

The Ghostly Grounds: Disaster and Dessert (A Canine Casper Cozy Mystery—Book 6)
Sophie Love · Completed · 66.6k Words
Introduction
Chapter 1
CHAPTER ONE
Come home.
That’s what Marie had written back to her mother in response to the postcard that had arrived at June Manor several weeks ago. Marie had sent it not even knowing if her nomadic mother would get it. And even if she did, Abagail Fortune would have no way of knowing it was from her daughter and not her aunt, June.
Come home.
It seemed so poetic and dumb all at the same time. But now that Marie was standing at the front door, looking out to a mother she had not seen in over thirty years, those two words seemed to hold an impossible amount of weight.
“Mom?” Marie said.
Abagail Fortune tilted her head slightly and tears filled her eyes immediately. “Marie? My God, Marie, is that you?”
Marie did not trust herself to speak, so she only nodded as her mother stepped into June Manor and wrapped her arms around her. Marie’s first reaction was to pull away, to distance herself from the woman that had abandoned her and her father—the woman that had never bothered to locate her or to find her. It was almost like hugging a stranger for a moment. After all, the only reason she was standing here right now was because she had sent a postcard to June and apparently thought June was the one that had written back the simple two-word response.
Oh God,
Marie thought.
She doesn’t even know June is dead…
But then Marie slowly gave in to the craving she’d been feeling for some faraway ghost since the age of twelve, when her mother had stepped out of her life. She returned the hug and thought it felt strange; there was a sense of closure—of a book being closed and another one being immediately opened. Despite this sensation, there was still a degree of hurt, though. She’d waited so long…wondering if this moment would ever arrive and now that it was here she was still angry. She hadn’t quite expected that.
“Marie,” her mother gasped as she broke the hug and looked her daughter in the eyes for the first time in nearly three decades. “What are you doing here? Visiting Aunt June?”
“Sort of,” Marie said, still not quite trusting herself to speak. “What are
you
doing here?”
“Well, I sent a postcard to June and she responded back with a very plain and simple message—which is not like June. She just said to come home. I figured something was wrong and then…and then here
you
are.” She stopped here, pausing for a moment and then looked inside the house for the first time, looking behind Marie. “Is everything okay here?”
Not exactly the ideal way to speak with your mother for the first time in thirty years,
Marie thought. But she knew what she had to do. As if sensing some great sadness in the air, Boo came trotting to the door from elsewhere inside the house; her dog had become the closest thing she’d had to family over the past six or seven months, and he seemed to know it.
“Come in, Mom,” Marie said. She surprised herself when she reached out and took her mother’s hand. “There are some things I need to tell you.”
The half hour that followed was sad, joyous, and a little surreal for Marie. She found herself sitting in the very room she’d once daydreamed in while her mother and Aunt June gossiped and laughed. Only now, she was sitting in Aunt June’s chair and her mother was right across from her. And while her Great Aunt June was absent from the picture, her presence was very much felt. It did not take long for the very loaded question to come up. Hearing it from her mother’s mouth was about the same as hearing a shotgun blast in the same room.
“So where’s June?” Abagail asked.
“Mom…I don’t know how to tell you this. She…well, Aunt June passed away.”
The joy on her mother’s face slowly crumpled. The tears were coming before the joy was completely gone. Abagail placed a hand to her mouth and let out a little gasp. Marie found herself sitting rigidly in her seat, not sure how her mother would react to the news.
“How?” Abagail finally managed to get out.
Marie spoke slowly, wanting to give her mother time to understand it and process it all at the same time. She told her mother about getting the call from Sherriff Miles (still a deputy back then) and the news she had received from Aunt June’s lawyer when she arrived in town for the funeral. By then, the tears were still spilling but Abagail seemed to have control of herself.
“She left the house to me,” Marie said. “And the moment I moved in…well, my life was pretty shaken up.”
“So…this house is yours now?”
“Yeah. I’ve been running it as a bed and breakfast for the past several months.”
