Phantoms of Fall (The Haunting Ruby Series Book 2) (43 page)

And there it was—the “M” word. “So where was she
in the meantime?” Part of me knew that I should just keep my
mouth shut and stop asking questions that I didn’t want the
answers to. But really, when was the last time that I listened
to my intuition?

“Well, they think she was being held hostage and
tortured during that time.”

Ahh, torture.
What list
of things
associated with
Charlotte’s Grove would be complete without torture? Cliché
or not, I really
was
beginning to think the entire town was
built over an Indian burial ground!

“Drake was the only suspect but there wasn’t any real
evidence against him. They never found her killer. They’ll
probably reopen the case now that Crimson’s gone, too.”

“I’m sorry, Rachel, is there anything I can do for you?”

“Only if you can speak to the dead!” she uttered
sarcastically. “Then we could find out who killed Allison and
maybe get to Crimson in time.”

I could tell by her reaction that Zach never told her
about my connection to the other side. And it had to stay that
way. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to help her but there was
already too much going on with Garnet for me to go romping
off on any other paranormal adventures. I wasn’t Nancy
freakin’ Drew, for cryin’ out loud!

I listened while Rachel
explained the impact this
would have on Drake’s future in the NFL and Boone’s, too, by
association.
When she finally stopped crying, I popped a
comedy into the Blu-Ray and tried to take her mind off of
things. Rachel didn’t laugh once.

Things were a little awkward when I stepped into
Something Wick-ed the next morning. I stormed out of there
like a brat when Rita wouldn’t tell me what Mr. Raspatello
talked to her about.
So with my tail tucked figuratively
between my legs, I offered an apology.

“Rita, I’m sorry about the way I acted the other day.”
Then I uttered those three dreaded words. “You were right.”

She responded gracefully, accepting my apology with
one of her own. “I’m sorry, too. I wish I could answer your
question but I can’t.”

It was probably as good a time as any to ask her
something she
could
answer.
I followed her outside as she
packed her car for the day’s ghost hunting adventure. “Rita,
do ghosts communicate with each other?
You know, like,
could word of my abilities be front page news on the Ghost
Gazette or something?”

“No,” she said with a laugh as she grabbed the last bag
of equipment from the sidewalk. “If they communicated with
each other, Scarlet and Levi would have reconnected years
ago and you wouldn’t have had such an interesting summer.”

True. Why didn’t I think about that? I felt so stupid
about this whole thing. Would I ever really understand what
was happening to me? The even bigger question—did I really
want to? Frustrated, I pressed on.

“Very true. Do ghosts appear anywhere at any time?
What I mean is, do they appear right after they die or is there
some sort of waiting period? And are they always attached to
the place where they died or can they roam around a little?”

“Is this about the ghost at the school or is something
else going on?” She eyed me quizzically with more than a hint
of the same look Mr. Raspatello kept giving me.

I didn’t want to talk about my dreams or Lee—not just
yet.
Mentioning
it to her would only
give it
a level of
importance that I wasn’t ready to give it. “Neither,” I
responded, “just curious is all.”

“They appear instantly—I know that for a fact.” Rita
closed the back of her SUV and leaned against it. “I was at an
amusement park once when someone flew out of a ride and
got killed. She stepped right out of her body and wandered
away. I went back to that same park a few years later and I
saw her several times.”

“So they
do
stay in the place where they died!” While
thoughts of Lee haunting the rebuilt Destiny Bridge were far
from pleasant, at least I knew my dream was never going to
come true.

“Not always.”

 

Dammit. I should have known there would be a catch.
“What do you mean?”

“Most ghosts are attached to the places where they
died but sometimes they feel more connected to the places
where they
felt most alive—their
homes,
favorite places,
things
like
that.
Sometimes
they
still
have
a
strong
connection to their bodies so the cemeteries are full of them.
Of course objects can be haunted and people, too. I guess the
best rule is that there aren’t any rules. I hope that helps.” Rita
got into her car and drove away.

