Scared Stiff

by Laura Baumbach, William Maltese, Josh Lanyon

  By the time Mason was half way to the inn he had lectured himself twice on the need to focus on something beside death from now on. Death was the stronger conclusion. He'd even managed to remind himself that nut cases were rarely attractive as dating material. He had better put a stop to all the morbid thoughts and jumpy behavior if he had any interest whatsoever of finding out if Eli Storm was flirting with him in earnest or just for the hell of it. He was a little old to be influenced by ghost tales and haunted houses.

  Wasn't he?

  * * * *

  Feeling the exhaustion lift a little each day, Mason spent the next week exploring the shoreline, reading books from the shelves in Eli's library, eating bits of the man's cooking and talking away his afternoons with a visiting Ruby like today.

  "So why did you come here, Mason? Isolated Maine inns by the sea are great getaways for moody writers or love-struck couples, but not single young men. At least, not alone. What do you do for a living?” She smiled and slipped two fresh-from-the-oven cookies onto a plate in front of him.

  "I work for a large advertising firm in New York City. I'm a graphics artist."

  "Artist! Really? How interesting. Do you paint? I love watercolors."

  "I can but in my work I create designs and art for advertising campaigns and fundraisers mostly. Big business lots of pressure, but I like being able to see my work on billboards.” The smell of oatmeal, cinnamon and raisins filled the air. He could barely keep from touching them while they cooled. He had a fleeting memory of his mother baking cookies for him after school.

  He returned her smile with a crooked one of his own, clasping his coffee mug tighter. “I thought the name of inn fit my state of mind. Storm Inn by the stormy sea.” He chuckled but he could tell by the look on her face, Ruby wasn't buying the offhand explanation.

  "Really? That's the only reason to travel all the way out here alone?"

  He supposed he should feel offended by her gentle prying but kitchen was cozy warm from the oven and her cable-sweatered, smiling presence was comforting.

  Maybe they were right when they said it was easier to talk to strangers about a problem than it was to talk to friends. The heavy earthenware coffee cup was solid in his hands, its heat seeped all the way to his chest, loosing the constricting band of numb ache that had held him its grip for so long. For the first time since Eric's death he felt free to talking about it. Here, in stormy Maine with a stranger who baked him cookies and believed in ghosts.

  "Okay, that's not the only reason but it is one of the reasons I pick here.” He picked up a cookie and broke of a small chunk, popping it into to his mouth to chew silently for a moment to have time to form his thoughts. It was new getting ready to say it out loud for the first time.

  "What's the other reasons?"

  Mason sighed and swallowed savoring the flavors of oatmeal and spices. “My boss, David. My work was slipping. I've had trouble concentrating. He said it was time to get my head on straight. Big believer in ‘tough love'.” Mason grimaced and gave a grunted half-laugh. “The man has teenagers.” He sighed and shifted in his seat. “He said I couldn't mourn forever."

  A deep frown marred Ruby's round face. “Did you lose someone, Mason?"

  He nodded, made to sip his coffee than stopped. He needed to talk not more caffeine. “Two years ago.” He stopped to clear his throat but the words came easier than he thought they would. “I was with Eric for eight years, since I got out of college. I was twenty-two. Eric was twenty-seven, established in his career, tired of the dating scene already and looking to settle down. I never got into the dating thing and we just kind of meshed. I was devastated when he was gone."

  "You broke up?"

  He shook his head and took a deep breath, letting the words flow out as he exhaled. They seemed take the numbness in his chest with them. “Eric fell asleep at the wheel one night after working late and when off the road. Hit a tree. They said he died on impact."

  A soft, strong hand grasped his wrist. He instantly tried to pull away but the fingers gently forced its way down to his hand. Ruby gripped his finger, while her thumb made soothing circles over the back of his hand. Tears sprung to Mason eyes when he realized how long it had been since someone had touched him like this, how long since he'd let anyone touch to comfort and hold him. God, he missed being touched.

  He blinked back the tears that threatened to fall, then curled his fingers around Ruby's, loosely at first, just to feel the warm and strength in her grip. “I grieved when Eric died, experienced all the classic stages of grief from denial when the police had informed me they'd found Eric's body at the crash site all the way to righteous anger over his falling asleep at wheel."

