By K.R. Conway
Upper
YA / NA Urban Paranormal Romance
Date
Published: 10/13/2013
Seventeen-year-old Eila Walker’s new home has defied the brutal Atlantic for
over 160 years. Abandoned since her 4th great grandmother Elizabeth vanished, the
town legend declares that she drowned . . . or was struck by lightning.
Unbeknownst to the town and Eila, however, is that someone does know
what really happened to Elizabeth, and he has returned, determined to protect the last
surviving Walker from a history of violence.
But
what starts out as a quest for redemption, evolves into something more and soon
young guardian, Raef, is forced to reveal the truth to Eila. As hidden secrets about their
warring families come to light, Eila begins to realize that she may be their best shot at
survival, even if it means following in her grandmother’s fearless footsteps to save her
killer bodyguard.
EXCERPT
We
walked for a couple of minutes, and the pounding music faded to mere background
tunes, gently complementing the fires that glowed softer with distance. We found a
spot by the dunes near a large home that faced the water. The stretch of beach was
probably private, considering the row of huge houses that sat among the tall grass,
but I figured the owners would not care as long as we left Fergie and her musical crew
farther down the beach.
Raef
shook out the blanket and I helped smooth it wide, then sat down and slowly zipped
off my boots so I could stick my toes in the cold sand. Raef sat down next to me and
looked up at the stars.
He was
right.
Away
from the blaze of the fires, the stars were all the more brilliant. The massive
moon continued to climb higher, causing the luminous pathway on the water to slowly
stretch toward the horizon. I just smiled at the good fortune that granted me a
chance to live here.
I
glanced over at Raef and caught him looking at me. “Yes?” I asked, an odd combination
of unease and desire flashing through my veins.
“I was
just wondering what you were thinking about.”
“I
was thinking how amazing this view is, and how unbelievable it is that I get to enjoy it
because I live here,” I said, my nerves slowly calming. “It’s just incredible. I’m waiting to
wake from this dream.”
I looked
back at the stars and then leaned back onto the blanket so I could enjoy the broad view
of space, “Perhaps I’m not really here. Maybe I’m in a coma somewhere and
this is just my brain misfiring. I think that is more plausible, especially the way my luck
normally runs.”
He
leaned down next to me, propping himself on one elbow as he looked at me. “You are
not in a coma.”
“Oh
yeah? How do you know? Maybe you’re in a coma too. Maybe we had some tragic
accident and now we’re both carrots in a hospital bed somewhere.”
He
reached over to my arm and pinched me. I let out a yelp. “What the heck?”
“See?
Not vegetables,” he said with a smile, then looked a bit more serious. “This is real. This
is your life now.”
I looked
at him, debating how to phrase what I was about to say, fearing his answer as well.
“And your life? Is this your life as well, or is this temporary?”
He
rolled over on his back to study the sky with me, “I think this is my life now as well. Kian
and I are not planning on leaving anytime soon.”
I nearly
sighed audibly in relief, but managed to control myself. We lay there, staring at the
stars and watching the moonrise. Finally he spoke up, “You know, as a true native, you
should know your constellations.”
I didn’t
follow. “Why is that?”
“Well,
Cape Cod is an ocean-going community. Your own grandparents were a big part of
that as well. And, as such, knowing how to navigate by the heavens is part of being a
native.”
“And I
take it, as a brilliant boat-dweller, you know such things?”
“Heck
yeah. Care to learn?”
“Go for
it, but be forewarned – I am a slow study.”
“Then I
guess it is a good thing we don’t have school tomorrow,” he laughed. </
div>
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For the
next hour, Raef explained the stars and the pictures they made in the sky. He told me
about the stories of the gods they represented, and how to find your way based on the
characters that rose in the universe nightly. I was pleased when I was able to find Sirius
with his help.
“I am
a true Cape Codder,” I said proudly, thanks to my limited, but accurate constellation
identification. He was silent for a moment as he lay next to me and I turned to him. </
span>
He
looked at me, eye to eye for a moment, then slowly sat up. “A true Cape Codder needs
a badge of belonging,” he said as he looked back at me lying on the faded blanket. He
reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a little velvet bag.
Intrigued, I sat up next to him and pulled my chilled feet under me. He reached
out and took my hand, unfurling my fingers as he placed the soft bag in my palm.</
span>
“What’s
this?” I asked, my heart pounding.
“A gift
that says you belong to this area,” said Raef, watching me.
I
swallowed and slowly untied the black string, tipping the bag upside down into my
other hand. A beautiful silver bangle bracelet with a glistening ball in the center slid
out into my hand. The ball had a thousand little facets cut into it, making it pulse with
moonlight.
“It’s . . .
beautiful,” I said, breathless and stunned.
He
picked it up and untwisted the ball, causing the bracelet to spring open slightly. He took
my other arm and slid the bracelet onto my wrist, then tightened the ball down again
to link the hoop together. He turned it slightly so the ball faced the moon, twinkling.</
span>
“This is
made here. Most locals have one and it’s distinctive to Cape Cod. I wanted you to have
one, so that whenever you felt like you didn’t belong, you could look at it and remember
that someone says differently.”
I sat
there, turning my wrist slightly, watching it shine like the moonlit path on the water. I
looked up at Raef, who was watching me with a serious look on his face that I found
unsettling and impossible to read.
“Thank
you,” I said, trying to understand what this gift from him meant. Was it just a gift of
friendship, or something more?
I was
about to ask where I stood with him, when the jovial voice of Jesse broke our silence. </
span>
“Well
HELLO. What are you two doing way out here. In the dark. ALL ALONE,” asked Jesse,
a huge smile on his face, directed at me. I may just murder him if he embarrassed me.
All I could think of was the way he had watched me check out Raef our first day of
school.
Raef got
to his feet. He reached down and took my hand, pulling me to mine. “Ana has the music
a bit too deafening for my taste,” said Raef with a brief smile.
“Plus
we wanted to see the stars better,” I blurted out. Jesse gave me a look that screamed
he didn’t believe I had been stargazing. As if to prove I wasn’t lying, I pointed skyward
without looking up. “Cepheus. Right above us.”
“Sure,”
said Jesse, the smile still on his face. He turned to Raef, “Since you’re out here, can you
help me grab a few cases of beer from my house?”
Raef
looked at me, as if seeking permission, and Jesse’s smile got even more irritatingly
huge. “Go ahead. I’ll just hang out here and wait for you,” I said, sliding Jesse a look of
death.
“You
sure?” asked Raef.
“Yeah,”
I said, nodding toward the house. Raef’s fingertips gently touched mine, but so
surreptitiously that Jesse didn’t see. The sensation, so simple, gave me a rush of heat.
K.R. Conway
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