Shadow on the Floor — Jane Toombs

Ghosts from the long-ago past haunt the old Barker House, one locked away, the other only a shadow on the floor of one room. Old Charles Barker, occupying the house, runs an ad for a live-in house aide. Natasha Wycoff, using the alias Natalie West while she flees from an abusive husband, answers the ad. The old man watches her avoid stepping on the shadow, and decides she's the right person. When his nephew, lawyer Devlin Longridge, who comes to check on his uncle every day, meets her, he's not so sure.. Instincts honed from his time as a special ops officer make him wonder why this good-looking young women has taken a low-paying job in an isolated old house.. She's wary of Dev. Despite this, unwanted attraction flares between them. Meanwhile, the ex-husband, determined to locate and kill her, is tracing her flight. Only the ghosts, one a victim, the other a killer, are aware the explosion of violence to come will liberate them.…