Marty & Cole: Ghost Book (Paranormal Gay Romance) E-Book

Trina Solet

• Herausgeber: Trina Solet
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2026

Beschreibung

Cole is living an ordinary life with his daughter, Phoebe, until he meets Marty and buys a weird book from his bookstore. Cole is a straight, hard working dad who doesn't believe in supernatural things. He also doesn't fall in love with other men. Marty changes all that. But can he help Cole keep Phoebe safe when the strange book unleashes chaos into their lives?

Leseprobe

Marty & Cole: Ghost Book By Trina Solet

Copyright © 2025 by Trina Solet

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, locales or actual events is entirely coincidental.

All sexual activity takes place between persons eighteen years of age or older.

This novel contains material intended for mature readers.

Cover image is only for illustrative purposes. Any person depicted is a model.

Marty & Cole: Ghost Book

Paranormal Gay Romance

Trina Solet

Chapter 1

Cole had worked only a half day so he could pick up Phoebe from preschool and take her to her pediatrician's appointment. They were almost there when he got a text that the appointment got pushed back.

Instead of pulling into the parking lot of the building where Phoebe's pediatrician had her offices, Cole pulled into the next one. "Daddy, that's not the right building," Phoebe said pointing at the much smaller and older building ahead that stood under a big tree that only had deep orange leaves left on its branches.

Cole took a narrow spot in front of the little building and told Phoebe, "They are running late at Dr. Ford's. We have some time to waste."

"In there?" Phoebe said from the back seat and again pointed at the little building. The sign on it said Jade Charm Books. It seemed a little weird, probably full of dusty old books, but they could poke around for a little bit.

It was a nice, sunny day, but the autumn air was cold. Going through the door set off an old fashioned bell and Phoebe clapped. She was ready to run in and explore, but Cole wasn't impressed with the place. He wasn't a book guy.

Noticing that there were way too many breakables between old books, he warned Phoebe, "Be careful not to..."

Before he could finish, he almost knocked over a guy carrying a stack of books. The guy staggered backwards and Cole grabbed his arm to keep him upright. He kept the guy from falling but the books weren't so lucky. They went flying.

"Thanks," the guy said while frowning so he was probably being sarcastic. He was really good looking though thin, nothing like Cole who had trouble finding suits that fit his tall, muscular frame, plus he hated suits anyway.

"Yeah, sorry. Wasn't looking where I was going," Cole told him and helped him pick up the books while keeping an eye on Phoebe.

After shaking her head at her dad being clumsy, she crouched down to look at some old kids' books on the bottom shelf. Cole gathered a few books and handed them to the guy. First he noticed that he had blue eyes though his hair and beard were dark brown. Then for some reason he noticed his hands, the long fingers, and he had the idea that those hands were probably nice to hold. Why the hell he would think a thing like that, he had no idea.

The books were picked up and the guy stood there holding them all. "You buying all these?" Cole asked him.

"I own all these and the store. Let me know if you need anything," the guy said and went to put the books on the other side of the counter from the register.

An old lady came from behind there and went over to where Phoebe was crouching. Phoebe's red hair was coming out of her pony tail a little, and she looked up at the old lady and said, "Hello. I like your hair."

The older woman had short, curly hair that was a darker red than Phoebe's. "Thank you. I like yours too. Did you find something good?" the lady asked Phoebe.

"A butterfly book," Phoebe said and pulled a book from under the shelf.

Seeing it, Cole was pretty sure it was one of the books the guy had been holding and he knocked down. It must have slid under the shelf when it went flying. Going over to see what kind of book it was, Cole saw it was actually a moth on the pale blue cover, not a butterfly. He was about to correct Phoebe about that, but when she opened the book, he saw the pages were blank.

"No pictures," Phoebe said.

"No words either. It's not a book. It's a notebook for drawing," Cole told her.

"Or a journal maybe," the old lady said, but Cole was pretty sure Phoebe wouldn't be writing in any journals just yet.

"I can draw in it?" Phoebe asked.

"Maybe." Taking it from her, he looked for a price, but there wasn't one.

