spooked.”
“Oh. Okay. Well, what if I run by your place and drop this stuff off tonight?”
“That would be great.”
“Have you eaten?”
CJ looked at his warmed-up spaghetti. “Not yet.”
“I’ll drop by Pizza to Go and grab us a meat-lover’s deluxe.”
“Sounds good to me. See you in a few.” CJ put the spaghetti back in the refrigerator. He and Brett were only a couple of minutes apart in age and had always been the closest of the brothers, pairing up against their older brothers when they gave them grief.
While he waited for Brett to arrive with the pizza, CJ packed a bag of clothes for his stay at the hotel. Brett used the spare key that CJ had given him and called out, “Pizza delivery!”
CJ came out of the bedroom and joined his brother in the dining room. Brett had already placed the pizza box on the table and yanked off a couple of paper towels to use as plates. At the end of the table rested a purple-and-yellow polka-dot photo box. It looked suspiciously like one that Lelandi had given her brother-in-law Jake.
“Why does that box look familiar?” CJ asked.
Brett opened the lid, lifted out six large manila envelopes, and placed them at the end of the table. “Lelandi gave it to Jake for his photos last Christmas. But he either takes digital shots or makes them into large canvas pictures for art galleries, so he doesn’t need it. I thought I’d run over there to get copies of photos he had taken of the hotel over the years.” Brett paused, then smiled. “Okay, so yeah, he did have some that weren’t digital. Anyway, he quickly offered the box to carry the photos in. I’m sure it was a way to get rid of it without offending our pack leader.”
CJ smiled.
“I organized the photos by date.”
“I’m sure the ladies will be thrilled to get all the information. After they finish looking at all this stuff, they can give you their thoughts about the hotel for your article. As for the polka-dot box? Not sure they’ll want it either.”
Brett chuckled. “Surely the women will like it better than Jake does. I should have asked. Are the paper towels all right for plates?”
“No sense in using dishes for just the two of us.” CJ grabbed a couple of beers for them.
“Where are you staying in the hotel? I heard it’s already booked, and I know the women didn’t renovate the maids’ quarters yet.”
“Attic room.”
“Did you go up there? Turn on a light and leave it on?”
Wondering what Brett was getting at, CJ took a seat opposite him and grabbed a slice of pizza. “No, I’ve never been up there. Visited the basement though.”
Brett’s eyes rounded. “See anything?”
“Just the paintbrushes and rollers I had to clean.”
“Well, I went over to take some pictures of the hotel all lit up in Christmas lights. I had taken some earlier before the light faded. But the light on in the attic made the hotel look a little spooky. I’ll take more shots tomorrow night before the guests all arrive. I’ll just ask the women to turn on the lights in all the rooms at the front of the hotel.”
CJ finished a slice of pizza and reached for another. “They’re also decorating the backyard tomorrow, so maybe you can get a few shots out there.”
“I will. And some inside the hotel, showing some of the old features and how the lobby looks now.”
“Have you looked at all that stuff?” CJ motioned with his bottle of beer to the envelopes.
“Yeah. Interesting place. What do you think of staying there?”
“Works for me. I just hope we don’t have any real trouble with the ghost busters.”
“You’re a deputy sheriff. Throw them in jail if they do anything illegal.”
“I will. Believe me.”
“So…” Brett finished his beer, sat back on the chair, and raised his brows. “How’s it going with Laurel?”
CJ smiled. “Is it that obvious that she’s the one I’m interested in?”
“Hell, yeah. Since you’ll be over there tomorrow, her sisters will be gone, and no guests will be there yet, you’ll have her all to yourself. Is she warming up to you? She seemed to have fun running with the pack tonight, but she still stuck close to her sisters. It was fun watching them tussle in the snow. They’ve been so subdued that I didn’t think they even knew how to play as wolves or otherwise.”
“Maybe they’re just getting used to the rest of us. We’ve been so thrilled they’ve