Read Online 44 Book Four by Jools Sinclair - Free Book Online Page B

tell her, anyway, that I was seeing a ghost. I promised her that I would always tell her about any ghosts, visions, or strange energies surrounding people. I didn’t like to upset her, but I could see the importance of both of us knowing about those things.
    I pulled up into the driveway and clicked the garage door opener. At night, we always parked our cars inside the garage now. It was a tight fit and as I drove in, I was careful not to scrape Kate’s Subaru.
    Kate opened the side door for me and I grabbed my bag and said hello as I walked into the house, the smell of fresh paint greeting me.
    “Good day?” she asked.
    “It was okay,” I said. “How about you?”
    “Yeah,” she said. “Got it done.”
    We stood in the kitchen and I drank a glass of water. She told me about an interview she had with the forest service and the story she wrote. I told her about the chatty women who kept us working late and about how Mo finally kicked them out.
    “Good for her,” Kate said. “That’s tough when that happens. Reminds me of when I worked at Red Robin back in high school. You still get paid, but it’s not fun waiting around. I mean, just because someone’s making minimum wage doesn’t mean they don’t have a life.”
    “Hey, I don’t make minimum wage,” I said.
    I wasn’t that far from it, but still.
    “Stand down, Craig. No insult intended. I’m just saying, it’s not like you and Mo own the place and you’re making money off them. It’s late. Get the hell out. What are they doing drinking coffee at ten at night anyway?”
    “Who knows?” I said, yawning and rubbing my face.
    “Hey, come look at the bathroom. I finished it tonight. Just about every room in the house has been painted. I just have the hallway and your room left and I’m done.”
    I followed the strong smell. She had done a nice job. The walls were darker than before, but looked fresh and clean.
    “So it’s green?” I asked.
    “Yeah,” she said. “Sage Green.”
    “Sounds nice,” I said. “I mean, looks nice. Really nice. You’ve done a great job. The entire house looks, I don’t know, elegant.”
    I yawned again.
    “You want to get to bed? We can watch the show tomorrow night instead.”
    I had forgotten that we had made plans to see an episode of Downton Abbey . But I shook my head.
    “No way. I want to see if Bates is charged with murder. Let me change and I’ll be right out.”
    Kate and I had just discovered the British TV show about rich people and their servants. It sounded boring when she suggested it but had turned out to be a great series. We started watching it two weeks ago and were already deep into the second season.
    I put on my pajamas, washed my face, and grabbed my new down comforter. I shuffled out to the living room and threw myself down on the slippery leather.
    “You want any dinner?” she asked.
    “No,” I said. “Too late. I’m fine. I stuffed in a muffin at about eight.”
    “How about some tea? It would only take a minute.”
    “Nope, really I’m good.”
    “So how was the rest of your day?” she asked.
    “Fine.”
    I sat trying to think of a way to tell her about the ghost, but was having trouble finding the words.
    Kate paused the show and pulled her legs up, crossing them in front of her.
    “So what’s up?” she asked as she put down the remote.
    I smiled. I had forgotten that it wasn’t always so easy to hide things from her.
    I spilled it. Everything. I didn’t know if I was too tired or just desperate to tell someone, but I told Kate the entire story of seeing the ghost boy, out on the hiking trail, at the soccer park, and at work just a few hours ago. I made sure to emphasize that he didn’t scare me, that he wasn’t like Annabelle. He wasn’t angry or mean. He was just lost and needed some sort of help.
    Her eyes narrowed and I could tell she was worried.
    “Damn, Abby. I guess we should just be getting used to all this, but I wish they would leave you alone. But they