Smoke and Spectral Deeds

Celie Dupree thought surviving a hostile takeover and an arsonist meant she could finally relax. But the fire that almost destroyed The Bayou Bouffant also cracked open a decades-old secret about the salon's deed, thanks to a visit from a brand new ghost: Preston Holloway, the man her grandmother, Maggie Mae, loved in high school.Preston reveals the salon was meant to be hers, but the deed was never transferred by his greedy family after his early death. Now, his niece, Beatrice Bea Holloway, sees her chance to claim the property, using local connections to bury Celie in fines and legal hearings.Desperate to prove ownership, Celie secretly sells a valuable artifact belonging to her boyfriend, Dr. Rhys Thorne, to cover emergency repairs. When Bea exposes the sale to the Town Council, Celie is publicly accused of betraying local history, ruining her relationship with Rhys.With Detective Miles Corbin watching from a distance, Celie and her spectral family must search the scorched salon for Preston's hidden journal—the only proof of his intent. But when Bea's son, Alistair Holloway, tries to finish the job his mother started, Celie must race to save her home, her relationship, and her family's future before the whole legacy goes up in smoke.