Page 123 of Ghost

“Hey, LD Three.”He was for sure going to have to watch himself when around Francis.

“How are things?”LD Three lifted his shirt to wipe off the sweat that was streaming down his face.Mason noticed the dark hair covering his tummy and the treasure trail that disappeared in his cut-off jean shorts and the nice bulge further down.I’m definitely going to have to keep my eyes off this man.

“Things are pretty good,” Mason answered.“I’m going to get my truck and drive it down to Nick’s place and we can load up things in the back.Why don’t I meet you down there?You can help Nick get things ready to load up.”

Chapter Forty-Two

Patty rode up in the truck with Mason.Both of them were sweaty and hot.Mason didn’t turn on the air conditioning.He wasn’t going to be in the vehicle long enough for it to do much, so why bother.

“Oh, lawdy, it is sure a hot one,” Patty commented as she used a kitchen towel to wipe her face.

“That it is.I’ll take this over snow any day, though,” Mason commented.

“You got that right.”Patty turned in her seat just as Mason was backing his truck up to the gate.“Do you really not know what’s going on?”

Mason glanced at Patty.“Not a clue.”

Patty chuckled.“I have a feeling this is going to be a wild night.I hope you’re ready for this madness.”This comment concerned Mason.

By the time Mason turned the truck off and got out, the hordes of people who were there had already unloaded a good portion of the supplies from the back of the truck, including Alfred, his former landlord.

“Hey, Alfred.”Mason greeted the man who had a small cooler in his hands.

“Hi, Mason.”He turned and looked at the crowd.“Nice turn out.You sure have brought this neighborhood together.There are people here I’ve not seen in many, many years.I just ran into one of my school buddies from years ago.”The man smiled.“It’s really good to see a neighborhood come together.”With that, he hustled off, with a little coaxing from Patty, which granted, didn’t sound a bit like coaxing but more like barking orders.

Mason smiled and shook his head.Nick was huffing a bit when he got to the courtyard entrance, LD Three right there with him, a look of concern on his face.

“Go have a seat in the shade, Nick,” Mason suggested.“I’ll get you something cold to drink.”

“I’ll have a Dr.Pepper, please,” Nick said, whooshing a blast of air from his lungs.“This heat really gets to me nowadays.”

“Sure, I’ll get it for you.”Mason looked at LD Three and nodded his head towards the shade of the upstairs balcony.LD Three nodded his understanding and walked with Nick.

Mason rushed over to Patty.“You know where there’s some Dr.Pepper?”

She stopped.“For Nick?”