Page 7

Chapter Six

Buck

“Holy shit, do I have news!” I exclaimed, scaring Scotty right off his stool and on to his butt on the floor.

Stevie glared at me, solidifying his form and helping his brother back to his feet. “Buck, be careful, man.”

“Sorry, Scotty. I’m just excited.”

Scotty brushed off the backside of his pants—like Mr. Harry allowed dust or dirt to exist anywhere inside the house—then planted his hands on the desk in front of him. “Does this have something to do with why everyone’s been out at the pond?”

“Well, that’s part of it. That’s not what I’m so hyped about, though.” I proceeded to tell them about my walk with Harry—minus the sexy times—and then continued with the mystery of the old oak tree.

“I can’t believe you got Mr. Harry to cave.” Stevie smirked. “You must really have mad moves, Buck.”

Scotty’s jaw dropped as he glared at his brother. “There’s something out there that only spirits can feel and see, and you’re worried about his love life?” He stomped his foot. “Stevie, I just got you back, and I don’t want to lose you. You’re forbidden from going out to the pond.”

Stevie patted his brother’s hand. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. I was out there this morning, and I didn’t notice anything weird. I’ll stay away from the branch hanging over the water.”

Scotty shook his head. “That’s not good enough. Until Buck figures out what’s happening out there, I want you to stay inside with me.”

Startled, I looked back and forth between the two brothers. “Me? Why do I have to figure it out? Why do you expect me to figure it out? This is Chance’s deal.” He owned the property, not me. I had no skin in this fight.

Scotty rolled his eyes. “That’s pretty obvious, don’t you think?”

“True,” Stevie said.

I slumped against the front of the desk. “What am I missing?”

“Where’s Mr. Harry?” Scotty asked.

“In the kitchen,” I said, feeling frustrated that I didn’t understand what they were asking of me.

The slam of a car door outside alerted us to the arrival of the new guests we’d been expecting. “You two get lost,” Scotty said. “I’ve got a job to do. Stevie, explain to Buck why this is his mystery to solve. And stay inside, please.”

The concern on his face guaranteed that Stevie wouldn’t be stepping one foot out of the manor until his little brother gave him the go-ahead.

After he hugged his brother goodbye, we both blinked out and reappeared in the bedroom I’d claimed as mine. “What are you and your brother going on about?”

Stevie shook his head. “Mr. Harry giving you a little affection has clearly rattled your brain. If Chance and Elyse don’t sense anything wrong out there, and Mr. Harry is freaked out, that leaves you.”

Exasperated, I fell back on my bed. I’d been working hard at getting past Harry’s barriers, and instead of being able to celebrate, they wanted me to…what? I didn’t know anything about trees.

Stevie sighed. “You really don’t get it, do you? It’s Chance’s property, right?”

“Exactly,” I said, happy he acknowledged that.

“And he takes care of us, and helps the spirits ready to cross over, right?”

I barely contained an eye roll. “Yes.”

“And from what I’ve heard, he’s been setting things to rights since he bought this place.”

Rolling my hand in a move-it-along gesture, I asked, “So what’s your point?” I needed him to hurry this up. I wanted to go check on Harry sooner rather than later.

“Well, if a man who sees spirits, and it’s his job to help them, can’t even sense what’s off, and it’s supernatural, then obviously it’s up to one of us to solve the problem. If all they’re seeing is a natural fungus, and they can’t feel anything weird in the air, then this must be an us problem. As in, those of us who are deceased. Scotty’s forbidden me from going out to the pond so that only leaves you to investigate.”

Shaking my head, I admitted, “I’m confused.”

“Let me put it like this. The glowing fungi—”

“No,” I said. “They saw fungus, but I saw glowing sludge.”

Stevie’s head tilted. “So it didn’t even kind of look the same to you? Buck, that can’t be good. I know most of the live ones don’t have any real mythical powers and can only see and hear our side of things because of the ley lines and Chance, but don’t you think they should still feel and see what we do?

“I mean, come on, what if Harry had felt that weird absence of space and then just disappeared out of nowhere? What if that goo is part of the void, and it’s here to get us or trap us or something? Maybe they can’t see it because it doesn’t affect the living.”

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. He was right. That explained why everyone, including Harry, had been freaking out. I really thought I’d been paying attention, but Stevie had been spot-on. I was so enamored with Harry and pumped about the progress I’d made with him today that I hadn’t been taking the situation seriously enough. This had to be a spirit realm issue, and I wouldn’t risk losing Harry now that he was finally open to giving me a shot.

Rubbing the back of my neck, I asked, “What do you think I should do?”

Stevie frowned. “I’m not sure. You’ve been here longer than me. Once I died, I only concentrated on trying to get Scotty to know I was still with him. If you think about it, I didn’t actually accomplish that on my own. It was Chance and his property that gave me the opportunity to connect with my brother again. I’d say ask Harry to help you figure it out, but…”

I shook my head as he trailed off. “That’s not an option. He was really freaked out.”

“So what are you going to do?”

