Read Online The Ghost and The Graveyard (The Monk's Hill Witch) by Genevieve Jack - Free Book Online

believes in ghosts?”
    “No, I mean because of who he is.”
    “Other than the caretaker?” I furrowed my brow. I wished he’d get to the point. I didn’t understand a word he was saying.
    “Do you know what a caretaker is, Grateful?”
    “I think so. He’s someone who maintains the cemetery.”
    My ghost looked disappointed. “I think you have a lot to learn about Red Grove.” He frowned. “I wouldn’t get too involved with the caretaker until you figure some of it out.”
    “What does my involvement with Rick have to do with anything? Are you afraid I’ll tell him about you?”
    “It’s not what you tell him. It’s what he’s supposed to tell you.”
    “Aargh!” I slapped my forehead in frustration. “You’re not making any sense.”
    “Maybe not.” His face turned serious. “I’m sorry. This was supposed to be fun. A date.” He smiled. “Let’s start again. Tell me why you’ve moved to Red Grove.”
    “Ugh. It’s a long, sad story. Believe me, we’d be better off talking about Prudence.”
    “Hey, all I’ve got is time. And since I have few memories of my own, I’d enjoy hearing yours. Unless, of course, you’d like a play by play of my dusting.”
    I pressed a finger into my lips, eyes darting around the room. I craned my neck to eyeball the living room. “You cleaned today.”
    “Yes.”
    “The whole house?”
    “Yes,” he said, smiling sheepishly. “I saw your note in the dust on the dresser upstairs. ‘Clean me.’”
    I leaned forward pressing my hand into my chest. “That note was a reminder for me! I thought you slept during the day.”
    “I did for a little while, but then I knew you would appreciate the help.
    “I do. I really, really do,” I said emphatically.
    “So, pay me back. Tell me how you ended up here.” Elbow on the table, he leaned his head into his hand.
    I thought about it. I guess if he wanted the whole sorrowful tale, I’d give it to him. After all, who was he going to tell? “I’m broke. My dad is letting me stay here for free. Sure, it’s a commute, but I don’t really have a choice.”
    “The first night I met you, you were wearing scrubs and answered the phone for St. John’s Hospital. You’re a nurse, right?”
    I nodded.
    “If you have a job, why are you broke?”
    “My ex-boyfriend took all of my money.”
    Logan crossed his arms over his chest, his form rippling with his concentration. The way he held himself seemed almost lawyer-ish. I felt like he was interrogating me. “A man stole your money. Did you go to the police?”
    “It’s a long story.”
    “I have all night. Hell, I have eternity.” The ghost’s molecules shifted to his smile, as if the energy from his feelings were driving his physical form. For a moment, his mouth and teeth glowed, flashing at me in the dim light of the dining room. Then the expression faded to the same opaque as the rest of his body. The Cheshire cat act was a bit unsettling.
    Was I actually doing this? Was I actually going to have a personal conversation with a ghost from my attic? I guess I was. “I met Gary in a bookstore a few weeks before graduation. I’ve always had a thing for books, the smell of them, the feel of the pages in my hands.”
    “I remember books,” Logan interrupted, his hand extending toward me. “I think I liked them too. I remember one called Great Expectations .”
    “One of my favorites.”
    He brought two fingers to his chin. “Please continue. Tell me about this Gary.”
    “Anyway, Gary was a poetry major working at a bookstore near Washington University, where I went to college. He seemed different from the other boys on campus, like he was above all the drinking and stuff. Plus, he acted totally into me. Like, absolutely fawning.”
    “You are a beautiful woman, Grateful. Anyone would be attracted to you.”
    I deflected the compliment by shifting my attention to the drapes. “He asked me out to this poetry reading at a local coffeehouse. I still remember