Ghost Guy: Hell to Pay (Ghost Guy Series Book 1), page 7
Nefeli cast him a long look before saying, "Do you like pink?"
"You can normally tell," Tucker told her. "My hot pink zebra pants must be in the wash though, and I keep forgetting that I can take my Ducati places instead of walking. It's pink too. My hair is usually pink. I have a whole drawer full of pink wife beaters. I dunno, something about Nevin's body; it's just made for pink."
A couple of the ghosts started laughing, but Tucker ignored them and continued to talk. He often found that it was easier to talk than to think.
"Magnus is the butler, but I think he and Gisele are also… um… something to do with linen closets."
"Linen closets?" Nefeli asked. "What is that?"
"I think it's where they store the linen?" he said vaguely. "Only I don't know what linen actually is, and I don't think that what they do in there has anything to do with linen, but hell if I know."
He swore that the Graves talked in some sort of code most of the time, and he didn't know if they did it on purpose or if it was just the way they were.
"Magnus is grumpy," Tucker warned her. "Which is weird because Gisele is like not."
"I once heard someone say that opposites attract," Nefeli offered.
"Must," Tucker agreed. "Because they could not be more different."
Nefeli almost seemed normal right now. Like she could have a conversation without glaring at him. Her ghosts were goofy though. A couple of them kept making faces at Tucker. And one…
"Cut it out!" Tucker exclaimed.
"What?" Nefeli demanded.
"Sorry, not you. One of the ghosts. I named him Karim."
"What is he doing?"
"He keeps jumping out in front of me," Tucker grumbled. And it's frigging annoying."
"What does he look like?"
"Ten, maybe; thin and tall. Long arms."
"Buck teeth?" she asked.
"Yeah."
She stared longingly at the sidewalk in front of Tucker for a moment before asking, "Have you named all of them?"
"Just three," Tucker replied. "The ones who are the most outgoing."
Both of them fell into silence, but then Nefeli said, "You told me about Gisele and Magnus."
"Right. Next there's Ollie. She's Gisele's daughter."
He wanted to tell her that Ollie knew a hundred ways to kill a person, but he wasn't sure if that was a secret, so he just said, "She offered to teach me to fight."
"Offered?"
"I was gonna do a lesson with her, but I dunno. I don't wanna fight a girl."
"That's absurd."
"Absurd?" Tucker asked.
"Stupid," she spat. "What if a girl wants to fight you? Are you just going to say no thanks and walk away?"
"Yeah," he nodded.
"What if you need to stop her from hurting someone?" Nefeli demanded.
"Do you know how to fight?" Tucker asked instead of answering.
"I don't need to know how to fight," she said softly.
He cast her a sidelong glance. Her face was solemn and filled with regret, so he just went on.
"Curtis is Ollie's linen closet partner. He's…"
He couldn't tell her that Curtis was really a troll. God, he hated carrying secrets for other people; it gave him a frigging stomachache.
"Then there's Tessa," Tucker said, trying not to shudder.
"You are scared of her," Nefeli surmised.
"Yeah, she's… I dunno. When she looks at me, I just get the feeling she sees me, like all of me. I mean, I don't guess that's bad, but she just… You'll understand when you meet her," Tucker decided. "She's the head detective of Graves, Graves, and Graves. Her dad, Virgil, Gisele's son, used to be the head detective, but I guess he was wicked evil, so we're all glad he's dead."
"I see."
"Tessa and Julian are linen closet partners," Tucker continued. "On second thought, I think they're actually married. Julian is an artist. He has an art showing in New York right now. Something to do with wanderers, people who have no earth home; I don't really know. He draws really good though. He's done a couple funny drawings of D-Dog."
Tucker laughed softly before saying, "And then there's Aaren. I like Aaren. He's quiet, but when he decides to talk it always makes sense to me. And it always seems important. He's only six. He's a Graves, but I don't know where he belongs 'cause he's not one of theirs, if that makes sense. Oh, and Badri lives there. And his wife and two kids. They handle the cooking. Badri makes…"
Tucker couldn't even describe it. When he ate Badri's cooking he felt as if he was the richest man in the world.
