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grin made her eyes squint. “Tell me, oh, please tell me."
    Her wide, excited smile made his whole body tingle. The blood flowing through his veins felt as hot as the sun blazing down on the rocks. Something swelled in his chest, as if her smile had made his heart double in size, and damn, if it didn't feel good. “After you locked the door under the stairs, I found out ghosts can make things happen with their minds. All they have to do is think about them hard enough."
    "Oh?"
    "Yes, I thought about a shutter on the old barn falling on him and it did. I thought about a rake handle hitting him in the face, and it did. I made a log roll over and pin him to the barn, and while he was trapped, I made all kinds of scary, ghostly sounds. By the time he got out from behind the log, he ran to his...what did you call it, pickup truck?"
    She nodded.
    "He ran to his pickup truck like the devil with a red-hot pitchfork was chasing him."
    "Oh, I wish I could have seen it.” Her light, happy laughter was contagious, and he soon found his laugh echoing with hers over the buttes. Ole’ Pete had been a sight to see.
    After the ever-present Kansas wind carried the sounds far away she sighed, then pulled out of his embrace and stood up. “Skeeter Quinter, thank you very much for rescuing me today. I don't think I've ever met a nicer man.” She held her hand out for him to shake.
    He stood, wrapped his hand around hers. Her fingers fit inside his palm perfectly. “You're very welcome, Lila Scott. I don't think I could have rescued a more delightful or beautiful lady."
    The way her cheeks turned cherry red made him chuckle. She pulled her hand away, ran it down her narrow hip. “Well, I better be on my way."
    "On your way?"
    "Yes, on my way."
    "Where to?"
    "Back to the future.” She giggled again, flashed him a silly grin. “There's a movie called that, it was pretty good, actually had sequels. I even think they traveled back to the old west in one of them."
    He frowned, not only because he had no idea what she was talking about, but also because he had to tell her something else. “Lila,” he sighed.
    "Skeeter,” she said with a smile that made her eyebrows rise in a way that sent his heart rattling again.
    Looking into her deep green eyes, he grimaced, not wanting to be the one to disappoint her. She was the prettiest thing he'd ever seen. A lump formed in his throat as he explained, “Lila, I'm sorry, but you can't go back to the future."
    "Yes, I can.” She dug into a pocket of the short, white pants. “I still have the key. I'll just crawl back down the tunnel. And thanks to you Pete is probably half way to Wichita by now, I'll be able to go to the police again. I'll file an order for protection or something."
    "While I was a ghost...” he started.
    She nodded, waited for him to go on.
    "I, uh.” He swallowed, cleared his throat. “Well, I sort of told the house to collapse. It was the last thing I did before floating into the tunnel. I heard it behind me, rumbling and tumbling, and then the tunnel caved in. The next thing I remember is waking up next to the fire."
    She pressed both hands against her stomach. “But Skeeter, I have to go back to the future.” Her eyes became glassy and wide. “Now!"
    The terror on her face made a tingle rip up his back. He reached out, wrapped his hands around her upper arms. Willing to do whatever it took to ease her fear, he said, “Lila, settle down. I can try to dig out the tunnel, but it's going to take some time."
    "I don't have time!” She shot a nervous glance between him and the cave.
    "You don't have to worry. Pete can't get to the tunnel either."
    "No, it's not that.” Tears started to trickle down her cheeks.
    The sight made his heart melt. He stepped forward, pulled her into an embrace. Warm breath tickled his chest as her face pressed against the opening of his shirt. His hands ran over the silky skin of her shoulders, then down her back, fitting her trembling body