Page 6

Ghost

Ghost was shaken. Ray had been too close to the mark with his analysis of him. He’d done his best to keep his cool but doubted he’d done a good enough job to go unnoticed by the astute detective. It would be at this point that Ghost backed away from the danger posed by the man, but he found himself wanting more time with him.

After a sleepless night, Ghost found himself in the passenger seat of Elias’s truck with the man of the hour behind the wheel. How he’d gotten here was simple. Julia. Nothing more needed to be said for those who’d ever met the woman who ran the lake house like a well-oiled machine. They were on their way to investigate a few of the addresses of interest found among the files the evening before.

As Marshall’s scenery flew by, Ghost looked down at the three addresses on the list. They were scattered across the county, and it would take at least half a day to visit all three of them. Julia knew what she was doing when she suggested Ghost accompany Ray on his investigation. Other team members were researching further areas of interest on Ray’s compiled list.

“Do you think there’ll be anything to find in these places after all these years? Anything of value to us?”

Ghost asked.

“You’d be surprised what goes unnoticed by the general public,”

Ray said. “You have to keep your mind and senses open.”

“I’ll try, but I doubt I’ll be useful. I’m not good at finding the proverbial needle in the haystack, never have been.”

“Give yourself a chance. You never know what you’re capable of until you’re in the middle of it, and anything could be a clue.”

As they rolled up to the first address, Ghost’s hopes were dashed even further as he found nothing remarkable about the old barn before them. It looked like every other graying wood barn in the area.

“It’s a barn,”

he deadpanned.

“Great deduction, Watson. How about we go in and take a look around?”

“Lead on, Sherlock.”

Ghost played along. He couldn’t remember the last time he bothered to joke and tease another person.

The barn door creaked angrily as Ray shoved it open. By the overgrowth of vegetation and dusty, web-filled interior, he could tell this barn hadn’t been used in an extremely long time. Ghost coughed as the dust kicked up from the breeze filtering through the open door.

“Place looks empty,”

Ghost remarked as he scanned the area and pointed upward. “Except for the birds.”

Ray stood with his hands on his hips, scanning the area. Ghost tried to look at the location through a detective’s eyes but still came up with nothing.

“Let’s take a closer look around,” Ray said.

“You’re kidding. There’s nothing here, Sherlock.”

“Humor me, Watson,”

Ray said with a sexy grin, and Ghost knew it’d be impossible to say no to the handsome detective.

“Fine,”

Ghost huffed, shaking his head. “But it’s a wild-goose chase.”

Ray chuckled and headed toward the three vacant stalls. Ghost still didn’t see the use of looking around. No one had been here in years, but he’d play along, so he turned in the opposite direction. Ghost kicked a few stones out of his way as he watched the morning sun’s rays filter through the old wooden beams. He noticed a ladder built into the wall that led up to what had to be the old hay loft.

“Why not,”

he mumbled before tugging on the boards to ensure the ladder was still securely attached to the wall.

It seemed safe enough, and he began his ascent into the rafters. Strangely enough, there were still a few old hay bales in the loft, and most of the floor was covered in a layer of straw. He couldn’t help but think it would have been fun growing up on a farm compared to the city. There were so many adventures and places to sneak off to where he could have been alone instead of being faced with people everywhere as he grew up.

Ghost wandered the large space, finding pretty much what he thought he would. Nothing. He was about to call it quits when he noticed something on one of the larger timbers holding up the roof. As he got closer, he could make out the shape of a heart and quickly realized what it was. Ghost couldn’t help but smile at the thought of two young lovers carving their initials into the wood to declare their love for all time.

Ghost pulled out his cell phone and snapped a picture. He figured it was useless but tried to remember what Ray had said. No matter how small, anything could be a clue. With one final look around, Ghost turned and headed back toward the ladder. He was roughly ten feet away when a loud cracking sound echoed through the barn, and the old floor underneath him gave way, sending him down to the first level.

At the last second, he was able to grab onto a floor joist with his right hand, temporarily halting his fall, but a few seconds later, it gave way as well. Ghost braced for impact with the hard ground but was shocked when he landed on something much softer. Whatever it was began to move, and soon Ghost found himself staring up into the concerned brown eyes of his lumberjack.

