The Haunting Crush (Mesa Boys #4)

Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

K ai, dressed in his work clothes, looked out over the few people drinking at the bar top, then focused on Conner. Everyone was set, for the moment.

Conner nursed a beer in a gray polo shirt and jeans and watched a baseball game on the television hanging on the wall.

Kai stepped in front of him and wiped the bar top down. Conner had come in shortly after his shift started. “Good game?”

Conner smiled at him. “So-so.”

“You’re taking your sweet time with that beer.” Kai placed his hands on his hips. “You plan on staying here all night?”

Conner gave him a sly smile. “Yeah, got to make sure no one hits on you.”

Kai shook his head and grinned. “Come on, it’s a Tuesday night.” Not that he minded him being here. He was nice to look at.

“So?” Conner sipped his beer. “I have to defend my property.” He snickered.

“Really. Now I’m your property?” He laughed.

Conner’s cell phone lit up and rang. He raised his brows and picked it up. “Hello?”

Kai walked to the other end of the bar and brought a check to a couple, then rang them up at the POS station. He glanced at Conner.

Conner set his phone on the bar top. “Hey.” He motioned with his fingers.

Kai set the receipt and debit card in front of the couple, then strolled down to Conner. “What’s up?”

“That was Brent. Turns out the medium had a cancellation and can come to your house tomorrow night. Does that work?” Conner gazed at him.

A shiver raced up his spine. “Yeah, that works.” Maybe they could finally get this chindi thing taken care of and he could move back into his own place. Kai glanced at him. How would he take that? “So...” His phone chimed. He slid it out of a back pocket and opened the text interface.

May

Mom says she’d like to meet him.

Kai blinked a few times. Holy shit, was this for real? His mother was going to acknowledge his relationship.

Kai

So, she’s okay with it?

He watched the dots on the screen.

May

Yes, she even seemed happy about it.

Kai

Are you sure?

May

Maybe you should call her.

Fuck, no. He chewed his lip. He’d just face her when they went to her house on Thursday. That was enough.

Kai

Just let me know if something changes before Thursday.

May

Sure.

Kai slid his phone into his back pocket.

“Hey, what was that all about?” Conner lifted his chin to him.

Kai twitched a corner of his mouth. “My uh, mom wants to meet you.” He still couldn’t believe it.

Conner spread a wide smile over his face. “That’s great.” He drank his beer.

“Yeah.” Kai massaged his neck, staring at the back bar. How would this really go down? Maybe it would be fine. May would be there. She’d help him if things went downhill.

“You okay?” Conner wrinkled his brows. “You look worried.”

“I’m okay.” Kai forced a grin. “It’ll be fine.” He drew a deep breath. He should change the subject. “Anyhow, so we’ll get to the bottom of this ghost thing tomorrow night, right?”

“Probably. Brent says this medium is really good.” Conner sat back in his chair.

“Good.” Kai grabbed a wine glass from the dishwasher and dried it with a towel.

Bryce strolled up with a serving tray in his hand. “Did I overhear something about the medium?”

Conner turned to Bryce. “Yeah, he’s able to come out tomorrow night. Are you working?”

“No, I’m on days tomorrow and Thursday.” Bryce scanned over the tables in the restaurant.

“Oh, same shifts as Kai, huh?” Conner narrowed his eyes.

“Yeah, why?” Bryce lifted his brows.

Kai slapped the towel on the bar top. “Stop it, Conner.” He smirked. He could have some fun with this. “Conner’s jealous of you. ”

“Kai...” Conner growled, glaring at him.

Bryce shifted his stance, looking Conner up and down. “Bro, I don’t swing that way. Besides, Kai’s had a crush on you forever. You don’t have to worry about him.”

“I know.” Conner fingered his beer glass and grinned. “We love each other.” He gazed at Kai.

Heat flushed Kai’s face. “I thought you didn’t want to tell everyone.” Maybe Conner didn’t mind if it got out after all? Maybe he’d decided to use Bryce’s big mouth to come out in a round-about way.

“I want to make sure Bryce knows.” Conner flashed his eyes at Bryce.

“That’s great, man. About time.” Bryce slapped Conner’s arm and smiled. “Anyway, I wanted to tell you both that there is nothing in that God damned wash. I was all over it this weekend and I didn’t find anything but a few old liquor bottles.”

