Page 4 of The Curse of Redwood

After parking beside Ben’s car, I got out and walked toward the small manor.

The Victorian house had once creeped me out big time. With six bedrooms, it was spacious but not too large. Big enough to hold a ton of secrets, though. Five people had died on the property. Well, six including Theo Blackwell, the ghost who currently haunted the place.

He was also Ben’s boyfriend. Which… yeah… was still kind of weird to wrap my head around but whatever.

The front door creaked open, and I stepped inside. No one was in the entryway. The door closed behind me without being touched. By human hands anyway. I narrowed my eyes and looked around the circular foyer.

A light thud sounded nearby.

“Okay, you can come out now, ghost boy,” I said.

A cold spot drifted in front of me before the form of a young man slowly appeared, transparent at first before becoming solid. But even still, his pale skin glimmered a bit. A sign that he was far from human.

“Good evening, Carter,” Theo greeted me with a polite nod. His short dark hair was styled like a gentleman from the early 1900s, and he was dressed in clothes from the same time period. Forever frozen at nineteen. “Supper will be ready shortly.”

“Awesome. I’m starving. Is Ben cooking?”

“Yes.” Theo glided forward, releasing a sigh. “I pray you do not get sick.”

I laughed and walked into the kitchen. Ben stood over a smoking skillet at the stove, cursing under his breath as grease splashed on his hand.

“I told you to let me do it, darling,” Theo said, appearing at his side in the blink of an eye and grabbing Ben’s hand. He kissed his wrist. “Now you’ve gone and hurt yourself.”

Theo was usually the one who cooked. He couldn’t eat or drink unless it was on Halloween when the veil between the worlds was at its thinnest, but he enjoyed being in the kitchen. Ben often forgot to eat, especially if he was hard at work on a new book, and Theo made sure he didn’t waste away.

“I’m fine.” Ben pecked a light kiss to Theo’s lips. “I’m not entirely helpless in the kitchen.”

Theo glanced over at me with his eyebrows raised, and I coughed to cover my laugh. That caught my friend’s attention.

“Oh. Hey, Carter. Didn’t hear you come in.” Ben smiled. “Have you been taking stealth lessons from Theo?”

“Maybe. I think I’m better at it, though. He could learn a thing or two from me.”

Ben chuckled and flipped off the burner on the stove.

My heart lurched in my chest like it so often did when around him.

Ben wasn’t what I’d call a pretty boy. Far from it. No, he had a rugged handsomeness and a raw masculinity that had, at one time, made him the star of every one of my wet dreams. The dude was hot as fuck and super smart, basically two things I found irresistible in a man. But I didn’t take into account that he’d fall for the ghost that haunted his freaking manor.

Nowthathad thrown me for a loop.

But he and Theo were happy together. Anyone with eyes could see it. They had found a way to make their relationship work despite the many challenges. I was jealous, but not because I wanted Ben. I wanted what they had. Someone who accepted me for all my quirks. Someone who loved me unconditionally.

That was a fairytale. Not all of us got happy endings.

“How was work?” Ben asked as he set the table. My eyes were instantly drawn to his biceps. Ben basically lived in sweaters during the fall and winter, but the summer heatwave had him in a T-shirt.

“Kinda busy but not bad.” I grabbed silverware from the drawer and helped him. “How about you?”

“I managed to write one chapter and outline two more.” He placed a bowl of mashed potatoes in the center of the table. “All in all, a pretty productive day.”

“What’s this new book about?” I sat across from him once he’d taken his seat.

“Nice try.” Theo closed the curtains on the sliding glass door that led to the back porch before sitting to Ben’s right. “He won’t even tellme, no matter how much I ask.”

A soft smile touched my friend’s lips. “I’m afraid I’ll jinx it, if I talk about it too early.”

“Jinx it how?” I cut off a piece of steak and shoved it into my mouth. It was a bit on the well-done side, so I used some steak sauce to battle the dryness.