The Haunting Season (12 page)

She shook her head and wiped her tired eyes. “Get a grip,” she said softly.

She sighed and looked up to find Gracie and Emma standing in the middle of the room, staring at her. Jess nearly shrieked.

“Hi Jess,” Gracie said. Emma remained quiet. The only way Jess could tell the two girls apart was that Gracie was a little thinner and she had curlier hair than her sister.

“Sorry,” Emma said. “We didn’t mean to scare you.”

Jess checked the clock on the nightstand. It was two-thirty in the morning.

“You can leave the light on,” Gracie said. “Mrs. Hirsch is sleeping. We checked.”

“How did you find me?” Jess asked, realizing how stupid that must sound. “Ghosts. Never mind.”

“We were waiting for you,” Gracie said.

Jess frowned. How long had the girls been watching her sleep? Is that what they meant, or was she supposed to have met them someplace? “Waiting for me?” Jess wiped at her eyes again.

“We don’t sleep,” Emma said, leaving Jess to wonder if that was an explanation or a statement. The girls weren’t always the most animated when they talked. But then, she figured with Riley still around, they didn’t have a whole lot to be happy about.

Gracie fidgeted a bit. “We want to help you.”

Jess pulled the covers back and sat with her legs under her. “You do? Help me with what?”

“The Ouija board,” Gracie said.

“How did you know about that?” Jess asked. “Were you spying on us?”

“Don’t be silly,” Gracie replied. “Of course we did.”

Well, that’s unnerving
, Jess thought, and wondered how many ghosts had been present, but never showed themselves over the years. “Then why didn’t you show yourselves? Everyone else is here to see ghosts, too.”

“The other girl
has
seen us,” Gracie said. “And we don’t think she likes us very much. She doesn’t like any of us.”

“We like you the best,” Emma said and her sister nodded. “We know you want to help, us, too. That you aren’t here to hurt us.”

“I thought you two might be mad at me,” Jess said.

“We’ve been here the whole time,” Gracie said. “Riley’s kept us busy.”

They were unusual girls. Sort of quirky. Jess supposed that being dead for over a hundred or so years did that to them. And of course, Riley. If he was holding them here, that explained a lot. She wished she could send them into the light or heaven or wherever ghosts went when they were at peace.

“Yeah. About that. How am I supposed to help you? Do you know of a way?” Jess asked them.

The girls nodded in unison.

“Use the board to cross Riley over,” Emma said.

Jess didn’t like that suggestion much. “But, I don’t have the board and I don’t like the idea of bringing Riley out into the open. Even if we did, then what?”

“We’ll help you,” Gracie said. “We’ll help all of you.”

She didn’t like the way the girls spoke so sparsely. Sometimes they didn’t make much sense. But then, Grams and a few of the other ghosts had been the same way. Maybe it was hard for them to be seen
and
heard at the same time. The idea seemed logical, since sometimes, Grams had been transparent, other times solid, and occasionally, like the girls, she flickered or rippled when speaking. But, if the girls thought Allison would take part in using the board, they were wrong.

“So you think we can do it? Cross Riley over?” Jess finally asked. The idea of making Riley a ghost that could appear front and center instead of lurk in mirrors or walls was terrifying, and she’d need to ask Dr. Brandt about banishing ghosts.

Again, the girls nodded.

“From the shadows into the light,” Gracie said.

The comment about sending Riley into the light or wherever ghosts went should’ve made Jess feel better, but it didn’t. Not entirely. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

The girls shook their heads.

“Why not?” Jess asked.

“It’s all
here
,” Emma said, as though that explained everything.

“Here? You mean Siler House? What’s all here? Are there clues?”

Gracie lowered her head, but her eyes still met Jess’s. “We can show you.”

Emma looked over her shoulder. “We have to go.”

“Where? Where are you going?” Jess wanted to know.

“To help you,” Gracie replied. The sisters turned, took each other’s hand, and disappeared through the door.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Gage found Jess sitting against the huge oak tree closest to the graves. Its trunk had to be about six feet across by Gage’s estimate. Judging from the distance from the gravesite, the tree had probably been planted around the time of Gracie and Emma’s funeral.