Kai pursed his lips. “So, what was all that talk of bones?” They had to get this ghost thing figured out.

“Who knows?” Conner sipped his beer. “Tomorrow should be interesting.

Kai, still wearing his restaurant attire, parked his blazer in the carport of his duplex, shut off the engine and glanced at Bryce. “This is so fucked up.”

“I know. I really want to get out of my mom’s place.” Bryce opened the door and climbed out.

Kai got out of the blazer and searched for Conner’s BMW in the long shadows of early evening sunlight. He should have been here by now. “Wonder where Conner is?”

Bryce met him on the driver’s side of the SUV. “I’m sure he’ll be here soon.” He studied him “We haven’t had a chance to talk alone. How are things going with you two? Did you figure out what his deal was?” He placed a hand on his hip .

Kai twisted his mouth. “There are still some things that I’m not so sure about, but he does seem to really want to be with me.”

“Really.” Bryce peered at him. “What are you not sure about?”

Kai focused on him. He should be careful about what he told him, but it would be nice to get his opinion. “Something happened when he was living in Scottsdale, and I think he just up and left Paige and moved back here. I know that he has experience with men, but I don’t understand how he would if he was with Paige all this time. Unless he cheated on her.”

“Did you ask him about the open relationship thing?” Bryce thinned his lips.

“Yeah.” Kai snickered. “He thought I was asking him to have an open relationship, and he got sort of pissed.” He shook his head. “I don’t think he’s into that.”

“Well, then he either cheated on Paige, like, a lot, or in the short time between him leaving her and hooking up with you, he did a lot of guys.” Bryce laughed.

Kai’s heart clenched. Was Conner a cheater? If he did that to Paige, would he do that to him? Wait... Brandon said something about a hookup app. “Shit.”

“What?” Bryce touched his arm.

“That night we were at The Alamo, Brandon accused Conner of having a profile on some gay hookup app.” Kai focused on him. “Do you think maybe he did go a little crazy after he broke up with Paige?”

Bryce shrugged. “It’s possible. Anything is, I guess.”

Kai widened his eyes. Conner wouldn’t still be using hookup apps now, right?

“What are you thinking?” Bryce furrowed his brows.

Kai shook his head. “Nothing.” That was stupid. When would Conner have time to use a hookup app? They were always together. Living in the same place, even.

Conner’s BMW pulled up to the curb and the engine shut off. Conner got out of the car, wearing a blue button-down shirt and gray slacks. He strolled to Kai and smiled. “Hey, baby.” He kissed him on the lips.

All the previous suspicions melted away. “Hey.” Kai let a wide grin sweep over his mouth. He shouldn’t be stupid about this. Conner loved him and it was obvious. “So, where is Brent with the medium?”

“He’s on his way. Want to go in and check the place out while we still have some light?” Conner placed his hand on the small of Kai’s back.

“Sure.” Kai pulled his keys out of his front pocket and opened the door. “Feels like we haven’t been here in so long.” What would it be like to be to living with Bryce again?

Conner grabbed his hand and stepped into the kitchen with Bryce following. “Looks about the same.”

Kai peered into the room. All the upper cabinet doors hung open. A shiver raced up his spine. “Damn. I was really hoping when we came in, we wouldn’t find anything.”

Conner strode to the game camera and picked it up off the glass and rattan dinette. “Is it even worth looking at the footage?”

Bryce walked the length of the cabinets, closing each one. “No. What are we going to see? These things opening up by themselves again? We already know that.”

Conner glanced out the kitchen window. “Looks like Brent is here.”

“Good.” As goosebumps broke out over Kai’s skin, he rubbed his hands up his arms.

Conner hooked an arm around him and kissed his cheek. “Scared?”

“Yeah.” Kai chewed his bottom lip. He’d have to remember to keep himself in check. Brent wasn’t supposed to know they were together.

A knock sounded on the carport door .

Bryce opened the door and stepped aside. “Hey, Brent, come on in.”

Brent entered the room, wearing a black shirt and jeans.

A tall, bald man with kind eyes wearing a thin, gray sweatshirt and black jeans followed Brent.

Brent pointed to each of them. “This is Kai, Conner and Bryce.” He gestured to the bald man. “This is John.”

