Ghost Handled (Valley Ghosts Series Book 3)

by BL Maxwell

  “So, there’s no ghost here?” Dean asked.

  “No, well, not that I know of. I know Molly from school, and I noticed on Facebook she’d started working here. I talked to her a few times and she told me she’d help me set it up. I hope it’s okay. I just wanted to do something different.”

  “It’s perfect. Now put that ring on my finger,” Dean said, and we both watched as Jimbo slid it on his finger and kissed it. Aw, he really could be sweet when he wanted to. Which wasn’t very often.

  “So, we’re doing this?” Jimbo asked.

  “Oh, we are so doing this. And you’re telling Deidra because no way in hell I’m risking my life with that message.”

  “Maybe we can have Wade tell her,” Jimbo said.

  “No, you can’t!” I yelled into the other room.

  “You fucker, you owe me,” Jimbo yelled back at me before grabbing Dean’s hand and dragging him to where we sat.

  “I don’t owe you shit. You know she’s going to go nuts when you tell her. I think I’ll plan on not being around for a few weeks. Jason, maybe we can go on that vacation or stay in a hotel?” I looked over at Jason who still hadn’t said anything and was staring between us all with his mouth hanging open.

  “Wait, you set this up so you could propose?” he said, finally catching on to what was happening.

  “Babe, don’t worry, I’ll explain it all later. Now, come on, let’s get this shit put away and go home.”

  Jimbo smiled at Dean and hurried off to the other room to start gathering up the equipment while Jason grinned at me and shook his head.

  “I can’t believe he pulled this off.”

  “Yeah, now you’re going to have to come up with something even bigger.” I winked before walking out of the room and climbing the stairs.

  “Wait, what?” he said as he stuck his head around the corner to look up at me.

  “Get busy, let’s pack up.”

  “Thanks, Jimbo,” Jason yelled at him, and both Dean and Jimbo laughed before kissing each other again.

  “Anytime, Jason, anytime.”

  We walked through the door around three in the morning. It was late, but it was way earlier than we would have been if we’d stayed the night to investigate. As it was, we left early and had a late-night dinner to celebrate Dean and Jimbo’s engagement.

  Jason flopped on the couch and patted the seat next to him. I climbed into his lap instead and snuggled into his chest.

  “I know we’ve never really talked about getting married, but would you really like that?”

  “Baby, I’d marry you in a hot minute. But right now, I’m so tired, can we plan it after some sleep?” I mumbled.

  His lips pressed against my forehead and I could feel his smile. I knew eventually our time would come, and when it did, we’d both be ready.

  Epilogue

  Jason

  Wade lay next to me sleeping like a log. His gentle puffs of breath usually lulled me to sleep, but tonight I was still lost in thought over what had happened this evening. I never would have thought Jimbo had it in him to propose, let alone plan it out like he had. Fucker. Wade was right, now I’d need to up my game and come up with something even more creative than he had. The thought of marrying Wade made me smile. Even though we hadn’t talked about it, I think we both knew it would happen. There was no one in the whole world who was more perfect for me than he was.

  I finally nodded off and as soon as I was finally asleep, a pounding on the door woke me up. Wade sat up without opening his eyes.

  “What’s that?” His hair was sticking up all over the place, and he had a mark on his face from the pillow. It had been a rough weekend.

  “The door, just ignore it, they’ll go away.” I rolled over and pulled him close to me. It was silent just long enough for me to fall back asleep when the pounding sounded again. “Fuck.”

  “Wade wake the fuck up,” Deidra’s voice drifted through the window as she pounded on the glass.

  “Fuuuuckk,” he groaned.

  “I want to hear what happened last night. I called James and he’s not answering. You boys got home after I went to bed, now get your asses up.”

  The ground outside the window was covered with grass, but I could still hear her stomping toward the front door. There really was a reason she and Jimbo got along so well. Birds of a feather and all that.

  “Oh god, I just remembered. I can’t tell her, Jimbo will kill me,” Wade mumbled and covered his head with his pillow.

  “I’m not gonna tell her. No way in hell. Call Jimbo, make him get his ass over here and tell her.”

  The pounding returned to the front door with renewed energy, and twice as much noise. “You two get your asses out here and let me in.”

  “Go let her in before the neighbors complain. She’s your mom.”

  He cracked an eye open and stared at me. Yep, I was going to pay for that at some point.

