Spirit Mountain Read Online Free Page B

turned toward me. They heard me? I sucked in my breath and thrust myself straight up into a sitting position on my bed as my eyes opened. I glanced around my room. It took me a few minutes to gather my bearings. When Logan sat up, rubbing his neck, he squinted up toward me and murmured, “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
    I glanced at the time. 6:00 a.m. “Logan, you have to go. Everyone in my house will be awake in an hour.” I jumped off my bed, grabbed the papers spread out everywhere and threw them in the box.
    Logan swiped his jacket from the back of my desk chair, tied his shoes and ran a hand through his brown hair. “Are you okay?”
    “I am.”
    “You had the dream again, didn’t you?”
    “I did.” I shoved the box of papers into his arm and moved to the window to open it. “Call me later.”
    “Wait. We need to discuss what we found out last night.”
    “I know. Later. Right now, you have to get out of here.”
    With one leg out the window and the other on its way, Logan stopped, leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek. His lips were warm and soft and the random gesture shocked me. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
    I nodded and smiled. In reality, I had no idea what he could do to stop my death in five days, but I sure wasn’t going to discredit his desire to help. “Call me this afternoon. We have a lot to figure out.”
    His grin made my heartbeat quicken. Logan tossed the boxes onto the soft snow before he climbed over the small balcony and managed to grab a nearby tree branch as he shimmied down the tree. I watched him pick up the boxes, take off through the snow and head around the corner toward his truck.
    When he was out of sight, I jumped in the shower, got dressed and went to the kitchen for breakfast.
    Uncle Ernie poured himself a bowl of Lucky Charms. “Good morning, Beth.” He didn’t look up from his bowl.
    “Good morning, Uncle Ernie.” I reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a loaf of bread and a carton of orange juice. I spread some Nutella over two slices of toast and joined him at the kitchen table. “Can I ask you a question?”
    “Of course.” He took his bowl to the table and sat.
    I sat on top of my folded leg. “How long has this house been in our family? In my father’s family?”
    “I believe since it was built in 1802. Of course, it’s been renovated over the years and relatives in the past added plumbing and electricity.” He shoveled Lucky Charms into his mouth, smacking as he ate.
    “Do you know if the room I’m sleeping in was always a bedroom or was it an add-on to the house at some point?”
    “From what your aunt told me, this place hasn’t changed except for the modern appliances. Which is probably why you hear those awful creaks in the night.”
    I laughed. I’d heard them, but I was used to hearing a house settle in the cold weather. I wondered if Uncle Ernie knew of anything else that might tie the house to Spirit Mountain. “I, um, was wondering if anything weird has ever happened in my room? I mean, someone at school told me that my bedroom is the only one in this whole town that has a window facing the unspeakable mountain out yonder.” Did I just say ‘yonder’? I chuckled inwardly.
    Uncle Ernie shook his head. “No, not that I can think of. Your aunt has used that room for her dolls for as long as I can remember.” He hesitated, a spoonful of cereal midair on its way to his mouth. “There is one strange thing, though.” He spoke in a muffled voice as he chewed on the crunchy cereal.
    “Can you share it with me?” I was anxious to hear what he had to say. At this point, everything and anything could be a clue to figuring out this legend. Even something as simple as my room having some strange anomaly.
    “Your aunt used to put her most prized doll up on the bay window shelf facing the mountain. Sort of like a showcase of her favorite, and each morning when she’d go inside to open the drapes, the doll would be