Chapter 6
Lucy was glad Remy didn’t have a ghost tour to work tonight, so she could join her and Jesse at an outdoor beer garden in town for drinks and dinner.
Well, Jesse and Lucy were drinking. Remy never drank alcohol due to her family history, so she had an iced tea and a small appetizer for dinner.
Lucy knew Remy must be worried about spending money she really didn’t have on luxuries like restaurant food, but she loved spending time with her friends.
Though she would occasionally allow Theresa to treat her to dinner, it was only because Theresa’s family was quite wealthy.
Despite Lucy’s best efforts, Remy refused to take any money from her or Jesse.
Jesse had just gotten up to get in the beer line. Remy waited until he was out of earshot, then she asked Lucy, “So, do you know Jesse’s friend Avery O’Rorke?”
Lucy was startled by the question, but struggled to keep her expression even.
“Yeah. The Irish guy. He’s nice.”
“He’s more than nice,” Remy insisted. “He’s gorgeous. And he’s so sweet. And my God, that accent. That voice.” Remy put her hand over her heart like she was about to swoon. “I swear, I could listen to him call out Bingo numbers and it would be sexy.”
Lucy chuckled. She pictured Avery’s kind, hopeful face. She couldn’t help but imagine his expression if he knew the way Remy was talking about him. He would be so happy.
“So, do you know if he’s seeing anyone?” Remy asked hopefully.
A sense of dread settled in Lucy’s stomach.
So it begins. Oh, Remy. You’ll get hurt if you fall for him.
Lucy’s heart ached as she looked at her friend.
Remy, who had no real family to count on, and who struggled so hard to make ends meet.
Remy, who was kind and loving and deserved a man as wonderful as Avery, but also deserved a man who was alive.
Someone who could love her and hold her in his arms.
“Umm, I’m not sure,” Lucy said.
“I’m scared to ask Jesse.”
“Why?” Lucy asked.
“Because what if Avery is seeing someone? Or he’s just not interested? If Jesse tells him that I asked about him, then he’ll know I like him.”
Lucy was about to answer when Jesse came back with two beers. He handed one to Lucy and then sat down next to her and across from Remy. Lucy desperately hoped Remy would drop the subject of Avery.
“So Jesse. What is Avery’s, you know, deal?”
Jesse looked perplexed. “What do you mean, his deal?”
“You know what I mean, ya hick,” Remy said.
Lucy giggled. Remy loved to tease Jesse about his accent. Lucy realized Jesse probably didn’t know what she meant. He was pretty savvy, but he still wasn’t completely up on all the slang from the young kids these days, as he would say.
“She wants to know if Avery is dating anyone,” Lucy said evenly.
“Oh. Uh, no. He doesn’t have a girlfriend or anything,” Jesse said.
“Do you think, well, do you think he might be, you know, interested in me?” Remy asked tentatively.
Lucy could see the compassion in Jesse’s eyes. Remy was usually so outgoing, but right now she seemed so vulnerable.
“Maybe you could, I don’t know, ask him if— No. No, don’t say anything to him. Forget I said anything. Please don’t—”
“He’s very fond of you, Remy,” Jesse said with a gentle smile.
Jesse glanced at Lucy, who nodded her approval. Though she didn’t want to encourage this doomed relationship, Remy obviously liked Avery and would be heartbroken if she thought he didn’t feel the same way. It would be cruel to let her think he didn’t care.
Remy’s eyes filled with excitement and hope. “Really? You’re not just saying that?”
“No. He likes you, Remy. A lot,” Jesse told her.
“He does? Oh, I’m so glad,” Remy gushed. “I love talking to him. It’s like the highlight of my day.”
Remy looked so happy, so excited about a future with Avery that would never happen.
Of course, Lucy had never dared dream that she and Jesse could ever be together, but his return to life was a rare and wonderful miracle.
The odds were not good that such a thing would happen again.
Lucy’s heart sank when she thought of what would happen if Remy got involved with Avery and he crossed over.
“What’s the matter, Lucy?” Remy asked upon seeing her expression. “Don’t you like Avery?”
“Oh, of course I do! He’s a wonderful guy and a great friend.”
Remy nodded enthusiastically. “I hope he asks me out. Every time I talk to him, I keep hoping he will. I’d love to go out with him and spend time with him outside of work. A few minutes with him just isn’t enough.”
Oh, Remy. It’ll never be enough, Lucy thought. Soon you’ll want to touch him, to hold him, and you won’t be able to. And it will hurt. It will hurt so much.
Jesse exchanged a brief, worried glance with Lucy. Avery wouldn’t be asking Remy to dinner anytime soon, that much was for sure.
