“The hell are you smiling for? That was creepy as all get out!” Zeke was looking at him like he was crazy, but Laine wasn’t, was he? That little encounter in his office just proved it. He slapped Zeke on the back, careful not to knock the man on his butt since he still seemed unsteady. Laine felt his grin blossom into an unfamiliar, wide-lipped smile.
“Zeke, I thought I was going crazy, but you saw it, too.” Laine couldn’t hold back a relieved chuckle. “You don’t know what a relief that is. I was ready to set up appointments for some MRIs or something.”
The expression on Zeke’s face made it clear he thought Laine had blown past crazy and into stark raving insane territory. “That makes you feel better? Because I saw it? Maybe you should still have your head checked.”
Laine looked at him and raised both eyebrows. “You saying you didn’t see it now?” Laine knew he did!
“Oh, I saw it all right.” Zeke shook his head, frowning. “But how can you feel better knowing you have some…unknown spirit…hanging around you? At least there’s probably some medicine around to clear up hallucinations, but that, back there?” Zeke shook his head again. “I don’t know what the fuck you can take to make that go away. Unless…”
Laine nearly jumped when Zeke reached out and placed his hand on Laine’s shoulder. Zeke was never that friendly with him, that familiar.
“Do you know who that was? In your office?”
“Nope. Not a clue.” Laine mulled over what Zeke had said about medicine curing hallucinations and decided that, given the choice, he’d rather actually believe in ghosts than be hallucinating, which worked out well since that was exactly what was happening. “Don’t know if that’s the same one that’s been hanging around, or if there’s more than one, either,” he added as an afterthought. He hadn’t really been checking for any sort of familiarity when the odd visits occurred.
“More than one?” Zeke’s voice sounded strained, and Laine had to fight down another grin. “There’s more?”
“I don’t know. Guess it could be the same ghost. I usually just have a silent meltdown when it happens.” Seeing the unsteady sway of Zeke’s body, Laine slipped his arm back around Zeke’s waist. He felt a little unsteady himself now, knowing the spirit, or spirits, popping up around him were real—and he couldn’t help but wonder, would Conner…could Conner be one of them? It was too painful to dwell on, and Laine shoved those thoughts aside. “I don’t know why this is freaking you out so much. Your mama has been visiting you since she passed.” Laine turned them with a slight pressure to Zeke’s hip and began leading Zeke to the café. “Shouldn’t surprise you that she isn’t the only one around.”
“But you said you don’t know these, ah, spirits, right?”
Laine nodded. It was mostly true—he hadn’t been interested in finding out who or what was messing with him. Better to ignore it and drive himself crazy with worry. Now that he knew they were real, he just might start naming them. Or numbering them, if there was more than one, but that could get hinky if the number got too high…
“So why are they, or it, coming to you then? It makes sense, Mama visiting me, but that, back in your office?” A shudder worked through Zeke’s body.
“I don’t have an answer for that, except to tell you it started not too long after, ah, I met your mama.” Laine had thought about it a lot—there had to be some correlation. “All I can figure, now that I know I’m not going crazy, is somehow, meeting one spirit, seeing it or accepting it, I guess, opened up something inside of me that made me receptive to… Well, now I sound like some new age guru, don’t I?” Laine laughed, laughed, for the first time in a long while. He felt Zeke’s tension drain away under his arm.
Zeke shook his head and laughed as well, raising his free arm and slipping it over Laine’s shoulder, surprising them both. “You sure sound like something, Laine, you surely do.”
Chapter Two
“Your boyfriend already cheating on you?”
Brendon looked at the waitress standing beside his table, her pinched face lit with malicious glee. He must have looked as confused as he felt by the comment, because she thrust a thumb over her shoulder and snickered. Brendon sat back and looked out of the window, smiling when he saw Zeke and Laine walking down the sidewalk. His smile started to slip when he saw Laine’s hand around Zeke’s waist and Zeke’s arm over Laine’s shoulders, but not for the reason the waitress implied. Didn’t they understand it wasn’t safe to walk out in town like that?
But it should be, they’re just friends… Hopefully, they’ve become friends, anyways. Neither man should be ostracised for that. Brendon firmed his smile back up and batted his lashes at the waitress.
“You’re just seeing gay people everywhere, aren’t you? Sheriff Stenley isn’t gay.” Brendon didn’t feel guilty for the lie, not when it could keep Laine from losing his job, or worse, his life. He let his smile drop away, all teasing cast aside. “But he’s obviously secure enough to be able to help out someone who is and not worry about it. I’d think even you wouldn’t begrudge an injured man some help.” He flicked a borderline bitchy look over her, debating whether or not he’d be risking something nasty in his food if he said anything else. A voice from the table behind his took the risk for him.
“What’s the matter, honey, he turn you down, so he must be gay?”
Brendon turned and looked at the man sitting behind him. How’d he miss this guy when he walked in?
“Not that I’d blame him,” the stranger intoned.
Brendon grinned. The man already had his food—he could be a smartass and not worry about it too much.
The waitress glared and walked off, muttering some very politically incorrect
