I sat down on the sofa, closed my eyes, and rubbed the bridge of my nose.
“And remember, you literally can go anywhere in the U.S. Maybe you could talk the winner into going to that haunted hotel in California?”
Now he had my attention. That was right up my alley. After being forced out of auto racing my buddy, Rory White, and I had started our own ghost tracker web show. We traveled around the country to investigate ghost sightings. He was actually the expert on paranormal activity. I was more of his side-kick. We now had over one million followers and had visited twenty locations, searching for spirits. Twice we’d even encountered some actual entities, which, admittedly, had been pretty fucking freaky. But, damned if I wasn’t hooked. I’d always been an adrenaline freak and the rush of encountering an actual poltergeist was almost as intense as auto racing. Unfortunately, I’d gotten injured a few months back during a Daytona 500 race. I’d ended up needing surgery on my back and recovery had been long and arduous. I’d even tried returning to the track, but threw my back out a couple of weeks later. While I was recovering, Rory asked me to join him on a ghost hunting trip. Needing to get my mind on something else, besides my fucked up back, I’d agreed. From that moment on, I was addicted.
I looked at him. “Fine. I just wish you would have asked before volunteering me.”
He ran a hand through his silver-streaked brown hair. “You’d have said no.”
“Exactly.”
He smirked. “It’ll be fun. Who knows, the prize winner might be a total hot babe and you’ll be thanking me later.”
“Right,” I muttered. Not with the luck I’d had lately.
“Cup half full, Adam. Cup half full.”
My old man, a psychology professor at Diamond Lake University, believed in the power of positive thinking, the Law of Attraction, and karma. He’d been grounding the “cup half full” mantra into my head since I was a child. In my opinion, bad things happened to happy, positive people too. Look at me. I’d been happy as fuck before the accident.
Dad checked his reflection in the hallway mirror. “We should get going.”
“Let me use the bathroom first.”
“Okay.”
As I washing up, I received a text from Rory. He wanted to know if I’d meet him at the bar after I was finished at my parents. I explained what was going on, including the fact that I was now a raffle prize. I thought he’d give me shit. Instead, he asked if he could record the event for the web show.
I groaned. Of course he’d want to shoot it.
Rory: The fans will love it. It might even go viral.
Me: I’d like to keep this on the down low.
Rory: Why? This is going to kick ass. Think of the exposure.
Me: It has nothing to do with ghost chasing.
Rory: So? Seriously, we need to broadcast this.
I knew he wasn’t going to let up. It was better to just give in and hope for the best. Plus, maybe he was right and it would give us more exposure.
Me: Fine.
Rory: Sweet. Meet you there.
Me: Okay.
I left the bathroom and met my dad in the kitchen.
“You ready to go?”
“Yeah.” I set my phone on the table and grabbed my brown leather jacket. As I was slipping it over my shoulders, the phone buzzed again.
“Who’s texting you?”
I looked at the screen. “It’s just Rory. He wants to stream the raffle on our web channel.”
“You may as well let him do it. I’m sure others will be recording anyway.” He grinned. “Especially when they find out my celebrity son, Adam Knight, is someone’s prize tonight.”
I snorted. “Right.”
“Relax. It’ll be fun.”
“Hate to disappoint you, Dad, but right now… my cup is looking pretty bone-dry. There’s no changing that anytime soon either. Unless you can find a stand-in for me.”
“Not a chance.”
“I didn’t think so.”
The charity event was being held in the main auditorium and was packed by the time we arrived. Hell, I barely recognized the place. With all of the white covered dining tables, twinkling lights, and flowers, it looked more like a huge wedding reception than a fundraiser. I commented to my dad and he mentioned that the college’s annual fundraiser always drew a huge crowd, so they went all out with the decorations.
“It’s even a bigger deal this year because Ransom is supposed to perform a song.” He nodded toward the stage. “Most people don’t know about it though. The school has tried to keep it hush-hush. They’ve even hired extra security, just in case word gets out he’s in town.”
I looked over and saw some band equipment set up. “No shit? I thought that guy fell off the face of the earth.”
Ransom was a rock star who’d gotten kicked off of American Icon – a televised contest for aspiring singers. I’d watched the show as a teenager and vaguely remembered something about him having an affair with one of the contestants. He’d been a judge, so it had caused quite a shit storm. Nobody had really heard much about him since the incident.
“Yeah, he’s kept his nose out of the spotlight. Anyway, your mother managed to talk him into performing.”
Mom was a director at the university. I had no idea how she had connections with Ransom. “Mom? You’re kidding. How in the hell did she even get in contact with a guy like that?”
“He was here in town during the holidays. Vacationing with his wife, Tiffany. Don’t you remember your mother going on and on about how she’d given Tiffany a ride home after her rental car stalled on the side of the road?”
I thought back to the conversation. I recalled her talking about a woman named Tiffany, but hadn’t realized it was Ransom’s wife. I obviously hadn’t paid enough attention to it. I was currently living with Rory, and one of my cousins, near the college. I really only saw my parents on Sundays, for dinner. “I remember the story but didn’t know it had been Ransom’s wife.”
