Page 20 of Road Trip With the Ghost Hunter

“Sure.” She sounded anything but.

I debated telling her no, but in the end agreed. An hour later, we were back on the road.

Parker Ranch was twenty minutes outside of town. The history was that over a hundred years ago, a fire broke out in one of the barns. A lot of animals died, along with three of the ranch hands. Rumor had it that the owner of the ranch set the fire on purpose because he wanted to collect the insurance. Ever since then, nothing has been able to grow on the land, and the few people who bought the property swore they saw the ranch hands still out in the field working with the animals that died in the fire.

People from all over had come out to check the place. Most had reported hearing strange noises, feeling a presence, or hearing the whine of the horse and the crackle of the wood as it burned. If there was any place I was going to be able to make contact with a spirit, it had to be here.

“This place is spooky.” Li shivered as we drove up to the ranch. They did tours every night for the ghost enthusiasts, and I had booked my spot a month ago.

“You can stay in the car,” I offered.

She shook her head back and forth. “Yeah, cause that would be less spooky.” I knew I shouldn’t have let her come with me.

Li held onto my arm as we walked into the main house. It was hard to believe it was still standing, but apparently no other family had wanted to live in it. The tour guide encouraged us to use our equipment. They understood that this was a ghost hunter's dream, and they knew where their bread was buttered.

I pulled out my readers and went to work. I kept an eye on Li just in case this all became too much for her, but I’d also be lying if I said I wasn’t happy she was here. A part of me wanted her to understand why this was so important to me. I also kind of wanted to prove to her there was nothing wrong with making contact. To let her know it was okay to want answers.

We walked through the house on our own guided tour. I kept listening for any disturbance. Any change in temperature. Any sign that we were on the right track.

Someone yelled out that they saw something, and I ran from our room into the back covered porch looking for what they saw, but there was nothing.

“I don’t like this.” Li shook her head. She was standing in the doorway, looking over the back field. “We shouldn’t be here.” She shivered and put her arms around her waist.

“Do you see something?” The way her eyes were moving, I needed to know.

“We shouldn’t be here, Lucas.” Her voice rose. “All of this is wrong.”

“Li.”

“Why can’t you let it go?” She brought her eyes to mine. “Is this really what your uncle would want?”

“I…he–”

Something crashed behind us, and everyone on the porch jumped. I looked past Li to see a broken blue vase on the floor. The small markings looked familiar, but I couldn’t place them.

“That was–” Li wasn’t looking at the vase. Her eyes were still on the field. “Li?”

She didn’t say anything. She turned as fast as she could and almost knocked over a lamp in her haste to leave. I followed behind her as she ran through the house and right out the front door.

Chapter Eleven

Li

Voices.

I didn’t know how to describe them, but they felt familiar. I know that sounds wild, but I’d never been more sure of anything as I was in that moment when what felt like a warning flooded my entire body with chills.

“Li,” Lucas called out, close behind me.

No, no, no. I needed to stay away.

Rushing to the car, I yanked on the handle, but the door was locked. A closed-mouth scream escaped, feeling helpless and desperate to find peace and safety.

“Li,” Lucas turned me to face him.

“No,” I cried and moved away.

Shock held him in place. “What happened?”

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