Page 24 of The Haunting of the Mountain

“He was just there.” It comes out in a soft breath, and I’m talking mostly to myself, but then Stone moves into action.

“I’ll check it out. Did he hurt you?”

“No,” I say, grabbing his hand. “Nothing like that. It was… weird. That’s all. I wasn’t expecting it”

Stone strokes the top of my hand with his thumb, and I start to regain some of the warmth I’d lost. I glance up at his eyes, and then briefly at his lips, aching for the one thing that would make me sizzle.

“What did he want?”

His thumb is still working circles against the back of my hand as I try to concentrate. “Who? What?”

Stone presses the back of his hand against my forehead. “Are you feeling okay? Should we go home? I can make you some soup. Something hearty to?—”

The rest of his sentence disappears as my mind focuses on a single word.Home.It’s what being with Stone feels like.

“I’m fine. Promise. I won’t say no to your cooking though.” I glance at the cabinet next to Stone. “He brought me the book about Whispering Winds. Guess they had another copy after all.”

Stone follows my gaze and then reaches for the book without letting go of my hand.

“Well-worn,” he says, inspecting it in his hand. “Doesn’t have a call number or plastic cover.”

I grab the book, momentarily regretting it because Stone’s hand is no longer touching me.

“Did he give me a personal copy?” I breathe, running my hand over the cloth cover.

“Could be,” Stone rasps, scratching his head. “It’s strange.”

That’s a word for it. “And that’s not the only thing. My camera was full battery, but died sometime after he approached me.”

“Did you run into an apparition?”

The man has done his research…

“I doubt it. I bet we could find him if we looked around for a little bit.”

“Do you want to?”

I open my mouth but then pause. “I’d rather get out of here. I want to dive into these books before the lumber mill tonight.”

“About that,” Stone begins as he rubs the back of his neck. “Just got off the phone with a buddy of mine. He’s a ranger in the area who knows all about the historical sites.” He pauses, and I can’t help but feel the nervous tension emanating from him. “Afraid it’s been condemned. But,” he adds, “I can take you there, but we can’t go inside.”

I chew on my bottom lip. “Okay,” I say after a few moments. “I don’t mind. I’d like to see it at least once before I go.”

A flash of something flickers across Stone’s features, but he recovers quickly enough.

“Alright,” he says. “He suggested we check out the old grist mill too. It’s not far from the lumber mill. He said some people have heard voices there. Seen some apparitions too. Might be a good place to check out.”

I can’t help but smile. “That would be great.” The truth is I don’t really care where we go. I just want to spend more time with Stone.

“Thanks,” I say.

“For what?”

“Everything. You didn’t have to join me on any of this. You didn’t have to help me, especially after I tossed my Ouija board at you.”

“Still stings,” he says, smiling as he rubs his chest.

“I could fix it up for you when we get back to the cabin.”

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