LYNN AND TOMMY Lynn was going to eat breakfast with Tommy out on the wide stone veranda beside the sparkling pool. From there, they could see the beautiful forest below and the roaring waterfalls in the distance. It was Lynn’s favorite spot in the massive mansion.
They both ordered hearty Texas omelets because they liked many of the same foods. While they ate breakfast, Lynn filled Tommy in on her newest assignment. She was going to Georgia to help a married couple repair their relationship and avoid a painful divorce. According to the detailed assignment page, the couple was destined to have a very large family, seven children to be exact. That future would never happen if the couple separated.
Tommy would be going with her on the mission. The plan was for Lynn and Tommy to pretend to be a happy couple so the troubled husband and wife might remember what love looked like and decide to stay together themselves.
With their suitcases packed and loaded, Tommy and Lynn headed toward the private airfield where the seasoned pilot was already warming up the sleek airplane and performing the necessary pre-flight checks. The pilot always insisted on doing the inspection himself. He trusted the maintenance crew, but he simply could not fly comfortably without personally checking everything first.
They planned to stop briefly in Hawaii before catching another flight to Atlanta, Georgia. Their hope was to meet the married couple at church on Sunday morning.
Lynn pulled up the couple’s photo on the Anything app on her phone and showed it to Tommy. Tommy smiled and said, “Good-looking couple.” He was right. Donna was a strikingly pretty woman with soft brown hair, and Mike was a tall, handsome man with broad shoulders. Lynn shook her head and quietly remarked, “What could people that good-looking possibly fight about? It’s baffling.”
Once they arrived in Atlanta, Lynn rented a large black SUV because she loved driving them. She always said you sat up high enough to see everything better. Tommy used the GPS to locate the couple’s church in an upscale area called Buckhead.
When they pulled into the parking lot, Tommy looked around in surprise and said, “Fancy church. They even have valet parking. Cool.”
Tommy and Lynn carefully and quietly tried to locate the new couple without drawing attention to themselves. Before officially meeting Mike and Donna Stevens, they needed to make friends around town because later they planned to meet the couple again during a vacation in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
Donna had recently won a free two-week vacation from a local radio contest. Everything was included: hotel rooms, food, drinks, and stacks of free tickets to attractions around Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The trip worked perfectly for Lynn and Tommy’s mission.
Luckily for them, the church was holding a large catered dinner on the beautifully landscaped grounds that evening. It was not the usual church potluck. Long white tables were covered with elegant food trays and glowing lanterns. More importantly, it gave Tommy and Lynn plenty of time to mingle and become acquainted with Mike and Donna.
Mike and Donna Stevens had been married for almost three years. Deep down, they truly loved each other, but lately they had become furious with one another.
A few weeks earlier, Donna had come home and calmly informed Mike that she would be traveling to Florida for a weekend work trip with her boss for company training meetings.
Mike immediately became angry and suspicious. He snapped, telling her that her boss was only trying to get her alone with him. Donna became absolutely livid and accused Mike of not trusting her.
Mike fired back, “It’s not you I don’t trust. It’s that sorry excuse for a boss you have. He just wants to get you off by yourself to do whatever he wants.”
People always say you should never go to bed angry, but that was exactly what Mike and Donna did that night.
The following day was Donna’s day off, so Mike secretly drove down to the arts and crafts store where Donna worked. He had met her boss a few times before when he picked Donna up after work.
Inside the colorful craft store, Mike approached Donna’s boss while carrying several clay-working kits in his arms. Pretending to be interested in pottery, Mike asked questions about beginner clay projects he could make. Donna’s boss was friendly and helpful, gladly explaining the different tools and materials.
While pretending to browse the store, Mike glanced toward the back aisle and suddenly exclaimed, “Oh wow, there’s Daryl Scruggs. He just got out of prison. I went to high school with him. Never did like him.”
Mike lowered his voice dramatically and continued, “The jury called it a crime of passion, but murder is still murder. He caught his wife with another man in their bedroom and shot the guy with his pistol.”
The truth was, Mike had completely invented the entire story. Not one word of it was true. He was only trying to scare Donna’s boss into leaving his wife alone.
