“What’s next?” Meghan asked, as if the C was of no importance.

Laurel lifted a piece of paper off a marble-topped sideboard buffet. “You said you’d hang the garlands and red bows on the fence and the garland on the mantel. Ellie, you said you wanted to decorate indoors.”

Meghan made a disagreeable face. “If I had known how cold it is here in the winter, I would have opted for Ellie’s job.” She attached some evergreen garlands to the fireplace mantel.

Ellie lifted a cardboard box and headed back up the stairs. “Last year, when Laurel was making up all these lists of things for us to do, I was smart and checked the weather forecast for this time of year here.”

CJ smiled a little. The she-wolves were from Florida, and he suspected it might take them a while to get acclimated. Then he frowned. He hoped that they got used to it and didn’t leave because they didn’t like the cold weather. “Where can I wash out the paint rollers?”

“The basement has a sink for gardening stuff and the like,” Meghan said quickly before Laurel could respond.

If it had been summer, CJ would have washed the paint out of the rollers with a garden hose. The basement was where he’d been scared to pieces. He had never been back. Not that he was afraid, but it just didn’t feel right down there.

“I’ll go with you.” Laurel came around the counter.

Meghan gave her a warning look. From the stairs, so did Ellie.

For heaven’s sake, he wasn’t going to ravish their sister. Though in her emerald-green sweater and with her pretty red hair curling about her shoulders, she was seriously attractive. And so was her voice. The sisters all had lovely Irish accents, but Laurel’s was like a siren’s lure.

So why was she coming with him? To make sure he didn’t steal anything? He didn’t trust her motives because of the way she and her sisters were so reserved with the pack. Maybe they had their reasons. Bad wolf experiences. But surely they could bond with some of the women.

Laurel unlocked the basement door, turned on the light, and then preceded him down the stairs. The place smelled slightly damp and musty. The block walls were gray, the cement floor just as gray—and it hadn’t changed since he’d come down here with Tom so many years ago.

“Maids’ quarters.” Laurel led him to where a gray utility sink stood. A small bathroom with a sink, commode, and shower stood next to that.

A door led outside, the window letting in a little gray light. The weather had turned overcast and snowy again. He couldn’t imagine having to live down here. “Are you going to fix these up so you’ll have additional guest quarters?” He began to run water over the paint rollers.

“Maybe later. The hotel is booked to capacity right now. But would anyone want to stay down here?” Laurel shivered and rubbed her arms.

“Maybe with some fresh paint to lighten up the place, tile floors, and a bigger window in the door, or even a glass door to let in more light. Add lots of lighting and a dehumidifier to take the moisture out of the basement, and it could work.”

“Great for vampires—if we painted the window black and left everything as it is.”

He smiled.

She leaned against a wall and watched him. “Is there any way you can ensure that the ghost busters don’t report the place as haunted and ruin our chances at renting out rooms?”

He wished there was, but he couldn’t lie to her. “I don’t think so. People will believe what they want. If folks want to stay here to see if they experience any hauntings, they will.”

Looking contemplative or maybe a tad worried, she chewed on her lower lip. Which made him want to pull her into his arms and kiss away the concern.

She took a deep breath and let it out. “Are there any other buildings that are supposed to be haunted in Silver Town?”

“One of the silver mines nearby and one of the miners’ huts. And a ghost wolf is seen in the woods on the drive out to Darien and Lelandi’s home from time to time.”

“But nowhere that is inhabited?”

“No.”

“Do you believe in ghosts?”

CJ finished wringing the excess water from the last paint roller. “Do you?”

She raised her red brows. “For the sake of our guests, no. For your sake, yes. And a warning. The attic is haunted.”

* * *

The hotel was haunted, truth be known. At least, paranormal happenings had occurred in every room in the hotel since the sisters had been here. Nothing bad, except for the appearance of the letter C on the wall downstairs, and that was more annoying than anything. It ruined the whole look of their new decor.

Laurel wanted to warn CJ so he’d be prepared and not let the ghost busters know that the hotel was haunted. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to believe in ghosts, and the notion that his room was haunted hadn’t caused any kind of reaction.

CJ set the rollers aside to dry. “After I repaint the wall, if the letter is still there, did you want me to hang a painting over it?”

“Yes. I hadn’t planned to hang one there for now because my sisters and I couldn’t agree on one. But we do have a painting hanging over the fireplace mantel in our house that we could use in the interim. It’s a lovely rendition of a field of purple daisies with a backdrop of the Rocky Mountains and a forest of pines. It’ll look fine there.” Except that it would leave a blank spot over their mantel.

“My cousin Jake does beautiful photography. I’m certain he wouldn’t mind offering a photo so that you could showcase it. No charge to you.”

She appreciated the offer, but since Jake hadn’t offered, she didn’t want him to feel obligated. Mostly though, for the Victorian feel, she thought a painting would fit in better than a photograph. Someday, they might find something that would suit the period that they could hang there.

“Thanks. Does…does anyone know why any of the places are haunted? The silver mine, and so on?”

“Over a hundred years ago, a mine collapse killed several miners. Some speculate that a few of their spirits are trapped down there. As to the miner’s shack? Fight with another miner over a card game. One pulled out a revolver and shot the alleged cheater, fatally. The wolf? Hit by a car. That’s pure conjecture though.”

“Was it a real wolf or lupus garou?”

“Supposedly one of our kind. Rumors are that sometimes she’s seen as a naked woman and at other times as a wolf. Truthfully, I haven’t seen her or anything ghostly in the silver mines or the miner’s hut either.”

“Maybe you’re not as sensitive to their presence. That could be a good thing in your case.”

He smiled a little, as if he truly didn’t believe in the paranormal. “What are you going to do if the ghost busters learn you do have bona fide ghosts living here?”

She headed up the stairs. “The only thing we can do. Advertise it as Silver Town’s only haunted hotel.” Smiling at the notion, she glanced over her shoulder at him.

He followed her up the stairs too closely, showing his wolfish interest in her. Sensing him so close on her heels, she should have given him a look to back off. But she couldn’t do it. She liked his persistence. Most wolves that she’d discouraged as much as she’d tried with him and his brothers would take a hint. CJ wasn’t buying it. And she liked that.

She and her sisters hadn’t had time to do any investigating into why the place had ghostly occurrences. Not with all their renovation troubles that had nothing to do with paranormal activities. Nor had they found anything in their investigations into their aunt’s disappearance.

“What about this place? Any rumors as to who haunts the hotel and why?” She wanted to know if others had seen their aunt “haunting” the hotel. She and her sisters hadn’t witnessed any apparitions here. Just lights going on and off when no one was there and things moving from place to place before they returned to work on the hotel the next day.