The old lady looked it over too and Cole noticed she had on a name tag that said Becka. "It's from the new batch Marty just got. They haven't been priced yet." Becka looked toward the register and smiled. "I can give you a deal," she said.

The owner wasn't there any more and the old lady rushed to get behind the counter and got out a roll of price stickers. She wrote a two on one of them and stuck it on the book. The whole time she was looking behind her like she was worried the owner would catch her at it.

"Maybe we better ask the owner how much he wants for it," Cole said.

"Marty is my grandson. It's fine," she assured him and winked at Phoebe.

"Are we gonna buy it?" Phoebe asked.

Cole didn't want to say no to her plus he was getting a text telling him to come in for the appointment with Dr. Ford. "Yeah. OK. Let's buy it," he said and paid for it.

Becka put it in a pink bag for Phoebe and she walked away happy, hugging it.

That evening, Cole was making dinner and Phoebe was ready to draw in her new notebook. "I'm gonna draw you, Daddy," she announced.

"Go for it," he told her and wondered if she would draw him in the apron he was wearing to keep spaghetti sauce off his clothes. That stuff always jumped up on him, and pasta was his go to dinner choice.

"Daddy, I can't draw you," Phoebe said.

"Just do your best," Cole told her as he drained the pasta.

"Nooo. My crayons don't work," she said.

Setting the pasta aside, Cole went over to see what she was talking about. He saw Phoebe try to draw in the notebook but nothing showed. "Try another page," he told her. She did but it just wouldn't take the crayon. "It doesn't like crayon, I guess."

He had her try colored pencils, markers and even a regular pen, nothing. "That's a funny book," he said.

"I still like it," Phoebe said and hugged the book like she didn't want it taken away from her.

"OK, now let's eat," he said and he picked up both her and the book so he could sit her down at the table.

In the middle of the night, Cole opened his eyes and right away felt something was off. Then he heard Phoebe's voice. She was talking.

Jumping out of bed, Cole rushed to her room. She was in bed but sitting up. That notebook with the moth on the cover was sitting open on her lap.

Though he thought there was more light coming from the room before, only her night light was on so he turned on a lamp. "What's this now? It's the middle of the night. Why are you up?" he asked.

"Daddy, something shiny came out of the book," she said.

"Aha," he said. "That might have been a dream, sweetheart."

He sat on the edge of her bed and she looked unsure. "It wanted to talk to me."

"Don't talk to it," Cole said quickly then he wondered why it seemed like a very bad idea when it wasn't even real. He reached out and took the book from her, closed it and got her to lie down.

"That's a funny book, Daddy," Phoebe said snuggling under the covers.

"Yeah. Let's get you back to sleep," he said.

It took a little while, but then Phoebe was sound asleep. Cole took the moth notebook with him. He remembered leaving the book in the living room before Phoebe went to bed. Did Phoebe really go to get it in the middle of the night? She wasn't usually so brave about wandering a dark house.

Cole set the notebook on the kitchen counter and got some water. He went to bed himself but felt restless. Finally he did go to sleep, or thought he did.

His eyes were suddenly staring at the ceiling as something glowed off to the side. Did he leave his bedside lamp on? No. The glow was too faint, in the wrong place, and it was elongated. It was bent slightly like the shape was leaning over him.

Cole wanted to sit up, but he couldn't. At least he wanted to turn his head and get a good look at it. He couldn't do that either. He couldn't move at all. He couldn't even blink.

Chapter 2

Cole did not have a good night. Dreaming about being paralyzed while some glowing thing loomed over him, that was one of the more disturbing nightmares he ever had, probably because it seemed so real.

That was just a nightmare though, what had him worried was that Phoebe was wandering around the house in the middle of the night. At breakfast, he asked her, "Sweetheart, why did you get up last night to get that book?"

"The new book that won't let me draw?" she said. "I didn't get it, Daddy. It was already on my bed."

Cole stared at her. Phoebe wouldn't lie. That meant he must have left the book in her room and forgot. Oh, well.

"OK, sweetheart. From now on, let's keep this book in the living room. Where is it now?" Cole had left it in the kitchen last night but he didn't find it there.