  “Fine, but call Jimbo, or better yet, call Dean. Tell them, if they don’t get here asap, I’m going to tell her their secret and then they’ll never hear the end of it.” He rolled out of bed and didn’t look back before leaving the room and heading for the living room.

  I was on the phone as soon as he was out of sight, and was relieved we’d slept with boxers on because Wade was really out of it as he went to let Deidra in.

  “Dean? You need to get your ass over here.”

  “What? Jason? Why are you calling so early?”

  “Dean! Wake up, I just told you, you need to get your ass over here and like now. Deidra is pounding at the door and wants to know what happened last night. So, if Jimbo wants to tell her your good news, you better get here. Wade won’t be able to hold back, and you know it.”

  “Fuck,” he sounded much more awake, and I heard him rustling around. “James, get up! We need to go to Jason’s NOW!”

  “Wha?” I heard him grumble.

  “James, Deidra is there, we need to get over there.”

  “Oh fuck!” he yelled, way more awake than he had been a moment before.

  “We’ll be there as soon as we can,” Dean whispered and hung up without another word.

  “Jason, put your damn pants on. Get out here, I want to know what happened last night.” She turned and stomped back out of the room.

  Wade was busy in the kitchen, but when I was awake enough to pay attention, I noticed he was making a lot of noise but not doing much of anything at all. I raised an eyebrow at him. He met my eyes briefly and got busy on the dishes. I rolled my eyes and turned to face Deidra.

  “Morning, Deidra, what’s going on?” I tried for casual cool.

  “Pft, what do you think? I want to know what happened last night. I was so worried after everything that happened at that salon. Was the other place haunted?”

  “Wade, what do you think?”

  “Uh, yeah, it was haunted. The manager said one room was weird, and it was weird. Lots of dolls and weird shit.”

  She squinted her eyes, and I could tell it was only a matter of time before she got it out of him. Wade was no match for his mom’s powers of getting him to confess. “So, what exactly happened?”

  A knock at the door broke the tension of Wade trying to avoid his mom’s questions by scrubbing the dishes in a frenzy. “I’ll get that.” He rushed over and threw the door open.

  It was like watching a chess match and waiting for the next move. Dean and Jimbo stood there wide-eyed and sleep rumpled. “Hey, Wade, we were in the neighborhood and thought we’d stop by.”

  Wade’s head fell forward, and his shoulders shook with laughter before Deidra came up behind him and shoved him out of the way.

  “James, what the hell is going on. I’ve been trying to get Wade to tell me how last night went and he’s not talking. Jason is over there acting like he’s about to explode. Now, what the fuck happened?”

  The moment her eyes locked on the ring on Dean’s finger was a moment that none of the neighbors will ever forget. She screamed, and for
a second it reminded me of a few of the ghosts we’d dealt with. She rushed at Dean, shoved Jimbo out of the way, and gripped his hand while she got a closer look at his ring.

  Dean looked at Jimbo and grinned, while Jimbo still seemed to be braced for more. Deidra looked over at Jimbo before she pulled him in for a hug. “Oh, James, I’m so happy and proud of you. You finally found your other half.”

  “I did, and I’m never letting him go.”

  “You better not. And now, when is the wedding? And of course, I’ll be helping you plan it all. You know how good I am at that shit.” She looped her arm through both of theirs and led them into the house. “Wade, let’s all have breakfast together, how does that sound?”

  “Sounds great, Mom, Jason and I will get right on it.”

  Dean smiled over at us and looked as happy as he had last night when Jimbo had proposed.

  “Hey, maybe you could get married on Halloween?” Wade said with a wink.

  “Fuck you, Wade,” Jimbo and Dean both said at the same time, earning a slap from Deidra and a laugh from me. Yeah, soon it would be our turn. But we had some ghosts to take care of before that could happen.

  THE END

  About the Author

  BL Maxwell grew up in a small town listening to her grandfather spin tales about his childhood. Later she became an avid reader and after a certain vampire series she became obsessed with fanfiction. She soon discovered Slash fanfiction and later discovered the MM genre and was hooked.

  Many years later, she decided to take the plunge and write down some of the stories that seem to run through her head late at night when she's trying to sleep.

  Contact

  Blmaxwell.writer@gmail.com

  Also by BL Maxwell

  Ghost Trapped

  Wade and Jason are back. They’re settling into their new relationship, from friends to lovers, and trying to navigate the paranormal business they now find themselves in. And Jimbo has joined the team too.

