Page 34 of Chasing Your Ghost

“I guess most of the people I helped hadn’t been ghosts for more than a few days. My dad usually dealt with the ones who’d been around longer.”

“Why’s that?”

Riley looked over her shoulder. Asher had his hands behind his head, and he was looking up at the ceiling.

“Those are usually the ones who don’t want to go. He was a lot better at convincing them than I was, and a lot of them were so angry by that point that he didn’t like me being around them.”

He frowned and tipped his chin down so he could see her. “Can ghosts hurt you?”

“No. I’m the same as everyone else in that respect. But they can swear like nobody’s business, and some are real douche canoes.”

His eyebrows lifted curiously. “Who was the worst ghost you had to deal with?”

Riley pressed her lips together in thought and scooched back until her back rested against the pillows. “There was this one guy who scared me a bit. He died in a barfight, and the man who killed him got away. The police never found the guy, and that’s what was keeping him here. He kept trying to convince me that I needed to help him get revenge for him to move on.”

“What did you do?”

“I kept telling him no until he eventually snapped. He tried to hit me,” she admitted quietly. She could still remember how scared she’d been when his fist had closed in on her face. She’d forgotten he was a ghost at that moment, and her terror had reduced her to a statue.

Asher tensed and sat up. “What did you do?”

“Well, his fist went right through my head, but it scared me enough that I went straight to my dad.”

“Please tell me your dad didn’t help him after that,” Asher said, his voice an angry rumble.

Riley chuckled. “My dad was furious. He didn’t even want to consider helping the guy, but it became necessary since the man knew where we lived.”

“How did your dad deal with him?”

Riley winced. “Um, let’s just say there’s more than one way for a ghost to pass over to the other side.”

“Like an exorcism?” Asher asked with wide eyes.

“Sort of,” she replied. “It’s a last resort my dad only used in extremely rare cases.”

“What does it involve?”

“Ever watched Supernatural?” Riley asked.

“Yeah,” Asher replied, drawing the word out. “Are you telling me your dad dug up this guy’s grave, poured salt over the body, and burned it?” he asked, looking disgusted.

“Oh my gosh, no,” Riley said through her laughter. “You know how they have a Latin incantation to exorcise demons? It’s like that.”

“Huh. Wouldn’t it be easier to do that with all ghosts, then?”

“The way my dad explained it, forcing them to pass over like that isn’t pleasant for the ghost. There’s apparently a lot of screaming involved. It’s why he only did it with ghosts who became too hostile.”

“Should I consider myself warned?” he asked with a crooked grin.

“Oh, definitely,” Riley replied with as straight a face as she could manage. “Any funny business, any at all, and I’ll send your ass straight to heaven the hard way.”

Asher laughed. “Did you just partly quote Harry Potter?”

Riley couldn’t contain her smile as she turned back to her laptop. “I might have,” she said with a shrug. “Now, let’s get to it.” She’d already opened a bunch of tabs, so she clicked on the first one and began reading.

10

“I give up,” Riley said the following afternoon. She shut her laptop and shoved it aside before shifting down on the bed so that she was looking up at the ceiling.

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