Read Online Haunted Fixer-Upper, The by Rose Pressey - Free Book Online Page A

she does.”
    “That’s one way to put it, ” I said, as I watched her speed away.
    “Come on. Let’s get out of here.” Ree d grabbed my hand. “I’m starving.”
    As I moved toward the truck, I couldn’t help but feel eyes watching me. It was the darn woods again. The last thing I wanted to do was look, but I couldn’t help myself. It was as if I was asking for punishment though because I glanced over toward the trees. Why couldn’t I just ignore the feeling and bury my head in the sand, or in this case, in the Georgia red clay mud?
    If I didn’t see anything it would make it all go away, right? Everything would be just perfect. But no, I had to go and look. And I certainly was sorry for that when I looked over at the tree line and saw the man staring back at me. His dark disheveled hair reached to his shoulders and he stood motionless with his arms at his sides. He looked like a man who’d been lost in the woods for several years. I had to say something to Reed.
    “ There’s a man in the woods looking at us,” I said, without pointing to attract attention.
    Reed paused and spun around. “What? Where?” he asked.
    “ Right there on the edge of the property.” I attempted to direct Reed to the man with my eyes.
    When the man noticed Reed looking in his direction, he ducked behind a tree and disappeared just as he had the first time I’d seen him. Reed took off in a sprint toward the tree line and I followed after him—a lot slower, I might add. I couldn’t let Reed run into the woods after some crazy man. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut. No, I knew I should have kept my mouth shut.
    “Stay there, Alabama,” Re ed said over his shoulder.
    Yeah, right. Did he reall y think I’d follow that order? I’d never listened in the past, and I sure wasn’t about to start now. I ran into the woods after Reed. But after a short distance, Reed stopped and looked around, unsure of which way to go. Silence surrounded us. Even the birds were quiet. You’d think we would have heard the man running away in the distance.
    “ Where did he go?” Reed asked.
    I shook my head. “I don’t know. He disappeared behind a tree when he saw you look in his direction.”
    Reed turned to me with a smile on his face. “Wait a minute. I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to get me back for that serial killer ghost story.” He laughed. “Good one. You really had me going for a minute.”
    I looked at him with my mouth hanging open. “Do you really think I would try a stunt like that?”
    He nodded. “Yes, I really do. Come on.” He grabbed my hand. “Let’s go. You got me back. I promise not to mention the ghost again.”
    “But I really saw someone,” I said as we walked back toward the truck.
    He nodded. “Sure.”
    I yanked my hand away. He turned to look at me, but I didn’t smile in return.
    “ I am not playing a game with you, Reed. I really saw a man out there.”
    “ You’re not kidding, are you?” He furrowed his brow.
    “ No, I told you I wasn’t kidding,” I said, not trying to hide the irritation in my voice.
    Reed stared at me, trying to read my expression. “You are serious, aren’t you?”
    “ Yes, he was standing there by that tree watching us.” I let out a deep breath. “And it wasn’t the first time I’ve seen him.”
    Reed stepped closer to me. “What? When did you see him before now?”
    I felt the strain in his voice.
    “ The first time we were here I thought I saw him.” I paused, then said, “I know I saw him.”
    “Why didn’t you say something?” His expression tensed.
    “ I thought maybe it was just my eyes playing tricks on me, but now that I’ve seen him again, I know that he’s real and not a serial killer’s ghost. A serial killer maybe, but not a ghost.”
    Reed moved closer to the tree line again. I hurried over beside him.
    Reed ran his hand through his hair. “Well, I guess he’s gone now. I have no idea who it could have been. There’s not