  "I even tried to mentally bargain with the ‘powers that be’ to let me wake up and have the whole ugly mess be just some twisted nightmare. But I didn't need to wake up and it didn't go away. By the end of the first year I'd stopped listening for Eric's key in the door in the evenings and stopped hearing his voice in crowded rooms or on the busy streets. He doesn't even visit in my dreams anymore."

  "It's hard to let go sometimes, sweetie, but you're a young man. You need to get on with your life. Don't you think Eric would have wanted that for you? I'm sure he loved you that much, to want to see you happy even if he was gone."

  "Yeah, he would.” His throat tightened stopping his next sentence, the pressure in his chest forcing the tears sitting in the corners of his eyes to brim. He felt them run under his chin and drip off but he made no move to wipe them away. There wasn't any point, more followed. “I've felt like I was just going through the motions lately. It's scary. I'm not ready to stop living. I'm not cut out to be alone, I know that. I came here because this is someplace Eric would never have come. No memories here, no reminders ever time I turn around. I think I'm ready to get back to living again."

  "Sounds to me like you need a little rest and maybe a distraction or two."

  "A distraction?” Mason wiped at one cheek and popped a piece of cookie in his mouth, trying not to sniffle too loudly. “Yeah, I could use one of those. Got any suggestions?"

  "What about Eli?” Ruby smiled and winked. “I think he's pretty distracting. How about you?"

  Mason snorted in disbelief but his mind was asking him the same questions.

  * * * *

  While his nights were spent in restless dreams filled with white mists and cold caresses under the thick, down comforter, his evenings were spent wrapped in a lap quilt in front of the fireplace, chatting with Eli.

  It didn't hurt any either that Eli did appear to be interested in him as more than a guest or friendly visitor. Either that or Mason really had forgotten all the signals and feelings associated with flirting. He had a fluttering in his stomach when he glanced up and found Eli looking at him with that affectionate, hungry look.

  Eli was giving him that look right now. It was late afternoon and Ruby was sitting at his side. Suddenly, the comfortable sitting room and the flickering fire seemed unusually warm. Mason shifted in his seat and blushed at the amused wink Eli sent him when he noticed him squirm.

  "You're not dating anyone right now?” Mason couldn't help it. He had to know if there was some guy off fishing for the last week who would pop up as soon as Mason decided to get serious about letting Eli get a little closer. The man was too good a catch not to have someone around.

  "Not many gay men in this tiny village, Mason. Least not ones I have any interest in. I'd rather be alone than leave my home and the family's business to relocate in a more populated area.” With another teasing wink and roguish smile, Eli claimed, “Good things come to those that wait.” That hungry, wanting look hit his eyes again. “You're proof of that."

  Feeling a heat rise to his cheeks, Mason flashed Ruby a sheepish look. Her wide smile and rolling eyes made him chuckle out loud, but a sudden rush of nerves made him changed the subject. “I thought I'd go see the cliff at dawn tomorrow. Get the full effect of it the way it was meant to be seen. Do you know wh
at time that'll be at?"

  He'd been experiencing an increasing and indefinable, almost eerie pull to the rocky, cold cliff.

  "What's dawn got to do with it?” Even with a perplexed look on his face, Eli was handsome, his gaze gentle. “That whole cliff face is shrouded in mist that early. You won't see anything."

  "I'm confused.” Mason felt more on the spot than when Eli had been flirting with him. He hated feeling dumb. “I thought that would be the best time of day. You said it was called Morning Cliff."

  A deep frown furrowed Eli's brow. He stared at Mason for a moment, then the frown vanished. He gave a small grunt that sounded like restrained laughter and shook his head. “Not m-o-r-n-i-n-g cliff, Mason. M-o-u-r-n-i-n-g. As in ‘sorrow over a loss'. Mourning Cliff. It was kind of like a lover's leap a few decades back. More than one depressed, grief-stricken person has jumped off that cliff.” He paused then confessed, “Hell, my own great-grandmother did it."

