by Tess Oliver
I hurried down the stairs. The dining room was around the corner, past a big family room. It was one of those modern, open concept houses that let you see right through from one end to the other. Rex and Brick were leaned over the table stuffing their faces. Axel was sitting next to them, and even though he had the hearing of a rabbit with bionic ears, he was in his food zone and when Axel was in his eating trance, the world could crumble around him and he wouldn’t notice. Duff and Graham were faced the direction of the stairs. I peeked around the corner until the right opportunity presented itself. They were so focused on feeding their faces, I was fairly certain a giant, winged lizard could’ve crept through the family room, and they wouldn’t have paid it any attention.
I hopped off the stairs and circled around to the front door. There were two beach cruisers in the screened in porch off the back of the house. The path along the front of the houses would be mostly empty, especially at night. I walked along the brick path to the back of the house. Succulents had been planted as a barrier between the yard and the hillside and stairs leading down to the sand. There were far less lights than I’d expected along the path, but the moon coming up was just big enough to give it a little extra illumination.
I reached the back porch. Music and deep voices, halted intermittently by chewing and drinking, assured me that my escape had been successful. Chances were, they’d all be so full with burritos and beer after dinner, that no one would give me a second thought. I’d be back in an hour, long before anyone noticed me missing.
My escape plan had been detailed, but the follow-up adventure wasn’t quite so organized. I had no real idea where I was going. I just needed that feeling of being free for an hour. Freedom was something I hadn’t experienced in a long time, and I missed it. Even if I’d had way too much freedom, being completely on my own by the time I was sixteen, it was still that feeling of being in charge of my own life and destiny that seemed to be lacking big time in my current life.
I reached the screened porch and stepped inside. I walked over to the bikes and my heart sank. There was a padlock locking them together. “Damn it.” I pulled hard on the lock and luck smiled down on me. It slid open. That was when I noticed the flat tire. Two, in fact. Both bikes had flats. My plan was quickly losing steam. I could take a stroll along the path, but it just didn’t hold the excitement that an escape on wheels had.
I turned around, deciding a walk would still be better than being stuck up in the bedroom. That’s when I saw Duff’s skateboard leaned up against the side of the porch. He would never notice it missing. It was perfect. No one, not even that creepy tabloid reporter, if he was still lurking around, would recognize me.
I nearly laughed at how excited I was to be pulling off this silly, little stunt. For me, it was more something to prove to myself, proof that I was still my own person, able to make my own decisions and move freely about the planet without the chains that Graham always had wrapped around me.
I walked out to the path. A few people rolled past on roller blades, but otherwise, the path was empty. I dropped the skateboard down, put my foot on it and pushed off. It had been a few years since I’d stepped on a skateboard. Our first house together, when the band was just starting to shoot up the charts, had had a lot of cement in the backyard. Duff was a big time skater long before he joined the band. There was enough down time between rehearsals and recording to just hang out. And Duff had taught me to ride a skateboard. Those simpler, quieter days seemed like a decade ago, and I yearned for that time in my life. Back then, I was still in the middle, between the horrible existence Graham had pulled me from and the life I led now, where I had to sneak out of the house in a beanie and scarf on a warm summery night just to ride a skateboard.
I coasted along and let the salty ocean breeze cool my face as the scarf trailed off behind me like a red, feathery tail. The beach was different at night. The warm, ivory sand was a cool gunmetal gray and the deep blue sea was a churning pool of black water. The gulls and beachgoers had fallen silent, making the sound of the persistent tide that much louder.
In the distance, I could see the flickering tiki torches lined up in front of the beach motel. Most of the small cabins were dark. It was past the usual tourist season, and with the weekend still five days away, the place looked close to empty.
I coasted to the end and stopped in front of the motel. Only three of the rooms had lights on. I could hear feminine laughter drifting out of one of the cabins. Dawson had mentioned that he was staying at the beach with his sisters. I thought briefly about the extremely hot man who I’d shared the plane ride with. There was something so real about him. Something that I rarely saw in people anymore.
