Page 18 of The Haunting of Lockton
“Who’s your favorite author?” Julian asked.
Oh no. It’s begun.My brother could gush about books for hours if given the chance to do so. Meeting a fellow bookworm was a recipe for disaster. That disaster being my inevitable boredom.
“Ben Cross,” Taylor answered.
“The horror novelist?” Julian asked. “I’ve read a few of his books before!Bloody Rageis a masterpiece.”
“Right? It’s a damn classic.” Taylor grinned. “Murder in Scottsvilleis amazing too. No one writes horror like Ben.”
“Didn’t he write a romance a few years back?” Julian nibbled his bottom lip as he thought. “I haven’t got the chance to read it yet. What was it called…The Ghost of Eden?”
“Ellwood,” Taylor corrected before scanning the shelves and plucking one off moments later. He handed it to Julian. “Here it is. Wanna know something cool? It’s based here in Ivy Grove. Ben moved here and was hit with the inspiration for the story. Theo is the ghost who haunts his manor, and they fell in love.” He balked and waved his hand around. “I mean, in the book. Not in real life. The main characterin the bookfalls in love with a ghost namedThomas. It was, um, very loosely inspired by legends surrounding Ben’s house about a man named Theo who went missing in the early 1900s.”
Julian flipped through the book before adding it to the stack in his arms. “So you’re his friend?”
“Well, I hope Ben thinks of me as a friend.” Taylor breathed out a nervous laugh. “I definitely see him as mine. Can I ask where you guys are investigating?”
“Lockton Asylum,” I answered.
“No shit?” Taylor gaped. “Man, that place is wild. It’s right up there with Redwood on the most haunted scale. Well, not so much Redwood anymore.”
“Because it was cleansed?” I recalled what Paxton had said about it.
Julian looked at me. He hadn’t been there for that conversation.
“Yeah! Y’all have really done your research. But yeah. Lockton is in a league of its own.” His gaze dropped to the books against Julian’s chest. “A true man of taste, I see. I freakin’ lovethat series. Don’t watch the movie though. They basically took the book and set it on fire.”
“Good to know,” Julian said with a light laugh.
“What else do you like to read?”
My eyes started to glaze over as the discussion returned to books. “I’m going to get a coffee. Want anything?”
“A vanilla cappuccino?” Julian answered.
I nodded and left them to their book talk.
The café had a decent selection of drinks. Green tea, cappuccino, chai, and coffee with various flavorings like hazelnut, vanilla, mocha, and pumpkin spice. I stared at the latter, my will fluttering away. I was one of those basic bitches who fucking loved pumpkin spice. No fucks given either.
After ordering our drinks and a cranberry scone, I found a four-seater table in the corner and shrugged out of my jacket, draping it over the back of my chair. I ate half the scone before Julian joined me at the table.
“Don’t judge me,” he said, setting down his books—a stack that had grown by two.
“Oh, I’d never do that.” I eyed them. “You had to rescue them from the store. I understand.”
He grinned and snatched up his cappuccino.
“Is Taylor still here?” I asked. “You should ask him to sit with us.”
“Really?” He took off his messenger bag and dropped it into one of the empty chairs. “You didn’t seem too enthused about him earlier.”
“Because you two were speaking another language, and I was bored.”
“Another language? You mean about books? Maybe if you actually tried to read, you’d like it.”
“I read subtitles on anime. That’s about as far as I get.”
“Hentai doesn’t count.”
