Page 98 of Squad Ghouls

“This might work!”

“OH MY GOD!” I hopped on the balls of my feet and clapped my hands. “That was great!!”

“Your clothes are so shredded they look like confetti.” Ryan crawled out of his spot, holstering his weapon. The scent of ectoplasm and despair hung in the air, but it did nothing to diminish my excitement.

“SHE GLOWED!” I told him, walking over to the diffuser and turning it off, the scent of chamomile drifting through the air, carried by the gentle hum of the fan in the corner.

“There might have been a sparkle there.” Ryan nodded.

“That was more than a sparkle and you know it.” I pointed a finger at him. “You will not rain on my parade.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, love. I love parades—people usually wear less clothes. You definitely did something that worked though.”

“I read that air flow can feel like a comforting touch to a ghost,” I said with a self-satisfied smile. “And that they might like a calming scent.”

“Oh, so that’s the fan’s role in this.” He flicked it with a finger. “Makes sense.”

“Yeah but you still zapped her.” I pouted.

“That was the deal,” Ryan said. “I let you try, and I keep you safe. The moment she went at you, game over.”

His phone hummed in his pocket, and like he’d been summoned by the sound, Popty materialised next to Ryan. He scooped the phone from Ryan’s hand like it was an offering before disappearing with it.

“Are you using Popty as an answering machine now?” I asked.

“Nah. Just didn’t feel like talking. More pressing things here.”

“Right,” I said dubiously.

“So…anything else you read about, other than the air thing?”

“Yeah, a few,” I said, already hatching a plan in my mind. I had limited funds, but I was resourceful. I could handle this.

“Great. I’ll go help the others with the B&B overhaul and you work on your room.” Ryan tipped my chin up to kiss me goodbye. He was doing that more and more and my heart was loving it. “Call me if you need me.”

“Three…two…one, aaaaaand we’re live!!” Ryan counted down as his friend clicked a button and the Last Resort B&B’s new website appeared for the world to see.

“Oh, this is so exciting!” I said, looking at Noel in his backwards baseball hat and football top through the screen and hoping he could see how thankful I was to him for doing this.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, glancing between Ryan and me. “I owed it to Ry over there, so…we can call us even now.”

“Still,” I said, squeezing Ryan’s leg under the table because he was proving again and again just how much he was willing to do for me and for this place. “This looks amazing.”

“I’m good for something, at least.” Noel put his arms behind his head and leant his chair back on two legs.

“Don’t say that!” I frowned. “You are amazing. The website looks so inviting and it’s user friendly and none of it would have happened without your hard work and talent and loyalty to your friend. All of those things are not only admirable but worthy of pride.”

Noel blinked at me, then at Ryan as I caught my breath.

“Yeah…” he said finally. “I get it now, man.”

“Right?” Ryan said.

“Get what?” I asked.

“Why Ryan suddenly hung up his dancing shoes.”

Ryan rolled his eyes, but his cheeks were slightly red. “So dramatic for no reason.”