Allison, it seemed, was nowhere to be found. It hadn’t surprised Gage. The girls, who had seemed to enjoy each other’s company the first day or two here, had grown more distant. Especially since the Ouija board incident. Girls. Go figure. One day, they’re bonding and BFFs and the next day? Well, they were like this—all moody and non-social.

Of course, that was mostly a front. What they usually wanted was company. With any luck,
his
company. He liked Jess. A lot. Smart, kind and sexy as hell. The way she looked at him sometimes nearly took his breath away. Unless he was dead wrong, she’d noticed him, too.

Siler House might be haunted, even though he’d yet to see a ghost, but now seemed like a good opportunity to spend some alone time with the girl who’d been haunting
his
dreams since they’d been here.

Besides, Gage knew what was really bugging Jess. At least he thought he did. It wasn’t Allison herself, and it wasn’t because Allison didn’t see eye to eye with Jess on the whole house and ghost business. They each had their points. Allison saw demons. Jess wanted angels.

“Hey,” he said as he sat down next to her. “Is this side of the tree taken?”

“No,” Jess said with a halfhearted smile.

“This experiment isn’t turning out quite like you expected, is it?” he asked, sitting close enough that his shoulder almost brushed against hers. It was a good lead-in.

“I’m not sure
what
I expected,” Jess replied without taking her eyes from the graves.

“Sure you do. You’re looking to find someone. And, unless I’m wrong, it’s not the ghosts of those two little girls. Well, not really.” His eyes met hers. “It’s not exactly your grandmother, is it? You mentioned that your dad died.”

She looked at him then, as though determining how serious he was. Gage didn’t look away. “Feel like talking?”

She shrugged and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“I know what it’s like to lose someone you love, Jess. I get it. I loved my little brother.”

“How did it feel?” Jess asked. “How did it feel when you couldn’t bring him back?”

“Like crap,” Gage admitted. “Like I’d let him down. Hell, like I let my whole family down.” It felt good, how easy the words came out. How easy it was to tell her.

Her expression softened, the pinched, worried look gone and Gage couldn’t help but notice her natural beauty.

She stared out into the open field. “My dad died about a year ago. Cancer. I wasn’t there when he passed away. I’d been going every day after school. Mom was going to take me to see him right after dinner, but then…they called and…” Jess closed her eyes, clearly fighting back the memory. “He died alone.”

Gage resisted the urge to reach out and touch her face, instead resting his elbows on his knees. “Sorry. That really sucks.”

Jess offered him a sad smile. “For you, too. Especially since your parents think you can undo your brother’s death.”

“There are days when I’m not sure what’s really expected of me. Do they think he’ll just show up good as new—as if nothing happened? Or do they think I can summon his ghost?” He sighed and raked a hand through his hair. “Problem is, I’ve never seen a ghost. Now,
you
on the other hand…”

“So, you believe me? You don’t think it’s just my imagination?”

“Oh, I believe you,” Gage said. And he did believe her. He wasn’t lying about that. Hell, he hadn’t lied to her about anything. “I guess I don’t have to see one myself to believe that you can. At first, I thought that maybe you were just a little too eager. But, I think you’re the real deal. Allison, too.” He smiled. “Not so sure about Bryan, though. The largest thing I’ve seen him make disappear is a plate of food,” he kidded. It made her smile which got him smiling, too.

“Nah! That’s not true,” he quickly amended. “Bryan is a good guy and he’s got one scary talent. Anyway, I say that we see about getting out that Ouija board. Give it a try. Just you and me. What do you think?”

“You’d do that?” Jess asked, turning those golden brown eyes his way once more.

He would. Not just because he’d like to one up Bryan, but because if he was going to do this, he needed to prove it to himself and his parents once and for all that whatever hocus pocus mojo he might have had wasn’t there anymore. Okay, and it wouldn’t hurt to impress Jess, too.

He shrugged. “Hey, we’ve both got something to prove and nothing to lose. That’s the way I figure it. We use that Ouija board to make the connection, I’ll see what I can reel in and you do the talking. Because, otherwise, we’re just going to walk around with all this equipment and get nowhere. Bryan and I tried it out after you and Allison went to your room last night. Other than a few EMF readings and cold spots we didn’t get much.”

