Piney blinked at her.“Eating what?”
“The popcorn.”
He grabbed another handful and tossed it into his mouth.“Like this.”
Pearl rolled her eyes.“I mean how can you stand smelling it all the time?The smell wafts over to the clubhouse every night.I don’t think I could stomach one kernel anymore.”
Piney shrugged.“Same way I eat two hot dogs and a nacho from the concession stand every night.It’s good.”
Push barked out a laugh beside me.“Damn, brother.It’s amazing you haven’t put on pounds.”
Piney looked down at himself thoughtfully.“Maybe all the walking balances it out.”
“You don’t walk,” Pearl said immediately.
“I walk emotionally.”
“That doesn’t even make sense,” I laughed.
Piney pointed at me with a butter-covered finger.“It does in my mind.”
Push squeezed my hand lightly.“Don’t encourage him.”
Too late.Piney already looked pleased with himself.
I glanced around while we walked farther into the haunted house area.Employees moved around resetting props and checking lines while tourists wandered toward the attractions.Everything looked organized chaos.
“How do you guys do all of this?”I asked.
Push shrugged slightly.“There are twelve of us, baby, and we also have a full staff.”
“And Ron,” Piney added around another mouthful of popcorn.
Pearl looked over.“Ron?”
Something about the way she asked it caught my attention.
“Who’s Ron?”I asked.
Push motioned vaguely toward the attractions around us.“He handles all the ordering and shit.All the behind-the-scenes stuff for the haunted house and ghost boat.”
“Basically the reason this place doesn’t completely fall apart,” Piney added.“No one really sees him, though.Anchor is the guy in charge, but Ron is his hands.”
“Is he a member of the club?”I asked.
Push shook his head.“Nope.Just deals with the haunted house and ghost boat tours.”
That surprised me a little.
I hadn’t really thought much about the people working around the island beyond the club members themselves.The employees blended into the background so easily that I’d barely noticed them.
Tour guides.Concession workers.Actors.Maintenance people.Just pieces of the scenery.
“Erin!”
I froze.The name hit me like someone throwing ice water over my head.My eyes snapped around the crowded midway immediately.
What?