Mike thanked the man for helping him with the clay supplies and casually left the store.
The next day, Donna discovered exactly what Mike had said to her boss, and she was furious beyond words. She became even angrier when she learned her frightened boss had suddenly transferred to another store in South Carolina and skipped town altogether.
When Mike returned home from work that evening, he immediately noticed two packed suitcases sitting in the hallway near the front door.
Before he could even ask about them, the beautiful crystal punch bowl from their engagement party flew across the room and exploded against the wall beside him, shattering into hundreds of glittering pieces.
“You want me to leave?” Mike cautiously asked.
From somewhere down the hallway, Donna screamed, “I don’t care what you do, but you can’t stay here!”
Mike quickly called one of his friends, who agreed to let him stay for a while.
About a week later, Mike’s buddy awkwardly sat him down and said, “Look, man, I love you like a brother, but you need to head back home or find somewhere else to stay. You know what they say gets old after three days? Fish and house guests. Seriously, I’m sorry, but my wife says you gotta go, dude.”
Mike finally worked up the courage to call Donna. Before he could even ask about coming home, Donna immediately started fussing about their upcoming Tennessee vacation. She wanted to sell Mike’s half of the trip to one of her friends for two thousand dollars.
Mike stubbornly replied, “No way. I’m going on that trip. We’ve been married three years and haven’t done anything fun. Every vacation we stayed home just to save money. I’m going to Tennessee, and I’m gonna have a blast.”
Donna coldly answered, “Well, I’m not riding in a car with you all the way to Tennessee.”
Mike offered to sell her half to Donna’s friend because he could see how much her friend wanted to go. With that, the phone went silent. Then Mike heard another big crash before Donna came back to the phone. Mike assumed it was the Stevenson-engraved crystal party platter from the wedding. Before Donna ended the call, she told Mike they would both go. She would meet him at the hotel in Pigeon Forge. We will just get separate rooms.
As usual on Sunday, the couple went to their church. They had to go because they both had duties to perform to help with the dinner on the grounds. They were both greeters, and they did the prayer-partner thing together after the sermon.
As Lynn and Tommy met their targets in the greeting line, they asked them if this church had prayer partners each Sunday, and Mike told them to come see him after the service. “I’ll be up front by the stage.”
Mike and Donna were avoiding each other like the plague, but they also knew they had to do the prayer-partner thing together in a little while. After the sermon was through, the preacher called all the prayer partners to come up front. He told all the parishioners that anyone who needed prayer could come forward.
The prayer couples came up, and quite a few parishioners came forward to be prayed for. Lynn and Tommy got in the line that led to Mike and Donna. They could hear some noise coming from up front near the stage. It was Donna telling Mike quite loudly to get a motel room until Saturday, when they leave for the Tennessee trip. Mike said, “We can talk about that later.”
The couple prayed for about five different people. When Lynn and Tommy came up, Mike asked, “What do you have that Jesus can help you with today?”
Lynn spoke up and said, “You know, we’ve been married about 10 years, and we are very happy, but I think we all need prayers sent to heaven to help our lives get better. We would like that one, please.”
Lynn could be real simple sometimes.
After the prayers were through, everyone headed out to the big dining hall to enjoy the feast. They had ham, turkey, chicken, steaks, shrimp, a myriad of vegetables, and every kind of dessert you could think of.
Donna got a plate and purposely sat at a full table of people so Mike could not sit with her. Lynn and Tommy were trying to scope out where Mike might be sitting. They grabbed some food and headed right over to spend some quality time with their new buddy Mike. Sadly, he was sitting all by himself.
Lynn waved to Donna, motioning for her to come over. When she was ignored, Lynn stood up and, in a reasonably loud whisper, said, “Donna!” and motioned again for her to come over. When she was still ignored, Lynn sat down with a puzzled look on her face.
Mike said, “Donna is not wanting to be around me right now. She is mad at me for embarrassing her at work.”
Tommy asked, “What happened?”
Mike said her boss was hitting on her for a weekend in Florida, and he had put a damper on his plans.
Tommy inquired, “How did you do that?”
