Bumpy Roads - A Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery (Book 11) (The Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery Series) by Terri Reid Page A

wanting to break the silence first. Finally
Maggie couldn’t stand it. “The man in the car was really bad,” she said. “There
were ghosts in his car, ghosts that were crying and wanted to get out.”
    Clarissa felt a cold shiver move up her spine. “Like he took
them?” she asked quietly.
    Maggie nodded. “Like he took them and they never went home,”
she replied.
    Swallowing softly, Clarissa turned to Maggie. “He wanted to
take us,” she said. “Didn’t he?”
    “I think so,” Maggie answered. “And I don’t think he was
happy that we escaped. I bet he’s worried that we’re going to tell someone
about him.”
    “We can’t,” Clarissa said, shaking her head excitedly. “Then
for sure Mary and Bradley won’t want me.”
    Maggie plopped back against the seat and turned to Clarissa.
“I can’t believe they wouldn’t want you,” she said. “They love you.   They saved you from the bad man.   They were looking for you.”
    “But now they want their own babies,” she argued. “Like Mrs.
Gunderson said, no one wants me. I’m just trouble. And if we tell them, I’ll be
even more trouble.”
    “We should tell Mike,” Maggie said. “If we can’t tell Mary
and Bradley, Mike would be able to help us.”
    “But, remember what he said on the playground,” she said.
“He can’t help us lie, so he’d have to tell them too. ’Sides, he told us we had
to deal with our own consequences.”
    Sighing, Maggie thought about Clarissa’s words for a few
moments. “He did say that,” she agreed. “But I don’t think he meant dangerous
things.”
    “Maybe my dad can help,” Clarissa suggested.
    “Bradley?” Maggie asked hopefully.
    “No, my ’ doptive dad,” she said.
“He protected me from the bad man when he was alive. Maybe he can help us with
this too.”
    “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Maggie said. “And maybe
your dad isn’t there anymore.   Maybe he
passed over, just like your mom.”
    A tear slipped down Clarissa’s cheek and she brushed it
away. “So, you think no one wants me?” she asked sadly. “You think everyone
left me alone?”
    Her little heart breaking, Maggie shook her head and leaned
over to her friend. “No. No, of course not,” she said. “But they knew you were
in good hands. They knew Mary and Bradley were going to take care of you and
love you. That’s why they could go.”
    Clarissa’s lower lip quivered with emotion and she took a
deep shaky breath. “But they don’t want me,” she replied. “I tried and tried to
do everything I thought they wanted, but all Bradley wants is a new baby.”
    “We could talk to my mom,” Maggie suggested. “She would know
how to fix this.”
    “No,” Clarissa replied adamantly. “She’d just tell me I was
silly.   She’d tell Mary and Bradley and
they would get angry. Please, Maggie, promise me you won’t tell her.”
    Sighing, Maggie nodded. “I won’t tell her,” she said. “But
we’ve got to tell someone.”
    “That’s why we need to talk to my dad,” Clarissa explained.
“He knows stuff.”
    “And if he tells us to talk to Mary and Bradley?” Maggie
countered.
    Clarissa hesitated for a moment and then nodded. “If he says
to talk to them, I will,” she agreed.
    Maggie sat back in her chair and folded her arms across her
chest. “Okay, we can go and try to find him,” she agreed. “But we have to do it
so we don’t get in trouble.”
    “How about next week?” Clarissa
suggested. “We have a half-day on Tuesday.   We could go then.”
    Nodding slowly as she thought about it, Maggie suddenly
smiled. “You can tell Mary and Bradley that you’re coming to my house and I can
tell my mom that I’m going to your house,” she said. “Then we can do whatever
we want to do.”
    “Great!” Clarissa said. “I’ll tell them tonight.”
    Maggie rolled her eyes. “You’re not very good at this, are
you?”
    “What?” Clarissa asked.
    “You don’t tell them until the day you