"Anyway, you have to eat Badri's cooking, then you'll understand," he said.
"That's a lot of people," Nefeli stated.
Her tone was worried, and Tucker didn't blame her.
"Too many," he agreed. "It's frigging overwhelming. Especially when they start arguing, which they do a lot. They argue more than they talk. But it doesn't matter. We have to go there because if we don't, they'll come find us. Rumor has it Tessa always finds her man."
"Rumor," Nefeli snorted.
Tucker shrugged and said, "Just 'cause it's a rumor doesn't mean it's not true."
His feet had started to slow, and he pointed up ahead at the Graves' front door.
"There it is," he said.
It was in a long line of similarish houses, but its very presence seemed to somehow say that it didn't really belong here, that it was too wealthy to belong here. It was nothing obvious, just something Tucker could feel.
"Are there any ghosts?" Nefeli asked.
"No, thank god," Tucker grumbled. "I couldn't handle the Graves AND ghosts."
"Why don't you just tell them no?"
Tucker shrugged and said, "It's hard. They want to help me, and I always thought it was kinda tacky to shove away an ore when you're treading water out in the middle of the ocean, you know what I mean? Maybe you didn't want to be picked up by pirates, but if you think about it, it's better than being eaten by a shark. You know?"
"Oddly enough, yes."
"Cool," Tucker said. "So we have to knock now. Actually, we have to pull the bell pull. Isn't that weird? A frigging bell pull?"
"I don't know what that is," she said.
"It's old school," Tucker stated. "I like vintage. Vintage is dope, but old school is just too much."
He made himself walk up the steps to the landing; and then, with a dismayed sigh, he pulled the bell pull. Magnus opened the door instantly, almost as if he had already known Tucker was there.
"Mr. Tucker. They're waiting for you in the sitting room."
"Don't they have anything better to do?"
"Apparently not, Mr. Tucker. Allow me to say that if you make Mrs. Graves cry again, I will take it very personally."
"I'm sure you will," Tucker grumbled before grabbing Nefeli's hand and heading towards the sitting room. Halfway there, it occurred to him that she probably didn't like being touched, and he muttered "sorry" and released her. She didn't say anything, but he heard several of the ghosts laughing.
He wasn't in the mood to handle all the Graves, Nefeli, and a hundred and eight ghosts, so he stopped just outside of the sitting room and whispered, "Do you guys think you could like stay in the hallway? Or wander the house? Or do anything but cluster around Nefeli and make faces?"
Moxie laughed out loud, and Karim grinned widely.
"Please?" Tucker begged. "You've no idea how these women can be."
"And how can we be?" a cheerful voice asked from behind him.
"Oh hell," he hissed. "Sorry," he said as he turned around and forced a smile to his lips. "Gisele, you look even younger than you did this morning."
"You're such a charmer," Gisele twittered. "Now come in and introduce us to your friend."
"Um…"
He cast a glance at the ghosts. Most of them smiled. A few of them waved him forward. A couple were glaring.
He sighed heavily and calculated how much longer this day was going to last. Too long, but maybe, just maybe, tomorrow would be a better day.
It only took five minutes for Tucker to go through the round of introductions. For some reason, the Graves showed none of their usual pushiness, and even though he saw Julian staring quite intently at Nefeli's snake hair, no one said a word about her hair or her expression, which was murderous at best.
To Tucker's relief, most of the ghosts had stayed in the hallway, but a few of them were clinging to Nefeli and casting equally murderous glances around the room.
He got it. He would be the first to admit that the Graves were not only overwhelming but also scary as hell. Every time he was around them, his mouth dried out and his heart tried to dance the two-step.
But he was learning that just because someone was terrifying didn't mean they were bad. The Graves were okay, and he knew they were okay. His brain was a little slow on the uptake, but it would eventually get there.
After Tucker had finished with the introductions, an odd quiet fell over the room; and for once, he didn't know how to fill it.
