Sacred Ground

by Adrienne Ellis Reeves

  In the living room he opened the doors of the massive bookcase. The shelves were deep enough to hold a double row of books. He removed all the volumes on the bottom row and stacked them carefully on the floor so he could replace them in order.

  He hadn’t stopped to get a flashlight. He laid on the floor and with closed eyes, began to run his fingers delicately over the wood. His heart racing, he probed every inch of it.

  Nothing.

  He sat up and breathed deeply. Rising to his feet, he stripped off the jacket and went to the kitchen for the flashlight that stayed in the bottom drawer under the counter.

  Back in the living room he stretched out again on the floor. This time the mahogany wood was illumined by the focused light. Gabe moved its arch with agonizing slowness. Still it showed nothing.

  He gritted his teeth. “I know you’re here,” he growled, “and if I have to, I’ll take this whole thing apart.”

  Once more he went through the process, paying particular attention to the corners. He was moving the light from the bottom left-hand corner when he saw a reflection hit the light from above.

  “There you are!” His voice was triumphant as he extracted a small key from the niche made for it in the corner. No wonder it had been so hard to find.

  It looked like a key to a jewel box or a child’s treasure chest. Drew was going to exclaim about jewels again when he saw it, Gabe thought with a smile. He turned it over and over in his hand, noting that it was sturdier than most small keys. He dropped it in his pocket and went to work replacing the books.

  A key meant there was some item waiting to be unlocked. At first glance one would think the key was to the usual small chest, but Gabe wasn’t convinced. Great-Grandfather had been a wily thinker, constructing a puzzle for Gabe to solve to prove he was worthy of his destiny. At least that was Gabe’s conclusion.

  The item for which the key had been made could be a drawer, a box or a hollowed-out book. Having read his share of mysteries, he knew the most unlikely detail could be fashioned as a locked hiding place. He groaned at the thought of searching every place in the large house for the lock to which this key belonged.

  He ran his hands across the front row of books to be sure they were aligned. Returning to his office he looked up Moultrie’s number. Probably he should wait to call him at his workplace tomorrow but he couldn’t wait. He dialed the attorney’s cell phone.

  “Sorry to bother you on a Sunday,” he said when Mr. Moultrie picked up.

  “I’m always anxious to hear from you, Gabe. Did you find something?”

  “A small key that was hidden in the big bookcase in the living room.”

  “Very good.” The approval in his voice gave Gabe’s mind ease.

  “You and Drew are beginning your fourth week in Grayson. By the way, how is Drew getting along?”

  “Better than I expected. He decided to transfer to the local high school and is doing well.”

  “Is that a fact? As I was saying, this is the beginning of your fourth week and you’ve already found the scroll and a key.”

  “Already? I feel like I’m going very slowly,” Gabe protested.

  “You still have two months and I predict that your pace will pick up.” Mr. Moultrie sounded confident.

  “I know what will help me, Mr. Moultrie, and I sincerely hope you can give me an answer to this question.” The attorney hadn’t revealed information to previous questions but maybe this time Gabe would be lucky.

  “What’s the question, Gabe?”

  “The key I have, does it belong to something in this house?”

  “No, it doesn’t.” Gabe expelled his breath in relief.

  Moultrie went on. “You needn’t worry about that part. Just put the key with the scroll because it’s essential to the resolution of Mr. Bell’s will. Do you have a safe-deposit box in Grayson?”

  “No, I haven’t.”

  “I suggest you get one. Put the key and the scroll in it. Incidentally, yours is key number one.”

  Gabe felt a jolt. “You mean there’s another one for me to find?”

  “No, you’ve found yours. The other one will appear in due time. Goodbye, Gabe, and say hello to Drew.”

  Gabe was certain he heard a faint chuckle as the attorney delivered the bombshell about the second key before he hung up.

  As soon as Drew came home from Jeff’s, Gabe showed him the key.

  “That’s a key for a chest of jewels, maybe diamonds, just like I said when Mr. Moultrie first told us about it,” he said positively.

  “You may be right but somehow I don’t think so,” Gabe said.

  “Why not? That’s what it looks like to me.”

  “Great-Grandfather wasn’t a reckless man. I think if he had real jewels to pass on to us, he’d put them in a bank vault.”

  “Couldn’t this be the key to a safe-deposit box somewhere? That’s what you always see on television.” His eyes lit up with a new idea. “Maybe somewhere in Charlotte where Mr. Moultrie lives. I bet he’d know.”

  Gabe told Drew about his conversation with the attorney.

  “He said there was another key, that this was key number one and the other would appear in due time.” He had to laugh at the comical expression on Drew’s face. It reminded him of the first time his little brother had caught a firefly, held it tightly in his small palm while he ran to show it to Gabe. He’d opened his hand triumphantly only to find that the firefly was motionless. The light had disappeared.

  “There’re two different boxes?”

  “I don’t know, Drew. There might just be one but you have to have two different keys to open it. That sounds more like what Great-Grandfather would do.” Anything to make it more complex.

  Later that night Drew came into the office where Gabe was reading.

  “I forgot to ask how you happened to find the key. Were you looking for a book downstairs?”

