Buried Innocence - A Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery - Book Thirteen (Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery Series) by Terri Reid Page B

doing.
I’m fine. I’m healthy. And I can drive my car.”
    “Yeah, yeah, I know
you can,” Mike said. “It’s just…well, Mary, you’re pregnant. And I’ve never
gone through pregnancy before.”
    “And you’re not
going through pregnancy now,” Mary replied.
    “Well, yeah, okay,
if you want to be technical,” he said, feeling hurt. “I just don’t know how to
protect you.”
    She slowly shook
her head. “Mike, is that your assignment? To protect me?” she asked. “Or are
you just getting a little carried away here?”
    “Well, I get to
watch over you now, too,” he said. “Because of the baby.”
    “Well then, I don’t
mind you watching over me, and I don’t mind your company,” she said. “But could
you just calm down a little? You’re making me nervous.”
    “Sorry,” he said.
“I’ll try to be calmer.”
    He slid out of the
way so she could open the door, but then she stopped and looked outside. A
light summer rain had begun to fall. Reaching over to the coat rack near the
door, she grabbed an umbrella and started to open it.
    “Mary! Stop!” he
yelled.
    She froze. “What?”
she demanded.
    “You nearly opened
an umbrella inside,” he said. “That’s bad luck.”
    She looked at him
and then looked at the umbrella. “You’re right,” she said. “I forgot.”
    She stepped up to
the door, held the umbrella outside and then opened it. “Thanks, Mike,” she
replied. “I certainly don’t need any more bad luck coming my way.”
    She walked to her
car with Mike following alongside. “So what are we doing in Galena today?” he
asked.
    “We?” she replied,
lifting an eyebrow.
    “You said you
didn’t mind my company,” he said with a charming smile.
    Laughing, she shook
her head as she entered the car. “Well, we are going to stop at Amelia’s and
see if she can shed any light on what could have happened to Steve.”
    “Well, that ought
to be fun,” Mike said. “And I suppose I should stay outside?”
    “Well, you can come
in,” Mary agreed, putting the key in the car and turning on the engine. “But if
she starts coughing, you need to leave.”
    “That’s weird that
her response to the paranormal is to get choked up,” he said as they pulled out
of their parking spot.
    Mary shrugged.
“Makes you kind of wonder how many other people have the same response but
don’t realize it’s because of a ghost.”
    Mike grinned and
then coughed. “Allergies,” he said with another mock cough. “Strangest thing,
they just show up every so often.”
    Mary raised her
eyebrows and grinned. “Perhaps you’re allergic to ghosts,” she said in a
quietly spooky voice.
    “Yeah, I can just
hear a doctor give that as a diagnosis,” Mike said.
    “Dr. Frankenstein,
maybe,” Mary teased.
    The turned onto
Highway 20 and headed west toward Galena. The rain had stopped, but a beautiful
rainbow glittered in the sky. Mary glanced up at it and smiled. “I’ve always
felt that rainbows were reminders from God,” she said.
    “Really? Reminders of what?” Mike asked.
    “Reminders that no
matter how bad the storm is, there is always something beautiful and wondrous
on the other side,” she said. “You just have to look for it.”
    “Why, Mary Alden,
you’re a poet,” Mike teased.
    “No, I’m just
someone who’s been through a lot of storms,” she said. “And I have always found
a rainbow on the other side.”
    “Do you think
everyone gets a rainbow?” he asked.
    She nodded slowly
as she thought about her answer. “Yes, actually I do,” she said. “But if you’re
looking down, you’ll miss it.”
    “What’s Liza’s
rainbow?” he asked quietly.
    “She’ll never be
hurt again,” Mary replied sadly, and then she smiled softly. “And she found
Donna and Ryan.”
    “Have you found out
anything about her yet?” he asked.
    “Bradley is trying
to get her adoption records open,” Mary said. “He’s making some calls to
Dubuque. That’s why I decided to