“You are never going to let me live that down, are you?”
“Nope,” Kate replied, zipping her nighttime bag into her suitcase.
Ten minutes later, rolling suitcases and backpacks in hand, Kate and Gavin locked up their apartment and walked across the landing to grab Michael. Then, the three of them loaded themselves and their luggage into Kate’s Land Rover and drove to the airport, where Luke was waiting for them with their boarding passes.
“This is going to be so much fun! I’m so excited,” Kate exclaimed once she had her boarding pass in hand.
“I agree, Beautiful. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a long time,” Luke told her. “Gavin, good to see you, man.”
“Good to see you, too,” Gavin grinned, shaking Luke’s hand with enthusiasm. It was weird to see her brother actually happy to see Luke. Back when Luke had first shown up, Gavin hadn’t wanted Kate to have anything to do with him. But thanks to Michael and Trevor, he’d had a change of heart.
“Mikey, are you ready for this?” Luke flashed Michael a broad grin.
Michael looked at Luke as though he’d just asked him a trick question, but deep down, Kate had a feeling he was actually looking forward to being on the show, or at least curious about it. She had spent the evening before at Michael’s apartment, helping him get his things together (and making out on the couch, but mostly helping him pack), and he’d actually seemed to have a good time preparing for the trip. He’d been smiling and laughing and talking about all the lobster he was going to eat.
But Kate knew there was no way he was going to let Luke know that he was actually excited about becoming a guest star on Cemetery Tours. Sure enough, he pursed his lips and replied, “Sure.”
Kate smirked and took Michael’s hand as Luke led the way to baggage check. It was kind of cool to be traveling with not just one, but two celebrities. Out of the corner of her eye, Kate noticed people gawking and whispering as they passed by, but for once, she wasn’t sure if they were gaping at Luke or at Michael. While they were waiting in line to pass through security, two girls let an entire row of people cut in front of them just so they could get their pictures taken with Luke. Then, another girl approached them in the terminal and asked for Michael’s autograph without even giving Luke a second glance.
Michael looked to Kate as if to ask, Does she really want my autograph?
But the girl seemed very insistent. “I’m really into ghosts,” she explained as Michael signed the back of an old receipt for her. “I think it’s so cool that you can see them.”
Luke scoffed as she sprinted back down the terminal. “If she’s so ‘into ghosts,’ how come she doesn’t watch Cemetery Tours? I mean, obviously she doesn’t or else she would have recognized me.”
“Luke, you’re not jealous, are you?” Kate grinned.
“Me? Never. I just think she was putting the moves on your boyfriend and you need to keep an eye on him.”
Kate threw her head back and laughed. “I think I trust him enough to be able to deal with a teenager asking for his autograph.”
“Well, I don’t,” Luke pouted.
Kate patted his shoulder, then looked up at Gavin. “Do you remember that time we were in Austin and that girl asked if you were the lead singer of Nirvana?”
This time, Gavin was the one who laughed.
“Wait, seriously?” Michael asked.
“Yeah. We were at this music festival with a few of our cousins and this one girl, completely wasted, stumbled into Kate and then looked up at me and goes, ‘Holy shit! Kurt Cobain? I thought you were dead!’” Gavin snickered.
“Then she spilled her beer down my shirt,” Kate added.
“I thought you were going to punch her. You were so angry,” Gavin reminisced.
“I’m still angry. I loved that shirt, and now it has a nasty beer stain on it.”
They made it to their gate with plenty of time to spare, so they decided to grab a bite to eat at the Chili’s-To-Go. While they were eating, Luke whipped out his brand new iPhone and handed it to their waiter.
“Would you mind taking a picture for us?” he asked. “I like to document the journey. And the fans love it.”
Kate recalled all the pictures she’d seen posted on his Twitter feed, but never in her wildest dreams had she ever imagined she’d be in one.
“What’s the caption going to be?” she asked as soon as Luke had his iPhone back.
“‘Hanging out with special guest stars on our way to dream location.’” Luke replied. “You know, Mikey, you should really think about getting yourself a Twitter.”
