Me and My Ghoulfriends (12 page)

“What the hell is she wearing?” Mindy snapped. “She looks like she just stepped out of a Dr. Seuss book.”

She was one to talk, I thought, but I didn’t dare say that aloud.

“What’s she wearing?” I couldn’t resist asking.

“Some weird dress with geometric print all over it. Do you want a peek?”

“No… no thanks.”

I turned to slink back to my car and from out of the bushes beside me a black cat leapt across my feet, hissing in disapproval at me. Evidently he wasn’t happy I had disturbed him. I clutched at my chest to keep my heart from popping out.

“Get back over here,” Mindy whispered. “You’ve got to see this.”

“What is it?” I hissed. I had to admit, I was more than a little curious.

“Have you ever seen anyone stuff pizza in their face like that?” Mindy snorted.

“Right. I’m out of here.” I waved my hand goodbye.

Emerging from the trees, I slithered my way toward my car, scanning the area to see if we’d been noticed. So far, it seemed, we were safe.

I felt like a cat burglar, though. All that was missing was a black turtleneck, pants and a ski mask. The craziest part of my cat burglar scenario was that it wasn’t even dark yet, and I wasn’t trying to sneak into Brianna’s home.

No, Mindy and I were just watching her eat pizza. Maybe we had officially lost our minds
.
What had I stooped to? Finally, as I reached the car, Mindy came running after me. She realized I was seriously leaving. I slid into the driver seat.

“Get in the car before I leave your ass here,” I yelped.

I thought about pulling out and making her run for the car. Somehow she’d get me back someday for that prank, so I figured I’d be nice. She did deserve it, though.

Mindy was giggling breathlessly as she jumped into the car. Feverishly, I pulled away from the curb, thankful for not being caught.

“Well that was incredibly close. I swear we almost got caught,” I gasped.

Mindy was still giggling like we were in high school and had just tee-peed someone’s house.

“We didn’t almost get caught. No one even saw us.”

“That’s what you think. Someone may have seen us.”

I steered the car out of the subdivision. Iron gates leading down tree-lined driveways on either side of me enclosed my car. With security like that, I was sure prying eyes were watching us.

“
We need to forget about the whole little fiasco.
I think I’ve had enough fun for one evening, what about you?”

“Not really,” she snorted through laughter.

“You are so silly,” I laughed.

“I’m going home and turning in early. I need my rest after all of this
fun
we’ve been having.”

“Do you spy on people often?” The voice came from behind me.

I jumped slightly; I hadn’t expected anyone to have come along for the evening ride.

“No, I don’t spy on people often, only when my crazy best friend forces me to.”

Mindy whipped her head around. “Oh, that creeps me out. I don’t know how you ever get used to that. Who’s back there? Is it Abe?”

“No. It’s Mr. Haynes. Do you remember him? He owned the gas station over on Fourth and Main.”

“It was on Fifth and Main.”

“I’m sorry, he corrected me. It was Fifth and Main.”

“Oh yeah, sure I remember Mr. Haynes. Tell him I said hello.” She smiled wide and nodded to the back seat.

“He can hear you, you know. Just because you can’t hear him, doesn’t mean he can’t hear you. He says to tell you hello.” Ugh. Now they were having a conversation through me. “He wants to know how your parents are.”

“Oh they’re good. Dad is busy as ever and Mom is trying to work less.”

I rolled my eyes. “He says that’s lovely. Did your dad ever buy that boat? All right! You know, I’m sorry, I’m too stressed for this conversation. Can you two chitchat some other time?” I huffed. “Great, now I hurt his feelings. He’s gone. Everyone is so darn sensitive.”

“Well, you were a little snippy with him. He just wanted to know about the boat,” she mumbled.

I gave her my best are-you-kidding-me look.

“I just need to go home and relax before work tomorrow. No more crazy friend making me spy on people, and no ghosts interrupting my thoughts.”

Mindy was still giggling when she slid into her car and took off.

I was glad she could laugh about it. Stepping along the stone-paved sidewalk leading to my front door, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the way Mindy had behaved. She always had been
a
bit wild. I didn’t hesitate to climb into bed after giving a stern warning to my gang of ghosts that I did not want to be disturbed.

No walking around, no whispering and no late night karaoke. They all promised—all but one. Mrs. Williams. She was still angry with me for not contacting her husband. I needed to invest in a good pair of earplugs.