  "Seriously? Why?” Mason stared into his cup, his fingers idly tipping the mug up and down just a little, making the liquid slosh from side to side, as if looking for the answer in the rich brown depths. “I mean, I can understand missing someone...” He had to take a deep breath to steady his voice, “...so much every part of your whole body aches from sheer loneliness.” He closed his eyes and willed the tears he felt brimming behind his them to fade. “And I can see thinking death would be a quick escape...” Mason swallowed hard, thankful he had his glasses on. It made it harder for Eli and Ruby to see his face. “When every morning fills you with a kind of debilitating dread."

  He opened his eyes, sniffed into the fist he rubbed over his nose and blinked over at both Eli and Ruby. “But getting smashed to bits on a graveyard of rock in a freezing ocean is kind of a harsh way to go, don't you think?” Suddenly self-conscious under Eli's silent, appraising stare, Mason pushed his glasses back up his nose and shrugged, grimacing at the mental picture he had just painted. “That's gotta be messy."

  Wordlessly Ruby reached out and rubbed Mason's arm. Her touch was consoling and it lingered, the warmth of her hand radiating through his sweater and relaxing his tense muscles. He realized his cup had been shaking while he talked, but her soothing grip eased the strain in his trembling arm. Mason transferred the cup to his other hand and set it down on a nearby table, inexplicably loath to move his other arm from her reach. It was weird, but Ruby made him feel calmer and more unscrambled than he had in months. She was like Valium in human form. On the other hand, Eli excited him.

  Glancing up, Mason's gaze meet Eli's and he felt a slight flush color his face. He wasn't embarrassed by Ruby's attention, but knowing he had almost cried in front this man was embarrassing. He mentally sighed and chalked up one more mess up on the negative side for him as potential dating material.

  Christ, he really had forgotten how to do this. These last two years it had been acceptable to come across to other guys as a nerdy flake because he really hadn't wanted to date any of them, but now that he'd literally fallen into the arms of someone he was attracted to, he didn't have a chance of succeeding if this kept up. Hell, he wouldn't date a guy as screwed up as he was!

  "I'll bet it was messy, but I wasn't born when it happened.” Eli's smile eased a little of Mason's stress. “Heard plenty of stories about it over the years, but most were just gossip and rumor."

  "Why'd she do it? Or shouldn't I ask?"

  "I don't have a problem talking about it. In fact, it's part of the folklore about the inn being haunted."

  "She's the ghost?” Mason started, thoughts of the misty face in the bathroom mirror jumping to his mind. It hadn't looked to him like a woman. If it had been anything at all. “I thought it was supposed to be your grandfather?"

  "It is. Unusual things started happening about ten years ago, after we had a fire. The entire kitchen burnt, down to the basement. When we were rebuilding, we found a hidden wine cellar that had been sealed off from the rest of the house. Still had a number of wine bottles in it, too. Like it had been sealed off in a hurry. Good wine, too."

  "That's kind of weird."

  Eli shrugged, obviously at a loss for an explanation. “I had it opened back up and we use it for the inn. We serve dinner here twice a month and on holidays. It's been great to have a wine cellar in the place."

  "And? Tell him, Eli.” Ruby lightly smacked the man's broad shoulder. She turned to Mason and eagerly added, “This is where the story gets interesting again."

  Rolling his eyes, Eli grudgingly acknowledged, “And ... that's when things," gestured to the empty air all around them, “started getting ... oddaround here."

  Ruby nodded and rephrased Eli's meaning for Mason. “Hauntings."

  "Happenings.” Eli enunciated the word carefully and gave Ruby an admonishing look that she blithely ignored. “Folks say it's my great-grandfather Eugene mainly because he's the reason his wife killed herself."

  "Stories have it they had a terrible argument one night.” Picking up the thread with gusto, Ruby leaned close and dropped her voice to a hush. “Seems May Storm suspected her husband of being unfaithful to her. The servants told anyone who would listen about it. Lots of bric-a-brac got broken that night.” She cast a glance around the room. Mason noticed both Eli and Ruby tended to look up the stairs when they talked about the ghostly happenings.

