Bri and Raine gasped, and Em smiled around a spoonful of Moose Tracks. Josh was right. He was a fun date.
“See, I told you. Scary, right?” he said, clearly misinterpreting Bri and Raine’s horrified gasps.
Bri shook her head. “No, Josh, just no.”
“Really?” He shrugged. “Okay. If you give me a second, I’ll come up with something that will really freak them out.”
“Please, don’t,” Raine said.
“There you go. Raine thinks my plan will work. What about you guys? Quinn? Cal?”
Cal grinned. “Maybe a little too well, buddy. I think that’s what Bri’s worried about.”
“Of course that’s what I’m worried about. Josh, you can’t go around terrifying the kids,” Bri said.
“But that’s the point. We don’t want them hanging around Seaton House. If we scare the crap out of them, they won’t.”
This had been Em’s main concern when Josh first mentioned his plan to her, but she hadn’t had a chance to talk to him about it. “Or, it’ll have the opposite effect, and have more kids wanting to check out the house.”
“Hey, I saw you. When I was laying out the plan to these guys, you were smiling and nodding.” He took his ice cream bowl back.
“You’re entertaining. But think about it. The only reason the kids are going to check out a haunted house is because they want to be scared.”
“Em’s right,” Bri said. “But the kids I’m worried about are the ones who are tagging along because they want to be part of the in-crowd. Think what it’ll be like for them if they run away, crying.”
“You sure know how to ruin a guy’s fun,” Josh said, dipping his spoon into the bowl. He looked down and then back at Em. “You ate my ice cream.”
“Technically, it was my ice cream. So.” She looked around the room. “What are we going to do?”
“The whole point is keeping the kids from getting hurt, right?” Bri asked.
“That and keeping them from coming back,” Em said. “I looked into motion-sensor cameras with lights and noise for Jenny and Steve, but with the amount of wildlife in the area, we’d be fielding more complaints at HFPD than it’d be worth. Jenny and Steve ordered a new gate and a couple of No Trespassing signs, but the property’s too big to completely fence in, and the kids would just hop it anyway.”
“What about HFPD patrolling the area more often? At least on the weekends,” Cal said.
“They don’t have the resources,” Em said. “And I’ve already talked to Gabe about me doing it and was told he’d tack on another two weeks to my”—she made air quotes—“vacation time if he heard that I was hanging out at Seaton House.”
“So I’m guessing you didn’t tell him you were investigating May and Clara’s murders,” Josh said.
Cal looked from Josh to her. “What do you mean you’re investigating their murders?”
“Thanks a lot,” Em said under her breath to Josh before raising her voice and saying to her brother, “What of it? I’m curious.”
“You’re supposed to be relaxing and enjoying your vacation time, not chasing down leads for a case that was closed a hundred years ago,” her brother said.
Cal probably didn’t want to hear that, for her, digging into the case would be enjoyable. As much as Brad wanted her to have a life outside of her job, so did her brother.
Josh put an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t worry, buddy. I’ve got it covered. I’m going to make sure Em enjoys her vacation time.”
Cal crossed his arms. “Just so you know, I don’t find that a comforting thought either.”
“Okay, enough talk about what I do or don’t do on my vacation. We’re wasting time. The kids will be at the house in forty-five minutes,” Em said.
“I know you’ve been trying to shut down Abby’s podcasts from Seaton House, but maybe it’s not a bad idea, Em,” Quinn said. “It’ll satisfy everyone’s curiosity about the place.”
Raine nodded her agreement. She must’ve noticed Quinn glance her way because she stopped nodding and lifted an elegant shoulder. “Just because I agree with you about this, doesn’t mean I agree with you about anything else. We don’t have a single thing in common, and—”
Quinn interrupted her. “Other than Izzy and wanting the trauma center to succeed, you’re probably right.”
“That’s rich,” Raine said. “How can you say you want the trauma center to succeed when it’s because of your demands that we’re two months behind schedule?”
“The reason we’re two months behind schedule has nothing to do with me. It’s because you didn’t provide your budget to the oversight committee, and you didn’t file for your permits on time.”
She threw up her hands. “It has everything to do with you! You’re the town manager! I don’t have time for all your red tape. You put up roadblocks at every turn.”
“Sounds to me like you could use a holiday, Raine. When’s the last time you took time off?” Josh asked.
Quinn snorted. “Time off? She doesn’t know the meaning of the words.”
“Are you insinuating I’m a bad mother because I don’t take time off? Because that’s sexist if you ask me. You work as much as I do.”
“Don’t put words in my mouth. I never said you were a bad mother. All I asked was for you to make some time for us. That’s it. That’s all I wanted.” He looked at her. “You could’ve just told me you weren’t interested.”
“I never said I wasn’t interested. I just got overwhelmed trying to juggle work, having time for Izzy, and dating you.”
“You expect me to buy that?”
“Why wouldn’t you? It’s the truth.”
“Really? So you were taking part in the speed dating for a lark?”
Em looked at Josh. “You knew exactly what you were doing, didn’t you?”
He watched the couple fighting with a smile on his face. “Not exactly. Quinn was complaining that they never spent time together before they broke up so I thought it might be a conversation starter. Our group dinners are more fun when Quinn comes, and he’s been a no-show ever since they called it quits. But anyone can see they’re into each other. All they needed was to talk it out.”
“They’re yelling.”
“I know. Great, isn’t it?” He glanced at his phone. “We should probably head to the house without them.” He whistled, waving a hand to get their attention. Bri and Cal, who’d been trying to mediate, looked at Josh while Raine and Quinn continued arguing.
“Em and I are going to the house. You guys hang out here and talk it out. Plenty of wine and beer in the fridge and snacks in the second cupboard—just leave Em’s Sour Patch Kids alone.”
“And my Pop-Tarts.”
“Trust me, Freckles. No one in this room is interested in eating your Pop-Tarts.” He looked down at Gus, who was lying at his feet. “No humans, at least.”
“I’m coming too,” Raine said, face flushed, eyes bright.