“I agree.”
“We’ll fix this. I promise.”
“Okay.”
“Goodnight, Amanda.”
“Goodnight, Jacob.”
She clicked the phone off, her body still aching for his touch.
She stared at the ceiling knowing there was no chance she was going to be able to get back to sleep again that night.
“I SEE,” Patrick said, leaning back in his wheelchair and tenting his fingers. “Yes, that is a problem, isn’t it?”
He glanced at his two favorite employees, who both looked beside themselves with stress over this situation, and he tried desperately not to laugh.
It wasn’t funny.
Well, maybe a little bit.
When he’d sent them out on the assignment together the other night he’d had no idea it would get so out of control. He’d woken up to the shrew of a client screaming at him from the other end of the phone on Saturday morning. So much for giving out his cell phone number to customers. He’d needed the weekend to relax before he dealt with the repercussions. After all, this was kind of his fault.
He hadn’t anticipated an enchanted clock, though. He’d just thought that spending some time together would make these two realize they didn’t hate each other and maybe there was something more between them that they’d want to explore.
So much for playing matchmaker.
“What do you suggest we do about this?” Amanda asked tightly.
It was so obvious that they’d had sex. They had yet to admit that to him, but he was no dummy. His psychic skills leaned toward Jacob’s—an empathic ability—although Patrick didn’t have to touch somebody to see the truth of what they felt. He just had to be in the same room with them.
At least somebody was getting some. He hadn’t had sex since before his accident. Well before. The doctors promised that his equipment would be back in working order eventually. But his sorry sex life didn’t have much to do with the current problem at hand.
“So, there’s a witch involved,” he said. “The one who enchanted the clock in the first place.”
Jacob nodded and darted a sideways glance at Amanda. His arms were crossed tightly over his chest. “The former owner of the house, Carolyn—”
“Catherine Myles,” Amanda corrected. Jacob glared at her. “It was her aunt. And it was a wedding gift a hundred or so years ago. Her aunt apparently didn’t approve of her choice of a husband. I’m guessing that the aunt sensed he had murderous tendencies and she was trying to protect Catherine. But giving her a wedding gift like the grandfather clock doesn’t make any sense, considering what it does.”
“The clock’s magic caused Catherine and her servant Nathan to begin a physical relationship,” Patrick said. This was the second time they had gone through this part of the story.
“That’s right,” Amanda said. “And the false feelings that they developed made it look as if they were in love and her husband shot them both.”
“You think they were false feelings?” Jacob asked. “The way you described them to me made me think they really were in love. You were all about their star-crossed romantic lovefest when we were at the house.”
Amanda was quiet for a moment. “I did get the feeling that Nathan was in love with Catherine—he said as much. But the more I think about it the more I’m not so sure she felt the same in return. Maybe it was only lust for her.”
“Unfortunately I didn’t see or speak to the ghosts,” Jacob said. “Not my talent.”
“And when the clock struck midnight, what exactly happened?” Patrick asked carefully.
“Well,” Amanda said as she and Jacob exchanged a glance. “I can only compare it to a feeling of, uh…a sense of, um…how do I put this?”
“She tore my clothes off and had her way with me,” Jacob finished.
Amanda gasped. “That’s not how it was.”
“No?” He raised his eyebrows. “Then how was it?”
She gritted her teeth and looked at Patrick. “We were compelled to do things we normally wouldn’t have done. And I’m very sorry that the client had to witness us in a very…um…unprofessional position.”
“Lots of unprofessional positions,” Jacob added. “My favorite was the one where you were on top of—”
“Shut up!” Amanda’s face was so red that she looked ready to pop.
Do not laugh, Patrick commanded himself. The woman might actually kill somebody.
“Come on,” Jacob persisted. “It was the best sex of your life, right?”
“Yes, it was,” she replied immediately, and then her face darkened a shade. “Please don’t do that anymore!”
Right, Jacob was able to get her to tell the truth. And in turn, she could read his mind. This was seriously messed up.
“I am not a relationship counselor,” Patrick said after a moment. “So your sex lives are none of my business. But enchanted objects and spirits who refuse to go onto the next world are. I’m going to look over your paperwork and photos and decide what to do next. I’m thinking an exorcism is definitely in order. As far as the clock, perhaps if it is dismantled and burned with some cleansing oil, that might take care of breaking your curse.”
Neither of them looked satisfied with that answer. Despite Jacob’s flippant manner, Patrick could see the tension in his expression.
“Fine,” Amanda said stiffly. “If you think that’s the best course of action, then that’s what we’ll do. I’ll wait for the exorcism orders. However, I’d like to do a bit more research first, if that’s okay.”
“Be my guest,” Patrick said. “One way or the other, we’ll work this out. After all, it doesn’t seem to be a dangerous curse, just an inconvenient one, right?”
He didn’t receive any reply to that statement.
“If you’ll excuse me,” Amanda said. “I have to get back to work.”
She left the office and Jacob watched her leave with a wistful look in his eyes. He made a move to follow her, but Patrick stopped him.
“Close the door, Jacob,” he said. “I’d like to speak with you privately.”
Jacob’s shoulders tensed, but he did what the boss told him to and turned around to face Patrick. “Yeah?”
“Is it just the curse or are you really in love with her?”
Jacob’s eyes bugged. “What?”
“Did I stutter?”