Page 75 of A Haunting at Keystone Manor

Jake laughs as I push my hair off my forehead, catching my breath. “We’re not even in the deep end of the lake. It’s probably less than ten feet to the bottom. If your car is in here, it’s most likely on the far side of the lake, over there.” He points towards the other end of the lake. It’s far away and looks ominous. Dark. Like it’s holding secrets, and maybe a car. I shiver.

“Fuck the car,” I decide, and splash Jake. He sputters and splashes me back. I squawk and lunge at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and climbing onto his back. “Swim me around the lake, I’m getting tired.” He hooks his arms under my knees, and I wrap my legs around his waist.

“Aren’t we supposed to be meditating?” he asks.

“Yes, but we’ve been working so hard. We deserve a break. Now swim!” I command. “But not towards the creepy side. I don’t want to go over there,” I say and put my face in the crook of his neck.

“I thought you wanted to find your car.”

I shake my head. “I’ve learned that it’s best to leave some things in the past. I’ve moved on.”

He laughs at that. “Uh huh.” He swims further out until we’re in the middle of the lake, and I push off from his back, floating face up, looking at the sky. There are a few clouds up there, and I watch them race across the sky. It’s hard to believe we have this little slice of paradise all to ourselves today. As much as I wish this hotel was more successful, I know I’d miss having this with privacy with Jake. Out here, it feels like we're the only two ghosts in the world. He floats next to me in silence.

We close our eyes. “Good thing we’re not iPhones,” I say. “We’d ruin our battery.”

He snorts at my stupid joke, and we fall back into silence for a long time, floating.

Chapter forty

Seth Gets a Date

Alex

The following day Brandon walks into the hotel, Kayla in tow. Shit. I’d forgotten she was granted bail.

“Wow, I’m glad to be back. Clearly this place has gone to hell without me,” she says as she looks around.

She sees me and her eyes go wide. “Alex! It’s um… so nice to see you. I hope we can put the… alleged murder behind us?” she asks hopefully as Brandon steps behind the desk to turn on his computer.

“Alleged murder?” I squawk. I wave a hand up and down my body. “I’m a ghost you crazy bitch!”

“You don’t look like a ghost. Aren’t ghosts supposed to be invisible?”

“I was at first, but I learned to harness the energy of the land in order to manifest a physical form. It takes energy, and I have to charge every once in a while.”

She looks stunned as I try to explain. “That’s so interesting,” she says avoiding my gaze by looking around the lobby. “I like what you’ve done with the place. Haunted manor was a genius marketing strategy.”

“Thanks!” I preen, and she bobs her head.

“So, since I’m here, I’d like to be put to work. That way you can tell the court what asset I am to the community, if I need a character witness. For anything.”

“Why the hell would I do that?! If anything, I’d be turning evidence against you! You killed me, or did you forget?”

Kayla looks at me with concern. “That was an accident, Alex. Allegedly. I’d like to put this behind us and work to repair our relationship.”

I rub my forehead. “This is too much. Kayla, you can stay up here and answer the phones. Brandon could probably use the help.”

“Yeah, absolutely. I can do that.” She looks at Brandon. “How’s the book thing going, by the way?”

“You remembered! It’s been going good. I’m just about done with my second round of revisions. Seth has been helping me iron out a few of the finer details.”

“Who is Seth?” she asks.

“A friend of mine. He kind of lives here now, on and off. He’s a psychic. He helped Alex and Jake a lot when they first became ghosts.”

She perks up at Jake’s name and tucks a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “So, is Jake around?” she asks as her cheeks grow red.

“Back off babe, he’s taken. By me. We’re getting married.” We’re not even engaged yet, but she doesn’t need to know that. When the time is right, I’m going to put a ring on it.