[Not Just Any Other] Ghost Story

Chapter 16

"Is Ever's dad the local land commissioner?"

Sarah had been in Caleb's house just long enough to say hi to his mom, run up the stairs, and follow the digital shooting sounds of the video game he was playing before breathlessly asking from the doorway.

"And hello to you too," he replied without taking his eyes off the flatscreen mounted on the wall across from his bed.

"Uh, sorry," she stammered, unzipping her puffer vest. Getting an answer to that single question had monopolized her thoughts during the bike ride over. "I mean, hi. Can I talk to you?"

Pew-pew.

"Sure. That's what you said you wanted to do when you called earlier," he said, continuing to shoot what Sarah could now tell were Imperial troopers in some type of Star Wars game. The fact that he was playing as Chewbacca made her smile. "What's up?"

She walked inside, closing the door behind her. If their conversation ended up going the way she hoped, it was better if Mrs. Ceballos didn't overhear them.

"Do you know . . . if your not-girlfriend Ever's father is the land commissioner?" Sarah asked again as she sat on the edge of Caleb's bed.

Sitting in the middle of the mattress with his back against the wall, his focus remained on the Xbox. "Nope."

She reminded herself that he'd just gotten out of the hospital the day before and it was partly her fault that he ended up there. She should have been thankful that he appeared not much worse for wear. And it was good that he seemed to have put the trauma so quickly behind him. But his lack of attention was kind of pissing her off. "No he isn't or no you don't know?" she asked through gritted teeth, holding back her bubbling impatience.

Pew-pew. "He isn't."

This actually took her by surprise. Her limited internet search had given her a full name—Charlie Moore—to tie to the town's land office, but that's where all leads ended. Sarah also couldn't go to Jane for a family tree because she might rat her out to Quinn, while Bennett and friends had probably written her off after the forest fiasco.

So other than arousing suspicion in a complete stranger or, God forbid, going to Ms. Four Ever Moore herself, she was left with just Smexy McQuarterback.

"What? Are you sure?" Sarah looked away from the screen and glanced over her shoulder at Caleb.

He nodded. "Yup." Pew-pew.

"How about a brother?"

"He's nine."

"Uncle?"

"I don't think she has one."

"Grandpa?"

"Probably dead . . . or possibly in Florida. Hey, what the heck is this about?" he asked, finally pausing the game and facing her.

Sarah sighed. How to explain without sounding like she was planning an Ocean 11's type heist . . ..

"I need to look at old land records that are in storage, but going through official channels could take up to half a year, which is time I don't have. I thought that if the Charlie Moore who runs the department was related to Ever, then maybe she could help me break—I mean—get into the basement at City Hall and find the documents myself," she said in one swift breath, meeting Caleb's eyes to get a sense of his reaction.

But he was hard to read.

First, his brows furrowed, indicating confusion. But then they suddenly shot up as he appeared to make a connection.

"Is this about that mummified corpse in the wall?" he asked with suspicion.

She couldn't hide the truth from him for long, especially not if she wanted his help. So Sarah nodded.

When Caleb began to slowly shake his head while pursing his lips, Sarah feared the worst. But just as she was about to plead her case, he reached for her and pulled Sarah down on the mattress beside him.

"You are one, bad-ass chick. Do you know that?" Caleb said, hovering over her.

Sarah blinked rapidly, trying to figure out how to respond. If she agreed with him, then she'd seem egocentric, but if she denied—

Caleb's lips crushed onto hers before Sarah could decide on an answer. And while it was the last thing she had expected, the fact that his kiss was getting deeper and more excited made her forget everything else, too.

He was so warm and vulnerable, but at the same time unattainable and powerful. This dichotomy was hot as hell, not to mention the way his body made her feel as it pressed against hers.

Sarah didn't know how long they rolled around on his bed, making out like the two horny teens they were, but when his hand traveled up her shirt and began fiddling with her bra, she pulled away.

"Hold up, cowboy," she said, wriggling to a sitting position and forcing Caleb to do the same. "I know I'm going to regret being the sensible one here, but we hardly know each other, this isn't why I'm here, and your mom is just a few feet away down those stairs."

He slowly flicked his tongue over his top lip, as if teasing her with what she was now missing out on. The bastard!

"I suppose you're not wrong," he said with a mischievous grin before reaching over and tucking a lock of loose hair behind her ear. "But just so we both get what we want, how about we make a deal?"

Sarah cocked her head to the side, already psyched that her objection didn't necessarily put any future hookups out of the question. "What did you have in mind?"

"I tell you what you want to know and you go to the Fall Festival with me," he said.

Although she played it cool, Sarah couldn't believe that he thought that was any type of concession for her. "Deal," she said, holding out her hand.

But instead of shaking in, Caleb used it to yank her close for another kiss. And another. And then loads more.

"You . . . still . . . owe . . . me," she said while occasionally pulling away to get a reluctant breath of air.

This made Caleb chuckle. "You really are fixated on that house, aren't you?" he asked, loosening his hold.

"No." Sarah instinctively denied the statement even though she knew it to be true. But she also knew that obsessions were unhealthy, and letting something like a stupid house take away her focus from where it should have been—on her family, friends, and future—was not an option. "I'm just now even more curious since you said that Charlie Moore isn't Ever's dad, brother, uncle or grandfather. And if he isn't a relative of hers—"

"I never said that," Caleb interrupted.

Sarah was taken aback. "What? Then who else is left?"

He smiled. "I would have expected someone like you to not be so pigeonholed with traditional labels and stuff. Think about it, Sarah. You've eliminated all the men in Ever's family so Charlie Moore must be . . .."

A lightbulb went off in her brain and Sarah finished the sentence. "Ever's mom."