02 Ghouls Night Out - Larue Donavan Read online

  Praise for Me and My Ghoulfriends by Rose Pressey

  “Rose Pressey spins a delightful tale with misfits and romance that makes me cheer loudly.”

  Coffee Time Romance

  “Her characters are alive and full of quick witted charm and will make you laugh. The plot twists keep you turning the pages non-stop.”

  ParaNormalRomance

  “I absolutely loved this book! It had me chuckling from the beginning.”

  Fallen Angel Reviews

  More books from Rose Pressey:

  How to Date a Werewolf (Rylie Cruz, Book 1)

  How to Date a Vampire (Rylie Cruz, Book 2)

  How to Date a Demon (Rylie Cruz, Book 3)

  Me and My Ghoulfriends (Larue Donavan, Book 1)

  Rock ‘n’ Roll Is Undead (Veronica Mason, Book 1)

  No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells (Mystic Café, Book 1)

  Me and My Ghoulfriends

  Copyright © 2011, Rose Pressey

  Smashwords Edition

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Published in the United States of America by Rose Pressey

  Dedication

  This is to you, and you know who you are.

  GHOULS NIGHT OUT

  by Rose Pressey

  Chapter One

  Nothing says romance like taking your date with you to exorcise a house. Candlelit dinners, flowers, and demons….yes, going to a movie and dinner was far too normal for me. I had to be different. No wonder I hardly ever had a date.

  “Are you sure this is safe?” Callahan slid out from behind the steering wheel.

  I jumped out from the passenger seat of his car and hurried over to the sidewalk. Callahan locked his car, then joined me in front of the steps.

  “Define safe?” I asked, while staring at the house. “Will we make it out alive? Probably. Will you see things that will make you question everything you ever believed in? Most definitely.” I glanced over to gauge his reaction.

  Callahan’s blue eyes widened, then he furrowed his brow. I didn’t need psychic ability to know he wondered what kind of mess he’d gotten himself into.

  We stared at the house from the sidewalk—a secure distance. At least no spirits had followed me. Well, I take that back…Callahan’s sweet, dearly departed grandfather sat in the backseat of his car. But he’d refused to get out and join us. He wanted nothing to do with evil spirits. Callahan had no idea his grandfather had tagged along for our date. I’d just gotten rid of a slew of unwanted spirit hangers-on when he showed up. My work was never done. Yeah, I talked to the dead. Just like Melinda in that Ghost Whisperer show. My current dilemma? My date had no idea I had intuitive abilities. Ghost hunting, yes. Talking to ghosts…not so much.

  Ghosts had been popping up in my life ever since I’d been a child. No need to watch Casper when I was a kid, I had my own real-life version. These were random spirits, too. I never knew who’d show up. From Hollywood celebrities to next-door neighbors—they all had unfinished business, or just didn’t know they’d expired. Either way, I’d made it my mission to help them. Not that I had much choice; they wouldn’t leave me alone.

  “I have holy water, a cross, my Bible, and rosary beads.” I pulled the necklace from my pocket. “If I have to, I’ll call a priest.”

  “A priest? Holy...” He glanced at me again, then back at the ranch style home.

  “Exactly. Come on, let’s go.” I looped my arm through his and led him down the path to the porch. The feel of his hard, muscular arm made my stomach flip-flop. Touching him set off tiny fireworks in the pit of my stomach. Too bad it wasn’t under different circumstances, though. He looked so handsome in his jeans and blue casual button-down shirt. His hair tousled in all the right places.

  The house appeared as any ordinary home—a one-story brick with red shutters and neatly trimmed hedges. Similar houses surrounded it on the cul-de-sac. Not the typical image that came to mind when the words haunted house were mentioned.

  I reluctantly let go of Callahan’s arm (not an easy feat), stepped past the display of pumpkins up onto the small porch, and made my way to the bright red door. The cheerful color did nothing to ease my fear. Sure, I still had fear on an investigation…I was only human. Evil waited for us on the other side of that entrance. I’d been in more than my share of haunted houses, but apprehension never eluded me. Needless to say, demons were always the toughest part of my job.

  Callahan stood behind me—his heavy breathing loud against the quiet night air. I wasn’t sure how it had worked out this way, but my hot date for the evening was actually on a paranormal investigation with me. Typically, I go alone, or with a handful of colleagues. No doubt when Callahan had asked me out, he hadn’t bargained for fighting evil spirits. The aforementioned dinner and a movie, maybe, exorcising the devil…save that for the one-month anniversary.

  Raising my fist, I hesitated, then pounded on the door, holding my breath out of sheer habit—anxiety had that effect on me. You’d think I’d be used to this sort of thing by now; I’d been a ghost hunter for three years. I attracted ghosts like a bug zapper attracted mosquitoes. Callahan’s breathing increased. His apprehension zinged around us—I felt it. He was like a coiled spring.

  When I envisioned his sweet breath in my ear, it hadn’t been like this. Sitting in front of a crackling fire with a glass of wine was more what I’d had in mind. I glanced over my shoulder at him. He smiled half-heartedly, then placed his hand on my back and puffed out his muscular chest. How sweet was he?—the brave macho guy. Men needed to prove themselves that way, I guess. Why, I’d never know. My best friend Mindy Winters told me to stop trying to figure out the male mind. She said a man’s brain was simple, and that’s what made it complex. She was full of sage advice. Or just full of it, whichever.