“No thanks. I’m really not interested in people having more access to me than they already do,” Michael said.
“But it’s good to share yourself with the world. Yeah, you’ll get your creepers and your stalkers, but it’s a nice way to connect with the fans and let them know you care.”
Kate wasn’t going to say anything, since she was technically one of those creepers who liked to follow a bunch of celebrities, but she knew there was no way Michael would ever make a Twitter account. He was rarely even on Facebook.
“I’ll think about it,” Michael replied.
Oh, yeah. That was a definite no.
~*~
“Ladies and gentlemen, the Captain has turned off the fasten seat belt sign, however we recommend that you keep your seat belt fastened while you’re seated. Now, sit back, relax, and enjoy your flight to Portland, Maine.”
Michael intended to do just that. That was probably the one good thing that would come from this whole experience. He’d always enjoyed airplane rides. Maybe it was because he hadn’t had the chance to travel that much growing up. Whatever the reason, being inside a plane was always a very relaxing, very therapeutic experience. Best of all, there were rarely ever ghosts.
Kate, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be enjoying the ride at all.
“It’s just a little turbulence. I am okay. I am okay,” she muttered to herself.
“Are you alright?” Michael asked, taking her hand.
“She’s a nervous flyer,” Gavin explained from her other side. “When we were little, she was so bad that whenever we flew anywhere, Mom would drug her.”
“That is so not true,” Kate snapped.
“Oh yeah? Remember your special allergy medicine?”
Kate gasped. “She told me that was so my nose and ears wouldn’t get stuffy on the plane!”
“And it would knock you out for six hours,” Gavin quipped.
It was sort of hard not to laugh at the shocked expression on Kate’s face, so Michael turned his attention to the world outside his window. Watching the clouds pass by beneath him, Michael felt his eyelids growing heavy. He was just about to drop off to sleep when –
“Man, this flight is boring. Don’t planes get movies nowadays?”
Michael’s eyes snapped open, and he whipped his head around and found himself staring not into Kate’s lovely hazel eyes, but into the bright blue and obnoxiously alert eyes of Eugene Brinkley. Who, to his sheer horror and embarrassment, had decided to seat himself right on top of Kate’s legs.
“Brink!” he hissed, causing Kate to flinch.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, looking panicked.
“Nothing, it’s just...” Okay, seriously? How was he supposed to explain to his anxiety-stricken girlfriend that his irritating ghost roommate had followed them onto the plane and was currently sitting on her lap? “Um... someone decided to follow us.”
“Oh, come on. You can use my name. It’s not like anyone else in this plane is going to know who you’re talking about.”
“Brink?” Kate whispered. “Is that why it’s suddenly freezing in here?”
“Wait a minute, you brought a ghost with you?” Gavin asked, leaning in across his sister and, funnily enough, straight into Brink’s abdomen.
“Eurgh!” Brink tried to swat him away. “I hate it when people do that!”
“Trust me, he wasn�
�t invited,” Michael muttered through gritted teeth.
“Oh, that’s nice. You know, last time I checked, I’d been your friend a lot longer than these two. Then again, I guess I’m not as pretty as she is...” Brink remarked, snuggling up to Kate, who suddenly went rigid, like an electric shock had just shot up and down her spine.
“Will you knock it off?” Michael growled.
“What’s he doing?” Kate asked, looking apprehensive.
“What? I’m not going to sit on his lap,” Brink pointed his thumb over his shoulder at Gavin.
“He’s not doing anything,” Michael lied, grateful that for once, his voice didn’t crack. “In fact, he just assured me that he’s about to go haunt the bathrooms in the back of the plane until we land.”
“Yeah, right. I might be dead, but I’m still human. I still get grossed out. Heck, for all we know, I might still have a gag reflex.”
“Why would you have a gag reflex? You’re not alive!” Michael argued, a little louder than he intended.
“What are you talking about?” Kate asked.
“Hey! Is there a ghost over there?” Luke asked, acknowledging them for the first time since he’d been allowed to turn his iPod back on. Michael wasn’t sure what he’d been rocking out to the whole flight, but he had a feeling it was something that would eventually cost him his hearing.
