The Ghost of Christmas Present by Jenny Lykins

Author:Jenny Lykins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ghosts, virginia, casey claybourne, alane travis, jared elliott, lynn kurland, winter cottage

Alane didn't try to stop the tears. For one brief, exquisite moment, when he'd touched her, when his lips set off fireworks in her blood, she'd thought she owned the world. Then reality came crashing back, more painful than before.

He leaned back against the couch and dragged his legs onto the cushions. She reached to help him, then couldn't quiet the frustrated sob at her vain attempts.

He raised a weak, barely visible hand to her.

"Don't...worry."

She watched as he seemed to lose consciousness.

"Jared!" she yelled, then screamed his name again when he didn't answer.

"Okay, stay calm," she told herself. She sank back onto her heels and stared at the face already precious to her heart.

Just a hint of his form was visible on the couch. Just a hint of his existence.

Is that how much he'd given up to touch her? Is that all that was left of him on this earth?

She knew now what he'd meant about using his energy. About ceasing to exist. The thought terrified her and she swore she'd forbid him to touch her like that ever again. Nothing was worth the price of his existence. She refused to be the one he would give up his existence for.

She knelt by his side, cursing her helplessness. Her mind raced for ways to help him, but all she could think of were mortal comforts. She couldn't get him a pillow or drape a blanket over him. She couldn't even hold his hand.

The fire died in the grate and the candles guttered in their holders, and still she stayed by his side. Sometime during the night she woke to find her head cradled in her arms, resting on the couch cushions. Every joint in her body ached and she finally struggled to her feet and dropped into the recliner. Moonlight fell across his body on the couch, but he looked no stronger than he had hours earlier.

She sat there and stared at him until her eyes burned. She willed him to get better. And as she sat vigil she faced the truth that she'd fallen in love with a dead man. After knowing Jared, every other man she'd ever known, including David, especially David, paled in comparison. Jared would forever be the standard to which she measured other men, and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that none would ever come close.

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