I hope
that helps.
If anything, I was
just more
confused. Did this mean that Lee could still find me?
Was I
upset because I was afraid he could or because I was afraid he
couldn’t
? My future was with Zach either way, but it would
help to have complete closure with Lee.
Everything was fine
until I had those stupid dreams. Maybe now that I was done
reading the book, they would go away on their own.

The shop stayed busy for most of the day and it kept
my mind off of my dreams. Toward the end of the day, all I
could think about was my date with Zach.
Things
were
starting to feel normal again—at least by my standards.

The drive-in was closed for the season and the next
closest theater was the IMAX in Graysburg so we opted for
another quiet night in. I picked up a few movies on my way
home and enough snacks to feed a third world country. Now
that my stomach was playing nice, I wanted to eat everything
in sight.

I decided to reverse the roles a bit and pick Zach up
instead of him just meeting me at Rosewood. He did a lot to
support me—it was about time I showed him some gratitude.

“So you’re taking me out on a date, huh? What did I do
to deserve this?” he asked as he got into the car. He took one
look at the bags of food I bought laying in the backseat and
laughed. He cocked one eyebrow at me and said, “That’s not
all just for me, is it?”

I knew exactly what he meant by that.
He was so
worried about my weight loss that he took every possible
opportunity to feed me.

“No, my appetite is back with a vengeance—you’ll be
lucky if you can catch some of my crumbs!”

“Good,” he said as he rubbed my shoulder lightly. “I
don’t care if I don’t get a single bite. As long as you’re eating,
I’m happy.”

“I guess I could save you some seeing as how it’s Zach
Mason Appreciation Day and all,” I teased as I pulled out onto
the road.

“Zach Mason Appreciation Day? Funny, that wasn’t
marked on
my
calendar.”

 

“Well it was on mine. You’ve been really supportive
through some really tough times. Tonight, I say thank you.”

 

“You don’t have to do anything special for me, sweetie.
Just being with you is thanks enough for me.”

“See, now comments like that are what earned you
your own holiday,” I replied as I parked in front of the
mansion. “Tonight is
your
night but I could use some help
carrying the food in if you don’t mind.”

With a smile,
he
snatched up every
last bag
and
followed me into the house.
Once inside, he rounded the
corner toward the kitchen but I stopped him. “We’re going to
the attic.”

“Geez, Ruby, just how much do you plan on
appreciating me tonight?”

The look on his face was priceless. “Ha ha—very
funny! But you definitely won’t feel unappreciated by the end
of the night—trust me!”

Once we were safely out of earshot, Zach asked, “So
any progress on our plan?”

I nodded my head. “Nothing concrete, but it totally
looks favorable. It’s all Shelly can talk about. When I hear
something, you’ll be the first to know.”

Zach tried to help me with the food but I wouldn’t let
him. “Sit down, relax, and let
me
take care of
you
for once.
You
are
still injured and all.”

“Not for much longer—this
thing
comes
off
on
Wednesday, you know,” he said waving his cast in the air.

“That’s right but I can still take care of you until then.”
I passed him a bowl of barbecue potato chips and a bag of
pretzels. “Do you want ice cream now or later?” I called over
my shoulder while I grabbed some sodas from the mini fridge.

“Later—but feel free to have some now if you’re in the
mood.”

I was definitely in the mood—just not for ice cream. “I
think I’ll wait, too.” I stashed the ice cream into my tiny
freezer and closed the door. But I made sure to take the bag
of chocolates
back to the
futon
with me.
I heard that
chocolate was the next best thing to sex—and boy did I like
chocolate!

Once the movie was in, I added the final touches.
I
turned out the light and opened the door.
The darkness
would heighten the mood but the open door would ensure
that it didn’t get heightened
too
much.

