Page 118 of The Haunting of Lockton

“I’ll take care of it,” Skyler said.

A hint of a smile touched Julian’s lips. “You’re going to put us somewhere right next to the donut shop, aren’t you?”

“It’s like you know me or something.” Skyler grinned before looking over at me. “Any suggestions from our oh-so-sexy tour guide?”

“Downtown has some hotels with decent rates,” I answered, ignoring the last part of his statement. Sexy, I was not. “But this close to Thanksgiving, the good ones may be booked already.” I then rattled off a few places he could look into.

Skyler browsed on his phone. “Fuck. Well, the hotel by the donut shop is a no-go. No vacancy. There’s availability in this one. Let’s see… nope. They’re pricey as hell.” More browsing.“This room has a good rate, but it’s a king bed instead of a double queen.”

“I’m not sharing a bed with you,” Julian mumbled.

Now that I’d slept with Skyler, I knew exactly what Julian meant. Skyler was a massive cuddle monster. There were some times when I woke up crushed to his chest with both his arms and legs wrapped around me. I didn’t mind it though.

“I have another suggestion,” I said, inwardly cursing the slight tremble of my voice. “A place with decent food, comfortable beds, and you wouldn’t have to pay a thing.”

“Yeah?” Skyler glanced up from his phone.

“My house.” Maybe I should’ve asked Alan first to make sure it was okay. He liked the twins, despite him hiding when Julian was around. Hopefully, a few days would be all right with him.

“Are you sure?” Julian asked. “I don’t want to impose.”

“You wouldn’t be. I have plenty of room, and with the holiday coming up…” My cheeks got hot, and I looked down. “Well, I think it’d be nice. Please don’t think you have to accept though. A hotel would be nicer and—”

Skyler dove toward me, and I fell backward on the mattress with anoofas he landed on top of me. He nuzzled my neck before flashing one of his heart-stopping smiles. “There’s nowhere nicer than your bed. And your food is way better than ‘decent.’ Best blueberry pancakes ever.”

Warmth filled my chest. “I’m glad you like them so much.”

“I like you more.”

“More than pancakes? What about the powdered sugar French toast?”

He groaned.

“Oh god. Stop,” Julian said. “You’ll make me throw up my sandwich.”

A light laugh rumbled in Skyler’s chest before he kissed the tip of my nose and rolled off me. “It’s decided then.” He grabbed my hand. “We’ll stay with you.”

I was too nervous to ask how long they planned to stay. The thought of Skyler leaving was too painful.

So, I linked our fingers and returned his smile. “Sounds perfect.”

***

“You’re blinking like a bad lightbulb,” I told Alan as I stood in the doorway of his room. “If you have a problem with them staying here, I can—”

“No, I’m all right.” Alan’s body flickered again. He tried to adjust a paperback on his bookshelf, but his hand passed right through it. “I’m excited for them to stay with us.”

Last night after I returned from Redwood, I had told Alan about inviting the twins to crash at our place, and he’d said it was fine. But now, with me just getting a text from Skyler that they were on their way, his nerves were on full display.

“Julian will be staying in Mom’s room,” I said, hoping to ease some of those nerves by reassuring him. “Sky will be staying in mine. Unless he annoys me, and then I’m banishing his hot ass to the couch.” That made him smile. “You don’t have to worry about them being in your space unless you invite them in.”

“I’m not worried about that.” When Alan reached for the book again, he managed to make contact and pulled it off the shelf. His flickering had calmed. “It will be nice to have them over.”

The room was full of all the things Alan had collected over the years—presents both Mom and I had bought for him, like books, collectible figures of his favorite movie characters, posters, and a flat-screen TV mounted on the wall. Ghosts didn’tsleep, but he had a twin-sized bed against one wall where he lounged when reading or watching TV. I think it helped him feel more human.

Around eleven, the gravel in the driveway crunched as the SUV pulled in. Checkout was at noon, but they’d gone ahead and packed up their things and left after eating breakfast. Which, for Skyler, was probably less than an hour ago. I met them outside and offered to help carry in their bags.

“Nah, I got this,” Skyler said, hauling the strap of his duffel over one shoulder and carrying his guitar with one hand. A backpack was slung across his back. He brushed a kiss to my cheek before whispering, “Is Al really okay with us being here?”