John bowed his head. “Nice to meet you all.” He clasped his hands in front of him. “Shall we get started? I’m already feeling vibrations in here, and I don’t want to lose them.” He held his hands out and walked to the cabinets. “Yes, it’s here.” He placed his hand on the cabinet over to the right of the sink. “There was something in here that was special to someone.”

Kai dropped his mouth open and looked at Bryce. “Holy shit.”

Bryce’s gaze caught on Kai’s. “The locket.”

John turned to them. “What did you say?”

“When we first moved in, there was a locket in that cabinet. We didn’t know what to do with it, so we brought it to Goodwill.” Kai glanced at Conner. “It’s got to be gone now.” Did that mean they were doomed to having this ghost here forever? “Do we have to try and find it?”

John shook his head. “No, there is something else.” He shut his eyes. “I feel something terrible has happened here.” He opened his eyes. “There’s more than one.”

“More than one ghost?” Kai shuddered and wrapped his arms around his waist.

Conner placed his hand on Kai’s shoulder. “You okay?”

Kai gave a shaky nod. It was going to be nearly impossible to remember to stay off Conner. He wanted nothing more than to feel his arms around him.

“When we did the investigation, we think Kai’s father came through.” Brent gestured to Kai. “But after Kai did a session with him on the spirit box, we didn’t get anything more from him. ”

John nodded. “I’m getting the same word over and over again. Bones.” He tented his fingers over his chest.

“That’s what we got, too.” Brent rounded his eyes.

John glanced at the door, then strode toward it and went outside.

Everyone followed.

John walked through the yard of rock, bushes and cacti and came to the side of the tan stucco house, then crouched down. “Get me something to dig with. Now.”

Kai watched John, trembling. “Uh, isn’t there a trowel in the kitchen, Bryce?”

“Yeah, I’ll get it.” Bryce jogged off.

Conner whispered in Kai’s ear. “It’s okay. I’m here.” He placed a hand on his lower back.

Kai forced an unsteady grin at him.

Bryce returned with the trowel and handed it to John. “Here.”

John dug in the dirt, looked up, then dug a bit more. “Can you give me a light?”

Brent slid a cell phone out of his back pocket and turned on the flashlight. “Here.”

They all peered down. A white, rounded shape showed through the dirt.

“Holy fuck.” Fear quivered up Kai’s spine. He turned into Conner, winding his arms around his waist. “What is that?”

Conner embraced Kai, then unwrapped their arms. He whispered, “Sorry.”

“Oh.” Shit, did Brent see that? He twisted to the others. Everyone’s attention was on the thing John was digging around.

John stopped digging. “We need to call the police. This is the skull of a baby, maybe premature. The bones aren’t fused.”

“What the fuck?” Bryce stared at it. “Who the hell would bury a baby on the side of a house?”

John peered up. “Point the light up there. ”

Brent moved the light to the roofline. A rain spout jutted out from the wall.

“I’m assuming that with the rain pouring off the roof right here, the bones were disturbed.” John glanced at each of them, one by one.

“The late monsoon.” Bryce sighed and turned to Kai. “Remember, Kai? All the rain must have dislodged the remains during that storm. It wasn’t in the wash like we thought.”

Kai nodded, holding his arms crossed over his chest. Why would someone abandon their child like that? What a terrible thing. Tears stung his eyes. He rubbed them away.

Conner watched Kai, wrinkling his forehead, then slipped his cell phone out. “I’ll call the police. We probably shouldn’t touch anything more, so they can investigate.”

“Wait.” John held out his hand and stood up, then handed the trowel to Bryce. “I feel that this is what the spirit wanted us to find. I believe the spirit is connected to this skull.” He looked at Brent. “But there is more to it than that.” He stepped toward the house. “Follow me. We need to have a séance.”

Brent and Bryce followed John.

“A what?” Goosebumps shivered over Kai’s skin.

“Come on. This should be interesting.” Conner placed his hand at the bottom of Kai’s back and walked with him through the yard, the carport door and into the house.

John moved the black coffee table from the couch to the center of the main room. “All gather around and place your hands on this table. We can use it to contact the spirit.”

“Cool.” Bryce walked to the table.

Brent slid an EVP recorder out of his back pocket and placed it on the couch. “I’ll record, in case we can pick anything up while we do this.”