"I don't know. You took it," she said.

That was true, and now he was wondering if he moved the book and forgot. "We'll find it," he said to Phoebe. But if they didn't, he wouldn't be heartbroken. The thing was useless, only good for causing trouble.

Cole's sister, Ronnie, picked up Phoebe from preschool and looked after her until Cole got off work. Ronnie ran a catering service from the house she shared with their other sister, Tessa.

Now Cole was picking up Phoebe from their place. Going in, he heard Ronnie telling Phoebe, "I know how to make veggies taste good, don't I?"

"Pretty good," Phoebe told her.

"What did you have her taste test?" Cole asked as he went into the kitchen which was covered with food and various pots and pans.

"Color flower," Phoebe said.

"Cauliflower," Ronnie corrected her. "Roasted with my special spice blend. I packed up some for you." She handed him a container then asked him to taste a few things then grilled him for his opinion.

"Now I'm not going to be hungry for dinner," Cole said.

"Oh, speaking of dinner. Tessa said she'll babysit if you ask her friend Melissa out," Ronnie told him.

"Pass," Cole said. He had already met Melissa and there were no sparks flying though she was pretty.

"You never let us set you up," Ronnie complained.

"Maybe you should give up and let me find my own dates," Cole said.

"So do it then. Geez," she said.

"I have and I will in the future," he told her though he hadn't gone out with anyone recently. He always suspected that he was a loner at heart. Phoebe's mother changed that when she got pregnant and left him with a baby daughter when she died.

Coming from his sisters' place with Phoebe, Cole arrived home and noticed someone's car parked in front of the house. Next he noticed a guy pacing the top of their driveway where the wind pushed the dry leaves from the trees in the yard. It took him a minute, but he realized it was that bookstore guy. "What's he doing here?" Cole asked as he parked.

Getting out, he unbuckled Phoebe from her car seat while she peered at the bookstore guy. "We should ask him," she said.

"Right you are," Cole said, but he was thinking it had to be about that useless notebook. That Becka probably wasn't supposed to sell it so cheap. He wondered what the real price tag should have been. The bigger question was how did he know where they lived.

With Phoebe's hand in his, he walked up to the guy. "Bookstore guys make house calls?" Cole said.

The guy chuckled and shifted uncomfortably. "I am sorry to bother you. It's about that book my grandmother sold you."

"You knocked his books down, Daddy," Phoebe said suddenly like she only just recognized him.

"I said I was sorry," Cole said. He unlocked the front door, took care of the alarm and handed Phoebe her little backpack. "Go inside and wash your hands then you can have a snack." He didn't want her to hear him and the bookstore guy talking about that notebook and how it might have to go back. Plus he was about to question this guy about how he tracked them down.

"How the hell did you know where we live?" Cole asked the guy once Phoebe went into the house.

"Oh, when you paid we got your name and since you own the house, I found the address. Sorry," he said. "That book is really important to me."

"Must be," Cole grumbled. He didn't like being tracked down like this but he knew that his name was linked to the house making his address easy to find. "So what's the deal with this book? Marty, right?"

"Right. I'm Martin Archer," he said and offered his hand for a handshake.

Feeling weird shaking hands with him though he didn't know why, Cole introduced himself too. "Cole Jenkins." He wanted to get down to business but he heard a crash inside. "You better come in," he told Marty as he rushed into the house.

"Daddy! An accident happened!" Phoebe called out.

"Don't touch anything," Cole told her worried that something got broken.

It turned out that the towel rack in the powder room came down when she was drying her hands. He decided to fix it later and left Phoebe in her room, telling her toys all about the accident.

Now he went to deal with that Marty guy who had gone into the living room. "Where's the book?" Marty asked.

"We bought that fair and square," Cole told him, not liking his demanding tone.

"But it wasn't supposed to be sold. That was for my personal collection," Marty said. "I'll buy it back from you."

"It's not about the two bucks we paid for it," Cole said. It was about Phoebe liking it.

"I'll pay you more. I really need it back," Marty said. He seemed really anxious about it.

