“Don’t worry. I’ll still play this little game with you and help you catch these criminals, but when you’re gone again, I want the chance to have a real life with real relationships.”
He remained silent as they pulled back into the campground.
Often times the silence between them was comforting and easy, but not tonight. Tonight it was charged with nervous energy, uneasy, tormenting silence.
She grabbed an extra blanket and pillow and curled up on the couch.
“What are you doing in here?” Ray walked into the living room and crossed his arms as he looked down at her.
“Sleeping. What does it look like?” She closed her eyes to punctuate her point.
“Come get in the bed. I promise no funny business.”
She cracked an eye. Was that a smart move? No. Did it sound a hell of a lot more comfortable than this couch? Yes. While the cushions looked fluffy and soft her hip was sitting on a wooden support piece.
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
She sat up and sighed. This was a bad idea, especially if she wanted to pull away from Ray, but she was tired and a comfortable bed was a weakness.
Grabbing her pillow and blanket, Ray followed her to bed and crawled in beside her. She rolled over, back facing him. Undeterred he draped his thick arm across her side, his solid, chiseled chest to her back, his breath in her ear. If she was going to have relationships with other men, this shouldn’t feel so right, but it did. Don’t jump the gun. So far Phoenix only wants you to tell him stories. She hoped he wanted more than that because she needed someone to pull her away from Ray. He was too comfortable. He was too everything and all it would lead to was heartache. She wasn’t willing to risk the hurt. She’d watched her mom self destruct after her dad ran away and it had left a bitter taste in her mouth.
**
She was being cold towards him and he felt it. He couldn’t blame her really, but that didn’t mean he liked it either. He’d made her no promises. They were just friends helping each other out, in work and play. That was it. But even as he thought it, he knew it was a lie. There’d always been something special between them and it had only evidenced itself more when he’d come back again. It was like they’d never had interrupted years of no communication.
He shook his head trying to rid himself of thoughts of her as he flew over the treetops. Even the cool air beneath his wings as he floated couldn’t keep his mind straight, but he had to pay attention or else he’d pass up Jed’s house. Being a bird had its advantages, but it definitely brought a different perspective to the land from the air. He tried to focus on the feeling of the weightlessness his expanded wings gave him and enjoy it.
Jed’s house came into view. Ray circled around and landed on Jed’s truck. This morning he’d decided to leave his truck at the cabin and go in shifted form to keep the risk of exposure down. He was pretty sure he had a good handle on this animal thing, at least enough to not get caught with his pants down in public. Granted the whole bird thing had taken him a minute to figure it all out with flying and all, but after taking a deep breath and tapping into the instincts of the bird it was fine.
He didn’t expect to see any movement this early, but he flew around to the windows to check. Nothing. He floated over to the tree line to watch from the branch of an oak. It was a good thing heights didn’t make him skittish so much anymore like when he was a kid.
He’d slept an extra hour before starting today, hoping to be able to stay more awake and alert today, but it had been troubled especially knowing that she might leave if he so much as touched her wrong. It was nothing short of self torture keeping her close. He prided himself at self control, mostly after noticing how well he did after starting this job, but Becky Sue was like nothing he’d encountered before. An anomaly. Now she wanted to go with that Phoenix character and nothing about that sat right with him.
His mind roiled as he sat thinking on the branch watching the dark empty house. Dawn couldn’t come soon enough.
**
The next morning Becky Sue woke to a cold bed. Ray was already gone again. She must’ve been sleeping harder than she thought to not have noticed when he left. Maybe it was because she’d lain there half the night talking herself down. Sleeping next to Ray so intimately was torture. She fought with herself not to touch him, not to give in to his touch, his lips. It was exhausting. She was exhausted.
The energy it would take to deal with her mother this morning felt more than she could bear. Wasn’t there anyone else she could call to go in her place? She had no explanations, reasonable or otherwise. All she could do was hope that Kate wouldn’t find out about Phoenix until Ray was long gone.
