Ghost: A Haunting Paranormal Romance Short Story

By Summer Cooper

Indulge in this haunting paranormal ghost short story by USA Today Bestselling steamy romance author Summer Cooper.

 

Tana craved a peaceful camping trip away from the digital world, but her plans took an unexpected turn when she got injured and lost. Desperate for help, she stumbled upon a peculiar village, hoping its inhabitants could assist her.

 

However, Kajika, the charismatic leader of the village, made things difficult for her. Despite his undeniable attraction to Tana, he understood she didn't belong in his world, the ghostly realm.

 

This is an adult only steamy ghost paranormal romance, appealing to readers who love fated mates, holiday romance, alpha males and sizzling hot romances with a twist. Perfect for fans of Mandy M. Roth, Renee Rose, Vanessa Vale, Layla Nash and Sherilee Gray.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lovy Books Ltd
• Release date: Oct 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223153016

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Tana Jackson pulled into a parking spot at the bottom of the latest mountain she was determined to hike and smiled happily. Two weeks of camping, hiking, and total peace from the world outside awaited her. World War III could start and she’d never know because she was going to be hiking up a mountain, through thick woods, and cooling her feet in cold mountain streams. Just the kind of holiday she’d been longing for.

Tana pulled her gear out of the back, checked in with the office, and pulled out her map, refreshing the trail in her mind. Finding the trailhead, she started her way up. Early morning sunlight barely penetrated the canopy of the trees and Tana knew she had hours to go before she made her first campsite. The canopy overhead provided shade and kept it cool but Tana was sweating an hour into her hike and pulled the electric blue fleece she had on over her head, and tied it around her waist.

Wiping her forehead, Tana looked around the rocky terrain, wondering how much weight she’d shift on this holiday. She wasn’t vastly overweight but she never denied herself whatever she wanted to eat so that she could look like a supermodel. Brushing at the strands of long red hair that had escaped their clip, she reminded herself that life was meant to be lived and enjoyed, denying yourself food so that you could go to parties where you hated everyone else didn’t appeal to her. In any case, she reminded herself, exercise usually shifted most of it and she was a healthy 28-year-old woman. She wandered off the trail for a moment to snap some pictures of a stream that had caught her eye, and then carried on, wanting to set up camp by lunchtime.

Halfway up the mountain, Tana stopped and made her first campsite, using an area provided by the forestry service that oversaw the parkland. The wind was up a bit so she used a barbecue pit provided by the service to cook her lunch rather than making a campfire herself. The sky was a little more open where some of the trees had been cleared out for the campsite, and Tana knew the night wouldn’t be too cold, especially with a sleeping bag to warm up in. She set up her one-person tent, slid the sleeping bag inside of it, and pulled out a book, deciding a little rest was called for after that hike up the mountain.

Tana spent the rest of the day exploring the area, taking photographs, resting her feet in the spring that ran down the mountain, and generally just enjoying where she was. She prepared another dehydrated meal that evening, changed into more comfortable sleep attire, snuggled down into her sleeping bag, and quickly fell asleep, looking up at the stars through the trees, totally at peace with the world and quietly happy.

The next morning she set off early, wanting to reach the peak of the mountain and see the views from the top before the sun went down. This part of the hike took considerably longer as the altitude increased and the terrain became rockier. She consulted the map periodically because she’d lost the trail markers somewhere along the way, but she was certain she’d stayed on the right path.

Tana was near the top when she started to smell smoke. The scent confused her at first, but then she realized there must be some campers up top. As long as they didn’t impinge on her quiet time she didn’t mind other people around. Sometimes campers liked to party until the morning hours and that usually made Tana a very unhappy camper. She giggled at her bad joke and carried on trudging up the mountain.

She started to hear voices, children’s laughter, the yips of dogs chasing each other, and what sounded like wood being chopped. Oh good grief, there was a whole village at the top by the sounds of it. Her mood souring and