The Haunting Season Read Online Free

replied. “But she is sort of scary. She’s big and kind of mean looking. Carries a huge hoop with a bunch of keys on it. Doesn’t talk much, either. When she saw me in the bathroom crying, all she’d said was that dinner was at six, and I should clean up before then.”
    Jess put away the last of her clothes. “She sounds awful. We’ll stay out of her way, then. Do you want to go exploring? I’m dying to see more of the house.”
    “I’d rather not,” Allison admitted. “But anything beats being in here by myself.”
    “Seriously? This house gives you the creeps? Do you know the history behind it or something?” Jess asked. “I tried doing some research and didn’t find much. It’s supposed to be haunted, but so is every place else in Savannah.”
    “Confession. I don’t see ghosts. Ghosts don’t sound too bad. I see evil…spirits. So yeah, I’m creeped out. This place makes me feel like I did when…” Allison gave an exaggerated shudder.
    “When?” Jess asked.
    “You do feel it, don’t you?” Allison asked, avoiding Jess’s curiosity.
    Jess took a deep breath and listened, letting the house settle in around her. She supposed it wouldn’t hurt to say that what she sensed here felt more like hope. The house had a presence, all right. But how much of that was wishful thinking? How much was because she wanted so badly for Dr. Brandt to prove her right about a connection between the real world and the world beyond? “Yeah,” she said finally. “There’s something here, but I don’t think it’s bad. Wait. You said you see spirits? Evil sprits?”
    Allison put her suitcase in the closet on top of Jess’s and closed the door. “On second thought, I like your idea about exploring. Can we start outside?”
    “Sure.” Jess couldn’t imagine what it might be like to see evil spirits. It had to be hard on Allison to have experienced what she had. Luckily for Jess, seeing ghosts had always been a gift, not a curse. The entire time Jess had been seeing them, she’d never encountered one she’d consider menacing. Pissed off, maybe. Like the ghost who made the guy at the bar spill his drink. But that was about as bad as it had ever been. The idea that all ghosts might not be benign had never occurred to her because it had never happened to her .
    “We’ll go outside while there’s still light,” Jess said. “Then we’ll explore the house after dinner. Evil spirits, huh? Not to pry, but why do you think the ghosts are evil?”
    Allison dug through her own clothes, selecting a t-shirt and pair of shorts. “They’re not really…never mind. It’s complicated. I’ll tell you later. Probably at dinner. I bet we’ll all have to talk about ourselves then.”
    Jess didn’t push the subject further. Allison was already uneasy. Jess wondered again what had happened to cause such a huge rift between Allison and her family. Jess wanted to know, but decided she’d find out soon enough. One thing was obvious, though—this experiment wasn’t the best idea for Allison.
    After they’d finished changing, they left the room and headed down the hallway.
    The renovation crew had done a great job on Siler House. They had refinished the floorboards and put fresh paint on the walls. The whole place looked new—but Jess could imagine it might have looked the same back when the Silers lived here—elegant and grand, and yet charming and comforting. Siler House would make a great bed and breakfast—once all the renovations were complete. For Jess, the next couple of weeks at Siler House held nothing but amazing possibilities.
    If Allison would only look at things the way she did—see how beautiful the place was, she might realize the house itself was nothing to be afraid of. Jess wanted to open the door of every room they passed, wanted to take in everything about the house. Once or twice, she absently reached out, letting her hand brush against one of the doorknobs, which might have been original or just a