“You know we laugh and joke because it’s easier than crying.”

Nolan opened his eyes, coming out of a deep sleep. He was naked under the covers, having crawled in after taking a quick shower. His leg throbbed angrily from the puncture wounds and subsequent hike.

Lily stood at the end of the bed, watching him.

“Good, you’re alive. It’s past noon, and I just came out of my sleep coma, too. I think Polly’s margaritas had more than liquor in them.” Lily’s hair was pulled into a messy bun on the top of her head. Her sleeveless blue t-shirt and jeans made it look like she was ready to work.

“Magical margaritas.” Nolan chuckled. He wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. Polly had ushered him off to bed soon after he drank one. He remembered starting to nod off in the shower. “Have you been standing there long?”

“Watching you sleep? Only about fifteen minutes,” she said. He arched a brow. Lily laughed. “See, jokes, we Goodes are funny people. No, I knocked and when you didn’t answer, I became worried. How’s your back?”

“Doesn’t hurt,” he lied. “How’s your magic?”

“Still misfiring. I hiccupped and set the kitchen curtains on fire. Luckily, Dante was able to put them out before any real damage was done.” Lily turned her back when he sat up. The covers slid from his chest to his waist. “Polly was telling me that the Crawford side is all potions, spells, and natural elemental magic. The Goode side is a little more fireballs and teleportation.” Lily sighed. “So before I teleport myself into a wall, or set the entire place on fire, I thought it might help to expend my energy doing something a little more productive while I wait for the bad luck to dissipate.”

“Like?”

“Salvaging any of the old barn wood I can for resale. I doubt we can rebuild with the old lumber, but we shouldn’t let it go to waste. Besides, unless someone in town would be willing to hire me, I need to make money somehow.” She looked at her hands, her back still to him as she leaned against the foot of the bed.

“I thought you had the trust,” he said.

“It covers the structures only. We can’t buy food with it, and I can’t keep relying on Polly every time I want to eat. We can’t buy clothes or new phones... oh, hey, check it out.” She pulled a small gray flip phone out of her pocket. “Look at the high-tech hardware that was delivered this morning. I have a phone again.”

There was something intimate about having her in his room. The memory of their kiss remained on his lips. He didn’t regret it, but she hadn’t mentioned it again, and so neither did he. Maybe he was foolish for thinking a powerful Goode witch could be interested in a werewolf like him.

Nolan swung his feet to the floor and laid the covers across his midsection. “There’s a guy in town, Garrett, who makes furniture. He owns Nail in the Coffin Carpentry. I can give him a call and see if he wants to take some of it off your hands.”

He was sure not too many locals would want a piece of Goode property in their homes or businesses, but he’d sure as heck try to sell it for her.

“That sounds like a morbid name for a business,” she said.

“His ancestors were the undertakers in Unlucky Valley.” He glanced around his room. When he stood, he took the sheets with him and tucked them around his waist. “Toss me a shirt from my bag?”

As she moved to his duffle bag, she said, “You can use the dresser. You’re here all the time now anyway.”

Nolan couldn’t help but laugh. “Is that a hint?”

“Yes.” She threw the shirt in his direction without looking and he leaned over to catch it. “I’m hinting that I want my own bathroom with its own hot water tank. I’ve decided I don’t like sharing hot water with everyone in the house, and it’s just going to become worse when we start having guests.”

“You still want to have the bed and breakfast after all that’s been going on around here?” Nolan slid the shirt over his head, wearing the sheet like a lavalava.

“Why not? Haunted destinations are all the rage, and I won’t have to pay people to fake weird things happening.” Her head turned to the side, but she kept her back to him. “The trust ensures the house and land will always be taken care of and remain in the family, but whoever set it up forgot to take care of the people living in the house.” She reached for the duffle bag and tossed it on the bed within his reach. “So, I’m creating my own loophole. Let the family trust take care of the remodeling and any damage done by guests. Let it pay the utility bills and the property taxes. The money we make will go toward groceries, and clothes, and a new car—nothing fancy—and eventually we’ll add Unlucky Valley ghost tours and history tours, and maybe build a series of cabins for those who want privacy and—”

“Whoa, Lily, take a breath.” Nolan finished getting dressed.

“I can’t explain it. I woke up today and everything is clear. First we get this house ready for guests. Then we form an LLC, hire some people, put up a website—”

“Don’t you think you need to be having this conversation with your brother?”

“Why?” This time she did turn.