  It seems Sacramento has a wealth of restless spirits needing a nudge to move on their way. Taking a job in Old Sacramento, they soon realize there’s a more than average haunting at The Hitching Post restaurant. Built over the old tunnels and hidden under many of the businesses, they find a world of spirits that have been forgotten. Until now.

  Jason is excited to take on one of their first big jobs as an official paranormal research group. Running Scared Paranormal is open for business, but this case is different than anything they’ve encountered before. He reaches out for help from someone connected to the spirit realm who has first-hand knowledge on what it’ll take to ensure their safety and complete the job, but will it be enough?

  Wade is thrust into a world he’s tried to stay on the edges of. He’s been to haunted houses with Jason in the past, but he doesn’t consider himself an expert. His newfound abilities will be tested in ways he never imagined, and only he knows how much he can handle, both physically and mentally. After being injured, he once again faces the fact that the spirits he’s always feared have the ability to hurt them. In this situation, the person who can help the most, may not be a person at all.

  Ghost Hunted

  Jason Thomas had always been obsessed with the ghost stories he'd watched on television from the time he was a kid. He'd always dreamed of visiting those haunted places, and playing amateur ghost hunters with his best friend Wade. As they grew older, Jason's fascination with ghosts grew as well, and he'd drag Wade along to different haunted houses or hotels, always hoping to see an actual ghost.

  Wade Rivers loved spending time with Jason, even if it meant he'd have to endure another creepy, supposedly haunted location. Friends since they were kids, and always inseparable, Wade's feelings for Jason deepened from friendship into something more. Unfortunately, so did his fear of the places Jason wanted to explore.

  The chance to spend a weekend alone in a famous haunted house was too much for Jason to resist, and almost too much for Wade to endure. He knew going to the deserted house was everything Jason had ever dreamed of, so Wade tried to put his fears aside. But when paranormal things start to happen, admitting to Jason how he feels suddenly isn't the scariest thing Wade will encounter.

  Ghost Haunted

  Wade Rivers finally has what he’s always wanted, his best friend Jason Thomas as his boyfriend. Their first date, hopefully the first of many, starts out with a simple dinner, but Wade has a surprise in store for Jason. They end up at a haunted house exhibit for Halloween.

  Wade finds out that Jason loves investigating the paranormal, but he’s not as enthused about the other attractions. When they meet up with a fellow paranormal researcher, Jimbo, their fun night gets more frightening with each room in the haunted house.

  From the beginning to the end, they’ll visit every nightmare imaginable, and they’ll all find out some truths about each other they never thought would come to light.

  Stone Under Skin

  Ankit has lived many lifetimes. Once, long ago, he was made of stone, and marked with symbols and sigils meant to safeguard him and allow him to protect and serve others. He’s a living gargoyle now, cursed to live as a human; always watching, at all times aware, and constantly searching for his fated one.

  While walking home from his job as a librarian, Ethan Lewis is beaten and robbed. Ankit stumbles upon him, and instantly recognizes him as the man he’s fated to. He helps him back to his apartment, and after tending his injuries, watches over him.

  Fate has woven their lives together for centuries, but in every lifetime, they could never live freely, or love each other as Ankit has often dreamed of. To change their destiny, they’ll fight together with other gargoyles, and a young watcher, who is unaware of the tremendous power she possesses. This will be the last battle against their creator, and they’ll either die fighting for their freedom, or survive to live the life they’ve always yearned for.

  Better Together

  Since being thrown out of his home by his parents, Caden has been struggling to survive on the streets.He lives in constant fear, stresses over his next meal, and dreads trying to find a safe place to sleep at night. He eventually finds an unlocked car and settles in to sleep, but is soon interrupted when someone steals the car. With little choice but to ride along, Caden soon learns that first impressions aren’t always correct.

  Seventeen-year-old Damario has been raising his little brother and sister by himself since his parents were deported. He never knew how hard it was going to be paying the bills and making sure there was always food on the table. Or how hard it would be to hold his family together when they all depended on him to do it. He finds himself stealing cars to make ends meet, but he never expected to find someone sleeping in the back of one of them. And he really didn’t expect this stowaway to change his life.

  When Damario brings Caden home, it was supposed to be just for a shower and a hot meal, but he can hardly kick him out onto the streets again. There is no way he could have seen that by saving Caden that night, he was also saving himself. When Damario’s world starts to fall apart, they both realize that the answer to all of their problems is helping each other, and although the world tries to drive them apart, they really are better together.