Page 20 of The Ghost and the Graveyard (Knight Games 1)
I squirmed, uncomfortable with his non-answer. No further explanation was offered. "Are you going to hurt me?"
"No. And neither will Prudence. But for your own safety, I'm here to deliver a warning: stay away from the attic... and the caretaker."
I took a step back. "The caretaker, as in Rick?" I narrowed my eyes. The request seemed strange. To clarify, everything about this moment seemed strange, but this was especially odd. Rick had suspected the house was haunted, and now the haunter was warning me about Rick. What was the relationship? My curiosity temporarily trumped the pressing horror of the moment.
"The caretaker is dangerous for you, Grateful, as is the attic. I'm not sure why you were allowed to come here, but if you are going to stay, these are the rules."
Hmm. I tapped my fingers on my upper arm. Allowed to come here? Who was this guy to tell me what to do? I hadn't lived through abandonment by my last boyfriend, losing everything I owned, and swallowing my pride to move into my father's house to let a guy without a body boss me around. Still, I had no idea the kind of damage he and Prudence could do. I changed the subject.
"If you are going to be haunting me and choosing my drinks, the least you can do is tell me your name."
He frowned and looked at the floor. "I can't."
"You can't."
"I don't remember."
"You mean, you don't remember who you are-were-at all?"
"No." His green eyes hovered like two drops of rain under his lashes. "One day, I was just here. Before that..."
"But Prudence has a name."
"Yes, well, she lived here, so I think she's more attached somehow to this reality."
The story my father told me about the house came back to me all at once. "Holy crow! That's right. She's Prudence Meriwether. She's why I'm here. She left this house to my dad, Robert Knight, when she died. He hasn't been able to sell it since her death."
He blinked, not his eyes but his entire body. Gone and then back again, like what I'd said had blown through him. "You are Robert Knight's daughter?"
"Yes. Grateful, Grateful Knight. You know my dad?"
He floated closer, his eyes brightening. His presence overwhelmed me, made my skin prickle. He stared at me like he was seeing inside, sifting through my cells with his otherworldly gaze. I blinked up at him, speechless.
After a long silence, his shoulders hunched forward. "I'm tired, Grateful. Can we continue this another time?"
"Sure," I said, wondering how ghosts rested when they were tired.
"I'll come to you again tonight, midnight."
"O-okay," I said. A thought cut through my whirling mind. "What do I call you if you don't have a name?"
"Why don't you come up with something? Just for practicality, until I remember my own." He faded to the viscosity of a watermark, nothing more than an outline.
I nodded.
"One more thing."
"Yes?"
"Can you get rid of the bouquet next to your bed? That thing stinks. It's repulsive."
"No problem. I'm not a big fan. So, I guess I'll see you tonight."
For a moment, his green eyes glowed brighter. "It's a date." He winked, and then he dissolved into thin air. Nothing remained but a wisp of mist that smelled faintly of cinnamon.
Blowing out a nervous breath, I placed both hands firmly on the counter. Did I just make a date with a ghost?
and Soul
