Laure Donavan 2 - Ghouls Night Out (19 page)

The officer walked through the house
as I stood in the foyer, waiting and wringing my hands. Ghosts I
could handle, burglars were a completely different story, but
demons and black magic…I refused to tolerate.

After a couple of minutes, he emerged
from upstairs. “Everything’s fine. Call if you need us.”

And, just like that, he walked out the
door, leaving me alone with my fear. Well, as alone as I could ever
be. Seth, Mae, and Anthony looked at me expectantly.

I locked the door behind the officer,
then stood with my back leaning against the door for several
seconds while looking around my empty house, wondering where I'd go
from there. It had been three years since I’d become really serious
about helping others deal with the unknown world that surrounded
us. Now I wondered if all the helping others was really hurting
me…all the demon talk and black magic.

People go through life unaware of the
ghosts and other bad spirits all around them, just outside of their
vision. Sometimes, when they least expect it, the spirits pop
through, allowing a glimpse. Not surprisingly, most people freaked
out when they caught that preview. I figured I was helping them in
some tiny way, so I embarked on my crazy journey as a ghost hunter.
But was the ghost busting hurting me more than helping others?
Maybe Becky had been right, I didn’t need to get involved in the
witchcraft if it would draw the dark spirits to me. They were
already attracted to me…I didn’t need to add to that. Ugh. I just
needed my bunny slippers and a bottle of wine.

“
I hope they nab the
scoundrels,” Mae said, as if reading my mind.

“
Me, too,” I
answered.

When I glanced over, I noticed the
blinking light on my phone. How had I missed a call? I retrieved
the phone and listened to my message. Just as I’d
suspected…Callahan canceled our date. Something about a business
appointment he had forgotten about. Yeah, right. His voice seemed
distant. I thought that was behind us now that Brianna had been
taken away.

I picked up the phone and dialed his
number. “Callahan, it’s me. I, um, am really sorry you couldn’t
make it for dinner tonight. Look, I want to apologize…I’m assuming
you overheard me talking when you came into Book Nook. It really
wasn’t as it sounded.”

Should I tell him I was practicing for
the play over the phone? No, no. Like my mother always said, “Oh,
what a tangled web we weave….”

I continued, “I was having a
conversation with someone, but not a potential date. We were
goofing off, that’s all. So anyway, call me and I can explain.
Okay, well, bye.”

That voice mail was a bumbling,
rambling mess. Callahan would probably never believe me
again.

I trudged to the kitchen and grabbed
the mop and bucket.

When I glanced over my shoulder, Seth
was watching me. He had that look my grandfather gave me when I
tried playing sports, as if saying “you poor pitiful thing.” He was
definitely feeling sorry for me—there was no way to hide that kind
of expression.

“
I can get a towel and help
you clean the floor. Just because I’m a ghost doesn’t mean I can’t
move objects if I set my mind to it.”

“
No, Seth. Don't. Don't
waste your energy helping. I need my batteries. I just replaced
them in the clock. When you use energy, it’s drained from my small
appliances or me.”

“
I wanted to help.” Seth
sighed.

“
I know you did. You're so
sweet and I appreciate it, really I do.”

Anthony snorted. I gave him a cross
look. “I’m mad at you, so don’t even talk to me right now. Callahan
canceled our date because of you.”

“
But—”

“
Shush. I don't want any
arguing,” I warned. “You leave Seth alone, too. Do you understand
me? I'm tired and it's been another long day.”

Anthony held his see-through hands up
in surrender.

After mopping the living room, the
bathroom floor, and cleaning the threatening message off the
mirror, I decided to try Mindy again. I was persistent, what could
I say? I’d let her know I was still home in case by some off chance
she’d come to her senses and wanted to come over. I dialed her
number and listened to ring after ring.

“
Yes,” she said, when she
finally picked up.

“
I'm still home and I have
margarita mix.”