  From the other side of the door, the clomp-clomp of loud footsteps echoed. Callahan met my gaze once again. His lips opened slightly, as if he wanted to speak, but he remained silent. A few loud clangs and muffled speech seeped through the door, then it whipped open. I stumbled back, and Callahan grabbed my arm, steadying me.

  One of my dearest friends, Mark Pendleton, stood in front of us—we’d met a few years ago on a historic ghost tour. I’d helped him out of a few scary situations with evil spirits over the past couple years. Mark had a real knack for attracting the mean ones; much more than I did. Poor guy. Apparently, this was another one of those occasions.

  Earlier in the evening, just as Callahan and I had prepared to sit down for a lovely dinner, my cell phone rang. Mark needed my help. What choice did I have but to lend a hand? He would have done the same for me. Luckily, Callahan understood—or so he said—and even wanted to trail along. A decision he may now regret.

  “Hi, Larue. Thanks for coming,” Mark said. Darkness circled his eyes. He ran his hand through his disheveled chestnut-colored hair.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, glancing over his shoulder into the house.

  A small lamp on a console table provided a faint glow in the foyer. The house was neat, with warm, inviting colors, but the unmistakable sulfur odor that hung in the air wasn’t so welcoming.

  Chapter Two

  “Please, come in.” He gestured with a sweep of his arm, then stuffed his han
ds in the front pockets of his wrinkled jeans.

  Before moving forward, I glanced at Callahan. He looked as if he might decline the invitation, but ultimately followed me into the deceivingly cozy house. We trailed Mark through the foyer and into the room to our right. The living room was ghost hunters central with the usual equipment spread across the area. Instead of the typical half dozen investigators, it was just Mark and Dallas.

  “Hey, Dallas.” I waved.

  “Thank God you’re finally here, Larue.” He ran his hand through his ginger-colored hair and let out a pent-up breath. His large shoulders slumped over as if the tension weighed them down.

  “No offense, guys, but you look like crap,” I said.

  “None taken, I guess.” Dallas attempted a half-hearted grin.

  “Dallas, this is Callahan. Callahan, Dallas.” They shook hands.

  Mark sat on the arm of the sofa, then folded his arms in front of his chest. “We don’t know exactly what we’re dealing with here. When we started this investigation, it seemed like any other. As normal as a haunting can be, you know?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, ‘normal.’” I made air quotes with my fingers.

  “Then things turned ugly, quickly.” He picked up an electrical cord and moved it out of Callahan’s way. “You remember Stacey?” Mark asked.

  “Yes, bubbly redhead, right?” I asked.

  “Yeah.” He nodded. “When she got here, things started going crazy. Objects were thrown around the room, even religious items. People were being pushed and scratched. We captured some great evidence, but things have escalated, so we stopped until you could get here.”

  I cast a quick look at Callahan to determine his reaction. He was wide-eyed and focused on both of us. He had no idea I talked to the dead. Heck, he’d only just found out I was a ghost hunter earlier in the evening.

  “Well, obviously it sounds demonic with the attacks and the throwing around of religious items. I suspect they opened up a portal with a Quija board. We’ll have to somehow close it if we ever want the family to have peace.”

  “A portal?” Callahan gave an incredulous look.

  “Yes.” I shook my head. “Portals to the other side. A lot of hauntings have them. A portal between the physical plane and the spiritual plane—sort of like a doorway between both worlds.”

  The energy from a presence zinged around me. A spirit was in the room with me. The eerie force of something supernatural encircled me.

  Ugh. I thought he said he was staying in the car.

  “I’m really glad Callahan found a doll like you.” Callahan’s grandfather, Seth Weiss, leaned against his cane. He beamed at his grandson. “But this is some date, I must say. When Callahan was a little tyke, he was afraid of his own shadow, now look at the lad. He slept with that ridiculous night-light until he was twelve.”

  If Callahan knew his grandfather had followed us on our date and was now sharing embarrassing childhood stories, he would probably want to crawl in a hole and hide for a very long time. Seth had popped up in the backseat of Callahan’s car when he’d picked me up for our date. He seemed to be quite content on following us around.

  Callahan looked at me expectantly, making responding to Seth impossible. How was I going to continue to hide my ability to speak with the dead from him? After all, that was the whole reason Mark had called me on this investigation.

  “So, can you help, Larue?” Mark asked.

  “I’ll need to explore the home alone if y’all don’t mind?” I looked from Mark to Callahan.

  I prayed Mark took the hint. That was my sneaky attempt at getting Callahan to stay behind. He didn’t need to see me talking to an empty room. Not yet. It was a special skill that needed to be announced at just the right time. Like on our fiftieth wedding anniversary. Wishful thinking on my part, sure, but a girl can dream.

  “Are you sure it’s safe?” Callahan placed his hand on my arm.