Dawson had, of course, scoffed at my promise to visit him. And, in truth, I wasn’t completely sure I would go through with it. My time was not my own, and Graham would surely blow a fuse if he knew. It was one thing sitting with Dawson on a plane, where there were distinctive boundaries, but visiting him at his motel would be a whole different story, or at least it would be to Graham and Axel.
But tonight, I was doing my own thing. I had at least an hour of independence, and I could see no reason not to visit the one person I’d met in the last few years who I’d actually found intriguing.
Chapter 11
Dawson
“You know, Dawson, miners like yourself are going to be obsolete in the near future.” Megan’s boyfriend Wyatt was one of those guys who always had a smug grin on his face as if he was superior to everyone else.
“Yeah? How’s that, Why—at?” My new two syllable pronunciation of his name made my sister grit her teeth, but the jerk didn’t seem to notice. He was too busy listening to himself talk. Now, it seemed I was going to have to listen to another one of his long-ass dialogues about the ways of the world according to Why—at.
“Wyatt, honey, I told you mining wasn’t a good subject.” Megan had said it with such sugary sweetness even Aubrey had to cover her mouth to stifle a laugh.
“It’s fine, sweetheart. Your brother’s a grown man. I’m sure he welcomes some debate on the topic. Coal is obviously becoming the ugly stepsister in the energy industry. There are far better clean energy resources that are renewable and don’t require sending people below ground. I mean, I can’t imagine the dangers of working in a mine. Every day is a risk when you’re a coal miner.”
“Then I guess it’s a good thing it’s me going down there instead of you. Although, I’ll bet those bleached white teeth of yours would glow in the dark below ground. You wouldn’t even need a cap light.”
Megan snarled at me over her piece of pizza. Wyatt just laughed dryly, pretending to think it was funny.
“That’s O.K., Megan,” Wyatt said in that condescending tone I’d already grown to hate, “it’s hard to hear the truth.”
Aubrey picked up another slice. She wasn’t saying much or defending Wyatt and Megan. It was rare for her not to rush to Megan’s side. It was obvious she shared my dislike of Megan’s new friend.
“Well, it’s been fun.” I piled up three slices of pizza and tucked two beers under my arm. Megan watched with bossy crossed arms and a raised brow.
“Dawson, my man, why don’t you stay here and eat,” Wyatt said.
The jerk had somehow decided that we were buddies already. Only I still wanted to punch out his perfectly straightened teeth.
“No thanks.”
“Jeesh, Dawson, you’re such an ass,” Megan sneered.
“I know. Some things just never change.”
I’d gotten lucky enough to get the cabin two doors down. I walked along the path with my dinner and managed to get the door open and shut without dropping a beer or the pizza. I wasn’t completely sure what had made me think this was going to be a good idea. I’d badly needed to get away from Bluefield and the job, but at this rate, I’d be going back feeling just as down as when I left.
I sat at the little window table that looked out over the beach. Aside from the awesome plane ride, the
location had been the best thing about the trip so far. My phone buzzed. I glanced at it. It was Aubrey. She was either trying to get an invite to my cabin to get away from Megan and Wyatt, or she had finally decided she needed to come to Megan’s aid and lecture me about the way I’d acted toward Wyatt. I wasn’t interested in either scenario.
I pushed the phone aside without looking at it. Moments later, a light knock on my door brought me to the reality that it wouldn’t be quite so easy to ignore either of my sisters because they were only two cabins away.
I walked to the door and opened it. Aubrey shook her head, and I figured she was ready to jump into the lecture about being an ass to Megan. “You really are something, little brother. You’ve just got women all over the damn place. You haven’t even been in California for two full days, and they’re already knocking at the door looking for you.”
“What the hell are you rambling on about?”
She huffed and a strand of dark hair blew off her face. “I’m talking about the odd skateboarding girl in a knitted beanie and scarf who just knocked on our door looking for Dawson Sullivan.”
