Haunting Danielle 27 The Ghost and the Mountain Man by Bobbi Holmes (great novels to read TXT) 📕

from Donovan’s, she heard voices. Taking care not to make a sound, she crept closer to the bushes and looked next door.

The police car parked behind Heather’s house, its motor still running. Heather stood by the car, talking to the driver. It looked like Officer Henderson.

“Are you stalking me?” Heather asked while leaning against Brian’s open car window. She wore gray sweatpants, a red T-shirt and red jogging shoes, with her black hair pulled up in a high ponytail. She hadn’t put on any makeup, yet her nails sported fresh black polish.

“I’m just patrolling the neighborhood, keeping the citizens of Frederickport safe,” Brian said with a grin. He reached out the window and gave the hem of her shirt a gentle tug. “Going jogging?”

“Yes. I normally go in the morning, but the rain stopped me.”

He chuckled. “Was that all that kept you home?”

She grinned. “I can’t even imagine what Joe would think if he knew.”

“How do you know I haven’t told him?” he asked.

She leaned into the window and gave his lips a quick kiss. Pulling back, she said, “Because neither of us needs that kind of BS right now.”

“They are eventually going to find out,” Brian told her.

“Well, yeah, if you keep cruising by my house,” Heather said with a snort.

“You just like the sneaking around,” Brian teased.

Heather giggled. “Admit, it is sorta fun.”

Brian flashed her a grin and gave her hem another tug. “You go do your jog. But try not to fall over any dead bodies.”

“If I find one, I know who I’ll call.”

Heather hummed as she sprinted down Beach Drive to the pier. Brian showing up unexpectedly had thrown her off her routine, making her forget her earbuds. So instead of listening to music, she hummed a tune while thinking how everything had changed since those crazy witches had barged into her life.

When she reached the pier, she turned west, and instead of walking onto the pier, she headed down under it, to the beach for her jog north, intending to run by Ian and Lily’s, then Chris’s house and beyond.

Since she had already warmed up, she broke into a jog once she reached the beach, greeting those along her path as she passed by, her ponytail flopping up and down behind her.

It wasn’t a dead body that brought her to a complete stop a few minutes later. But it was close. Directly in front of her, watching her approach, was the ghost of the trigger-happy mountain man she had encountered with Brian and Walt the week before. But unlike the last time, he wasn’t toting a rifle. Of course, that didn’t mean he couldn’t conjure one up at a moment’s notice. After all, he was a ghost.

“Are you going to shoot at me again?” Heather asked, slightly out of breath after the quick sprint and jog.

“Do you see a rifle?” he asked.

“Why are you here?” she countered.

“I’m here for Alex. Where is he?” he demanded.

“Who’s Alex?” Heather frowned.

“Don’t play dumb,” he snapped.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“You mean Alex didn’t tell you?”

“Why are you here? Why aren’t you still in the mountains?”

“You would like that, wouldn’t you?”

“I’d rather you move on, like you’re supposed to do.”

“Move on?” He frowned.

“If you don’t intend to move on, at least tell me who you are,” Heather said.

“Why don’t you just ask Alex,” he said before disappearing.

Heather stood alone and glanced around. She noticed a couple of teenagers who had been playing Frisbee on the beach had stopped and now watched her curiously.

Heather groaned inwardly and started jogging again, heading north. A few minutes later she spied Lily and Danielle sitting in beach chairs behind Lily’s house, while Connor and Evan played in the sand, with Max lounging on a blanket. She sped up, and a moment later Sadie ran to greet her. The dog trotted alongside Heather as they neared Lily, Danielle, and the two boys, Sadie’s tail wagging happily.

When Heather reached Lily and Danielle, she stopped abruptly, slightly out of breath, and said, “Hey, where’s Walt? I need to tell him the ghost who shot at us is here. I just saw him.”

Four

“Let me put Connor down for a nap,” Lily said as she carried her son into the house. Danielle, Heather, and Evan trailed behind her, while Sadie and Max remained outside.

A few minutes later, after getting Connor settled, Lily found them sitting at the kitchen table with Ian and Walt. No one suggested Evan wait in the other room while they discussed the ghost. After all, he was a medium.

“So the ghost who shot at us knew your dad?” Heather asked Walt after they finished comparing notes.

“It certainly sounds like it,” Walt said. “But I can’t even imagine what the connection might be, or what my father could have done to make him so angry.”

“Do you look a lot like your dad?” Heather asked. “Because I’m pretty sure that ghost thought you were him.”

“We’ve a wedding picture of Walt’s parents, and in the picture, he looked like a younger version of Walt,” Danielle said.

“Are you suggesting I am old?” Walt asked with mock indignation.

“Aren’t you over a hundred?” Evan asked sincerely. The adults chuckled.

“Technically,” Walt said, flashing Evan a wink.

“What does this ghost want with Walt’s dad?” Lily asked.

“The easiest way to find out is for us to go home and wait for him to show up. He said he was coming back,” Danielle said.

“All right!” Evan stood up.

Danielle looked at Evan and pointed to the chair. “Not so fast, buddy. Sit back down. I think maybe you should stay over here if it’s okay with Lily and Ian.”

“Certainly,” Lily said. “I think that is a good idea.”

“Aw, gee,” Evan groaned. “I’d like to see the ghost again.”

“And you might,” Danielle said. “There is always a chance he pops in here, and if he does, Lily and Ian won’t see him, but you will. And you don’t want him scaring Connor. After all, Connor might see the