Lights were off inside her mother’s house again. She frowned. That wasn’t a good sign. Was her mom deteriorating and she hadn’t noticed?
“Mom? Good morning.” She went straight to the bedroom where Kate lay in the bed. “Mom is anything wrong? Do I need to take you to the doctor? This is the second day you haven’t been able to get up without help.”
“I’ll tell you what’s wrong. My daughter. Do you know what she does? She goes gallivanting around with a divorcee like it’s the most natural thing in the world. He waltzes into town and my daughter jumps straight into his bed. Do you know what that makes me look like? A bad mother that’s what.”
Becky Sue exhaled loudly. “Nobody thinks you’re a bad mom.” Kate huffed. “So can you, or can’t you get out of bed by yourself? Are you trying to punish me, because I’m not a kid anymore.” Exasperation filled her voice. She could only fight so many people at a time and she was at her quota.
“Of all the ungrateful, self centered, selfish people in the world, I didn’t think you were one of them.” Her mom began throwing the blankets off her as she shuffled around in the bed trying to position herself to get out alone.
“You know as well as I do that if I keep helping you you’ll lose strength. You’ve got to be able to do it yourself or you won’t be able to keep living alone.” She ignored the tirade. For once in her life, she wanted to be selfish. She wanted to run away from this town and do something for herself without having to worry about anything or anybody else. No helping good friends, no helping her mother, just doing things she enjoyed, alone.
Still grumbling about ungrateful children, her mom got up and wheeled into the bathroom for her shower.
Becky Sue checked the fridge. She needed to get to a store soon, or cook some food, but time was suddenly an issue. Maybe she could drop a hint to Cindy or Mary Beth to bring a casserole by.
She swept and spot mopped the kitchen before flopping back on the couch to wait. Her eyes were heavy. She laid her head back and closed her eyes picturing herself on a warm sunny beach with lots of sand and hot, tanned men in tight, short swim trunks next to the water. The waves gently rolling in and out, splashing the men, making their bodies wet and glisten in the sun. She could feel one of them staring at her, devouring her with his eyes. He had the body of Adonis, but she couldn’t see his face. The sun was too bright. But there he was, warm full lips on hers. He was inviting and felt familiar in her heart. She blinked. It was Ray.
“Becky Sue?” Her mom’s voice broke into her dream. She startled.
“What?”
“Were you asleep?”
“I didn’t think so, but maybe.” She couldn’t even get away from Ray in her dreams. It was definitely time to get out.
“I’ve never known you to fall asleep sitting up like that. You’re not getting your sleep at night. See that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. You need to leave that man alone. He’s bad for you.”
“Yes, Mom. There’s food in the fridge. I’ll try to make sure to get something over here for tomorrow.” Just agree and keep walking, right out the door to the truck.
As she unlocked the door to her shop, she wondered if everyone was going to turn on her today. Mom, Ray, Sherlock. Her cat had tried to bite her toes letting her know his displeasure at her bei
ng gone so much before trying to bolt out the door when she left. All she wanted was a real, sort of, date. If Phoenix stood her up today she was going to say to hell with it, go home, forget Ray, forget Phoenix, and be content to stay in her house alone with Sherlock and not even try to interact like a normal human.
The hours ticked by slowly, leaving plenty of time to sew, think, and over think. A few customers had dribbled in and out. Nothing exciting. By closing time, she had one hoop to go before binding the edge of the patriotic star quilt. She’d be able to finish it Monday easily, unless Spring Breakers overly flooded the area and kept her busy. But that would be alright too. Any kind of sales meant money in the pocket.
**
Ray sat outside Jed’s bait shop occasionally shifting positions to be less noticeable, but it was unnecessary. Jed had yet to start nipping at his bottle, which was a bit unusual considering what he’d seen so far. He’d been at the shop for a couple of hours already. He felt in his bones that something would happen today, he just couldn’t point to what.
