Page 45 of The Haunting of Lockton

“Alison.”

“Henry.”

“My head aches.”

“Penelope.”

“Why did he kill me?”

“Roy.”

“There,” Skyler said, pausing the recording. “Did you hear it?”

“Roy!” I turned to him. “So it’s true. His spirit really is there.”

“Fucking amazing, right?” Skyler shoved his phone back in his pocket, hands following. “We jotted down the names we heard and spent the rest of the day researching.”

“Researching?”

Skyler nodded. “To look deeper into Samuel Howard, as well as patient records for the names we heard on the EVP. Because you were right. Ghosts or not, the people at Lockton deserve respect. Part of that is learning more about them. To get that kind of response is just… incredible. When we go back, we want to be better prepared.”

My gut feeling about him had been right. Skyler really was a good guy underneath it all.

“So you went to the library?”

“Yes,” he said with a groan. “It was complete and utter torture. But that’s why Jules treated me to a burger for lunch. To bribe me before hours of suffering.”

“Did you try the pie at the diner?” I asked.

“A friend told me the milkshakes are better.” His gaze dropped to my lips. “He was right. It was fucking delicious.”

“Is that what we are now? Friends?” I asked with a shaky rasp. “And here I thought I was just your tour guide.”

Skyler lifted a hand to my cheek. The gentle brush of his fingertips heated my skin. Just like his gaze ignited a spark in my core, one that burned white hot. “What if I want you to be more than that?”

Despite the cold autumn night, I felt so damn warm as he caressed my cheek. What did “more” mean to Skyler? Friends with benefits? A temporary fling while he was in Ivy Grove and then never hearing from him again once he left?

“That’s probably not a good idea,” I answered.

“Because I’m not your type?” He withdrew his hand from my cheek and rested it on his thigh. Dear gods. He’d sounded so sad. Maybe he wasn’t as confident as he tried to convince the world he was. “Or did I misread this whole thing and you’re not into guys at all?”

“Oh, I’m definitely into them,” I said a bit too quickly. “Very into them.”

Skyler’s nose crinkled. “Was that an innuendo? Are you telling me you’re a top, Ichabod?” The wind picked up around us, sweeping through the trees and causing more leaves to join the ones on the grass. The tips of his ears were pink.

I was sure my ears were pink too, but one hundred percent from embarrassment instead of the cold. “I should head home.”

“Wait.” Skyler grabbed my arm as I went to stand up, then released me just as fast. “I’m sorry. That was too personal. As you know, I don’t really think before opening my mouth sometimes.”

I sat back down and tilted my face to the sky. Mainly to keep myself from looking at him. My self-control was already slipping enough as it was. “Nice night tonight.”

“Yeah,” he said on an exhale. “It is.”

Conflicting emotions stirred in my chest. I wanted to take Skyler up on his offer for “more,” whatever that meant, but I dreaded the inevitable hurt feelings that would result from doing so. I wasn’t a “live in the moment” kind of guy. I was an overthinker who considered every possible outcome of something before diving in.

“You’re such a mystery, Paxton Crane,” he said softly.

I focused on him. “I am?”