Page 77 of The Haunting of Lockton

Damn if that didn’t release another swarm of butterflies into my stomach. After changing into a fresh shirt, I sprayed on a dash of cologne and hurried back downstairs. Alan stood at the living room window, and he reminded me of an eager puppy as he peered out. Something else stuck out to me too.

“You’re not wearing your coat.” He was still in his uniform, but the lack of the coat emphasized his muscular body. “And you fixed your hair.”

A somewhat shy smile formed on his lips, and his body flickered once. “I wanted to look nice for our guests.”

“Well, you do.” Pressure built in my chest. “You look handsome.”

Heartachingly so. It made me wonder what Alan would’ve done had he not died in the war—if he had returned home afterward and got the chance to live his life. His eagerness to have guests and getting all spiffed up showed me a glimmer of what could’ve been.

“They’re here,” he said and blinked out of sight. He reappeared beside me.

Car doors slammed, and there was a murmuring of voices as they approached the house. I opened the front door as they reached it.

“Hey,” I said and opened the door wider. Skyler wore a coral-colored shirt with a black jacket pulled on over it, and Julian was in a long-sleeved flannel shirt with the sleeves pushed up his forearms. Both carried laptop bags. “Come in.”

As Skyler passed me, I got a whiff of his scent and went a little weak in the knees. Why did he have to be so hotandsmell good? It was a dangerous combination. Made even worse when he tossed me a flirty little wink.

I shut the door behind them.

“You have a nice home,” Julian said as he glanced around the small foyer. “You don’t see them like this anymore.”

“You mean old?” I asked.

Skyler laughed.

“No. I just meant it has a certain charm.” Julian’s expression morphed into a frown the more he looked around.

“I’ll start dinner,” I said, then motioned to the living room. “Feel free to set your stuff wherever you want.”

Skyler led Julian into the living room while I made my way to the kitchen. Alan met me there. His earlier excitement had been replaced with a nervous energy. A fact reflected in how his body kept flickering.

“If you aren’t comfortable being around them, you don’t have to be,” I told him.

“I want to,” he responded, flickering once more. “The nerves will pass. How strange that I’ve been to war, facing down gunfire and exploding artillery shells, charging directly toward enemy trenches, yet here I stand, shivering like a leaf at the thought of introducing myself to them.”

“Good news is you’ve already met Skyler,” I said in an attempt to ease some of his anxiety. “So, it’s one down and one to go.”

Steps sounded as the twins approached the kitchen. Alan snapped his head toward the archway and vanished right before they appeared beneath it. My heart went out to him. He’d been so excited too.

“Do you need help with dinner?” Julian asked.

“No, thanks,” I answered. “You two just make yourselves comfortable. If you’re thirsty, there’s soda, beer, and wine.”

“Wine?” Skyler smirked. “Yeah, you seem like a wine guy. Probably sipping it out of one of those vampire-looking goblets, too, with your little pinky finger jutting out.”

“You get water to drink.”

Skyler pouted at my words, and Julian snorted.

Despite me saying they didn’t have to help, Skyler came over anyway. Mostly to pester than to help though. Not that I minded. He stole a few blueberries and smirked at me as he popped them into his mouth. I added the rest to the batter and mixed it together.

“Where’s Alan?” he asked. “I told Jules about him already, so he can come out.”

“He’ll be around soon.” I set aside the pancake batter and grabbed the package of bacon and eggs from the refrigerator.

I felt Skyler’s eyes on me as I started cooking.

I dropped the bacon into the skillet with a nice sizzle, then started the pancakes in a different skillet on the stovetop. A pancake maker would’ve been faster and more efficient, but my mom had taught me how to make them like this. Just habit. Plus, I loved the way using a skillet made them taste. Nothing could beat it.