Free Giving Up the Ghost by Phoebe Rivers

out. Grim-faced. He was breading chicken breasts and boiling water for potatoes. I helped by making a salad with my own homemade vinaigrette that Mrs. Randazzo had taught me how to make. My dad usually loved that dressing, and I secretly hoped it would cheer him up. But he remained pretty quiet as he prepared dinner.
    As soon as I had the chance, I escaped from dinner prepping and went to find Lady Azura. She was in her room, sitting in her old padded rocking chair, watching the news and shaking her head in dismay at what was going on in the world.
    I told her about the success I’d had with my friends. She seemed pleased.
    â€œI’m worried, though,” I said. “My dad still seems really stressed. About money. About the house. Not that I read his thoughts or anything,” I added quickly.
    â€œYou’ve done well today, Sara. Now you must continue to think positive thoughts,” said Lady Azura. “I believe your father is just worried about you and your safety. I don’t think he will take any drastic steps anytime soon. Continue as you did today. Block out thoughts and embrace the good. Together we will eventually rid the house of this negative energy.”
    â€œBut isn’t there more that we can do?” I asked. “It all feels so . . . defensive, rather than offensive. We keep trying to block, to fend off, to think away the bad stuff. I feel like we ought to be able to take charge, chase it away. Can’t we, like, summon Nina and get her to take back the energy she left here?”
    But Lady Azura shook her head, clearly unwilling to consider what I was suggesting. “Sara, that is unnecessary. We needn’t meddle with this negative energy more than we absolutely have to. It will be enough to believe in your power to think positively. It might not be the fastest solution, but it will work eventually. We will reclaim our house!”
    â€œBut I’m scared to go to sleep. What if I have more bad dreams? What if I wake up in that awful dark cloud again?”
    Lady Azura smiled. “You must do what you do naturally. Tap into your capacity to love. Count your blessings. Before you fall asleep, think about the people in life that you love the most dearly. That is the best way to drive away the negative energy. I do that every night, whether my house is under attack by dark energy or not.”
    I nodded. Thanked her and left. But I wasn’t convinced.
    â€œI may need some help fixing the garage,” my dad said to us over dinner. “Some of the wall that came down revealed some real structural damage. We’ll need to fix it if we want to improve the resale value of this place. And the truck is going to need quite a bit of bodywork. Vern sent me to a good guy over in Ocean Heights who is going to work on it for me, but it’s going to be expensive.”
    Lady Azura and I both nodded. Then we all kept eating. The only sound was the scrape of forks on plates for a while. I resisted the strong urge to read my dad’s mind. I felt that if I did, I would be scared by what I heard. I just knew he was thinking about how dangerous he thought this house was. He was worried about me. And even about Lady Azura. I hadn’t liked the sound of the phrase “resale value.” Was he really thinking about convincing Lady Azura to sell the house? I pushed the unsettling thought away.
    I knew it was up to me to change the energy in the house. To change my father’s mind. I needed to do something beyond what Lady Azura advised. Something more powerful than just thinking happy thoughts. I needed to root out the problem, like a weed. To stop the negative energy from doing more damage.
    An idea began to form in my mind.
    Later that night I was in bed, finishing my English reading, when my dad poked his head into my room.
    â€œGot a sec, kiddo?”
    â€œI suppose I can tear myself away from The Odyssey for a second,” I said with a grin,