“I don’t know anyone here.”
“That’s what I figured. That’s why I told her I’d come here to see if you were around. See, I’ve got your back, even if you completely deserted me and left me with sugar syrup Megan and Why-at.”
“Fine. You can stay here for awhile. I’m going back to my pizza before it gets cold.” I turned around.
“I’ve first got to go tell Lennie that you’re not home.”
I spun back around. “What did you say?”
She pointed with her thumb behind her. “Lennie, that’s the strange girl’s name. I thought the whole thing—”
Aubrey gasped as I pushed past her. “I take it back. You’re uninvited,” I told her as I hurried along the brick path to their cabin.
She was even tinier standing beneath the starry night sky. A big red scarf was wrapped around her neck, hiding the lower half of her beautiful face. She’d pull a beanie down over her red hair. Even in the comical disguise, she was extraordinary.
I stared at her unable to get a word out.
“Told you I’d come see you.” She held out her arms. “Even dressed for the occasion.” Her golden eyes glanced past me to Aubrey, who had just walked up. “This must be one of your sisters.” She put out her hand. “How do you do?”
“Hi, I’m Aubrey. Where do you know my brother from?” Aubrey, like me, never minced words.
Lenix pushed the beanie up higher, exposing the red fringe of bangs beneath. “Actually, we had seats together on the plane.”
Aubrey’s mouth dropped open in confusion, but it seemed she hadn’t figured out whose hand she was shaking yet. None of the circumstances, a girl with a beanie, a skateboard and a seat in coach were adding up to rock star.
“Oh.” Aubrey blinked at her. “You look sort of familiar. I thought maybe you lived near Bluefield.”
“Bluefield?” Lenix looked at me.
“That’s where we’re from. I still live there. It’s a mining town.”
“Oh. Cool. Well it was nice meeting you, Aubrey.”
I stepped toward Lenix. “Yep. It’s been special. Later, Aubrey,” I said quickly. I took hold of Lenix’s hand and led her back toward my cabin.
“She seems nice,” Lenix said as she hurried behind me to keep up with my giant, purposeful stride. I wanted to get her behind a closed door and out of the prying line of vision of my sisters as quickly as possible.
“She’s all right for a sister.” I pushed open the door and led her inside.
Lenix walked into the room, leaned her skateboard against the bed and looked around. “I see the corny ocean theme continues on the inside of the motel too. I love it.” She walked over to a mirror that was framed with seashells and ran her fingers over it. As petite as she was, she filled the room with her presence. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.
She reached up and yanked off the beanie. Her red hair stood up in static charged strands on her head. She glanced in the mirror and laughed as she tried to smooth them down. “I look like a science experiment.”
“If they’d had experiments like you in school, I would have paid attention in science. Want some pizza and beer? The pizza is cold and the beer is warm.”
“Sounds good. Worked up an appetite on the skateboard.” She pulled her gaze from the nautical wall decorations, and her gold flecked eyes landed on me. “You are even bigger standing in front of me. I confess, I wondered just how much of you I’d been imagining, the muscles, the tattoos, the swoon worthy looks.”
“So, was it just your imagination being kind to me?”
Lenix shook her head. “Not at all. The opposite, in fact.” She placed her hand against her chest. “You’ve got my heart doing this whole hiccup thing. And, I can tell you, that doesn’t happen often. What about you?”
“I never second guessed my imagination once. You stole my breath on the plane, and I had the same reaction this time.” I walked over to the table and pulled out a chair for her.
Lenix sat down and I sat across from her. She picked up a piece of pizza and nibbled the crust. “I know it’s considered taboo in the pizza eating world, but I’ve always started with the crust.”
I lifted my slice to show her that I was a crust first eater too.
Her laugh was close to the best damn sound in the world, second only to her singing voice. “See, if that doesn’t mean we were destined to be together, then I don’t know what does.” She lifted her beer for a toast. “Here’s to pizza soul mates.”
