Free Rogue's Hollow by Jan Tilley Page B

actually pull this off?”
    Crunching leaves underfoot, Malachi stood up and breathed in the smell of pine trees. He circled his machine and nodded. “Yes, son, I do believe we can.” He stared at the creek rushing past them and rubbed his chin as he thought. “Let’s head back to the mill and put our thinking caps on.”
    Even though Travis’s face hurt like hell, he couldn’t seem to wipe the grin off it. Just the thought of getting a little revenge on Junior Barnett made his day. The two picked up a few branches along the way to use for amulets, and headed back to Rosie.
    Malachi took a detour and drove to Maggie’s old place. As he parked the truck behind the charred frame of a house, Travis questioned, “Why are we stopping here? Do you have a cryptic set up here too?”
    Grinning, Malachi shook his head. “Don’t need one here.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “Pay attention to the upstairs window. She’s shy. Sometimes it takes her a while.”
    “Takes who a while?” Travis questioned.
    Malachi winked and said, “Maggie.”
    “You’re kidding me, right?”
    “Patience, son. Just have patience.”
    Travis sat with his eyes glued to the upstairs window. His leg began to nervously twitch. The anticipation was killing him. Finally, he looked over at Malachi and said, “You’re pulling my leg, very funny.”
    Malachi pointed towards the house. “There she is.”
    Travis jerked quickly to look for her. “Where? I don’t see her.”
    “She’s hiding behind the curtain. Sit very still and she’ll come out and give us a wave.”
    Travis’s leg stopped twitching and his breathing was shallow as he anxiously waited. After a few moments, Maggie’s little face appeared. Travis’s mouth dropped as he stared out the windshield, afraid to move. “Holy shit! Is that really her, or are you screwing with me?”
    Malachi smiled at her and waved. “That’s really her. She’s here all the time. She’s just shy and most folks aren’t patient enough to wait for her.” He sighed, “She was twelve years old when she died, and she’s never left.”
    As she waved back at them, Travis knew that it wasn’t a hoax. He’d never seen a ghost before and sat dumbfounded, unable to move. He just kept repeating, “Holy shit, Holy shit,” over and over.
    Malachi nodded, glad that he’d taken time to visit with Maggie, and happy that he’d shown Travis it’s not all tricks and cryptics in Rogue’s Hollow. Firing Rosie up, he headed for home, as Travis sat next to him with his mouth hanging open, in shock.
    He pulled around back of the store and parked. As he exited the truck, Travis sat glued to the seat, unable to move. Malachi laughed, snapping him out of his trance-like state, and said, “Come on, son. We’ve got work to do!”
    Travis opened the door and helped grab the branches from the back of the truck. Finally, he brushed the hair from his face, looked at Malachi, and asked, “Did that seriously just happen?”
    Laughing, he nodded, grateful that Travis realized the magic this old hollow possessed. “Maggie means no harm. She’s just a little girl, misplaced.”
    They laid the wood in a pile by the bench and made their way indoors. With concern, Malachi scrutinized Travis’s face. “How you feeling, son?”
    He shrugged, trying to be tough. “Sore, but I’m okay.”
    Malachi grabbed the bottle from the cupboard and placed two more ibuprofen in Travis’s hand along with a cold can of Coke. The young man quickly downed the pills.
    With a heaping plate of chocolate chip cookies, Malachi sat down at the table. “Help yourself, Travis.”
    Grabbing a cookie, he said, “I’m gonna eat you out of house and home. That’s what my mom always says.”
    Trying to ease his concern, Malachi picked up a cookie, and said, “It’s all good. The more you eat the less I have to.” He winked as he took a big bite and then washed the cookie down with a gulp of milk
    Slowly, he wiped his mouth with