The Ghost Files (The Ghost Files, #1)

by Apryl Baker

My head snaps up. “You would help me find my father?” “I’m all in, Mattie.” And he is. I can see it. But why? “Why?” “Hell if I know, Squirt,” he grins at me. “I don’t know why you matter to me. I mean, I barely know you, but I need to know you’re safe, that you’re happy, and that you have everything you need. You’re important to me. That’s about all I’ve figured out right now, at least until you get a little older. You really are jailbait until you turn eighteen.” My mouth falls open. Did Officer Dan just admit he likes me? “Close your mouth, Squirt.” He smiles at me and his brown eyes are full of warm chocolate gooeyness.

“It’s all right, Mattie. I’ll make you a promise, okay? I promise no matter what you do, I will always be here for you. I will never leave you and I will never let you drive me away, no matter how hard you try. You’re stuck with me, kid.”

If he only knew the Curse this promise just locked him into...

His blond hair and blue eyes are a stark contrast to Dan’s darker looks. He looks at me with very curious eyes. “Hey, Mason,” Dan greets him. “What are you doing here?” “Bored. Nothing else to do, so I figured I’d come see the spook doctor’s performance.” Then Dan snorts. I glare at him. The guy leans forward so he can see around Dan. “I’m Mason Jones, by the way.”

“That is how you can see them, talk to them, and interact with them. Your aura gives off a homing beacon for them. You are their comfort in a sea of confusion. You have the ability to calm them, to take away that confusion, and make them understand this is not where they belong. They need to move on. You can open the gateway to the next plane for them because of who you will one day be.”

My phone buzzes and I look to see a text from Mason telling me to call him or he’s gonna keep text stalking me till I do.

He doesn't lie!

I spent my life pretending they didn’t exist, and now, in my moment of need, they’re here for me. Guilt floods me. I ran from them, and they are trying to comfort me.

“I said I would wait for you, Mattie, and when you didn’t go, I stayed. I needed to know you’d be safe, that you were okay.” His eyes have lost their teasing light and he’s serious. He is looking at me the way I’d always wanted a boy to look at me, and I want to scream at the unfairness of it all. Why does he have to be dead? Fate is cruel. She gives me someone I could really come to trust, to maybe even love, and I can’t have him. That is not his fault, though. He did his best for me, now it’s my turn to help him. “I am okay, Eric, because of you.”

“Are you going to do this a lot?” “Define ‘this.’ I do a lot of stupid stuff.” “Leave me voicemails breaking up with me.” “Officer Dan, we can’t break up ’cause we were never together.” “Mattie,” he growls. “Maybe.” “Well, get over it because I love you, Mattie Hathaway. I’m not sure what that means right now, but I do. You’re stuck with me, Squirt. I’m not going anywhere.” The truth of that statement is shining in those liquid brown eyes of his. I can get lost in those warm brown depths if I let myself. I think I love him just a bit too. I don’t know if it’s the way a girl usually loves a boy, or if I love him like a friend or like a brother, but I do love him. I think he’s as confused as I am. My heart clenches in fear at that admission. I’ve never let myself love anyone, ever. Not since Mamma. This could be very bad.