The look of excitement and pride on her mother’s face was something she had never expected to see. In the awed silence that followed, Posey came quietly into the room, asking no questions and making no comments; she simply served the women tea and made her way back towards the dining room, Marie could sense her lurking just at the edges, perhaps making sure any guests that happened to come down did not disturb the conversation. Marie supposed Posey had also become something very much like family. Rebeka, too.
Maybe,
she thought as Boo lay at her feet and Posey quietly spoke with a guest in the kitchen,
I have more family than I thought.
“How’s business?” Abagail asked, wiping the tears away. Marie was sure there would be more questions about June later, but for now it seemed her mother was trying to choose joy. Or maybe she was trying to avoid the fact that June had died and she had been nowhere nearby to know about it.
“It’s been very good,” she said. “That hasn’t always been the case, but…well, it’s a pretty long story.”
Abagail nodded, looking around the room and sipping from her tea before turning her eyes back to Marie. “I won’t lie,” she said, fighting off more tears. “It makes for a pretty terrible Christmas surprise to heat about June, but you…seeing
you
is just about the best gift I could ever get.”
“Don’t do that, Mom,” Marie said. The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. She looked to her mother, standing just to the right of the Christmas tree she and Robbie had put up about a week ago. Her mind wanted to go to Robbie and latch on to how she had basically dismissed him the previous night, but her entire brain was bogged down with thoughts of her mother. Her life felt as if it had been turned upside down and now she needed to find out if she wanted to flip it right-side up again.
“Don’t do what?” Abagail asked.
“Pretend you missed me…that you’re happy to see me.”
“But I am!” She nearly yelled this response and Marie was surprised and a little guilt-stricken to see genuine hurt in her mother’s face.
“You left, Mom,” Marie said. She was on her feet now, too, though she could not quite remember standing. “You left me and Dad, and when Dad died, I barely saw you out of the corner of my eye at his funeral. And I’ve heard
nothing
from you. I didn’t know if you were alive or dead…not until I came here.”
“Here?” Abagail asked.
“I found some of your postcards. Aunt June kept them and—,” she stopped here, her heart still trying to decide on anger, reconciliation, or sadness. Currently, it was grasping for all and Marie simply couldn’t handle it. “You know what? No. I can’t do this with you right now. I’m not answering
your
questions. I have far too many for you.”
“Okay, so ask them.”
“Why did you do it?” Marie asked before her mother had even finished her sentence.
“The easy answer is because I was selfish. But there is a larger answer at play, too. One that I don’t know you’ll understand.”
“A larger answer that had you travelling all over the world?” Marie contested. “Seems to me you just wanted away from the responsibilities of a family and wanted to go off and live this adventurous life. I guess a husband and daughter just held you back from all of that, huh?”
Abagail nodded, looking away from Marie. “I suppose I deserve that. But no…my main purpose was not to just live up some marvelous life that I didn’t think you and your father would allow. I had to…”
She stopped here and Marie could tell that she was struggling with something. It was more than just looking for the right words; it appeared that she was trying to make the decision to say what was on her mind. In the end, she decided to say it. When she did, she still could not look directly at Marie. Instead, she looked at the Christmas tree, as if she’d found a particular ornament that had caught her attention.
“I had to find out some things about myself,” she finally finished.
“Don’t make me puke,” Marie said. “You needed to travel the world for
thirty years
to find yourself?”
“No, not like that. Not in the cheesy poetic way. No. There’s something I needed to come to terms with and…God, I don’t know.”
Marie thought of those post cards, of her simple little response of
Come home
and, God forgive her, she wished she’d never sent the damned thing. At least a little bit; there was still that young girl inside of her that had missed her mother desperately.
“You know what, Mom,” Marie said. “It’s been thirty years without you. I think I can spend the next thirty the same way. So maybe you should—”
“Wait,” Abagail said. “Hold on. How long have you lived here?”
Marie rolled her eyes at her mother’s flippant question. “Almost seven months now.”