“Dr. Brandt said we’d use the board with or without Allison by the weekend. He just wants to give her a little more time.”

Gage cocked an eyebrow. “You don’t want to wait until the weekend, do you? You’re miserable just sitting around.”

She stared at him, apparently considering his offer. He nudged her with his shoulder. “Come on. No one will really care. Maybe they won’t even have to know if you’re more comfortable with that.”

Please say yes.

Jess’s smile widened. “Okay, I’m in.”

“Then I say we get started.” He stood and reached down a hand. Jess looked up at him and took his hand into hers, sealing their deal and allowing him to help her up. When she was standing in front of him, he was almost reluctant to let it go. With those eyes and that smile, she really was a beauty. The guys back home might have thought she wasn’t his type, but they’d have been wrong. Deep inside, he liked girls like Jess over the flashier ones with the tough-chick attitude. Those were easy to come by. And for Gage, easy to get. He had learned early on how to turn on his good looks and charm. But girls like Jess were fun, easy to be around. And definitely worth his best effort.

Jess gave him a faint smile. “How are we going to get the board?”

“Come on,” he said, squeezing her hand gently and pulling her with him. They headed toward the house. “I’ve got a plan.”

Which to him, was an understatement.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Jess laughed as Gage tugged her across the yard. She didn’t even mind him holding onto her hand. In fact, she rather enjoyed it. The grass was cool beneath her bare feet, despite the day’s humid warmth. For the first time in a couple of days, she felt like everything was moving forward again.

She told herself that her lightened mood had nothing to do with Gage himself, just his offer to help.

And why not let him? He could be right—the two of them might have the abilities to pull this off. Gracie and Emma had said they’d help with the board, too. She hadn’t told Gage that part, mostly because she wasn’t sure what the girls had meant.

He pulled her close as they stopped by the front door, and she thought he intended to kiss her. For a moment, Jess forgot to breathe. Her gaze wandered from his hazel eyes down to his mouth. Not that she would have minded a kiss. Except Gage knew how hot he was. Not pretty-boy model handsome, but more ruggedly sexy.

He’s probably a jerk in the romance department. Don’t let him see what he does to you. How you light up inside when he’s around.

Then again, they weren’t going to be here that long. A kiss didn’t have to mean anything else. Surely it’d never develop into much of anything. Just a summer attraction. Jess didn’t have a boyfriend back home—well, not anymore. She forced herself to breathe again, to stop looking at his totally kissable mouth so temptingly close to hers.

One kiss. Just one…

“Ready?” he asked. The corners of his mouth twitched into a grin.

“Now?” she eked out.

Gage’s grin widened. The jerk had to know he was teasing her, but Jess didn’t have the guts to lean in and kiss him. “Why not?” he said. “First, we’ve got to see where everyone else is, especially Mrs. Hirsch.”

“Who’s to say she isn’t walking the halls?”

“I’m sure she is. That’s why you’re going to be the diversion.”

“
Me?
She’s already caught me in one of the rooms.”

“Hey, I can’t think of a better diversion,” Gage murmured, making her think about that kiss again. “As for Mrs. Hirsch? It’s even better if she catches you. Do it again. Try the same room or find another one. Just don’t be quiet about it.”

They stared at each other. He was killing her, but she refused to make the first move. They’d done nothing but stare at each other their entire conversation. Jess forced herself to look out into the yard. “I think you’re way too good at this,” she finally said.

“Yeah, well, what can I say? Where do you think Allison is?”

“No idea.” Jess didn’t want to mention that she hadn’t stayed in the same room with her last night.

“Now, we’ll just have to find Dr. Brandt,” Gage said, opening the front door.

Jess couldn’t believe she was going though with this. It was one thing to try to persuade Dr. Brandt into using the board or doing a séance without Allison or Bryan, but something else entirely to enter his room and take the Ouija board without asking. Yet, it also seemed the right thing to do. What if the ghosts had a hard time showing up with all the equipment and Allison’s negativity? Allison had made it clear she wanted nothing to do with ghosts, and wasn’t fond of anyone else having anything to do with them, either.