249

             
Me and My Ghoulfriends

Chapter 10

The next morning, I woke up to Mrs. Williams singing as loud as she could in my ear. Her song of choice was
I Will Survive
.

Very funny. Surprisingly, she had respected my wishes and waited until morning before beginning her recital. Technically, I had said: Don’t sing during the night.

I tried to ignore it at first, covering my ears with my pillow, but when she saw me do that, she glided over and sat down on the bed beside me, leaning in close. On her final off-key glory note, I jumped out of bed.

I simply had to get rid of her STAT. I didn’t need her as my alarm clock.

After Mindy forcing me to attend her sleuthing excursion, I was feeling confused and rather downhearted. Was something really going on between Callahan and Brianna, or was Mindy exaggerating? She wouldn’t make it up on purpose, but honestly, sometimes she didn’t see things as they really were.

After a quick shower, I grabbed a protein bar and trudged my way to work like a chicken with an egg broken inside it. I pulled my coupe up to the curb in front of
Book Nook
and sat there for a while, gazing out onto the street in front of me.

Apprehension consumed me and I didn’t know why.
Where was I going with my life? Nearly all of my friends were dead people. I guess I would call them friends, except for Mrs. Williams. I went around talking to the thin air, and I struggled to hide the fact from everyone. Mindy and my family were the only people who knew about the abilities.

I was confused about Callahan. I had thought our date had gone really well, and then, the minute I’d left town, he’d cozied up with someone else. Maybe Mindy just thought she’d seen them together. Maybe it wasn’t at all like it seemed. Then again, that was probably wishful thinking on my part.

Perhaps I was doomed to be forever boyfriend-less. Instead of a lonely cat lady, with a million cats to talk to, I’d be the lonely ghost lady, with a million ghosts to talk to. Even if I did get a boyfriend, would I ever to able to share my supernatural secret with him? I’d never been able to in the past.

I forced myself out of my car and to the front door, never looking at the coffee shop just steps away. As I opened up the store and turned the sign to
Come on in
, my gang of ghosts trudged past me like they were reporting for work as well. We really had developed our own little routine. Basically, they followed me everywhere I went, whatever my routine was, it was theirs too.

“You really should organize these books better. I can’t find anything,” Abe said.

I rolled my eyes. Oh yeah, and all of them were full of advice.

“She’s too man crazy to do something like that,” Mrs. Williams snorted.

I ignored her nasty comment.

Midway through the store sat the counter, secure against the left wall. That was my space for most of the days I spent at work. I completed transactions there. I ate my breakfast and lunch there when people weren’t watching, and I did my fair share of daydreaming there as well. Like today.

Instead of getting work done, I was staring at a shelf of books and daydreaming.
What I wouldn’t do for one of those delicious lattes..
.

I had my chin propped up on my hands as I stared out at the shelves of books in front of me. Maybe I should just sneak over real quick and grab a tasty chocolate covered cherry latte. What harm could that cause? Possibly, if there were a lot of customers I wouldn’t even have to talk to Callahan much, and I could snatch my order and dash out.

No, I had to be strong and not give in to my caffeine addiction. Because that’s all it was really, just my caffeine-fiend thoughts swirling around in my mind.

Besides, I was angry with him anyway, way too angry to stroll into his shop. All right,
too angry or too hurt? I think maybe it was both.

I thought of myself as a pretty good catch. I was independent, strong and, I’ve been told, pretty, so what was the problem? He didn’t even know that I saw dead people. And I don’t advertise my ghost hunting. Not that I’m ashamed of it or anything. But some people do like to label anything dealing with the paranormal as just silliness. Those same people always come around at Halloween time, though, wanting to be spooked and to know everything about ghost hunting.

Luckily, it had turned out to be a busy day and I’d forgotten about my desire for coffee and… All right, I’ll admit it, my minor craving for a peek at Callahan. The hectic grind had also kept my mind off of the bombshell Mindy had laid on me—that Callahan and Brianna appeared to be a couple.

I’d even gotten a call to check out a haunted location in New York. Now that really would get my mind off of things.
Look out New York, here I come.
I told them I’d make arrangements and call them later in the week to confirm. It would probably be a couple of weeks before I could get away, but it would be an adventure. I’d always wanted to visit the Statue of Liberty.

Yes, with all the activity, I hadn’t had time to think about Callahan and his sweet kisses, or the way his hands had felt while holding me tight, and the way his smile made me feel.