  "May had a temper when she got riled. They say that was one of the reasons her twin brother, Jeb, practically lived at the house with them.” Eli sipped his coffee, distracting Mason momentarily by letting his lips linger on the edge of the mug. They looked full and flush with the heat of the liquid. Mason felt a stirring in his jeans and glanced away quickly. “He was the only one that could calm her down."

  "Then others say Jeb Dahl was the reason Eugene and May fought as much as they did.” Ruby gave Eli a knowing glance, and he grinned back at her.

  "Her brother?” Now Mason was confused. He knew extended families lived together a lot during those years, and it wasn't unusual for in-laws to settle with a married couple for economic reasons. But May's and Jeb's family has been well-off for the times. “What was he, an ugly, no-good moocher?"

  "Not at all. He was a handsome man. That was part of the problem.” Admiration shone in Ruby's voice. Mason glanced at her. “I've seen pictures of him the society pages of the old newspapers. A real cutie.” She winked at him and smiled. “Like you."

  Mason heard a scraping under the table, then Ruby yelped and jumped, giving Eli an evil glare. “Well, he is. And you think so too, Eli Storm. You said so."

  Mason dropped his head a bit and looked at Eli over the top of his glasses, pleased at Ruby's comment—but more pleased by the lack of denial and the bold interested look now on Eli's face. Hell, maybe the guy has a thing for screwed-up, artsy nerds!

  Eli glared back at Ruby but she deflected it with a satisfied smile. “Jeb Dahl was a well-known artist in these parts, a painter. One of his paintings is in your room, Mason. That was his bedroom while he lived here."

  "The seascape. I noticed. It's lovely. It's got ... emotion in it.” Mason smiled and admitted, “I'm an artist, too. Mostly graphics art, but I do some drawing too.” He gaze lingered on Eli's handsome, bold face and strong, athletic body. “I notice gorgeous things.” His cheeks burned just a bit at the double meaning he had intended to convey, but it was worth it to see the interested light in Eli's eyes heat up.

  Score one for the inept flirter!

  "I've got photos of Jeb I can show you.” Eli pushed back from the table. “This one was taken shortly before he left town that night."

  "And never came back.” Ruby was getting into the story now. “May threw herself off Mourning Cliff at dawn a week later."

  Eli rose and went to a glass curio cabinet to the left of the fireplace. After removing a slender silver frame from it, he came back and handed it to Mason as he sat down. The faded sepia picture revealed a dapper young man in casual clothing of the times, light-colored hair plastered down with something heavy
and glistening to keep unruly waves and long strands under control. His pale complexion and light eyes made Mason think he was a redhead. He was an attractive, slight, young man, with a handsome face lit by a contagious smile.

  "She killed herself because he left town?” Mason shook his head in disbelief. “Why did he go? I thought you said he and his sister were close."

  When Eli took more than a few seconds to answer Ruby took up the thread. “She killed herself because she drove him away. She was irate because she accidentally found out her brother had taken a lover. One he had been seeing for a long time."

  "She killed herself over another woman?” Jeb hadn't been upset when May married his best friend, but he wasn't allowed a lover? “Wow, that's taking the close twin thing a little far."

  Sitting back down at the table, Eli wrapped his hands around his coffee cup and Mason couldn't help admiring how the long fingers engulfed the wide cup and dwarfed it. Nice, strong, worn and experienced hands. Mason had to shift in his chair to give himself a little room to expand in his jeans. He wasn't erect, but this was more interest his cock had show in the mere act of watching another man in a long time. Mason had forgotten what position was the most comfortable to be in when his cock stirred to life in public. He moved his gaze up to Eli's eyes, avoiding his moist, parted lips on the way. The playful light in Eli's eyes were a little subdued.

  "No, she killed herself over the fact that Jeb's lover was her husband.” There was a small wry smile of reluctant acceptance of the facts on Eli's face. “May felt betrayed by the two men she loved most."

  Nodding in sympathy, Ruby spared a consoling pat on the arm for Eli before turning back to Mason and the tale. “It was the talk of the town for years afterward. We all grew up with the gossip and tales about it all. There was a huge, drunken argument among the three of them that ended down in the cellars. No one knows exactly what happened, but that very night Jeb suddenly up and left. Folks said he did it to save his sister's marriage."