a little new “lucas”
Hours later, she awoke to the sound her phone buzzing with a message from Vanessa telling her to be careful and stay safe. She had to laugh a little at that. She’d tried her best never to let it show, but she’d never felt safe in Ohio. Little Lucy had been plagued by nightmares, constantly fearful of monsters and other intruders, and later on the leering looks of midwestern men had terrified Quinn.
But personal safety wasn’t high on the list of Lucas’s concerns, not anymore anyway. It had taken her a while to realize that no one was interested in messing with a six-foot-three jock, but once she had, she’d found it tremendously freeing. Now Vanessa was the one who couldn’t go out at night alone without getting hassled, but Vanessa had no qualms about throwing a punch.
There was a sudden peal of laughter from outside, and she looked out the window to see two little girls running around in circles in the parking lot, dressed in matching coats and hats. One of them flashed a toothy grin in her direction, and she jumped, the blinds clattering shut. For a split second, she lost her breath, her balance, and she stumbled back toward the sink to fill one of the little paper cups there with water.
It still happened like this from time to time, the sucker punch of female ghosts slipping their way through Lucas’s male body, leaving her light-headed and winded. It occurred to her that people probably thought Lucas was some kind of pervert, the way his eyes would sometimes glaze over when a young girl would walk past…
