With a small nod, the woman did as Ten asked. Seconds later, the light was gone. In its place was Kaye, giving him a strange look.
“Tennyson!” Kaye shook his shoulder. “What’s wrong, you look like you saw a ghost.”
“I’m okay, Mom, just tired. I was so excited about the trip, I didn’t sleep much.” Ten hoped his little white lie was enough to get him out of trouble.
“Let’s go. Your father is waiting by the elevator.” Looking a bit frazzled, Kaye left him by the fountain and waved to David, who stood with the luggage cart.
Ten got up, wobbled and got his balance. He followed behind his mother. As he approached the elevator, he spotted an obviously drunk man, stumbling around. It wasn’t until the man passed through another man in a Tommy Bahama shirt that he realized the man was a ghost. Spotting Ten, he lurched toward the elevator.
A ping pulled Ten’s thoughts back to the elevator. “It’s empty,” David said, motioning Tennyson aboard.
When Ten stepped into the car, he noticed it wasn’t empty. Two cheerleaders, one blonde, the other brunette, stood in the corner. Their cheer sweaters were crusted with vomit.
“Got any coke?” The brunette asked.
Ten had a feeling she wasn’t asking about soda. He shook his head, hoping it was enough to get them to leave him alone.
“Hey! You’re cute!” the blonde said, moving through David to approach Ten. She ran a ghostly finger down the side of his face. “You want a BJ?”
Again, Ten shook his head. He knew what a “BJ” was thanks to the guys in the gym locker room at school. Thankfully, the elevator pinged and the door opened. David and Kaye walked out, but Ten lingered behind.
“Do you see the white light?” Ten whispered.
“Yeah,” both girls said.
“I’ll meet you both there in five minutes and we can get busy.” Ten winked, feeling like a complete idiot. He stepped off the elevator as both spirits vanished. Hopefully, God would forgive him for another little white lie. He seemed to be piling them up lately.
Over the course of the last half hour, Ten had seen more ghosts in the hotel than he’d seen all year back in Union Chapel. How did psychics live like this in big cities? Ten hoped he never had to find out. Following his parents down the hall, he hoped his hotel room would be ghost-free.
Thankfully Ten and his parents had separate rooms. Even if his room was empty now, it wouldn’t stay that way for long. The ghosts in the building seemed to know he was there. They’d be showing up in droves for his help. Ten hoped he could give them what they needed without accidentally revealing his secret to his parents.
So far, Kansas City wasn’t what he expected, but Ten would roll with the punches. He’d spend the next five days seeing the sights of the big city. At night, he’d work with the spirits to help them find peace. Ten sighed happily, he was going to have the time of his life in KC.
After all, what could possibly go wrong?
1
Ronan
August, present day…
Chaos swirled around Ronan O’Mara. Fitzgibbon had arrived ten minutes ago with the fifteen-passenger van he and Jace had rented for their vacation to coastal Rhode Island. They were scheduled to leave in fifteen minutes and he could only find one of Ezra’s shoes. His son was famous for hiding them, preferring to go barefoot. Ten told Ronan to leave his shoes in their room, on the tall dresser, where Ezzie couldn’t reach them, but the advice slipped his mind. “Ten! I could really use some help here!” Ronan called up the stairs.
“I packed the suitcases, Ronan! It’s your job to get the kids into the van. That was the deal, remember?” Ten sounded practically giddy.
Ronan remembered all right. He’d figured getting everyone out of the house was the easier job. Packing required making lists, checking them twice, doing a literal metric ton of laundry, and folding the clothes. Only then did the actual packing start. He was exhausted just thinking about everything that Ten had done over the last three days.
Making matters worse was an earlier argument with Everly, who insisted on bringing an entire tote bag filled with unicorn stuffies, in addition to her backpack. Each of the kids was only allowed one bag in the van. Ronan knew if Everly had two then Aurora would throw a fit if she didn’t have two as well. He’d meant to text Fitz an hour ago, but between taking a shower, making breakfast, getting Ezra dressed and trying to find his shoes, he hadn’t gotten around to it yet. Hitting his knees, Ronanbent to the floor to peek under the sofa to see if that’s where Ezra hid his elusive shoe.
“I’m ready to go!” Everly announced, walking down the stairs like a princess. She offered Ronan a devious smile. “I’ve got a deal for you. I’ll tell you where Ezzie’s shoe is, if you let me bring my tote bag full of unicorns.”
Studying his daughter, he could see his answer written all over his tiny psychic’s face. “You win. Where’s the shoe?”
Everly let out a joyous giggle. “Here, Daddy!” She tossed Ezra’s missing shoe.
Ronan caught it with a grin. “You had it the whole time?”
“You always tell me to be prepared for anything. So I was!” Everly turned toward the front door. “Oh, and don’t worry about Aurora being upset because I have a second bag. She’s got one too. We were in on this together.”