Deciding he’d been hanging out as a bird too long, he changed into a squirrel when no one was there. He’s just scampered around the tree made himself comfortable when Phoenix came into the bait shop.
Just the thought of that character hitting on Becky Sue raised his blood pressure. He didn’t feel outmatched, or jealous, it was more a protective instinct. The man gave him an ill feel in his gut and he didn’t like it. Years ago he’d have said gut feelings were a fake, but he’d learned in his current line of work to trust his gut. Rarely had it steered him wrong.
Ray watched as Phoenix approached the counter. He leaned in from the tree branch trying to listen, but the window wasn’t spilling any of its secrets. Just then, Phoenix cocked his head toward him. His dark eyes seemed to bore right through, like he could see his humanness through the body of the squirrel. Ray twitched his tail and scampered up the branch toward the tree before turning back again.
There was something off about this guy and he didn’t like it. He didn’t like it all. Sure he looked all touristy and causal in his cargo pants and fishing style vest over his shirt, but he didn’t read right. Where was he camped? He’d checked the register and grounds here earlier. No sign of him. He was like a walking shadow.
He waited, watching carefully from his perch. On his way out the door, Phoenix turned one more time and stared straight at him. Ray froze, unsure what he should do. Phoenix turned and left. Ray sagged across the branch. He needed to pull records on Phoenix as soon as possible, but the earliest chance he’d have would be tomorrow because somewhere in the last few minutes he’d decided that there was no way in hell he was letting Becky Sue go out alone with this guy unaccompanied.
**
Nervousness wasn’t something she was accustomed to feeling, but at first glimpse turning into Elk Point Landing, her stomach turned queasy. Daylight savings time going into effect last week didn’t help either. The sun always set earlier this side of the mountain, and darkness wasn’t particularly her friend.
Only three vehicles were parked in the area. No one was in sight. Not even Phoenix.
This was a bad idea. She glanced in the rearview mirror. Should she just leave now? What did she really know about this guy other than he was handsome and charming? He could be another Ted Bundy for all she knew. Maybe she shouldn’t have been so willing to come out here. Maybe she should’ve risked dining at Claire’s.
This was all Ray’s fault. If she wasn’t his dumb cover then she wouldn’t have to be skulking out here in the woods with some guy she barely knew his name. She reached for the gear shift to put her truck in reverse only to look out the window and see Phoenix in the yellow glow of the single bulb hanging outside of the small rust colored brick bathroom. She left the truck in park and reached for the backpack she’d packed for the trip. Extra change of clothes in a plastic bag in case they tipped. Flashlight, mini first aid kit, couple bottles of water, another jacket, a knife with a 10” blade, and an extra pair of shoes also in a plastic bag completed her emergency kit.
Phoenix saw her exit the truck and waved to her. She locked it and put the keys into her backpack.
“Hi, are you ready for a little trip?”
“Sure.” She smiled up at him.
“Here let me take your bag.” He shouldered her backpack and led her to the water’s edge where his canoe was pulled up on the bank. “Why don’t you hop in the front. I’ll steer from the back.”
“Will you be able to catch your stop in the dark?” Doubt crept into her voice as she noticed the lack of light. A light stirring of leaves nearby from a small animal pulled her attention momentarily away. A squirrel ducked behind a tree. Crazy rodent.
“Having second thoughts?”
“Not about this, but since you’re not from around here, it was just a thought.” She shrugged turning back to the conversation.
“I hung a lantern out at the edge of the water.” At least he wasn’t dumb.
He took her hand and helped her into the canoe. His touch was cool but sensuous. The tips of his fingers caressed her wrist, warming her blood. Tossing in her backpack, he pushed the canoe out into the water, jumping in at the last second. The squirrel made a mad dash for the canoe and jumped in right before Phoenix.
“What the …?” Phoenix said noticing the squirrel. He grabbed for it. The animal dodged him. Becky Sue tried to keep them straight as he kept after the squirrel. She couldn’t see what he was doing behind her, but felt the light rocking motions from him moving. She hoped it wasn’t a rabid squirrel. If it bit him it could be bad. Finally a light splashing sound followed by a gasp and the canoe settled out.