Abagail eyed her daughter in a cautious sort of way and then looked around the room—not only around the room, but also out into the hallway, into the dining room and the attached hall.
“So then, you know by now, I’d think, right?”
“Know what?” Marie asked, irritated.
For the first time since Marie had started speaking about Aunt June’s passing, Abagail Fortune smiled. It was a thin smile and made her look rather striking. It also made her look like the sort of woman that was very good at keeping secrets.
“You mean to tell me you’ve been here for seven months and you haven’t seen a ghost yet?”
Marie wasn’t sure what to say or what to think. Her first thought was that her mother was lying to her. Surely she’d heard some of June’s stories about the house and was trying to play on her emotions. But at the same time, she thought of the diaries she’d found in the hidden upstairs room. Her mother had been mentioned a few times and there were a hell of a lot of ghosts in those diaries.
“Marie?”
Marie blinked, startled. She wondered how long she’d been lost in her own thoughts. She found her mother still looking at her, uncertain.
“Marie…do you have it, too?”
“Have what?” she asked. Her voice was soft and quiet, and she knew the answer before her mother spoke it.
“I don’t know,” Abagail said. “I suppose some might call it a gift. I think
gift
is an odd word for it, but I don’t know what else to call it. But what I mean is…you can sense them, can’t you? The dead?”
Marie was shocked when she found herself nodding. As she nodded, her mother’s eyes started to brim with tears. “Can you…can you
see
them? Can you interact with them?”
Now Marie felt her own tears coming on and she had no idea why. All she knew for sure was that her mother was stepping towards her and tears were coming down her cheeks. She did not look sad, but almost happy. And for reasons Marie could not understand, she wanted her mother to hold her again. Just two minutes ago, she’d wanted her mother out of the house. And now…now what? The mention of ghosts had done something—the mention of a
gift.
“I would have never imagined it…” Abagail said. “To think I’ve spent all of this time looking for answers and they’ve been right here, with you, all along.”
Last Chapters
#33 Chapter 33
Last Updated: 3/3/2025#32 Chapter 32
Last Updated: 3/3/2025#31 Chapter 31
Last Updated: 3/3/2025#30 Chapter 30
Last Updated: 3/3/2025#29 Chapter 29
Last Updated: 3/3/2025#28 Chapter 28
Last Updated: 3/3/2025#27 Chapter 27
Last Updated: 3/3/2025#26 Chapter 26
Last Updated: 3/3/2025#25 Chapter 25
Last Updated: 3/3/2025#24 Chapter 24
Last Updated: 3/3/2025
You Might Like 😍
Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother
"What is wrong with me?
Why does being near him make my skin feel too tight, like I’m wearing a sweater two sizes too small?
It’s just newness, I tell myself firmly.
He’s my boyfirend’s brother.
This is Tyler’s family.
I’m not going to let one cold stare undo that.
**
As a ballet dancer, My life looks perfect—scholarship, starring role, sweet boyfriend Tyler. Until Tyler shows his true colors and his older brother, Asher, comes home.
Asher is a Navy veteran with battle scars and zero patience. He calls me "princess" like it's an insult. I can't stand him.
When My ankle injury forces her to recover at the family lake house, I‘m stuck with both brothers. What starts as mutual hatred slowly turns into something forbidden.
I'm falling for my boyfriend's brother.
**
I hate girls like her.
Entitled.
Delicate.
And still—
Still.
The image of her standing in the doorway, clutching her cardigan tighter around her narrow shoulders, trying to smile through the awkwardness, won’t leave me.
Neither does the memory of Tyler. Leaving her here without a second thought.
I shouldn’t care.
I don’t care.
It’s not my problem if Tyler’s an idiot.
It’s not my business if some spoiled little princess has to walk home in the dark.
I’m not here to rescue anyone.
Especially not her.
Especially not someone like her.
She’s not my problem.
And I’ll make damn sure she never becomes one.
But when my eyes fell on her lips, I wanted her to be mine.
