Page 41 of All You Want
Evan was called out of town by his agent to do a special ghost-hunting segment for a Halloween TV special, but he should be back today.
I’ve gone over my checklists a dozen times. The kitchen is in good shape, and food has been delivered. The decorators are finished, and the housekeeping staff has everything clean and ready once the generator kicked in.
I have a million things to do, including a test run of the haunt effects Evan prepared for the hotel common areas and the specially named rooms. Other numbered rooms will have generic sound effects like dragging chains, creepy organ music, dry ice mists, and spooky holographic projections. We even have mechanisms to turn on and off the bathroom taps and flicker the nightlights.
Which is why I’m rushing to my hotel with half a ham and pickle sandwich in my mouth and my other hand on the steering wheel.
My wiper blades need changing, and one headlight is out, so I’m having a hard time seeing in the slashing rain. No worries. I know this road like the back of my hand.
After weaving down the steep incline, I swerve around a downed tree straddling the narrow road and fishtail a turn toward Hangman’s Bridge. Everything’s on track for opening night, including the Graveyard Party where we’ll let people park their campers, show spooky movies on an outdoor screen, and have a row of food trucks. We’ll have a costume contest, trick or treating at the campers, and a tour of the hotel’s lobby and haunted dining room.
Dad got Todd to sign off on the event after pitching in money to pay for the deputies. Linx’s rancher brother, Chad, and Molly’s estranged brother, Randy, volunteered to stand guard inside the hotel. In addition, Todd’s buddies from high school got in trouble for having an open bottle violation while crashing into the statue of old Colonel Colson, and they were assigned to patrol the party as part of their community service.
All is good, if only I can get ahold of Evan to give me a preview of his work so I can sign off and make the final payment. I stuff the rest of the sandwich in my mouth and put on my turn signal at the corner.
Todd has been cold to me lately, saying ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ at the planning meetings. He couldn’t even rustle up a smile when I sold him a raffle ticket to win a night of Harrowing Haunts.
Wonder what crawled up his craw. He didn’t even return my picnic basket. But then, he’s been busier than ever training all of his new deputies. Guess he regrets the impromptu hike and kiss thing he did to me after the flash mob scene.
Men. Don’t know what they’re thinking half the time.
No time to pine. I punch in Evan’s number in my cell phone. At the same time, my eyes widen at a dog running across the street. I slam on my brakes, and my cell phone flies into the windshield.
The dog races off across Mrs. Anderson’s front lawn, and I catch my breath, glad I didn’t squish it flat underneath my tires.
That was a close call.
I’m still busy calming my breathing when thechirrupof a police siren pulses nearby. I glance in the rearview mirror and spot the giant Tahoe PPV with the light bar flashing.
Really? Todd gives me the cold shoulder all week, and now he’s going to give me a warning for almost running over a dog?
Quickly, I flip open my compact and reapply my lipstick, but when I look up at the tapping on my window, it’s not Todd, but Shane Donnelly.
I roll the window down with the hand crank—one of the joys of having a vintage sportscar.
“I’m okay.” I close my compact and blink at him. “I swear, the dog dashed into the street, and luckily I was able to avoid hitting him.”
“You know how fast you were driving?” Shane says in a stern voice but can’t quite hide the grin.
“Why, no, Officer. But I’ll take your warning and slow down.”
He props his forearms on the open window frame and leans close enough for me to smell his breath mints. “Sorry, Tami, I’m not Todd, and you were going fifty in a thirty-mile-per-hour zone.”
“Oh, I can see you’re not Todd.” I flash him a smile. “I didn’t know I was going so fast. Thanks for the warning, Officer. I’ll be more careful.”
“And then there are the conditions.”
“Excuse me? What conditions?” I sneak a peek at my phone, hoping it isn’t damaged and checking the time at the same time.
“Weather conditions, among other conditions.” He waggles his eyebrows as if I’m supposed to catch his gist.
“It’s not raining.” I peek up at the break in the clouds.
“Not now.” He wipes water off his cap. “But it’s my word against yours, and it was definitely raining when that dog crossed the road.”
“I’m not going to argue with you. I didn’t hit anyone or anything. Since I was already stopped in the middle of the road when you pulled me over, I’d say I wasn’t speeding either.” I lift my chin in triumph, right as sunlight blinks through the clouds, and a patch of blue appears.
He narrows his eyes and points to my phone. “Were you texting and driving? I might have to impound that phone for evidence.”
