The Messenger

57

Tyler Hawthorne put his arm around his wife. Amanda, far from fearing the dogs, now enjoyed sitting on the floor with them, or in this case, the deck outside the bedroom. So the Hawthornes, barefoot and in bathrobes, leaned their backs against the wall, a dog at each side. The sun had set an hour ago, but the night was warm, and no one was in a rush to go inside.

Amanda, nestled close to him, looked down at her house below. Brad and Rebecca were still staying at Amanda’s house, but had gone out to a concert this evening with some friends.

Colby had stayed at the wedding only long enough to claim a kiss from the bride, and seemed disappointed when Tyler had not responded jealously. He had given Amanda a chaste kiss on the cheek, shrugged when Tyler asked him not to be a stranger, and disappeared.

Ben and Daniel had the night off. Alex, who had sent the rest of her team on to other assignments, was on a first date with Ron. He smiled, thinking of how hard it had been for Ron to work up the nerve to ask her out, when she had wanted nothing more for weeks.

The ghosts were about their business elsewhere.

What the future held for them, he hardly knew. But he looked forward to it, content, as he had not been in a long, long time.

“Listen,” Amanda said, sitting up a little straighter.

He did, on the alert for any disturbance. But the dogs were relaxed.

She smiled slowly and said, “They’re back.”

He listened more closely and returned the smile.

A soft rhythmic song carried on the breeze.

Crickets.