Chapter 4 #2
“If you dial star six on the landline, you’ll get us,” I advise.
“But we’ll make sure you have our cell numbers too.
The guests are usually easy to settle down, but don’t hesitate to call if someone’s getting aggressive.
” It’s more likely he’ll need to call us to soothe the guests while he deals with ghostly mischief, but I don’t want him thinking he has to take on any of it alone.
“Thank you,” he says, but his voice is different. Colder. Like I’ve offended him somehow. And if looks could kill, the one he’s just shot at me should knock me dead. Maybe he thinks I’m implying he’s not capable of dealing with an aggressive guest?
Kieran’s cell rings, and he fishes it out of his pocket. “Sorry, guys. It’s Skye.” He answers, half turning away, and I pick up the bridle I was cleaning.
“Want a tour of the stable?” I offer. “I need to put these away.”
He shrugs, then seems to realize how fucking rude that is and adds, “Sure. Thanks.”
I gather up the other bridles, and he grabs the sponge and saddle soap without me having to ask.
Our first stop is the little tack room just inside the main door.
The stable isn’t big, so it’s really not more than a stall itself.
I hang the bridles in their spots and put the cleaning equipment away.
“Do they just go anywhere, or…?” Josh asks hesitantly. “Kieran said I might need to fill in when you’re busy, so the more I know now…”
“Yeah, we all help each other out,” I confirm.
“And no, the tack doesn’t just go anywhere.
Each piece belongs to a specific horse, and we don’t mix them up.
They’re labeled—see?” I grab the nearest piece and show him the little tag with the horse’s name, then point to the tape on the wall above the hook, where the matching name is.
“If we do need you, you’ll probably get stuck with grunt work, but we label pretty much everything to make it easier.
Unless you’ve worked with horses before? ”
He shakes his head. “Nope.”
It seems like he wants to say more, so I wait, but he just presses his lips together and puts his nose in the air. I don’t know what’s crawled up his ass in the last five minutes, but he’ll need to get over himself.
I show him the stalls, the feed bins, and the hayloft, which still has an old cot for Johnny to sleep on. “He won’t give it up and sleep in the house,” I explain. “Says his job is to watch out for the horses overnight.”
“That’s very dedicated of him. You know he doesn’t really sleep, right?”
“Sometimes he pretends to,” I say. “Fake snores and all. And we know he’s pretending because if he were really asleep, he wouldn’t be manifesting to us, right? It took me and Daniel way too long to figure that out.”
His jaw tightens again. Am I not supposed to say I’ve figured things out about ghosts? Is he supposed to be the ghost expert? I don’t have time for shit like that.
Pushing down the disappointment that my fun bedmate from last night is less fun in the light of day and a repeat doesn’t look to be on the horizon, I’m about to suggest we go out to see the horses when we hear Kier calling from the front doors.
“Coming!” I yell, leading the way back to the courtyard.
“There you are. I have to head back to the house and help Skye with something. Ewan, why don’t you show Josh the smithy? And then see if Daniel’s free.”
“I can come back with you,” Josh says quickly.
Well, fuck you too. Whoops, did that already. I smirk, making sure Josh can see it. Petty? Maybe.
Kieran shakes his head. “This is going to take a while, and you’d be bored brainless.
Besides, I’d really like for you to meet Daniel and get an idea of how things work out here, because for all of next week and probably most of the week after, you’re going to be stuck in the house, helping us catch up on paperwork. ”
“Okay,” he concedes with clear reluctance, and Kieran frowns slightly, glancing between us. “I mean, if you’re sure I can’t be of any help,” Josh adds quickly.
“Thanks, but not right now. If that changes, I’ll call Ewan and get him to send you up.” Kieran leaves, and I point across the courtyard to the smithy.
“This way.” I don’t bother adding any pleasantries. For whatever reason, Josh has decided to dislike me. I’m not going to waste energy trying to change his mind.
Inside the smithy, he seems to perk up a bit, so I give him the history spiel I use for the guests and then explain what I normally do during a demonstration.
“It’s not likely you’d need my help in here, though, is it?” he asks, looking apprehensively at the forge. I’m not expecting to have to use it again today, so the fire’s been banked, but it’s still hot.
“Sometimes, yes. Not for any of the blacksmithing,” I assure him hastily.
