“We are not going to have fun with the farmhouse spirits.”

“Says fucking who, man?” Aiden glances over at me from the driver’s seat of my car, his smiling blue eyes glimmering with moonlight. “I love ghost hunting with you.”

I draw back a little, then find myself wearing such a big smile that it closes my eyes and spills over into a laugh.

“Aw! I - I love ghost hunting with you, too. I know I complain the whole time, but it’s true. Sorry about that, by the way.”

“It’s alright.” Aiden’s deep, gentle laugh rumbles through the quiet car, vibrating in my chest. “I get it. This particular ghost-hunting mission is a scary one. Especially for you.”

I let out an anxious groan, turning to stare out at the rainy night through the open window. The air is starting to taste faintly salty, which means we must be getting close to Port Sitka.

“I just feel like - okay, Rose’s magical specialty was memory,” I tell Aiden, watching the dark forest flash by. “Guardians do accidental magic when they’re feeling a lot. Clearly a lot went down at the farmhouse during the stretch of time John Botswick spent in Port Sitka. Presumably Rose felt a lot of powerful emotions on the night of the murder, for example.”

“Yeah, all correct.”

“So the memory imprints, the ghost moments I’m going to see, they’ll most likely be captured from - that.”

“Mhm.”

“Then is it fair to say I’m potentially about to see the ghost moments of some really unpleasant pieces of history? The kind of moments that spawn, you know - hauntings?”

Aiden pins his lip between his teeth, the soft night breeze combing through his chestnut hair. “Yeah, maybe. Actually…”

“What?” I narrow my eyes at him suspiciously. “What’s that face, Callahan?”

“Just something I was thinking about.” Aiden shrugs his broad shoulders, all casual. “I could be wrong, and it might be of no real consequence. I kind of mentioned something about it before, but I feel like I should be clear, because if it takes you by surprise-”

“Oh my god, babe!” I widen my eyes at Aiden in alarm, flutters of anxiety starting to go off in my chest. “Just tell me!”

“So, we know that Rose and Leyla had a plan they meant to execute, involving some huge, complicated piece of magic.” Aiden leans his elbow on the open window of the car and adjusts his snapback, still trying to keep it casual. “But Botswick showed up in Port Sitka unexpectedly, before they were ready.”

“Yeah, and?”

“Well… we don’t know what exactly went down the night of the murder, but we know that Rose probably set off her piece of magic anyways, before it was completely ready to go. If she expended a ton of magic when she did it, then… she may have made a lot of ghost moments that night, totally by accident. There would have been so much magic in the air.”

“Right, yeah,” I answer slowly. “And we’re headed to the farmhouse, where we know a ton of intense stuff went down that night. There could be a whole bunch of different ghost moments at that place, unless - unless Rose wasn’t at the farmhouse on the night of the murder.”

“It might not matter if she wasn’t there, actually.” Aiden casts me a very fast, apologetic look. “Like I said, there’d have been a lot of loose magic floating around. High emotions from anyone might have made imprints, especially emotions running as high as they must have been at the farmhouse.”

“Oh, no - Aiden!” I stare at him with perfectly round eyes, aghast. “Then who knows what I’ll see? It could be anything!”

“Yeah, this is why I wanted to tell you when we were already on the way. Had a feeling I’d have trouble getting you in the car, otherwise.”

“You’re damn right, you would have!” I swat his arm, letting out a pained groan. “Thanks so much for trapping me, instead! You don’t actually love me, do you? It’s all been a lie.”

Aiden sighs wearily, flipping on the blinker. “It was either this, or explaining it to you beforehand and then having to bait your car with cookies. Trap you that way.”

“That wouldn’t have worked!”

“Such a bad liar. You know it would have, and it shows.” Huffing laughter breaks from Aiden as he reaches over to tousle my hair. “C’mon, you know all I did was save us the time we would’ve spent arguing about it. You’d do this for Kasey and Will, in the end. That’s just the kind of heart you have.”

I bite back the heated reply I had lined up, blushing hard before I realize what’s happening. I dramatically slump down in my seat, fold my arms over my chest, and try my hardest to still look mad.

“You just had to give me the Vision, huh?” I grumble, my voice full of love despite my best efforts.

Aiden closes his hand over mine, his other wrist resting on the wheel.

“Hey, we’re professional ghost hunters,” he says, his deep, rumbling voice rolling softly through the car. “Experienced paranormal investigators, at this point. Possibly the only ghost hunters to have ever actually caught a ghost. Actually, we’ve got two ghosts, so - that must make us some of the best ghost hunters out there, right? We’re cool, we’re calm, we’re professional-”

I open my mouth to answer, still very much on edge, then startle wildly when my phone starts vibrating on my lap. The sudden movement sends my phone toppling to the floor of the car, and when I automatically lunge forward to try and catch it, I smack my forehead on the dashboard.

