Ghosts of the Falls (Entangled Ever After) Read Online Free Page A

“Dinner?”
    Color rose to her cheeks. “I’m asking you out to dinner. I know we just met, but—”
    “I’d love to have dinner with you.” He tightened his grip on her hand and stroked her wrist with his thumb. “But… I’m sorry. I won’t be available.”
    “Oh.” Her smile faltered.
    “The grave is just up here.” He hurried forward before she could question him. Ahead, mist from the falls thickened the air and sunlight filtered through the thinning trees. “Watch your step. The rocks are wet and slimy.”
    They approached the falls. After the burial over a century ago, he’d avoided the gravesite the way most people avoided angry grizzly bears. The water cascaded a hundred feet into the gorge, surrounded by rocks covered in bright green mosses and ferns.
    He took a deep breath, held it, and let it out. Part of him wanted to convince her to call this off so he could take her to dinner. But he would be a fool. A selfish fool. He wasn’t alive. What did he have to offer her?
    Nothing.
    And now it was time to leave this existence.

Chapter Three
    Jade stepped with care across a moist ledge and peered into the gorge. The roar of the water cascading over the rocks and pummeling the bottom filled her ears. The cool mist thickened the air and condensed on her skin. A shudder shook her body—not from the chill, but from the mental image of the spirit’s death. “This is where he fell?”
    “Yes.” Dutch motioned her to join him where he stood a couple yards away.
    A solitary stone reposed at the base of a gigantic American elm. The roots had crowded the little monument and forced it to lean at a sharp angle to the side. Despite the thick layer of moss that grew in patches on the slate, the inscription remained readable.

    Derrick Hutchinson
    Died May 23, 1890
    Aged 24 years

    “Why is there no birth date?”
    “I guess the loggers who buried him didn’t know exactly when he was born.”
    She ran her fingers over the chilly, damp stone. “No proper cemetery burial? No family?”
    “I don’t know. I guess that information is lost to history.” Dutch backed a few feet away, a frown on his face, his arms folded.
    “This really bothers you?”
    He shrugged. “Naw.”
    What a terrible liar. She grinned inwardly. “Dutch.” She stood and took his hand, pleased that he didn’t pull away. “Thank you for showing me the way out here.”
    “No problem. It was a pleasure to meet you, Jade Clarence.” He lifted her hand and kissed her fingers, sending her heart rate into a frenzy. The smile faded from his face as he released her. “I should get going.”
    “Huh?”
    “I assume you don’t want an audience.”
    “I don’t mind, actually.”
    He smiled, but the expression chilled her. His eyes seemed sad all of a sudden. “Sorry. I have someplace I need to go.” He paused. “Take care, Jade.”
    “Okay, bye.” She turned away to avoid watching him leave. Why hadn’t he said something earlier about having plans? He hadn’t acted rushed. Maybe he didn’t really believe all her nonsense, after all.
    Her heart sank, but she forced aside the disappointment and focused. Kneeling at the side of the grave, she set the flowers she’d picked at the base of the stone and set a rock on the stems to keep them in place.
    “What are you doing?” Shock filled Dutch’s voice. He rejoined her and knelt, his brow furrowed.
    “A grave out here all by itself is too lonely. The least I can do is leave him some flowers.”
    He stared at her. “That’s…very thoughtful of you.”
    She glanced back at the gravestone. Let’s do this . She spoke the Latin words to bind the spirit: “Requiescat in pace, Derrick Hutchinson.”
    Dutch choked and collapsed, panting against the ground. His body jerked.
    “Dutch! What’s wrong?” She reached out, but he faded before her eyes and vanished.
    …
    “What the hell?” Jade sat, alone, next to the old grave marker. Dutch’s brown shirt lay in the dirt where he’d