Page 8 of Hallowed Tree
Mr. Chance’s hotel would never survive if people were too scared to come visit. The manor was my home. The thought of it becoming eternally abandoned made a shiver run up my spine. Where would I go? What would I do? I liked serving Mr. Chance’s customers. Buck was still a work in progress when it came to hauntings, but he tried.
“It’s you,” he finally said.
I stopped short. “Me? Why in the world would it be me? All I do is yell at you and remind you of your shortcomings.”
He shook his head, nudging me with his elbow to keep walking. “That’s not all you do. You teach me things about the afterlife every day. You always warn me of danger, and you put your foot down and keep me safe if you think the magic Mr. Chance or his mom are doing might somehow harm me. Plus”—he bumped my arm with his—“I think you enjoy my company as much as I like yours.”
“That’s ridiculous. I keep you with me so you don’t make any messes that I’ll have to clean up later.”
“Mhm,” he hummed, sounding completely unconvinced.
Feeling uncomfortable, I sped up, needing to get this pond-break over with. I didn’t understand why Buck even wanted me outside with him. He’d have a better time if he was alone, free to fish or chat with the other spirits. I knew he was friendly with most of them, and they hid from me.
“Have you ever been in love, Harry?”
My heart thumped, shooting a weird energy through me, and I choked. On what? I had no idea. I didn’t salivate, and it wasn’t like I could choke on air. Good grief. What had come over me today? Maybe it was being outside, away from the safety of the mansion.
Buck stopped, turning me toward him. “Have you?”
I waved him away. “I’m over a century old. There was never time for such things in my lifetime. My parents put me out when I was young, so I learned quickly how to work hard. It’s been my pleasure to take care of others. It’s all I’ve ever needed.”
His expression screwed up in confusion. “Why did your parents kick you out?”
Buck
“Because I liked men, of course,” he said, then slapped his hand over his mouth. Guess he hadn’t meant to admit that out loud.
I shook my head. “I hate people. I’m sorry that happened to you.”
He turned, walking again. “It’s fine. It was a long time ago. Things were different then.”
“It’s still not okay,” I insisted. “So you never tried to…”
He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, Buck.” Before I could respond, he asked, “What about you? Have you ever been in love before?”
I hummed, giving the question some real consideration. “I thought so. Once. When it didn’t work out, I felt like my heart shattered into a million pieces.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
I shrugged. “It’s okay. Now I know it was a healthy dose of lust mixed with infatuation.”
He glanced over at me curiously. “How do you know that?”
A doe appeared in a break in the tree line, and I pointed. “Look.”
Harry stopped, and I caught the startled delight on his face before he had a chance to school his features into their normal reserved blankness. When two baby deer walked up on either side of their mama, a wide smile spread across Harry’s face. “Oh my.”
We remained silent, watching the trio sniff around. Throwing caution to the wind, I slid my arm around his shoulders and leaned down to whisper, “I knew that it hadn’t truly been love the minute I met you, Harry. The wonder on your face right now is exactly how I felt the first time you spoke to me.”
Harry went stiff as a board under the weight of my arm, becoming more corporeal than normal. I guessed that was a plus. I’d expected him to disappear back to the manor. Even though I’d been quiet, the sound of my voice drew the mama’s attention, and she swung her head in our direction, then nudged her offspring away.
Harry turned toward me. “I don’t understand.”
Since he hadn’t stepped back, I stroked my fingers along his smooth cheek, enjoying the silkiness. “You, Harry. When I first died, the thing that bummed me out the most was that I’d never had a long-lasting relationship. I’d always wanted that, you know? Someone to get up with in the morning. A person I’d want to spend my days with and miss like crazy when we were apart. That special someone that I’d want to tell all about what happened while we were apart and hang out with after dinner. All the things we do now. I longed for that when I was alive.”
“But…” He shook his head. “We work together.”
I smiled down at him. “Harry, we choose to help at the manor. They’re getting free labor because you love it there, and because I love being wherever you are. We’re in our afterlife. Technically, we don’t need to do anything at all. Granted, it gets pretty boring, but…” I shrugged.
