Spirits of Spring (The Haunting Ruby Series Book 4)

by Joy Elbel

  On my way downstairs to find her, I instinctively began to concoct an artful lie to explain why I needed her to watch me while I slept. I had a fairly plausible reason in mind when a foreign thought struck me—I didn’t need to lie about this. Now that Shelly knew—and accepted—the true depth of my weirdness, I could simplify everything by just telling her the truth. Funny. I wasted so much time avoiding the truth over the past ten months when it was never necessary to begin with. The thought of skipping the theatrics and not having to worry that I was going to slip up at some point was liberating. The truth did set me free. At least at home anyway.

  Shelly didn’t so much as bat an eyelash when I asked her to watch me while I napped or even while I explained why. Her only reaction was uncontrollable giggling when I instructed her to wake me up instantly if it appeared that I was having too much fun in my sleep. She agreed to my strange requests and said that she had a script that she could work on while she watched me. I sank into the couch in her study and fell straight to sleep.

  When Shelly woke me up three hours later, I marveled at the irony of the situation. The one time that I have backup in the real world, my dream was completely harmless. She said that she awakened me at the first hint of a smile then asked me what I was dreaming about. I got more uncontrollable giggling when I gave her my answer. Shoes. I was dreaming about shoes.

  Now that our connection seemed to be spiraling out of control, I thought it might be a wise idea to warn Clay when I was going to be undressing or doing anything else that I would be embarrassed to death to have him watch me do. So before I took my shower, I called his name and told him that I needed to talk to him about something important.

  Talk about awkward. Once I started to explain my game plan to him, he nervously scooched as far away from me on the futon as he possible could. I didn’t go into graphic detail or anything but I let him know that I needed him to respect my privacy when it came to “girl issues”. He agreed that it was a good idea and said that he would try to close his eyes as soon as he felt himself being drawn toward me. I don’t know for certain what he was like before he died but as a ghost, he was certainly a top notch gentleman. If Lucas were the spirit I was dealing with, he would have made it a point to catch me off guard. Once again, I asked myself how I could have been stupid enough to trust someone like him.

  With Clay fully warned about what not to do, I picked out the cutest spring outfit in my closet then showered for my date with Zach. We hadn’t spent much time together because of school, track, work, and my epically out of control life. So even if he decided to protest, I was going to insist that he let me take him to dinner after we got done at the dealership. All I wanted was some quiet time alone with him in the coziest unoccupied booth we could find at City Lights.

  I pulled into the shelter parking lot just as he was turning the key in the lock. He looked tired but happy to see me. On the way to the dealership, he talked about how Foxy seemed to be making a full recovery and of how attached he had become to her.

  “I know you are,” I said as I pulled out my phone and handed it to him. “Here, there’s something I want you to see. Go to the video that I have saved in there. I think you’ll like it.”

  I waited patiently while he brought it up onto the screen. Once it started to play, I snuck a quick peek at his face. What I saw was the biggest smile I’d seen from him in a long time.

  “Oh, Ruby! Why didn’t you tell me you took this video? It’s great, I love it!”

  “I was waiting to see whether or not she was going to make it. If she didn’t, I wanted you to have something to remind you that you did everything in your power to save her.” He smiled as he hit replay and watched the video again. “That has to be one of the most thoughtful things anyone has ever done for me. Thanks, sweetie!” As I brought the car to a halt at the car lot, he threw his arms around me and pressed his lips to my cheek. One word accompanied the following kiss. “Mwah!”

  We’d been together long enough now that my knees didn’t get weak every time he showed me affection, but today was an exception. He hadn’t called me by that name or used that one dorky little word in a long time. Slowly but surely, all of the damage I’d done to our relationship over the winter was being repaired.

  As we strolled through the lot, I felt like I was gliding on air. While most aspects of my life sucked, my relationship with Zach only seemed to be getting stronger. I considered myself a lucky girl that I found a boy who was incredibly forgiving. I was in such a good mood, that I almost let him sway me from my original plan. Almost.

  It took me awhile to notice the pattern but eventually I caught on to what he was trying to do. Every time I approached a suitable SUV, he would mysteriously see a car that he just had to go check out. After about five consecutive times, I called his bluff.

  “You’re going to try to change my mind about buying an SUV, aren’t you?” There was no need to wait for him to answer me. I already knew what he was going to say so I told him that his little plan to get me to spend less money on a vehicle for him was pointless. “My mind is made up, Zach. It’s an SUV or it’s nothing—take your pick.”

  As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I once again knew exactly what his response was going to be. “I take that back,” I said to clarify my point, “It’s an SUV—period. We’re going to need something big enough to haul both of our things to Ohio, remember? That car’s nice but there isn’t even enough room in that thing for my shoe collection.” I pointed to a nice red SUV across the lot. “Let’s go take a look at that one.”

  “Yes, master,” Zach said with a creepy fake accent as he followed me, hunched over and dragging one foot behind him like a character from some early horror film.

  “Rachel’s dreams of stardom are over but you may want to think about taking that act to Hollywood, Igor.” I delivered that line with a straight face but giggled as soon as it was out. He entertained me as much as he infuriated me. If this was what a lifetime with Zach was going to be like, I was more than satisfied.

