Ghoul Friend by Meredith Spies

Author:Meredith Spies [Spies, Meredith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Meredith Spies

Chapter 8

Oscar

Ezra made a beeline—albeit a wobbly one—for the bunkhouse when we returned to the ranch. Julian made a small show of calling CeCe in front of Yancy as if to reassure him we really were trying to leave, his problematic houseguests would be out of his hair soon. By the time Julian caught up to us in the bunkhouse, I’d wrestled Ezra out of his shoes and socks and gotten him to lay on the bed nearest the window unit so cool air would blow on him directly. He protested but was already drifting into a fitful doze.

Julian shut the door quietly behind him and watched me as I set Ezra’s shoes beneath his bed and brushed some of his wild hair back from his face. Finally, I couldn’t stand it anymore and all but threw myself into Julian’s arms. “What the fuck,” I muttered. “What the fuck is happening?”

His arms tightened around me, and I felt a spike of relief—part of me had been afraid he’d be stiff with me or push me away. I knew I’d hurt his feelings by playing off his comments as a joke, as something we just had to deal with, but he did not know yet how to handle an audience, how to give information without hurting unnecessarily.

How to play the game, as they say. Whoever they were.

“I know you want to trust him, but I think Ezra’s… I think something is wrong.” I laughed wetly at Julian’s pronouncement, and he gave me another little squeeze, his fingers moving gently in my hair, soothing me. “You know what I mean. This isn’t just a dizzy spell or being tired. I don’t know a lot about neurology, but what he did last night, and again today? That’s not healthy brain activity.”

“I can hear you, you know,” Ezra muttered from where he’d buried his face in the bedding. “I’m fine. I just need a nap.”

“Yoo hoo!”

“For fuck’s sake,” I muttered as Mrs. Carstairs knocked, then opened the door.

“Boys, Yancy said y’all had a bit of an awful morning in town. Now, this seems like a perfect occasion for a slice of cake and some coffee. Let’s head for the kitchen.”

It wasn’t so much a gentle suggestion as an order. She hurried us back into the house and got us settled around the table. Yancy had gone to tend to chores once it became apparent Ezra was going to live, and Carstairs was walking the pasture with a sheriff’s deputy after finding signs someone had been camping on their property near the creek. “I tell him every time, it’s just teenagers in town thinking they’re all grown and being sneaky. But every time he insists on calling out the deputies to look. I honestly don’t know what he thinks they’re gonna find. Some kids canoodling? Oh, do they say canoodle anymore? Well. Now, who wants cream and sugar?” Mrs. Carstairs asked, bringing a coffee tray over to the table. “Ezra, honey, want me to bring

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.