Mike said, “I just told him a little story about a wife, a man, a gun, and prison. I don’t know why he became so upset,” Mike said with a big old grin on his face.
Her boss transferred to another company store in South Carolina.
As Lynn was finishing her overflowing plate from the buffet, she noticed some empty seats near Donna. She made a beeline toward her. Lynn wanted them to be BFFs ASAP.
Lynn sat right down beside Donna with a giant piece of triple chocolate cake. She brought an extra plate to share with her new friend.
Donna said, “I hope you’re not trying to be on his side. He is wrong. He is so, so, so wrong.”
“Oh no,” Lynn said. “I love Tommy, but men are stupid. I have seen a lot of stupid from Tommy too.”
Donna said, “I mean, I love Mike, but if we don’t have trust, what is marriage?”
Lynn said, “You are so right. In the vows it says forsaking all others.”
Donna said, “I don’t have anything to be forsaken about. My boss and I were going on a business trip, and that’s the end of the story. Mike can have some time out, maybe forever, if he does not apologize and beg me for forgiveness and promise to never do this to me again.”
Donna and Lynn had a good time running down men and pigging out on the rich chocolate cake. They took turns going back three times for more.
Donna invited Lynn to a spa day if she could afford it. Lynn assured her, “Tommy and I are moneyed up. He is a salesman for Rubbermade.”
“Oh, really?” Donna asked. “What does he sell?”
Not her strong suit, Lynn quickly thought of a reply. “Kitchen towels,” she answered quickly.
Donna asked, “Isn’t that made out of cotton?”
Lynn quickly said, “Well, yes, it’s a new line of products they are selling.”
“A new invention?” Donna asked. “Can I get some?”
Lynn replied that they were so new, they were not available to the public yet.
Mike had to go help put all the folding chairs and tables away in the dining room. The church used the big hall for other things besides dining. Tommy offered to help his new friend.
After they were through, Mike asked Tommy if he would like to go play some pool. Of course, Tommy went with him. The bars were closed on Sunday, but Mike knew a great little pizza place that had two pool tables and cold beer.
As Tommy was racking up the balls for pool, Mike asked if he wanted a beer. Tommy said, “No, I am driving.
Tommy asked about the situation with Donna. “Are y’all going to be okay?” Mike sighed. “She’ll come around. I mean, she wanted to cheat on me with that jerk of a boss.” Tommy frowned. “You don’t know that for sure. Do you?” Mike lowered his voice and explained quietly, “Donna loves me, but I’m not a bodybuilder. Her boss can probably bench 300 pounds. I’m not kidding. Her high school boyfriend was built like that too. They dated for about seven years. That’s what she really goes for. If they had gone to Florida together, something bad would’ve happened.”
Mike then told Tommy about their planned trip to Tennessee. Tommy smiled. “Lynn and I were looking for something fun to do anyway. This is a slow time of year at my work.”
“What do you do?” Mike asked.
“I’m in sales,” Tommy answered.
Trying to redirect the conversation, Mike asked, “Yeah, but what do you sell?”
Tommy hesitated for a second. “I’m with a consumer products company.”
Mike gave up on the inquiry and moved on.
Mike and Donna had decided to take separate cars to Tennessee because Donna refused to ride on a long road trip with “such a loser,” as she called him. “You and Lynn could meet us in Pigeon Forge,” Mike suggested.
Mike arrived in the busy mountain town first and tried to get an extra room for himself, but the tired hotel manager shook his head. “Sorry, sir. We’re fully booked.” Pigeon Forge was packed with tourists and weekend events, as usual.
Mike checked in, headed upstairs, and took a hot shower. When Donna walked into the room, she looked annoyed to find him strolling around in nothing but a towel. She was even more irritated about having to share a room with him.
“I’ll be out in a minute,” Mike said casually. “I’m going to grab something to eat at one of these restaurants.”
“Good,” Donna snapped. “Take your time.”
“We’re going to have to share this room,” she added bitterly.
Mike smirked. “Well, don’t throw anything. We’ll have to pay for the damages.”