  Gabe shook his head no. “I’d been thinking about Great-Grandfather and I went out to sit on his bench. That’s when the idea came to look in the bookcase.” He kept his answer as brief and ordinary as possible, knowing that Drew was already inclined to be uncomfortable at how frequently Gabe spent time on that bench.

  “Don’t get spooky on me, Gabe,” Drew said seriously.

  “There’s nothing spooky about having ideas that you don’t know exactly how you got. Everybody does that. Even you. What you need to worry about is me getting spooky if you didn’t finish your homework for tomorrow.” He crossed his eyes and made a scary face.

  “I just have one more page to do.” Drew turned to leave, then said, “I forgot to tell you I saw Miss Alana at church. She asked about you.”

  “Was her family there?”

  “Yeah, but she was the only one who came over to talk to Jeff and me. She’s really friendly.”

  Gabe thought about how dismayed Drew would have been to know Alana had been one of the people he’d seen while he was at the bench meditating.

  Yet it wasn’t Alana or even Makima who stayed in his mind as he drifted off to sleep later.

  He wondered who the tall African with the penetrating gaze was, and what was the light-skinned man looking at in the palm of his hand?

  Chapter 18

  The doors to the sanctuary were closed and Makima could hear the choir singing. She pushed one of the doors quietly and the deacon standing inside turned his head in surprise. He held the door as she slipped in. They nodded to each other. An usher came toward her but Makima shook her head.

  Instead of going to the front to her usual seat, she sat in the back row. She glanced at the other four people in the pew and was thankful she didn’t know them. Being this late for church was unusual for her. Actually, she’d decided to stay home with the uncertain weather and the way she felt after last night.

  But the years of habit were strong. Church was where you went for relief from pain and she was filled with pain. She hadn’t come for the fellowship she usually enjoyed and she certainly hadn’t com
e to see her family. That’s why she was sitting in the back. She could leave as soon as the service was over and wouldn’t have to talk to anyone.

  Everything about the sanctuary and the service were well known to her. The familiar atmosphere they created helped her to relax. The pounding in her temples began to lessen.

  Thank you, Lord, she thought gratefully.

  Problems to be solved and work to be done. These she was accustomed to and went at them eagerly. But not headaches. Headaches meant emotions and they were much more difficult to handle. She had slipped away into her own private world, when she heard Reverend Givhans say, “Pain is hard for us to understand, and harder still for us to accept.”

  She hadn’t looked at the program the deacon had put in her hand. Now she did. Today’s sermon was on “The Meaning of Pain and Suffering.” He was detailing the suffering visited upon humanity through natural disasters but then he came to the individual and the personal.

  “It tests our faith,” he said earnestly. “It helps to examine ourselves objectively. What did we do, or failed to do that has caused us such pain? Be honest and try to get to the root of it. Then decide what we can do about it. There’s always something can we do if we pray with faith in our hearts, ask for insight and guidance, instead of whining or feeling sorry for ourselves. It is in overcoming our pain and suffering that we grow stronger. Stronger in faith, stronger in our ability to help others. Stronger in soul and in spirit.”

  Makima stored the words in her mind to think about later. All she knew now was that she had a dull ache not only in her head but also in her stomach that had nothing to do with food, and everything to do with Gabriel Bell.

  She couldn’t sit still any longer. The instant the pastor turned from the pulpit to sit down, she eased from her seat and left.

  At home she changed into jeans and a sweater, replaced her heels and hose with warm socks and tennis shoes. She had to get out in the air. She didn’t want to be cooped up in the car but she wanted to cover some ground.

  Her bicycle! She hadn’t been on it for months yet just the thought of riding it made her feel better. She took it from the storage space, dusted it off and rode it down the driveway. She stayed on the sidewalk until she came to Grayson Park.

  The park had no official bike path but one had been made over the years by cyclists who didn’t want to ride in the streets. There were a few children on the swings who waved to her. Two young women in colorful outfits were jogging, each with a dog on a leash. Makima had taught them both.

  “Hi, Miss Gray,” they said as she went by.

  She left the park and rode through the streets until she came to Five Mile Road. On this country road she could avoid people who knew her, she hoped. Solitude was what she craved.

  She picked her way carefully down the rural road. The sun went in and out of the clouds and she was glad she had on a warm sweater. The breeze on her face was refreshing and she could finally face the fact that her reaction to Gabe last night had not only been overwhelming but totally unexpected in its intensity.

  Sure, she realized that she’d worn the jumpsuit because of him, but she’d thought that was more in the nature of a brief flirtation to make her feel good as an attractive woman.

  The electricity between them when she’d walked in the back door could have illumined Carolyn’s whole house. It had floored her. She’d never experienced such emotion. Her whole body hummed and when he’d taken her hands in his, her legs had felt weak.

  She had no name for it because she didn’t recognize it. What she did know was that she’d never encountered it with Reggie—or with anyone else.

  Had she stayed an instant longer he would have kissed her. She could see the intent and the desire in his eyes. But she’d panicked and moved away.

  How she’d wanted that kiss! She wanted it now more than ever but Alana had taken it. The other prizewinners had been kissed on the cheek. Alana, brave and seeing her chance, had kissed Gabe on his mouth.