Mated To The Cold Hearted Alpha
"You want me to fuck you, I know it"
"As much as you don't like me, you're my mate and you can't deny it."
He stood up behind me, one hand holding my hip, and leaned down, his breath ragged against my neck, his voice was husky,
"You'll listen to your body... what it wants... and my body... what it needs. Only the pleasure that a small bite can bring."
At the age of 15, I was shocked to hear the ruthless Alpha claim that I was his mate.
To make matters worse, he killed my father, who was trying to protect me. At that time, I successfully ran away from him.
However, when I turned 18, I fell into his trap again.
I hated him and wanted revenge, but the moon goddess had a different plan for me.
I was his mate, and we were fated to be together. No matter the circumstances, my body couldn't resist him.
You Rejected A Silver Wolf
Wandering off as a rogue, she heightened her powers and became the fearsome dread called Your Silver.
Accompanied by her silver wolf, she was ready to unleash hell on all who rejected her but then she meets her second chance mate, Alpha of Black Rose, who she couldn’t refuse.
An evil is rising that'd need the blood of the silver wolf to succeed. Would Rihanna forsake her pain and work with her mates, old and new?
Or would she charge head-on to the evil risking her own life? Enjoy this enthralling read!!
Stuck With My Three Hottie Boss
"Do you want that, buttercup? Do you want us to give your little cunt what it craves?"
"Y…yes, sir." I breathed
Joanna Clover's hard work through university paid off when she got a secretary job offer to her dream company, Dangote Group of Industries. The company is owned by three mafia heirs, they don't only own a joint business, they are also lovers and had been together since their college days.
They are sexually attracted to one another but they share everything together including women and they change them like clothes. They are known as the world's most dangerous playboys.
They want to share her but will she accept the fact that they fuck each other?
Will she be able to navigate business and pleasure?
She has never been touched by a man before let alone three, all at the same time. Will she oblige?
Divorce Me Before Death Takes Me, CEO
My hand instinctively reached for my stomach. "So... it's really gone?"
"Your cancer-weakened body can't support the pregnancy. We need to end it, soon," the doctor says.
After the surgery, HE showed up. "Audrey Sinclair! How dare you make this decision without consulting me?"
I wanted to pour out my pain, to feel his embrace. But when I saw the WOMAN beside him, I gave up.
Without hesitation, he left with that "fragile" woman. That kind of tenderness, I’ve never felt it.
However, I don't mind that anymore as I have nothing now - my child, my love, and even... my life.
Audrey Sinclair, a poor woman, fell in love with a man she shouldn't have. Blake Parker, New York's most powerful billionaire, has everything a man could dream of - money, power, influence - but one thing: he doesn't love her.
Five years of one-sided love. Three years of secret marriage. A diagnosis that leaves her with three months to live.
When the Hollywood starlet returns from Europe, Audrey Sinclair knows it's time to end her loveless marriage. But she doesn't understand - since he doesn't love her, why did he refuse when she proposed divorce? Why is he torturing her during these last three months of her life?
As time slips away like sand through an hourglass, Audrey must choose: die as Mrs. Parker, or live her final days in freedom.
The Luna's Vampire Prince
His hand is cool when it brushes a loose curl from my cheek, but I don’t jerk away from him. I have no idea what’s going on. I don’t understand why I’m here. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. It seems like a lot of powerful people want me—dead or alive. And yet, all I can think about right now is how badly I want this vampire’s hands on my body.
I live in a desolate village on the edge of the Vampire King’s lands. This used to be wolf shifter territory, but now, we are just trying to survive.
When I mess up and find myself in a culling, I know I’m dead. No wolf shifters ever survive these events.
And after the stunt I pulled in the middle of the village, Prince Rafe probably wants me dead.
Is it a good thing or a bad thing when a vampire looks at you like you’re a snack?
Something tells me, once I reach the castle, I’ll be missing my miserable existence in the village.
But then—it turns out I have no freaking idea who I even am, and when the royals start referring to me as Princess Ainslee, I realize my life is about to take a turn—for better or worse.
