Read Online The Ghost of Christmas Present by Jenny Lykins - Free Book Online Page A

sank a little deeper into the tub
and narrowed her eyes at him.
    "Have you been nosing around in my head
again?"
    His brows dipped to a pained vee and he
looked wounded that she would even suggest such a thing.
    "All right, all right." She waved away
the question. "I've rented it through the twenty-sixth."
    His face mirrored her own overwhelming
dread as the date sank in.
    "Five days," he stated, barely above a
whisper. "You're leaving the day after Christmas."
    Alane swallowed hard, searching for
words to ease the pain in his eyes, in his voice. She found
none.
    "I was just thinking," she said,
knowing the offering would be feeble, "that I could call the rental
company and rent it longer. I know it's never booked up this time
of year." She knew renting longer would be like putting a Band-Aid
on a broken bone, but at least it would give them time to think of
something else.
    He perked up a little at her suggestion
and launched himself to his feet.
    "Excellent! Make the call now." He
towered over her, as if he expected her to bound from the tub and
run, dripping, to the phone. She scrunched lower in the water and
batted her eyes up at him.
    "Oh," he said as realization dawned on
his face. And then, for the first time since walking into the
bathroom, he seemed to see her as she was - the woman he loved
enjoying a nice hot bath. A lecherous little gleam sparked in his
eyes, and when Alane sank until the water lapped at her chin, he
rolled his eyes and threw up his hands. "Oh, very well. I'll leave
you alone."
    Before she could blink, he vanished
into thin air, but his voice filtered in from nowhere.
    "Party pooper."
     
    *******
     
    He didn't like the sound of the
one-sided conversation, nor the sickly look creeping over Alane's
features.
    "A buyer?" Her face paled. "I didn't
realize it was for sale."
    For sale? It couldn't be for sale. The
same family had owned the place for fifty years.
    "Today? I'm afraid not. They'll have to
wait until I've left to come and measure." She glanced up at Jared
with a look of panic.
    His stomach churned, and for the first
time in two centuries he felt queasy.
    "I'm sorry, but I'm working. They'll
have to wait until after the twenty-sixth. No, I know you wouldn't
have asked. Yes. Well, thanks anyway."
    Alane dropped the receiver from her ear
and let it dangle from her fingers, forgotten.
    "They're selling the cabin," she said
as she brought her eyes up to meet his. "The owner died last summer
and the heirs have a buyer for it." She shook her head, denying the
words. "And the buyers had the nerve to want to come out here today
and measure for curtains and carpet and to see if their big screen
TV will fit through the door."
    A muted, obnoxious beep sounded from
the telephone receiver and Alane blindly fumbled it into its
cradle. She rose from the couch and roamed aimlessly around the
living room, touching things, stopping and staring out a
window.
    "What do we do now?" She turned and met
his gaze.
    He cursed himself and Katherine's
mother for not being able to wrap her in his arms and comfort
her.
    But he could. For her, he could. He
lifted his arms and focused, willing to give up everything in order
to soothe her.
    "Don't you dare!" She stepped back and
blinked teary eyes when she realized his intent. "Yes, I want to be
held. I want to feel your touch so badly I ache for it. But I'd
never forgive myself if I caused your death."
    He started to point out that he was
already dead, but levity would only make things worse right now. He
dropped his hands and shook his head before he spoke.
    "I'll tell you what we're going to do.
We're going to take one day at a time. One minute at a time. And
we're not going to waste even a split second mourning the
future."
    "But there is no future! If they sell
this cabin, how will we be able to see each other
again?"
    Jared stepped up to her and traced his
hands along the length of her arms. When she shivered he brought
his lips to brush across hers.
    "We'll not