New Orleans
Royce Kingston knew what the saying Hell on Earth meant.
He'd been living this particular existence for over two hundred
years. He wasn't dead but he wasn't living either.
That was actually the mother of all understatements!
Who knew the voodoo curse spat at him as he left a country
party would come true? As they said nowadays, "Give me
a break!"
But it had come true. One wretched decision made a lifetime
no
three
lifetimes ago, and he was still paying for it in spades! He
really enjoyed the clichés he managed to amass over the
course of his ghostly lifetime.
He ground his teeth together as he watched the delectable Ashley
sashay toward the door. Letting her leave with her friend was
out of the question. She needed to pack up her belongings and
then leave.
Scanning the room, he came up with the perfect way of getting
her attention. He moved over to the bookcase near the door and
flicked a few books from a shelf. In a blink, he returned to
the back of the shop and watched the books fall onto the floor,
directly in Ashley's path.
She jerked to a stop and gave a little yelp. "Did you
see that?" Ashley pointed to the books on the floor. "There,
do you see that?"
"Yeah, I did. Strange."
"Strange? It's more than strange. Those books didn't
grow legs and hop onto the floor on their own. There's a ghost
here, Sarah, I just know it. I need to get rid of it before
it ruins my business."
The two women quickly scanned the room, but it was Ashley
whose wide-eyed gaze halted in his direction. Her beautiful
mouth dropped open.
For a moment, neither moved. Could she see him?
"Oh. My. God," she whispered as she put her hands
to her lips. "It's you!"