Page 6 of Road Trip With the Ghost Hunter (Love Along Route 14 #10)

Lucas

“I called ahead, and Dawn’s expecting y’all.

” Kathy walked us out after I paid, which Li argued with.

I compromised and said that breakfast tomorrow was her treat.

That appeased her. “Just down that main street, right on Stanford, and you can’t miss it.

Gorgeous, large estate on the lakefront.

And can I say, y’all make a very handsome couple. ”

Li’s body went rigid beside mine at the door. “Oh no, Kathy,” Li nervously chuckled. “We are just road trip buddies—strangers, really.”

“We’re headed the same way, is all,” I said, holding the door open for Li.

“Well,” Kathy smirked, her bright green eyes bouncing back and forth between Li and me.

“My mistake.” She did not seem bothered whatsoever by her “mistake”.

Li walked out, and Kathy winked at me. “You two take care of each other, now. Hope I see you again before you head out tomorrow. Remember, the Hearty Breakfast will keep you energetic for the long drive.”

“Or put me to sleep,” I quipped, heading out. Kathy laughed behind me.

“We can’t have that now,” she said, hand on hip, shaking her head.

We got in the car and made our way to the Nighty Night bed and breakfast. The name had me skeptical because, honestly, what kind of childish name for a business was the Nighty Night?

But, once Kathy suggested it, I looked it up on my phone and it was actually really nice and the reviews were high and complimentary.

Li grabbed my phone and squealed when she saw the pictures. “Yes. Absolutely, yes,” she said, wiggling in her seat. “Most definitely. That place has a magical bath, and I desperately need one.”

Ignoring the idea of Li, naked in a bath with bubbles, Kathy insisted she’d call ahead to reserve our rooms with the owner, Dawn. We pulled up to the large white house with blue-green trim. Not knowing where to park, I pulled up to the side of the house.

“Wow,” Li breathed out. “Have you ever stayed in a place like this before?”

We left our luggage in the car for now until we finalized our rooms. “Hotels, some Airbnbs, but never a Bed and Breakfast like this. My uncle,” I paused when my chest instantly tightened. Clearing my throat, I continued, “We would go camping a lot.”

I opened the front door, and the foyer led to a front desk. The place felt cool, and the scents were crisp and floral. Surprisingly, they decorated it with a mixture of small-town charm and modern touches. A curvy woman who looked about my age smiled brightly as we walked up.

“Are you two Li and Lucas?” she asked, coming around the front desk to greet us.

Li looked startled by her guess, but recovered quickly and smiled politely. “Yes. Kathy sent us?”

“I’m Dawn,” she reached out to shake our hands.

Her natural, tight curls largely framed her face, and she had a gorgeous, big smile.

“Welcome to Heartstone. Just one night? Can we convince you to stay longer?” She walked back around the front desk, opened a ledger, and started writing in it with a fountain pen.

“We have a tight timeline to Colorado. Can’t stay past tonight, I’m afraid,” I said.

“That’s a shame.” She looked up and studied me with eyes too assessing. “I have a feeling you and my husband would get along great. Are you a whiskey man?”

“I am.”

“Brilliant. Tonight, you two will have to sit out on the veranda and have some of his buddy’s family’s whiskey. Three generations. How about you?” she asked Li.

“I’m a whiskey gal,” she replied.

I looked down at her in surprise. “Really?”

“What? You didn’t take me for a whiskey drinker?”

“I figured you’d like some sugary abomination with candy in it.”

The indignation on her face made it so hard to keep a straight face. She poked my side. I jumped and almost doubled over. Her face glowed with excitement.

“No way. You’re ticklish?”

“Don’t even think about it,” I kept my voice firm.

“Oh. I’m thinking about it,” she laughed. “I have a weapon now.”

“You two are cute. I have your room ready,” Dawn smiled, grabbing a pair of keys and showing us up the stairs.

“I should grab our bags,” I offered.

“Oh, hun, wait till Jeremy comes out to help. Also, I can’t have you rob me the satisfaction of seeing your face when I show you your room. Come, come,” she insisted, walking up the stairs.

“You heard the woman,” Li smiled, nudging my side.

“Woman,” I warn, mock glaring.

She wiggled her fingers like weapons. “Oh, this is going to be too much fun.” Hooking her finger into my belt loop, she tugged me up the stairs before letting go to follow Dawn.

Was this flirting? It felt like we skipped over some polite barrier into a comfort that I was enjoying too damn much.

