Read Online Love's Eternal Embrace by Karen Michelle Nutt - Free Book Online Page B

step, glancing toward the reception area. She noticed the
sign stating the receptionist would be back in an hour. Great. They were alone in a virtually empty hotel.
    “I’m Mr. Donner,” he introduced himself. “We
spoke on the phone a few months ago about the cemetery,” he
added.
    Immediately relief flooded her senses. “Yes,
of course. It’s nice to finally meet you.” Funny, she pictured a
much younger man at the time. His voice had the same resonance to
it, but there was a slight shake in the volume of his words. As if
speech was difficult for any length of time.
    “I’m glad you were able to make the
arrangements to visit.”
    She was too. This was her first assignment.
She just started working at Unbelievable Finds. The home office was
situated in Seattle. She knew the owners, Aubrey Jules and Loretta
Sinclair, from college. Since the magazine was doing so well, they
asked her to join the team.
    On one of Aubrey Jules’ assignments about a fairy magic box and soul mates , she ran into an old
boyfriend. They rekindled their romance and now it looked like
Aubrey was going to relocate to California to be with him. Aubrey
would cover the west coast and she was hired to cover the east. The
Internet made it easy to pass the information along to Loretta who
was a genius when it came to editing. She also designed the cover
art for the magazine, which turned out to be a selling point in
their favor. She went with the eerie, which screamed: pick me up
and find out what’s inside .
    “I was heading out to the cemetery right
now,” she told Mr. Donner.
    His frown proved troublesome. “The sun will
set in a few hours and tonight’s Halloween, the anniversary of the
duel.”
    Yeah, she hadn’t forgotten what day it was,
but for some reason she had a hunch she was missing something
important. It was a good thing Mr. Donner decided to fill her in on
the pagan beliefs of Samhain.
    “The veil between the otherworld is thin on
Halloween and you don’t know what will cross over. The Tempest Gate
Cemetery is no longer on consecrated ground. If you’re not
prepared, it’s not safe to be on the grounds after dark.”
    She had to keep reminding herself there were
people who truly believed in ghost stories and haunted places. They
expected her to share their beliefs since she worked for a
paranormal magazine. When she took this gig, she hadn’t thought
acting was a requirement. She had to keep a straight face and not
crack a smile while she pretended the boogieman was real and
monsters lived in closets. “I’ll be fine, but I appreciate your
concern.”
    He shook his head. “I thought I’d have more
time,” he mumbled under his breath before his tired gaze met hers.
“You look like the Peabodys.”
    “So I’ve been told.”
    “Are you a witch, too?”
    She cleared her throat, thinking the
conversation had taken a wrong turn somehow. “No. Remember, I told
you that I worked for the paranormal magazine.”
    “I recall, but you’re a blood relative of the
Peabodys’. You have the power to lift the curse.”
    She opened her mouth then shut it again and
tried not to smile. “Listen, my interests here are purely curiosity
about my family’s history and the chance to write an intriguing
story for the magazine. I haven’t a clue how to break a curse.” She
lifted her hands palms up in a shrug. “Really. I promise you I’m
not a witch.”
    Mr. Donner seemed hard press to let this go.
“You’re of her blood—the witch’s. The glamour is there. You must
know how to break the curse.”
    “Okay,” she said slowly, trying to think of a
nice way to end this conversation. Funny, over the phone, she
hadn’t pictured Mr. Donner as a man who was a little touched in the
head. Curses and witches—his serious expression proved he truly
believed in them. She took a deep breath. “I’ll keep what you said
in mind, but I should really head out now. You know, before the sun
sets.”
    He moved aside and she walked past