Everlastin' Book 1 by Mickee Madden Read Free Book Online Page A

away. I don't believe in ghosts. Go away.”
    The mist inched closer.
Jumping from the bed, Beth ran for the door. She turned and yanked
on the knob but the door would not budge.
    “Lachlan!” she cried,
pounding her fists against the recessed wood panel. “Lachlan,
please!”
    At the same instant she
looked over her shoulder, the mist was upon her. Utter coldness
seized every part of her. A wheezed gasp of breath rushed from her
lungs. Turning her back to the door, her mouth agape, she fought
against the panic swelling within her. The mist had completely
enveloped her. Green. Sparkling, the intensity of which increased
with every passing second. Despite her terror, she sensed a
presence within the anomaly.
    Sensed something trying to
communicate.
    A scream ejected from her
throat.
    In the next second, the mist
evaporated. A weeping Beth sagged against the door and lowered
herself to a sitting position on the floor. Another cry escaped her
when a loud rap on the door startled her.
    “Beth!” The door cracked
open, ramming her back and shoulders. “Lass, get away from the
door. Beth, do you hear me?”
    The concern in his tone
snapped her from her shock. Getting unsteadily to her feet, she
stepped back several paces as Lachlan pushed wide the door and
crossed the threshold. Although she wanted to fling herself into
his arms, she stood as still as a statue, her eyes seeming too
large for her face.
    Lachlan went to her, his
arms readily drawing her stiff body into them. “Wha's wrong,
lass?”
    “Something...touched
me.”
    Framing one side of her face
with a hand, he peered deeply into her glazed eyes. “Touched
you?”
    She nodded stiltedly.
“Lachlan...is this place haunted?”
    His attempt to laugh the
matter off fell short. “Some believe so.”
    “Do you?”
    “Och, aye.”
    “Lannie? Is it Lannie
Baird?”
    Placing a hand at the back
of her head, Lachlan urged her to rest a cheek against his chest.
For a time, he stared off into the shadows of the room, his gaze
troubled. “He wouldna hurt you.”
    Beth shivered before winding
her arms about Lachlan's middle. “I...I really didn't think he
would. It just...took me by surprise.”
    A sad smile moved along his
mouth. “First time Carlene encountered him, she nearly screamed the
walls down.”
    “Carlene?” Beth looked up
into his eyes. “She's seen him?”
    “Aye.”
    “David?”
    “He was a bit mair steady
abou' Lannie.” His smile deepened, drawing Beth's focus to the
seductive fullness of his mouth. “Once Carlene got used to the
idea, she took a likin’ to the old boy.”
    “When I told her the cabbie
had said this place was haunted, she denied it.”
    Lachlan shrugged. “She
probably didna want to spook you.”
    Spook.
    A laugh gurgled in Beth's
throat as she pressed her brow to his chest. “Very funny. I feel
like such an idiot.”
    “Tis a shock at first. He
was probably lookin’ in on you.”
    Beth searched his face with
a question in her eyes.
    “Wha' is it,
love?”
    “Why would he look in on
me?”
    With a low laugh, he kissed
the tip of her nose. “Ye're new here. He was probably curious. No'
much else for a ghost to do, you know.” He gestured with his right
arm as he went on, “Besides roamin’ the halls, moanin’ and
groanin’.”
    “He moans and
groans?”
    “No' really. Though he's
reputed to have a fine temper.”
    Suddenly overly conscious of
Lachlan's proximity, Beth withdrew her arms from about him and
walked to the bed, where she kept her back to him. Nervously
running a hand through her hair, she said as lightly as she could
muster, “I'm all right, now. Thank you.”
    “Tis a cool night,” he said,
coming up behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders. “We
could snuggle by a fire.”
    “I'm really
tired.”
    “Wary,” he countered evenly.
“Canna blame you. Me. Then Lannie. Tis a lot to adjust
to.”
    Smiling, Beth turned and
met his teasing gaze. “You probably more than Lannie.”
    “Och,”