Read Online 4 The Ghost of Christmas by K.J. Emrick - Free Book Online Page A

sure if Millie was just making trouble, playing pranks like she always did, or if she was trying to tell them something. “Are you trying to warn me about something, Millie?”
    The book wrenched out of Jon’s hands and flew back across the room towards her, falling softly into her hands. “Thanks. That was very informative.” She rolled her eyes and opened the journal to the page she needed. Refreshing her memory, she nodded firmly. “Yes. This, and the suit. You want to grab that?”
    “No. I will, because I love you, but I don’t want to.”
    She smiled at him. “Just be sure to break the circle with your toe first.”
    He eyed her skeptically, but she watched him as he did exactly as she had instructed. In the meantime, she got the candles out that she kept in the shop. Never know where you might need to use them, she always figured.
    With the journal firmly in her hands and Jon carrying the paper sack with the suit in it, they left the bookstore and went back to the pageant stage. Darcy wasn’t too keen on being around here this late at night, especially after what had happened earlier.
    “Why here?” Jon asked her. He checked his watch, finding out exactly what Darcy had already known. It was after midnight. Everyone had gone home. Everyone, that was, except for them.
    “This is where the event happened. If there is any connection between our world and a ghost living in this Santa suit, it will be strongest here.”
    “Do you ever keep track of the number of times during the day you say things like that with a straight face?”
    She shrugged, taking the package with the suit from him. “It’s who I am. I’ve gotten used to it.”
    He watched her silently. She desperately wanted to ask him what was going through his mind, but this wasn’t the time or place.
    The area was completely deserted as Darcy had known it would be. Yellow barrier tape surrounded the stage until the town’s work crew could come out tomorrow and remove the broken staging. By mutual consent, they set up right in front of the stage.
    Darcy set the candles, lit them, and set the Santa suit on the ground in front of her. She realized that she was very tense and tried to relax and breathe deeply. If she was honest with herself she could admit that she was a little apprehensive about doing this particular communication. Roger had scared her during the couple of times she had communicated with him previously.
    This time, when she sat cross-legged, it was to study her aunt’s journal for a minute or so until she was sure she had the basics of the technique down.
    “Thank you, Millie,” she whispered. She looked at Jon and said, “I need total silence to do this, okay?” He nodded but didn’t speak. She could see he was tense and she guessed he was worried about her doing this. She wouldn’t be doing it if it wasn’t very necessary. Then she began.
    The flames from the candles spread a soft, flickering light where there was only darkness otherwise. In her mind, she recited the words from her aunt’s journal.
    “To be better protected from, and better connected to, the other side, you must have a very firm grip on your own life. You must be certain your life is in order, before you can attempt to order around the stronger spirits that you may encounter.”
    Which made sense. She thought about her life now. She and Jon had been fighting, and headed down a road to breaking up. They were back together now, stronger in many ways than they had been. He was accepting of her. She had that in her life, and she could build on that foundation to become stronger.
    She was stronger.
    She took hold of the Santa suit and called out for Roger August. For a few moments nothing happened, just like before. Something was blocking her. It was Roger himself, she realized. His spirit was trying to keep her from seeing what she needed to see. With a force of will, she pushed that barrier aside, and made the connection. She was inside Roger’s