Cemetery Tours (10 page)

“I’m so jealous.
  I love lakes.”

“I’m not a fan,” Michael admitted without thinking.
  For reasons he didn’t want to think about, lakes were usually crawling with restless spirits.  The only ghost he didn’t mind was his grandmother, who preferred to spend all of her time sitting on her old porch swing and watching the sun rise and set and rise again over the water.  

“Really?
  But there’s so much to do.  Swimming and kayaking and fishing...”  

Michael shrugged.
  “Lakes are dirty.”    

“Whatever,” Kate said flippantly.
  “Hey listen, I’m sorry I was kind of distant last week.  I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

“Oh no, I completely understand.
  I’ve... had stuff on my mind too,” he added lamely.  “Everything’s okay, isn’t it?  I mean, is Gavin alright?”

“I don’t know,” Kate sighed.
  “He says he’s feeling better, and he does have days where he seems it, but he’s basically been on a downward spiral since his birthday party.  I’m not even sure he should go to see the fireworks, but I know how much he wants to.  And he’s been cooped up for so long.  He really needs to get out.” 

Michael had never considered himself particularly astute, but he couldn’t help but feel there was something she wasn’t telling him.

“Are
you
okay?  I mean, it sounds like you’ve been under a lot of stress.”  

Kate shrugged.
  “I’m worried about Gavin, but that’s nothing new.  I haven’t really been sleeping well, but I think it’s because I’m still getting used to the apartment.”

“Are you still liking it here?”
 

“Yeah.
  The apartment is great,” she said.  Again, her answer sounded vague.  

“What is it?” Michael asked, hoping he wasn’t pushing her too far.
  She averted eye contact, like she was trying to decide whether or not to confide in him.  Finally, she looked up at him.

“If I ask you something, will you promise not to think I’m crazy?”
 

“No - I mean yes!
  I - I mean,” he fumbled pathetically, “I mean I’d never think you were crazy.” 
Smooth.  

Thankfully, Kate didn’t seem at all fazed by his less than stellar people skills as she looked him in the eye and asked, “
Do you believe in ghosts?”

Michael had been anticipating a variety of strange questions, but for some reason, he hadn’t been expecting that.
  Rather than lie on the spot as he normally would have done, he froze up like a puddle in a snowstorm and felt all the blood drain from his face.  While he wracked his brain for an appropriate response, a new voice, loud and irksome, broke the silence.

“Of course he believes in ghosts!
  Doesn’t everybody?”  

“Oh no...” Michael muttered as a man wearing dark denim jeans, a black T-shirt, and an arrogant smirk sauntered over to them.
  Everything about him screamed “obnoxious,” from his preppy, dirty blonde hair that made him look like he was getting ready for a seventh-grade dance to his stupid green Converse sneakers that were probably at least ten years old by now.

“How are you doing, Mikey?” he asked.
  Before Michael could tell him to get lost, Kate made a strange noise that sounded like a small dog with an upset stomach and dropped everything she was holding.

“Oh my
God
, you’re Luke Rainer!” she exclaimed, her voice about ten pitches higher than it normally was.  Michael stared at her in horror.  Luke, on the other hand, heaved a sigh dripping with false modesty and self satisfaction.

“Guilty,” he replied.
  Then, with a smug grin, he took her hand and kissed it.  She squealed.  Luke turned to Michael.  “She’s cute.  I like her.”  Michael scowled at him.  Of all the times he could come barging back into his life, of course Luke Rainer would choose to show up
just
as he was trying to make things right with Kate.  

“What do you want?”
 

“I’m back in town for the Fourth and I thought that while I was here, I’d drop in and say hi to my buddy,” Luke answered.
 

“Super,” Michael remarked lightly.
  Kate, on the other hand, gaped at him with wide, starstruck eyes.

“You’re friends with
Luke Rainer
?!”

“‘Friends’ is such a strong word...”
 

“How could you not tell me?!” she demanded.
 

“Because I didn’t think you’d know or care who he was!”

“Oh Mikey, how you underestimate my extensive fan base.” Luke clapped a hand onto his shoulder.

“Right, because ghost hunting shows are so mainstream, I should assume every pretty girl I meet has a secret shrine to you hidden away in her closet.”

“Uh-oh, sounds like someone’s a little jealous,” Luke stated in an irritating sing-song voice before turning his attention back to Kate.  “So what’s your name, Lovely?” 

“Kate.
  Kate Avery.  And I love your show.  I watch it all the time.  You are just so wonderful,” she rambled, batting her eyelashes and gazing up at Luke like he was some sort of celestial being.      

“Thank you, Sweetheart,” Luke smiled, basking in her flattery.
  “It’s all because of fans like you we’re able to do what we do.”  Michael rolled his eyes.  How did anyone take him seriously?  

“You know, I actually died once,” Kate told him, looking oddly smug.
 
That
caught Michael’s attention.

“Is that so?” Luke asked.

“You never told me that,” Michael said.

“I didn’t think it would impress
you
,” she replied.  

“Was it after your car accident?”

“Yep.  Flatlined for four minutes before they revived me.”  

“And did you have an experience?
  With the afterlife?” Luke asked.

“I think I did, but it’s pretty blurry,” Kate said.
  “They pumped me full of so many drugs, I don’t have too many solid memories.  My brother’s convinced my brain will never be the same.”

“I don’t know what he’s talking about.
  Your brain seems just fine to me,” Luke smiled.  Kate looked positively elated.       

“This is just so cool.
  I can’t believe you’re here,” she gushed.  “Will you sign my book?” 

