simply learned it through trial and error…and lots of computer
parts.

“
The only reason I learned more about Celeste and Chloe was because they told
me,
”
he said.

Exasperated, Monique rolled her neck to one side and popped it loudly, then
slowly worked it the other way and did the same.

“
That
’
s a bad habit,
”
Dax
said.

“
It isn
’
t a habit,
”
she contradicted, ready to argue with someone, and he was
the nearest one around.
“
In order for something to be a habit, you have to do it
for twenty-seven days straight. I
’
ve never popped my neck twenty-seven days in a
row.
”

He looked at her as though she
’
d sprouted a second head.
“
Where did you hear
that?
”

Monique frowned. She couldn
’
t remember. Here she was with an interesting little
bit of trivia, and no clue whether it was fact or fiction.
“
Oh, forget it,
”
she
said, ignoring his laughter. This whole thing with Ryan was throwing her world
off-kilter. She decided to get back on subject.
“
Was Celeste married when she
was living, or engaged or anything?
”

“
She wasn
’
t married, and she hasn
’
t said anything about a boyfriend or fiancé
.

She died at twenty-two, had finished college in the spring, so she was basically
just getting started at living.
”
Dax
tilted his head to cast a suspicious look
at his sister.
“
What are you getting at, Monique?
”

She used her palms to move his head upright.
“
Don
’
t lean. You want a good cut,
don
’
t you?
”

“
Yeah,
”
he agreed,
“
but more than that, I want to know what you
’
re up to.
”

“
My ghost can
’
t cross until he learns how to love. I
’
ve been trying to figure
out how I
’
m supposed to teach him.
”
She didn
’
t add and trying to figure out how
to make him cross when I really want him to stay.
“
And I can
’
t help thinking
that it
’
s odd that both of us get ghosts that didn
’
t cross over immediately.
”

“
I
’
m not following,
”
Dax
was saying when
Evette
edged her head out of the dryer.

“
Am I done, Monique?
”
she called, waving her People magazine beneath her face in
an attempt to cool off from the heat.

Monique glanced at the timer by her station.
“
Ten more minutes,
Evette
. If you
can stand it that long, your ends really will look better after the coloring.
”

“
I can do it,
”
she said, popping her head back under, then proceeding to fan the
magazine beneath her face like there was no tomorrow.

Monique grinned, looked at
Dax
’
s
cut in the mirror and nodded approvingly
.

“
You
’
re going to have a blast at the beach.
”
She reached around him to grab a
can of mousse, dispensing a huge white blob in her palm. She rubbed her hands
together then smoothed the foamy substance through his waves.
“
Perfect.
”

Dax
leaned forward to withdraw his wallet from his back pocket, but Monique
shook her head.

“
Like I
’
d take your money.
”

He obviously knew she wouldn
’
t, because the end of his wallet hadn
’
t even
cleared the top of his jeans before he tucked the leather rectangle back in.

“
Thanks,
”
he said, then folded his arms.
“
By the way, I
’
m not leaving this chair
until you tell me what you
’
ve got up your sleeve.
”

“
I want Ryan to meet Celeste,
”
she said, before her brain had a chance to stop
her mouth. The truth was she didn
’
t want Ryan to meet Celeste, or any other
woman. Unfortunately, the truth hurt. She shouldn
’
t care whether Ryan
Chappelle
fell in love with someone, particularly if that someone was another spirit. That
was what she was supposed to accomplish. But if Ryan did meet Celeste and did
fall in love, then he would cross over, thereby eliminating any chance
whatsoever for Monique to see him again on this side.

The thought of never seeing him again didn
’
t merely hurt; it stung, and Monique
couldn
’
t quite figure out why. It wasn
’
t as though they
’
d shared a whole lot of
time. She
’
d spent less than a day with the striking ghost, but in that day,
she
’
d given herself to him, as much of herself as she could. Yet Monique yearned
to give him more. She wanted to give him everything.

But she wouldn
’
t. Couldn
’
t. And nothing was going to change that reality
.

However, if she didn
’
t do everything in her power to help him cross before his
allotted time expired, she
’
d never forgive herself. Surely Ryan didn
’
t plan to
stay in the middle forever, or if he did, it was merely because he didn
’
t
realize how good things would be on the other side of the light. Everything was
better over there, right? That
’
s what she told the ghosts she helped, and none
of them had returned to tell her any differently.

“
You want him to meet Celeste?
”
Dax
’
s
voice rose in surprise.
“
Why?
”

“
Ryan can
’
t cross until he learns how to love. Celeste is in the middle, too
.

She
’
s a sweet, gorgeous ghost; he
’
s a sweet, hunky ghost. What
’
s there to figure
out?
”
Monique acted as though the idea didn
’
t stab her heart like a knife. It
was the perfect solution, playing matchmaker between her ghost and
Dax
’
s
, but
that didn
’
t mean she didn
’
t want to scream, even as she looked at
Dax
’
s
reflection in the mirror and forced a smile.

He gave a resigned sigh and unsnapped the black cape, wadded it and tossed it in
the chrome bin for dirty garments. Then he closed his eyes and shook his head.

“
You know what?
”
he asked.

“
What?
”