“Would you kindly stop?” she said, and despite her displeasure, she laughed at the woebegone look he wore.

“I can’t help myself,” he said. “You’re the most beautiful woman here.” Ellie just shook her head.

They found an empty space on the grass, shaded by the house. The scent of freshly mowed lawn and a row of blooming roses mingled with the sights and sounds of the party.

Far more aware of Glen than she wanted to be, Ellie talked nervously, telling Richard about her week. He didn’t pay much attention until she mentioned the old family Bible she’d found among her father’s things.

“How old did you say it was?”

“More than a hundred years,” Ellie answered. Although there were a number of dates entered in the Bible, she wasn’t sure when it had first been purchased.

“Your ancestors were part of the original group that settled in Bitter End?”

“From what I understand they were.”

“Have you ever been there?” Richard surprised her by asking next.

The question was ridiculous. No one had, no one she knew, anyway. Bitter End was a mysterious almost mythical town people whispered about. Its location remained a secret, and despite her childhood curiosity, her father had told her very little. But as far as she could figure, there simply wasn’t that much to tell. The town had been settled shortly after the Civil War and for unknown reasons was later abandoned. A scattering of the original settlers—Ellie’s ancestors among them—then founded Promise.

Richard’s eyes darted around as if to gauge whether anyone was listening in on their conversation. “I’ve been to Bitter End,” he whispered dramatically. “Not that long ago, either.”

“Get out of here!” It was all a joke and she wasn’t going to fall for it. If she did, he’d laugh at her for believing him, and she didn’t want to be the brunt of his teasing remarks.

His eyes narrowed and he bent toward her. “I’m serious, Ellie.”

If Bitter End was anywhere in the vicinity, people would be flocking to it—ghost towns were fascinating, this one particularly so because of the mystery surrounding the original settlers’ departure.

“Have you noticed that people don’t talk about it much?” he asked, lowering his voice again. He made it sound as though the residents of Promise had conspired to keep the town a secret—to which he held the key.

Ellie frowned, unwilling to play his nonsensical game.

“It isn’t called a ghost town for nothing.” Richard shivered as if a sudden chill had raced up his spine.

“Richard,” she snapped, “if this is a joke, I’m not amused.”

His expression was earnest as he shook his head. “I swear to you on my parents’ grave I’m serious.”

“You’ve seen Bitter End yourself?” Even now she wasn’t sure she should believe him.

“Yes,” he insisted. “So have others.”

“Who?” She didn’t know anyone who’d been to the ghost town, and she’d spent her entire life in Promise.

“Glen Patterson for one.”

Now she knew he was joking. Glen was her best friend, and he would certainly have mentioned this if it was true.

Richard must have read the doubt in her eyes because he added, “He found it, along with my brother and Cal, when he was a kid. If you don’t believe me, ask him yourself.”

Ellie intended on doing exactly that.

“When were you last there?” she asked, still feeling suspicious.

“Recently.”

“How recently?”

“This week.”

Ellie’s curiosity went into overdrive. “You’d better not be razzing me, Richard.”

“I swear it’s the truth.”

“Will you take me there?”

He hesitated.

“Richard, you can’t tell me about Bitter End and then refuse to show it to me! What’s it like? Where is it? Are any of the old buildings still standing? And how in heaven’s name did you find it?”

Chuckling, he held up his hand to stop her. “Whoa! One question at a time.”

“All right,” she said, her heart pounding with excitement. She wanted to see this place. Her father’s great-grandparents had settled there. It was in Bitter End that they’d buried their five-year-old son, the child whose name was in the old Bible.

“How’d you ever find it?” she asked again.

“It wasn’t easy,” he said, licking his fingertips and seeming to savor her attention as much as he did Nell’s fried chicken. “I knew it was real because I’d heard...the others talk about it years ago, but they refused to tell me where it was. So I started looking on my own a few weeks ago—and I found it.”

“Why wouldn’t they tell you?”

“For the same reason I’m not telling you.”

“Oh, no, you don’t!” She wasn’t going to let him pull that on her.

“Ellie,” he murmured, his gaze pinning hers, “it’s haunted.”

“I ain’t afraid of no ghosts,” she teased, quoting the popular movie Ghostbusters.

Always quick with a laugh or a smile, Richard revealed neither. “I’m not joking.”

“I’m not, either. I want you to take me there.”

He shook his head, obviously regretting that he’d ever brought up the subject. “That’s not a good idea.”

“Then I’ll have Glen take me.”

Richard’s face hardened. “It’s dangerous there, Ellie. Anything can happen. I wouldn’t feel right about taking you to someplace like Bitter End.”

“I don’t care. I want to see it. Just once,” she pleaded.

Again he hesitated.

“Please?” she asked softly.

Richard sighed, and Ellie’s gaze drifted to Glen, partly because she was curious about what he was doing, but also as a subtle message. If Richard wouldn’t take her, odds were she could convince Glen to.

“All right, all right,” he muttered irritably.

“When?”

“Soon.”

“Tomorrow?”

Richard looked decidedly uncomfortable. “I...I don’t know.”

“We’ll make a day of it,” she coaxed, eager to explore the old town. Besides, Richard might change his mind if she didn’t act quickly.

“You can’t tell anyone.”

“Why not?”

“Ellie, you don’t seem to understand how serious this is. It was a mistake to mention it in the first place.”

“Okay,” she said, knowing that if she didn’t agree he’d never take her there. “I won’t tell anyone else.”

“I want your word of honor,” Richard insisted. “I’m not kidding, Ellie. The place is dangerous, and I don’t want some fool kid to break his neck because you let word out. The minute kids around here know about it, you can bet someone’s going to get hurt. I don’t want that on my conscience.”

Ellie didn’t want it on hers, either. “You have my word, Richard.”

He nodded, apparently accepting her promise. “I’ll take you tomorrow afternoon, then. Be ready by two.”

***

Despite his best intentions, Glen couldn’t keep his eyes off Ellie and Richard. They sat huddled together, their heads close, deep in conversation. He would’ve sworn Ellie was too smart to be taken in by a charlatan like Richard Weston. Okay, so maybe Richard was on the level—Glen didn’t really know, for Grady was as reluctant to talk about his brother as he was about everything else.

“Looks like Ellie and Richard might have more in common than I realized,” Glen muttered. He noted the concerned expression on Grady’s face.

“I’d say she’s pretty vulnerable right now,” Grady commented. He seemed to be asking Glen to keep an eye on Ellie. “Someone needs to watch out for her.”

Glen’s own concerns mounted. He didn’t like the way those two were gazing at each other—as though nobody else was around. In fact, it bothered him. Really bothered him.

“How good a friend are you?” Grady asked.

“Good.” Good enough for him to kiss her, Glen mused. Not just any kiss, either, but one that had damn near knocked his socks off. He’d thought of little else for three days and three sleepless nights. Every time he closed his eyes she was there in his mind, and damn it all, he found himself wanting to kiss her again.

He worried that he’d ruined their friendship, and from her reaction when she arrived at the party, that looked all too likely. As for the way things were developing between her and Richard—well, he didn’t trust Grady’s younger brother, not one bit. The guy was too glib, too smooth. And that was only the half of it.