Without taking his eyes off of the road, Aiden bites his lip, suppressing a laugh while I let out a stream of violent curses. “Like I was saying, we’re cool, we’re calm, we’re professional-”

“Alright,” I groan, my cheeks burning. I rub my forehead, then bend down much more carefully to rescue my phone. “Oh - it’s Floyd, Aiden! He’s calling me back!”

“Oh, perfect. Answer it.”

I accept the call and put it on speaker, trying to pull my scattered brain cells back together. “Floyd, hey!”

“Jamie, I’m sorry I missed your call!” Floyd’s voice is crackling with its trademark eagerness and energy. “Has there been a break in our case?”

“No, no - um, Aiden and I are actually driving to Port Sitka right now for some ghost-hunting stuff, and we - sorry, I’m a little out of breath. I may or may not have just concussed myself.”

“Oh, you kids!” Floyd chuckles fondly. “With your ghost hunting, and your concussions! It’s good to be young, eh? Actually, maybe I should come with you, see what we can turn up-”

A soft laugh from Floyd’s end of the line interrupts him. “Let’s leave the field w-work to the young ones, m-my love.”

“Oh, good, is Spencer there with you?” I ask, finally pulling myself back together.

“Yes! He has been pretty much every day since-”

“Not every day!” Spencer protests. I can almost hear him blushing. “And you invited m-me, today! You said you wanted to read that article comparing Virgil’s d-description of the underworld and the topography of the Phlegraean Fields-”

“Yes, but I didn’t expect you to print it out and then bring it to me, physically.” Floyd breaks into warm laughter. “I’m not complaining, Spence, just to be clear. It was a dynamite surprise, when you showed up! We’re moving in together, why wouldn’t I be happy that you came over? I just didn’t want to make you do the drive again-”

“This is perfect, actually!” I jump in, before Spencer and Floyd can lead us off-topic. “Aiden and I needed to talk to both of you.”

“To me, too?” Spencer asks, sounding pleased and surprised.

“Yes! We wanted to ask if you guys have found a place for your new bookshop yet?”

“No, not yet,” Floyd admits, sounding faintly discouraged. “We’ve been to what feels like a million places-”

“Eleven places,” Spencer murmurs under his breath.

“And there was a dealbreaker for each and every one! Oddly enough, there was one place that would allow a turtle, but not a Rottweiler, and another place that would allow a Rottweiler, but not a turtle. We were talking about looking in West Harbor, if we can’t find anything else.”

Aiden and I quickly glance at each other, matching expressions of alarm taking over our faces. West Harbor is much farther away from Ketterbridge than either Greenrock or Port Sitka.

“Well - listen,” I say hastily, “Do you remember Raj and Ripley, Floyd? You met them at the exhibition opening.”

I know he’ll remember Ripley, at the least, because of the billboard.

“Oh, yes! Capital boys, both of them,” Floyd adds, this part sounding directed at Spencer. “So talented, really!”

“They asked us if they could meet with you two this weekend, in Ketterbridge,” Aiden rumbles, leaning over to speak into my phone. “There’s something they want to talk to you about.”

“They - really?” Floyd asks, caught by surprise. “What do they want with us?”

“Is it something to do w-with our bookshop?”

“Yes, but they asked us to let them explain it to you.”

A brief, bewildered silence follows my words. But they came out sounding sort of obscure and veiled, and neither Floyd nor Spencer can resist a mystery.

“Where should we meet them?” Floyd asks, not bothering to hide the intrigue in his eager voice.

“That’s one thing taken care of,” Aiden says, when I finish giving over the details and end the call. “Now we’ve just got to handle the farmhouse ghosts.”

“Ugh! The farmhouse ghosts!” I slump back in my seat, pressing a hand to my forehead. “I fucking forgot again!”

Aiden breathes out a rumble of laughter, shaking his head affectionately. “Can you try to think of some way to relax, man?”

I look over at Aiden, but whatever answer I had lined up is atomized by the sight of him.

I’ve been anxious about tonight’s ghost-hunting mission. Half lost in my own thoughts, wondering what I might see tonight. But with my vision temporarily cleared by the distraction of the phone call, I’m getting a real, full eyeful of Aiden.

It all hits me at once. His handsome face, painted in the warm glow of the street lamps and the cool glow of the moonlight. The blue brilliance of his eyes as he glances over at me. The rich darkness of the stubble beard on his strong jaw. The glossy chestnut hair escaping from his snapback dancing in the breeze from the open car windows, which also makes his shirt ripple against the bronze muscle of his body.