She sighed. “All right, I'll be there
in a few.”

She hung up without so much as a
goodbye, a see ya, or a go to hell. After avoiding me, it seemed
too easy this time. Now I was suspicious when she said yes.
Paranoid much?

I placed the phone back and continued
mopping. If only I could mop all my problems away. A huge lump sat
in the pit of my stomach. The feeling that her visit wasn't going
to be a pleasant one washed over me. But maybe I'd get to the
bottom of why she was acting this way. I deserved answers after all
our years as best friends. She owed me that much. If it wasn’t
black magic or a demon possession, well, I’d deal with it somehow.
If I had attracted a bad spirit and it had attached itself to
her…well, I wasn’t sure how I’d ever forgive myself.

Before long, the sound of gravel
underneath tires sounded from the front of the house. My heart
thumped a little faster. For the first time since I’d known Mindy,
I was nervous to see her. I needed to snap out of it, though. If
she was mad, she'd just have to get over it. If I had truly done
something wrong, I'd apologize, of course, although I couldn't
think of one thing I had done wrong.

Had I been discourteous to Cooper when
Mindy felt I shouldn't have been? I could have been ruder since he
did eat my doughnut. Either Mindy would accept my apology or not,
nothing I could do about it. After the car came to a stop, I peered
out the window. Mindy hopped out from behind the wheel. She had a
bounce in her step. Maybe she wasn’t upset any more. Everyone had
cranky days, although her cranky days usually consisted of
consumption of mass amounts of chocolate.

Some relief washed over me when I saw
it was her car and not a burglar. But my relief was short-lived
when I spotted who was with her. My stomach twisted into an even
more intricate knot. Climbing out of the passenger seat with his
cockiness and good looks in high gear was Cooper. I felt my head
grow hot. I was steamed that he’d tagged along when I hadn't
invited him. Why had he come along? He needed to stay away from my
store, my house, my best friend, and me.

Whoa. That sounded a lot like the
green-eyed monster was perched on my shoulder. I wasn’t normally
the jealous type, but I guess I was a little in this instance. Of
course, I didn't care if Mindy had other friends, but I hadn't
expected her to drop me by the curbside when she met someone,
either. And I didn’t trust Cooper. How could I with the same
bloodline as Brianna coursing through his veins. Mindy and I had
been through too much for her to drop me like a hot potato. High
school, college, boyfriends—all the hard stuff. If Cooper was
practicing black magic on Mindy, I’d put a stop to it.

Mindy rapped on the door and, for a
split second, I thought about pretending I wasn't home—I didn’t
know if I was prepared to deal with Cooper. But that wouldn't be
right either, so I trudged to the door. I’d have to bite my tongue
and pretend to be nice to Cooper. I wasn’t that good of an actress,
but I’d give it my best shot.

“
Do you want us to take
care of him?” Mae asked as she looked out the window and spotted
Cooper standing on my front porch.

Cooper looked around, unaware of the
specters watching him. I sensed him judging my house already. My
house was small, but cute. I took pride in it. Who was he to judge?
Where did he get the nerve? I opened the door.

“
Hey,” I said. “Come on
in.”

“
Hey, hope you don't mind
that Coop came.”

So he had a nickname now? I might
puke. As if they were best friends or something. Mindy hated cutesy
nicknames. It was completely out of character for her to use one.
I’d called her Bendy Mindy when she first showed me her moves on
the stripper pole and she had almost punched my lights
out.

“
No, I don’t mind, at all,”
I said through gritted teeth and tried my best attempt at a smile.
“Please make yourself at home. Would you like something to
drink?”

“
What have you got?” Cooper
asked.

Nothing, I wanted to say. Nothing for
him.

“
Water, milk, tea, coffee,
juice,” I offered.

“
Do you have bourbon?” He
looked over my shoulder toward my dining room.