“Yeah, Michael’s friend Brad,” Gavin replied.
“It’s Brink,” Kate and Brink corrected him at the same time. Of course, Gavin could only hear his sister.
“Brink? That’s kind of a weird name, isn’t it?”
“You’re one to talk, Gavin Wentworth,” Kate remarked.
“Seriously, bro?” Luke asked.
“It’s a family name.” Gavin brushed off his sister’s attempt at humiliating him.
“Is Brink still there? If so, tell him to stay right where he is. I want to see if I can get a picture!” Luke began digging through his carry-on for his camera. “You know, I don’t get the opportunity to get to know the spirits we work with. But if Brink wouldn’t mind, I’d love to have him sit down with me, maybe see if we can get some really solid EVPs and responses. I bet it would be a lot easier to collect evidence if the ghost was actually willing to cooperate and didn’t need to be persuaded or taunted.”
Once he had found his camera, Luke leaned over the armrest of the chair so far that his head, arms, and upper torso were obscuring the entire aisle.
“That doesn’t look very comfortable,” Kate remarked.
Luke ignored her.
“Okay, Brink, hold still!” Then he started snapping away.
“What are you doing?” a lady sitting behind him asked.
“Hey, turn that flash off!” another man griped.
“You know Luke, maybe now isn’t the best time...” Michael offered tentatively. Luke didn’t hear him, or if he did, he ignored him.
“Hey! I think I almost see something in this. Look at this, Gavin. Does this look like a mist to you?” Luke shoved the camera in Gavin’s face. “Brink, is that your head?”
“Sir,” a flight attendant with auburn hair and a stern look on her face approached him. Luke didn’t respond to her either.
“Okay, Brink, I’m going to try some without the flash. This time, I’m really going for the full bodied apparition, so feel free to use a little of Mikey’s energy if you - ”
“Sir!” This time, her voice made Luke jump. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but you need to remain seated and put the camera away. You’re being disruptive and it’s making the other passengers uncomfortable.”
“Sorry, but real quickly, can I just take one more picture?”
“No!”
“Okay, okay.” Luke held his hands up in mock defense and packed his camera back into his bag.
Kate exchanged a nervous glance with Michael. Then, she leaned in close to him and muttered, “I hope he’s not famous enough for this to make People.com.”
“Even if he’s not, I’m sure the world will hear about it somehow,” Michael muttered. Even though he didn’t have one himself, he knew (mostly thanks to Kate) that Luke was notorious for Tweeting every aspect of his life.
Kate nodded in acknowledgement.
“You’re probably right.”
Then, she laced her fingers through his, rested her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes for the rest of the flight.
Chapter 7
The three remaining members of the Cemetery Tours crew were waiting for Luke and his guests at baggage claim. Michael had met Gail Marsh, JT Sawyer, and Peter Jamison once before, but he had been in the hospital under extreme sedation, so he didn’t remember a whole lot of the encounter. Kate had assured them that he hadn’t said or done anything embarrassing, but she’d been so excited to meet all of them that Michael was pretty sure she hadn’t been paying the slightest bit of attention to what he was doing.
Gail, the only female member of the group, greeted Kate with a familiar embrace. Seeing them together, Michael wasn’t sure if Kate was actually taller than he’d thought, or if Gail was just really short. She probably stood at around five feet, if that, and was very petite, but she was also very athletic. She had shoulder length brown hair, brown eyes, and she wore cargo shorts and a black tank top.
Meanwhile, JT and Luke were already flipping through both of their iPads, discussing the itinerary for the next couple of days. From what Michael had seen on television, JT and Luke were practically polar opposites. According to Kate, some fan sites even referred to him as the “anti-Luke.” While Luke was short, sturdy, and blond, JT was tall and thin, with dark hair and about a week’s worth of stubble. Luke’s loud, energetic, and outgoing personality sharply contrasted with JT’s reserved and rather dry demeanor. But somehow, amidst all their differences, Luke and JT remained the best of friends. They played off each other well and never seemed to have any sort of major disagreements.
