Through all the craziness, Max still sat by her side. Through Jay dusting salt on her, flicking holy water at her and waving crystals over her, Max hadn’t let go of her hand.

Somewhere, in all of that, Helene’s weight had lifted and Rosie felt like herself again.

“If it were me,” Jay told her seriously. “I’d make a border around your windows and doors with salt. It’s well known that spirits aren’t able to cross that line.”

“Seriously?” Max asked.

Jay shrugged. “I mean, there’s no textbook or anything.”

Rosie pulled her feet up, curling into Max a little and listened to them talk. When her head leaned on Max’s shoulder he automatically took the mug from her hand and held it in his own.

“Rosie says you have your own way of reading people.”

Jay hummed his agreement. “It’s like hers, only different.”

“Chakras, she said.”

Jay smiled. “She told you. That’s sweet.”

“Then she tried to explain chakras and I got lost.”

“Energies and the paranormal are easy subjects to get lost in. The lack of actual scientific data makes people skeptics and they’re not willing to think outside the box.”

Jay looked from Max to Rosie a smile stretching across his face.

“She’s sleeping,” he said quietly.

* * *

Max could only see the top of Rosie’s head as she rested on his shoulder. Being with her was unlike anything he’d ever experienced. His entire life he’d been the guy everyone turned to for help. When Wendy needed someone for anything, from a quick chat to hanging a shelf, she called him. When Dallas was missing his family or needed a beer, he called Max. His parents called. His neighbor called. He was the guy everyone counted on.

The look on Rosie’s face when she accused him of not backing her up hurt. He’d never been accused of something like that before and in reality, the solution probably sat somewhere between both of their points of view.

Hers that he hadn’t done anything and his that he’d been listening and waiting. It would take more for him to get past the walls Rosie had built up around her. He’d have to truly be there, time and again, before she believed him.

“Long day?” Jay asked, breaking Max’s musings.

“Nah,” he waved Jay off. “Tell me more about the salt.”

So, Max sat there and learned about salt lines, Tibetan spirit blockers and cleansing rituals. Jay steered clear of specifics regarding his own abilities and spoke mostly in generalities.

When Jay circled back around and started talking about crystals, Max asked, “Is there something I should have at my house? For Rosie.”

Jay tilted his head. “Has she been spending time at your house?”

Max weighed his words carefully, not wanting to tell Jay more than Rosie would be comfortable with.

“Some.”

“I would say if she’s spending any significant amount of time in your house, then yes, we should dedicate a few specifically to your home.”

“Do you do that or is there something I have to do?” He wasn’t sure they would work if he did it. What the hell did he know about dedicating crystals? Driving a tractor, yes. Crystals, no.

“We can work on it together. Not too much voodoo involved,” Jay laughed. “To tell you the truth, I’m surprised you’re this calm.”

“What other choice do I have?” Max asked. “I’m calm because Rosie needs me to be.”

“You think she’d freak out if you were freaking out?”

“No,” Max admitted. “I think she’d disappear.”

* * *

When Rosie finally stirred, they left Jay’s and drove back to Rosie’s camper. She was less distant than she had been on the way to The Third Eye but not nearly as comfortable as she’d been that morning.

They pulled up and Rosie when right to the camper to let the cat out. Max sat on the little patio and she joined him, settling in the other chair.

“I told Jay we weren’t going to the cove tomorrow.” Her voice was quiet, almost shy.

“I heard. I’ll let Dal and Wendy know.”

She’d put on a pair of sunglasses, hiding her striking eyes and any thoughts he could read there.

“Thanks.”

Her quiet politeness was killing him. Since she woken up she’d been distant, making him wonder if he’d done irreparable damage to their relationship in one single moment.

“Do you really think I’d just disappear?” Her cheek was resting on the knee she had pulled up to her chest.

He shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know.”

“That’s what you told Jay. That you thought I’d disappear.”

“It’s a concern,” he admitted. “That I’ll make some boneheaded mistake, like I did today, and you’ll take off.”

She nodded and propped her chin on her knee, looking out at the trees.

“Were you awake the whole time?”