I clicked my bottle against hers. “Did your bodyguard make you wear the beanie and scarf to go out skateboarding?”
She nearly choked on her bite of food. “Axel has no idea I left the house. He was sheltered in behind a wall of tacos so I snuck out. I calculate that I’ve got about an hour before the glass slipper comes off. Fortunately, I’ve got my prince right here to retrieve it.” With that she kicked off her shoes and pulled her feet up on the chair to sit cross legged like they taught us in kindergarten.
“How is the sister vacation going? Are you having fun?”
“I am now.” I pulled off a piece of pepperoni and ate it. “It didn’t take us long to fall right back into our sibling roles. Megan, bossy pants, Aubrey, her closest comrade, and me, the brother who seems to irritate the both of them just by taking a deep breath. Then there’s Megan’s new boyfriend, who just really put the whipped cream on top of the whole damn thing. I sort of knew this was a mistake. But I needed to get away for awhile. Needed to get away from the mine and from my friends and family.”
She settled back with her beer. “You have more family back home?”
“My parents, who I recently had to move back in with because the drunken fool I took on as a roommate set the kitchen on fire with a bag of marshmallows.”
Her hand flew to her mouth to keep from spitting out her beer. She swallowed. “I’m sorry, but that sounded funny. I mean falling asleep with a cigarette or leaving the iron on is one thing, but a marshmallow fire catastrophe, that’s a new one. And what were you doing while he was starting a marshmallow fire? Setting up the graham crackers and chocolate?”
I thought about that night and stared down at the half eaten slice of pizza. “Something like that,” I muttered.
“Oh, I see. Well, as long as no one got hurt. So, is it just your parents?”
“No, there’s a twin sister, Andi, who has recently taken up with one of my best friends, Tommy.” I shook my head. “I tried to stop the whole thing, but it seems she’s happy.”
“Did you try and stop it because you didn’t think he was right for her or because you didn’t want to lose your best friend?”
I thought about the question. It was something I’d never really asked myself before. “I know that Tommy would do anything for her. I guess, mostly, I didn’t want to lose my friend. There were three of us, Tommy, Kellan and me, growing up. We all headed str
aight to the mine after high school. Kellan’s high school sweetheart came back to town last year.”
“Ah ha, you lost both of them to women in a short span of time.”
I picked up my beer and pointed it toward her. “You are very cute and very smart.”
She laughed. “Are those two things supposed to be mutually exclusive? Cute or smart but not both?”
“Obviously not. What about you? Where’s your family?”
Lenix grew quiet and shrugged. “The band is my family. And believe me, they can be just as irritating as the real thing.” She unfolded her legs. “New topic. I’ve got to head back soon. What about a walk on the beach?”
Chapter 12
Lenix
I’d pulled the beanie back on and draped the scarf over my shoulders. There was no need for camouflage. The beach was dark and empty as we walked over the sand toward the water. Dawson was a good head taller than me as I glanced over at him.
“You make me feel like a pixie when I’m walking next to you.”
“I must seem small compared to that big guy who follows you around.”
“Axel? True. When I’m next to Axel, I feel like the crumb of a cookie. Like he could just dampen his thumb and pick me up. But he is a good bodyguard.”
“I’ll bet.” Dawson combed his dark hair for the third time, but he was losing the battle with the ocean breeze.
“You need one of these convenient beanies. Really holds the hair in place.” We reached the sand that was just wet enough to provide more solid footing, and we walked in the direction of the beach house. “What’s it like down there in middle earth? Is it everything the science fiction books say?”
Dawson had one of those dreamy smiles, not big or toothy, just enough curl of his mouth to make sexy little creases form around his lips. “The only thing that is remotely science fiction is the machines that chew through the rock like it’s made of cake. Otherwise, it’s dark and it’s cold. Unless you’re really deep down. Then the heat of the earth’s core can warm the chambers up to a hundred plus.” He stared off ahead at the stretch of sand in front of us.
