Larue Donavon 3 - The Ghoul Next Door (11 page)

“
I can hold my own though.
I’ll be fine,” he said.

I nodded. “I know you will. Maybe Matt
is wrong. The client could be exaggerating. I’ve seen people do it
all the time. It doesn’t mean they’re faking it or doing on
purpose. It’s just sometimes their imaginations get the better of
them.”

“
I guess we’re about to find
out.”

Matt finally stopped talking on his
phone and hurried back over. “So, we’ll get started bright and
early in the morning. It’ll be a long day of filming. Get your rest
tonight.” He flashed his unnaturally white smile. “You’re going to
need it.”

Did Matt know more than he was
sharing? Maybe I’d signed on for more than I could
handle.

After briefing us on what was to
happen the next morning, Mindy and I left Cooper and Matt so that I
could open the Book Nook. I didn’t want to deprive the people of
Magnolia of their books for too long. They needed me... they needed
books. Mindy headed off to run a few errands before promising to
come back and discuss what we’d wear for the show tomorrow. I
hadn’t even thought about the ordeal of picking out an
outfit.

An odd feeling had taken over my body.
I couldn’t quite put my finger on it or explain it if I needed to,
but it was there nonetheless. It was probably anxiety from knowing
that a camera would be in my face in less than twenty-four
hours.

Of course I had to stop by and say
hello to Callahan as I walked by Full Cup. I wanted to share my
excitement with him. Yeah, I guessed I was getting a little bit
excited about my new gig.

That familiar and warming smell of
coffee surrounded me when I entered the coffee shop. Of course, my
ghoul friends were in tow. I couldn’t sneeze without them being
around. Elvis got a pass though. He could stay as long as he
wanted. He was a sweetie pie. Yeah, I was biased.

When I entered, Callahan hurried over
and took my hands in his. “I’m glad you stopped in. I wanted to
talk with you.” He let out a deep breath.

My heart rate increased. I hadn’t
thought about it, but maybe Callahan wasn’t as fond of me as I was
of him. I thought things had been going well, but maybe that was
wishful thinking. Was he getting ready to give me the “it’s not
you, it’s me” speech? Might as well get it over with quickly—rip
off the bandage.

He must have read the look in my eyes.
“Oh, it’s nothing bad. I’ve decided to take on a part-time
job.”

Wow. I searched his eyes. What did
this mean?

He rubbed my arms. “It’s just that
you’ve got a lot going on with your business and the ghost stuff,
so I thought I’d get a part-time job. The coffee shop keeps me
busy, but I’ve always been a workaholic like you and I want to fill
every spare second.”

Okay he was making me feel bad. Maybe
I worked too much. I should make more time for friends and family.
More time for the living.

I quirked a brow. “A part-time job?
What does that mean? Are you quitting your coffee shop?” I
asked.

My heart thumped while waiting for an
answer. What was taking him so long to speak? This was not what I
wanted to hear from Callahan. Was he leaving Magnolia? Was it my
fault? Had I spent too much time living in a world with people who
weren’t living? I definitely needed to focus more on my friends and
family who were alive.

“
I’ve been talking a lot
with Mike Cartwright. He’s started the car wash across town. I told
him I’d help him out for a while. You know, with the business side
of things. I know how hard it is to start a business.”

“
That is so sweet of you. I
know he’ll appreciate it.” I tightened my embrace on
Callahan.

I tried to hide my disappointment from
him. After all, it wasn’t fair for me to ask him not to do
something like that. All my time would be taken up with the show
for a few days, then I’d be back at the store and who knew what
haunted house next. But when would we see each other? My show
business career was only going to last my allotted fifteen minutes.
How would I fill in my free time after that? I knew that meant a
whole lot of pole fitness classes for me. Heaven help
me.

Finally, after what seemed like an
eternity, he said, “Don’t worry, I’m not leaving Magnolia and I’m
not quitting the shop either.”

Whew. That was a relief.

“
Like I said, I have extra
time after the shop closes, but since you’ve got your new gig,
well, we don’t have a lot of time together. I just thought I’d find
a hobby, I guess.” He touched my chin with his index
finger.

This was all very sudden. I’d only
just found out about the show. Something didn’t add up for
me.

“
I’m sorry, Callahan, I
didn’t mean to ignore you. It’s just that an opportunity such as
this doesn’t come along often.” I looked down at my
sneakers.

“
No. I know it doesn’t,
that’s why I’m glad you’re doing it. I’m so proud of you.” He
flashed his bright smile.

I blushed. “Thank you.”

“
I don’t want you to feel
badly. I want you to do this. I’ll help Mike until you’re finished,
by then he’ll have a good handle on things.”

Well, I guessed that wasn’t such a bad
thing. I could handle that. Just a few days and things would be
back to normal.

Callahan leaned down and kissed me.
Elvis was sitting at the table with his arms folded across his
chest and feet propped up in the chair across from him.

“
Please stop the kissing.
You’re going to make me gag,” Candy Cherry said.

“
Yeah, get a room,” Mr. Fine
added.

I wished I had a dial to tune them
out. Callahan lifted my chin with his finger to meet his gaze.
“Things will slow down for us soon. And I can’t wait.”

“
Me too.” I
smiled.

“
So, when do you start the
show?” he asked.

I sighed. “First thing in the morning
and I’m really nervous.”

“
I know you’ll do great.
Break a leg.”

I never liked that saying. I was
always afraid it would lead to the person really breaking their
leg.

“
I’ll see you tonight?”
Callahan asked.

I nodded. “Yeah, I’ll see you later.”
He kissed me again lightly on the lips.

Another groan from the ghosts came
from over my shoulder.

After leaving Full Cup, I shuffled
over to Book Nook. Elvis and Mr. Fine were following me, but once
again, I’d lost Candy Cherry. She had a habit of slipping off, not
that I was complaining. I was convinced her sole mission was to
make me miserable.

