Laure Donavan 2 - Ghouls Night Out (10 page)

Just then, Seth said, “I’m getting
that feeling, too.”

Even the ghosts were becoming spooked.
Now that’s what I call scary.

“
He’s almost finished,
though,” Seth continued, trying to ease our fears.

“
I’m all done here,”
Callahan said, as if he’d heard his grandfather.

“
Oh, thank goodness. I want
to get out of here,” Mae said.

“
Well, it’s about time. I
could have done it faster with my eyes closed,” Anthony
said.

Yeah, well, it would be kind of hard
to turn the lug wrench with ghost hands, but to tell him that would
have been plain mean. I agreed with Mae. We needed to get out of
there before something bad happened. If this evil spirit had
followed us here, it wouldn’t stop now. It would follow us
everywhere we went. Then it hit me: what if the evil spirit was
attached to Callahan? I’d have a real mess on my hands. That was
the last thing I needed after what he’d just been through. And it
would be my fault too, because I took him on the
investigation.

I didn’t know what the magic spell
Brianna had cast had done to his energy. If it had been drained,
he’d be susceptible to bad spirits. And I knew that. What had I
been thinking in allowing him to go along? Hormones had fogged my
logical thinking.

Callahan lifted the flat tire into the
trunk, collected the tools, and shut the trunk lid.

He wiped his hands on a towel, then
turned to me. “You’re cold. Come on, let’s get out of
here.”

Fine by me. The faster the better. I
stayed close to the car as I walked toward the door, as if that
would keep this thing from getting to us. Callahan opened the door.
“Sorry about the flat. I must have found a nail
somewhere.”

“
Don’t worry about it. Just
one of those things. If you’re ever going to get a flat, this is
the perfect night for it. It’s beautiful out here,” I said as I
looked over his shoulder.

Beautiful minus the evil spirit
lurking around. The shadow had moved back to the tree closest to
the car.

When Callahan shut the door, the
shadow zipped out of sight, through the trees like a bat in the
night. Was it gone for good? What had it been? It was darker than
anything I’d ever experienced and I prayed I’d never see anything
like that again.

“
You seem a little
distracted,” Callahan said as he turned the ignition.

Whatever gave him that idea? Certainly
not because I couldn’t stop glancing over at the wooded
area.

“
I thought I heard
something in the tree line there, but it must have been a deer.” I
chuckled. “Just didn’t want a bear to get us.”

Callahan laughed. “Yeah, a lot of deer
this time of year. Bears, not so much, so I think we were
safe.”

I smiled. I was glad to be out of
there, but the apprehension settled in my stomach. It would stay
until I knew for sure that the thing in the woods hadn’t followed
us.

Surely, the ghosts in the backseat
would have known if there had been an evil spirit haunting the
house we’d been in. But what if the evil spirit hadn’t made itself
known to them yet? It could have been lurking in the shadows,
wreaking havoc and waiting for the right time to attack—the right
person to attack. Maybe this was the right time and I was the right
person? No, negative thoughts wouldn’t help. Besides, I could
handle the demon, if that’s what it was. Did I want to handle it,
no, but I could handle it if I had to. I’d had experiences with
demons and I knew people who could banish them back to hell. I
wouldn’t hesitate to call in my backup. The ghosts that followed me
around could get a little ornery, but a demon was way more than a
little cantankerous.

The further away we got from that spot
in the road, the better I felt. Maybe it was some evil spirit that
lived in the woods. My grandfather had recounted scary stories to
me as a child about the monster that lived in the area. I knew
monsters didn’t exist, but maybe this monster of legend was really
a spirit. Either way, as I watched the pavement move as the car
drove forward, I was glad I had escaped a confrontation. And I
hadn’t had to tell Callahan about my special talent. Dodged the
bullet. For now. I knew the time would come soon enough.

“
That was scary. I’m glad
we got out of there,” Mae said.

“
Well, if this guy would
have bought a real car, we wouldn’t have been in this mess.”
Anthony snorted.

“
Any car can get a flat
tire, you greaser.” Seth fumed.

Uh-oh, the fighting again. This was
going to be a long night. These ghosts were so going bye-bye as
soon as I got a chance to get some alone time with them.

Chapter Fifteen

As we pulled up to my modest home, a
sense of relief washed over me. My little haven never looked
better. If only I could lock the ghosts out. I’d bought a small old
farmhouse a few years back. When I saw the For Sale sign, I knew I
had to have it. With my grandmother’s fabulous decorating sense, it
felt like the coziest place I’d ever been. The kitchen made you
want to sit down for a huge breakfast and the sofa invited you to
hunker down with a good book.

When I spotted all three of my
unwanted guests lounging on my overstuffed couch as soon as we
walked in the door, it was the last straw.

“
Do you want me to check
the house for you?” Callahan asked.

Great. Had the intruder followed us
home? What about the dark shadow? Callahan couldn’t save me from
it. He was only trying to help, but now I’d be paranoid. I was a
big girl though…I could make a weapon out of the darnedest
things…umbrellas, frying pans, or paperweights. If the evil spirit
came lurking around though, a frying pan wouldn’t save
me.

“
Sure, I guess so. Do you
think someone would break in here, too?” I frowned.

“
No. No.” He waved off my
concern. “I just figure it’s better to be safe than sorry. I’ll
start with the kitchen. Is it back there?” Callahan pointed through
the living room, toward the kitchen.

“
Yes, thank you.” It was
kind of cute to see Callahan taking on the macho guy
role.

“
Oh, please, don’t fall for
his act. He just wants to scare the hell out of you so you’ll
invite him to stay over,” Anthony said.

I figured now was as good a time as
any to have that ground rules talk with the gang before Callahan
returned. When he walked out of the room, I knew it was my
chance.