Meanwhile, Lynn and Tommy drove through the charming mountain town of Gatlinburg on their way to Pigeon Forge. The winding roads curved between thick forests and smoky blue mountains. As they drove, they discussed their plan to help Mike and Donna get back together.
“I don’t like all this lying,” Tommy admitted.
Lynn nodded. “Me neither. But we’ve got to keep it up.”
“I told Donna you work for Rubbermade.”
Tommy glanced over at her. “You did?”
“Yes. I told her you sell kitchen towels.”
Tommy laughed. “Rubbermade sells stuff made out of rubber, not cotton.”
“Well, I know that now,” Lynn replied defensively. “I told her it was some new invention.”
“Lies, man,” Tommy muttered dramatically.
Lynn shrugged. “People lied about Moses. If you’re doing it for God, it’s okay.”
Then she thought out loud. “If we’re going to keep lying, we should text each other about any new lies we make up.”
Tommy grinned and quickly agreed.
Unknown to Mike, Lynn had secretly placed a tracker on his car, allowing them to follow him straight to the hotel. Unfortunately, by the time they arrived, there were no rooms left. Tommy searched nearby hotels on the GPS and found one back in Gatlinburg. They checked in for the night and planned to meet their new friends the next morning.
Lynn and Tommy ended up on the eighth floor. At first, the room seemed average, but when they stepped onto the tiny balcony, they were stunned by the breathtaking mountain view. The sparkling lights of Gatlinburg stretched below them, and Lynn spotted a giant observation tower rising above the town.
“That thing looks taller than the hotel,” Tommy said.
“It’s an optical illusion,” Lynn replied confidently. “The hotel is taller.”
Tommy hated arguing with Lynn and usually let her win. “Yep,” he agreed. “The hotel is taller.”
The next morning, Lynn searched online for breakfast spots. “Do you want pancakes or pancakes?” she asked.
Tommy groaned. “Can I have anything else?”
“Yes,” Lynn teased. “You can have pancakes at your choice of ten different restaurants.”
“I guess people in Tennessee really love pancakes,” Tommy muttered.
They decided to grab breakfast before heading back to Pigeon Forge. As they walked through the crowded tourist district, they saw pancake houses everywhere. Three of them had lines stretching out the front doors with at least a dozen hungry people waiting outside. Eventually, they gave up and joined one of the lines themselves. Thankfully, it only took about thirty minutes to get seated.
After breakfast, Lynn and Tommy drove along a narrow two-lane mountain road twisting through the hills. And when I say mountain road, I mean giant boulders nearly three feet tall had fallen onto the roadside from the steep cliffs above. The road also had a couple of dark tunnels carved through the mountains.
Every time Tommy entered one, he honked the horn loudly just to hear the echo bounce off the tunnel walls. “It sounds like a train!” he laughed.
Lynn rolled her eyes in embarrassment.
As they approached the second tunnel, she warned him firmly, “Do not honk your horn.”
Of course, Tommy honked anyway.
When they finally pulled into Mike and Donna’s hotel parking lot, Lynn texted Donna to see what she was doing. Donna replied that she had slept late and was getting hungry.
Lynn texted back, “Come downstairs. Tommy and I will pick you up and take you somewhere nice for breakfast.”
Donna answered almost immediately. “I’m sure I’ll like Tommy, but can it just be me and you for breakfast? Tell Tommy to go up to Room 307 and hang out with Mike today.”
Lynn begrudgingly agreed to another breakfast with her new best friend. And yes, it was pancakes again. Donna excitedly explained that she had a big day planned. They were going to visit the aquarium and several other attractions around town.
Meanwhile, Mike was pleasantly surprised to see Tommy standing at his hotel room door.
“I’m starving,” Mike admitted.
The two men headed out together to find something good to eat.
“I can always eat,” Tommy proudly announced.
Mike laughed. ” you and Lynn are way too nice.”
“Where’s Lynn?” he asked.
“The girls want some alone time,” Tommy explained. “You and I can hang out today. These two towns have all kinds of fun stuff to do.”
The first stop for the boys was a noisy go-kart racetrack that proudly advertised having the fastest go-karts in town.