The truth was despite Phoebe being attached to the notebook, Cole wouldn't have minded being rid of it. "I don't want to make you pay for it if it was sold by mistake. You have a replacement?" he asked.

Marty was confused. "A replacement?"

"Another book for my kid," Cole told him. From the look on his face, he knew the answer. "You came empty handed to snatch a book from a little kid, didn't you?"

"I did. I mean I didn't. There is a whole store full of books, your daughter can pick any books she wants on the house," he said. He really wanted that notebook back.

"Three books in exchange for that one and you got yourself a deal," Cole said.

"That's fine. So where is it?" Marty asked, all anxious about his precious book.

"It keeps disappearing," Cole said and started looking for it.

"Oh, that is not good," Marty said like the book might have vanished.

"It's around here somewhere," Cole assured him while turning over the couch cushions. "You're lucky Phoebe's drawings aren't all over it."

"Drawings? She was going to draw in it?" Marty said like a kid drawing in a notebook was unheard of.

"It didn't work. The pages must have something on them. She couldn't draw on them, not one line," Cole said and moved on to checking in the hallway. He hoped Phoebe didn't have it, but that was what he was going to check next. "It might be in Phoebe's room."

"Your daughter hasn't played with it too much, has she?" Marty asked still panicking about his damn book and following on his heels as he was looking for it.

"Your precious book is fine," Cole told him. But when he went into Phoebe's room, she was standing by her bed and staring at the book. "Look, Daddy. The butterfly book," she said and pointed at it.

"That's a death's head moth," Marty told her and she made a face at him.

Cole wanted to elbow him hard but he focused on finding out how the book got in her room, on her nightstand. "Did you put the book there, Phoebe?"

"No. I was at preschool then I was with Aunt Ronnie," she said like she was giving them her alibi.

"This is so bad," Marty said. "I have to take that book right now."

"Not before I explain the mix up to my kid," Cole told him sharply. He then crouched down in front of Phoebe. "Sweetheart, that book wasn't supposed to be on sale. We bought it by mistake. It belongs to Marty here and we have to give it back."

"Oh, no," Phoebe said.

"He said you can pick three books from his store for giving this one back," Cole told her.

Phoebe looked up at Marty but didn't look too cheerful about giving up the book. After a second or two, she picked up the book and handed it to Marty. "Here you go. I'm sorry we took your book."

"Oh, you didn't take it," Marty told her. "Grandma Becka gave it to you. You didn't do anything wrong."

He was being nice now and looked very relieved to have his weird notebook back. "Sorry about the mix up," Cole told him and walked him to the door.

On the doorstep, Marty turned and smiled. He had a dazzling smile. For a guy. "Thank you. Come by the store any time." He started to leave then turned around again and now he was frowning as he said, "It's for the best."

Chapter 3

Cole didn't have a good night. Another dream woke him up and then kept him from going back to sleep. In the dream, a glowing shape was slowly sliding up the wall of his room then over the ceiling. He woke up when it dropped down on top of him.

After that he couldn't close his eyes without flashing back to that moment. As he finally drifted off to sleep, he ended up drifting right into another nightmare. Chased by something that glowed with a cold light, he had been lost in his own house, calling for Phoebe, not able to find her.

The next morning, Cole didn't even have the coffee on when he got a jolt that had him a hundred percent awake while at the same time making him wonder if he was having another bad dream. He had gone to Phoebe's room to say good morning and see what she was up to when he saw the book with the moth on the cover. It was on the floor of her room, right on top of her pink polka dot rug.

OK, Cole was pretty damn sure that Marty walked away with that book. What the hell was it doing back in Phoebe's room?

"Who put it there?" Phoebe was asking and Cole almost told her it must have grown legs and walked.

The awful thought occurred to him that someone broke in during the night and put it there. He had put on the alarm last night, like every night. He was sure of that. No one could have gotten in.

"That Marty guy must have forgotten it," Cole said though he definitely saw him take it when he went. "We'll take it to him at the bookstore."

"Today? I get to pick my new books?" she asked getting excited.