“No. Just in and out mostly. I couldn’t keep my eyes open.”

“You want to talk about it?”

“Not yet.”

He didn’t want to accept that. He wanted to demand she talk to him and tell him what the hell was going on but that wouldn’t help, so he kept his mouth shut.

“If you need to freak out it’s okay,” she told him.

“Why would I need to freak out?” He laughed.

“You told Jay you keep calm because you think that’s what I need.”

“No-”

“But I don’t want you to be something you aren’t, Max. If you need to freak out or yell or whatever, then you should do it.”

He shook his head. “Jesus, this is ridiculous. Rosie, I’m calm because that’s just who I am. I’m not holding anything back from you.”

“Not from me-”

“I’m not holding back!” He yelled. “I’m just fucking calm!”

She let out a laugh and covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hold in her mirth.

He ran both hands roughly through his hair and grunted in frustration. “I’m fucking calm,” he said in a normal tone.

“I can see that,” she replied, fighting laughter.

He narrowed his eyes which only made her laugh harder. Honestly, if him acting frazzled made her laugh he was willing to take it, even at his own expense. The distance between them shrank with each giggle she let out.

Max stood from his chair. “I’m glad you think it’s funny,” he huffed.

She stood too, holding her hands to her cheeks and smiling. “I’m sorry.”

He took a small step forward. “You don’t seem very sorry.”

Her smile stayed in place but she took a step back. “I am. I swear.”

She stepped around her chair when he continued to advance.

“You’re still laughing at me.”

“Not at you.”

Another step.

“Not with me.”

“But not at you. Just at what you said.”

Another step.

“That I was calm?”

“That you were fucking calm,” she corrected.

She took another step back until she hit the camper with a gasp. He took one more step until his body was pressed against hers. He reached around pressed her hips closer to him, squeezing her ass at the same time.

“I’m feeling pretty fucking calm right now,” he told her quietly.

“I’m not,” she whispered as his lips crashed onto hers.

It amazed him that every time their lips touched everything seemed right. Even if they were fighting. Even if things in their world were crazy or intense. Above all of that, every time they touched, he knew they were right for each other. She was the one for him.

She wasn’t the most experienced woman but she always gave him everything she had. Her tongue explored his with a boldness that made him press his length closer, lifting her off the ground. Her legs wrapped around his hips and he squeezed the round cheeks beneath his hands again.

Rosie’s arms wound around his neck when he kissed his way down her neck. He slid a hand under her top, his fingertips tingling at the feel of her hot, silky skin.

A horn sounded around them.

“Gross!” Wendy’s voice rang out.

“Second time I’ve caught them there,” Dallas laughed. “I think it’s their thing.”

“Oh my god,” Rosie laughed out a breath.

“Tell me they aren’t here,” Max begged. “Tell me it’s just a bad dream and I’m still about to take your shirt off.”

“You were going to take off my shirt?”

He leveled a look at her and squeezed her closer. “You bet your ass I was.”

“Okay, cowboy,” Dallas clapped a few times. “Hands off.”

“We thought you guys would be all business, going through all the albums by now. We gave you plenty of time to get this stuff out of the way.” Wendy sat in one of the patio chairs like she lived there.

With a sigh, Max let Rosie down. He took a second to adjust her top and make sure she was decent before adjusting his pants and turning around.

Dallas’s eyes dropped to Max’s crotch for a nanosecond before a laugh rumbled from his chest. Max adjusted himself again in hopes that at least his sister wouldn’t see his predicament.

“I think it’s safe to say they haven’t been looking at old picture books, Wend.” Dallas leaned to the side and looked at Rosie behind Max. “How’re you doing?”

She opened her mouth to say something then snapped it shut. She did it again, a blush coloring her cheeks. Max hooked an arm around her neck and pulled her close, kissing the top of her head.

“We’re good.”

Dallas scoffed. “I wasn’t talking to you, Romeo.”

“What are you guys doing out here anyway?” Max changed the subject, pulling Rosie from the spotlight.

“We’ve been waiting at your house but you never showed. Figured we’d check here,” Wendy offered. “I wanted to look through those albums with you.

