Jeez, I hope not. That’s gross.
He didn’t seem that creepy. But I liked to fantasize that he was creepy. It was the best way to stop my pulse from pounding in my throat every time I laid eyes on him.
“Nice truck,” Roan had said when he delivered my clothes.
I tried not to swoon. It was a big deal with me that the Land Cruiser be referred to as a truck. It wasn’t a car, and I didn’t call it an SUV. It was a truck, and that’s what Roan had called it.
I really didn’t like him.
“He’s okay,” I said quietly to Susan.
Susan was lying on the bed smacking ghost gum and filing her ghost nails. “All the women talk about him. He looks kinda smooth, but I get the feeling he’s a little rough around the edges, like a lumberjack. He plays guitar at night in back.”
I scoffed. “For an audience?”
“No. By himself.”
My heart did that stupid lurching thing again. Best to get my mind off it. “Listen, I need you to make a big appearance tonight at Soul Food and Spirits.”
Susan sat up. Her face shone with delight. “Like, totally. I can be as big as you want. You want something flashy to get their attention?”
“Yes. I need to find Lucky.”
“Ugh. That horndog. Good luck. He’s here somewhere. Every once in a while I get a whiff of Old Spice, so I know he’s hanging about. He doesn’t show himself much, though.”
For good reason.Lucky knew one of us was just waiting to transition him to the other side. He wouldn’t go without a fight. No problem. I could fight with the best of ’em.
Or I couldfightthe best of them, whichever way you wanted to see it.
Susan clicked her tongue. “So I’ll like totally make it big. Maybe I’ll put on a scary face or something.” She giggled with delight. “How totally rad. I can’t believe how bitchin’ this is going to be.”
She glanced at me. “Sorry for the language.”
“It’s okay. Listen, I’m going to catch a nap before tonight. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long one.”
I lay on the bed and closed my eyes.
“I like your hair,” Susan said.
I kept my eyes closed, trying to remember. “You were right. It was a ghost gift. I helped a spirit give a wad of cash to his son. There was the smell of shoe polish that lingered when he was near. I don’t know why I always remember that, but I do. I had just started working full-time with spirits, and I was always working hard to keep my hair this color. Like, overtime on it. I like being different.”
“It’s not like you have to work hard at it,” Susan said. “Because, like, dude, you can totally communicate with us—the spirits. That puts you in a different category of person entirely. What else can you do?”
I opened one eye. “Help you cross over.”
“No, thank you. I’m not interested.”
I sighed. “Neither is half this town. That’s why we’ve never bothered with it before.”
“Who is we?”
I ignored the question. “Anyway, I found the cash, gave it to the son and the ghost gave me this hair. It was my first ghost gift.”
Susan shifted to face me. “I’ve given all of mine away already.”
My jaw dropped. “All five? You gave all five of the gifts you can give to living people away?”
“Yep.”
