“Thanks. Be careful, okay?”
“I will. I’m going to tempt my aunt and cousin to leave with the promise of buying them dinner. It’ll work.”
“Sounds good. Have a good night.”
“Bye, hun.”
I end the call and set my phone down, looking at Ethan. He’s waiting for an explanation, I know. “So, Keith’s aunt bought a haunted house and they caught an EVP that said something about a witch, and he thinks it was talking about me becausehewas talking about me.”
Ethan cocks an eyebrow. “What?”
I wave my hand in the air. “I’m sure it’s nothing. There are soooo many witches in the area…”
“Where is the house?” Nik asks.
“Somewhere in Paradise Valley,” I say right as a text from Keith with the address and pictures. “Oh, this is the place. It is wonderfully creepy.”
“Estelle would have said the same thing,” Nik notes with a lopsided grin. “I used to tell her if she dyed her hair black, she’d be the perfect Morticia.”
“I’ve always liked her. And Wednesday.”
“What exactly did this ghost say?” Ethan asks, face pulling down with concern.
“Supposedly, it saidshe’s a witchand Keith was just talking to his aunt about his friend who’s really good at ghost stuff.”
“Did he mention your name?” Ethan sets the wooden spoon down.
“I don’t think so. There are so many witches in the area I’d really find it hard to believe this spirit was talking about me. And people tend to hear what they want to hear when it comes to interpreting EVP.”
“That’s true,” Ethan agrees. “He was already thinking about you when he listened to it.”
“Exactly. And how would a random ghost know who I am? I don’t think I’ve been here or even driven past it.” I exit out of the photo and plug the address into a map. It’s on the complete other side of Paradise Valley than where we go. “It’s by the university,” I tell Ethan. “I don’t even think we’ve driven on this street.”
“Then I wouldn’t put much stock into it,” Ethan says and goes back to the food he’s cooking.
“I said I’d meet Keith there tomorrow. I am interested.”
“Your brother is coming for dinner tomorrow.”
“Shit. That’s tomorrow?” I wrinkle my nose. “Right, it is. Today feels like it’s been a million years long.”
“Call him and tell him this weekend isn’t good,” Ethan suggests.
“No,” I quickly reply, shaking my head. “I pushed him to take the job in Chicago so I could see him more often. What time is he supposed to come over?” I ask, knowing “Harrison time” is usually half an hour or longer than planned.
“Seven, and he’s bringing his girlfriend.”
“He has a girlfriend?” My jaw drops and I stare at Ethan. “And you knew?”
“Ohhhh,” Nik whispers, looking from me to Ethan. “I didn’t know that Harry is dating a nice girl from India whose parents don’t approve of him, but she really likes horses so she’s excited to come over and wants you to take her on a ride.”
“The fuck?” I lower my gaze to Hunter, the only one in the house who didn’t keep this from me. “Why am I just now finding out? Who is this girl? What socials are she on? How do we know she’s not a demon? Fuck, I don’t have any collated silver to mix into her food. But I do have holy water to spike her drink with.”
Ethan looks at Nik and then at me. “I’m guessing that’s why your brother didn’t tell you he’s bringing someone over.”
“How long have you known?” I narrow my eyes. “You kept this from me?”
“Technically you didn’t ask,” Ethan tries. “And just this morning. He texted me before I got arrested and then I kinda forgot to mention it. Ya know. Because I was busy being arrested.” He turns to Nik. “I didn’t know any of that, though.”