It was Saturday so they might as well go, but that book being there again, that just wasn't right.

The old fashioned doorbell sounded as they went into Jade Charm Books and Phoebe looked up at it and smiled. It did have a friendly sound. Today the store had a smell of pine to it and Cole saw why, Becka was humming and wiping some shelves. Her cleaner must have had that scent.

She saw them and rushed over. "I'm so sorry about the book. Marty didn't tell me it was for him. I didn't know."

"Well, we brought it back, so no harm," Cole said and Phoebe held up the book for Becka to see.

She looked surprised. "Oh. I thought Marty said he already had it and locked it up and everything."

"Locked it up?" Cole said. "Must be valuable."

"I don't think so," she said.

Then why the heck would he be locking it up? Cole didn't ask, he just wanted to be rid of the thing. "Is Marty here?" he asked.

"He's in the back. I'll get him." Becka went off and Cole saw that Phoebe was already browsing. He took the moth book from her to free her hands and because he felt more comfortable if she wasn't holding it.

Cole was making sure Phoebe stayed in the kids' section when Marty came over and stared at the book in his hand. "I... Damn."

"Your grandmother said she thought you locked up this book?" Cole said.

"I guess not," Marty said and just kept staring at it.

"Anyway, here's your defective notebook back," Cole told him and handed it over.

"Right. Thank you for bringing it. And your daughter can choose whichever books she likes in exchange," he said. "And if she find more than three that she really wants..."

"Three is plenty," Cole told him.

Marty was about to leave them to it when Phoebe went up to him. "My name is Phoebe. Hi."

"Right. Hello," Marty said like he wasn't used to dealing with kids.

"I know you're Marty," she said.

"Martin, actually," Marty said but Phoebe heard the bell above the door and turned to see who was coming in. Then she was back to looking at books.

As Marty went to lock up the moth book, Cole still couldn't understand how he could be so sure he saw him take it away when he clearly didn't. Though Marty seemed surprised by that too.

Cole watched over Phoebe while she browsed and took her time choosing her three books to replace the defective one that wouldn't stay put. When she made her choices, they took the books to the register.

Marty was there to help them check out though no money changed hands. He spread out the three kids' books on the counter and put an oval piece of heavy glass on top of one of them, probably a paperweight. "We don't need that," Cole said and then watched Marty put it on top of the other two books then set it aside.

"It's for luck," Marty said. Like they needed more weirdness. Phoebe was smiling though, and then Marty handed her a bookmark with butterflies on it. "You can have this cute bookmark on the house too."

"Butterflies!" Phoebe said.

"And those actually are butterflies," Cole said then he leaned down and gave her a little reminder. "Say thank you."

"Thank you," Phoebe said.

Marty was packing up the books and the bookmark when his grandmother came over. "You know you should take these two over to Alicia's. Two birds with one stone," she said.

Marty didn't seem to know what she meant, and Cole certainly didn't. "What two birds?" Marty asked.

"To make it up to them for all the trouble and bring Alicia's some business," Becka explained.

"Alicia is my cousin and she just opened a sandwich shop near here," Marty told them.

"We like sandwiches. We don't mind stopping by," Cole told him. He didn't mean for Marty to take them, he expected just to get the name of the place, maybe directions.

Instead, Marty told his grandmother, "OK, you mind the store. I'll treat them to lunch."

Cole hadn't agreed to that though. "I didn't mean you should treat us. You made up for taking the notebook back."

"Oh, so you don't want to go?" Marty actually looked kind of disappointed. "I'd like to buy you lunch."

Now Cole felt bad refusing. "If you really want to." He also felt weird accepting but it was just sandwiches.

They walked just down the street to a place called A's Fresh Eats and Phoebe stomped on some dry leaves along the way so she could hear them crunch. The sign listed sandwiches, soups and salads. Inside there weren't too many places to sit but they managed to grab a small table in the corner. It was barely big enough for the three sandwiches that Marty ordered for them and brought over.

"That's a good sandwich," Cole said of his BLT.

"I'll let Alicia know. That's her behind the counter." Marty pointed out a woman with a curly ponytail who waved to them.