After he and JT had all the plans squared away, Luke introduced Gavin to Peter, the team’s primary tech guy. Michael had always thought that of the four of them, Peter looked and acted the least like a celebrity ghost hunter. While his fellow crew members dressed in expensive, designer brands, Peter still ran around in jean shorts and extra large, Nintendo 64 T-shirts. He rarely cut his flyaway brown hair, and although he was trying to grow facial hair, it appeared wispy and soft.
Peter greeted Gavin enthusiastically and immediately began giving him the rundown on their equipment, but someone else had turned their attention on Gavin as well. Gail, who, moments before, had been preoccupied catching up with Kate, was watching Gavin with keenly interested eyes. Michael remembered Kate mentioning something about Gail’s reputation. When it came to men, she wasn’t really into relationships. She was more into two-week flings. And judging by the way she was looking at Gavin, she was planning on making him her next conquest.
Kate didn’t seem to notice, however. She’d abandoned the group and had rejoined Michael on the outskirts.
“Kind of crazy, huh?” she asked him as a couple of girls stopped Luke and asked for a photograph with him.
“Hey, Sis!” Gavin called. Both Michael and Kate turned to see Gavin and Peter, who was carrying one of the team’s large cameras on his shoulder. As Peter pointed the lens on them, Michael took an automatic step aside. Kate, Gavin, and Peter all laughed.
“You know, you’re going to have to get used to it,” Peter told him.
“I will,” Michael said. “You just caught me off guard.”
“Since when do you have a camera phobia?” Brink asked, appearing suddenly by Michael’s side.
“You’re not shooting for the show, are you?” Kate asked.
“Nah, this is for my YouTube channel,” Peter replied.
“Oh, great. I’m still in my airplane clothes,” she grumbled, staring down at her ensemble of torn jeans, T-shirt, and jacket. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun and she wasn’t wearing any make-up at all. Michael thought she looked
great. But then, he was a little biased.
“Tell her it’s okay. She’s still hot,” Brink quipped. Michael ignored him.
Once they’d collected their luggage, they piled into the vans that Gail and JT had rented. Peter and JT drove the one with all the equipment and luggage, while Gail opted to ride along in the second van with Luke and the rest of them.
“So, handsome, why don’t you tell me a little about yourself,” Gail grinned flirtatiously, twisting around in the front seat so she could talk to Gavin.
At first, Gavin didn’t seem to know that she was talking to him. Kate clearly didn’t either, because she cast an alarmed and rather possessive glance at Michael. He’d always heard that girls could get territorial and jealous when another female was around, but he’d never experienced it firsthand. It was kind of neat.
It didn’t last long, however. One glance at Gail and Kate realized that she hadn’t been hitting on her boyfriend at all, but on her brother. Michael had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing as Kate’s vengeful expression shifted to one of shock and disgust. Gavin, on the other hand, looked surprised and flattered.
“Leave him alone, Gail. He’s here to learn, not to be harassed,” Luke said.
“I’m not harassing him. I’m just talking. We are going to be spending the next three days together, after all.” Gail batted her eyelashes.
“No. He is going to be spending the next three days with Peter. You are going to be doing your job like a professional. I don’t need another incident like the Del Coronado,” Luke remarked.
For about half a second, Michael wondered what exactly had happened at the Del Coronado, but then he remembered that this was celebrity drama and, as a guy, he wasn’t supposed to care.
Besides, he could always ask Kate about it later. She was so up-to-date with the latest gossip, he was certain she’d know everything there was to know about the Del Coronado incident.
“Okay, please don’t give me that look,” Luke was now saying to Gail.
“Then stop lecturing me,” Gail retorted.
“I’m not lecturing you. I’m just saying that you are a professional and I need you to act like it. This investigation is a big deal, for us and for the paranormal community. No one has ever been allowed to film inside Stanton Hall. If there was ever a time I need you to stay focused, it’s now.”
Between Worlds (Cemetery Tours Book 2) Page 5