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Prologue

Buck

“Oh, you like me.”

Harry carried the cups from the table to the sink. “What are you talking about? It’s not you specifically. I don’t think any spirits should be around while they deal with that entity in the pond.”

Grinning, I sidled up next to him where he was washing the dishes. “Come on, Harry. Admit it. I’m your favorite.”

Harry sniffed. “You wish. And please address me by my proper name. It’s Mr. Harry. I don’t know how you could possibly forget.”

I bit back a chuckle. He was so much fun to rile up. When I told the other ghosts who live out at Beckoning Pond at the back end of the property line that I wanted to vacation inside the manor, they all thought I’d lost my mind. They didn’t believe for a second that the living would appreciate me checking in to the B&B. How wrong they were. The owner, Chance, and his boyfriend, Jetty, didn’t seem to mind my presence at all. Neither did their friends or family.

The only person who acted put out by me coming into the manor was Harry, but I wasn’t buying it for a minute. It was true that I might frustrate him a bit since he was so uptight and proper, but if he really had a problem with me staying here, he’d never have given me a room. For that matter, Chance would’ve told me to leave based solely on Harry’s say-so.

“Sorry, Mr. Harry. I keep forgetting. We’re not as formal in this century.” He was from the 1800s, and I was a good old-fashioned 1980s rocker. The differences in how we viewed things was downright comical. He needed to loosen up a little—or a lot—but if I didn’t want him to chuck my ass out the door, I needed to toe the line a little.

“What century we were born in has no bearing on the situation. I’m the butler. There needs to be distance between me and my employers. The same goes with you. Mr. Chance and Mr. Jetty allowing you to stay is a privilege. You need to earn your keep and treat them with the utmost respect.”

He really was a fussy one. Chance and Jetty were too swept up in this new life they’d been handed, and I knew they didn’t have the same concerns as the butler they’d inherited with the house. Plus, earn my keep? They could literally rent out my room to someone, and they’d never even know I was there. Hello, I was legit the friendly neighborhood ghost. “Sir, yes, sir.”

Harry’s hands stilled as he turned his head and glared at me. “Are you mocking me?”

“Of course not. You run the show around here, and I’m a mere servant.”

His eyes narrowed before he turned away and resumed the dishes. Not wanting to push my luck, I asked, “How do you think it’s going out there?”

He clucked his tongue. “I have no idea. I don’t have bionic vision any more than you do. Mr. Chance is so new to his powers that I’m a little worried. That little poltergeist in the middle of the pond has been luring people into the water and to their death for a long time.”

“If you’re worried about her hurting the live ones, why didn’t you want me to go out there? It’s not like she could’ve killed me. Maybe I could’ve helped.”

His back stiffened. “You don’t know what Chance will have to do. He’s never vanquished anyone before. What if things go haywire and his spell gets tossed around all willy-nilly?” He shook his head. “No, no. That wouldn’t do at all. You’re safest in the house.”

“Awe. See, you do like me.”

“If you recall, I also wanted Stevie to stay hidden away in the manor. It wasn’t just you. And can you go somewhere else? Why are you hovering over me?”

Unable to hold it in, I chuckled but crossed the room and leaned against the refrigerator to give him space. It was cute how he just put me and Stevie in the same category. It made sense that he wanted the spirit of Scotty’s brother to remain on this plane and able to manifest. Before coming here, Scotty had thought himself alone in the world, and he’d been dating a total asshole. He’d had no idea that the brother who’d died saving his life was still following him around and keeping an eye on him.

Me, on the other hand, all my family was gone. Hell, my mama and Granny were probably waiting for me to cross over to wherever they were. I wasn’t ready to move on, though. I’d always been a curious sort, so the minute I realized I was dead, I wanted to hang around and check things out. Honestly, I hadn’t really bought into the whole concept of an afterlife. I’d been pretty sure that our spirits just disappeared. Imagine how pumped I was to find out I was wrong. Also, frustrated. Being dead didn’t come with any kind of guidebook, which seemed pretty dumb to me.

“Why are you frowning?” Harry snapped. “What are you thinking about right now?”

I wasn’t going to admit that I was trying to puzzle out the secret of life, or er, death. No, that wasn’t right either. I mean, yeah, to the live ones, Harry, Stevie, and I were dead as a doorknob, but were we really? We weren’t always corporeal, and we could do cool things like poof in and out from one place to another and walk through walls, and we’d had to learn all of those things, plus how to actually move objects… Geez, we’d had to learn a lot. There really should have been a manual. But other than all that, I felt like myself.

I was still Buck. The good-natured, happy-go-lucky, bisexual man who loved pretty things. And Harry sure was nice to look at. Between his lithe frame and tight ass, I could gobble him up if he let me. He was also extremely competent, which I hadn’t realized was a kink to me until now.

