“Calm down. He’s just a dog. Here, I’ll introduce you two,” I said, leaning over to pet Hank until his stance became less aggressive.
“Hank, that’s Rafe. Be nice to him,” I said, pointing to where Rafe sat. Hank swung his head between the ghost and me.
“It’s okay. Really,” I insisted, and Hank moved to where Rafe sat, sniffing curiously at the ghost as Rafe crossed his arms and looked up at the ceiling, biting hislip. When Hank didn’t lunge at him, but instead sat and cocked his head curiously at Rafe, I smiled.
“See?”
“I can’t believe you keep this animal in your home,” Rafe said, though I saw he was shooting glances at Hank over his shoulder.
“Rafe, didn’t you have any pets? Where are you from anyway?”
“We had a cat once. Before I left for sea,” Rafe admitted.
“Ah, you’re a cat person. Got it,” I smiled down at Hank, offering him a piece of cheese. He took it from me delicately in his teeth and hopped from the couch to eat his snack in the corner.
“I’m not one for forming attachments. You really couldn’t as a pirate,” Rafe said, and I felt sadness wash over me as I thought how lonely that life must have been for him.
“You never knew who you would have to kill,” Rafe finished eagerly.
Yup, sadness all gone.
“Rafe, I’m going to bed. Sleep downstairs, but stay out of the upstairs,” I ordered as I collected my dishes and called for Hank.
“I don’t know if Icansleep,” Rafe wondered.
“Well, go do something useful with your time. But leave me alone.”
Praying that the pirate would find somewhere else to go, I made haste to my bedroom, slamming the door and locking it behind me for good measure. Hank jumped up to his favorite spot on the bed.
“Hank, you’re on ghost patrol.”
And this is what my life has come down to, I thought as I stripped my dress over my head and pulled on a sleep tank. Ordering my dog to warn me about ghosts.
Never a dull moment around here.
Chapter Twelve
The morning cameway too fastfor me, and I groaned as I rolled over in my bed, pushing my hair out of my eyes. Hank bellied up towards me on the bed until his nose just touched mine, then gave me a swipe with his rough little tongue.
“Morning, buddy,” I said, reaching out to scratch his tummy when he rolled over for me.
My thoughts were in a jumble this morning, as I tried to work out the impressions from my dreams last night. The most disconcerting one was that I felt like maybe I should have stayed behind to see what the evil thing on the beach was. I sincerely hoped our retreat wouldn’t come back to bite us in the ass. Biting my lower lip, I hurried through my morning routine, pausing after my shower to examine my closet.
If we were leaving straight from work to pick up Miss Elva, I should probably dress for the day. Glancing down at Hank, I realized I would need to come home and let him out anyway, but still decided to grab a purple maxi dressfrom a hanger. The rich purple color complemented my lavender hair, and small gold sequins were sewn on the bottom half, giving the fabric a fun shimmer. Plus, this dress made me feel powerful – and I suspected I’d need to project confidence when we went to the Pagan festival later in the day.
Mulling over the potential for disaster to strike at the festival, I let out a screech when I rounded the bottom of my steps and ran face-first into Rafe.
“Jesus, Rafe. Don’t do that,” I shouted, holding my hand over my heart.
“What? You said not to come upstairs.”
“So you waited at the exact bottom of the stairs?”
“Well, not all night. I watched some of the people in the box talk. Then I went out and about. But I figured I’d better come back and wait for you this morning, as I didn’t want to miss spending the day with you.”
I leveled a look at him as I crossed the room to open the back door to let Hank outside for his morning potty, leaving it open for him to come back in when he was finished.
“You don’t have to stay with me the whole time, you know,” I said, wanting to encourage separation in our spaces.