  After what he’d gone through, I couldn’t blame him for feeling uneasy with the supernatural. Callahan had just escaped a horrible magic spell cast upon him by a not-so-nice witch, Brianna Garret. Some might go as far as to call her a bitch. But you didn’t hear me that from me. She wanted him in the worst way—along with setting her sights on every other man in town. She had stopped at nothing to get him, but with a little help from my dead friends, and the local coven, I had saved him from the horrible fate of a life with Brianna.

  And it would have been dreadful —listening to her whine about every minuscule detail of life. I guess you could say he owed me, not that I thought he did, though. Maybe that’s why he felt obligated to tag along on this crazy adventure. The ghosts hanging around all the time thing was sometimes annoying, but other times it worked out kind of nice—like when they helped me rescue Callahan.

  All eyes were on me. The only noise was the heavy breathing from Callahan, and Mark’s pacing. If spirits were in the place, they were hiding, perhaps waiting for the perfect time to jump out.

  “Larue, I really don’t think you should do something like this by yourself. At least let me walk around with you.” Callahan frowned.

  Callahan trailing me into the unknown spirit world was the last thing I needed. He was the one I was trying to avoid.

  “That’s very sweet of you. I know you want to help, but I need to do this alone.” I placed my hand on his strong arm and squeezed.

  Wowza, did that feel good.

  Callahan narrowed his eyebrows and ran his hand through his thick black hair. He let out a deep breath, but his face remained tense.

  “Trust me. I’ve been doing this for quite some time now. I can handle myself just fine.”

  “I don’t like this, something doesn’t feel right,” Seth said from over my shoulder.

  The air in the room had changed. It was as if we stood in the middle of emotional molasses; trying to breathe that thick mess was impossible. Something would happen soon. The warning inched down my spine. No matter what happened, I wanted to shield Callahan from the evil spirits. Don’t get me wrong, Callahan was a big strapping man and looked as if he could handle his own, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous for him.

  “I’ll be fine,” I reassured Callahan…and Seth, too, only Callahan didn’t know.

  He regarded me through his long-lashed blue eyes, but didn’t utter another protest. I turned and walked toward the hallway. Before stepping into the dimly lit area, I peered down the length of the space. Off to the right a doorway led into the kitchen, then the small dining room and farther down I assumed were the bedrooms.

  I’d check the bedrooms first. In my experience, the most activity took place in the bedrooms. Emotions could be heavy in the boudoir, so it didn’t surprise me when energy became trapped there. I started down the hall, then paused to listen. Footsteps echoed off the walls, but the sound didn’t come from the guys in the living room. No, the footfalls sounded as if they’d come from the bedroom directly in front of me. I inched down the rest of the way with my back pressed against the wall. When I reached the door, I paused. A presence emanated from over my shoulder.

  I turned around to find Seth behind me. He stepped to my side, then stopped. His shoulder brushed mine; the cold misty sensation sent chills down my arm. I looked at him, but didn’t speak. He remained quiet, too. It wasn’t as if I could tell my date’s grandfather to get lost. Talk about rude.

  I pulled my digital recorder from my pocket, turned it on, then put it back in my pocket, just in case the ghosts were shy. They could talk to the recorder instead of me. Ghosts said the darnest things sometimes. I reached for the doorknob, then twisted.

  Pushing the door open, I poked my head in. My hand flew to my mouth, stifling my gasp. If Callahan heard me, he’d have run to find me. Bringing him on this investigation was a better plan in theory…in reality, I wasn’t sure it was working out so well.

  A spirit stood in the middle of the room, as plain as any human, with more curves than an hourglass collection— an ample bosom an
d shapely hips.

  Mae West. Yes, that Mae West. I’d recognize her anywhere.

  Chapter Three

  This was their demon? The spirit responsible for terrorizing so many innocent victims? She stood by the bed with her gaze focused on me. The hem of her red and black dress lay in a pool where it met the floor—tight at the waist, the top was a corset. How women had worn those getups, I had no idea. I would have suffered irreversible organ damage if I’d had to wear one. The spirit’s huge, shiny blonde curls were piled high on top of her head. Bright crimson red lip-color covered her lips.

  “How ya doin’, sweetheart?” she asked.

  The scary ghost everyone had run from was making small talk with me. How crazy was that? Why shouldn’t I be surprised?

  I swallowed hard, then said, “Hello. Um, you’re Mae West,” I stuttered.

  “Last time I checked, yes. You’ve got yourself a young one.” She directed her statement to Seth with a tilt of her head, then chuckled.

  Seth stood beside me, his eyes were wide and mouth open.

  He blinked, then grabbed his hat, pulled it off and bowed. “How do you do?” he asked with a bashful grin.

  “I do,” she said.

  It looked as if someone fancied Ms. West. If he’d been able, he’d have drooled.

  I looked at Seth and said, “Easy there, stud. We’re not here for romance.”

  He gave another shy smile and tipped his hat back onto his head.

  Directing my attention back to the celebrity ghost, I said, “Excuse me, Ms. West? I must say it’s an honor to meet you. I can’t believe you’re Mae West.” I probably had a goofy grin on my face.

  “The one and only.” She primped her hair with one hand, while placing her other hand on her hip.