When they got in line to buy tickets for the go-karts, the cheerful young girl behind the counter sold Tommy a ticket but told Mike, “It’s a family pass. You have to have Miss Donna Stevens with you to use it. You both have to race at the same time.”
“I’ll just pay for it,” Mike demanded, looking a little miffed.
A few minutes later, Mike turned all smiles as the two men raced around the twisting track. Mike’s sleek little car was much faster than the others, and he ended up lapping Tommy while beating every driver in the race. Unknown to everyone else, Tommy had secretly used his shield-up function to turn invisible and sneak over to Mike’s car before the race. He adjusted Mike’s governor to its highest setting so the car would fly around the track. Tommy wanted Mike in the best mood possible while Lynn worked on Donna.
Later that afternoon, after standing in a short line at the crowded aquarium ticket booth, Donna received some bad news about her free passes. The older man behind the counter explained that she and Mike Stevens would have to use the tickets together at the same time.
Donna was livid. She got livid a lot. Sometimes she got mad, too.
She angrily texted Mike, accusing him of somehow setting up the passes so she couldn’t use them alone.
“It was your contest,” Mike replied. “You won the free passes, and the radio station mailed them to you. I didn’t have anything to do with it.”
“Well,” Donna snapped back, “you just need to come down here and go to this aquarium right now.”
“I’ll be right there,” Mike answered calmly.
On the drive over, Mike asked Tommy if he liked aquariums.
“Sure,” Tommy said easily. “We can do anything you two want. You won a free trip. Let’s celebrate.”
Mike grinned. “This aquarium’s great. They’ve got sharks swimming right over your head, and you don’t even have to get wet.”
After they entered the massive aquarium, Donna immediately demanded that they split up. A short time later, she wandered into the softly lit otter habitat and unexpectedly burst into tears.
“What’s the matter, honey?” Lynn asked gently.
Through watery eyes, Donna recalled her honeymoon with Mike at another aquarium years earlier. They had stood together watching a pair of playful otters frolicking in the water while Mike jokingly named them after the two of them.
“He said, ‘That one is Mike, and that other one is Donna,’” she remembered with a shaky laugh. “Then he said they were having foreplay until they went back to their cave.”
Right on cue, the two otters had suddenly dashed back into their rocky cave, and both of them had laughed until they could barely breathe.
“Mike said, ‘He’s gonna get some,’” Donna recalled, smiling through her tears. “It was just so cute.”
Eventually, all four new buddies accidentally reunited inside the brightly lit aquarium gift shop while the girls carefully browsed every aisle, terrified they might miss something interesting. Mike spotted a really cute life-size stuffed otter and bought it for Donna, hoping to make peace.
Outside the aquarium, however, Donna tossed the stuffed otter dramatically onto the pavement.
She was still angry, but she finally admitted that the four of them would have to spend time together if they wanted to use all the free passes.
Lynn quickly clapped her hands together. “What do you want to do first?”
Tommy immediately interrupted. “We should do the race cars again. Whoever wins gets to choose the next event.”
“It’s off to the races!” Lynn and Donna shouted excitedly.
The girls confidently informed the men they planned to leave them in the dust.
“I’m sure you will,” Tommy joked before laughing. “Girls can’t drive.”
As they stood in line for the next race, Tommy suddenly slapped his forehead. “Oh no, I have to use the restroom.”
He hurried away, then secretly activated his shield-up function again. Invisible once more, Tommy returned to the loading area and quietly watched the girls and Mike climb into their cars. As the drivers fastened their seatbelts, Tommy adjusted Donna’s governor to its highest possible setting. Then he lowered Mike’s to just below Donna’s speed.
Satisfied with his work, Tommy slipped back to the bleachers and waited for the chaos to unfold.
Mike and Donna started in pole position at the front of the pack. Donna immediately surged ahead, gripping the steering wheel with fierce determination. By the end of the race, the competitive couple had lapped every other driver four full times.
Donna climbed out of her kart first and playfully teased Mike. “You big old tubbo. Maybe if you didn’t eat all that fast food, your car could keep up.”