  To Makima’s dismay, she’d been jealous of her own dear sister who’d made it clear that she had feelings for Gabe. Makima’d been ashamed but that hadn’t changed the nature of the sensation.

  She yearned to know how Gabe’s lips felt. She thought they’d be firm yet yielding, neither too dry nor too moist, and their pressure on hers would be tender yet exhilarating. Nothing like Reggie’s, which hadn’t moved her at all.

  As her bicycle wheels turned, her eyes passed over the fields unseeingly. She was focused on the pain that was eating her because she now knew how important Gabe was to her, and because he felt the same way, if she could believe his actions last night. He’d immediately sensed her effort to break the bond between them and had called her on it when they were dancing.

  She had no choice. She couldn’t let the bond deepen. It had to be broken.

  The blare of a horn from an oncoming car startled her. She saw she’d strayed toward the middle of the narrow road. She pulled back over to her side and when, a little farther along, she saw a small brick church, she rode over to it. She’d sit on the steps while she thought through her dilemma.

  What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she ever win? She seemed to be losing out on all the significant issues in her life. She’d met the man who evoked a profound response in her, but it was the man her sister wanted. She was committed to the clinic project and had spent untold energy on it for many months but it was still far from a done deal or a contract. She’d been certain that the land needed for the clinic would be available from Mr. Zeke. But he was dead and there’d been nothing about it in his will.

  She felt despondent, defeated and drained.

  Maybe I need to move, she thought. She’d been offered a position with a public relations firm in Columbia. It would pay much more than the center could pay. As for the clinic, her mother had hinted that more people on the board would step up to their responsibilities if Makima would back off and let them. Was she that controlling? If so, that was another mark against her staying in Grayson.

  Perhaps she’d be doing the board a favor if she moved. They might not do business her way, and it might take twice as long, but they wouldn’t abandon the project. She was certain of that. It would be up to them to find another site. She wouldn’t have to worry about it.

  It was always in the back of her mind because it was connected with Gabe. If she moved to Columbia, Gabe and his land would no longer be an issue. She wouldn’t have to see him at work every day. Nor would she have to endure the pain of seeing Alana win him over once she was out of the way.

  Perhaps Columbia was too close. She visited many cities about the clinic project. She could make herself content in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The temptation to run back and forth to Grayson wouldn’t be as great as if she lived in Columbia.

  There was no doubt that she’d find a good job, an attractive place to live, and make new friends.

  The enormity of what she was proposing swept over her. How meaningless her life would be. She’d have to give up working on the memorial to her sister. She’d only see her family occasionally. The center would go on without her ideas and activity. She’d be without her church home and her special friends like Miss Eliza.

  Most of all she’d give up the idea of a husband and children of her own! She wasn’t a woman whose deepest feelings were easily engaged. She was beginning to see how the attraction between Gabe and her could progress if permitted. Miss Eliza had lit a spark and Makima’s imagination had let it grow into a flame, fueled by a regard for Gabe she hadn’t fully recognized.

  She was already being scorched by the heat of the flame. She couldn’t go through this misery and heartache another time. She doubted she’d find another Gabe. It had taken thirty-two years for them to meet. So the sensible idea was to content herself with being another Miss Eliza.

  She didn’t know how long she sat on the church steps. She contemplated the situation from every angle she could think of, including her possible future based on living somepla
ce other than Grayson. Then she prayed.

  Finally, with a deep sigh, she got on her bike and started back to town.

  She could no longer tell what God wanted her to do.

  Chapter 19

  Monday morning Gabe woke up to heavy rain. After breakfast, he drove Drew to the school-bus stop. He invited the three other kids who were waiting there to get in the car with Drew until the bus came. Their chatter picked up his spirits and he was sorry when the bus arrived.

  It was too early to go to the center. At home he resumed the cleaning up in the kitchen that had been interrupted when Drew had asked for a ride. The eggs went back into the fridge and the empty orange juice carton hit the trash. He didn’t know what his brother had for lunch at the school cafeteria. What he could be sure of was the healthy breakfast and dinner Drew had at home each day.

  Gabe took his time cleaning the stove. Usually he was eager to get to work to see Makima. Today, however, was different.

  She had affected him in so many ways at the party. When he’d first seen her he’d been thunderstruck with an emotion that was primitive, intense and unexpected. He’d wanted to do what any male desired when he met his mate. Pick her up and take her to his lair away from anyone else.

  Although she’d been responsive to him in those first thrilling moments, she’d escaped later by sitting with another male, while he’d been drawn away, unwillingly, by another female. He’d waited for his chance and when it came, he’d taken her onto the dance floor and made her aware that he’d sensed her withdrawal from their earlier connection.

  Unfortunately they’d both been entangled by the social dictates of the event. Alana had attached herself to him in such a public way all evening that he’d felt unable to detach himself from her eager and constant attention. It would have been a humiliating rejection, and he couldn’t bring himself to do it, even though his real interest had been focused on Makima. Makima had been in a similar situation with Josh Dixon, who’d made himself her escort for the evening.