Read Wait Till Helen Comes for Free Online Page A

Helen," she added softly.
    "Mom should get you a collar with bells on it," Michael said, "like cats wear to warn birds. Then maybe you couldn't sneak up and spy on people."
    "Molly spies on me," Heather hissed. "She spied on me and Helen today!"
    "See?" I turned to Michael.
    Before he could say anything, Heather looked at us, a frown creasing her face. "Molly's right. You better not laugh, Michael. Helen doesn't like either one of you, and when she comes, you'll be sorry for everything you ever did to me."
    Without waiting for an answer, Heather turned away and disappeared into the shadows in the hall.
    "There," I whispered, clutching Michael's arm. "Do you see what I mean?"
    Michael pulled away from me. "Don't let that little brat scare you with make-believe, Molly. You're acting like a real dope."
    "I am not!" Tears stung my eyes, and I ran into the house, almost colliding with Mom as she came out of the kitchen.
    "I was just looking for you and Michael," she said cheerfully. "Would you like some ice cream? Heather and Dave and I were just about to sit down and try the ice-cream maker we got last week. How about it?"
    Behind her, in the lighted kitchen, I could see Dave setting up the machine while Heather watched. He turned to her and said something, and she laughed and gave him a strawberry to sample.
    "Now, Dave," Mom said, "I saw that! Don't eat them all, or we won't have enough for the ice cream."
    "Daddy can have all he wants!" Heather stuck out her lip and scowled at Mom.
    As Dave turned to Heather, I edged past Mom. "No, thanks," I said. "I'm not in the mood for ice cream."
    "But, honey..." Mom started, reaching out to stop me.
    I kept on going. "She ruins everything," I said to Mom before going in my room and shutting the door. I hoped Heather would stay in the kitchen until I was asleep.

6
    THAT NIGHT, Heather had her first bad dream. She woke me up screaming, "Help, help, it's on fire! Put it out, Mommy, put it out!"
    I jumped out of bed, switched on the light, and ran to her. She was sitting up in bed, her eyes squeezed shut, clutching her blanket. Tears ran down her cheeks, and she was trembling.
    "Save me, save me!" she cried.
    "Heather!" I grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "You're having a bad dream. Wake up!"
    Michael stumbled into the room. "What's going on? What's wrong with her?"
    Twisting and turning, Heather squirmed away from me and started running down the hall, still screaming about the fire. Dave caught her and picked her up. "It's all right, honey, it's all right," he murmured, rocking her as if she were a baby.
    Suddenly she collapsed against him, perfectly relaxed. Her mouth found her thumb; her long eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks; her legs dangled like a rag doll's. Gently Dave carried her back into our room and lowered her into bed.
    "There now," he whispered. Smoothing her hair back from her forehead, he kissed her.
    Heather's eyes opened for a second, and she smiled at her father before sinking back into sleep.
    Turning to me, Dave whispered, "What happened?"
    "She was screaming about the fire. I tried to wake her up, but I couldn't. Then she jumped out of bed and ran out into the hall." I took Mom's hand and slid closer to her. Was he going to blame me somehow?
    Dave shook his head and ran his hands through his hair, making it stand up in spikes. "She hasn't had those nightmares for so long; I thought she'd gotten over them." Looking at me again, he asked, "Did anything upset her today?"
    "Well, she was in the graveyard," I said uneasily. "She was talking to someone. She thinks there's a girl there, Helen." It sounded so ridiculous when I talked about it that I was embarrassed. I already knew what Michael and Mom thought about ghosts; I was sure Dave would have the same reaction.
    Just as I thought, Dave smiled. "Heather's very imaginative." He said it as if I'd criticized her. "And very sensitive. You and Michael haven't been asking her questions about the fire, have you?"
    "Of