Page 6 of After Life
“Are you sure? Maybe you should lay down for a bit.” His hands fluttered up, reaching for me before he tucked them away under his arms, folding them across his chest as if he wasn’t on the verge of a minor freak out. “Naps are never a bad idea,” he offered weakly.
I frowned. “I’m not infirm, Julian.”
“No,” he agreed. “But—”
“And you’re not going to be able to do some of this on your own,” I reminded him. “And we’re on holiday!”
I hadn’t meant to raise my voice at that end, but the way he drew back, looking abashed, made me realized I’d been almost shouting. “Sorry,” I muttered. “Just... we’re on holiday. The entire point was to not do this.”
“So, you’re willing to ignore the ghosts crashing around and having what sounds like a very stressful HR meeting?”
I nodded, albeit a bit reluctantly. “Unless it gets worse,” I forced out. “Yes. The caveat being if they approach me, I’m not going to ignore them.”
He nodded in return. “Deal. So. We just... don’t investigate this.”
“Mmm hmm.”
“Feels weird.”
“Definitely.” I blew out a heavy breath and shook my head, trying to clear the thick cobwebs that were encroaching. “I need some fresh air.”
Julian glanced at his watch and offered me a small, careful smile. “It’s only a little past ten. Want to go into town for a bit, maybe grab lunch, do some sightseeing?”
I nodded, then paused. He’d give me a look, I was sure, hating being reminded of his new limits when it came to endurance and movement but needs must. “Are you sure you can manage? Maybe Sandra will let us use her van.” Not bloody likely, but worth a shot in asking if Julian needed me to.
He scowled, mostly to himself. “The PT and my doctor both said I needed to walk more. It’s not more than a mile into town. I’ll be fine,” he said with a sort of grim firmness to his tone. I held out my hands palm-out in a no harm meant gesture. “Let’s go, before the sun gets much higher.”
I let him lead the way, standing aside as he opened the door for me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the dark shape of someone watching from the foyer corner, gone when I turned to look at them fully.
Chapter 2 – Julian
The walk into town was slower than I’d hoped or liked, but necessary. I’d been spending too much time sitting and my hip was letting me know with each step that I needed to move around more, no matter how much I hated the limp that seemed to be a permanent fixture now. Fucking Bryan. Even beyond the grave, he managed to fuck with my life.
Oscar strode ahead of me as we left Honey Walk, hands shoved in his coat pockets as we marched down the gravel drive toward the blacktop road. He seemed to recall my new, significantly less speedy status as soon as he reached the gate, stopping short and doing a bad job of pretending to be fascinated by the curlicues in the wrought iron as he waited for me to draw even with him. “It’s fine,” I muttered when he shot me a guilty glance. “I need to walk around more, anyway.”
“Still,” he replied, his cheeks pinking a bit as he pushed the gate open, “I shouldn’t storm off just because I’m in my head like that. It’s rude.”
“Hm.”
“Hm?”
I motioned for him to go ahead and we stepped onto the narrow path running alongside the only road in town. “Are you sure you don’t want to rest?”
“Positive. I just...” He trailed off, slipping his hand through my arm as we started toward the main part of Rosie Sands. “Maybe I am tired,” he hedged after a moment. “It’s just strange being off work like this, I suppose. And not having Ezra hanging about.”
I bit my tongue on that. Instead, I pointed out a cluster of primrose poking out between the bars of Honey Walk’s fence. Oscar side eyed me but paused to sniff them, coming away with pollen on his nose. “Ah, that means someone wants to kiss you,” I teased, laughing when he wrinkled his nose and made a face at me, looking suddenly much younger with the way his cheeks curved and the freckles across his nose stood out.
“I have a good guess who,” he murmured, turning his face up toward mine and stretching up onto his toes before whispering. “I think it’s Harrison.”
I blinked, startled for a moment before his grin bloomed into a full-fledged laugh and he threw his arms around my neck, pulling me into a kiss. “Can you imagine,” he muttered against my mouth. “Ezra would murder us both.”
“That would be terrible,” I replied with a solemn tilt of my head. “Who’d investigate your haunting if you’re dead?”
Oscar made a thoughtful face then widened his eyes, holding up a finger in an aha gesture. “Quick, call CeCe! Tell her I’ve got a brilliant idea for a spin off, but unfortunately it can only happen after my death. A spirit medium spirit.”
“You’re such a dork.” I laughed, kissing him again, quick and soft. The last vestige of whatever tension he’d hauled from the house at such a fast clip melting away as he looped his arm through mine again and we started our plod toward town.
Oscar stopped every once in a while to point out a cluster of flowers, or an architectural oddity on one of the older homes lining this part of the road. I knew he was giving me opportunities to rest, but the annoyance I’d expected to feel—that I’d felt when others had done it—didn’t manifest with him. Maybe it’s because he’s not being a dick about it, I thought, nodding as he pretended to be rapt over a seashell-crusted mailbox painted in shades of pink and pale orange. Or maybe I’m projecting and he’s just really into ugly mailboxes.
