by BL Maxwell
“Hi, Molly, we have two other places we’re visiting this weekend already, so does Sunday work for you?”
“That sounds fine. When you know what time you’ll be here, just let me know. I’ll make sure someone is around to let you in. Is there anything you need us to do to prepare for your arrival?”
“No, we’ll have everything we need, but we do need a room where we can set up our monitoring equipment. We could do it in the car, but it’s easier if we have a room we can all use as a command center.”
“Of course. We’ll make sure the staff knows and be sure to move things around so nothing is in your way.”
“Thanks, Molly, and can you tell me if there has been anymore activity lately?”
“Not that I’m aware of. But I don’t go in with an open mind. I don’t want to see ghosts, so I don’t.”
“We’ll see what we find when we get there. One of the other investigators has a way of exposing any spirits that may be hiding out. We’ll know after we’ve been there, and I’ll give you a full report after.”
“Thank you, Jason, and as I said, let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”
I hung up and immediately started doing some research on the place. It had been a farmhouse when Woodland was still in its beginning stages, and the same family had lived there for years. They had expanded it from a one room cabin to the large Georgian Revival style mansion it now was. I looked at the photos of it online and thought how much it stood out now. The two-story red brick building with white pillars at the front entrance made for a beautiful entrance but the style was not common in the Sacramento Valley. I hoped the ghosts there were friendly, or better yet, had moved on.
The spa was easy, I called and confirmed they were only open in the morning on Saturday, and the owner was more than happy to let us in at whatever time we wanted. She was so anxious to get rid of the strange activity, she was willing to close if she needed to. But I explained to her us being there overnight would be best.
“The activity is usually more prominent after dark. So, don’t even worry about closing earlier. We won’t be there until evening anyway. But if you could show us where we can set up that would really help. We try to be as respectful to a business as we can, Ms. Trenton.” I used my best professional voice to explain this to her.
“Call me Rosa, and I’ll make sure you can use the reception room, it’s right in the middle of the house and opens to both areas we’ve been seeing the most activity.”
“That sounds perfect.”
“Thank you, Jason, I really appreciate you investigating here.”
The next call was to the Silver Dollar Saloon. The owner had said if we got there around closing time, we could stay into the morning without any problems. He was willing to close at midnight, which worked out good for us.
“You just tell me when and I’ll clear everyone out. If you want you can set up on the second floor while customers are here. There’s a back entrance and they won’t even know you’re there. You could start the investigation and none of them would be the wiser.”
“Thanks, Travis, that would be great. We don’t want to affect your business, but as long as we can set up earlier, we can begin the investigation close to midnight. Since you’re one of the more active sites we’ll be visiting this weekend, the more time we can spend the better.”
We finalized our plans, and just as I ended the call, Wade walked in the door.
“Hey, you look happy,” he said with a kiss.
“We’re all booked. Now we just need to pack up the equipment, and map out the areas we’ll be using for our control center, and we’re good to go.” The more I talked about it the more excited I got. And by the look on Wade’s face he felt the same way. He really was the perfect man for me. Always had been and always would be. Through all the hauntings we’d investigated already, and the many we had yet to discover.
“I was thinking we should call Janis and see if she has any advice for us before we—”
Before he could finish that thought, I pressed my lips to his. “You’re a genius. Let’s call her and see what she has to say.”
“Sounds like a plan to me, let’s do this.”
Like every other time, he knew exactly what to say.
Chapter Eight
Wade
After leaving Janis multiple messages, she finally sent us a text saying she was on vacation, and we were on our own. She also said she didn’t sense any spirits that would be beyond our abilities, before telling us to leave her the hell alone until next week.
“Wow, looks like Janis was really needing that vacation,” I mumbled as I read her last message.
“This must be why Jimbo is always a little hesitant with her. She’s a force to be reckoned with. Sort of like Deidra.”
“I think you’re right. There’s still fear in his eyes every time he talks to either of them.”
“I noticed that too! Dean seems to get a kick out of it.”
“Yeah he does. He’s a perfect match for Jimbo.” Jason climbed onto my lap and held my face in his hands.
“Just like you’re the perfect match for me.”
His lips met mine and I was lost in his touch. The feel of his weight on me. His hands that were now running through my hair.
“You boys are absolutely adorable!”
Jason leaned his forehead against mine and shook with laughter. After a deep sigh, and counting to ten a few times, I lifted him off me and took his hand while meeting Mom’s eyes.
“Mom, if you walk in and we’re—indisposed. Please! Don’t disturb us.”
“Oh relax, Wade, you know Jason loves me and doesn’t mind anytime I stop by.”
“She’s right, I don’t mind.”
The traitor sat there smiling as my mom rushed around the room looking at the equipment we’d started to organize. She opened one of the boxes, and I jumped up to stop her.
“Mom, please. This is all organized. What’s going on?”
“Oh nothing, I just had an idea I wanted to run past you.”
“What idea? What are you talking about?”
She rushed around the small front room, finally pacing back and forth.
