Page 24 of Leafpoint Lighthouse

“I’m not leaving. I’ll help,” Lyra stated.

“You’ve no choice. Leave on your own terms, Lyra; I can and will chase you from here,” I warned.

Lyra’s jaw jutted out. “Bring it on, Ghost-boy!”

Chapter Six.

Lyra

Ghosts actually existed. Who’d have thought? And even better, William wasn’t some wispy mist. He was actually full-bodied, articulate, and without chains. After telling me to leave, he’d disappeared and refused to talk to me again. Fine. But that didn’t mean I was planning to abandon the lighthouse. For one, I had nowhere to go, and I’d put my heart and soul into making this a nice place to live.

No, an ornery ghost was not about to drive me from my home. As it was the weekend, I wasn’t expecting Benny, Tom, and Dean.

For nearly two weeks, this town hadn’t seen me. Today seemed perfect for my return. The roads had been cleared of the snow, although another load was expected this afternoon. I wanted to stock up on medicines; I’d forgotten to order them, and I needed some fresh milk. Benny had been kind enough to bring me a few bits, but I had no intention of avoiding town forever.

Because of icy roads, I drove carefully in the Mercedes; it hugged the road, feeling a lot safer than my old rust heap. Once parked, I headed down towards the marina café, where I felt the need for a hot drink before hitting the supermarket.

Karen was on duty again and offered me a glare. I held her gaze until she looked away and cleaned another table. Customers stared, but ignoring them, I gazed out of the window. The sky was heavy with snow clouds, rolling in from the sea.

“What do you want?” Karen asked.

“Can I have a chicken salad sandwich and a hot chocolate, please?” I answered, determined to use manners.

My phone rang, and I frowned—unknown number. Curiously, I answered and held the phone to my ear.

“Where the hell are you?” Cale demanded. The shock of his voice made me stiffen. “Lyra, answer me!” he almost bellowed.

“That’s none of your business,” I finally replied. I was as rigid as a board, and I’d no idea what my face looked like, but several people sent me a concerned glance.

“Lyra. Don’t mess with me,” Cale growled out.

“I’m not. Where I am does not concern you. Cale, you dumped me, remember? Quite publicly at that,” I sneered.

“Lyra. Where’s the folder for the Sinclair account?” Cale snapped.

Startled, I froze and started laughing. “What? Can’t precious Serena find it? That’s not my problem. I quit. Go away, Cale. Just remember, I said you’d regret treating me how you did. Looks as though karma is biting you straight in the ass.”

“Lyra, I swear to God. If you don’t tell me, I’ll—”

“What, Cale? What will you do? Humiliate me in front of the entire workforce. Steal my work and give it to Serena. Ask the staff to take a vote on whether you should date a loser like me? How about having your friends post all over social media what a sad sack I was because I stalked you constantly? Oh, wait, you already did that. Go to hell. Now you’re seeing Serena for exactly what she is—spoiled, useless, and a bimbo who has no idea how to run the accounts or that office.”

Cale gritted his teeth so loudly I could hear it.

“Lyra, you’re deliberately sabotaging—”

“Sabotage nothing. It’s been nearly four weeks since I’ve been gone, yet Serena’s only looking at the Sinclair account now? A client that important and nobody’s looked at it in a month? Yeah, get lost. Cale, you reap what you sow,” I hissed and cut the call.

“Girl, I don’t like you. In my opinion, you’re going to bring trouble to the town. However, nobody should put up with that sort of crap from a man,” a female customer said, and I laughed. There was a hysterical tinge to it, and she shook her head. “Stay strong.”

“Yeah,” I muttered and turned to gaze out of the window. Karen came over minutes later and banged my hot chocolate and sandwich down. I snorted. Some things never changed! After the phone call, my throat had closed, but I choked the sandwich down and swallowed my drink before heading out.

The supermarket was its usual unfriendly self, but I wasn’t paying much attention. I couldn’t believe the barefaced cheek of Cale. I understood why he was panicking. The Sinclair account was one of the biggest my former company had. Serena had claimed credit for landing them, even though she’d used my work to do it. Now I’d quit; she was floundering. Not only was Serena unaware of where the file was (in the filing cabinet, obviously), but she’d no idea of figures, sales, and every other piece of pertinent information.

Distracted, I picked up my bags, totally ignoring the cashier, and headed out. The drive home was cautious but smooth. I unpacked and hurried into the lighthouse to put the shopping away and wandered upstairs. My sofa was still on order, but I’d bought a sofa bed, which I planned to donate once mine arrived. I grabbed my laptop as I sat down.

The phone rang, and I saw it was an unregistered number, as it had been before. Cale was not letting this go. I sighed, leaned back, and answered.

“Lyra,” yup, Cale again, “stop this pettiness. Tell me where you hid the file.”