Page 20 of Ghostlighted (Ghost Townies #2)

Chapter Fifteen

S ofia’s yellow and green striped garden hose was loaded onto one of those automatic retracting drums and had an industrial strength gun-type nozzle.

All respect to Ricky for making the watering process both sturdy and efficient.

I unrolled enough of it to reach the garden, but just as I pressed the trigger, I got distracted by the glint of silver on Birch Street.

Consequently, I doused my shirt instead of the cucumbers.

“Crap!”

Avi snickered. “I’d offer to help, Maz, but I haven’t unlocked my quick-dry function yet.”

“Very funny,” I muttered as I set the hose down, my soaked T-shirt clinging clammily to my skin. The sun wasn’t up high enough to offer any warmth, but that didn’t seem like an excuse for the shiver that ran from my nape to my tailbone. “This is what I get for making an early start.”

“What happened? Does the hose have a leak?”

“No. I just have lousy aim.” And I thought I saw something that should be impossible. Yeah, it should be impossible, but, you know, trust but verify. “Gotta check on something.”

I hurried down Sofia’s side yard with its long bed of perennial herbs, then stopped before I cleared the wall to peer around the corner.

Now I knew the shiver had nothing to do with my alfresco cold shower, because a silver Porsche was drawing up to the curb in front of my house in exactly the same spot it had parked a month ago.

“How can he be out of jail already?” I muttered.

“And how can he possibly have his car?” Taryn had told me that Carson would have to liquidate his assets to pay the fines and damages for copyright infringement, let alone the fines for threatening me with a gun.

Had he found some way to protect some of them from seizure?

“What is it?” When Avi spoke from behind me, I stumbled back a step. I’d worried about Avi’s reaction to the scarecrow when I thought it was modeled on Carson. Seeing Carson in the flesh? I wouldn’t subject him to that kind of trauma.

I turned to face him. “I think you should go back to the house.”

“Why?”

“Um… because?”

Avi rolled his eyes. “You’re a ghostwriter, Maz. Surely you can manufacture a more convincing reason than that.”

“That’s different.” I waggled my fingers. “Words flow better through my hands than out of my mouth.” I leaned backward until I could see the street and, sure enough, the driver’s door opened and a blond head emerged. I ducked back. “I really think you should go back inside.”

“I know I don’t have much agency these days, but we’re friends, and you’re clearly unnerved by something. If I can help, I will. Whatever it is?—”

“It’s Carson,” I blurted.

Even though Avi’s skin was semi-transparent, I swore he paled. “Carson’s here? How?”

“I don’t know. But his car just pulled up in front of my house. I’ll go see what he wants, but I don’t want you to have to face him.”

Avi’s jaw tightened and his expression morphed into positively murderous. “Are you kidding? Maybe all I need to channel my poltergeist powers is a chance at that guy’s face.” He brushed past me, his stride longer than I’d ever seen.

“Avi. Wait.”

Much to my shock, he did. He froze just beyond Sofia’s porch, and the tension in his shoulders seemed to drain away. He turned and beckoned to me. “Come here, Maz.”

“What?” I croaked. “Why? I don’t want to see that guy either.”

“It’s not Carson. Take a look.”

I peered around the corner at the man standing at the Porsche’s rear bumper, fussing with something in his hand that I couldn’t quite make out.

“Is that?—”

“Yes,” Avi said. “Once again, you’ve mistaken Liam for his evil twin, although this version is full of hot air instead of straw.”

“For Pete’s sake,” I grumbled. “What’s he doing with Carson’s car?”

Avi squinted at Liam. “I don’t think?—”

“I hope he hasn’t talked Sofia into buying it for him.”

“That sounds like the kind of thing he would do, but?—”

“Fine. I suppose I should meet him for Sofia’s sake, anyway.” I glanced down at my T-shirt. “I’ll probably make just as good an impression on him as I did on Carson.”

Nevertheless, I squared my shoulders and marched around the porch. Yeah, there was no doubt this man was the scarecrow’s original source model. Hair, clothes, and, yes, the precise face shape. Ricky’s cousin had skills .

Liam must have noticed my approach, because he looked up at me and his eyes widened. He stumbled back a step. “Don’t come any closer. Stay back or I’ll call the police.”

Crap. I should probably slow my roll. I stopped and raised my hands, palms out, the gesture all too reminiscent of my first meeting with Carson. The threats of police involvement were the same too, but Carson had been all bravado and aggressive confidence. Liam just looked terrified.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to frighten you. I’m Maz.”

To Liam’s credit, he recovered his composure quickly. He tugged at the collar of his ice-blue button-down and managed to look down his nose at me, his mouth pinched with obvious disdain. “You should move along. We aren’t looking to hire anybody for yard maintenance.”

“Oh, this is going to go well,” Avi murmured. “He’s never going to forgive you for seeing his fear.”

“You’re not helping,” I murmured out of the corner of my mouth.

Liam’s eyes narrowed. “What did you say?”

“Once again, sorry. I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I’m Maz Amani.” I pointed at my house. “I live there.”

I’d expected Liam’s attitude to improve with the news that I wasn’t some random guy trolling for work in a wet T-shirt at seven in the morning, but instead he added a layer of disapproval to his disdain.

“Maz? You’re the one who got Avi’s house.”

He made it sound as though I’d snatched it out from under somebody’s nose at a Black Friday sale at the mall. “I inherited it from my uncle?—”

“Third cousin,” Avi murmured, amusement clear in his tone. He was enjoying this, and it occurred to me that this was the first time in a while that he was speaking to me in the presence of somebody who didn’t know about him.

Well, I’d let him have his fun. I didn’t especially care about Liam’s opinion of me, because it couldn’t possibly be lower than my opinion of him.

