Chapter 10
Joel headed toward Meade’s Tavern, hoping to get a chance to talk to Lucy without Jesse hanging around. It was nearly midnight, and they’d be closing up shop soon. His plan was to catch her as she walked to her car, giving them a few moments alone to talk.
Though Lucy wasn’t exactly his type, Joel was very fond of her. He spent so much time being invisible, or at least keeping a safe distance from the living, that it felt good to have someone actually look him in the eye and talk to him like he was a real person. It didn’t hurt that Lucy was pretty, either.
Except for Fillis, Joel rarely got the chance to talk to women anymore, save for the occasional tourist. Even when he was alive, his last few years had been spent in the company of men. He loved the way Lucy made him feel when she looked at him. He felt like a man again. Lucy had no idea that he was just a wispy spirit; she looked at him like he was big and strong. Lucy was so petite that it made him feel even more masculine when he towered over her.
Joel remained invisible when he got to the tavern so he could drift right into the restaurant to see if Lucy was working. If she was, he would go back outside and wait until she got off work.
He floated through the wall of the tavern, only to find the stupid hick there. Jesse was standing in the back, invisible to the living, watching Lucy as she worked.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Joel demanded.
Jesse shot him a look of disgust. He hated having Joel invade his hallowed space at the tavern. This was his spot. His and Lucy’s. Jesse wished Joel would just go back to wallowing in misery at Devil’s Den.
“I’m just enjoying the view,” Jesse said, looking over at where Lucy was wiping down a table.
Joel’s expression softened as he looked over at Lucy. “It is nice.”
Jesse didn’t like the way Joel looked at Lucy. Was he falling for her, too? That would be horrible. Jesse would never stand a chance. He had to remind himself that neither one of them actually had a chance with her. They were dead, for God’s sake.
“What are you doing here?” Jesse asked.
“I wanted to talk to her without your hillbilly ass interfering. No rule says I can’t talk to her alone,” he said.
Jesse glared at him, then turned back to Lucy. Both soldiers watched as she wiped down the rest of the tables and cleared off the remaining glasses and silverware.
A small creaking noise came from somewhere inside the old tavern. It was the normal cracking sound of an old place settling, but it made Lucy jump. She looked around nervously.
“What’s wrong with her?” Joel asked, concern in his voice. “She looks upset.”
“She doesn’t like working late at night,” Jesse said. He glanced over at Joel. “Turns out she’s petrified of ghosts.”
“Oh,” Joel said, looking even more worried.
“She hates when it’s dark and quiet.”
Another creaking noise from upstairs startled Lucy. She jumped, then let out a nervous sigh as she heard Craig stomping down the stairs. He passed through the dining room and went into the kitchen.
“Wow, you weren’t kidding.” Joel said. There was sadness in his voice. “Too bad. I was really hoping we could tell her the truth about us someday. I don’t know how we could do it without terrorizing her.”
Jesse nodded. He’d thought about it a million times. Would it ever be possible for her to stay friends with them if she knew they were ghosts? Could they somehow break the news to her without scaring her half to death?
Craig came back through the dining room and went upstairs. Joel and Jesse watched Lucy as she finished her work.
“I wish we could help her,” Joel said. It was another thought Jesse had had a million times before.
“I just wish we could walk her to her car at night. That part scares her the most,” Jesse said, realizing as he spoke that he’d better be careful in revealing to Joel just how much he knew about Lucy. “I guess we could sometime… I mean, I doubt anyone would bother her if it looked like she had two men walking with her. Still, if something were to happen…”
Joel nodded and said quietly, “We couldn’t stop it.”
Jesse winced. The idea of watching someone hurt Lucy and being powerless to stop it was horrific.
As Lucy swept the floor at the front of the room, the back door to the dining room slowly opened. It was Craig. He crawled silently behind the bar. He crouched on the floor and picked up two wineglasses from under the bar and clinked them together a few times, making a soft, tinkling sound. It was barely audible, but in the still of the night, Lucy heard it loud and clear. She gasped and looked over at the bar.
“They do this shit to her all the time,” Jesse said bitterly.
“Bastard,” Joel said, glaring at Craig.
Lucy went pale. “Craig, is that you?” She bit her lip and took a shaky step back. She said louder, “Craig?”
Craig chuckled and crawled out from behind the bar.
“I knew it was you,” she said, and went back to her sweeping. Jesse could see she was still shaken. He wanted to punch Craig even more than he wanted to punch Joel.
Still snickering, Craig walked back toward the kitchen. “You know I love ya, Lucy!” As always, he thought he was being witty and charming by teasing her. Both dead soldiers glared at him.
Then Joel followed him to the kitchen.
Jesse floated through, too, to see what Joel was up to. As Craig tidied up the kitchen and put some dishes away, Joel became visible for a split second. It was a quick flash of light, then it was gone. Just enough for Craig to see him from the corner of his eye. It startled Craig at first, but then he shrugged, convincing himself it was just his imagination.
