Page 4 of Hallowed Tree
I swear, I had to fix everything around here. Zipping across the room, I ran my hands through the curtains, making them billow. They didn’t notice, and the heated argument continued, so I pushed the alarm clock on the bedside table onto the floor. “You created this mess, Buck. Help me.”
A huge dopey grin split his face, and he moved to the closet, running his hands along the top of the hangers, causing them to jangle together and clothes to slide off onto the floor. I went back to the curtains for another sweep, and finally, we had their attention. Between one breath and the next, their raging ceased as they moved and clung to each other in the center of the room.
Satisfied, I brushed my hands together. “That’s one potential disaster avoided. They might still leave, but at least their review will be that it was too scary to stay.”
Buck nodded happily. “Right? Which is still good for business.”
Huffing, I tugged down my suit vest. “That doesn’t make it alright, Buck. What have I told you about taking the hauntings into your own hands? You’re still thinking too much like a heartbeater, and you go too far.”
He hung his head. “I guess you’re right.”
“I am. Now come on. We don’t let you stay around here to make trouble or shuck your duties. I overheard Mr. Jetty saying he was craving key lime pie. That’s your department, so I need you in the kitchen.” Where I can keep an eye on you, I added in my head.
He nodded happily, because of course he did. I swear the man was never upset for more than ten seconds. How aggravating. I’d get on my own nerves if I was like that. “What about them?” he asked.
I glanced at the couple still huddled together in the middle of the room and shrugged. “They didn’t run out of the room screaming or call the front desk. Let them figure it out. Let’s go.” Then I blinked out, picturing my destination in the kitchen.
Buck
After Harry left, I looked fondly at Brian and Trisha. She was trembling uncontrollably while he rubbed her back and soothed her. I could see that he was literally shaking in his own boot—since he’d managed to get one off—but he was ignoring his own fear to comfort his wife. How sweet.
This was what it was all about. Harry thought I wanted to torment the guests for my own personal thrill, but that wasn’t it at all. They booked into a haunted hotel for a reason, and I wanted to give them something to remember.
I knew Harry would be back in a minute if I didn’t shake a leg and get down there, but I wanted to leave the happy couple with one more little burst of excitement to get their anniversary going. Running around the room fast enough to create wind, Ifolded back the top of the bedsheets before I popped out of the room. I reappeared in the kitchen a second later.
“What took you so long?” Harry asked. “And why are you laughing?”
Upstairs, Trisha screamed.
“Sorry, Mr. Harry. Can’t talk now. I got pie to make.”
But he was already gone, off to check on the happy couple. Stevie appeared, jumping up on the counter and shaking his head. “You couldn’t help yourself, could you?”
Well, no. No, I couldn’t. I had hours and hours of lectures ahead from Harry, and I wasn’t one bit mad at it. After all, he was my favorite grump.
Chapter Two
Harry
“Buck. Buck. Where is he now?” Why I’d told the owners of the B&B that I’d train Buck was beyond me. From the minute he’d shown up, he’d been a pain in my—
“What’s up, Harry?” he asked, popping into existence, his face directly in front of mine. And Harry? How dare he still call me Harry. I was his superior, his boss. He was a subordinate.
Sighing, I tugged on my black vest and took a step back. No way I’d admit he nearly scared me to…well, not death. I’d been an apparition for well over a century, and I had no time for Buck’s hijinks.
“Why do you insist on appearing right in front of me? Did no one ever teach you about personal space?” I asked.
Grinning like a schoolboy instead of a grown-ass man, he nodded happily. “Of course.”
That was it. Not even an excuse for why he so obnoxiously subjected me to such an intimate look into his fathomless dark eyes, forcing me to inhale his foresty-fresh scent. Even aftermonths of working with me inside, he smelled like he’d just hiked the woods and sat next to a body of water, trapping all that fresh crispness of the outdoors on his person.
“Of course, he says,” I mumbled, turning away. “Whatever. We have things to do. We have guests checking in this afternoon, so we need to make the beds, empty the dishwasher, and I’d like to clean the baseboards in the parlor.”
Buck frowned. “But it’s so nice outside.” I opened my mouth to remind him of the deal we made—I gave the orders, and he obeyed without arguing—when he rushed on. “You had me strip all the beds after the last guests left, wash the sheets, then remake the beds. And Jetty washed the breakfast dishes before he went to work this morning.”
I felt my lips tip down automatically. “Why in the world did Mr. Jetty do the dishes?” I stressedmister. Mr. Chance had purchased the manor and set the property free of a treacherous spirit. Since then, his boyfriend, Mr. Jetty, had moved in. They were our bosses and worthy of our respect. Not that I could get that through Buck’s thick skull. He was much too irreverent to continue on here at Willowhope Manor, but...
I’d seen a loneliness in him the first time he’d entered our home, wanting to check in like a normal—aka, living—guest. I’d allowed him to stay that first night, telling myself every evening after he retired to his room for the night that I’d tell him to go the next day, but…I mean, he really seemed to enjoy it here. I couldn’t just tell him to go, could I? I wasn’t the most patient man, but I wasn’t a…a…a monster.
