Page 33 of The Ghost and the Graveyard (Knight Games 1)
"You would be surprised."
"What about the people who come to visit loved ones? How do they get in?"
"There are none. The youngest grave is over one hundred years old. No surviving relatives."
"So you maintain this place for no one?"
"It has historical significance, but to be honest, you're correct. It's been years since anyone else was here."
Weird. As we crossed the threshold of the gate, I felt both privileged and a little freaked out by the remoteness of it.
"Did you know there's a gate behind my house?" I asked.
"Yes. The only other one besides this one."
"Why?"
Releasing my hand, he retrieved a heavy key from his pocket and locked the gate behind us. "I wouldn't want you to get away, mi cielo," he said playfully, ignoring my question.
Mi cielo. There it was again. My sky. A warm feeling blossomed behind my breastbone at the pet name. Swoon-worthy. The smell of the outdoors rolled off him again, this time with a hint of fresh rain. My mind went blank.
"Are you wearing cologne?" I asked.
He lifted the corner of his mouth. "You like how I smell? This is a good start."
Captivated by his smile and the way his lips moved when he spoke, my head swam, maybe because all of my blood had rushed south. I stepped off the trail and almost walked into a headstone. When I realized what I'd done, I pulled up short of the faded stone marker.
"Watch your step," he said, steadying me with a hand that seemed to fill the space between my elbow and shoulder. "You're treading on Martha Whitacker."
"Oh!" I scurried back onto the path.
He laughed. "Just teasing. She's a long way from caring. This is one of the oldest graves in the cemetery. She was an early financier of Reverend Monk's."
"Reverend Monk?"
"The man Monk's Hill Cemetery is named for." He pointed up a steep hill toward a quaint chapel. "I want to take you there, to Monk's church. I'll show you where he and his wife are buried."
"All the way up there?" I rubbed my toe in the loose gravel. "I see why you warned me to wear my walking shoes."
He laughed. "I wouldn't take you for a diva. Would you rather I carried you?"
I gave him an exaggerated gasp of outrage. "Not on your life." I jogged ahead a few steps, the loose stones kicking up behind me.
Catching up, he rejoined our fingers. With my hand in his, our shoulders bumped as we walked. Whether from the sunlight, the climb, or the heat coming off him, I broke a faint sweat.
Rick knew all about the people buried around Monk's Hill. Most of them were associated in one-way or another with Reverend Monk's ministry. I tried to pay attention, but it was difficult. Who could hear anything over my pounding heart? I engaged my active listening skills. I nodded at regular intervals as I watched his jaw work. Strong, sharp jaw. The mound of his shoulder muscle rolled and brushed mine when he pointed something out. Large, hard shoulder. His thumb caressed mine within the snuggle of our coupled hands. Could I wrap my fingers around his bicep? Was his stomach as hard as the muscles in his forearm?
"-and this is Monk's Hill Church," he said.
What? We'd made it to the top already? I crumpled my brow and released his hand, turning back toward the long, steep pebble trail we'd traversed. I wasn't even winded. Had I floated up here on pheromones? I smiled, back straight, fists finding my hips. I guess I was in better shape than I thought.
"What do you think of the view?" he asked from behind me.
I pivoted, taking in the panorama view from the highest point in the cemetery. "Oh! The fence is a star." Impossible to see from ground level, the wrought iron boundary of the cemetery was a five-pointed star surrounded by a circle of trees-a pentagram. The headstones filled each of the wide pointed sections. Monk's Hill, where I stood, was at the center of the star. Double gates blunted two of the points, the one we'd entered to the south and the one that ended at my house, to the west. The part of the cemetery I'd passed driving into town was the southeastern point.
"Unbelievable," I said. "And odd. Why did they go through the trouble of making it a star? Seems over-achieving for a graveyard that's hundreds of years old."
"Would you like to see inside?" Rick asked in response.