“We haven’t looked at them yet,” Rosie said.

They both looked surprised. “We figured you’d have gone through them all. Just what the hell have you guys been doing?”

“Nothing,” Rosie answered quickly. “I want to check them out, too. Here’s not great though, I don’t have room for everyone.”

“Yeah, and it probably still smells like burnt Pop Tarts,” Wendy reminded her, then continued talking.

He wasn’t sure why, but it was clear that Rosie didn’t want to tell Wendy and Dallas about their little side trip to The Third Eye or the reason behind it. He watched her, hiding behind her sunglasses, evade Wendy’s line of questioning about what they’d been doing.

“So, what really happened?” Dallas asked, sidling up next to him.

“Nothing,” he replied, not willing to say anything until he knew why Rosie was keeping it a secret.

“You know, we’ve known each other a long ass time,” Dallas said casually. “Been through a lot of shit.”

Max pulled in a deep breath and looked at his best friend. Dallas wasn’t wrong. There had been a time in his life he’d been going off the rails and Dallas had been the one to set him straight again. He didn’t deserve to be lied to.

“I know,” Max put a hand on Dal’s shoulder and squeezed.

“You really want to start lying to me now? Tell me it’s nothing when it’s not?”

Max shook his head. “It’s just not that easy anymore.”

“Because you’re in love with Rosie?”

The answer was a flat out yes but that wasn’t the right answer to the question.

“Because it’s not my story to tell and I can’t force her to tell it.”

Dallas sighed and looked back at the girls. Wendy sitting in her chair, chatting away while Rosie looked on, mostly quiet.

“And will she ever do that?” Dallas asked.

Max shrugged. He didn’t know if she’d ever be able to open up and tell them everything. She’d been hiding for so long, he wondered if not sharing what was going on with her was just her natural reaction to life.

“Give her time,” Max told him, hoping patience would win out eventually.

“Are we going back to your place?” Wendy turned around and asked.

Max shook his head. “Rosie wanted to be here.”

“No.” Rosie stood and wiped her palms on her jeans. “We can go to your house. We’ll look through the albums together. Let me just grab Gizmo and lock up.” She turned and disappeared into her camper leaving his sister and his best friend both staring, like he might have answers for them.

Without a word, he walked into the camper with Rosie.

“Need a hand?” He asked, seeing her down the little hallway throwing a few things in her bag.

“No, thanks,” she told him.

“Are you sure you want to go back to my place?”

She nodded, while still packing her bag. “It’s fine.”

“You were pretty insistent before that you be here.”

She looked up at him and sent him a small smile, making the nerves he’d been holding onto dissipate a little.

“I was in my head a little,” she admitted. “Thinking you needed to freak out.”

“Even if I did, what would it matter?” He closed the distance between them, sat on the bed next to her bag and books. He noticed the shoeboxes and looked up at her.

“Is that a shoe box full of money?”

“Maybe,” she hedged.

“Seriously, you can’t keep that here. It belongs at a bank.”

“Okay,” she said, her eyes never meeting his. “Weren’t we leaving?”

“No, we were talking about you thinking I needed to freak out or something.”

“I don’t know,” she huffed. “I just…thought maybe you...”

“You were what? Giving me an out?”

“If you needed one.”

“Shit, Rosie.” He growled, grabbing behind her thighs and pulling her to stand between his legs. “I don’t need a goddamn out. I’m not going anywhere.”

“I just don’t want you to be stuck with me.”

The lost look in her eyes told him what it cost her to admit that. Like she was embarrassed but expected it all the same.

“Don’t you get it, baby?” He told her softly. “I do want to be stuck with you.” He interrupted when she was going to argue. “I’m here, Rosie. I’m not going anywhere and you can’t get rid of me that easily.”

“As easily as getting possessed by the ghost of your boyfriend’s dead great-great-aunt?”

His lips twitched as he fought a smile.

“It’s not funny,” she told him.

“You called me your boyfriend.”

She rolled her eyes. “You missed the point.”

He shook his head and smiled up at her. “No, baby. You missed the point.”