Wasn’t that the million-dollar question?

Harry

Buck had been acting strangely today, odder than normal. I’d grown so accustomed to his lumbering presence hovering over me that his absence felt abnormal. I had to admit—if only to myself—it was stressing me out.

Had our interlude earlier meant nothing to him? Now that he knew I was interested, was he done with me? Fiddlesticks. I was too old for this. I was too dead for this. This kind of emotional turmoil was for the living.

“Mr. Harry, are you okay?” Skylar asked from the kitchen table.

I jumped at the sound of his voice. Elyse and Marc had left hours ago, and Chance and Jetty had retired to their room shortly after our guests turned in for the night. I thought the only people left roaming around down here were us ghosts. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were still here.”

He stood up from his chair and joined me at the kitchen sink, staring out the window into the darkness. “Kingston went back out to the pond. I kind of wanted to wait around until I knew he returned safely.”

Skylar had lived in the manor for a short while before moving out to live in Jetty’s house since he’d moved in with Chance. He was here more often than not when he wasn’t working, either spending time with his best friend or with Elyse, who was training him in all things magical. “I see.”

He side-eyed me. “Do you?”

I patted the abnormally quiet man’s shoulder sympathetically. Skylar usually zipped through the house like lightning or bounced around like he was on a pogo stick. “I’m pretty sure we all do.”

“Not Kingston,” he said with a sniff.

Relationships were not my forte, as proven by how Buck had treated me since we returned from the pond. However, some things were common sense. “Have you considered telling him how you feel?”

His shoulders slumped. “I throw myself at him every chance I get. I don’t know what else I can do.”

“Tell him.”

“What if he suspects, but he doesn’t want me, so he’s playing dumb to keep from hurting my feelings?” he whined.

Were we speaking about the same man? There was no question that Kingston was wicked smart, but he was also a tad socially awkward and not generally aware of the people around him. Unless they were dead. His focus increased drastically once the entity in question had no pulse.

“As much as I don’t think Kingston would ever hurt anyone on purpose, I also don’t believe he has the aptitude to play games. If he realized you were interested and he wasn’t, he’d bumble his way through an apology to let you down gently.”

“Bumble?” Skylar asked indignantly, lifting his chin.

There was the feisty man I’d come to know. It was one thing for him to mope over his unrequited love, but a potential insult to the man in question? Unacceptable. I held up my hands placatingly. “I’m not insulting Kingston. I only meant that he’s uncomfortable with attention on himself in the easiest of conversations. Can you imagine how hard it would be for him to hurt someone’s feelings?”

Skylar tilted his head thoughtfully before a fond smile spread across his face. “It would be the worst. The poor guy would be a mess.”

I dipped my head in acknowledgment. “Exactly.”

A calculating expression replaced his amusement. “ Soooo , Mr. Harry. With all of the commotion of the weirdness at the oak tree and the new guests checking in, we never discussed what’s going on with you and Buck.”

My mouth drooped into a frown before I caught myself. Skylar’s eyes widened. “What’s wrong?”

Clearing my throat, I turned away and floated toward the refrigerator. I didn’t need anything, but I wanted to avoid his scrutiny. Earlier, my biggest concern was the teasing I’d have to endure with giving into Buck’s pursuit. Now, I was more worried that everyone would know my humiliation. “Nothing.”

Skylar skipped across the room, cornering me in the opening of the door. It would be nothing for me to poof out of the room and avoid him altogether, but really, that would be rude. “Come on, Mr. Harry. What gives? You two looked pretty chummy at the fire pit.”

“Perhaps, but he hasn’t exactly been around today, has he?”

Skylar’s lashes fluttered like he was checking his internal hard drive. “What do you mean? He’s come in to check on you every half hour, at least. He doesn’t always say anything, but he appears and makes sure you’re okay before he disappears again.”

My head jerked back in surprise. “He has?” How had I missed that? I’d been keeping one ear on the discussion between Chance and his crew about what might be going on at the pond now and what they should do about it, but I’d been cognizant enough of my surroundings that I’d faded away any time guests were around. And I’d noticed Buck a time or two, but not what Skylar was suggesting. I wouldn’t have felt so abandoned if I’d seen him checking on me.

Skylar giggled. “Ohhh, you got it bad.” Since I was corporal, he patted my chest. “Yes, he has. Maybe you should go check on him this time. Last I saw, he was in the parlor putting a puzzle together with the brothers.”

It was a tempting idea. I’d missed the big lug, especially after what we’d shared earlier, but I also didn’t want to be annoying. I bit my lip as I considered my options. There was work to be done to get ready for the breakfast buffet in the morning, but that didn’t have to be done now. It was helpful if—

“Mr. Harry!” Skylar whisper-yelled. “Go check on your man and make sure he’s alright. I’m going to wait for Kingston a while longer. I know his sleep has been trash because of his dreams, but he still needs to get some rest.” I flickered but hesitated. “Go.” Skylar smacked his hands together like he was a magician, and I performed upon request.

I guessed this time, I did.