Ghostly Graveyard (Zoe Donovan Cozy Mystery Book 17) (17 page)
Read Ghostly Graveyard (Zoe Donovan Cozy Mystery Book 17) Online
Authors: Kathi Daley
To return to the main story if you are reading the story chronologically, access the link below. If you are reading as a short story continue on to Chapter 6 of
Zimmerman Academy
.
Friday, October 30
I will always remember the first real date Will and I shared. My heart pounded right through my chest as he drove me home from our evening together. It had been a magical night I knew I would never forget. The food had been delicious, the music romantic, and the setting enchanting. Will had been funny and entertaining as he told me stories about his life up to that point, and I could feel myself falling in love just a little bit more with each memory he shared. I remember the way my heart stopped beating when we pulled up in front of the house. I’d worried and fantasized since he’d asked me out whether this meal together would end with a kiss.
“I had a lovely time,” I stammered.
I could see a movement behind the curtains, so I knew the girls were watching. They’d been so sweet as they’d helped me to prepare for my date earlier in the day. I think in some ways they’d been as nervous as I was.
“I enjoyed myself too,” Will replied.
He put the car into park, turned off the ignition, and turned to look at me. He seemed as nervous as I, which was ridiculous considering the man had been married for thirty years and so had logically shared many kisses.
“It seems we have an audience.” Will laughed as he nodded toward the house.
I turned and looked at the three faces staring down on us from an upstairs window.
“Yes.” I blushed. “The girls were excited that we were going out. I’m sure they waited to hear all about it.”
Will took my hand in his and leaned in just a bit. “I’m happy the girls look out for you the way they do. It’s a testament to the fine woman you are. But I’d sort of like our first time to be without an audience.”
“First time?” I whispered. I felt my body begin to shake, although it wasn’t cold in the car in the least.
Will closed the distance between us and gently touched his lips with mine. I closed my eyes as my entire body exploded in a longing I had never before experienced.
Will leaned back just a bit and smiled. He looked at me and his grin grew bigger. “Breathe,” he suggested.
I let out the breath I’d been holding. I wanted to be embarrassed that I’d acted like such a fool, totally forgetting to breathe after such an innocent kiss, but Will leaned in and kissed me again, longer and harder, before I could think about it too much.
“Would you like to go out again?” Will asked. “Perhaps a picnic on Sunday?”
“I would,” I whispered.
“Good.” Will smiled in such a way as to light up his face. “Around noon?”
“Noon would be perfect.”
Will looked toward the house again. The girls were still watching from the window. “I guess you should go in. I’m afraid they’ll come out after you if you don’t.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “They do tend to be a bit protective.”
Suddenly, it hit me that Brooklyn, Eve, and Pepper were the only people in the world to have worried about me since my parents when I was a child. The thought of having people who cared about my daily movements after all these years made my heart feel full and grateful.
Will came around and opened the door for me. He took my hand in his as we walked up the walkway to the front door. I loved the way his large hand felt as it covered my much smaller one. The man was tall and fit and I felt like a schoolgirl as I imagined his wonderfully perfect hands on my body. He paused as we reached the front porch. He turned and pulled me into his embrace.
“This one is for them.” He laughed as his mouth met mine briefly one final time before he opened the door and ushered me inside.
“Stop that,” I scolded Charlotte as she swatted at my feet while I prepared for bed later that evening.
“Meow.”
I stopped what I was doing and looked down. “I suppose I haven’t maintained my side of the conversation this evening. It’s just that the night was so incredibly perfect that I am afraid if I speak it will break the spell.”
Charlotte tilted her head as she listened to what I was saying.
“I know it’s silly, but I almost feel as if the night was a dream and the only way to maintain the dream is to be perfectly still, perfectly silent.”
I straightened the room after I had moisturized and prepared for bed. I took in a deep breath of the crisp autumn air as I opened the window just an inch. As I began to sort the decorative pillows I kept on my bed, Charlotte jumped up onto the thick winter comforter and knocked the book we have been reading to the floor.
“Yes, I will read to you tonight. I always do. I believe we can finish the book. And just in time for Halloween.”
After placing my reading glasses on the tip of my nose, I adjusted the light and opened the book we were reading. Charlotte crawled into my lap and began to purr as I began to read Bram Stoker’s
Dracula
aloud. Tonight we would continue with chapter 25.