“But if we’ve got a big crowd, it can be hard for me to keep an eye on everyone and work.
Usually the guides are all over it, but if it’s a day when we’re shorthanded, they leave a group here and go to orient the next one, and it’s helpful to have someone give handsy tourists the evil eye.
Plus, cleaning up after a busy weekend can be a big job.
We get some local teens in to help out during peak summer season, but they need supervising…
which is also something you’ll be able to do. ”
He snorts. “So when Kieran said this job involved a lot of general dogsbody duties, he was serious.”
I shrug, not sure if he’s okay with that or not, but before I can speak, we hear voices.
“Sounds like Daniel’s done with the guests.
” I walk over to the door and stick my head out.
Sure enough, the three couples currently staying with us have just crossed the courtyard and are making their way toward the house.
They’re walking slowly, probably tired, but their chatter is animated enough.
Daniel comes out of the barn, whistling.
“Come on,” I tell Josh. “Let’s introduce you two.
” And then Dan can deal with him for a while.
Josh reluctantly follows me out of the smithy—what’s with the guy?
Does he think Daniel and I aren’t worthy of his time because we don’t work in the house?
Or maybe it’s because we get a whole house to ourselves and he has the studio apartment?
Because he seemed fine before Kieran mentioned that we live here too.
“Dan!” I call, and he glances over, then changes course. We meet in the middle of the courtyard. “Josh, this is Daniel, our historic farming expert. Dan, Kieran just hired Josh for Adele’s old job.”
Daniel’s face lights up with a grin, and he grabs Josh’s hand and shakes it.
“Great to meet you. They really need the help up at the house. If we weren’t heading into the busy season, they probably would have tried to drag me and Ewan in there.
” He pulls a face to show what a disaster that would be, and I shudder.
It’s bad enough dealing with the tourists in the smithy. I’m not going anywhere near the museum.
“Josh is also a medium,” I add.
“I’m not,” he says quickly. “I mean, I haven’t had any real training.
But I can interact with the ghosts even if they’re not manifesting.
” His gaze skitters over Daniel’s shoulder, and I frown.
A lot of people don’t like me—I have limited patience, and my size can be intimidating—but Daniel’s the friendly sort.
Plus, they’ve barely said hello. How can Josh possibly have a problem with Daniel already?
“That’s amazing!” Daniel enthuses. “Although you’re definitely going to want to put up some kind of ghost repellent. I don’t know what ghosts are like in other places, but the ones here like to talk.”
A reluctant smile tugs at Josh’s lips. “They’re mostly the same everywhere. I think they get lonely. The ones who don’t like to talk are usually aggressive.” He wraps his arms around himself, the smile slipping away. Daniel and I exchange glances.
“None of our ghosts here are mean,” Daniel promises. “I think there was a nasty one when the renovations first started, but the way I understand it, the others kicked him out?” He squints. “I never quite got that whole story.”
“Me either. But Kieran or Skye will know,” I suggest. Probably, anyway. They seem to know everything else about this place. “Dan, are you good to show Josh around the farm and explain what you do here?”
Daniel smiles. “Sure! Nothing I like more than talking about farming. You got any other shoes, Josh?”
We all look down at Josh’s Chucks.
“No?” His answer is full of uncertainty.
“Don’t worry,” Daniel assures him. “There are spare boots you can borrow. We keep them for guests. Come on.”
“Nice to meet you, Josh,” I say. He barely spares me a glance over his shoulder.
“You too,” he mumbles.
I watch them go and sigh. So much for a convenient workplace hookup.
It’s my turn to get the animals settled that night, since Daniel did them last night and this morning, allowing me to go out and get laid. We like to do each other favors like that. It’s easier all round than bringing hookups back here and having to deal with Carter.
By the time I get to the house, Daniel’s got dinner heating in the oven, and it smells amazing.
Neither of us likes cooking, and fuck knows we hate cleaning, so we chip in to get Keisha, one of the housekeepers, to keep the place in decent condition and Jorge, one of the cooks, to stock our freezer with easy-to-heat food.
We can manage salad in a bag to go with it.
“Let me wash up, and I’ll set the table,” I call from the tiny mudroom-slash-laundry room as I yank off my boots.
“You’ve got ten minutes,” he yells back.