He folded his arms. “Don’t you think it would have been more appropriate for the house to go to family?”

I met his gaze. “It did.”

“I mean Avi’s family.”

“It did,” Avi growled. “Oren was my family.”

“Regardless of your thoughts on the matter”—my voice might have been a touch too loud, judging by Liam’s flinch—“the house belongs to me.”

He snorted. “I was prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt, but now that I see how little respect you have for family ties?—”

“Benefit of the doubt for what?”

“For assuming you had the authority to arrange travel plans for my grandmother.”

I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, keeping my voice level. “I’m not making any decisions for her, if that’s what you’re afraid of.”

“What I’m afraid of is that she’s not a well woman, and with your impulsive disregard for her health, you could well be the cause of her death. I could sue.”

My jaw sagged. “I’m sorry. What?”

“For hospital bills. Funeral expenses. Physical and emotional distress.”

Heat built in my throat and behind my eyes. “In the first place, Sofia is not dead.”

He snorted again. “Not yet.”

“You’re not either,” Avi growled, “but maybe something could be arranged.”

For some reason, Avi’s clear rage made it easier for me to dial back on my own. “Look. Kudos to you for making the effort to come see her so close to your graduation.”

He blinked at that. “Yes. It was very inconvenient. Finals.”

“I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to see you, but from what I’ve heard so far, she’s in no danger.”

“Regardless, I’m the only person who should be making decisions for her.”

“I’m pretty sure she’s capable of making her own decisions.”

He glanced up at the house. “That’s debatable, considering she’s living alone in a house that’s entirely too big for her to manage at her age. If she could regulate her own medications, she wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“I don’t think?—”

“Maz!” With that shout to announce her, Ricky’s sister Felicia leaped off the curb at the corner of Iris Lane and Main Street and flew toward us, her long black hair fanning behind her like a shining banner.

I waved. “Hey, Felicia.”

As she reached our side of the street, she slowed down. “What happened to you?

“Oh. You mean this?” I pinched the wet shirt and pulled it away from my chest. Mistake, since when I let go, the fabric remained bunched like I’d sprouted a weird third nipple. “Ricky asked me to water Sofia’s garden this morning, and I had a slight mishap with the hose.”

Her laugh faded as her gaze flicked between me and Liam. “Guillermo? Is that you?”

Liam frowned, and Avi… disappeared.

Knowing how affectionate Ricky’s family normally was with one another, I was surprised when Felicia hugged me , despite my soggy condition, and then simply turned to study Liam.

His frown deepened. “My name is Liam.”

She winced. “Sorry. Last time you were here, I was just a kid and Tia still calls you Guillermo. I’ll remember for next time, I promise. Did Ricky contact you?”

Liam seemed momentarily stunned by Felicia’s shotgun approach to conversation. It took him a moment before he said, “Yes. That’s right.”

“She’s not home from the hospital yet. I came by to get her car so I could do some grocery shopping since I’ll be staying with her while she recovers. Are you going to the hospital now? I can take you. Oh!” She pointed at the Porsche. “You have your own ride, I see.”

“I’m here to pick up a few things for Sofia,” he said, his tone dripping with disapproval.

“Really?” Felicia cocked her head. “What?”

“Personal things she might need. Her purse. Her checkbook.”

Felicia waved his words away. “No need. Mami stopped by last night and collected all that. Do you know where the hospital is in Richdale? Oh! I forgot. You grew up there mostly, didn’t you?

” She laughed a little. “You probably know the place better than I do. If you hurry, you can get there when visitor’s hours start. ”

I wasn’t aware that Liam’s frown could deepen, but clearly I had underestimated his abilities. “She’s allowed visitors?”

“Eh.” Felicia waggled her hand. “ We’re allowed. Antonio—you remember Antonio, don’t you? Uncle Federico’s middle son? He’s the charge nurse on her floor.”

Wow. If there were a frown Olympics, Liam would snag the gold without breaking a sweat. “That’s incredibly irresponsible of him and inconsiderate of all of you. Think of Sofia. You’re endangering her recovery. It could be months?—”

“Oh, no. Not months. In fact, she should be home by Sunday.” Felicia’s smile was brilliant. “She’s decided on the ablation procedure.”

“What?” Liam seemed sincerely shocked. “Surgery? She can’t— The risks are too great.”

“They’re not, really,” I said. “Not any more than letting the SVT worsen.”

He turned his gold-medal scowl on me. “What would you know about it?”

“My grandmother had the same condition. She opted for the ablation when she was in her sixties and kicked herself for not doing it years earlier.”

“See?” Felicia looped her arm through my elbow. “She’ll be ready to travel by the end of the month, so when we’re there for your graduation, she won’t even be on meds anymore. Isn’t that great?”

“No, it is not great.” Liam’s chest heaved like a bellows, nostrils flaring in a way that was reminiscent of Greg—or a bull about to charge.

“I see that I need to have a serious talk with Sofia, because clearly the rest of you are thinking only of your own enjoyment and not her well-being. And you .”

He thrust his hand at me, index finger fairly vibrating, and the gold charm on his key chain nearly bonked me on the nose.

I went nearly cross-eyed staring at it, but I refused to back away.

Pretty ballsy of Liam to spend Sofia’s money on a Massachusetts keychain in what looked like solid gold, although whoever crafted it hadn’t quite gotten the shape right.

My geography app project would probably have tagged it as a coffee pot.

“What about me?”

“While your gesture was no doubt well-intentioned, I trust you’ll see now that it was extremely ill-judged and take appropriate action.”

He turned and strode toward the Porsche, brushing past three people who had stopped on the sidewalk in front of my house.

“Well,” I said. “He seems nice.”