Page 100 of The Ghost of Ellwood
I noted small differences in Theo after the discussion. The shadows I’d often caught in his eyes fled, and when he touched me it held no reserves. It was as if learning Harvey moved on had eased Theo’s guilt for doing the same.
The next day, I found Theo in the greenhouse.
He hummed as he cared for his roses, and I leaned against the doorframe quietly watching him. I loved seeing him work like this, loved seeing the gentle way he looked after the flowers that had been his only solace for years.
He’d created such beauty within these walls. While a large part of him had almost been consumed by the dark, he’d held onto a sliver of light.
“I feel you watching me, Ben,” he said with his back turned. He glanced at me over his shoulder. “I had a thought.”
“Hmm?” I strode forward until there was no distance between us and wrapped him in my arms.
“We should plant some of these outside the manor,” he said, lightly touching the roses. “When the weather is nice again. It would be beautiful to see them outside where they belong.”
“Okay.” I dipped my head down to kiss his neck. “Come spring, we’ll plant them.”
It was a promise I hoped I’d keep. A week had passed since I’d learned of Lady Death’s legend, and I was still alive. But for how much longer?
“You’re shivering, Ben.” Theo moved his hand along my arms and looked up at the glass above us. “It’s snowing.”
“Would you like to take a walk in it?”
His face lit up. “May we?”
“I’d do anything to see that smile on your face,” I said, lifting his hand to my mouth and kissing his knuckles. “Just let me grab a coat.”
Five minutes later, we were outside the manor, walking through the snow flurries. We didn’t say a lot, but we didn’t have to fill the quiet with chatter. Hand in hand, we moved slowly around the property.
“I never thanked you,” Theo said, stopping in front of the shed in the back yard.
“For what?”
“For seeing me.” Brown eyes held my gaze, warm and kind. “What we’re doing? Many people would find it peculiar. Strange. Some might even say it was disturbing. But you don’t see me as a ghost. Or a human. You simply see me as Theo.”
I brought him closer, our mouths almost touching but not quite. “You don’t have to thank me for that. Meeting you has been the best part of my life. I was lost before I came to Blackwell Manor.”
Theo closed the gap between our mouths.
And as the snow continued to fall around us, we remained frozen in a kiss.
***
If I’d thought November was a great month, December far exceeded it.
A teaser promotion forThe Ghost of Ellwoodhad been sent to the masses, and people were losing their minds over it. They couldn’t wait for another ghost story from me, and it was a relief to see their excitement. The book had been sent to my editor, and he had emailed me as he’d read through the manuscript.
“Your best work yet, in my opinion,”he’d said.
Career aside, December was also an incredible month because of the people in my life. Carter had made it a habit of coming over at least every other day for dinner. He had stopped inviting me to his house because he knew Theo couldn’t be with us. Their budding friendship filled me with joy. They had even taken to messaging back and forth online and sharing funny articles and memes with each other.
A bromance at its finest.
The best of all was my relationship with Theo. I never dreamed I could be this happy. Breakfast together every morning then I worked while he read or browsed on his laptop. Afternoons were filled with lovemaking and conversation over games of chess. I might work more in the evening, but then we’d cuddle on the couch and watch a movie that night.
The only time Theo made himself disappear was when people other than Carter came to the house, like the repair men I’d hired to fix the rotten floorboards in the second story, and the electrician who fixed any faulty wiring. I’d also had the bathtub replaced in both bathrooms. Now, they were massive tubs that made it comfortable for two people to sit in together.
Theo especially liked bath time now, even though it took us forever to get clean, thanks to his always roaming hands and eager lips.
The Saturday before Christmas, Carter and I walked down the sidewalk on Main Street.
