Page 25 of The Accidental Ghost

The dog began to struggle, her tiny legs thrusting against Ralph. Above the dog’s body, a tendril of smoke appeared, shifting, changing shape until it took the form of the very dog in her arms.

Catch her, Raphaela. Catch her! the voice whispered.

Ralph blinked, looking up as the shape rose toward the dark night sky. Like a ton of bricks, some gut instinct, some deep intuition, hit her right between the eyes. That instinct told her the shape was the soul of the dog.

She reached up with a hand that had a will of its own and snatched at the air, gripping the wisps of smoke, fully expecting them to disappear like Wanda’s hand had against her own.

Instead, she managed to hold the form in her hand, pulling it to her and whispering, “No, sweet baby. It’s not your time. Stay here with me. I’ll fix it.”

But the puppy continued to push against her hand, trying to break free.

“Ralph?” Shamus called out, sounding distant and muted

She wasn’t listening to anyone but the spirit of this dog. Ralph heard her thoughts, clear as a ringing bell.

Hurts…tired. So tired… No more… Please…

Cupping the dog’s head, her wet fur now cold, Ralph shook her head again, rocking her. “No, angel. Not today. They’re not ready for you. But I promise I’ll make it better. I know it hurts. I know you’re exhausted from living on the streets. I know you’ve been hungry and cold, with no one to love you, but if you’ll only hang on, your life is going to be so amazing, precious baby. It’s not time for the Rainbow Bridge. Hang on,” she whispered fiercely.

As she held the dog, feeling her fear, the tremble in her tiny body, tears began to well behind Ralph’s eyes, but they wouldn’t fall.

Well done, Raphaela. Well done, the voice praised.

Nina dropped down beside her on the cold pavement, snow had begun to fall, sticking to her beautifully shiny dark hair. She reached over and placed a hand on the dog’s belly, her gaze filled with concern and sympathy.

“What the hell do you mean it’s not her time and you’ll fix it, Glow Stick? Tell me how I can help.”

She looked at Nina, cocking her head. With clear confidence in her voice, Ralph said, “She’s not meant to leave this plane yet. It’s not her time.”

Wanda looked at her as the snow fell and the moon glowed, giving the halfsie’s form a beautiful halo effect. “How do you know?” she whispered, her voice trembling.

Ralph rose to her feet, the dog cuddled in her arms as she stroked her sweet face. “I don’t know. I don’t… I just do. We have to get her to a vet. Right now. She’s suffering. I can feel it.”

Marty zoomed back into the picture in a flash of blonde hair and limbs, kicking up snow, her cheeks pink.

Nina cracked her knuckles and rocked her head side to side. “Didja catch that fuck? Because if not, I’ll hunt him down by smell and chew my way through his intestinal tract.”

Marty took a deep breath, bending forward at the waist to catch her breath. “I did, and I also found a very nice police officer walking his beat, who kindly arrested him for drunk driving after that puppy killer somehow swerved up onto the sidewalk and almost ran him over. Go figure…”

Wanda stood, too, wiping at Marty’s jacket, where grease spots stood out against the pale blue fabric. She pointed at her near-shredded boots. “You stopped him by grabbing his bumper, didn’t you?”

Marty nodded with a smile and a wink. “I did. Dragged me for at least a half mile. I just couldn’t get a good grip with the ice and snow, and I think I broke a nail, but I got that son-of-a-bitch. And I told the officer he hit a tiny puppy and left it for dead. From the state of his driving skills, and all the bobbing and weaving he’d been doing, it was obvious he’d been drinking. Now he’s on his way to the clink.”

Wanda scooped her up in a hug and kissed her cheek. “You beast, you! Way to go! I’m so proud.”

Marty untangled herself from Wanda and looked to the dog in Ralph’s arms. “How’s the poor baby?”

Ralph ran her cheek along the top of the dog’s head, relishing the fact that she could feel her fur. “We need to get her to an emergency vet ASAP. She’s bleeding and in pain, but don’t worry, she won’t die.”

Marty blinked, condensation puffing from her mouth in clouds of filmy white. “How can you know that?”

Ralph didn’t know a lot. Not about gut instincts, anyway. She was always questioning every tiny decision she made—her entire life had been spent like that. But this bold statement, so unlike her? She knew she was right.

“I just do. I just know. Now someone needs to take her from me, because I’m pretty sure a transparent lady with a hole in her chest, walking into an emergency vet, isn’t going to be received well. We really need to hurry and get this angel some help.”

Ralph handed the dog to Shamus, who was grinning as he took her, tucking her against his chest. “I should have known…” he murmured as they all got in the car.

“Should have known what?” Nina asked as she peeled out, following the GPS’s directions to the nearest emergency vet.

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