The Huddle House was near empty by the time Cole Tatum came back that night.
Sadie Mae had sent her girls home early, claiming business was slow, though truth was she didn’t want them overhearing what couldn’t rightly be explained.

Outside, the storm had moved on toward the ridge, but the air still smelled of rain and electricity. The neon sign in the window buzzed soft, painting the linoleum floor in tired pink light.

Cole sat at the counter, hat off, hands folded like he was praying and didn’t want to admit it. Sadie poured two cups of coffee and slid one his way.

“You look like you seen the Devil,” she said.

Cole gave a short laugh that didn’t reach his eyes. “Might’a been better if I had.”

For a while, neither spoke. Just the tick of the clock over the pie case and the far-off drip of the leaky faucet in back.

Finally, Sadie said, “You didn’t tell them everything.”

He looked up, tired and wary. “Would you’ve believed it if I had?”

She didn’t answer. Just waited.

Cole rubbed his face, the stubble rasping like dry leaves. “We followed the creek,” he said slowly. “Found his shirt, found the tracks, like I told you. But there was somethin’ else. Somethin’ I didn’t mention.”

Sadie’s voice dropped. “What somethin’ else?”

He hesitated. “There was two sets of tracks.”

She frowned. “You said—”

“I know what I said,” he cut in. “But listen. The second set was faint. Barely there. Small, like a woman’s. Barefooted. They started where his ended, right at the edge of the water, and walked back up the bank toward the house.”

Sadie’s hand froze on her cup. “You mean—?”

“I mean it looked like somebody came out of that creek, not went in.”

The hum of the neon sign faltered, dimmed, and flared again.

Sadie’s face had gone pale. “Lily Pearl.”

Cole didn’t deny it. “Could be. Or could be somethin’ wearin’ her shape.”

For a long moment, neither moved. The air seemed to thicken with the memory of that house and its silent upstairs windows.

Then Sadie leaned close, whispering, “There’s somethin’ else, too. I didn’t tell you what I saw before we left.”

Cole looked at her, waiting.

“I turned back once, just before we drove off,” she said. “There was a light in the window upstairs. I thought maybe it was your lantern. But then it moved. Crossed the room, slow as someone walkin’. And right before it went dark again… I swear to you, Cole… I saw two shadows.”

Cole’s cup hit the counter soft, like he’d been expecting the blow but not the weight of it.

“Two?” he asked.

Sadie nodded. “One tall. One small. Both lookin’ down at me.”

They sat like that for a long while, not speaking, not drinking, just listening to the buzz of the dying sign and the low roll of thunder returning somewhere far off in the hills.

Finally, Cole said, “We’ll keep it to ourselves. No good stirrin’ up the town over ghosts.”

Sadie looked him dead in the eye. “Cole, in Piedmont, ghosts don’t need stirrin’. They just wait. You know that.”

*****

New Yesterdays can be found at: Books-A-Million, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon, as well as your favorite bookshops. The Audiobook is available from Libro.fm, as well as Amazon.