Li was tiny, her frame also small, but her slight curves fit her body.

Her ass was right in my face going up the stairs.

I couldn’t freaking help admiring the heart shape of it in those too tight leggings.

At the top of the stairs, Li turned and looked over her shoulder, raising a brow.

Shit. Caught.

Clearing my throat, I nudged us the rest of the way. I didn’t miss the smirk she tried hiding.

Dawn unlocked the door to a room labeled, Lover’s Dream and pushed it open, presenting her arm for us to enter. Something picked at my brain. Did she say downstairs, “room,” as in singular?

“Welcome. You have no idea how lucky you both are that this room was available when Kathy called. With the Upstage Dinner Theatre event this week, everything is booked solid.”

This room seemed to be in the back and had a wide window with a porch that had a view of the lake below. I just realized, we didn’t know how much this room would cost for a night. Much less, two of these?

“Kathy didn’t mention how much for each room for one night?” I asked.

Li turned from gawking out of the porch window to wait for Dawn’s reply. “I hadn’t even thought of that. Oh my goodness. This place is stunning, but might be out of our budget.”

“Oh, hush. Kathy requested that I apply her discount. The room is $70 for the night.”

“That’s it?” Li asked, looking around at the modern suite with sage green paneling against the wall, the king-sized bed was against the wall. Everything was artistically decorated. The room had a large en-suite bathroom. In Tennessee, this room would’ve been a hundred dollars more a night, easily.

“You can take this one,” I said to Li. “I’ll take the other.”

“The other?” Dawn questioned. “Oh, there is no other. This is it. Kathy told me y’all wanted one room for the night.”

The energy in the space froze.

“Wait,” Li glanced at me, then back at Dawn. “We need two separate rooms.”

Dawn’s smile fell some. “Oh. Did Kathy not inform you that we were all booked? It was lucky we even had the Lover’s Dream suite available due to a cancellation.”

Li’s almond, deep brown eyes widened at me.

Shit.

“This is such a cliché,” she whispered. Then, after a brief pause, her face split with laughter. Dawn’s smile brightened again.

“Um,” I looked over at Dawn, but before I could ask, she already knew.

“Before you ask,” she started. “All other motels in the area are booked solid. I’ve already had to turn down several people before this cancellation came literally minutes before Kathy called. I’m sorry to say, this room is your only option in town.”

“Starlight,” a tall man with reddish hair, popped his head in. “Should I grab the bags?”

Dawn’s expression instantly went from bright and polite to hearts in her eyes.

“Jeremy, come meet Li and Lucas. Kathy’s friends.

” My eyebrows raised. Kathy was a stranger two hours ago.

The man was tall—not as tall as me, but broad-shouldered and carried a strong presence.

He wrapped an arm around Dawn’s waist, his other hand in his jean pocket.

“Welcome. Dawn was excited to meet you two. We hope you enjoy your night here with us.”

“Honey, there seems to have been a misunderstanding. They’re not a couple,” Dawn informed him.

Jeremy looked between Li, who recovered from her laughing fit and was back to her previous wide-eyed expression, and me. Then his eyes went to the bed in the middle of the room.

“Ah,” he said. “Right. Well,” he spoke to me. “I can bring up a co—“ Dawn cleared her throat. He glanced down at her as they had a secret conversation with their eyes. “Dawn,” he admonished.

“We can bring some extra blankets,” Dawn said instead.

Li was now staring at me, then scoffed. “Okay. We’re adults. Neither of us are sleeping on the floor.”

“I would never have you take the floor,” I said more firmly than intended, but the idea was insulting.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Dawn’s smirk, but I ignored that.

“Then it’s settled. It’s just one night.” Li faced the couple. “Thank you for accommodating us and for such a low price.”

“Of course,” Dawn said, handing Li the keys.

“Honey,” she looked up at Jeremy.

“Got it, Starlight.” He leaned down and kissed her chastely before addressing me. “Mind showing me your car? I’ll help with the bags.”

“Sure. We didn’t know where to park.” I walked up to Li and instinctively touched her lower back. “You sure you’re okay with this?” I asked quietly.

Her body stiffened at first contact, then relaxed into my hand. “It’s a typical movie or book plot, but we’ll be fine.”

Confused at what she was referencing, I nodded and followed Jeremy downstairs.

I was sharing a bed with a woman I met this morning. She was making light of the situation, but the nagging feeling in my gut warned me it was going to be a long night.

A very long night.