  Zach continued to lurch around after me like a crippled henchman, making me laugh even harder. When I saw the salesman heading our way, I gave him a light elbow to the ribs. “Hey, act normal or he’s going to think he can get away with price gouging us.”

  Zach straightened himself out after one last “Yes, master” then met the salesman with a handshake. When asked what kind of vehicle we were looking for, he begrudgingly uttered, “SUV”.

  I gave the man a rough estimate of our price range and the features I was looking for. Then I added that I was hoping to find something in red. Most of the vehicles out front were brand new and even though I had more than enough to cover it, I didn’t want to spend any more than I really had to. The money I had needed to last us for a few years. As much as I would have liked a brand new one, for now, it was out of the question.

  “Red? No. The only red ones we have in stock are this year’s models straight from the factory. I do have a few recent trade-ins that fit your price range, though. They’re out back— follow me.”

  No red. Okay, well, since Zach would be the one driving it most of the time, I guess I could live with black or a nice shade of blue to match his eyes. Silver would be okay, too. Anything but green—I hated green.

  As we walked down the line of vehicles, I noticed a distinct lack of blue. The few black ones were older than I was hoping for and with much higher mileage. The only silver one in the bunch was huge and the thought of driving something that massive frightened me. That brought our choices down to two. Two green ones.

  “Can you give us a few minutes to discuss this?” I asked the salesman. We were going to discuss the idea of going to Big Al’s used car lot instead.

  “Absolutely,” he replied with that all too friendly salesman voice. “I have to go check on something in the garage—I’ll be back in five.”

  While Zach usually thought that I could read his mind, he was usually dead wrong. Especially this time. “I know, I love
this one, too! He said, running his hand across the hood of the smaller of the two green SUVs. Of course I want to take a quick look at the engine first but, it has everything you said you were looking for. I say we go for it.”

  Figures. The minute I have second thoughts about the plan, Zach decides that he is fully on board. I threw out the Big Al’s idea but he quickly shot it down.

  “I actually had Rachel do a drive by of Big Al’s before she dropped me off at the shelter this morning. There wasn’t anything good there. This is the only other lot in town. If we don’t get something here, we’ll have to go the whole way to Graysburg. By the time we get there, they’ll be closed for the night. And besides, honestly, this one is perfect, Ruby. What don’t you love about it?”

  “It’s green,” I said with clear emphatic disdain placed on the word “green”.

  “Yes, and? That’s not a good enough reason to not buy a vehicle that’s perfect otherwise.” “Well, I really like that red one out front. If I’m careful about how much money I spend on clothes and shoes over the next few years, I could definitely still afford that one.” I took his hand and tried to lead him back to where the new vehicles were parked but his feet were planted firmly beside the green SUV.

  “Yeah, like that is ever going to happen,” he said while rolling his eyes. “Ruby, you need to just accept the fact that you aren’t always going to get everything exactly the way you want it in life.”

  Shocked by the harshness of his words, I dropped his hand and stared blankly at him. “What do you mean by that? Are you trying to say that I’m a spoiled brat?”

  “No, that wasn’t the point I was trying to make here. I’m just saying that you’ve had an easy life—financially, anyway. But that’s going to change once we’re out on our own. We’re going to have bills to pay. We’re going to be fending for ourselves. You won’t always be able to buy everything you want. You’re going to have to learn how to settle for second best some times.”

  I bit my lip to keep myself from crying. “Fine. If you want the green one, we’ll buy the green one. But I’ll have you know that there have been many points in my life when I didn’t get what I wanted. I’ve learned more life lessons than you think I have.”

  “Ruby, I’m not trying to argue with you,” Zach said as I waved the salesman over. “Whatever. Look at the engine and if it looks okay, tell him we’ll take it. I’m going for a walk to clear my head.” I knew he was mad at me for getting mad at him but I didn’t care. What I needed was a moment alone. Well, mostly alone.

  “You and Zach shouldn’t fight over something as stupid as the color of a car,” Clay said as I spotted the perfect tree to brood under and began walking toward it.

  “So you heard the whole conversation then? I didn’t see you, when did you get here?”

  Clay shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and stared down at the ground. “Yeah, about that….” Maybe I really was psychic because I knew exactly what he was going to say to me next. “You can’t separate yourself from me at all anymore, can you?”

  “No,” he mumbled without raising his head. “I’ve tried but I can’t. I can manage to keep some distance but not much. I guess I should have told you sooner.”

  “Yes, you should have!” After hearing that, the thought of driving a green SUV around town wasn’t so big of an issue. I shouted loud enough that Zach and the salesman both turned their heads to see what was going on. I just shook my head in defeat. All I wanted was a few minutes alone. Why couldn’t anything ever go the way I wanted it to?

  I sighed heavily and slumped back against the tree in defeat. When Zach motioned me to join him, I sighed again and trudged back to where he stood with Clay tailing along behind me.

  “I looked everything over and told him we would take it but we have a slight problem.” “Of course we do. What is it now?” I never suspected that so much drama could be involved in buying a vehicle. Car shopping was more complicated and nowhere near as gratifying as shoe shopping.