A fine drizzle is falling softly down, dusting the windshield with droplets that reflect in Aiden’s striking eyes when he looks at me.

“God,” I whisper, staring at him with very wide eyes, my fingers pressed to my blushing cheeks. “Who gave you the right, honestly?”

“What’d you say? I didn’t hear you.” Aiden tips his head slightly to the side, listening, a smile crooking up his full lips. “Your note just did some kind of jump. Sounded nice.”

“I thought of something that would make me relax.”

Aiden’s smile widens. “Did you? Sweet. Let’s do whatever it is.”

“Okay.” I slowly slide my hand over Aiden’s thigh, my adoring eyes fixed on his profile. “You wanna pull over somewhere? I’m guessing you don’t want to keep driving while I do this, right?”

“What-?”

Aiden jolts in his seat as I lean over, drop my head, and softly bite his thigh through his jeans. I let the warmth of my breath melt into the fabric, my hand sliding deeper into his lap. Aiden hisses through his teeth, automatically dropping his hand from the back of my seat to tangle his fingers in my hair. He lets out a breathless, startled laugh as I draw back and smile hopefully at him.

“So? Should we pull over, or do you want to just keep driving? I'm good either way.”

“Dude, we’re almost there, now is not the best time for - wait - wait a minute, you-?” Aiden looks at me with incredulous eyes. “You’re saying you doing that to me is what’s gonna make you relax?”

I take my hand back and knead my thumb into my palm, then nod my head, blushing a little. Biting my lip, but smiling intimately at him.

Aiden stares at me with enormous eyes. Blue flames kindle in them, and a slow, startled smile turns up the corners of his mouth.

He turns sharply to face forward again. The hot, crimson blush spreading through his cheeks is so intense that it makes his bronze skin glow. He looks like his every sense is swimming.

The temperature in the car does a sudden, noticeable spike. Rich, sultry heat sweeps over us and deepens the color in both of our cheeks, pushing the chilly night air right out of the windows.

“Oops,” I laugh, looking over at my Heliomancer. “Sorry, too much? Hey, at least you didn’t explode my car!”

“God, fuck, Jamie,” Aiden stammers, half-laughing. He runs his fingers over his stubble, then reaches down and adjusts his jeans. “How are you such a good angel boy, and also such a little demon? I never would’ve guessed - like, how do you even-? That was - all of a sudden I’m so-”

He breaks off, the blush dusting his nose and cheeks growing even darker, somehow.

“You’re a minefield of distractions, man,” he finishes, laughing over every word, sounding all out of breath. “Little. Demon.”

At least now I’m not the only one who’s flustered, I think to myself, taking in Aiden’s blushing face, the way he’s suddenly so tensed up in his seat, his knee doing a restless bounce. I can’t fight down a soft, adoring laugh, and he instantly shoots me an exasperated look.

“You heard me say professional ghost hunters, right?” Aiden tries to pull a stern, solemn expression, then gives up and presses his fingers to his temple helplessly. “God, I’m gonna be thinking about this for ages. There go my chances of getting any meaningful work done this week.”

“Hey, if it makes you feel better, we’re about to go get some meaningful work done right now! Ghost hunting work. What if this gives us the information we need to crack the case?”

Aiden arches a surprised eyebrow. “Looks like you’re feeling better about this whole thing, already.”

“Yeah, well…” A sheepish laugh escapes from me as I admit it. “I really do love ghost hunting with you. I’m having a nice time right now, even though I’m really scared. Because it’s with you.”

Aiden takes his eyes off of the road just long enough to fix me with a lingering, intimate smile. It takes him a minute or two to come back with an answer.

“Yeah,” he says, in a determinedly casual voice. “I had a feeling that all the complaining and feet-dragging is no real indication of your feelings. I know you too well for that.”

“Duh, of course you do, Aiden.” I watch him adoringly, fidgeting with the sleeve of my flannel. “You know me, like - better than anyone. Sometimes better than I know myself.”

Aiden closes his eyes. He melts into his seat, biting down hard on his lip. And then, without warning -

Wild, irrepressible laughter bubbles up from Aiden, escaping in a soft burst of huffing sweetness. He shakes his head helplessly, like he doesn’t know what else to do, gripping the wheel tightly.

I tilt my head to the side in surprise. “Why are you laughing?”

“I don't know. Guess I’m - I’m just so-” Aiden exhales another laugh, a huffing rush of breath. He ruffles my hair, his blue eyes glowing with warmth. “I... I... nothing. Forget it.”

I’m about to ask some follow-up questions, but Aiden flashes me a glowing smile and turns away before I can. He leans forward, gazing out through the windshield.

“We’re here,” he says softly. “Time to meet the farmhouse ghosts.”