Page 55 of Trick or Stalk

I stop smiling.

Next time.

Ugh.

“Nope. Too creepy to even joke about.”

I stand there for another moment before remembering the groceries on the porch.

“Shit.”

I hurry outside.

Everything is exactly as I left it.

Except the ghost.

I pick up the grocery bags and bring them inside, then return to the car for the rest.

As I head back to the house, my gaze keeps drifting to the decoration.

The wind fixed it.

That's what happened.

It was only the wind.

I carry the groceries inside.

After setting them on the counter, I go back outside to close the trunk and lock my car doors.

My hand is on the doorknob when I turn my head.

I move to the ghost, reach up, and touch the bottom of the white fabric.

It sways beneath my fingers.

Nothing unusual. Nothing that tells me how it got straightened.

I lower my hand.

“It was just the wind. It fixed it.”

This time, my words don’t sound as convincing.

I step inside, close the door, and lock it.

Penny waits in the foyer.

“Don't look at me like that.”

I move into the kitchen and busy myself with putting groceries away.

When I’m finished, I head back into the living room. My gaze goes to the window.

The porch is empty.

Beyond it, the woods are growing darker.