Unwanted Mate Of The Lycan Kings
Upon meeting the three Lycan kings, Zirah learns that the Kings are no prince charmings. That this would be no fairy tale love story, but one where her life is constantly balanced on the sharp edge of a knife's blade. A knife that is poised to take her life or leave her horribly broken. The Kings want nothing to do with her or each other and plan to get rid of her.
What they don't expect is for Zirah to fight back, only she plays with something far more dangerous than weapons. She’ll play with their hearts.
Zirah has to pick one King, but secrets will be revealed, and the battle between the Kings will be for more than just the throne. They will battle for the queen that they tried to break. But there's just one issue: Zirah wants revenge, and what better revenge than taking away their precious throne?
A FORCED CONTRACT MARRIAGE WITH THE DEVIL
MXM R18+
A FORCED CONTRACT MARRIAGE WITH THE DEVIL.
I sucked in my breath when he all of a sudden took hold of my jaw and kept my other hand above my head" "Let go of me, you devil," I beat against his chest repeatedly. I wanted to shove him off me but he didn't even budge a bit. Within minutes , l brought my knee up and kicked him in the shin. As soon as I did, he groaned out in pain and I took that as an opportunity to free myself from his grasp. I rushed quickly to the other side of the room desperate to get away from him.
He wasn't going to do as he pleases with me and yet we are fellow men
Shattered Girl
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Was that too much?” I could see the worry in his eyes as I took a deep breath.
“I just didn’t want you to see all my scars,” I whispered, feeling ashamed of my marked body.
Emmy Nichols is used to surviving. She survived her abusive father for years until he beat her so severely, she ended up in the hospital, and her father was finally arrested. Now, Emmy is thrown into a life she never expected. Now she has a mother
who doesn't want her, a politically motivated stepfather with ties to the Irish mob, four older stepbrothers, and their best friend who swear to love and protect her. Then, one night, everything shatters, and Emmy feels her only option is to run.
When her stepbrothers and their best friend finally find her, will they pick up the pieces and convince Emmy that they will keep her safe and their love will hold them together?
An Ice Queen for sale
Alice is an eighteen-year-old, beautiful figure skater. Her career is just about to climax when her cruel stepfather sells her to a wealthy family, the Sullivans, to become the wife of their youngest son. Alice assumes that there is a reason a handsome man wants to marry a strange girl, especially if the family is part of a well-known criminal organisation. Will she find the way to melt the ice cold hearts, to let her go? Or will she be able to escape before it’s too late?
Up North
My hands move from his jaw to his hair, tagging at its ends. His hands travel down my body and pull the material from my shirt up my body, he places a wet kiss right beside my belly button. I tense as I let out a gasp. He makes his way up, showering my stomach with slow kisses, studying my body as he goes until the shirt is completely off and his mouth is on my neck.
Aelin has been mistreated by her pack for as long as she can remember, but as the threats of the Vampire Kingdom becomes more and more palpable, her pack has to call the Northerners to help them train and prepare for the Vampire Kingdom. What happens when the Northern Alpha takes a liking to Aelin?
Bonded to My Ex's Alpha Brother
The problem is, he's the brother of my ex-boyfriend Bradley.
As a lowly Omega werewolf, I have no right to desire a union with a superior wolf, especially this Alpha leader. Derek Stone isn't just the leader of the Darkwood Pack; he's also a formidable business tycoon. His reputation for ruthlessness makes other packs tremble.
But the ancient werewolf law is clear: if a Pack Alpha rejects his Soul Bond, a curse will descend upon us both.
When Derek suddenly hires me as his assistant secretary, I find myself in a dangerous game. Daily close contact makes the wolf inside me excited, while his cold attitude breaks my heart. Is he deliberately torturing me, or is there something more complex hidden beneath his icy exterior?
As the attraction between us grows stronger, I must make a choice: continue to endure this painful connection, find a way to break the Soul Bond, or make the Pack Alpha fall in love with me and accept me as his Soul Bond.