Page 14 of Road Trip With the Ghost Hunter

“Seriously?” I asked. Were we just going to ignore the last ten minutes?

“I have to go, Li,” he said, gently.

“And you don’t want me to go with you,” I said, not asked.

“I need to do this alone.”

Staring at each other across the room, we held, challenging, neither willing to break. I knew I wouldn’t win this one. I hated not winning. Mouth twisted, I sighed and broke eye contact. “Fine,” I said, going to the en suite bathroom. I didn’t want to watch him leave. I closed the door and leaned against it, listening for him to go.

It was silent for a minute. Then, I heard footsteps and the room door shut. Closing my eyes, I slid down and settled on the tile floor, trapped with thoughts about life and death, I wanted nothing to do with.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Lucas

The “living ghost town” of Missouri was a bust. Sure, the place looked creepy as fuck, but if there were ghosts, they were either sleeping or on vacation. I felt stupid every time I spoke into the spirit box, asking, “Is somebody there?”

Bjorn told me this shit was fake. But the damn kid from work went on and on about this ghost hunting route that went up Route 14 and something in me sparked. I wanted to see. I needed to see. Was there life after death just co-existing with us? Could we communicate with those we’ve lost? Was there a way to still have them be a part of us?

It was eleven eighteen. I was out later than planned. Lies. I knew exactly why I lingered. The cute, pint-sized, gorgeous Asian spitfire sleeping in the same bed I’m supposed to just lie on and pretend I wasn’t tempted to pull her close against me. I kept dreaming of running my hands through all that long, wavy, ebony hair.

That mouth.Fuck, that mouth. So full, yet perfectly fit her face and features. She drove me crazy every time she rubbed that blackberry chapstick on them. The scent lingered after. Only reason I knew the damn flavor was because she repeated what it was every time she offered and I refused. It was a running joke for her at this point.

Yeah, I wanted some, but from her lips not the damn stick.

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. Eighteen months since I got rid of Amanda’s cheating ass. Five months since I lost Uncle Filip. I was not in the headspace to fuck around. And the last person I’d mess with was Li. I saw the pain and darkness that pulled at her when she didn’t think anyone was watching. But I always was. I couldn’t help it. How else did you explain me taking her, a complete stranger, along for this crazy road trip?

Getting out of the car, I grabbed my pack and circled around to the front. A shadow caused me to jerk when I recognized it was Jeremy sitting on one of the rocking chairs on the front porch.

“Whiskey?” He raised his own glass, offering.

“Yeah,” my voice croaked. Clearing it, I sat in the adjacent rocking chair. Jeremy poured me a glass and handed it over.

“Cheers,” he said, raising his to meet mine.

“Cheers,” I replied.

I sipped slowly as the caramelized liquor coated my tongue. I raised my brows in appreciation when the smoothness of the whiskey went down nicely.

“I know,” he said with a smirk. “Mark’s family makes some damn good whiskey.”

“That they do,” I agreed, taking another sip. “Damn.”

Jeremy’s deep chuckle blended with the chirp of the crickets while fireflies flew around the veranda, as Dawn called it.

“Late night,” Jeremy observed. I took him for a no bullshit kind of man. I preferred that.

“Had something I had to do.” I took a bigger sip this time.

“Worth the trip?” he asked.

I sat with the question for a second. Was it? “Takes patience,” I justified against my own emotions saying, screw this ghost hunting nonsense.

“Better man than me,” he weirdly replied.

“Come again?”

Jeremy glanced over after drinking. “Beautiful woman in my bed, waiting all night for me, having dinner in your room alone. Hard to drag me away. Especially if my trip wasn’t even fruitful.” He stared out at the driveway. “But, that’s just me.”

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