The first movie I picked was a dark comedy about a
girl who fell in love with a zombie. We cuddled on the futon,
laughing
hysterically
the whole
way
through.
When the
movie ended, I turned on the lights to change the disc and
Zach took a bathroom break.
As soon as he walked away,
Shelly and Dad popped their heads through the doorway.

“Hey, sorry to interrupt but I want to ask you guys
something.” Shelly craned her neck around the
corner.
“Where’s Zach?”

“Bathroom break,” I answered nervously, hoping that
he wasn’t doing anything more while he was in there. All I
needed was for him to emerge from the bathroom and say
something inappropriate in front of them.

No need to worry.
He must have heard her voice
because the second he
came out he said hello to them.
Charming as always.

Shelly looked like she was about to burst so I asked
her what she wanted to talk to us about.
I knew it had
nothing to do with sex this time because my dad was smiling.

“I’m getting us tickets to see
The Phantom of the Opera
on Broadway for the Sunday after Thanksgiving. We want to
invite you both to join us. We can double date!” Shelly
sounded more like a teenager than my thirty-five year old
stepmom.

It felt like I just the lottery. I really did want to go but
I wanted to be alone with Zach even more. But I had to play it
cool. “Sunday you said? I work every Sunday.”

“Yeah, me too,” replied Zach. He kept a straight face
but I knew he had to be just as happy as I was on the inside.

 

“Maybe if we talked to Andy and Rita we could work
something out,” my dad countered.

 

Dammit!
We could both definitely get out of work to
carry out our plans but the last thing we needed was for
them
to know that.
“I really need the money, Dr. Matthews—but thanks
for the offer.”

 

“If you’re sure, Zach.” My dad looked straight at me.
“What about you, Ruby? Are you in or are you out?”

I wanted to scream “out, out, definitely out!” Instead, I
acted like
I was
giving
it some serious
thought before
answering. “Out—there’s no one else to watch the store in
my place.”

Shelly was visibly disappointed but my dad smiled at
us. “It’s nice to see that you’re both so responsible. Maybe
next time?”

“Definitely!” The word practically exploded out of my
mouth as Zach nodded vigorously in agreement.

“Okay, then,” my dad said as he started down the
stairs
after Shelly.
I
was
just about to explode with
excitement when he returned to the landing and pushed the
door open by another foot before leaving.
Push that door
open all you want, Dad—your little girl’s still about to become
a woman!

Once I was definitely sure they were gone for good, I
threw my arms around Zach and practically knocked him
down backwards onto the futon.

“Whoa, Ruby! Careful—I’m gonna need all of my body
parts in working order, you know!” He plunked down onto
the futon and pulled me along with him.

“Your plan worked!” I kissed him quickly on the lips.
“I’m dating a freaking genius!”

 

“Really? What’s his name? I have to know whose ass
I’m going to kick!”

“I’m talking about
you
, stupid!” I swatted him on the
arm
with
the
back
of
my
hand
and
started
giggling
uncontrollably.

“Oh, so
now
I’m stupid!” He threw a potato chip at me
and I laughed even harder.

 

“You think it’s funny? I’ll show you funny!” Zach held
me down and tickled me with his good arm.

“Stop, Zach!” By this point, I was laughing so hard I
almost couldn’t breathe. I grabbed the bag of chocolates and
lobbed one at his head.

Zach was laughing almost as hard as I was. “Now
you’re really going to get it!”

We wrestled around on the futon until eventually we
rolled straight off of it. Zach landed on the floor first and I
plopped right on top of him.

“Are you okay?” Zach suddenly sounded serious.

 

“Yeah,” I responded. “Are you?”

 

“Yeah. Never better.”

We were both gasping for air from laughing so hard
that we stayed on the floor trying to catch our breath.
What
started out as a lot of fun began to change into something
completely different.

There was nothing funny about the feelings coming
over me as I lay there on top of him. In three short weeks, we
would finally be alone together. I wanted it to be tonight. The
look in his eyes told me the same story so I bent down and
kissed him.