Twilight: Bay City Paranormal Investigations, Book 3

bag, I put some of the equipment in my pack.”
Dean’s eyebrows went up. “Huh. I thought that bag felt lighter than usual. I figured I was just turning into a big, strong he-man. How disappointing.”
“No danger of you ever turning into one of those testosterone-poisoned hunks,” Sam teased.
Rubbing his chin, Dean started toward the office, which lay just on the other side of the path. “Is that good or bad?”
“Good. Believe me.” Turning to Bo, Sam rested his hand on his lover’s back. “You need help?”
Bo shook his head. “No, I’m fine. Thanks.”
The way Bo winced when he put his weight on his right leg said otherwise, but Sam knew better than to argue. During Bo’s convalescence two months before, Sam had learned right off the bat how useless it was to try to overcome Bo’s independent streak. Fighting the man’s stubborn insistence on doing everything himself was like running a toy car into a concrete wall. All you got was a wrecked toy; the wall never changed.
“Stop looking at me like that,” Bo muttered as they followed Dean up a gentle, grassy slope to the shallow slate steps set in the ground.
Sam almost protested that he wasn’t looking at Bo any particular way, but then decided there was no point. Bo knew him too well. “Let me help you up to the office, and I’ll stop looking worried.”
Bo shot him a sly smile. “That’s blackmail, you know.”
“I know. I’m not above stooping to underhanded tactics to force you to look after yourself for a change.”
Bo stopped and gazed up at the rustic office building. He groaned. The building was a two-story wood frame structure built on a steep section of the slope, with a wide deck wrapped around two sides of the upper story. A narrow door was set in the wall of the lower level, underneath the deck. The slate steps in the ground led to the bottom of a set of wooden stairs climbing two flights up to the deck.
“Okay, you win.” Drawing a deep breath, Bo slung an arm across Sam’s shoulders. “Help me up. But then you have to promise not to be a mother hen after this, okay?”
“Deal.” Sam put his arm around Bo’s waist and gripped the wrist hanging over his shoulder. “Here we go. Let me know if you need to stop and rest.”
Bo gave him a thunderous look, but kept quiet. Sam bit back a laugh. Bo hated being babied, and Sam knew it.
They made it up the short flight of stone steps without incident. Dean met them at the bottom of the stairs to the office deck, having already taken Bo’s pack up to the office. “Y’all okay?”
“Fine.” Sam glanced up at the deck, where Lex stood talking to a tall, balding man. “Who’s that?”
“Carl, Lex’s husband. I think they’re discussing who to send to babysit us this afternoon.”
“Okay. Good.” Bo put his free hand against the wall of the building and looked at Dean. “Go on up and tell them we’ll be right there. They’re looking kind of worried.”
“’Kay.” Dean scampered up the steps and trotted over to Lex and Carl.
Leaning heavily on Sam, Bo stepped gingerly on his injured leg, and he and Sam began making their way up the steps. It didn’t take long, once they got their rhythm. At the top, Lex hurried over to them.
“I’m so sorry, Bo.” Taking his arm, she led him away from Sam’s side and over to the rocking chairs sitting in a row in front of the deck railing. “Dean said your leg was bothering you from an old injury. I would have rented you a horse to ride if I’d known. We would’ve had to take a longer trail, one more suitable for horses, but that would’ve been just fine. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I honestly didn’t think of it myself. My leg never bothers me at home.” Bo sank into a rocking chair, leaned his head against the graying wooden backrest and tilted his face up to the sun. “It should be just fine with a little rest. There’s nothing really wrong with it, the muscles just aren’t as strong as they used to be before the surgery.”
Lex still looked worried, but she nodded. “Bo, Sam, I’d like you both to meet my husband, Carl. Sweetheart, this is Sam Raintree and Dr. Bo Broussard. They’re Dean’s coworkers from Bay City Paranormal Investigations.”
Carl grabbed Sam’s hand and pumped it hard. “Sam, nice to meet you. Welcome to Sunset Lodge. And you too, Bo,” he added, leaning down to shake Bo’s hand. “We’re glad to have you folks here.”
Bo smiled. “We’re glad to be here, Carl. This place is