Chapter 6-No Better impression

Chapter 6- No Better Impression

                Hale had stayed out to make sure the police were able to get a full report from him, as well as arrest their would-be burglar before going inside. Afterwards, Hale and Whitley had been too wound up to go straight to sleep the night before. So they had talked, and decided, that after showing that he could take good care of his family Hale would go and apply for his dream job later today.

                When Whitley got up, she was still thinking that it might make a bigger statement to his mother if they went and got matching tattoos. After all, it is Art isn’t it?

                Kellan was still sulky and pouting the next morning; his anger going so far as to make him refuse to eat in the dining room with Hale. He’d never let his brother best him again… in anything. And he’d never let Hale close enough to see it.

                What he didn’t know was that Hale had plans very far from Kellan’s mind. Cleaning up after breakfast, Hale drove down to the Science Center to apply for a job. Not any job, either. The job he’d long dreamed of: showing the world that ghosts are real.

                The Science Center was more than happy to have him aboard. No one had ever come forward asking to freelance with them in such an endeavor.

                Hale was more than happy just to have a job. He walked out a little straighter, a little taller, and grinning like a goon. Other than marrying Whitley, this was the happiest he had ever been.

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                Whitley had not been truly awake when she had gotten out of bed. She’d thought about tattoos and had gotten side tracked when she’d thought of Art. All she had wanted to do was start a new canvas that she had spent two days prepping and should be ready that morning. As it was so close to their suite, she wandered over to it and started smearing ideas all over it.

                She’d been working when Hale had kissed her neck and whispered that he’d be back soon. It hadn’t stopped her and she was still working when Kellan came over to her. She hadn’t really had much to do with Kellan since moving in, and last night had made no better impression. But she was determined to be civil. They were all family after all.

                The first words out of his mouth were forceful enough to startle her.

                “I hope the judge that gets that asshole throws the book at him and he never gets out! I also hope that the lesson I taught him sticks, good and hard,” Kellan growled.

                Whitley was taken aback by his ferocity, as well as thinking he had done anything that might stick to the stranger. As she saw it, Hale had had to step in after Kellan’s failure to stop him. She went to her old stand-by and smiled and nodded.

                In the awkward silence that followed, Whitley was able to note where Kellan’s eyes kept darting. It was then she remembered what she was wearing. In her rush to get to her canvas she had wandered out of the shower almost exactly as she was. Whitley’s heart started to pound, as she blushed and hoped she could edge away without him noticing.

                He was adamant however and even pressed a little too close.

                “Look, Kellan,” Whitley began. “I love you like a brother, but you need to Back Off. I’m a bit picky about my personal space.”

                Kellan, however, merely smiled a glazed look in his eyes. Whitley wasn’t entirely sure he had even heard her. When she took a step back, he took one forward. It became some weird dance she didn’t want to be a part of.

                Whitley jumped when she heard the front door snap shut.

                “I think Hale is home,” Whitley said to Kellan. Kellan, who didn’t acknowledge what she had said, merely shifted his gaze to the painting she had been working on. “Hale! Is that you?” Whitley called out, feet frozen, heart pounding, wishing, hoping that it was.

                “On my way up, babe,” Hale said.

                Whitley’s feet were still frozen as Hale rounded the corner. His easy smile helped calm her, though her heart still raced.

                “I’ve got some good news,” Hale grinned to Whitley. “I’ll tell you when we’re alone, sweetheart,” he finished in a whisper.

                Kellan was furious. How could she turn from him like that? Hale wasn’t half the man he was. He would get her, and Hale would be gone. Kellan turned his back on the happy couple. Trying to forget that Hale was even alive, he flew to the other easel in the room as he heard the door of Hale and Whitley’s room close behind them.

                Hale glowed his news to Whitley, showing her his Banshee Banisher and used uniform from their labs. She, in turn, told him about Kellan. They agreed that she would go to her parents’ house while he was at work that night to make her more comfortable.

                The uniform was covered in green colored stains, but he didn’t care. It was what he had long wanted. And tonight was his biggest night, the first night on the job.

He got a call almost as soon as he sent Whitley to her folks. He jumped in his car and was on his way.

The moment he saw the spirit still here in limbo his heart leapt. Here it was. Proof. And it had happened so easily! He knew this was the right move, and would never regret it, Hale promised himself.

                The Banshee Banisher was a little more unwieldy than he had expected, but he figured practice makes perfect!

                Hale had successfully found a spirit. He had a job, and a beautiful wife. Life was good.

                Kellan did not agree.