“Well, I was hoping I could go with you guys. I mean, I know you’re the experts, but I’d really like to go. Is there any way I could maybe just stay in the control room, you know, out of the way? But still watch what’s going on?”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I mean, Jimbo is already a little squeamish. If he didn’t have Dean to make him stay, we’d spend most of the evening stopping him from running away.”
“Wade, let her come. She’s right, she can stay in the control room. I’m sure she wouldn’t be in the way. Maybe she could go to the spa. It sounds like it’s not dangerous. Come on, let’s show her what it’s really like.”
I looked between the two of them, and realized they had way too much power over me. I loved them both, and dammit, I’d do anything for them.
“Okay, you can come.”
The high-pitched screeching began in earnest, and Jason threw his head back and laughed.
“Mom, please. You’ll need to be calm and quiet. We all need to concentrate and—”
“Oh, baby, you know I’ll do whatever you want me to. Can I use some of your little toys and see if I find a ghost?”
She vibrated with excitement and I once again questioned if this was a good idea or not. Jason was no help at all, every time our eyes met, he laughed even harder.
“You know what, I’m thinking it would be great if Jason took you with him for a short investigation. There hasn’t been any harmful activity so it should be pretty safe.”
Jason froze in the position he was in, hands on his knees and tears streaming down his face. He looked between the two of us, wiped his face, and put his arm around my mom.
“Deidra, if you want to go for a short investigation while we’re there, I’d be more than happy to take you.”
“Oh, Jason, you’
re just the sweetest.”
She didn’t even spare me a glance as she patted his cheek and smiled. He blushed a little at the attention, and nodded his head.
“Mom, seriously. You can go, but enough already.” She pinched Jason’s cheek and once again walked over to the equipment.
“So, which one can I use?”
“Oh boy,” I groaned. What had I gotten us into?
Chapter Nine
Jason
Friday seemed to take its own damn time getting here. But finally, FINALLY, it was here. Wade was still at work, so after I finished reorganizing all our equipment, I got busy loading it into the car. Jimbo and Dean would be riding with us to Marysville, so I wanted to make sure I could pack everything we’d need without us being crammed in.
“Hey, you almost ready to go?”
I looked over the car just as Wade was shutting the door to his vehicle. “Hey, babe, you’re home early.”
“Yeah,” he said, with a kiss. “It was a slow day, and since I know how excited you are to get started, I thought I’d see what I could do to get us on the road. Maybe we can have some dinner before we get busy ghost hunting.”
“That sounds great. And you know Jimbo will like that idea. Well, he’ll like critiquing the food, but he does seem to enjoy that.”
“He really does. Way too much.” I put the hard cases that contained the cameras and the laser grid in the back. I wasn’t sure what we’d need tonight, but I wanted to be prepared for anything.
“Are you packing everything?” Wade asked, looking at the cases I’d just put in the car.
“Yes, well, the basics. The cameras, EMF, laser grid, you know. The basics.”
“The basics,” he mumbled as he looked from the house to the car. “You do realize we’re only going to be there a few hours?”
“Hey, I pride myself with being prepared for anything.” I closed the hatch and walked toward the house, but was stopped with his hand on my arm.
“Aren’t you forgetting something critical?”
I started to answer as his lips met mine. How could I forget about that? I pulled him closer to me, and enjoyed his warmth. “That’s critical equipment. I won’t ever forget that.”
“I hope not,” he said with a peck before pulling away and walking into the house.
“Hey, what’s up?” I said as I ran into his back. He stood there staring at the remaining equipment I’d set out to take with us. I moved past him and gathered up a few more pieces to take outside.
“Jason, do we really need this much?”
“Yes. Well, maybe not.” I scratched my head and looked at everything again. It did seem like a lot of stuff. “How about we each take an EMF, one Spirit Box, and two recorders for EVP. Then we’ll take a full array of cameras so the whole house is covered.”
“Do we need the laser grid?”
“Probably not,” I admitted. He smiled at me, ruffled my hair, and kissed me on the cheek.
“Now we have room for snacks,” he said as he walked toward the bathroom.
“I thought we were having dinner on the way?” I yelled.
“We need snacks,” he said, poking his head around the corner.
“Hokay, we’ll get snacks. Anything else?”
“Nope, sounds like you have it all.”
“I did have it all, but now I don’t have it all,” I mumbled to myself as I rearranged what I was taking and what would stay.
“We’ll be fine. It’ll be like the old days. We don’t need all that stuff to prove there’re spirits there. Between you, me, and Jimbo, the spirits don’t have a chance at avoiding us.”
“I wish we could have talked to Janis, but she would have told us if there was anything to worry about.”
“We should know as soon as we walk in. We’ve all be practicing controlling our talents. This’ll give us a good opportunity to know we can use them without causing anything weird to happen.”
“You mean like what happened at The Hitching Post?” I knew it was a low blow. But we’d all been at the mercy of the spirits under Dean’s restaurant, and we were lucky we got out with just a few injuries. There were still pieces of missing time for me. Memories I somehow knew were better left in the dark parts of my brain that refused to remember.