“Because you’re planning a business with him.”

“Oh, no, I’m sorry, I forgot an important part of my plan.” She came toward him. “I’m going to need help. I love Dante, but I know him. Running a bed and breakfast is not his style. He’ll hang out for a while but then disappear when something else comes along. My sister, Jesse, isn’t ready for that kind of responsibility, and she’s refusing to even visit. Aunt Polly,” Lily pursed her lips and sighed heavily as she shook her head, “enough said.”

“So…?”

“Oh, sorry. You. I want you to be my partner. You know about broken heaters and pipes and wallpaper-y things.”

“Wallpaper-y things?”

“Yes.” Lily nodded. “If our work here—what little work we’ve managed to get done between hauntings and raccoon attacks—tells me anything, it’s that I know nothing about wallpaper-y things. I need a partner who does. You’ve said more than once that the city inspector gig is not really your thing, so I thought, if you were interested, we could form a partnership.”

Partnership. It wasn’t exactly the offer he wanted from her.

“Are you hesitating because of the kiss?” Her eyes dipped to his mouth, but she leaned back.

“We should probably discuss it.”

“Okay.” She looked at him expectantly.

Nolan wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say. Did he tell her the truth? Did he tell her he thought about kissing her often? Did he tell her he wanted more than that? Did he tell her how he felt?

He finally decided on, “Maybe we shouldn’t discuss it.”

“Okay. If that’s what you want, we’ll pretend it never happened.” Lily’s eyes moved away from his. He studied her expression. Her smile fell. “What about the partnership? Did I mention it would be fifty-fifty?”

“No.” Nolan touched her arm, causing her eyes to meet his again. “I think sixty-forty.”

“You want sixty?” Her eyes widened in surprise.

“I want forty. This is your property, your house, your idea. You should have the majority. I wouldn’t feel right taking half.” He dropped his hand from her arm, even as he wanted to pull her closer.

“No. We’re looking at a lot of work. I’d need you to take care of the grounds and the maintenance. Fifty-fifty.”

“Sixty-forty.”

“Fifty-one and forty-nine.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Final offer.”

“Deal.” Nolan held out his hand. “Partner.”

“Really?” Her smile returned. When he nodded, she clapped her hands a couple of times in excitement before grasping his hand. “Yay!”

Her hand remained on his. Fear tried to creep into the happy moment. He knew he had to protect her. As soon as he could slip away, he was going to have a conversation with the town council to see who else they’d tasked with running the Goodes out of town so he could put a stop to it.

“You get started on a plan for,” she waved her hand around to encompass the house, “all of the construction stuff, and I’ll get working on a business plan so the lawyer can draw up contracts for us.” She let go and hurried toward the door. “I can’t believe we’re going to make Garden Gnome Bed and Breakfast a reality.”

Nolan started to laugh at her enthusiasm, but stopped as the name sunk in. “Wait, what?” He rushed after her. “I can’t own something called Garden Gnome Bed and Breakfast. Can’t we call it The Goode Estate? Lucky Valley Hotel? Werewolf Inn? Something more... manly?”

He heard her footsteps moving down the stairs and tripped on a gnome standing outside his door. The round-cheeked statue stared up at Nolan as he rocked on his back. Nolan picked the gnome up and placed him next to the wall.

He patted the statue on the pointy hat. “Sorry, buddy.”

“If you hurt her, I’ll set your hairy butt on fire.” Dante stood up from the stairwell leading to the third floor. He’d been sitting on the bottom step in the shadows.

“It was only a kiss,” Nolan said. “I would never hurt her.”

Dante arched a brow. “Kiss? I was talking about Lily’s business idea. She needs it to work. We no longer have jobs waiting for us in Washington and the funds are getting pretty low.”

Just how bad was Lily’s financial situation? It never occurred to him that a Goode might need financial assistance.

“Oh, ah, yeah, don’t worry. I won’t do anything to hurt the business. I think it’s a great idea, if we can get the spirits and gnomes to behave.” Nolan didn’t relish the idea of arguing with a witch who’d just received his powers.

“Wait.” Dante approached, tilting his head to study Nolan’s face. “You kissed my sister, and she didn’t deck you?”

“I think that’s something you should talk to your sister about.” He might have let it slip, but Nolan was not about to kiss and tell.

“Wow. She must really like you, wolf boy. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe she could be interested in you.” Dante slapped him on the arm. “Good luck with that. Better men than you have tried to crack through that armor. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”