“Yeah. She’d been pregnant at the time and apparently had forgotten her cell phone. So, when your mom found her stranded, the woman had been a nervous wreck. Anyway, they sparked up a friendship and have kept in touch. She reached out to them about the charity and Ransom agreed to play a song. For free.”
“Wow. That’s pretty generous of the guy.”
He agreed. “Your mother says they’re a really nice, down-to-earth couple.”
“Sounds like it. So, do I get to meet him?”
“I’m sure your mother can arrange it. Let’s go and find her.”
This even was getting more interesting by the moment. Two surprises already and the night was still young. My dad believed that things happened in threes. Which meant, my night was just beginning.
3
Chloe
After we arrived at the college auditorium, we checked in. I also asked about donating my grandmother’s check toward some of the raffles.
“Yes, I can’t see why not,” the woman replied, looking at the check. She smiled. “I know Rae. You must be… Chloe?”
I grinned. “Yes.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lily Knight. I think you might have gone to high school with my son, Adam?”
The name brought a sickening taste to my mouth. Blair and I glanced at each other. Neither of us had seen him in years, thank God. Just thinking about him made me want to throat-punch the guy. Obviously, I wasn’t going to bring up any of that to his mother.
I forced a smile to my face. “Uh, yeah. His name sounds familiar. He graduated a couple of years ahead of us, I believe.”
“Hey, did you say Adam Knight?” A gal asked behind me. “The race car driver?”
Lily smiled and nodded. “That’s him.”
“Doesn’t he have some kind of a web show now or something?” the girl’s friend asked.
Lily laughed. “Yes. He chases ghosts now instead of other drivers.”
“That’s so cool. So, he has actually been in the presence of real gh
osts. It’s not an act?” the friend asked.
“No. It’s definitely not.” Lily turned her attention back to us. “There are fifty different raffles you can sign up for. Tickets are a dollar per entry and you can do as many as you’d like.”
“I don’t want to be greedy,” I answered, looking toward the tables where they’d set up the entries. There was everything from games to flying toy helicopters.
Blair leaned closer to me. “Why don’t you just purchase one raffle for each prize and donate the rest directly to the charity?”
“Good idea.” I looked at Lily. “Is that okay?”
“Of course.” She handed me fifty tickets. “Just tear off the stubs so you can claim your prize if you win.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
“Oh, and tell your grandmother that we’re deeply grateful for such a generous donation. She’s a sweet women.”
I smiled. “She certainly is. I’ll let her know.”
“Good luck and enjoy the evening, girls,” Lily said.
Blair and I thanked her and moved toward the raffle tables, which were crowded.
“Good grief, this will take forever. How about I give you half the tickets and we just go down the line and drop an entry into each of the boxes?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
I handed her some tickets and we went our separate ways. Because there were so many people surrounding the long table I decided to not waste time reading every raffle prize before entering. It seemed like it might be more fun that way anyway.
When we were finished, we met at the other end of the table.
“I hope you don’t mind… but I ended up adding some extra tickets to the main raffle being given away tonight. I lost my patience. It was just too crowded,” Blair said.
“It’s not a problem. I didn’t really come here for the prizes anyway. What’s the main prize?”
“A weekend getaway or something. I started reading it and then the people behind me were getting impatient, so I just shoved some tickets into the box.”
“That’s okay. A weekend getaway sounds awesome,” I replied. “If I win, maybe Grandma Rae will let us go.”
Blair smiled. “That would be awesome.”
The lights started flickering, so we knew the event was about to begin. We quickly found our table, where three other couples were seated. We introduced ourselves and made small talk until Lily Knight took the stage.
“Thank you all for coming this evening,” she said, beaming a smile across the auditorium. “My name is Lily Knight and I’m one of the directors here at the university.” She went on to give a short speech and then introduced the president of the women’s shelter, Clara Dern. She reminded me a bit of my grandmother, only with long, gray hair pulled back into a braid.
“Thank you,” Clara said, after the clapping died down. “I can’t even begin to express how grateful we are to your generosity. It’s truly a miracle that the university chose our organization to sponsor this year. We are in desperate need of housing and supplies, so this couldn’t come at a better time.” She paused, and it was clear to see that Clara was getting choked up. She regained her composure and then went on to give a little history behind the organization and how many families they’d helped through their programs. It was very impressive and I knew that when Grandma Rae learned where her money was going, she’d be very pleased.
Afterward, Clara thanked everyone again and then Lily joined her back on stage.
“Clara, we’re proud to say that we’ve already helped raise over seven-hundred-and-fifty thousand dollars for your shelter, and the numbers are still rising.”
Clara’s eyes welled up with tears again. “Thank you. Thank you so much,” she said, as everyone clapped. “This is such a wonderful surprise.”
Lily put her arm around Clara. “That’s not the only surprise we have here tonight. In fact, we have a very special guest who has volunteered to sing here tonight. I think everyone is going to be thrilled when they find out who our secret guest is.”
There was a buzz around the room and everyone began looking around, trying to locate the singer.