"We'll definitely be coming back here," Cole said.

"For ice cream?" Phoebe said in a hopeful voice. She had spotted the sign with the picture of an ice cream cone.

Cole had been thinking she could have the fruit cup, but now he couldn't deny her. Especially once Marty told them, "Alicia makes her own ice cream. It's really good. But there's only chocolate and vanilla."

Cole turned to Phoebe. "Only two flavors to choose from. One of them is chocolate. Is that a problem for you?"

He knew what the answer would be. "Chocolate!" she said and Marty went to order her a cone. He came back with a chocolate ice cream cone and a fruit cup that he put in front of Cole.

"I saw you eyeing it," Marty said.

"I was eyeing it for Phoebe," Cole told him. "But I appreciate it."

"Are you gonna share with Marty?" Phoebe asked Cole since Marty had brought only the one cup.

"Are you gonna share your ice cream?" Cole challenged her.

She didn't hesitate, just offered her cone to Marty. "You can have some."

Marty chuckled and shook his head. "That's OK. I have my tea."

"Is tea good?" she asked.

"No," Cole told her. He wasn't a fan.

"Some people like it," Marty said.

After lunch they strolled back to the store and Marty made small talk, asked Cole what he did for a living. "I manage a building equipment rental company."

"Like if someone needs a circular saw?" Marty said.

"Bigger. Try tower cranes and bulldozers."

"Now you're just bragging," Marty said and Cole grinned. Marty was frowning at him though. "I can't picture you behind a desk."

"I never thought that's where I would end up, but the money is good." Whatever job helped him take care of Phoebe was the right job as far as Cole was concerned. "And what line of business are you in?" he asked Marty and made him chuckle.

Phoebe stopped to watch a cat who was hiding under a parked car. Cole and Marty were standing a little away from her. Keeping his voice low, Marty asked, "Has Phoebe experienced any odd things or maybe you have?"

"Odd?" Cole stared at him and his mind went back to the nightmare he had right after finding Phoebe sitting up with the open book and the ones he had last night.

Phoebe came back right then and Marty didn't explain what he meant. They parted ways in front of the bookstore and Cole thought to himself that it would be better if they didn't come back there again.

Chapter 4

Cole and Phoebe spend most of Sunday with Ronnie and Tessa, who spend most of the time arguing about everything from guys to the right amount of dressing to put on a salad. Phoebe had fun though and Ronnie made a ton of food for both lunch and dinner.

They arrived home late with the leftovers and Cole went straight to the fridge to put them away. He was looking forward to a quiet evening at home with Phoebe before she went to bed. She went off to her room and Cole called after her, "It's close to your bedtime. Get in your pajamas so we can watch something together."

Almost right away she came back yelling, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy! The book is in my room again."

"Not that book?" Cole said and went to check. It was the book with the moth on the cover and it was sitting on Phoebe's bed. If he didn't have the alarm on all day while they were gone, he might have believed someone broke in and put it there. But which was crazier that someone got in despite the alarm or that the book appeared on its own?

"We took it back to Marty, Daddy," she said. "Is he gonna be mad?"

"No. He isn't. Don't touch it," Cole told her. "Why don't you go brush your teeth."

As she went off to the bathroom, Cole got out his phone and looked up the phone number of the bookstore. They probably weren't even open. He should have gotten Marty's cell but he thought they were done with all this.

To his surprise, Marty answered. "Jade Charm Books."

"That book is in my daughter's room again. What the hell?" Cole said without introducing himself.

"Don't let her touch it. I'll be right over," Marty said and he hung up.

Cole took the book from Phoebe's room and put it on the hall table. He started helping her get ready for bed and a little later heard a knock.

It was Marty and he spotted the book as soon as Cole opened the door. "This is just going to keep happening," Marty predicted and Cole glared at him.

"Phoebe is still up. I want to put her to bed," he said.

"Right. I'll wait," Marty said and stood in the hallway like that was where he was going to wait.

"Take a seat in the living room. I'll be a while. There's a whole bedtime routine to go through, a lot of toys to say good night to," Cole told him.