  “Unless you want to wait until you’re eighteen, you’re going to need your dad to sign some sort of consent form. Do you think you can talk him into doing it?”

  Finally, a sigh of relief. “Is that all I need to do? That isn’t a problem at all. But he won’t be able to do it until tomorrow, though—he’s working the late shift at the hospital tonight. I can sign my part and write out the check then you can come over with my dad tomorrow and pick it up while I’m in Pittsburgh doing some real shopping. Sound good?”

  Zach stroked the hood of the SUV once more before saying, “Sounds great!” Once things seemed to be at least semi back on track, we finished up at the dealership and I announced that I had one more thing planned for us before taking him home. I still needed to tell him that I was now stuck with Clay until I figured out how to break the bond. Now wasn’t a good time, though. Zach and I hadn’t had a romantic date in a long time and I wasn’t about to spoil it.

  “I’m taking you out to dinner tonight—no ifs, ands, or buts. I’ve been dying for a nice juicy steak all day and I won’t take no for an answer.”

  “I don’t know, Ruby. Can’t we just go to Chow Ming tonight? My mom’s working at the diner tonight and I would rather not have to deal with anyone in my family for the night.”

  “The diner? For steak? Why would I take you to the diner for steak? We’re going to City Lights, silly.”

  “No, we aren’t. It’s closed. They sold the place. I thought I told you about that a few weeks ago?” Zach was acting really weird and I had no idea why. What else was going to go wrong today? He was probably just trying to get me to go to Chow Ming because it was less expensive. He may have gotten away with talking me out of a brand new vehicle but he wasn’t going to talk me out of that steak. I drove off toward City Lights anyway.

  At the main intersection, Chow Ming was to the left, City Lights to the right. I turned right despite protests from Zach.

  “Fine. Don’t take my word for it then. But in about five minutes, you’re going to wish you’d listened to me.” Zach sat there with a smug look on his face as I drove. I glanced into the rearview to check for oncoming traffic before switching lanes and caught sight of Clay in the backseat. There was a slight smile on his face. Was he happy that Zach and I were arguing? Was he still holding out some sort of hope that he and I could be together someday? Sigh. I wanted to smack them both across the face with a wet fish.

  But as soon as the building came into view, I felt like I’d been the one to take that soggy carp to the cheekbone. The sign for City Lights was no longer there. Instead, there was a bright blue neon sign that said “Mistyque”. I was just about to point out that the sign was misspelled when my brain kicked in and I took another blow from the metaphorical fish.

  “Tell me that isn’t what I think it is. For the love of God, please.” “Sorry, Ruby. I could have sworn that I told you about this. Yeah, it’s exactly what you think it is. Jack Wolfe bought that restaurant for Misty—it’s her graduation present. She’s going to step right out of high school and into restaurant management. I guess with everything else going on at school you didn’t hear the news.”

  Not only was I pissed that my favorite restaurant was now forever on my condemned list, I was also a tiny bit bitter. Okay, a lot bitter. How did someone so mean and nasty keep moving up in the world the way she did? Next thing I knew, she was probably going to have a seat in the Senate. Not that she wouldn’t fit in perfectly in a nest of corruption like that, but it was just the idea of it that made my blood boil. And Zach thought that I needed to learn some life lessons the hard way.

  Sadly, I turned the car around and went back to Chow Ming. While consuming my first plate of wontons and spring rolls, I became sad.

  “I was hungry for steak and I hate the fact that Misty isn’t ever going to see a single hard day’s work in her life. But what really upsets me—what really grinds my gears—is that because of her, I will never get to share another meal with you at City Lights. I k
now we didn’t go there often but it was kind of like our place, you know? We haven’t been there in a while and if I’d known it would be our last meal there, I would have enjoyed it a little more.”

  Zach suddenly turned somber and lowered his fork. “Every moment in life could be the last. The last conversation, the last kiss, the last goodbye. If more people thought about those things on a daily basis, maybe the world wouldn’t be as full of sadness as it is.”

  “Wow. That was pretty philosophical for someone who only lost their favorite restaurant.” The sarcasm rolled off my tongue before my brain had a chance to catch what it was doing. When I realized that he was talking about his grandpa, I felt like an insensitive jerk. I’d been through a similar situation but when I met Lucas, I was able to put my feelings of regret over what happened to Lee in the past. Zach would never have that kind of opportunity.

  Hurriedly, I tried to smooth over my callous remark. “I’m sorry, Zach. As soon as I said that I realized what you were referring to. Or shall I say who you were referring to. You don’t talk about him very much—maybe you need to. After we leave here, we can go up to The Hideout and—“

  “After we leave here, you can drop me off at home and then you can go back to Rosewood. I’m never talking about that situation ever again. Not after what happened last night.”

  The look on his face was foreign to me. I wasn’t used to him looking so dark and brooding. It wasn’t like the anger or jealousy that I’d seen there in the past. It was something much deeper than that. I felt like I was looking into a mirror and I didn’t like it at all. I was too afraid to ask what happened for fear that he would shut down completely. There would be plenty of time later to pick Rachel’s brain for an explanation of his ominous response.