Love, Like Ghosts: A Bay City Paranormal Investigations Story

years.”
Good grief, my boyfriend’s lusting after my dad. Adrian had no idea how to react to that. He fought the urge to squirm. “Okay, so I know what you think of my dad. Which I really, really didn’t need to know, thank you very much. So why not answer my real question now?”
Greg snickered. “Yeah, so, I also think I wish we had more than a few minutes, because I’d sure as hell like to try out that bed.”
Adrian smiled, pleased to see Greg looking so relaxed. “Trust me, we’re giving the bed a workout later.”
Desire flared in Greg’s eyes. “Good.” He tilted his head up to catch Adrian’s lips in a brief but sizzling kiss. “Come on and give me that tour, before I drag you to bed right now.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s a good idea.”
Stealing one more swift kiss, Adrian took Greg’s hand and led him into the hall to begin the tour of the house. Voices and laughter drifted from downstairs, along with the mouthwatering smells of dishes Adrian had been eating all his life. God, it was good to be home.
He glanced at Greg, who smiled and squeezed his hand. Warmth blossomed in Adrian’s chest. Yes, it was good to be home. Better than ever, now.
~ * ~
    “And then, Mr. and Mrs. Van Housan both scream like a couple of little girls, and she says, ‘That’s her, that’s our Miss Puffy Pants!’”
Adrian snorted into his coffee. “Seriously? Did you see it?”
Sam nodded. “Yep. One toy poodle ghost, hovering as dramatically as you please right over the dog bed just like they’d claimed it did.”
“I don’t believe it.”
“Neither did we.” Sam sipped from his cup. “And we were right. David found some state-of-the-art projection equipment set up behind the Japanese screen Mrs. Van Housan had in the corner of the room. It turned out to be the granddaughter doing it.”
Adrian shook his head. “For Christ’s sake, why ?”
“Who knows? Brand-new degree from Cal Tech, no job, living with a couple of folks as gullible as those two? Hell, she probably did it for the sheer entertainment value.”
Laughter bubbled up from Adrian’s chest. It was nice being able to spend some time alone with Sam. Sean and Maia had gone back to their mom and Lee’s place last night after dinner, and Dad and Greg were both still sleeping. Adrian had woken before dawn to find Sam already up and making coffee. They’d sat down together at the kitchen table and talked, just like they had so many times during Adrian’s teen years, when fear and bitterness kept him up late and woke him early.
So far, their conversation had been much lighter this time. Adrian was glad.
Setting down his coffee mug, Sam yawned and stretched. “Anyway, enough about the adventures of BCPI. What’ve you been up to, other than studying and going out with Greg?”
And there goes the light conversation. Adrian had thought about how and when to approach Sam about the subject of Lyndon. In fact, it was the main reason he’d woken so early that morning. He’d been out to the castle several times in the last month or so, and had continued to make contact with Lyndon, but he kept getting the same images over and over again. He was stuck. If anyone could help him make the breakthrough he needed to solve Lyndon’s case, it would be Sam. However, the discussion would be anything but superficial.
Resting his elbows on the kitchen table, Adrian gazed at the steam rising from his red and green mug. “Actually, I’ve been kind of doing an unofficial investigation of one of the campus buildings. I wanted to ask you about it.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah.” Adrian chewed his lip, thinking hard. He didn’t want to lie to Sam, but he also didn’t want to tell him all the details. What Sam knew, Adrian’s dad eventually knew as well, and he was nothing if not a stickler for the rules. He’d tear Adrian a new one if he found out Adrian had been basically breaking and entering in order to communicate with a ghost.
Sam’s hand touched Adrian’s. He looked up to meet Sam’s concerned gaze. Sam frowned. “Adrian, what’s wrong?”
“The building’s definitely haunted,” Adrian answered after a moment, deciding on the SparkNotes version of the truth. “I’ve been able to establish communication with the spirit several times. I know he died young, and he died in some sort of violent manner. But I can’t get any further than that. I’ve been there four times in the last few weeks, and he keeps sending me the same images every time.”