When Donna, Lynn’s loyal BFF, stepped off the track laughing, she handed Lynn the coupon book with a theatrical bow.
“We’ll do anything you want,” Donna declared.
Lynn chose the electronic shooting gallery next.
Mike happened to be extremely good with guns. He owned two pistols at home and regularly practiced with them at the local gun range. As the four friends picked out their shooting stations beneath the flashing neon lights, Mike quietly reflected on how happy Donna seemed after beating him on the racetrack.
He decided to cool down his shooting skills a little—just enough to let her win.
Mike quietly told Tommy to ask Lynn to do the same.
Lynn grinned mischievously. “I love conspiracies. I think I would’ve made a great spy or FBI agent.”
Donna, meanwhile, turned out to be a surprisingly good shot herself.
As they navigated the nine-hole mini golf course, Tommy and Lynn had somehow gotten a few holes ahead. Tommy decided to check on his friends, so he casually walked back up the course and stopped outside hole number seven, the one tucked inside a dim little cave.
In a loud whisper, he called, “Mike? Donna?”
A moment later, they promptly came out of the cave trying to look innocent.
Mike cleared his throat and said, “Donna’s ball got stuck.”
Tommy tried not to laugh. “Okay… well, y’all can catch up. We’ll wait on you at eight or nine. Nine is the hard one. We’ll see who’s best.”
As Mike and Donna approached the eighth hole, Lynn suddenly busted out laughing. Donna immediately joined in.
Mike’s face was covered in bright red lipstick kisses.
Donna nearly fell over laughing as she pointed at him. “Red is his favorite color,” she teased. “It gets him excited.”
Tommy grinned a little too as he handed Mike his handkerchief.
Lynn ended up winning the ninth hole with a perfect hole-in-one. Since she was victorious, she decided they would all go out for pizza afterward.
“It’s this little place with a huge brick oven,” Lynn said proudly. “The best pizza you’ll ever eat.”
The cozy restaurant smelled of fresh dough, melted cheese, and garlic butter. By the end of the meal, Lynn and Tommy were pretty sure their mission had been completed successfully, so they bid their new friends goodbye.
Tommy had to be back at work on Saturday, but Mike and Donna were staying until Sunday.
Over time, Mike and Donna’s marriage grew incredibly strong, and the two of them built a wonderful life together.
A few months later, Donna completed her training with Mike faithfully tagging along for support. Mike attended every training session with her. He even joined in on the exercises with the other employees.
Long story short, Donna’s new boss really liked Mike. Eventually, he offered him a position on the grand opening crew.
Mike accepted immediately.
Secretly, he had always dreamed of working alongside Donna. To him, it became a dream job.
Together, the couple would eventually earn a combined income of nearly two hundred thousand dollars a year. They drove two brand-new cars, and whenever they traveled out of town for work, all their expenses were paid.
The grand openings usually lasted around ninety days, followed by two to four weeks off between assignments.
What a life.
They continued that work for the next thirty years while raising eight children together.
One special note: they adopted a little girl who desperately needed a home. One of their daughters brought her home from school one afternoon, and somehow… she never left.
On the flight home aboard the little red airplane, Lynn and Tommy talked about how much fun they had shared with their new friends.
Tommy smiled and said, “I love playing foosball with Billy or golfing with Glenn, but when you’re doing it for a reason, it’s just more fun.”
Lynn was considering deleting their new friends’ phone numbers, which, according to the home office, all ghosts were required to do afterward.
Tommy told her, “I already deleted Mike and Donna from my phone. You should probably do the same.”
Lynn smirked. “I’m gonna leave Donna in my phone.”
Tommy looked over at her. “What are you gonna do if she calls?”
“I’ll make up some rock-solid excuse about why I can’t meet her,” Lynn replied with a grin. “But I love talking to Donna. It’s the only time I can make fun of you and my husband.”
Tommy shook his head and laughed softly. “Well, just keep the numbers. You’re gonna do what you want anyway.”
Lynn smiled. “I probably will.”
Then the two of them burst into a loud, hearty laugh as the little red airplane disappeared into the evening sky.
Holy Ghosts 