Chapter Seventeen

Carson shut the door behind Taryn and then turned to me with a smile while dusting off his palms. "Sorry if I'm late. My client meeting ran a bit long."

"No worries. I just got here myself. Haven't even had time to pick out a pastry."

His glance flicked up and down my body. "Well, you at least have room for a treat now and then. There's a wonderful boulangerie in Richdale that does a hazelnut cream religieuse to die for. I'll bring you one."

Since Carson A) made a body-shaming remark that I was glad Taryn wasn't present to hear and B) disparaged the bakery's wares, I glanced at the Isaksens, hoping they hadn't overheard. Judging by Haley's frown and Jae-Seong's eye-roll, though, that hope was obviously forlorn.

"Thanks, but I'm sure I'll find something perfect here. Ricky brought me the pumpkin spice muffin this morning and it was awesome." I pointed at the quesitos, their pastry envelopes perfectly browned, the cheese filling peeking out from under the guava paste. "I've had my eye on those since I walked in. In fact, could I have two, please? No, make that three."

"Fantastic choice," Haley said. She faced Carson with the air of someone girding for battle. "What can I get for you, Carson?"

"I'll have a nonfat flat white with Tenesor's single origin Kaffa. Continental roast, of course."

"We don't have that."

"No? In Richdale, I can get it—"

"We've got Cusmaan Kaffa. It's from the same region, but it's fair trade." Haley bared her teeth in a feral smile. "Continental roast, of course."

"Hmmm. I suppose that will have to do." Carson handed over his Amex Black without looking at her.

By that point, if I didn't need Carson's insights on Avi, I would have bailed. Because being rude to service workers? Nope.

After Haley rang up his order, she slapped his card down on the counter. "Always a pleasure, Carson."

I wasn't certain if she was purposely echoing his remark to Taryn, but it seemed a bit too pointed not to be intentional.

Carson must have read my expression, because he chuckled as he slipped the card back in his wallet. "You'll have to excuse our little banter. We've known each other most of our lives."

"Yeah," Jae-Seong said over the hiss of the espresso machine. "We've got history ."

I wondered briefly what that history entailed. Had Carson and Jae-Seong dated? Carson and Haley? Carson and Taryn ? None of those matches seemed likely, but my poor track record with men was legendary, so it's not like I was a reliable authority. Besides, it wasn't any of my business.

I reached for my own wallet. "What do I owe you?"

Haley held up her palm. "You're on Taryn's tab, remember?"

I squirmed a little, wondering if Taryn had mentioned my financially challenged state, but hey, I'd jettisoned my pride the first time I'd surfed a couch, so I just said, "Thank you," and meant it. Big time.

Behind me, Carson chuckled. "Don't worry. I'm sure Taryn will bill you for it later. She never gives anything away for free, not even to friends."

My gaze bounced between the three of them. "Uh…"

"It's coffee and a few pastries, Carson," Haley said, "not hours of legal services, which, by the way, would have been a conflict of interest for her. Besides, I don't recall you waiving your commission when she bought her house."

Carson sighed. "Be reasonable, Haley. It was my first sale."

"Exactly," she said.

"My hands were tied. My broker wouldn't allow it."

"Whatever." She turned to me and smiled. "Please ignore our"—her gaze slid sidelong to Carson—" banter , Maz. Welcome to Ghost. Have a seat and we'll bring everything to you when the coffee's ready."

"Great. Um, thanks."

"So, Maz." Carson motioned for me to follow him to a table in the corner. "How are you settling in? I know the first days after a move can be disorienting. New places, new people, new experiences."

"You can say that again," I muttered.

He'd angled his chair so his back was to the counter and catercorner from the other chair, which was backed against the window. Unless I wanted to make a big production out of moving mine, I'd be sitting almost knee to knee with him. I settled for scooting my chair a little farther away under the guise of moving it closer to the table as I sat.

"I always tell my clients the best way to acclimate to your new surroundings is to invite friends over right away. Forge positive connections. Lay the foundation for your network immediately."

"Really?" I asked, a little dubious. My first inclination had been to revel in the new space alone with Gil. Even if I hadn't ended up towing Ricky along with me, that wouldn't been an option, anyway, since the house had come with a preexisting roommate.

And when I say preexisting , I mean that in all senses of the word.

"Absolutely. It's been proven by tons of studies." He tapped his temple with his forefinger. "It's all about brain science."

I'd vetted more books than I cared to remember where the "studies" had been based on poor data quality or statistically insignificant sample sets, so I just shrugged. "No friends to invite over quite yet."

"Oh, that won't do! If you want, I can toddle on over tonight with some lovely takeout from this Oaxacan place in Richdale. Very elevated. You'll love it."

I chuckled a little uneasily. "I'm not sure I'm an elevated kind of guy. Besides, we've got a terrific Mexican place practically next door."

"Yes, but—"

"Flat white." Jae-Seong arrived with a tray and plonked a heavy ceramic mug in front of Carson. "And for you, Maz, the quesitos." He slid a blue-patterned plate onto the table, the pastries arranged in a fan, and presented my cup—clear glass rather than ceramic—like it was an Oscar statuette. The liquid was layered—golden on the bottom, rich dark brown on the top. "And a Vietnamese coffee, as instructed." He handed me a small silver spoon. "Give it a stir before you taste."

