Page 7 of Road Trip With the Ghost Hunter (Love Along Route 14 #10)

Li

I literally just read a romance with the whole one-bed trope three nights ago.

This could not be real life. Dawn was spectacular, and I wanted to be her when I grew up.

She was probably only five or so years older than me, but she was great.

Once she left the room, it all sank in. The space was gorgeous.

Everything was more modernly decorated than I expected a small town bed and breakfast to be.

I almost didn’t want to sit on the well-made bed and wrinkle it.

I opened the balcony door next to the large, wide window showcasing the lake below and stepped outside.

The air was balmy with that signature of Summer, but at least there was a light breeze making the heat bearable.

Leaning on the railing, I looked out at the vast lake that twinkled from the sun’s rays bouncing off.

I couldn’t remember the last time I slept in the same bed with another man.

The last few guys I dated for longer than a month tried to get me to stay sometimes, but I always went back home.

It’s definitely been years. Looking over my shoulder, I studied the king-sized bed. At least it was big enough. Surely, I could put a pillow fort down the middle. Would that be too childish? Sighing, I headed back inside just as Jeremy, Dawn’s husband, and Lucas came back carrying our bags.

“Thank you so much for this,” I mentioned to Jeremy as he laid Lucas’s duffel bag on the beautiful, sleek wooden bench at the end of the bed.

“You’re welcome.” His voice was deep and quiet.

He had a calming presence. Respectfully, as soon as the bags were set, Jeremy stepped back between the frame of the door.

“Dawn wanted to know if you two would be interested in our kitchen providing dinner tonight? We have a dining hall, or we could deliver it to the room.”

“Oh. That’s so nice,” I looked at Lucas. His eyes asked, so I nodded.

“That would be great. I’ll be out a bit late tonight, but bring mine to the room. I’ll heat it up when I return,” Lucas said, opening his backpack and rifling through it.

“Oh, nonsense,” Dawn entered. I tried to keep my curiosity neutral, though a hundred questions buzzed in my head. Where was he going tonight? Was he leaving me here alone?

“You call down when you get back, and we’ll be sure to bring you up a fresh plate,” Dawn continued. Lucas opened his mouth, but she interrupted. “No, sir. I will not have you going to bed without a proper meal in your belly. You two have a long drive tomorrow.”

“Trust me when I say, just accept with a smile. There’s no winning with Starlight,” Jeremy said in his quiet way.

Lucas glanced over but quickly focused back on Dawn. “That’s kind of you. Thank you.”

“Starlight,” Jeremy almost whispered.

“Right,” Dawn perked up. “Well, you two get settled. There’re some cute shops within walking distance if you’d like to go for a walk. If you two need anything else, please let us know.”

“Thank you, we will,” I said, my smile a bit forced. My mind was still racing with questions.

Once they left, an awkward hush settled. Lucas continued going through his bag. I didn’t know what to do with my hands or anything, really. Oh, just ask already, Li.

“You’re going somewhere?” Was that nonchalant? Casual?

He paused, not looking at me, then continued to remove things from the backpack and set them on the bed. “Uh. Yeah. I actually chose this stop because it was nearby somewhere I have to check out tonight.”

“Oh.” I tucked my hands in my sweatshirt pockets. “So,” I started, slightly rocking back on my heels. “Want company?” I mean, what else was I going to do here alone?

He froze again, keeping his head down. I could tell my essentially inviting myself made him uncomfortable, but in addition to not wanting to be bored and alone, I was very curious about this mysterious errand.

Clearing his throat, which seemed to be something he did when he was thrown off, he said, “It’s kind of personal. Where I need to go. I don’t think you’d be comfortable either.”

“You know me well enough to make that conclusion?” I challenged. I mean, I was going to respect the whole “it’s personal” thing, but then he went and assumed I would be uncomfortable?

“It’s unusual. Most people would be uncomfortable,” he said, switching some things from his duffel bag to his backpack. That’s when I focused on the weird tools on the bed.

“What’s this?” I got closer to the bed and reached for one of them.

“No, wait—“ he tried to take it before I could, but I got there first.

I turned the rectangular box. “Radio?”

“No,” he said, trying to gently take it back, but I pulled it out of reach.