I’d just finished helping a customer and was guiding them to the register when the bell tinkled in my ear, letting me know another customer had entered. That coupon I’d placed in the local paper sure was paying off. I looked over to greet them and then, in an instant, my stomach sank. Moving down the aisle, coming toward me, was Callahan, looking as handsome as ever.

Needless to say, I was shocked that he was there. I’d just accepted what Mindy had told me to be reality. If she’d said Callahan was with Brianna, then it must be true. I’d assumed I’d never talk to him again. At least I’d only talk to him if I’d gone to his shop or, perhaps one day, run into him in the grocery store, or something like that. But instead, he was standing in the middle of
Book Nook
looking as handsome as ever.

Was it possible for him to look better than he had before I’d left? What was he doing? Why was he paying me a visit?

He smiled his broad smile at me, and I couldn’t help but get a tingle all over.

Did he get that feeling when he looked at me? Or did he get that feeling for every woman he saw? As long as I lived, I’d never be able to understand men. They can be inane, completely immature and sometimes downright cruel. What’s that saying? Men: can’t live with them, can’t live without them.

After looking up to see who I was staring at, Abe gave me a sympathetic look as he walked closer to hear what was about to be said. Abe beamed at Callahan.

Did he not realize the man was a potential womanizer? Mr. Yummy was accused of one of the worst dating offensives possible. Did Abe think I was supposed to be forgiving of that?

I wasn’t sure how things had worked in 1865, but in this day and age it wasn’t going to work that way. Not for me, at least.

I turned my gaze over to Vivian and she had the same he’s-a-good-guy look in her eyes. I wasn’t buying it though; I wasn’t giving in to his charms that easily.

Callahan looked over his shoulder.

Damn, he must have seen me looking at Vivian.
I wanted to shoo Vivian and Abe away, but that would be painfully obvious. Me waving frantically at invisible things over his shoulder. How would I explain that?
Oh, don’t worry Callahan, I’m just brushing off President Lincoln and some long dead southern belle. Never mind me.
He’d call for a straight jacket for sure.

Callahan cleared his throat. “How was your trip?” He held out his hand and offered me the cup of steaming coffee in it.

“Fine.” I grabbed the cup and set it down. I didn’t want to be too rude, but not too friendly, either. I couldn’t believe he’d brought me coffee.
I wondered if it was chocolate covered cherry.

“I just wanted to tell you, again, what a wonderful time I had the other night.”

I bet he says that to all the girls. I imagined he had a wonderful time with Brianna as well.

“I kept an eye on your store for you, even though I knew your friend was there. I figured I could help out some, too.”

That wasn’t the only thing he’d kept his eye on.

“Thank you,” I said.

I fidgeted and shifted my feet. Having him standing that close in front of me made me nervous. To my surprise, judging by the expression on Callahan’s face, he looked nervous, too.

“I was wondering if you’d like to go out again tonight. That’s if you’re not busy.” His voice was almost a whisper.

I had to strain just to hear him. Why was he whispering? It was almost as if he was afraid someone would hear him, but for all he knew, we were completely alone.

He couldn’t see what I could see or hear what I could hear. Could he? Could he see the ghostly apparitions moving effortlessly around the room? Could he hear the whispers and chatter from the corners of the spaces?

Callahan was patiently staring at me, waiting for an answer.

I hated being put on the spot like that. Abe and Vivian were pacing behind Callahan nodding
yes,
vigorously. It wasn’t fair for me, three against one. I could tell him I was busy, but I never had been a good liar. He’d see right through my fib.

Maybe I should give him one more chance, see if he mentions Brianna. Mindy may kill me, though, but for whatever crazy reason, I decided to take my chances.

“What did you have in mind?”

I took another sip of my drink, trying to appear casual. He had remembered chocolate covered cherry. Too bad I didn’t have the will power not to drink his coffee.

“Maybe we could grab some pizza after work? I really had a great time the other night, Larue. I really want to get to know you better.” A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth.

All right, now I was convinced he was up to something. I had to say yes, just so I could get to the bottom of it, and find out what his motives really were. Seriously, that’s a legitimate reason. It wasn’t because of his baby blues. Most certainly not.

“I like pizza.” I said softly. Now I was sounding downright aloof.

Callahan furrowed his brow and frowned. I think he was confused by my detachment.

“Would you like to go right after work or later than that? I’m free all night, so just tell me when.”

“How about seven?” I said in a lighter tone. I didn’t want to be too harsh.

“Sounds good, can I pick you up?”

No way.