Page 16 of The Haunting of Lockton

“I’ll do it,” I responded. “It’s no problem.”

“Yay.” She gave tiny claps of her hands, using only her fingers. “You’ll be compensated, of course. Just make note of your hours and let me know of any expenses incurred along your journey.” Translation: gas mileage and any food I needed during it. “Ah, I can’t believe they’re actually here. They’ll put our beautiful little town even more on the map. This is so exciting, yes?”

“Would be even more so ifIwas their guide,” Madison said with a sigh. “Then again, it’s Lockton. The scariest place in the whole freaking universe. So I’m not sure if I should envy or pity you, Paxy.”

“There’s nothing to envy,” I said. “I’ll just be guiding them around the location, talking a bit, and then leaving. Totally professional.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Madison snatched a green sour candy from the bowl shaped like a witch’s cauldron and unwrapped it, popping it into her mouth. “But you know Skyler’s bi, right? He made a video for Coming Out Day in October. It was really sweet. So maybe something…unprofessional will happen between you in those dark and scary corridors.”

“Stop smiling at me like that. It’s creepy.”

She laughed so hard she nearly choked on her candy.

Madison knew I was gay because I’d told her back in high school. She had been one of the only people in the entire high school who’d been nice to me. The closest thing I’d had to a living, breathing friend.

“So?” She nudged me. “Will you make a move on that fine specimen of a man?”

“No. Most definitely not.”

Was it nice to know Skyler was bisexual? Yes. But it wouldn’t do me much good. A guy like me would never have a chance with someone like him.

“Oh, children,” Val said with a shake of her head. “Young love blossoms and fades like summer flowers feeling the first crisp breath of the changing season.”

“Way to make it morbid,” Madison said.

Val patted her shoulder. “Morbid can still be beautiful, Maddie dear. There’s a whole genre of gothic romance as proof.”

As they dove into a conversation about romance books, I watched the people passing by on the sidewalk. A cold front had come through the day before, bringing crisp, cool air and a near constant breeze. The leaves were at peak vibrance, painting the landscape in autumn.

By this time tomorrow, I’d be on my way to Redwood to meet with the twins.

Ugh.Instant regret. Why had I said yes to them about the tour? Human interaction—outside of work anyway—made me nervous.

I was much more comfortable around ghosts.

People were way scarier.

Chapter Three

Skyler

“You like him.”

I refused to meet Julian’s eye as we moved along the sidewalk. “Like who?”

“Paxton.”

God. Even his name sounded hot. A perfect fit for him. His dark auburn hair had fallen past his ears, the strands flipping at the ends, and his rich brown eyes appeared to have burnt orange mixed in, like sunlight hitting pools of bourbon. With his thin, tall frame and softly toned body, he had looked damn fine in that outfit. Like a sexy-as-fuck vampire. He could suck my blood—and other parts of me—any day of the week.

“Hmm.” I scrunched up my face. “Doesn’t ring a bell.”

“I can’t take you anywhere,” Julian said. “Ghosts and sex. That’s all that goes on in that head of yours.”

“Thankfully not at the same time,” I said, intentionally stepping closer to bump into him as we walked down Main Street. “Fucking a ghost is a bit far for me. Unless the ghost was hot. Then I might tap that. Possibly.”

Julian laughed. “You’d have better luck with the blonde than with that Paxton guy. She was practically falling all over herself in front of you.”

“Eh. She was pretty, I guess.”