Lucas waited for me to lock up the front of the shop and then followed me up to my apartment. He shrugged out of his jacket and put in on the back of one of my mismatched dining room chairs.
Moving toward the kitchen, I started to unwrap the pink cellophane encasing the long stems. Most of my vases were downstairs, but I kept an assortment in an otherwise unused kitchen cabinet and had a feeling one of them would be tall enough to contain the sunny buds. “Let me put these in some water. Are you hungry? The pizza place is still open. We could have it delivered.”
“I had a sandwich on the way,” he replied. “I’ll take a beer though, if you have anything?”
I smiled, remembering that one of the first things we’d bonded over was my love of fancy craft brews. “I might have something you’d like.”
He sat in the chair he’d draped his coat over and crossed one ankle to the opposite knee, making himself comfortable.
“How was the flight?” I asked, arranging the flowers in the vase I’d pulled from the cabinet.
“Slept most of the way, so I’m thinking nothing too eventful went on.”
I took a step back and assessed the flowers. I’d wait to add some greens the next day. They were good enough for the time being. Satisfied, I crossed to set them on the table and then tracked back to get a pair of beer bottles from the fridge.
He smiled when I handed him a bottle. “You found your necklace.”
I reached up and touched the delicate pendent. “Just now. Yeah. It was down in my office for some reason.”
“I’m glad you found it.”
I joined him at the table and swigged the beer, my mouth suddenly dry. “Lucas, what’s going on? I don’t think I can do the small talk thing right now.”
“Well, I’m hoping it’s good news,” he said. “When I found out I was being fired, I called an industry headhunter and let them know I was looking for a new position. I didn’t really know what to expect, but things happened fast, and yesterday after you left, I had a video-call interview with an international security firm. They liked what I had to say and offered me a contract on the spot.”
“Are you serious?”
He chuckled. “That was my reaction too.”
“Did you take it?”
“Well, not officially. I asked for a day to think it over, but I’m leaning toward saying yes. The pay and benefits are great. I’d still have the option to travel, as they have offices all over. London, New York, Seattle, Madrid—”
“Wait, did you just say Seattle?”
Lucas grinned. “If I take the job, it would be my home office.”
I blinked a few times as the pieces moved into place.
“So, what do you think?”
“I—I’m—” Words failed and I felt the smile crumple on my face.
“Scarlet? If it’s too much, too soon, I understand.”
“No. No, it’s not that. It’s just … there’s something you need to know. I don’t want you making such a huge leap until you know the whole situation.”
Lucas frowned, confusion in his eyes. “What do you mean?”
I swallowed hard, my tongue still dry despite the half a beer I’d just drank. “Before I left New Orleans, I went to see Lilah. I had questions about something I saw at the Saint Charles property.”
“Ghost stuff?” he asked.
I nodded slowly. “Lucas, I figured out the reason why I’m able to see and speak with ghosts.”
His eyebrows lifted a hair.
I pressed on, “Lilah has some kind of divining power. She did some kind of reading and told me that I have soul magic.”
Lucas choked on a sip of beer. “You what?”
“I’m a Soul Shepherd,” I replied through a wince.
“And what is that? Some kind of … fairy?”
I drew in a steady breath. “Soul magic is the force that binds me to the spirit world, the reason I can see ghosts. It’s rare. To be honest, I’d never heard about it before meeting Lilah. I’m still figuring it all out, but what I do know is it gives me a measured amount of control over the force of life and death, which, in and of itself, is a type of magic. My job is to get souls from one plane to the next. If I were to study and practice, I could eventually—” I broke off. The next part was the one I couldn’t fully wrap my own head around. How could I honestly expect anyone else to understand?
“Eventually, what?”
“I could eventually help people move from death to the Otherworld, skipping the ghost phase altogether. Like a … reaper.”
Lucas’s coloring changed, his tanned skin going pale.
For a long minute, neither of us said a word. I don’t think either of us even took a breath. The word just hung there.
Reaper.
My skin felt ready to crawl right off my body, and I jumped up from the chair. “I understand if you want to run out that door and never look back. Hell, I want to run out the door and never look back. Unfortunately, I don’t have the option of escape. Dealing with ghosts is one thing, but this … I don’t know where this road leads.”
Lucas snagged my hand as I paced and reeled me into his lap. “It doesn’t change how I feel, Scarlet. You have more information now, and that’s got to be a good thing, right?”
I shook my head in disbelief. “But it’s all a mess. I’m a mess. You’re telling me you want to move closer to the impending explosion?”
He chuckled. “Babe, you’re a woman, not a grenade.”
“Well, maybe not, but that’s how it feels. My life has never been normal, but now someone pulled the pin and at any moment, every last shred of normalcy could be blown sky-high.”
“All the more reason you need someone here to have your back. Wouldn’t you say?”
“Lucas …”
“Come on, Scarlet. I thought this would be good news. You’re almost making it seem like you don’t want me to come to Seattle.”
“No. It’s not that. I’m happy, of course, but I worry that you’re making a mistake. You’re packing up your whole life and moving … for me?”
“To be fair, it’s 99% packed as it is,” he teased. “Curse of living on the road.”
“You know what I mean,” I replied, frowning at him before lowering my gaze to his shoulders. “There are a million women out there who would throw themselves at you. You know … non-ghost-seeing types of women. As long as you’re with me, things are never going to be normal.”
“Hey, normal is overrated anyway, right?” he replied with a chuckle.
“Lucas…”
“Baby, look at me.” He placed his fingers gently on my chin and locked his eyes with mine. “Whatever’s coming next, you can count me in for the ride.”
I smiled so hard the tears I’d held back broke free at the pinched corners of my eyes. “I’m going to do my best to make sure you never regret tagging along.”
Lucas returned my smile, warming me through and through. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
* * *
THE END
About the Author
As a lifelong bookworm, Danielle Garrett has always loved dreaming of fantastic places and the stories they have to share. Through her love of reading, she’s followed along on hundreds of adventures through the eyes of wizards, princesses, elves, and some rather wonderful everyday people as well. This lifelong passion led her into the world of writing and she has now achieved the dream she’s held since the second grade and become an author herself.
Danielle lives in Oregon, and while she travels as often as possible, she wouldn’t call anywhere else home. She shares her life with her husband and their house full of animals. When she’s not writing, she can be found serving as the dedicated servant to three extremely spoiled cats or chasing down the most recent item the puppy has turned into a chew toy.
Visit Danielle today at her website or say “hello” on Facebook.
www.daniellegarrettbooks.com
bsp; Danielle Garrett, When Good Ghosts Get the Blues
When Good Ghosts Get the Blues Page 16
