Free Cemetery Tours by Jacqueline Smith Page B

so after her death it was because she couldn’t stand the thought of someone else living there.  
    Wednesday morning, he woke up early, packed a small suitcase that would last him two nights, and then, after locking his apartment, made his way down the stairs.  He tried not to look at Kate’s door as he passed, but he still saw it out of the corner of his eye.  He hadn’t seen nor heard from her since he’d tried to ask her to dinner the week before.  Brink had offered to spy on her again, but Michael had told him not to.  Of course, that didn’t necessarily mean that it hadn’t happened.  
    As he loaded his bag into the back seat of his car, he heard a door slam from up above.   He glanced around and was stunned to see Kate, capering down the stairs, wearing a yellow swimsuit coverup and carrying a towel, a bottle of water, and a book.  She had her hair tied up in a ponytail that bounced against the back of her neck as she descended.
    Before Michael had the chance to duck inside his car, she looked up and stopped dead in her tracks.  
    “Hey,” Michael offered tentatively.  
    “Hey,” she echoed and tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear.   “How are you?”
    “Not bad.”
    “Are things at the library still hectic?” she grinned.  Michael smiled too.  He was glad to have her teasing him again.  
    “Yeah, sort of,” he replied.   “How about you?  How’s your job?”
    “As of right now, I don’t really have one.   The lady who had hired us for the next week decided on Monday that we were incompetent and we didn’t have enough respect for her vision, so she let us go.”
    “She sounds like fun.”
    “Oh, you have no idea,” Kate told him.  “I guess it all worked out for the best.  If she’d kept us, I would have had to work today and Friday .  Now, I get the whole week off.”  
    “Do you have any plans for the Fourth?”
    “Just watching fireworks.  We’ll probably have hamburgers or something beforehand.”
    “Sounds good.”
    “How about you?”
    “My family has a lake house up on Lake Texoma, so I’m going to spend today and tomorrow there.  But I’ll be home on Friday morning.”  As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realized it sounded like he was assuring her that he’d be home soon, as though she were concerned that he wouldn’t be.  Why did he always have to sound like such an idiot?  Fortunately, she didn’t seem to notice, or if she had, she politely overlooked it.  
    “I’m so jealous.   I love lakes.”
    “I’m not a fan,” Michael admitted without thinking.   For reasons he didn’t want to think about, lakes were usually crawling with restless spirits.  The only ghost he didn’t mind was his grandmother, who preferred to spend all of her time sitting on her old porch swing and watching the sun rise and set and rise again over the water.  
    “Really?   But there’s so much to do.  Swimming and kayaking and fishing...”  
    Michael shrugged.   “Lakes are dirty.”    
    “Whatever,” Kate said flippantly.   “Hey listen, I’m sorry I was kind of distant last week.  I’ve had a lot on my mind.”
    “Oh no, I completely understand.   I’ve... had stuff on my mind too,” he added lamely.  “Everything’s okay, isn’t it?  I mean, is Gavin alright?”
    “I don’t know,” Kate sighed.   “He says he’s feeling better, and he does have days where he seems it, but he’s basically been on a downward spiral since his birthday party.  I’m not even sure he should go to see the fireworks, but I know how much he wants to.  And he’s been cooped up for so long.  He really needs to get out.” 
    Michael had never considered himself particularly astute, but he couldn’t help but feel there was something she wasn’t telling him.
    “Are you okay?  I mean, it sounds like you’ve been under a lot of stress.”  
    Kate shrugged.   “I’m worried about Gavin, but that’s nothing new.  I haven’t