Since he waited expectantly, the empty tray held in front of him, I swirled the spoon, combining the layers, and then took a sip. My eyes widened. "Wow!" I took a bigger gulp, not caring if the heat singed my tongue a little because it was worth it for the flavor . Rich, dark, sweet, with a hint of hazelnut. "This is fantastic ."

He grinned at me. "Glad you like it. I'll make it for you anytime."

I shot him a thumbs-up, and he sauntered back to where Haley was leaning over the counter, watching us with a smirk.

When I returned my attention to Carson, he was looking a little sulky. I supposed I couldn't blame him. He'd invited me out, but I'd essentially commandeered the meet-up by insisting we come here, where there were apparently long-standing undercurrents that I couldn't hope to parse immediately. Nor was I sure I wanted to. I was the new guy. I couldn't hope to understand the nuances of relationships that had been built over lifetimes. Maybe I should approach Ghost and its denizens like I would any project: Collect as much information as I could without drawing early conclusions that could jeopardize my objectivity.

I offered Carson a smile over the rim of my cup. "Thanks for agreeing to meet me here. Since I'm just starting work at the Manor, I didn't really want to take too much time away on my first day."

He studied me, his head tilted to one side and a faint smile on his lips. With the sun through the window glinting on his golden hair, I could admit he was a very attractive man. For that matter, so was Jae-Seong, who'd given me more than one flirty glance. How likely was it that I'd land in a teensy town like Ghost and run into not one, not two, but three men who might be interested in me?

Jeez, Maz, objectivity . Ob-jec-tivity. Chances were much greater that people were just being friendly. In a small town, anybody new was bound to rouse interest, and that interest didn't have to be romantic.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Carson asked gently. "If you don't mind my saying so, you're looking a little uncomfortable. There's still time to go to Richdale. Or even back to your place, if that works better for you."

"No, no. I'm fine here." I took another sip of the fabulous coffee and tried not to moan. "And I'm starting to get used to my house." And its attendant ghost. More or less.

He gave me a wide smile. "There's a lot to get used to, isn't there? It's the third largest house in town, after the Manor and the old Jenkins place."

The name pinged a memory from the morning. "I think Saul mentioned that house. It's a B & B now, isn't it?"

He wrinkled his slightly snub nose. "Struggling, but yes."

"You, um, probably spent a lot of time in my house back in the day." I winced internally. Not exactly a smooth segue.

"I did. Not as much as Ricky and Liam, perhaps, since Sofia was right next door and my parents moved us to Richdale when I was in junior high."

"But you still went to school with them all? Avi, too?"

"Avi was ten years older, but the rest of us, yes. Ghost only had a K-4 elementary then, and it closed in the late nineties, anyway. We were all bused to Richdale to school after that. That's why my parents decided to move. They didn't like me being on the bus for so long every day."

"But you still spent time at the house? With Avi and his parents?"

He took a sip of his coffee, not meeting my eyes. "I did, yes." He glanced over his shoulder. "There's something you should know about Avi. Something that nobody but his closest family knew, not even Oren."

I leaned forward. This was it. What I wanted to know. The scoop. "What?"

"Avi had a dark side." He looked down at his cup. "A very dark side. A cruelty he was very careful not to let anybody see."

He hunched his shoulders as though expecting a blow, and a kernel of outrage burned in my middle. Ever I'd vetted a book about domestic violence for a clinical social worker, any hint of physical abuse was a trigger for me.

"Did he hurt you?" I hissed. " Hit you?"

Carson's breath hitched. "There are ways to hurt that don't involve physical violence, you know."

Boy, did I ever. Greg was a master at the sly put-down, which was another reason the social worker's book had left such an enduring mark on me. "Verbal, you mean? Emotional?"

He jerked a nod. "He never missed an opportunity to cut me down, undermine my confidence, belittle my dreams. But only when nobody else was around, so there were never any witnesses to take my side." He lifted his chin, blinking rapidly as though to fight back tears, smile trembling. "But I rose above it in the end. Made a success of myself, even though I had to abandon my youthful hopes and dreams along the way."

I gripped his forearm. "It's never too late to late to follow a dream. And adult perspective might grant you new insight into those youthful hopes. You never know."

His smile grew a little wider. "Thank you, Maz. That's very kind of you. And it helps. It helps a lot." He dropped his gaze and peeked up at me through his lashes in nearly the same way as Ricky had, although it didn't hit me low in the belly the same way. "Maybe we could get together again sometime? I'd love to come over and cook for you."

I blinked. "You cook?"

He chuckled. "Well, I can dish up takeout with the best of them. What do you say?"

"I'll keep that in mind once I'm a little more settled in."

He clucked his tongue and shook his head. "Remember what I said. The best way to settle in is to invite friends over."

"Maybe. But I'm not quite at that point yet. Still a lot of loose ends to tie up." Like whether the resident ghost would reveal his dark side in the middle of a dinner party. "But I've got your number, so I'll be sure to let you know when I'm ready."

His lips thinned for an instant, but then they relaxed. If he'd been abused or belittled in the past, I imagine he might take my words as a rejection. But I really couldn't risk having anyone else over. Not now that I knew a little more about Avi and his death.

I wondered what Marguerite Windflower charged for her video exorcism service. Because regardless of my initial compassion for Avi and Oren and their doomed love story, I wasn't about to let a possibly abusive ghost drive me out of my house .