I studied the buttons. Turned it over. “What’s it do then?”

“It’s complicated,” he said, his voice tight, finally taking it from my hands. So, I reached for another thing. “Don’t—“ he sighed.

This was a thinner rectangular object with five colored lights at the top and some buttons. Holding it up, I raised my brows in question.

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?” he asked.

Smiling, I said, “Nope.”

Sighing, he replied, “Right.” He took it back and set it down. Pointing at each one, he named them. “EMF reader. Spirit box. Thermometer.”

I repeated them in my head, trying to decipher. Then, one of them made some sense. “Spirit box? As in, to talk to ghosts?” He just looked at me, not responding. “Is all this for ghost…hunting?” He exhaled again, still not clarifying. “Lucas! Are you going somewhere to use these? Tonight?”

He took in my wide-eyed disbelief. Facing the bed, he started packing everything. “I’ll be back before midnight, but don’t wait up for me. Get your rest.”

I pushed in front of him, blocking him. “Wait a second. You’re seriously not going to talk about this?”

“What’s there to talk about? This is my business.”

“Sure,” I argued,” But I’m the one stuck with you for the next forty-eight hours at least. So, what?

You’re going off to piss off some spirits, get one to latch onto you in anger, then come back here to me where they’re going to torment me in my sleep and next you know, we’ll be in desperate need of a church, priest, holy water, and an exorcist! This isn’t funny!” I slapped his chest.

Grabbing my shoulders, he tried reigning in his laughter. “It’s a little funny.”

And, damn him for giving me this rare smile I hadn’t seen yet while I was having a panic attack. “Deep breath,” he said calmly while demonstrating.

I synced our breathing. My butt was against the bed, our bodies almost pressed together.

His thumbs were softly caressing my shoulders as we breathed together.

I stared up into those frosted blue eyes that held my warm brown ones prisoner.

At some point, my hands had a mind of their own and grabbed hold of his waist. Every inhale had my chest brush his torso.

On an exhale that parted my lips, Lucas’s gaze went straight to them.

My breath caught involuntarily as my eyes also went to his full lips.

His hands tightened as did mine, pulling each other closer.

My body swelled. My eyes became heavy. I looked back into his eyes that seemed closer now that his head was slowly descending closer.

Chirp.

We both jumped at the alert from one of our phones.

Lucas’s eyes closed as he harshly exhaled. “Shit,” he said softly before letting go and reaching in his pocket for his phone. Frozen in place, I tried regulating my breathing. I scooted out from between Lucas and the bed, putting some much-needed distance between us.

Lucas was checking a text, but I caught his eyes flicking back to me. “I gotta make a call,” he said before turning and heading to the attached balcony. He closed the door behind him, gave the room his back, and made his call.

I stared, but my mind was replaying what just happened.

What just happen? Yes, the man is attractive.

I’d have to be an idiot not to recognize that.

But I don’t do this. I don’t get all stupid when a hot guy touches me.

It was completely innocent. He wasn’t even trying to make a move. My eyes went to his bag.

And he’s leaving to go hunt ghosts? Is this man for real?

Did I believe in ghosts?

I didn’t know. I believed my lǎo lao was happy, free of pain, watching from a place better than this. I doubted she was lingering around, floating through our old home. I’d hate that. I didn’t want her in limbo.

There was that tightness in my chest again. My hand rubbed at it, hoping to ease the tension. Lucas ended his call and came back inside.

“I’ll be heading out now,” he said, grabbing his backpack.

“Seriously?” I asked. Were we just going to ignore the last ten minutes?

“I have to go, Li,” he said, gently.

“And you don’t want me to go with you,” I said, not asked.

“I need to do this alone.”

Staring at each other across the room, we held, challenging, neither willing to break.

I knew I wouldn’t win this one. I hated not winning.

Mouth twisted, I sighed and broke eye contact.

“Fine,” I said, going to the en suite bathroom.

I didn’t want to watch him leave. I closed the door and leaned against it, listening for him to go.

It was silent for a minute. Then, I heard footsteps and the room door shut. Closing my eyes, I slid down and settled on the tile floor, trapped with thoughts about life and death, I wanted nothing to do with.