Night sounds filled the cool night air as the moon played peek-a-boo behind some passing clouds. Rain was coming in the forecast, but not tonight. She felt like she was in an old movie where the boy and girl were floating along in some kind of boat while the music played a song about falling in love.
“Have you thought of more stories to tell me?” The movie illusion shattered. No one was falling in love. She was a fixture of the local population. A storyteller brought here to entertain.
“Yeah. Have you finished the book already?”
“Yep.” If he was nothing else he was dogmatic.
“Did you like it?” The soft sounds of their paddles dipping into the water was soothing.
“I did. I had a question though. In the beginning it mentioned something about the Quell, but nothing else was said about them. Why?”
“I’m not really sure. I think the only power they were supposed to have had was taking away the power of the Sparkers, but other than that they didn’t really pose a large threat, at least not as big as banishment. The Sparks power wasn’t any good after the mayor’s law went into effect anyway, so the Quell died out faster than the Sparkers did I guess.”
“Makes sense. I guess both became practically useless. Have you ever done any genealogy research to see if you’re related to a Sparker?”
“No. But then again I guess I never really thought the legends had any truth to them.”
“It would be cool if they were true, wouldn’t it?”
She shrugged, smiling into the dark, her secret safe. “I suppose it would be.”
A light appeared to the left. “Is that your camp ahead?”
“Yes it is.”
At the thought of a warm campfire, her stomach decided to remind her she was hungry.
“What are you fixing for dinner?”
“Squirrel stew. I hope you like it.”
Chapter 12
A shudder ran down Becky Sue’s back as an image of Ray running up to the cabin last night in squirrel form flashed through her mind. She was starting to see boogey men everywhere. Phoenix couldn’t know that she and Ray could shape shift, let alone know he’d been a squirrel recently.
Phoenix pulled the canoe out of the water behind a stand of river bushes. It wouldn’t have seemed like he was hiding it had the dark foreboding followed he
r as she stepped from the canoe on shore. Chastising herself for reading too much into a perfectly nice guy she straightened her shoulders and pushed the disturbing thoughts from her head. Still, she gripped her backpack tighter knowing the knife she carried was near the top in case anything happened.
He took the lantern off the branch where it hung and led her along the bank. The ground sloped upwards. Within a few feet they were on rock, making their way upward on a narrow path. The rock opened in a low, wide crevice. Phoenix ducked inside. Becky Sue followed under the low hanging, before standing up in a small cave. It was maybe twenty feet in diameters. A curtain hung in the back, she assumed for his sleeping area. He set his lantern on a small outcrop of rock.
“You’re not afraid of being out here in the woods with me alone are you?” He asked as he turned toward her. She hadn’t let her death grip on her backpack loosen.
“No. I’m perfectly capable of handling myself. I grew up in the woods of these mountains. Nothing much scares me.” She might’ve thought he was camping with friends and not alone, but that was okay. One less person to run their mouth to a local and start another gossip chain about her.
“Good.” He turned toward the cold fire. “Would you mind helping me gather some firewood? I’m sorry I don’t have any gathered. I was going to do it earlier, but got distracted. I only have enough to start a small fire.”
“Sure.” She set her pack against a rock wall, dug out her flashlight and slipped her sheathed knife into the waistband of her pants.
When she returned with a small armload of firewood a small fire was burning easily in the makeshift fire pit.
“That was fast.”
“Yeah. I have a confession. I like to play with fire.”
“Seems you have a knack for it.” Although knack wasn’t the word she wanted to use. It was like a magic trick. She’d never seen anyone start a fire that fast and have it going so good. Off in a shadowy corner sat a neat stack of firewood. She ignored the chill in the air. Maybe his friends had collected some and he didn’t know it.
Legend Of The Sparks Page 12