“
All right, people, we need
to talk. You see that bedroom?” I pointed toward the door down the
hall.

They all nodded.

“
It’s mine. Do not
enter.”

I felt like a big sister trying to
keep her younger siblings out of her room, as if I needed a ‘keep
out’ sign on the door. I didn’t enjoy barking out orders—being the
mean girl. But how else would I ever get any privacy? Bedroom and
bathroom were off limits. I drew the line. Over the years, I’d
rarely had a ghost obey my off limits rule, though. Oh well, I had
to try anyway.

“
Do not wake me unless the
house is on fire. No singing in my ear…” I pointed at Anthony.
Though I had to admit, he sounded a heck of a lot better than the
last ghost that had done it. Mrs. Williams sounded like a cat in
heat being tortured.

“
You’re not allowing that
man into your bedroom, I hope.” Anthony crossed his arms in front
of his chest.

“
I hardly think that is any
concern of yours,” I said.

Callahan in my bed? Butterflies
flipped and tumbled in my stomach worse than they ever had. I
continued, “Basically, if you insist on hanging around, stay out of
my business.”

Yeah right. I needed an official
haunting Larue information packet to hand out when I had these
chats. The do’s and don’ts of haunting.

Anthony stood, then turned his back on
me, facing the fireplace.

“
No moving furniture, I
like it the way it is. No pacing, that drives me bonkers. No
opening and closing doors. Other than that, make yourself at home.”
I plastered a fake smile on my face. “I’m not including you in this
talk, Mr. Weiss, because I know you’re nothing but a gentleman.
Nothing like these two devils.” I wiggled my finger.

He nodded. “I quite understand. Thank
you, my dear.”

Callahan’s footsteps echoed across the
hardwood floor as he emerged from the kitchen.

“
I’ll check the rest of the
rooms, then I’d better let you get some rest.”

I nodded. After everything that had
happened, I doubted rest was an option, plus now I’d have thoughts
of Callahan lying in my bed.

When Callahan was out of sight again,
I continued my lecture, “In case you didn’t understand, do not
disturb. I’m warning you two.”

Anthony mumbled something, but I
couldn’t understand him. Probably better that way.

“
And Anthony… in case you
ignored me the first time, my bedroom is off limits. Stay out,” I
whispered.

Anthony turned. A sly smile spread
across his lips, showcasing his bright white teeth. Dare I say, the
way his mouth twisted at the corner to one side was sexy? Yikes,
what was wrong with me?

“
Who were you talking to?”
Callahan asked as he approached.

“
Oh, it was the plumber on
the phone. Yes, the toilet is running.” I gestured toward the
hallway.

Worst lie in the history of
lies.

“
At one in the morning?” He
scowled.

“
Oh, well, it was the voice
mail. Yes, I listened to my voice mail and…” I chuckled. “I was
talking out loud.”

I wasn’t sure which was worse: for him
to think I talked to myself, or to dead people. So now I’d lied
about being in a play and having plumbing issues.

“
I can take a look at it if
you’d like?” he asked.

Way to kill the romantic mood. It
wasn’t bad enough I had spiritual company, now we were discussing
toilets.

“
Oh, you don’t have to do
that. Some other time?”

“
Absolutely. I’m pretty
good at things around the house. Maybe I can save you the cost of a
plumber coming out.”

“
I bet he’s more than
pretty good at things around the house. I’d say he’s damn good at
just about anything.” Mae eyed Callahan from her spot on the
sofa.

Bite my tongue, I reminded
myself.

Having Callahan in my home almost made
up for the break-in and my new ghosts, but as much as I’d like to
see him tangled between the sheets on my bed, I knew now was not
the right time. I wanted our experience to be special.

He pulled me close. “I’ll see you
later today. Thank you for taking me with you on the ghost hunt. It
was very interesting. I’d love to do it again sometime.”

My eyebrows rose. “You
would?”

“
You sound surprised. Of
course I would.”

“
It’s just most people
aren’t into that sort of thing.” His arms around me felt so right,
as if I could melt right into them.

“
I think more people are
into it than are willing to admit.”

Callahan kissed me again, placing his
soft, full lips firmly on mine. “I’ll see you later,” he said
softly against my lips.

He eased away from my lips and flashed
that amazing smile of his. My stomach dipped. With that, he turned
and walked out the door. I watched as he moved down the
drive.

“
Oh, quit fawning over him
like a schoolgirl crush. He’s not so great,” Anthony
said.

Ignore him, I reminded myself. Just
ignore him.

Since Mindy had called me on my date,
I figured it was fair game to call her on her non-date with Cooper.
Something hadn’t settled right with me when I’d met him. The
behavior between the two seemed strange. I knew I’d sleep better if
she was okay and actually having a nice time with
Cooper.

When Mindy picked up, music thumped
loudly from her end of the line.

“
Hey, I can’t hear you in
here,” she yelled.

“
How’s it going? He’s not
some perv, is he?”

“
Gotta go.”

The music was gone; she’d hung up on
me. That did little to ease my apprehension. It was very unlike
Mindy, but maybe she figured she’d save the juicy details for in
the morning.

I shrugged on my ugliest nightgown,
just in case Anthony got any wild ideas. I hardly thought he’d
actually follow my haunting guidelines. After climbing into bed, I
pulled the plush comforter up and tucked myself in. The sheets felt
good against my skin. I was so tired that there’d be no counting
sheep for me tonight. My eyes grew heavy as I tried to erase the
long list of crazy thoughts from my mind. That dark shadow still
spooked me.

After a couple of seconds, I felt the
mattress ease down beside me, as if someone had sat on the side of
my bed. Heat rushed to my cheeks. My lids sprang open. “What do you
think you’re doing?” I pushed at Anthony, but my hand went straight
through his spirit form.