Lily went on, her face beaming with excitement. “Everyone, put your hands together and say a warm welcome to the one and only, Ransom!”
Blair and I gasped and looked at each other.
“As in the Ransom?” Blair asked.
“No. It can’t be,” one of the others at the table said. “There’s no way.”
The crowd started clapping and then cheering as Ransom appeared from a side door.
“Wow,” breathed Blair.
Sure enough, it really was the legendary rock star. Everyone was stunned to see such a larger-than-life celebrity heading toward the stage. And although he’d been out of the limelight for a while, he still looked just as hunky as ever.
“Thank you so much,” Ransom said, as the crowd quieted down. “It’s a pleasure being here tonight.”
“Ransom, we love you!” hollered a woman, which brought more whistles and cheers.
He grinned. “Thank you. And I’ve always loved Diamond Lake. You all know how to make a guy feel welcomed.”
“You’ve been here before?!” someone shouted.
“A few times. It’s a great place to bring the family.” He nodded over toward the other side of the stage, where a spotlight was now shining over a beautiful blonde woman holding a baby. Surrounding her were several security guards.
“Tiffany!” people shouted.
She grinned and threw everyone a kiss.
Someone brought Ransom a stool and his guitar. He took it and sat down. “Unfortunately, my band members’ plane has been delayed. So, I hope you don’t mind if it’s just me tonight.”
The crowd cheered and screamed his name again.
“Well, that’s a relief,” he said with a pleased grin. “I was worried someone might boo me off of the stage.”
“Never!” screamed a woman.
The audience laughed.
Lily stepped back onto the stage and reminded everyone to turn off their cell phones. Recording was prohibited and she urged everyone to be respectful.
After she walked off again, the lights lowered and Ransom sang several ballads from his old records. His voice was incredible and I made a mental note to download the songs when I got home. Finally, after about thirty minutes, he invited his wife on stage and they sang a song together. It was a song of love, devotion, and courage. By the time they were finished, half of the auditorium had tears in their eyes.
“Wow, those two have talent,” Blair said, as we clapped. “I mean both of them are incredible singers.”
I agreed.
After the clapping died down, Ransom and Tiffany left the stage. Then Lily returned and announced that the surprises were just beginning.”
“I doubt anything can top that shocker,” I said to Blair.
Was I ever wrong.
4
Adam
Fortunately, before his performance, I did get the chance to meet Ransom and his family. At first I felt a little tongue-tied, meeting someone so famous, but he was so laid back and genuine. He made everyone around him feel comfortable.
“I saw your web show last week,” he said, shocking me. “Do you guys ever catch any ‘real’ ghosts?”
“Not many. Most of the time we end up debunking the sightings. But, yeah. There actually have been some genuine encounters.”
Tiffany, who was holding their son, Brady, on her hip, smiled grimly. “Wow. That must be a little scary when they’re actually real. I know I couldn’t do it.”
Oddly enough, I’d never been frightened. Just intrigued. “I’m more fascinated than anything,” I replied.
“Do you ever tell them to go and find the light?” she joked.
I grinned. Everyone always asked that. “Haven’t really had much of a conversation with one, to be honest. Usually they only appear for a second and then move on. I think many of them are oblivious to things around t
hem. My partner in crime, Rory White, believes that many are stuck in the past. Maybe even repeating it.”
“Like lost souls stuck in time,” Tiffany said sadly.
I nodded. “Exactly.”
“Well, keep up the good work and stay safe,” Ransom said as my mother called him to the stage.
I grinned. “Thanks. You, too.”
After his performance, Ransom and Tiffany left and the buffet opened up. Since we were both starving, Dad and I headed over quickly to grab food and then met Mom at our table.
“That little concert was fabulous, wasn’t it?” Mom said with a big grin. “I think everyone really enjoyed it.”
“Oh, hell yeah. Nobody will ever forget this year’s fundraiser. You outdid yourself, sweetheart.” Dad gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Great job.”
She looked pleased. “Thank you.”
Dad nodded toward me. “Adam got to meet Ransom and his family before the show, too.”
She beamed a smile at me. “Oh, good. I was hoping you’d get to meet them.”
“He seems like a really nice guy.” I grinned. “His wife’s pretty hot, too.”
Mom chuckled. “She’s darling and I love that little boy of theirs, Brady. They’re such a sweet couple. Did Ransom tell you that he’s been watching your web show?”
“Yeah, he mentioned that.”
One of the other school’s staff members announced that the raffles would soon begin.
I rubbed the side of my face and groaned.
Mom looked at me. “What’s wrong?”
“He’s not happy about being one of the prizes,” Dad answered with an amused look.
“Of course not. Would you?” I muttered. “It’s not only embarrassing, but I’m going to have to entertain a total stranger for an entire weekend.”
“You don’t have to entertain them if you don’t want to,” Mom replied.
“I certainly can’t ignore them. Hell, I’m going to have to probably engage in conversation.”
The Prize: An Enemies-to-Lovers Romance (Diamond Lake Romance Book 3) Page 2