Did I have bourbon? Well, considering
I worked at a bourbon distillery before I bought the bookstore, and
I could practically see a distillery from my bedroom window. Yeah,
I had a bottle or twenty. I had been the promotions director and I
always had bourbon given to me. I never drank the stuff, so full
bottles of the brown liquid lined my cabinets.

“
Mindy told me someone
broke in. You really pissed someone off, huh?” Cooper cast Mindy a
look, and I wanted to shove him out the door, so help me, I
did.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

What made him think I had done
something to someone else? Soon he’d remind me of the demons I’d
attracted, too.

“
I already started mopping
the floors. The footprints pretty much went from room to room, as
if someone was looking for something.”

Cooper plopped down on the
sofa.

“
Make yourself at home.” I
smirked.

Mindy gave me a fake smile. I felt
uncomfortable in my own home. As if I was the intruder…and unwanted
guest.

“
So, how about that
bourbon?” Cooper asked, giving me a stare.

Good-looking, cocky bastard. “Well,
how do you want it?” I asked.

“
I know how I’d give it to
him.” Mae grinned, without even glancing our way. On a good note,
I’d gotten used to her quips. Well, somewhat used to them. Why did
I have to be with the queen of double entendre? Ugh. For once,
could she say something with one meaning and one meaning
only?

“
How about bourbon and
Coke?”

“
Will Diet Coke
work?”

“
All she drinks is diet,”
Mindy said. “If she’d come to more of my classes, she wouldn’t have
to worry about dieting.” Mindy snorted.

I cut her a sharp glare. “I do have
Diet Coke. I was going to suggest that you have diet instead of
regular, Cooper.” I smirked at him. “You need to watch every
calorie you can. I’d hate to see you lose those six-pack
abs.”

Cooper chuckled and Mindy smiled
again.

“
You tell him,” Anthony
said.

I don't think my criticism affected
him in the least. Actually, by the look of his cocky smile, I think
he kind of enjoyed it.

Leaving the two of them whispering and
laughing on the sofa, I walked into the kitchen and dug the bourbon
out from the back of the cabinet. After breaking the seal, I poured
a small amount into the glass. I didn't want him to have much. The
last thing I needed was for Cooper to be drunk. I'd have to kick
his butt, for sure.

“
You want me to punch him?”
Anthony asked while pacing the kitchen floor. Good thing he was a
ghost or he’d wear a path down in the tile.

“
It’s a tempting offer,” I
whispered. “I can’t talk now, he may hear me.” I motioned toward
the living room with a tilt of my head.

If Mindy hadn’t already told Cooper
about my psychic abilities, then I sure didn’t want him to find
out. He'd probably spread the news all over town that I talked to
myself, all the while claiming to chitchat with dead people. I
don't know how the residents of Magnolia would react to that news.
Some of them believed anything to do with ghosts was really the
work of the devil.

I retrieved the Diet Coke from the
fridge and filled the rest of the glass.

“
I won't let him treat you
that way,” Anthony said.

“
Remember what I told you
all about using my energy to do things?” I whispered.

I looked from Mae, to Seth, and over
to Anthony. They gave me a blank stare. In one ear and out the
other.

“
I said don't, remember?
Let me handle these things on my own. I can take care of it. I'm a
big girl, and I've been dealing with people for many years now.” I
reached for ice from the freezer.

“
You’re beautiful when
you're feisty, do you know that?” Anthony asked.

“
Ugh. So I’ve been told. By
you. Many, many times.”

After dropping a couple ice cubes in,
I grabbed the glass and headed back toward the living room. I
hadn’t asked Mindy if she wanted anything, but I was used to her
helping herself. Anytime Mindy came over she raided my fridge but,
of course, this trip was different than the past, even if I was
trying to deny it. Something told me I couldn't deny it any longer.
Mindy needed my help. The tough question was how I would convince
her of that.

I handed the glass to Cooper and he
took a swig, coughing before placing the glass on the table in
front of him.