Remy sighed. “He’s so wonderful, Lucy. He’s always so sweet to me.” She added in a soft voice, “He called me beautiful. In Irish. No one’s ever called me beautiful before.”
Lucy felt a prickle of anger at Jesse for not heeding her warning.
This was exactly why she hadn’t wanted Avery and Remy to meet in the first place!
Though Lucy empathized with Avery’s lonely plight of pining for Remy, it would be Remy who suffered the most. Lucy was also angry at the whole situation.
It was so damned unfair that the two of them couldn’t be together.
“I hope I get to see him tomorrow,” Remy said.
“He’ll be there,” Jesse said, glancing at Lucy. “I’m sure of it.”
* * *
Remy hopped off the bus at Little Round Top, nervousness tingling in her stomach.
It was excruciating to give the tourists the usual instructions on where to go and when to be back for the bus when all she wanted to do was rush off to see Avery.
Thank goodness there weren’t too many questions from her group today.
She tried to walk casually over to the spot near the 44th New York Infantry monument where she usually found Avery, but she wanted to run over there.
Her heart sank. He’s not here. Remy had wanted to so much to see his smile and hear that deep, masculine voice of his.
She found herself craving the attention he gave her.
Better watch it, girl, she warned herself.
Remy had been on her own for a long time and was a strong woman.
She’d never needed a man’s approval, and she wasn’t about to start now.
Still. She loved the tender way he looked at her, and he said the sweetest, most wonderful things. No one had ever made her feel the way he did with just a simple look and a kind word.
Finally, she spotted Avery in the distance.
She drew in a nervous breath as she watched him looking purposefully around.
He was probably checking on his tour members, making sure nobody had any questions or concerns.
At last, he turned and spotted her. His face broke into a broad, handsome smile, and Remy felt her knees go weak.
“Hi, Avery,” Remy called to him as he walked over to her.
“Hello, Remy! How are you? Still working too hard?” Avery asked. He actually looked like he was worried about her, which she found touching.
“Well, I did have the night off last night, so I guess that’s something.”
Please, Avery. Ask me out on a date.
“What have you been up to?” Remy asked him.
“Same old boring stuff. Best part of my day is talkin’ to you,” Avery said with a wink.
He’s going to do it. He’s going to ask me out.
Remy waited a moment to give him a chance. She knew she should act like the modern woman she was and just ask him out, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. If Avery wanted to date her, he would ask.
He didn’t.
Maybe she had misinterpreted Jesse’s words. He said Avery liked her a lot, but maybe he just wanted to be friends.
The silence was long enough to be unbearable, so Remy finally broke it.
“Well, I guess I better go check on my group,” she said.
“Yeah.” Avery nodded. He looked like he wanted to say something more, but Remy could be wrong. She felt like she was wrong about everything else about him.
Remy stifled a sad sigh, then turned to leave.
“Remy!” Avery said.
“Yes?” she said, turning back hopefully.
“I, uh, have a good day.”
“You, too,” she said with a forced smile.
I was so stupid to think a wonderful, handsome man like Avery O’Rorke would be interested in me. He’s way out of my league.
* * *
Jesse noticed that Remy looked upset as she walked past him.
He also saw that Avery looked equally sad.
Guilt stabbed at him for not listening to Lucy.
She was right when she said it would only cause pain if Avery and Remy met.
Still, it wasn’t Lucy who had to look into Avery’s eyes every day when he talked about Remy.
Jesse was planning to ask Avery what had happened, but he didn’t get the chance.
“Jesse! I got some news for ye,” Avery said.
“Yeah?” Jesse looked at him curiously.
“I know who it is that was botherin’ Lucy.”
“You do?” Jesse’s eyes flashed with anger when he thought of how that creep had touched his beloved Lucy.
“I asked some other, you know, guys,” Avery said, not saying the word “ghosts” out loud. “Some people have seen him skulking around. Name’s Private Ellis George of the 6th Wisconsin.”
“I see,” Jesse said. “Good to know.”
It was damned frustrating that the guy was dead. There wasn’t much Jesse could do to punish him for hurting Lucy, and there wasn’t much he could do to stop him from doing it again.
“Any idea why the hell he was bothering her?” Jesse asked.
“Yes, actually,” Avery said, eyes wide. “Seems he hates women. He’s known for harassing ladies on ghost tours, grabbin' ‘em and stuff like that. Tryin’ to scare ‘em.”
“Ugh,” Jesse said with disgust. Born in 1839, Jesse had an old-fashioned reverence for women. He felt it his duty as a man to be protective of them, and none more than the one he loved.