“They stayed behind and are cleaning up at the apartment,” Liam explained. “And to pack up anything we left behind.”
“If you ask me, it’s an excuse for them to get out of doing any of the heavy lifting,” Jamie murmured around a mouthful of burger. “We all know there’s nothing left there.”
All Liam did was shrug. “Doesn’t matter. Arianna volunteered to clean the place and I sure as hell didn’t want to, so…”
“That was very sweet of her,” his mother said as she unwrapped a sandwich for herself. “Now you’ll certainly get your deposit back. Be sure to thank your sister.”
“We could’ve used Will over here,” Patrick chimed in. “One more set of strong arms to move the furniture. You and I can’t do it all.”
“Hey!” Jamie snapped. “I’m right here and I’ve been helping too!”
“Yeah, you’ve been a real champ with the boxes,” Patrick countered. “I think Ryleigh carried in heavier stuff than you.”
“Okay, that’s enough,” Kate said as she tried hard not to laugh.
Liam always got a kick out of how she tried to keep the peace between her children without showing favorites, but it was definitely fun when she had to hide her amusement.
“Your brother works very hard at the pub and does heavy lifting all the time. It’s exhausting,” she explained to no one in particular. “And no matter how much stamina he claims to have…”
“Oh my God, Mom!” Jamie snapped again. “Stop! Please!”
“What? What did I say that was so wrong? You do this sort of thing all the time when a pretty girl comes into the pub. You’re a shameless flirt, Jamie.”
His brother hung his head and groaned.
Looking around, Kate smiled at her other three children. “You all know what I’m saying. Maybe cut your brother some slack. After all, it’s not just all the heavy lifting he does at the pub. Carrying around that giant ego of his has got to be exhausting.”
There was a round of laughter and then it got quiet for a few minutes while everyone ate.
“So, Liam,” his mother said after finishing her lunch, “how much more do you have to do today?”
Glancing around, he tried to gauge where they were at. “I think we got almost all the boxes in, so I’ll need to unpack.” He looked around again. “Although, I think Ryleigh’s kind of been on top of that.”
“I have,” she called out in response. “Most of the kitchen is done and I hung up all of your stuff in the bedroom closet.” Walking back into the kitchen and throwing out the remnants of her salad, she gave their mother the side-eye before continuing. “I unpacked the bathroom and linens too, so other than these last few boxes that Jamie brought in and random décor stuff, you’re good to go.”
“Holy crap, Ry,” he said in amazement. “Thanks. I had no idea you got so much done.”
She grinned. “Please. I love organizing stuff, so this was fun for me.”
“Such a weirdo,” he teased even as he pulled her in for a hug and kissed the top of her head. “Thanks.” Then he looked at his mother. “There are a few more pieces of furniture out in the truck, but then it all comes down to getting boxes broken down, hanging curtains and pictures, connecting all the electronics…”
“Moving day is always exhausting,” she replied before walking over to the box she had brought in with her. “Your father will stop by later on and help with anything else you need. I’m going to bring these sandwiches over to Will and Arianna and get back to the pub.” Walking around, she kissed each of her kids. “I’ll be sure to send dinner with him.”
“Thanks, Mom!”
She paused and turned around with a smile. “Oh, and maybe a couple of pumpkins for the front porch to go with the ghost! It’s so cute that you started to decorate for Halloween on top of everything you’re already doing!” And with a wave, she was gone.
“Son of a bitch,” he muttered.
“What’s the matter?” Ryleigh asked.
Logically, he knew it was absurd to be this annoyed by an inflatable decoration, and yet…
“Excuse me for a minute,” he said as he stalked out the front door. When he reached the ghost, Liam grabbed hold of it and yanked it along behind him as he stormed across the property to his new neighbors’ home.
Picking up the tie that should have anchored the monstrosity to something, he decided to pick his own thing to attach it to. There were six-foot-tall lollipops on either side of the front walkway and he tied the offensive balloon to one of them before walking up and knocking on the front door.
“No need to get nasty,” he quietly reminded himself. “Simply introduce yourself and let them know their ghost…wanders. That’s it. Shake their hands and be on your way.”
After a minute, he knocked again.
And a minute after that, he knocked one more time before looking around and noticing there weren’t any cars in the driveway.
Muttering a curse, he walked back across the yard and made a beeline for the moving truck where his brothers were picking up his dresser and instantly went to give them a hand.
Maybe it was for the best that the neighbors weren’t home. He wasn’t really feeling particularly friendly and there were a million things he needed to do to get settled in. Perhaps in another few days he’d feel more like his normal self and could have a civil conversation with them.
So yeah. This was all for the best.
As long as the damn ghost stayed off his front lawn.
“Hmm…how on earth did you get over here, Boo?” Pausing in her tracks, Tessa Sullivan looked at where her smiling ghost was tied to one of the giant lollipops flanking her front walkway. Her arms were full of groceries, her purse, and her dog, so with a small shrug, she kept walking. Knowing the position of the ghost would have to wait, she let herself into the house and happily made her way to the kitchen.
“Obviously Boo was on the move again,” she said as she put Phoebe, her pet teacup Pomeranian, on the floor and began unloading her groceries. “I thought I secured him pretty well this morning.”
Moving around the kitchen, she put her fresh veggies in the refrigerator and made a mental note to make some soup with them at some point over the next few days. Glancing out her kitchen window, she saw the moving truck in the driveway next door and frowned. The Fosters had been the perfect neighbors—elderly and sweet, and they enjoyed decorating for the holidays just as much as she did. So far no one knew who the new people were and Tessa craned her neck to try to see anyone.
After a solid minute and no movement, she relaxed and looked down at Phoebe. “I hope they’re nice,” she said softly before putting away her reusable shopping bags and wiping down the counters. “Maybe once the truck is gone, I should bring over a welcome basket. What do you think? Doesn’t that sound like fun?”
Of course the dog wasn’t going to respond, but she found it comforting to talk to her anyhow.
Her phone chimed and she smiled when she realized what time it was.
Taking the phone from her purse, Tessa went and got comfortable on the sofa before swiping the screen.