He fought the crazy urge to stare at Julian and try to figure out what kind of cryptid he was, but he was too nervous to look at anyone else, so he just studied his shoes and hoped that they would let him go up to bed soon.
"I'm so glad Ollie called you," Gisele said cheerfully. "Of course you must stay with us until your domestic issues are resolved. You and Nefeli both."
She gazed at him expectantly, and Tucker stumbled for a reply.
"Just say yes," Tessa ground out. Tucker sent her a rather panicked glance; and she shrugged and added, "I would consider it a personal favor."
"I can't answer for Nefeli," Tucker managed to say, "but I appreciate it."
"It's settled then," Gisele said happily. "Isn't it, Nefeli?"
"Um…"
Nefeli looked as overwhelmed as Tucker felt. She had come across so strong and aggressive before that seeing her with that panicked look on her face almost made Tucker laugh. Almost.
"Yes?" Nefeli said uncertainly.
"Excellent," Gisele gushed. "Badri already readied your rooms, and I'm so glad you didn't disappoint him." She leaned forward, winked at Tucker, and said, "I think we should celebrate."
"Gisele," Tessa said warningly.
"What, dear?"
"I don't think they—"
"Nonsense," Gisele interrupted. "Everyone enjoys a nice story before bedtime."
"Yes, but…"
Tessa trailed off, a pained look on her face; and Ollie tried to pick up where she had left off.
"Perhaps we should put the children to bed first," Ollie said pointedly.
"They're hardly children," Gisele countered. "And Aaren's already asleep."
"Grandma!" Tessa snapped.
"Tessa," Gisele retorted. "Just this afternoon you were begging me to read."
"That was before," Tessa ground out. "Just skip it."
"I'm tired anyway," Ollie put in.
She yawned widely, but even Tucker could tell that it was fake.
"What's going on?" Nefeli whispered.
Tucker shook his head and said, "I have no idea. They're always kinda like this."
"I'm tired too," Julian suddenly said. "And it's Ollie's night, so I'm really, really tired."
Ollie cast Julian a look that had Tucker cringing, but Julian didn't seem to mind. Maybe he was a vampire. That might explain why someone like Julian would be brave enough to mouth off to someone like Ollie.
Julian stood and offered his hand to Tessa, but just as Tessa was reaching for it, Gisele snapped, "I have not read in nearly seven hours now. You will all sit, and you will all listen, and I will not hear a single complaint."
Julian sat, and Tucker's eyes widened. She was the tiniest woman he had ever seen, but she ruled them with an iron fist.
"Definitely the matriarch," Nefeli murmured.
Tucker made a note to look up that word when he got home. If he ever did get home.
A burst of anger filled him. He could not believe Apollo. Apollo had thrown fits before, but nothing like this. This was the first physical home Tucker had ever had, and he had only just realized how attached he was to it. But then Apollo had snatched it away. Tucker was used to people leaving him, but a house? That just seemed wrong.
"It's clear to me that Tucker needs a diversion from his woes," Gisele announced. "And I just started a delightful new novel called The Privateer's Virgin."
"Oh good lord," Tessa muttered.
Gisele made an annoyed noise and said, "No complaints."
"But, Grandma—"
"Hush! I'm reading, and that's the end of it."
Tucker stared at Gisele in confusion because the sweet little old lady he had first met had morphed into a little pink demon, and everyone else in the room seemed scared of her. That was insane though. She was like eighty years old. And Ollie knew a hundred ways to kill a person. And Curtis was a frigging troll. But even though he could tell from their faces that they wanted to argue with Gisele, not one of them did.
Gisele suddenly cleared her throat so loudly that it made Tucker jump.
"Are you ok?" he asked.
Tessa cringed, but Gisele gave him a kind smile and said, "Yes, dear, it's just part of my process. Sit back and relax."
Tucker didn't think that was possible, and he realized that he was holding Nefeli's hand again, grasping it really; and he quickly let go.
Gisele cleared her throat again, waved her hand, and said, "I always hate reading the setup, so I won't. Bridget is a young woman who is due to go to London for her season, but she fancies herself in love with the local blacksmith. Who doesn't?" Gisele added with a twittering laugh.
