Page 72 of Haunted Ever After

Libby tsked. “Nan said to get him, so I got him. That’s how it works.”

The front door opened, and as though summoned, Nan Simpson stood on the front porch in all her pink-track-suited glory. She looked out into the yard, taking stock, then nodded. “Good,” she said. “The boy’s here. Let’s get this started.”

Nick looked up at Nan, then to Libby and finally to Cassie. “What exactly are we getting started?”

“An exorcism,” Libby replied cheerfully. “Haven’t been part of one of these in a while. Should be fun.”

“They’re not fun.” Nan shook her head at her granddaughter as Libby pushed open the gate to head into the house. “Go inside, double-check everything. Tell me if I missed something.” She looked back at Nick and Cassie, who were still rooted to the spot, the gate firmly shut between them again. “Come inside when you’re ready. It’s time C. S. Hawkins crossed over for good.”

As the front door closed behind Nan, Cassie heaved a sigh. Then she turned her attention back to Nick, worry etched in her expression. He reached out, smoothing a thumb across her forehead. She closed her eyes at his touch. “I really don’t want to involve you in this,” she said, her voice soft.

Nick shook his head. “Don’t care. I’m in.” He took her hands in his—her fingers were freezing, despite the heat of the late afternoon—threading their fingers together.

Her face softened, and that only strengthened his resolve. “I don’t like what he does to you,” she said. “I don’t want to put you through that.”

“I don’t love it, either.” Even now, on the other side of the gate but this close to the house, Nick could hear the static, a faint buzz in the back of his brain. It dared him to cross into the yard, even as everything inside him urged him to turn and flee. But he was stronger than that. And it was time to tell her. Everything. “Cassie. I want to be with you.”

She blinked up at him in surprise. “What happened to ‘no pressure, no strings’?”

“You happened.” He reached for that lock of hair that always fell out of her messy bun, catching it to twirl it between his fingers. “Give me all the pressure. All the strings. Lay it on me.”

He bent toward her, over the gate. She caught her breath, and then he caught it, brushing his mouth over hers. Her kiss lay waste to the thick wall he’d built around his heart, around his soul. He didn’t need it anymore. When they came up for air, he pressed his forehead to hers, breathing her in. “I want to be with you, Cassie,” he said again. “I know that there’s a lot going on right now, about to banish a ghost from your house and all, so my timing is absolute shit. But you have no idea how good it feels to say that to someone. How good it feels to feel that way. I know you still might be leaving town, so I don’t want to pressure you. But…” He was babbling now, his thoughts spilling through his brain and out of his mouth faster than he could keep track of them. But these feelings were so new, so strong, that he couldn’t hold them back.

Cassie pulled back, her brown eyes studying his, and Nick wanted to lose himself in those eyes. Hell, he already had lost himself. He just needed Cassie to find him.

“I want to be with you too.” Her words sent his heart soaring, but her face was still worried. She threw a glance over her shoulder, to the house where everyone was waiting for them. “But I don’t want you involved in this. There’s got to be another way.”

Nick would like that too, honestly. But…“Apparently Mr. Hawkins only really appears for me. So if I can help get him out of here, then that’s what I’m going to do.” He took a breath and, very deliberately, unlatched the garden gate. Then he stepped through, into Cassie’s front garden.

The static took up residence in his head almost immediately. Buzzing that was almost painfully loud. But Nick wasn’t afraid of it anymore. Now he knew what it was: C.S. Hawkins dialing in, trying to find the right frequency to get Nick to do his bidding.

Wasn’t gonna happen.

“Nick.” Cassie’s voice broke through the static and calmed his heart. She squeezed his hand. “Are you sure about this?”

He squeezed back. “It’s for you. I’m in. I’m all in.”

Twenty-Nine

Cassie didn’t want to go inside. She didn’t give a damn about ghosts anymore. At that moment, all she wanted was to pull Nick away from prying eyes, down the street if necessary, and ask him what he meant by “I’m all in.” It wasn’t exactly an I love you, but it wasn’t not one, either. That moment, where it was just her and him there at her front gate, felt like one of those moments you needed to pause, to remember every detail, because it was a moment you were going to remember for the rest of your life. The way Nick’s hands felt, cupping her face. The way his eyelashes were a little spiky as they framed those clear blue eyes of his. The way he smelled faintly of lemon sugar, carried on the light breeze that surrounded them. His voice, his words, the way he talked so fast it was like his mouth was trying to keep up with his brain. Cassie wanted to hold him close and live in this moment for the rest of her life.

But she couldn’t. Because there was a malevolent spirit in her house, bullying everyone he was able to reach, and that asshole needed to be evicted. And this gorgeous, perfect man in front of her was apparently the key to making that happen.

So instead of dragging him out of there to a place where none of this could touch them so she could ask, What exactly do you mean by “I’m all in”?, she gripped his hand tightly and led him up the stairs and onto her front porch. There was something about the way he walked, with slow, deliberate steps, that made Cassie’s heart hurt. It was obvious that this was hard for him; every time he’d been to her house recently he hadn’t even made it inside the front door. She didn’t understand what C.S. Hawkins was doing when he affected Nick like this, but it was obviously uncomfortable at best and painful at worst. This whole exorcism thing had better be quick.

Cassie stepped carefully over the threshold of her front door. Nick hesitated for a long moment before following. Once on the other side of the threshold, he exhaled a long, slow breath.

“Okay.” He smiled at Cassie. “See? It’s not so bad.”

He was lying. Cassie could tell by the set of his jaw, a slight squint in his eyes, that it was indeed bad. Really bad. What kind of torture had he just signed himself up for, for her sake? Cassie hated this, but all she could do now was support him to the end.

She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. His eyes were still that bright, impossible blue, but she knew that wasn’t going to last. It was about to get much, much worse.

Nan was waiting in the living room, with Libby and Sophie behind her in the kitchen like acolytes in casual summer wear flanking their track-suited high priestess. Sophie chewed on a fingernail, her eyes darting around, while Libby kept her eyes on her grandmother. But Nan only had eyes for Nick and Cassie.

Cassie, meanwhile, only had eyes for her living room. While she’d been outside, the room had been completely transformed. The curtains were drawn, turning the room into an intimate scene. Those tall, white taper candles glowed from where she’d placed them earlier. All the furniture had been pushed up against the walls, like they were going to throw a dance party in the living room. Even the circular area rug had been rolled up and moved aside. In the middle of the empty space was a large, almost-completed circle laid down with what looked like sand. Cassie pointed to it. “That better vacuum up afterward.”

Nan rolled her eyes, while a smile played around Libby’s mouth. “It’ll be fine,” Libby murmured, as Nan gestured to the circle.

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