Under his breath, Kai said, “No fucking way.” Using spirit equipment was one thing, but participating in a séance? He shook his head, trembling .

Conner grabbed his arms, under the shoulder. “Relax, Kai. He knows what he’s doing.”

John, Brent, and Bryce sat with their legs tucked under them at the table, all on the same side, and set their hands on it.

“We need all of us, Kai. And with the one spirit calling out to you specifically, we need you more than anyone here.” John held his hand out to Kai. “Come and take a seat across from me. Nothing can harm you.”

“B-but can’t I get possessed or something?” Kai frowned, glancing at Conner.

Conner whispered in his ear, “I’m here. I won’t let that happen to you.”

Kai’s gaze darted between them all, then he slumped his shoulders. “Shit, fine.” They’d better be right about this.

Conner and Kai knelt down at the table, placing their hands on it.

“Okay, now what?” As Kai watched John, he fought to keep his hands steady.

“Now we wait.” John closed his eyes a moment. “They’re here. I feel them.”

The table jiggled.

“Who did that?” Kai narrowed his eyes, looking at each of them. “Bryce, are you trying to fuck with me?”

“No.” Bryce sniggered.

“It was the spirits. They’re letting us know they’re here.” John let his face go slack.

The table slid across the carpeted floor at Kai.

Kai screamed and jumped up. “Fuck this.” No way was he going to do any more of this. His knees knocked together.

Conner stood and grabbed his arm. “Settle down.”

“The fucking table just came at me all by itself, and you’re telling me to settle down?” Kai glared at Conner.

“Kai, you need to be strong through this.” John pursed his lips. “Come and sit with us again. ”

“Jesus, Kai, don’t be such a pussy.” Bryce chuckled. “Come on.” He cocked his head.

Kai drew a deep breath. “Fine, Bryce. Let’s see how you handle it if it comes after you.” This was so fucked. He knelt down again, next to Conner, placing his hands on the table.

The table jiggled.

Kai whimpered.

As Conner wrinkled his forehead, he watched Kai.

“I feel the mother of the baby is here. Is that correct? Move the table if that is correct.” John stared at the table.

The table rocked onto two legs lengthwise, then slammed down.

Kai froze in place, staring at the table, hanging his mouth open.

“Are you the Ashbrook Wash ghost?” Conner glanced at John.

The table rocked again.

John peered at Conner. “How did you know that?”

“Wild guess.” Conner offered a faint grin.

John closed his eyes and his face contorted. His lips snarled.

Kai whispered, “Holy shit.” He watched John’s face change.

John opened his eyes. In a voice higher than his own, he said, “I miscarried. I didn’t know what to do. I’m sorry.” His head flipped back, then fell forward.

As John slumped, Brent grabbed him from the side. “Guess we have our answer.”

John came to and scanned the room, straightening. “Sorry. That was unexpected.” He placed a hand to his forehead.

“You okay?” Brent released him.

“Yes. What happened?” John asked.

“I think you were possessed for a few minutes. But it sounds like the girl that went missing, the Ashbrook Wash ghost, was pregnant and had a miscarriage and buried the baby on the side of this house. I’m guessing if we could look up the records, she probably lived here.” Conner examined Kai .

John nodded. “Yes, and her spirit is probably stuck here until the remains are properly disposed of.”

“What do we do now?” Kai glanced at Conner, then focused on John.

“Now I think we have enough information to call the police, and once the police are done and the remains are gone, I think it would be a good idea to sage and bless this house. There shouldn’t be any more disruptions after that.” John rubbed his temple.

Kai released a long exhale and relaxed his shoulders. “Good.”

Kai sat on the cushions of Conner’s balcony couch, draped in a blanket, watching the tall fountain shooting up and shimmering in the moonlight in the center of the park.

Conner came onto the balcony and handed him a low-ball glass with bourbon and took a seat beside him.

Kai grinned and flung a section of blanket over Conner. “Weird to have to call the police tonight.” He thought back. He’d never had to do that before. He sipped his bourbon.

“Who would have thought that the miscarried remains of a baby would be buried in your side yard and that it would belong to the infamous Ashbrook Wash ghost?” Conner set his arm around Kai’s shoulders. “Come here.”

