1 Broken Hearted Ghoul by Joyce Lavene; Jim Lavene

skunk!”
    “We call it coffee.” I had to reach past him for a cup and spoon. He smelled like incense, and clean clothes. He looked a lot more normal in jeans. Maybe too normal, and a lot more approachable.
    He was about the same size as Jacob, a little more slender. I caught a smile on his face as he found me sizing up his butt.
    I hurriedly poured myself some coffee, and sat down at the wood table.
    This would pass, I told myself. He’d be gone in a few days, and I could go back to my work and Kate.
    “Do you have work this day, Skye?”
    “I work almost every day.”
    “Collecting people who have outlived their usefulness.” He nodded, his long, dark hair tied back from his face at the nape of his neck.
    “It’s not like that.” I sipped my coffee. “Okay. I admit that I don’t know for sure what it’s like. I’m still trying to figure that out. All I know is that when the twenty years are up, someone comes and gets you and takes you to Abe. Sometimes, I’m that person.”
    “No doubt he knows what he’s about.”
    “What about you? Any magic spells and incantations that can help you figure out who you are and why you’re here?”
    “Perhaps.”
    Lucas greeted Addie and Kate with a big grin and plates of food as they came into the kitchen. “Lady Kate, you are looking especially lovely this morning.”
    Kate giggled, and ate two pancakes. I couldn’t believe it. I managed to get one down. Addie glared at all of us from the side of the table.
    “You could manage a few bites yourself, Lady Addie.” Lucas sat down with a heaped up plate for himself. “It is not unheard of for spirits to eat with others, just to keep up decorum.”
    “I don’t need to keep up anything,” she complained. “And I’m not a lady.”
    He shrugged. “We all do what we must.”
    When everyone was done eating, Lucas immediately offered to clean the dishes. I was happy to let him do it.
    “What am I supposed to do all day with him here?” she demanded when Kate and I were in the mudroom, ready to go.
    “What you always do, I guess. Just ignore him. He’ll probably stay in his room all day casting spells or something anyway.”
    “Seriously?” Her eyes rolled back in her head. “You don’t believe that stuff do you?”
    I glanced at Lucas as he washed the dishes, playing with the water from the faucet. “I don’t know. You watch him today, and tell me what you think.”
    She humphed .
    “Bye, Grandma!” Kate did her usual almost kissing Addie and then skipping out the back door.
    “Goodbye, chicken feet!” Addie called back. “Start walking on your whole foot! I don’t know where you got the idea of walking on your toes all the time!”
    I wanted to say something else to Lucas before we left—maybe remind him about not being able to stay there more than a few days.
    I glanced at him as he walked around the kitchen, examining everything with careful hands. What more was there to say? I’d told him he could stay. He knew my terms. I figured he hadn’t forgotten.
    After considering it, I left without reminding him of his promise. The van was cold. Kate had to pat the gas pedal to keep the engine running while I scraped the windows she couldn’t reach. I got in, and we left for school.
    “Mommy, do you think Lucas is really a sorcerer?”
    “No. Of course not!” Traffic at the school was terrible. I waited impatiently while parents hailed each other out of their car windows.
    “Are there real sorcerers?”
    “No.” I turned into the school traffic lane. “Did he tell you he was a sorcerer?”
    “No. But he said he could do magic.” She shrugged. “He sounds like a sorcerer out of my game, Kingdom of the Elves.”
    “I don’t think so. Have you seen him do magic?” I glanced at her thoughtful face.
    “No. Have you?”
    “No.”
    “But Grandma is a ghost. It’s possible, right?”
    “You’re too smart to only be seven!”
    “Almost eight.”
    I kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you later.