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We walked into Trevor's saloon. A shanty about what you do to a drunken sailor played over the speakers in the empty bar. Blue lights flickered on the walls like we were under the sea.
The only person there was Lottie, who was sitting at the bar, nursing a pint of something amber. Lottie had once dated Nate and, I think, still held a little candle for him. But she seemed to be getting along just fine with Trevor as second prize. She was laughing with him and flicked her long, curly mane of black hair in what looked suspiciously, from across the room, like she was flirting.
I walked over. "Hey, Lottie! Hey, Trevor!"
My ex rolled his eyes. "Ah jeez, Paige. You here to bust my balls about the ghost tours?"
It was exactly what I was going to do, but figured I'd take a more tactful route. I sat down on a barstool and motioned for Johnny to sit next to me. "We're just coming in for a drink."
"Hey, my man!" Johnny said, raising his hand for a high five. And when it didn't come, he high fived himself.
Trevor tilted his head like he didn't believe a word coming out of my mouth.
"We'll have a black coffee and a Coke..." I said, as if to prove my point. I even took out a wad of money and put it on the counter.
He could see right through me, but he got our beverages.
I shifted on my stool toward Lottie. "Good to see you. I thought you were done with Seaside?"
Lottie had been here last month covering the bake off competition for the local paper, but it was later revealed she had been fired as a reporter, was freelancing, and had gotten stuck on the island broke with nowhere to go in the middle of a storm.
She shook her head. "I have started up a travel blog of the area and was going to give some reviews of things to see and do in Seaside."
I pointed at the door. "The ghost tour just left."
She sprang out of her chair. "Crap! I lost track of time!" She held her hands out to Trevor like she was at a loss for what to do next. "Um..."
He waved her away. "I'll close out your tab once you get back! Hopefully everyone from the tour will be coming in for a post-tour drink."
Her face lit up, unable to hide the happy anticipation of getting to spend some more time with him. Oh, what a girl does for a head full of curly black hair and the charm of a homecoming king. I should know. He got me under his spell, but fortunately I had since seen the light.
Trevor's smile faded as she walked out the door, and then came over with the drinks for Johnny and me.
"Dude, she has got it for you bad," Johnny said, slurping a large gulp of his Coke through a straw.
Trevor tried to brush it off, but I could see he was flattered. "Nah. She's just nice. She knows I'm with Madison."
"Don't deny it, bro," said Johnny. "Pushing down your feelings will only give you sadness. Or gas. They sort of feel the same."
"She does seem really into you," I added. Listen, sometimes I feel in a generous mood to spread some kindness, especially if it meant ruining his relationship with Madison. "What's a nice girl like that doing attracted to a guy like you? Lottie is cute!"
He rolled his eyes. "If you two don't quit, I'm going to ban you from my bar."
"This is a saloon!" Johnny replied, giving him finger guns. "And in a saloon the wild west rules win!"
Trevor waved us away and started refilling the snack bowls with party mix.
"It was really nice of you to let Lottie know that you were running a ghost tour," I said, trying to lead Trevor along.
"Well, she went through some rough stuff with being laid off from work. I just want to help," Trevor replied, not able to meet my eyes.
Oh, I knew where his head was at. There is nothing Trevor loves so much as a damsel in distress. It makes him feel important.
"So, whose idea was this murder tour?" I asked.
Trevor groaned, as if bracing himself for some onslaught of condemnation from me. "Here it comes!"
"No!" I said, raising my hands in protest. "Just thinking that seeing how you are the nephew of a mass murderer, maybe it wouldn't be something you wanted to align yourself with."
"That was my uncle, not me, and as Madison said, if you've got skeletons in the closet you might as well make them dance."
I realized that Johnny had wandered off to enjoy Trevor's Halloween decorations. He chose that moment to make a skeleton cutout Trevor had taped to the wall shimmy in example.
"That's great you are reclaiming your place, but seriously, Trevor..."
Before I could continue, Johnny piped up, flipping up the skeleton's bony arm to stop me. "Naw! I think it is brilliant man. Hold onto what is yours. Don't let people make you ashamed of who you are. And you have the blood of a murderer running through your veins."
"Okay, so I am SERIOUSLY going to ban you if you don't stop." He then turned to Johnny. "Your dad wasn't exactly a saint, either."
"Oh yeah!" exclaimed Johnny, struck by the realization, but I don't think it was the connection Trevor was hoping for. "I should start a ghost tour, too!"
And then suddenly a light went off in Johnny's eyes and I groaned, realizing we had created a monster.
"No..." Trevor started to say.
"NO! It's a really great idea!" Johnny exclaimed. "I could, like, totally run ghost tours out of the surf shack. Things are really quiet right now. We've got the ticket booth and my trailer and the cannery. Like, I could clean up! Thanks, Trevor!"
And then I saw Trevor realize that he had just created a monster, too.