I think that none of us were surprised when we were asked to see Mrs. Harker a little before the time of sunset. We have of late come to understand that sunrise and sunset are to her times of peculiar freedom. When her old self can be manifest without any controlling force subduing or restraining her, or inciting her to action. This mood or condition begins some half hour or more before actual sunrise or sunset, and lasts till either the sun is high, or whilst the clouds are still aglow with the rays streaming above the horizon. At first there is a sort of negative condition, as if some tie were loosened, and then the absolute freedom quickly follows. When, however, the freedom ceases the change back or relapse comes quickly, preceded only by a spell of warning silence.
I realized Charlotte and I had already read this passage, so I skimmed down the page to the point where we’d left off. Charlotte didn’t care if we reread the same passages, but I found that this evening I was anxious to finish so that I could be alone with my thoughts.
“That I may die now, either by my own hand or that of another, before the greater evil is entirely wrought. I know, and you know, that were I once dead you could and would set free my immortal spirit, even as you did my poor Lucy’s. Were death, or the fear of death, the only thing that stood in the way I would not shrink to die here now, amidst the friends who love me. But death is not all. I cannot believe that to die in such a case, when there is hope before us and a bitter task to be done, is God’s will. Therefore, I on my part, give up here the certainty of eternal rest, and go out into the dark where may be the blackest things that the world or the nether world holds!”
We were all silent, for we knew instinctively that this was only a prelude. The faces of the others were set, and Harker’s grew ashen grey. Perhaps, he guessed better than any of us what was coming.
I paused and looked at Charlotte. I had to wonder if my date was but a prelude to things to come. And although the book predicted darkness, I hoped my own story would be magical and endearing.
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Ghostly Graveyard
Recipes by Kathi
Easy Beefy Chili
White Bean Chili
Easy Vegetarian Black Bean Chili
Aunt Lena’s Candied Corn – submitted by Connie Correll
Pumpkin Dip – submitted by Marie Rice
Popcorn Cake – submitted by Brandy Barber
Graveyard Dirt – submitted by Nancy Farris
Great Halloween Fun Fondue Dinner – submitted by Shirley Ericson
Bacon Macaroni and Cheese Supreme – submitted by Joanne Kocourek
This recipe is really just a doctoring of a canned offering, but the end result is delish! I make it almost every Halloween so we can warm our insides before we travel outdoors for trick-or-treating.
Brown 1 pound of ground beef; I use extra lean.
Season with Lawry’s salt, garlic powder, pepper, chili powder, and cayenne pepper—I haven’t put quantities because this is really personal preference; I like my chili spicy, so I add a lot of cayenne pepper and chili powder.
Add 1 or 2 large cans of chili with beans; I prefer Nalley, but any brand is fine. If the mixture seems too thick—and it might—thin it with a little water or broth.
Let the chili simmer for a bit so the flavors from the canned chili can meld with the flavors of the seasoned beef.
Meanwhile:
Fry a pound of bacon until crispy and crumble into bacon bits.
Grate a desired amount of cheddar cheese; I use extra sharp.
Dice an onion.
Spoon sour cream into a serving bowl.
When you’re ready to serve let each person garnish their chili as desired.
Serve with warm tortilla chips.
4 chicken breasts, cubed
Sauté in olive oil until chicken is cooked through.
Add:
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
Sauté until veggies are tender.
Add to chicken mixture:
2 cans Great Northern White Beans
1 can chicken broth
2 cans diced Ortega Green Chiles
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. cayenne pepper (or more if you like it hot)
Cook over medium heat until warm.
Stir in:
1 cup sour cream
½ cup heavy whipping cream
Heat for a few more minutes.
Serve with tortillas.
Sauté in small amount of olive oil:
1 bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Add:
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. chili powder
Add:
1 tub salsa (I use hot, but you can use mild)
1 15-oz. can black beans, drained
Cook on medium heat until warm.
Serve with rice and tortillas.
Submitted by Connie Correll
This is a traditional favorite for the holidays from my Aunt Lena.
5 qt. popped corn
¾ cup white Karo Syrup
¼ lb. margarine
2 tbs. water
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 cup miniature marshmallows
Stir all of the above in a 5-qt. pan
except
corn and heat at a low temperature until it
just
comes to a boil. Stir constantly so as not to burn the mixture. Pour over the popped corn and toss to coat.