Ghost On Duty (Destiny Bay Cozy Mysteries Book 2) by J. D. Winters Page B

the entryway rug, then I closed the door quickly.  
    “Gotcha!” I told the beautiful cat gently. He shook his head and looked around the room as though worried that Sami would leap out and grab him. But I knew Bebe’s gorgeous black cat was out in the back yard with Aunty Jane. I looked up at Roy.  
    “Where did you find him?”
    “Out at Ned’s,” he said. “He was meowing around the front door when I got there. At first he didn’t want to be caught, but I lulled him into feeling like we were pals and then I snatched him up and put him in my car.”
    I laughed. “Thank you so much! I was really worried about him.”
    “Better keep him in for a few days until he learns to see you as his new people.”
    “That’s what I was trying to do, but he’s pretty sneaky.” I smiled at Roy, being sweet, hoping for the best.  
    “I still haven’t come by to get the parrot. Are you going to be home tomorrow? I could come by then.”
    He looked at me with narrowed eyes, speculating.  
    “What is it?” I asked him.  
    “I’m just trying to imagine how you’re going to get along with this parrot,” he said. I could see that the whole thing amused him and I began to wonder why.  
    “How come? Does he use a lot of filthy language?”
    He grinned. “Of course. He’s a parrot.”
    “Okay.” I crossed my arms over my chest and tried to look tough. Well, challenging at least. “What does he say?”
    His crooked grin told me he thought I wasn’t going to like it. “Parrot stuff. You know.” He raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you hear him the first time you went to visit Ned?”
    I thought about that, trying to remember. “I guess so. Oh yeah, I think he was saying things like ‘pretty girl’ over and over again. It was sort of embarrassing, but I wasn’t paying much attention because I was too busy arguing with Ned.” I made a face. “What’s the parrot’s name?”
    “His name is Barnaby.”
    “I never did see him. I only heard him, What does he look like?”
    Roy made a face. “I don’t know. Red and green feathers, big beak, black tail.”
    I put my head to the side the stared at him. “So what does he say exactly?”
    He started to laugh. “You’re not going to like it.”
    “I get the picture. But what does he say?”
    He hesitated. “I think we ought to wait and let you experience that for yourself.”
    I frowned, getting frustrated. “I can handle obscenities.”
    “Can you?”
    “Yes!”
    “It’s not the obscenities I’m worried about. There’s a common three word saying that’s his favorite. Simple but pertinent, I think.” He grinned again, clearly enjoying this, clearly pretty sure I was going to hate it. “But something tells me it’s not going to be one of your favorites.”
    “What is it?”
    “It’s no big deal. It might startle you now and then. But you can handle that. You just said so.”
    “Come on, Roy. What does he say?”
    “Well, mainly what he says is……” He hesitated, then laughed. “Nah. I can’t tell you that. Let it be a surprise.”
    “Oh!” I went like I was going to beat my fists against his chest in frustration and he grabbed me, still laughing, and pulled me close.  
    “Hey,” he said, looking down at me.  
    I went all wobbly and weak in the knees. Boy, I really wanted him to kiss me about then. I thought he was going to—again! And he didn’t-again!
    I had to admit, this was a true contrast to my bemused reception of a quick, superficial kiss from Lance. That hadn’t ruffled a feather as far as I was concerned—while just the thought of getting something a bit more from Roy was sending my pulse into orbit.  
    I had to make the call—no, it looked like I wasn’t going to fall for the rich guy. Too bad.  
    Thinking back on it later, I wondered how I could be so lame-brained. Roy was obviously not kissing me on purpose. He seemed to think there was something honorable in holding back. I thought that was nuts and I got a little