Still feeling strange, I went through
my normal duties on autopilot. Books needed to be shelved, orders
needed to be placed, and I had a deadline to submit a coupon for
the local paper, which I’d yet to work up. A few customers wandered
in, but luckily they didn’t need any help, because I wasn’t sure
I’d be any help. My mind was full of fog.

I’d just settled down behind the
counter to do some computer work when Mr. Fine and Candy Cherry
popped up in front of me. Where had they been? I looked at them
with a suspicious eye. Mr. Fine floated off without uttering a
snarky comment, but Candy Cherry sidled up next to me.

“
Why so glum, chum? It
couldn’t be that you’re a lousy girlfriend?” she asked.

“
That comment is completely
unnecessary, Candy Cherry. And when are you going to tell me your
real name?”

“
That is my real name!” Her
eyes narrowed and she clenched her fists.

I shrugged. “If you say
so.”

Why was she asking about my feelings
anyway? It wasn’t as if she cared. She was only rubbing my misery
into my face like a big cream pie.

“
I heard your conversation
with Callahan. He’s done with you. He told you as much, only you
put on your rose-colored glasses and didn’t listen to the
man.”

I wouldn’t let her get inside my
head—that was exactly what she wanted.

“
Since you’re dead, I’m sure
you’re an expert on dating, so thanks for the advice,” I said
sarcastically. I could be nasty too.

When Mindy finally walked through the
door, I said, “Am I glad to see you.” Between the ghosts, worrying
about the strange feeling mounting through my body, and fretting
about Callahan, I was exhausted.

“
What’s going on? You look a
little confused.” She plopped her giant lime-green bag on the
counter.

“
Callahan has decided to
work a part-time job.” My shoulders slumped even more.

Candy Cherry scrunched her eyebrows.
“He thinks you’re spending too much time with this ghost-busting
stuff. But far be it for me to offer advice.” She studied her
bright red fingernails.

Biting my tongue was no longer an
option. “Me? Too much time ghost-busting, as you call it? Never.
That can’t be it,” I snapped.

Mindy scrunched her brow and looked
over her shoulder. “Why didn’t you call me?” she asked, not
bothering to ask which ghost I’d spoken to. She assumed it wasn’t
Elvis.

Elvis wandered over from the mystery
section and lured Candy away for a moment. Thank goodness, because
I was about to lose my cool with her. I’d glue sage to her forehead
and see how she liked that. I’d use every trick in the book to ward
off her nasty ghost butt.

I shook my head, focusing my attention
back to Mindy. “I didn’t want to bother you.”

Mindy handed me a Diet Coke. “You’re
never bothering me.”

“
Do you think I’m spending
too much time with the ghost-hunting thing? I mean, my relationship
with Callahan is still young. I need to spend more time with him
and nurture it before I ignore him.”

Mindy took a drink of her soda, then
said, “As opposed to ignoring him later? No wonder you never have a
relationship.” She took a bite of her chocolate
doughnut.

I shook my head. “You know what I
mean. I just worry that he thinks I don’t have time for a
relationship, which couldn’t be farther from the truth.” I took a
big drink. “Things have been so crazy since we met. I feel as if at
any moment he’ll say enough is enough and not want to even see me
again.”

Mindy rolled her eyes. “Larue, I think
he would have already done that if he was going to. Besides, if he
was thinking that, you don’t need him anyway. You want a guy who
embraces your life, the things that make you, you.” She pointed at
me with the doughnut.

I nodded. “That’s true.”

She took another bite but didn’t
swallow before continuing her talk. “You wouldn’t ask him to stop
doing the things he loves just to spend more time with
you.”

I shook my head. “No. I
wouldn’t.”

“
Well, there you go. You
just need to be open and honest with him and everything will work
out.” She smiled as if giving herself a pat on the back.

I raised an eyebrow. “Since when did
you become an expert with relationship advice?”

She chuckled. “I don’t know. It just
comes naturally, I guess.”

I pinched off a piece of her doughnut.
“I’m basically chasing the guy away. Maybe deep down I don’t want a
relationship. Maybe I’m afraid that I’ll be a failure at it so I’m
pushing him away.”

“
Oh, will you stop with the
psychobabble. He’s just helping out a friend, that’s all. You
seriously need a vacation after all this is over.”

I laughed. “I need a vacation away
from the black magic, ghosts and any other craziness that pops
up.”

Elvis listened to the radio while Mr.
Fine paced at the front of the store. Candy Cherry had vanished yet
again. She was probably destroying some of my personal effects. I’d
already caught her looking through my purse and smashing my
favorite lipstick. The rest of the day passed with a steady flow of
customers. Mindy wandered back in around twelve with lunch. She’d
brought healthy fare to counteract the doughnuts. For that, I was
forever grateful. I owed her big time. I’d have to repay her by
finding a ton of bodies to fill her pole fitness
classes.

I poured salad dressing across my
salad. “So, if I’m going to do this show, I’ll need an employee to
take over for me on the days we’re taping.”

“
This is true,” Mindy said
while stuffing a forkful of sprouts into her mouth. The low-cal
ranch dripped onto the counter.

“
Where am I going to find
someone I can rely on?” I asked.

“
Larue, you have to trust
some people once in a while.” She wiped the counter with her
napkin.

“
I do trust people.” I
gestured with my fork.

“
Oh, please, I’m convinced
you sleep with one eye open.”

I laughed. “At least I know when
someone is in the room. Plus, if you had ghosts in and out of your
bedroom all night long you’d sleep with one eye open
too.”

“
How about Beatrice
Mitchum?” Mindy speared a chunk of lettuce with her fork. “She’s
been looking for work from what I’ve heard.”