Kai snuggled into his side. “How long do you think it’ll take to investigate the scene?”

“No idea, but I would think at least a day or so.” Conner kissed the side of his head.

“Well, when should we do the sage thing again and blessing?” It better work this time. He wrinkled his brows. “I mean, maybe we could do it tomorrow and see if it works. Then I could move back in this weekend.”

“Kai.” Conner faced him, dropping his arm from his shoulders .

“What?” Kai gazed into his blue eyes.

“Do you really want to go back?” Conner swallowed hard.

“I uh, I still have a lease on that place. I’m paying rent.” He searched Conner’s face. What was he driving at?

Conner stared at his glass of bourbon, resting in his lap. The corners of his lips twitched with a faint grin. “I like having you here.” He searched Kai’s face. “When is your lease up?”

“About two more months.” Kai pressed his lips together. “What are you saying? I should break my lease?” He narrowed his eyes. Was he asking him to move in already? “What about Bryce?”

Conner winced and sighed. “No, you’re right. You should move back into your own place.” He frowned. “Guess we won’t get to do this every night.” He swirled the bourbon in the glass, then drank it.

“We can still do this every night. I work right across the street. I can just walk over when I’m done.” Kai placed his hand on Conner’s cheek. He didn’t look happy. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved staying here with you while this thing was going on. But it’s a little soon to be moving in together, isn’t it?”

“Is it?” Conner flashed his eyes at him. “So, you’ll go back to living with Bryce.” He creased his nose.

Kai released a puff of air. “Come on, you know there’s nothing between me and Bryce.” Why in the hell was Conner still going on about that?

Conner fingered the blanket. “I know, but you two work together already and you’ll be living together again. He’ll always know you better than I ever will.”

“Come on, Conner. That’s not true. There are things I tell you that I don’t tell Bryce.” Kai kissed his cheek. What could he say to make him feel better about the situation?

“Like what?” Conner searched his face.

“I don’t know.” Kai sipped his bourbon and thought on it. He had to make it good, so Conner would stop worrying about this. He gazed deeply into his intense eyes. “I haven’t told Bryce everything about my parents. He doesn’t know that my mom blamed me for my dad skipping his insulin the day he died.” It was the truth. He’d never admitting that to anyone before.

“Seriously? I’m the only who knows that?” A faint grin curled Conner’s lips.

“Yes, well, you and May. But May was there, so I’m not sure that counts.” Kai grabbed Conner’s hand.

“May would have been three. She wouldn’t have remembered that.” Conner widened his grin. “But I don’t care if May knows more. She is your sister.”

Kai sipped his bourbon and looked out over the lake. “Does Paige know more about you than I do?” Where did that come from? Maybe all that talk with Bryce had him questioning things again. He glanced at Conner.

Conner turned his head.

“Conner?” He set his fingers on Conner’s chin, bringing them face to face. He wanted some damn answers. “Well?”

Conner chewed the inside of his mouth. “She knows a lot about me.” He snapped his brows together. “We were together a long time.”

Kai’s heart pinched. That was not what he wanted to hear. “Do you still talk?” He thought back. He didn’t remember her ever calling or seeing text messages from her on his phone, but it’s not like he was looking for it.

“Yeah, we talk.” Conner drank his bourbon. “I told you we’re still friends.”

I’m not sure how I feel about all this. “Did you... does she know about us?” This would be the test. If she knew he had someone else, then they were definitely done, at least in his mind.

Conner shook his head. “Let’s stop talking about this.”

That wasn’t good either. “Why don’t you want to tell me what happened to make you move back here? Something did happen, right?” He couldn’t just go on wondering anymore. He rubbed his eyebrow. This conversation was getting out of hand.

Conner gulped hard. “Why do you think something happened? Can’t I just decide that I need to change the direction of my life, and do it?”

“So, are you telling me that’s what happened? You just woke up one day and decided to dump your girlfriend of six years and move back here and start dating men?” Saying it out loud really made it sound ridiculous. He lifted his brows.

“Not men. A man.” Conner expelled a long breath. “Shit, Kai. This isn’t something to fight about, is it? We should be happy tonight. We found the source of your ghost problems and however we ended up here, we’re together.” He kissed Kai’s cheek. “I love you.”

He was right. He cocked his head and smirked. “I love you, too.”