“Are you hurt?”

Ray asked as he moved his hands over Ghost’s body, likely searching for injuries.

Ghost took a few moments to see if he registered any pain, and finding none, said, “No, I think I’m fine, thanks to you.”

“You scared the shit outta me,”

Ray said as he hovered over Ghost, double-checking him for injuries.

“I scared the shit out of myself,”

Ghost said before he started laughing. “Stop that; I’m ticklish.”

Ray’s scowl turned into a grin. “Are you? Good to know.”

And began tickling him intentionally.

Ghost laughed even harder and squirmed under Ray’s touch. All fear of falling long gone, replaced by laughter and fun. His lumberjack had a knack for making Ghost smile no matter the situation.

“Okay, okay, I surrender.”

Ghost laughed, and Ray’s hands slowed.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself mere inches away from Ray’s delectable lips and decided to go with what he wanted for once. Closing the distance, he took Ray’s lips into a tentative kiss, still unsure if this was mutually desired, but it didn’t take long for Ray to take over and deepen the kiss.

Ghost opened his lips and allowed Ray’s tongue to explore and command his mouth without a concern about whether it made him seem weak or submissive. He soaked in the man’s attention and returned it in kind. One kiss turned into another, and without thought, Ghost’s hands went exploring over Ray’s hard pecs, threading his fingers through thick chest hair.

Ghost wanted more of Ray. He couldn’t stop the groans when Ray grabbed his hair and pulled Ghost’s head back, exposing his throat to the handsome man’s roaming mouth and tongue. Hell, Ghost was ready to get naked right there and then. It wasn’t until they heard someone behind them clear their throat that they broke apart.

Ray seemed to instinctively shove Ghost behind him, and he found the move endearing even if he didn’t require the big guy’s protection.

“Sorry to interrupt, but you’re on private property,”

a man’s voice said.

When Ghost peeked around Ray, he knew who it was immediately; they’d met at the diner when Brick introduced them.

“Good morning, Mr. Cross. Sorry for busting in like this,”

Ghost said. Mr. Cross was the local veterinarian.

“That you, Darren?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Whatcha doing out here in this old barn?”

Mr. Cross asked.

“We’re investigating an old case. This is Detective Ray Sommers. Ray, this is the town vet, Mr. Cross.”

“Any relation to Roger and Sam Sommers?”

Mr. Cross asked.

“Yes, sir, my grandfather and father.”

“Well, hell. I haven’t seen a Sommers in these parts in over six years since your dad retired.”

“Yes, I’m in town helping Brick Matthews with a few things.”

Ray stood and held his hand out for Ghost to take, which he did, and he was back to standing in moments. There was no use avoiding touching Ray after they’d locked lips. Ghost’s other mutation was working overtime, and he fought to keep his thoughts from showing.

“Ah, I understand. I was driving by after a call out on Joe Berry’s ranch for a downed heifer when I saw the sheriff’s truck parked out front. Thought I’d pop my head in and see if he needed any help.”

“Yeah, we borrowed Elias’s truck, as mine had a flat this morning,”

Ray explained.

“Well, I see the two of you have this under control,”

Mr. Cross said with a knowing smile. “Didn’t mean to interrupt. Good luck with your case.”

“Wait, Mr. Cross, do you know who owns this barn?”

Ray asked.

“Yes, it’s part of the Berry ranch, but before that, it belonged to the Miles family.”

“Jericho Miles?”

Ray asked.

“Yes, sir. To his grandparents before they sold their land off.”

“Thank you, Mr. Cross.”

“If I can be of any help, let me know. Tell Brick I said hello,”

Mr. Cross said.

The town vet walked out of the barn, and Ghost could feel his cheeks getting warmer. He felt like a teenager getting busted making out behind the bleachers at school.

Ray turned to look at Ghost and asked, “You still feel okay? Nothing hurt when you stood up?”

Ghost couldn’t help but smile; the big guy was still worried if he’d hurt himself in the fall. “I’m fine. Besides, I landed on you; perhaps I should be asking if you’re okay.”

Ray smiled wide, bent to give Ghost another quick kiss before taking his hand and heading for the door.

“I feel better than I have in decades.”