Page 40 of The Accidental Ghost

Thank you…

You’re learning, grasshopper. Well done.

Chapter

Thirteen

“You okay, Glow Stick?” Nina asked as Shamus dumped some more fairy dust on her, making her visible to Nina.

Was she okay? What she’d just witnessed, the beauty of the moment, how fearless she’d felt, had been one of the most memorable events in her life.

Yet, she felt exhausted. Completely fried to a crispy-crisp.

The euphoria of the event had dimmed, and now her limbs felt like wet noodles. It felt as though she could sleep for a thousand years. Did ghosts need sleep? Who was going to help her figure this ghost life out and tell her what she could and couldn’t do?

But she didn’t want them to see her rising panic at those thoughts. So Ralph smiled. “I’m okay, thanks. Are you guys okay? I know Nina doesn’t feel the cold, but you do, Shamus.”

He scooped her up in an unexpected hug.

Ralph let herself melt against him, not even questioning why she could feel his hard body against hers, simply grateful it was possible.

Though, the contact made her delirious with awareness. Every inch of his muscled thighs pressed to hers made her own legs shake. His broad chest against hers quickened her breathing. The scent he wore, musky and clean, bathed her nostrils, leaving her a little swoon-ish.

“Forget us and the cold. You were amazing in there,” he whispered in her ear.

She leaned back in his embrace. “You saw us?”

Nina’s voice was softer somehow when she responded. “We were outside the window like fucking peeping Toms with cans attached by string, eavesdropping. The Ghost Talker wanted to be sure you were okay. He narrated the shit going down for me. Sounds like you did good, kiddo. Bravo. Proud to say I know you.”

Ralph blushed, but she couldn’t take the credit. “I don’t even know how it happened or how I knew what to do. I just knew. It’s not about me at all. It’s about this force I can’t describe and the voice in my head, who, if I’m honest, can be a little impatient.”

Setting her from him, Shamus clucked his tongue. “I’m more and more convinced you’re a psychopomp, Ralph. You were perfection in there. Utterly selfless. It takes someone remarkably special to do what you did. To make sure a soul gets to the right place. You did everything right.”

Ralph lifted her hair, twisting it around her hand, still feeling lightheaded and weak. “It’s so strange when it happens, but it was just like with Gloria. There’s this voice I hear in my head, soft, warm, reassuring, sometimes almost pushy… It tells me what to do, what to say. I’m pretty sure I can’t take any credit at all.”

Nina grinned at her “Take aaall the credit, kiddo. No fucking way could I be as patient as you are. Ghost Man is right, it takes a special bitch to do what you’re doing. I salute you.” She did a mock military acknowledgment, clicking the heels of her work boots.

Ralph’s smile of appreciation was wan and weary. “I think I need to sit down.”

Shamus’s look grew concerned, his frown deepening the lines on his tanned forehead. “Are you okay? Tell me what’s happening?”

Ralph managed to float to the SUV they’d driven in and climb inside. Since she’d been turned into a ghost, whenever she was contained, she floated around like a stray helium balloon. But tonight, she plunked right down onto the backseat.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but it happened when I prevented Gloria from leaving, too. I feel weak and drained, like I could sleep for a week.”

The light in the ceiling of the SUV blinked on as Nina and Shamus got in. “Then sit your backside down and rest. Let’s get your floaty keister back to the castle. We can talk about whatever the hell’s goin’ on there,” Nina ordered, climbing in and pressing the start button, taking off like a ball shot from a cannon.

Ralph sat forward, taking deep breaths, so woozy and light-headed. The last time she felt this way, she’d ended up in Hell.

She had to tell them what Drucinda had said before she crossed with Kat. “Listen to me, Drucinda did give me some helpful information. She said to look for someone named Michael. Also, did you know there was a waiting room before you go wherever your eternity takes you?”

Shamus’s nod was slow, his green eyes gleaming in the dark interior of the car. “Yep. What about it?”

“She said when a new spirit arrives, everyone goes to this waiting room, and all the spirits know when they get there. So why didn’t I go to this waiting room? Why did I go to Nina’s instead?”

Shamus took her trembling hand. “I’ve heard of it, but I didn’t know that was the order of things. As to ending up at Nina’s place? I’m still betting you were unpacking that box left by the prior owner at your bookstore. I think you must have had the Elvis painting in your hand, or maybe you were just touching it, near it, but the connection probably brought you to her castle.”

She couldn’t talk anymore for the spinning of her head. “I…I feel…awful.”

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