Ghosts of July (Shamans of the Divide, Book 1)

Chapter Eight

Nana had the front screen door wide open before the broom hit the ground at my feet.

"What in the hell..." she hollered as she looked around for whatever was attacking me. I looked from her to the spot where the ghost had been standing and back again. He was gone. Again.

I fumbled picking up the broom and righted it.

"I thought I saw a skunk," I said, squinting back at her. The light from the sunrise shone right in my eyes, burning them.

"Well, Buttercup, I hate to tell ya that we don't get skunks around these parts. You're lucky it wasn't a badger. Damn thing would take your head off for lookin' at it cross eyed," she clucked and shut the door, probably eager to get back to her programs.

He was really gone. I looked around for Muffin who had also managed to make herself scarce. For good measure, I squatted down low and looked underneath Roberta. No Muffin. Standing, I turned to go back into the house and found myself face to face with my ghost.

Letting out a small chirp, I jumped backwards on to the hood of the Subaru.

"What the HAM?!" I hissed through clenched teeth. "You're going to give me a heart attack!"

The ghost gave me an odd look and I studied his face while he studied mine. He had thick, dark eyebrows and bright blue eyes. His jaw was strong and dotted with stubble and he was wearing the same plaid shirt and khaki pants that he'd had on in the diner.

"Did you just use the word ham to cuss at me?" He wasn't smiling at me, but his voice was amused.

"Maybe," I said as I slid off the side of the hood away from him. "My Nana doesn't like it when I swear. Who are you and why are you sneaking up on me?"

He shrugged.

"I'm dead. I'm not sneaking on purpose."

I put my hands on my hips and tried to wait him out. He must have studied Renn's manual on giving out as little information as possible. I was holding my breath and didn't realize it until I had to blow a large one out. I finally gave up.

"Why are you here?"

He ran his hands through his hair.

"Redemption? World peace? I have no clue."

"No," I said quickly. "Here. At my house. Why are you here?"

He stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked around. He waited half a breath to answer.

"You saw me," he said at last. "Nobody has seen me since 1942. I figured it was a special occasion and I ought to ask you a few questions."

"I hate to spoil it for you, but I'm the last one you should be asking questions. I've seen two of you my entire life and it's all been in the span of 48 hours."

"I've been wandering this stupid stretch of roadway for 70 years. Taking a chance wouldn't exactly hurt anything," he said. "You saw someone like me? Wouldn't have been that creepy looking girl would it?"

My mouth dropped open. This ghost was the first being (human or not) to see the same thing that I had.

"Yes!" I got a little too excited. A ghost confirming the presence of another ghost through a conversation I was probably having in my head didn't exactly prove me sane. "You saw her, too?"

He nodded.

"I saw her outside when some of the drivers were loading up," he said. "I haven't seen her since. She looked like she was in bad shape, considering she was already dead."