“Babe,” Wade whispered as he squeezed my shoulders. “We knew going in it wasn’t going to be a typical haunting. And it wasn’t. But we made it through by working together and trusting each other. We’ll need to do the same on every job. Especially a bigger job like Preston Castle. Janis really has helped us all so much. Without her we’d be blind to how to use our abilities. But with that information, we’re stronger than ever. And no spirit will ever find us vulnerable again.”
I squeezed his hand on my shoulder. “You’re right, we’ve got this. I’m not sure why I was even worried.”
“Probably because we ended up at the ER for stitches. Remember that part?”
“Yeah, we don’t need a repeat of that.”
“And we won’t. Now come on, let’s get everything loaded up and get on the road.”
I mentally shook myself to once again bury those memories, and in no time at all we had everything packed.
“Great, now there’s plenty of room for snacks,” Wade said, and rubbed his hands together.
“Be sure you pack some caffeinated drinks.”
“Of course, we’re getting pretty old to be staying up most of the night. We need all the help we can get. Especially Jimbo.”
“What’s that, Wade?” Jimbo snapped as he walked in the door with Dean on his heels.
“Oh boy,” Wade said and put his hand to his forehead.
Chapter Ten
Wade
Of course, he had to walk in as soon as the words were out of my mouth. Jimbo had always been touchy about his age, but lately even more so. I wasn’t sure but I thought maybe he had a big birthday coming up soon. But I wasn’t brave enough to ask. He was more than touchy. Volatile would be a better word.
Dean laughed at him and pushed him aside as he walked to where we stood packing the ice chest.
“Don’t mind him, he’s got a birthday coming up and it’s not something he wants to be reminded of.”
Bingo, I knew something was going on. “Aw sorry, Jimbo, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” I pouted my lip out for good measure as he cringed from my apology and curled his lip.
“Wade, one of these days—” He shook his finger at me and tried to look menacing. But I knew the real Jimbo, so the laugh I couldn’t hold back shouldn’t have surprised him. He rolled his eyes and stepped closer to Dean, who pulled him even closer.
“Be nice, you’ll get yourself all worked up before we even get to the Saloon,” Dean said as he kissed his cheek.
Jimbo visibly relaxed at his touch, and I glanced at Jason to find his gaze on me. We were all so gone on our partners. Life was pretty fucking good.
“Okay,” I said with a clap. “Everybody ready to go?”
“James made us a few snacks for later.”
“We’re going to be so busy eating we won’t have time to investigate,” Jason grumbled.
“That’s fine, you don’t have to eat,” Jimbo said.
“Oh, I’ll eat, but just be warned, I will complain.” With a huff, he turned and walked toward the door. “You guys ready to go?” Without waiting, he walked out to the car and slid into the passenger seat.
Jimbo and Dean followed him out and climbed into the back seat. I opened the driver’s side door and leaned in. “You don’t want to drive?”
“Nope, it’s all yours. I’ll drive tomorrow.” He clicked his seatbelt and settled in.
“Wade?” my mom yelled from across the street. I fought to not react and slid behind the wheel.
“Everyone ready?” I asked and started the engine, just as there was a knock on the window.
“Don’t you try to ignore me.” She continued to knock on the window until I rolled it down. “I just wanted to tell you goo
d luck, baby.” She patted my cheek . . . a little harder than normal. And I ignored the snickers I heard from the three traitors in the car.
“Sorry, Mom, we’ll be home early tomorrow.”
“Okay, baby. The rest of you all behave and be ready for me to go with you tomorrow.”
“Wait, be ready for what?” Jimbo asked no one in particular as Mom walked back to her house.
We pulled away just as the sun was starting to go down and headed north to Marysville.
“No one’s gonna tell me exactly what the fuck is going on with Deidra?”
Jason didn’t react at all, so I followed his lead and did the same. “Nope, guess you just gotta wait and see.”
“Fucking perfect,” he snapped.
“Language,” the three of us chided.
“So, where do you guys want to eat? I haven’t been this way in a while.” Glancing in the mirror, I saw Jimbo and Dean shrug. Apparently, Jimbo was still being pissy about Deidra. “Jason, any suggestions?”
“Let’s wait until we get to the Saloon and see what’s there. They have a restaurant, and there’s a few other places close it looks like.” He glanced at his phone as he spoke.
Less than an hour later we were entering the town of Linda, on the outskirts of Marysville. After crossing the bypass above the American River, we dropped down into downtown Marysville. It had changed over the years. What had been all small businesses had been replaced by big brand stores, only to go back to family owned businesses. The street that led to the old section of town was just a few blocks down. I turned to the right and the Saloon was instantly visible.
The two-story white building with red trim would have fit in easily in Old Sacramento. It was built in the same western style. A simple rectangular shape, with an arched entrance. On closer inspection, the red trim was actually a wide red stripe that wrapped around the middle of the building. The name Silver Dollar Saloon was made of iron painted white and placed prominently in the red stripe. It looked old, but somehow modern too.