Then Joel did it again. Craig drew in a deep breath as he stared at the spot where Joel had been standing. Hands shaking, Craig dropped a plate on the floor where it shattered at his feet.
How does it feel to be scared, you sorry sonofabitch? Jesse thought, thoroughly enjoying Craig’s terror.
Joel appeared one more time to ensure that Craig was well and truly scared. Craig gasped and took a step back toward the wall. He took a few deep breaths to steady himself.
“I’m gonna go check on Lucy,” Joel said, once he was done messing with Craig.
Jesse was glad to see Craig finally get a dose of his own medicine, but he was jealous that Joel had been the one to do it. Jesse was supposed to be Lucy’s protector, not that piece of Yankee garbage. He also hated having Joel watch Lucy without her knowledge. Sure, he felt guilty sometimes doing it himself, but he felt it was different when he did it. He loved her so much and he just wanted to be close to her. Joel just wanted to win the stupid bet. It was one thing to have Jesse quietly watching her from afar, but having both of them do it seemed like an invasion of her privacy.
They went back to the dining room where Lucy was humming softly as she put the broom and dustpan away. To Jesse’s utter delight, he recognized the song.
It was “The Yellow Rose of Texas.”
Jesse cocked his head at Joel and gave him a sly grin. Joel stuck up his middle finger at him.
That’s my beautiful rose of Texas, Jesse thought as he watched Lucy. He wondered if she was thinking of him.
“Hope you know all the words to ‘Dixie!’” Jesse said gleefully. “It’s pretty obvious who she’s thinking of right now.”
“Because you got that stupid song stuck in her head? Get real.” Joel said, sounding defensive. “Yeah, she may just pick you, but only because you’re not playing fair.”
“How you figger that? Just ’cause I came here without you? You did the same damn thing!”
“I’m not talking about that. I’m talkin’ about the way you’ve been fawning all over her. Telling her she’s the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen and looking at her like you’re about to drop to one knee and propose.”
A stab of anxiety and self-consciousness hit Jesse. He hadn’t been too good at hiding his feelings. He wondered if Lucy knew.
“She is beautiful,” Jesse said.
“I know that! But you seem to forget she doesn’t know we’re dead. You keep looking at her like that, and she’s gonna think it’s more than just a bet. She’s gonna think you’re really interested in her. Then what?”
“You flirt with her, too!”
“Yeah, I flirt with her. I give her compliments because I like her, and I get the feeling she’s been treated bad in the past. She’s a sweet girl and I think it’s fun to make her blush when I tell her she’s pretty, but it’s justflirting. She knows that!” Joel shot a worried look over at Lucy as she put the chairs back under the tables. “She’s already not sure what to make of us. Half the time she still thinks we’re making fun of her.”
“I know she does,” Jesse said softly as he watched Lucy. Sometimes she would hug her arms around her chest, like she was protecting herself, and wore the most heartbreaking, vulnerable expression. Like she was afraid they would suddenly burst out laughing at her and tell her the whole thing was a joke at her expense.
“You’re taking the whole goddamn thing too far. You wanna beat me so bad that you’re using her, and it’s cruel,” Joel said angrily.
“I am not using her!” Jesse hollered.
“You keep looking at her like that and saying all that stuff, you’re gonna give her the wrong idea. You’re gonna break her heart!”
That was the dumbest thing Jesse had ever heard. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Ain’t you got no horse sense? You think a classy girl like her could ever go for a guy like me?” He gestured down at his ragged appearance. It was a rare display of vulnerability in front of his enemy, but the idea of Lucy being heartbroken over him was ridiculous.
“Good point,” Joel scoffed. “But she could fall for you because she doesn’t know the real you. She thinks you’re some dumb, innocent cowboy. She doesn’t know you’re a cold-blooded killer.”
“You son of a bitch…”
“You can say whatever you want to me, just leave her alone. You’re leading her on, and it’s cruel. Stop trying to hurt her.”
“I would never hurt her!” Jesse roared.
Lucy froze. She stopped what she was doing and looked around. She looked over to where Joel and Jesse were standing and screaming at each other.
“She can sense us,” Joel whispered. Jesse stood still and nodded. She’d never sensed it when Jesse sat quietly in the back of the room watching her, but anger was a loud and violent emotion. She could feel their fury in the room. Joel watched her, worried but fascinated. “Wow, she’s really sensitive.” Joel and Jesse screamed at each other all the time while invisible, and nobody had ever batted an eye.
Lucy hugged her arms to her chest and looked all around the room. She let out a ragged and shaky breath.
“We’re scaring her,” Joel whispered.
“Yeah,” Jesse agreed grimly.
With that, they both left the tavern and floated out onto the street. They turned and went in opposite directions without another word.