Page 100 of A Love Like Candle Light

“Everybody stop. Is it this one?” Nic throws her arm over Lauren’s chest and stops our little human chain.

The gravestone is so weathered, I can’t decipher anything on it. Moss hides the name and not even the years are visible anymore.

“Hold on.” I let go of Lauren to wipe enough mud and moss off the stone to at least read the name. “Kate Smith.”

“Oh yeah, that's so far off.” Nic is already walking away. “Let’s keep looking.”

“I can't imagine,” Lauren lets out a heavy sigh, “all these years, her ghost was separated from her husband so unnecessarily. They could have been together this entire time. The two of them deserve a break.”

“And a happy end if it’s still in the cards,” Kieran adds, “After all the struggles they went through. Hell, they immigrated across a whole fucking ocean only to not get a happy ending.” He shakes his head. “Ouch.” He stops and whirls around, rubbing the back of his head. “Was that an acorn?”

“Yes.” I fish it out of the collar of his jacket and hold it up to show him.

“I hate to say it, Kieran, but I think you angered a ghost,” Lauren says in the same sing-song voice and skips ahead. She might be right. Because there are no branches above us and the closest tree is not a pine.

“Hold on. The only person who might be offended by what Kieran said would be O’Brien.” Kieran and I stare at each other, then, as if on cue, turn around.

“What is going on?” Nic appears and follows out gazes.

“If he threw the acorn, then it must mean that…” I point at a grave, if you can even call it that. It's only a gravestone, way smaller and more unassuming than the others, but there it is, clear as day.

Nicholas O’Brien.

“Loving husband,” Kieran reads out loud. “Oh damn.” He shudders and rubs the back of his head again. “This is spooky.”

I let my eyes wander over the cemetery. All of a sudden, the hair in my neck stands up. We're not alone here anymore, but it's not a threatening presence. It feels curious. Warm.

“Do you feel it too?” Kieran whispers, not daring to move.

Lauren catches up to us and stops in her tracks. “Whoa.”

“That describes it pretty well.” Nic nods in a solemn whisper.

“I don't even know what to say,” Kieran whispers, panicked. Funny, considering he had no issues chatting up his wife.

“Then shut up.” But I get it, it feels wrong to stand here at this grave and without saying anything.

“Mr. O’Brien,” Lauren steps forward, “Nicholas. Can I call you Nicholas? You don't know us, but we live in Wayward Hollow. It's nice to meet you.”

A gust of wind blows the dries leaves into the air. One of them gets stuck in Nic’s curls. I reach out to pluck it from her hair.

“And I think you should know that the town still celebrates the autumn festival,” she continues, as if she’s catching up with an old friend. Damn. Lauren has truly never met a stranger, has she? “It's a wonderful tradition you began. And it even functioned as a matchmaking event.” She shoots me a cheeky glance over her shoulder. “But Kylie will have to tell you that story herself sometime. Anyway,” she takes a step back, “we'll see you again soon.”

Lauren turns around herself with a focused frown, trying to remember the spot, then skips away with the grace of a whirlwind.

“What she said,” I mumble awestruck. “Thank you, Mr. O’Brien.”

“Thank you.” The other two mumble their agreement, not sure what else to say and then we turn walk back to the entrance where Lauren’s car is waiting for us.

Chapter 35

Erik

“Is everything okay?” Caleb asks with a worried frown and slides my coffee over the counter.

I blink. Caleb? The guy who hates speaking in sentences longer than a word is asking a question? What’s next, flying pigs?

“Yeah, sure. Everything's great.” And it is. Better than great, actually. But I'm overwhelmed.