“Oh God, you bought his
book
?” Michael groaned.  After the wild success of his stupid show, Luke Rainer had penned a memoir of his lifelong obsession with all things paranormal.  Like the show, the book had been well-received by women between the ages of fifteen and fifty-five.  By the critics, not so much.  

“Of course I will.
  It’d be my pleasure,” Luke responded with a cheeky grin.  “You know Mikey, I’m proud of you.  It’s about time you found a girl.  Especially one with such good taste.”

“Well actually - ”

“We’re not dating,” Kate interrupted him.  Luke raised an eyebrow. 

“No?” he asked, eyeing her with renewed interest.
 

“No.
  I am very single,” she replied emphatically.  Michael watched, incredulous.  How could a smart, level-headed woman like Kate be reduced to a silly, fawning fangirl by an arrogant tool like Luke Rainer?

“Well lucky me,” Luke winked.
  Kate looked like she was about to faint.  

“Okay, well, it’s been fun, but you need to go,” Michael blurted
before he could stop himself.

“Going somewhere?” Luke asked, observing the suitcase in Michael’s backseat and showing no intention of departing.
 

“As a matter of fact yes, and I need to leave soon, so there’s really no reason for you to stick around.”
 

“
Au contraire
, I think I’ve found a perfectly good reason to stick around.” Luke glanced back at Kate.  “What do you say, Gorgeous?  Are you doing anything today?”

“My schedule is completely open,” she answered breathlessly.
 

“What do you say to dinner?
  I know a great Italian place downtown.  Very expensive, of course.”  

Michael clenched his jaw.
 
Please say no, please say no, please say no.  
   

“I’d love to!” Kate beamed.
   

“Great.
  I’ll swing by and get you around
7:30
?  Does that sound good?”

“It sounds perfect!”
 

“Excellent.
  Why don’t I give you my number and you can text me yours?  My phone is charging back at my folks’ place.”  Michael knew Luke had grown up in Dallas and that his parents still lived there, but he hadn’t known that was where Luke stayed when he came back to visit.  It made him feel slightly better about Kate’s impending date with him, but not much.        

“Sure!
  Let me run and get mine.  I left it up in the apartment.”  Without bothering to collect her fallen towel, book, or water bottle, Kate dashed upstairs and across the landing, leaving Michael alone with Luke.

“She’s something, isn’t she?” Luke asked.
  “What was her name? Kaylee?”  Michael felt his usually mild temper flare.  

“It’s Kate,” he snapped.
  “Why are you doing this?”

“She’s a pretty girl.
  I haven’t been on a date in a while.  Plus I know you want her so that’s like a bonus.”  For the second time that morning, Michael was rendered speechless.  This time, however, it was out of anger rather than surprise.  “You really can’t blame me.  Knowing you, you probably haven’t even asked her on a date.  You can’t take girls like her for granted.  You’ve got to let them know you want them.  Otherwise, someone else is going to swoop in.”  Michael wanted to tell him that the last thing he wanted or needed was dating advice from a guy whose last girlfriend was Teresa Von Lock, the lead singer of the gothic rock band The Necromantics and known by her fans as The Queen of the Dead.  However, a door slamming somewhere above them distracted him.  Seconds later, Kate came bounding down the stairs.  

“Here it is,” she announced and handed her cell phone to Luke.
 

“Thank you, Sweetheart.”
  Luke took the phone and punched his number in.  “Text me.”

“Oh, I will,” she smiled.
 

“Well, I guess I better be off.
  Have a bit of editing to do for my new project.  But I will definitely see you tonight,” he promised Kate as he turned to leave.  “Have a good trip, Mikey.”  

“Bite me,” Michael muttered under his breath.
 

“Bye, Luke!
  See you tonight!” Kate waved.  Once he’d disappeared, she turned to Michael.  “Oh my God, I can’t believe I just met Luke Rainer!  How do you know him?”  

“We met a few years ago.
  He came around wanting to film because... well...”

“Because of the curse?” Kate asked.
 

“You heard?”
 

“Our downstairs neighbor mentioned it to me.
  Do you believe in it?”

“Um, I’m not sure,” Michael answered carefully.
  “Anyway, that’s how I know him.”  

There was a little more to it than that.
  The truth was that he’d shown up one day, about a year and a half before the Discovery Channel picked up his series, asking about the building.  He’d heard all the stories about the “curse” of the Riverview Apartment Complex, and being the young, enthusiastic paranormal investigator that he was, he decided to check it out.  

When he’d first come knocking on his door, Michael knew he couldn’t turn down Luke’s request to set up a night vision camera and three digital recorders without raising suspicion.
  The next morning should have been the last time Michael saw him.  Unfortunately, Luke was so eager to set up his equipment downstairs where a woman had reported hearing mysterious voices singing in her bathroom that he’d forgotten one of his digital recorders.  By the time he returned for it, it had already captured an extensive conversation between Michael and Brink.  To the untrained ear, it almost sounded like Michael was talking to himself.  Luke however, had been able to decipher Brink’s voice through the static.  

Michael held on to his claim that he was on the telephone and that any voice Luke may have heard must have been recorded through the earpiece, but Luke simply didn’t buy it.
  He knew what he’d heard and he wouldn’t rest until Michael admitted not only that he’d been talking to a ghost, but that the ghost was talking back, and Michael could hear every word he said.    

The only person in the world to know Michael’s secret, and it had to be Luke Rainer, ghost hunter, reality television star, and douchebag extraordinaire.
  He’d tried everything from begging to bribery to get Michael to join the
Cemetery Tours
team.  Why?  Michael hadn’t a clue.  Luke Rainer already had all the success, money, and star power he could ever ask for.  He clearly didn’t need Michael.