Tucker was beginning to suspect that Gisele's novel was like one of those lady movies, the kind he never watched, because they were for girls.
"Bridget's decided that the only sure way to get what she wants is to ruin herself so spectacularly that no one in society will have her. Which will allow her to marry the blacksmith, of course. She truly believes in his love. Poor naïve thing," Gisele sighed.
She smiled brightly, leaned forward, and said, "She's stolen one of the stable boy's clothing, taken flight, and stowed away on a ship that was docked in the bay. The ship belongs to Captain Buckley Harrison. He's a spare," Gisele added confidentially.
Tucker didn't know what that meant, and he was trying to figure it out when Gisele cleared her throat once more, startling him.
"As I was saying," she said, holding Tucker's gaze. "Bridget is now on Captain Buckley Harrison's ship. He's a privateer. Do you know what that is, Tucker?"
He shook his head.
"A privateer is a ship's captain who sort of works for the British crown but isn't part of their navy. They only attack ships that sail under flags the crown is at war with. In this case, France. This is during the Napoleonic Wars, you see."
Tucker didn't know much about history that didn't involve people wearing togas, but he thought Napoleon was the short dude who had ruled France for a while.
"Unbeknownst to Bridget, the ship has already gone out to sea. She's hiding in the hold, but she's suddenly come down with a case of seasickness."
"Ok?" Tucker said when Gisele paused.
"The pause is merely for emphasis," she said. "You needn't say anything."
"Ok," he said once more.
She smiled affectionately before clearing her throat, lifting the pile of papers from her lap, and beginning to read.
Bridget couldn't stand it anymore. The air was thick with a hundred smells, and she was certain if she didn't get some fresh air, she was only going to add to it.
She swallowed quickly, trying to shut down her need to purge what little remained in her stomach. She had only been down here for an hour, but already it was choking her. She could surely run up above decks, carry a bit of rope around for a minute, and then hide again. She would just keep her head down, and if anyone asked her to do anything, she would mumble that she was running an errand for the captain.
Once she had been missing for an entire day, she would reveal herself to the captain and demand that he return her to the port. The whole escapade would be so public that her father would have no choice but to let her marry Roderick.
Bridget bit her lip and sighed longingly, remembering Roderick; and for a moment the stench and hot suffocating air of the cargo hold faded away, replaced with the blazing heat of Roderick's forge.
Bridget fanned her face as the heat rushed over her, pooling in her nether regions and making her yearn to feel the touch of Roderick's hands.
His hands were so large, and she knew if he laid them on her skin, she would be quite undone. A sigh escaped her as she imagined his darkened flesh on her pale belly. Would he stop there? She didn't think so.
His hand would move lower and lower—
"Bedtime!" Tucker shrieked as he grabbed Nefeli's hand and jumped to his feet.
He had only just realized what was happening in Gisele's little story, and his cheeks were burning. Probably as much as Roderick's forge. The comparison made Tucker squeak with distress, and he yanked Nefeli towards the door.
"See you in the morning!" he called over his shoulder. "We'll find our own way up!"
Laughter followed him, and it wasn't just the Graves' laughter. Several of Nefeli's ghosts were laughing as well, but he didn't know why. If Nefeli didn't even like being around men, why would she want to listen to… to… Whatever the hell that was?
And then he realized that Nefeli was laughing too.
He halted at the bottom of the staircase and stared at her in confusion. He didn't know why she was laughing, but he was also fascinated by it. He wouldn't have even thought that she knew how to laugh, but here she was, laughing so hard that tears were running down her cheeks.
Moxie seemed to realize how confused Tucker was, and she walked over to him and took his hand. He couldn't feel it much, but he could feel it, and he smiled down at her, a sudden rise of affection filling him.
Nefeli's laughter finally trailed to a halt, and she studied him with the oddest look on her face before saying, "I think you might be the nicest boy I've ever met."
His cheeks started to burn all over again, and he tried to stutter out a reply, but he couldn't seem to manage it.