“Just wonderin’ what’s going on at the pond. Are you sure I can’t go check? I’ll pop out there and be right back.”

Harry

My chest seized where my heart used to be, and I stiffened like a three-day-old corpse. “Most certainly not.”

I stared out the window over the kitchen sink, wishing I could see my humans. As the longest resident of Willowhope Manor, it felt like my duty to keep them safe. But alas, they were alive, and I wouldn’t risk Buck by going out there. If it had just been me, I’d have gone, but I’d been living in this form for so much longer than him. For goodness’ sake, he didn’t even know how to change clothing unless it was something he’d owned before he passed on. Ridiculousness.

No, him going out there right now would never do. I didn’t like that Stevie had gone either, but he had more to tether him to this plane since his brother was by his side. But Buck, no, he could end up being flung to goodness knew where if he was out there right now. Not that I wanted him to stay here. In fact, it would be preferable if he went back out to the pond once they took care of that little hellion, but that didn’t mean I wanted his spirit scattered to all ends of the Earth.

“Okay, what should we do then? I’m feeling antsy waiting on them and not knowing what’s happening.”

I was feeling the same way, not that I’d admit that to him. “I’m going to make a cake,” I said decisively. “They’ll need a treat when they get back.”

Buck fist-pumped the air. “Yes! A congratulatory dessert. I’ll help.” He went to where I kept the baking ingredients and began pulling them out of the cabinet.

“What are you doing? We don’t have to make anything from scratch. Chance bought a lovely assortment of boxed cake mix and frostings.”

There was a lot of things that I didn’t particularly care for in this era. With the introduction of technology, people had lost the ability to interact with each other and entertain themselves. They had nature for a playground, and yet, they’d gone from staring at the box with moving pictures in the living room to those stupid cell phones that they carried around all over the place. I hadn’t minded telephones too much since they were at least still communicating with each other. Seriously, the art of conversation seemed to be deader than me.

But mixes and other helpful tools for the kitchen and house? Those I could appreciate. It was no easy task running a home as large as this one, especially since this owner and the last had turned it into a place for tourists to stay. Goodness, people were messy and had no appreciation for those of us who had to clean up after them. The easier it was to create sweet treats, the better. Not that I applied that to real meals. Those frozen dinners were disgusting.

Buck balanced ingredients in one of his large arms while sticking his finger in his mouth and making a horrid retching sound. “No way am I using those.”

“Buck, I want it to be edible.”

The obnoxious man rolled his eyes at me. What a child. Really, I should’ve sent him out with the rest of them and left him to his fate. I didn’t need an annoying man-child messing up my kitchen.

“Calm down, Harry. I’m a baker.” He tilted his head to the side. “I guess I was a baker, but still…alive or dead, I know how to make the most scrumptious, yummy desserts.”

I glared at him. “For the last time, that’s Mr. Harry to you! And what do you mean a baker? Like that’s what you did in your spare time? I thought you were a fisherman.”

Proving that he wanted me to have a fit, he started banging around in the cabinet with the mixing bowls and other supplies, emerging with the fancy KitchenAid Chance had brought with him.

He shook his head. “No, I fished for a hobby, but I was a pastry chef by trade. Don’t you worry yourself, Har—Mr. Harry. They’re going to love my super special chocolate cake. It has a secret ingredient that puts it over the top.” He winked at me.

Something fluttered where my stomach used to reside. What was that about? This man had me so…so…I didn’t even know. He was disruptive. If he was going to make dessert, what was I supposed to do? He really was a nuisance. “I guess I’ll help you then.”

“Nope,” he said, popping the P. “Then you’d find out my secret ingredient. I can’t have that.”

Planting my hands on my hips, I asked, “Why on earth not? It’s not like I’d steal it and make it for myself.”

“When you see how much they love this, you’re going to be so sad you can’t eat it, too. Next thing you know, you’ll be baking it for them so that you can get all the praise.”

Affronted, I tugged on my vest. “I don’t do things for praise. It’s honorable to do an honest day’s work.”

Buck winked at me—again! I swear, this man. “How about this, Mr. Harry. As long as I’m around, I’m in charge of all sweet treats. Why don’t you make coffee or something for them for when they get back? Maybe pull the liquor out of the cabinet. I’ll bet Mr. Chance will be ready for a stiff drink.”

I didn’t know about that, but if I could’ve, I would’ve tossed one back. I never was much of a drinker, but my calm quiet life had turned upside down. The big goofy man had taken over my kitchen. Who would’ve ever thought that he could bake? Who’d have even believed he could be helpful? Not me. I hoped they’d finished the nasty business at the pond soon because I didn’t know how much more of this version of Buck I could take.