Page 130 of Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places
This was why the house suddenly said it was going to sleep! Hennessee was giving Maverick, who refused to be inside at night, space to be comfortable. Lucky stepped onto the porch, closing the door behind her.Thank you, she thought, hoping that Hennessee could hear her.
The porch light flickered beside them.
“That’s actuallywhyI’m here. I want you to show me the progress you’ve made with the house,” Maverick said. “And I’m also going to beg for forgiveness.” He dropped to his knees to prove it. “I am so sorry. I’ve never been so sorry in my entire life.”
“Oh my god,stand up,” she said, laughing as he held her hips looking up at her. “I forgive you, please get up before you give the neighbors the wrong idea.”
“I didn’t mean to diminish your work, but I did and I’m sorry,” he said. “You were right about everything. You said ‘your caution will be your undoing’ and it almost was.”
“Okay, you know what?” She grabbed his hands to give herself room to kneel in front of him. “I need you to stop. My heartcannot take it. I will pass away, perish, cease to exist if you keep groveling like this.”
“You’re so strong, all the time,” he continued. “It’s too easy to forget how fragile you are.”
“I’m not fragile. What are you talking about?” Lucky laughed, but he didn’t.
“Because you patched yourself up, but the cracks are still there,” he explained. “You still have to live with them. I still need to be careful. I can’t talk to you like that without being clear what I’m doing. I shouldn’t have assumed that you knew what Iwasn’tsaying.
“I’ve interviewed dozens of self-proclaimed psychics, mediums, empaths, and not a single one even comes close to touching you. You’regoodat this. You’re as brilliant as you are compassionate, and extraordinarily talented. I’ve told you how truly remarkable you are. I always have, since the very beginning, and I always will.”
Lucky felt like she couldn’t breathe. She balled her hands into fists, pressing her nails into her palms. “You’re so important to me,” she began, voice breaking. “The thought of my feelings for you being used to hurt me scared me so badly I figured out how to hide them. I held on to seeing my brother every night. I held on to my misery because I thought it gave me more control.
“If I hadn’t met you, I don’t know if I ever would’ve figured this out. I would’ve been spinning in haunted-house circles forever because I had no one. The house wouldn’t have been able to create a specter for me.”
“I think you’re giving me too much credit.” His short, skeptical laugh made her smile. He really had no idea how important he was.
“You are who I desire most. If you had somehow been my specter too early, I can’t say with one hundred percent certainty that I would’ve made good choices.” She shook her head. “Wanting to keep you to myself, hiding you from Hennessee House, was the decision that ultimately put me on the path to discovering the right answer.”
Because Maverick had taken the time to get to know Lucky in a way no one ever had before. His connection with Hennessee gave the house access to everything he thought and felt about her. That combined with Lucky’s desire for Maverick, and having a working knowledge of her ability allowed the house to create a perfect specter. It inherently understood them both because of their connection and learned a new skill. Together, they gave the house clarity.
“I was your specter?” He sounded alarmed. “It made you see me?”
“I know that might be hard to hear, but yes. Hennessee needed both of us. It’s okay if you’re not interested in what I do. I’d like you to be, but I know this isn’t for everyone. As long as Ifeellike you’re supporting me, I’ll be fine.”
“I don’t think that’s enough. Not for me. I need to show you. That’s why I’m here.” His hint of a smile was tinged with regret. “When I tell youeverybodyyelled at me? Rebel heard almost everything. She said, and I quote, ‘I am very disappointed in you, Daddy! I’m staying at Riley’s!’ She hasn’t called me that in years.”
Lucky giggled. “Oh, Rebel.”
“Georgia too. After Rebel called her to tell on me, I thought she was going to drag me here herself to apologize for pushing back too hard.” He laughed softly. “I don’t know what I was thinking. What happened at Penny Place got in my head.”
“What do you mean?” She held his beautiful face in her hands.
“You didn’t feel it like I did. That entity followed you,” he said. “You attracted it like a magnet. You were talking and I could feel it pouring into me, judging the shit out of me. It didn’t believe in us—it believed in you, and you wanted me, so it let me go. I wasn’t worthy of you. And then I went and proved it.”
“You didn’t prove anything. That’s not how the legend works. It’s all or nothing. You can’t twist the rules however you want,” she reminded him. “Can we stand up now, please? My knees are killing me.”
“Mine too,” he admitted.
After they stood up, she kissed both of his cheeks, and then nodded to the door. “Are you sure you want to do this? You don’t have to.”
“I’m sure. If this is where you’re standing, then so am I.”
On its own, Hennessee House’s front door swung open, inviting them in.
Epilogue
Early the next morning while Maverick was still asleep, Lucky snuck downstairs to call Xander.
She explained everything as thoroughly as she could and ended up pacing from the parlor room wall to the sitting room wall and back again while waiting for him to remember how to speak. Every so often she checked her phone screen to ensure he hadn’t hung up. Six minutes so far.
