Risen (Haunted Series Book 22)

the request a moment.  He cleared his voice and began, “Stephen, even before you met her, Mia has been collecting knowledge.  She went from being a victim of her genes to being able to control most of the powers allotted to her.  She could have gone into hiding when the embarrassment caused by the demon inside of her took away her credibility with most of us, but she hung in there.  She kept working, learning, and living.  But she’s still human.  She makes mistakes.  Not in fighting evil but…”  Burt stopped talking.  He realized he had gone too far.  Be it the storm or the feelings he fought so hard to suppress, he just couldn’t trust himself to speak.
Murphy waited.
The boat rose and fell as the storm surge moved in.  The wind howled, and yet no one spoke.  Patrick put a hand on Mason’s arm.  He saw the anger building between Burt and Murphy.  Ted never would have suggested Burt step in if he knew what was about to happen.
“Okay, let’s look at that treasure map,” Ted suggested, his voice odd.  “Seems to me, Mia is going to want a distraction when she returns.”
“YOU TOOK HER FROM ME!” Murphy shouted.
“She’s my wife…” Ted started.
Patrick pulled Ted away.  “He’s not talking to you.  Look.”
Ted did and saw that Stephen Murphy and Burt Hicks had locked eyes.  “Get some salt,” Ted hissed.
Patrick slid away.
“She wasn’t yours to have,” Burt pointed out.  “You’re dead.”
Murphy continued to stare.
“She came willingly to me, Stephen.  She was love-starved and scared.  I gave her comfort.  I boosted her confidence.  She gave me her heart in return,” Burt said.  “She never gave me any inclination that she was in love with you.”
“She’s always loved me.  Ever since I protected her from the heartbreak Whitney caused.  But she was too young.  She needed to grow up.”
“She left you, Stephen,” Burt said.
“But she came back.  Do you think she came back to take more abuse from the townspeople?  No, she came back for me.  She loved me.”
Ted picked up on the past tense of love.  He wondered why Burt didn’t too?
He didn’t. Burt argued, “She and I were perfect for each other.  If it hadn’t been for the flitch…”
“The flitch?  How about your ego?” Murphy offered.  “Flitches take time to influence you.  Your ego was already established.  You and Mia weren’t going to survive.”
“You didn’t give us a chance,” Burt said.  “You kissed her, you bastard.  She was mine, and you kissed her!”
“I don’t understand.  Ghosts can’t kiss humans, can they?” Mason asked.
Murphy turned and explained, “I had just saved her by pulling her out of a vortex.  The elements were just right, and I could feel her.  I could feel her in my arms…”
“So, you admit you kissed my girlfriend and took her from me,” Burt accused.
“Nothing happened after that. I’m a gentleman.  Besides, she was mine first,” Murphy argued.
“It’s the curse,” Ted said.  “The Cooper curse.”
“What’s the Cooper curse?” Patrick asked.
“It’s a binding curse.  Those who have been born under or have taken the Cooper name will be forever bound to the first person they fall in love with,” Ted said quickly.  He wanted to add that Mia broke the curse, but did she?  The way Murphy clung to the hope of them together said otherwise.
“But he’s dead,” Patrick argued.
“Exactly,” Burt said.  “But she was so guilt-ridden after that kiss that she didn’t fight for our relationship.  She ended up with that fucking asshole on the island…”
“Which asshole?  The demon?” Patrick asked.
Burt, Murphy, and Ted yelled, “Whitney!”
“Shit.  Okay, I’m on the page.  Come on, fellas, Mia wouldn’t want you guys to be upset, let alone fighting over her.  She’s not that type of girl.  I always thought String Bean took her from you, Burt.  So, she ends up with the twerp that Murphy saved her from when she was a child.  I admit, now, I’m back to being confused.”
“You’re not helping,” Mason said.  “Now, they are all involved.”
“Ted, you’re the winner here, step away,” Patrick said.  “Don’t look so smug or that ghosty will take offense.  I admire you for not dumping Stephen in the salty sea while you have the chance.  It takes a lot of restraint.”
Ted’s brows knitted together.  He was moments away from doing just that, followed by Patrick.
“Now, you two, I came into this late.  Or let’s face it, Mia would be slaving away working two jobs while raising our nine kids while I sat in front of the television drinking beer, instead of transporting demons to hell.  But since we can’t reverse time, we need to sort this out.  It’s a wound that never got to heal.  It has trapped Stephen here into a fantasy world where Mia would be washing his spectral underpants if Burt here hadn’t come along.  Stephen, there’s a reason why the priests say, ‘till death do you part.’  Death parts us physically from our loved ones.  Oddly enough, in your case, death made it possible to get to know a young woman who desperately needed love but, more importantly, needed a friend.  I think we all can agree that it’s your friendship with Mia that is most important to her.”
Murphy nodded.
“And you love those Martin children with your whole heart.  Even I, a callous bastard, can see that.  So, there’s no going back in time and wishing things different.”
Murphy frowned but nodded.
“Burt, my man, it happened.  This kiss that not only rocked Stephen’s world but evidently Girly-girl’s too.  Enough that she felt she had betrayed your trust.  Mia doesn’t go hilly-nilly from man to man.  She needs to trust the fella that lies beside her.  The kiss, who initiated it?  Now, be honest.”
Murphy raised his hand.
“Your da should speak to you about getting permission first,” Patrick counseled.