by Box Set
* * *
I can’t stop myself from falling, and
I think I might’ve even taken that first step into
The unknown.
* * *
“Maybe falling is the awesome thing about love,”
Jacey says,
Bringing me back to
The picnic table at the outdoor mall.
“Maybe when you fall,
He’ll go with you.
Or maybe…”
She looks up at me from under
Her bangs.
“Maybe he’s been falling for a while, and
He’s just now starting to pull you with him.”
134
“OLIVIA!”
Mom yells from downstairs.
“We’ve been ready to go for ten minutes!”
* * *
“I know!” I call back.
“Five more minutes.”
I leave my laptop on my bed and
Dash to the top of the stairs.
* * *
Mom stands in the foyer,
Frowning.
* * *
“I’m uploading the portfolio,” I say.
“It’s due by midnight.”
* * *
She glances at her watch, though
She already knows what time it is.
She sighs. “We’ll be in the car.”
* * *
I hurry back to my computer.
Seven of the ten images are complete.
I watch the eighth one render,
Knowing it’s the one of Gramma-Linda.
* * *
I’ve labeled the portfolio “Something About Love,” and
I can only hope the judges will be able to see
The spirit I’ve captured in each image.
* * *
Trevor texts, but
I ignore it as the tenth picture begins it’s upload.
* * *
It comes up on screen, and
I stare into my eyes.
* * *
Wide, and
Blue,
I’m staring into the camera without smiling.
* * *
I look like I have important things to tell you, but
That you’ll have to work to get me to speak.
I look a tad haunted,
My hair laying in a jagged layer across my forehead, and
My left hand cradling my cheek.
* * *
I look like a survivor.
135
SENT
I text Trevor as Mom pulls out of the driveway.
* * *
His message that had come in during the upload had said:
Five hours! Have you sent it yet?
* * *
Him: Yes! I want my copy pronto.
* * *
I smile as I type.
Can’t. My mom dragged me out of the house
Immediately afterward.
We’re on our way to a concert in the city.
Overnight.
No Internet.
No computer.
* * *
Him: I hate you right now.
* * *
I laugh right out loud, causing
Rose to look over and ask,
“What are you laughing at, Livvy?”
* * *
“YOUR PICTURES ARE AMAZING,”
Trevor says when I answer the phone on
Sunday night.
* * *
I’ve been home maybe ten minutes,
Having just returned from the concert with my mom.
* * *
I glance at Dad, who’s
Watching me with interest.
I mouth, It’s Trevor, and
Head for my bedroom.
* * *
“You haven’t seen my pictures,” I tell him.
* * *
“That’s where you’re wrong,” he says.
“All the portfolios are online.”
* * *
I trip over my own feet,
My breath stalling in my throat.
“You’re kidding.”
* * *
I’m not ready for the world to see my pictures.
The Internet…everyone has access to the freaking Internet!
* * *
I throw my arm out and
Grip onto the wall for support.
A moan cuts through my throat.
* * *
“You are masterful with a camera,” he continues
As if I’m not dying a slow death right there in
My hallway.
* * *
“And I have to say,
That male model in four of the pictures is
Pretty dang hot.”
* * *
That elicits a laugh from me, but
It sounds breathy and
Weak.
* * *
“I’m out front,” he says.
“Come out, okay?”
He hangs up before
I can confirm.
* * *
I stand in the hall for another few seconds,
Trying to figure out why
I’m so scared people will see my photos.
I entered the contest.
* * *
“I entered the contest,” I say out loud,
Turning to go downstairs to meet Trevor.
136
“DON’T SAY ANYTHING.”
I hold up my hand as I fly down my front steps.
He’s leaning against his car, and
He pushes to a stand as I approach.
“I need to talk, okay?”
* * *
He nods, his lips pressed tightly closed.
* * *
“Thank you,” I say,
Forcing the words out.
“For making me enter that contest.
For letting me shoot you, and
Reminding me that I love taking pictures.”
* * *
“You’re welcome.”
He threads his fingers between mine.
“Done?”
* * *
“No,” I say, going with
My new reactionary philosophy.
“I cannot believe I’m going to say this, but
I think I have
Fallen
In love
With
* * *
Y
O
U.”
137
“IT’S ABOUT TIME,”
He whispers before
Bringing his arms around me,
Leaning down, and
Brushing his lips against mine.
* * *
My breath stalls, because
He pulls back so fast.
My eyes are closed;
My heart is skipping;
His kiss was too short.
* * *
When his mouth touches mine again,
He holds on, and
Kisses me like
He loves me.
138
“I DIDN’T WIN,”
I say,
Leaning away from the computer,
Where the results of the
California Junior Photography in Excellence award
Have just been announced.
* * *
My phone chimes several times, and
I reach over and mute the text notifications.
I don’t want to talk it through with Jacey, or
Read Trevor’s condolences.
* * *
Dad’s hand on my shoulder is
Heavy enough.
* * *
“Aiko Park had a beautiful portfolio,” I say,
My voice too high.
Hers was at least cohesive.
I should’ve known better than to turn in a portfolio
With four of the same subject.
* * *
The first runner up appears in the s
tream
Coming from the state site.
* * *
It’s not me.
* * *
Lucas Greene’s ten pictures float across the screen, and
They are stunning images of
Athletes.
* * *
The second runner up is Mikayla Sorenson.
She took masterful photos.
* * *
I don’t know why, but
I thought the love I felt for each of the people
In my photos would be evident.
Enough to capture the heart of
Anyone who looked at them.
* * *
I close my laptop,
Not caring to know who took third,
Knowing it wasn’t me.
139
“WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH YOUR $2500?”
Trevor asks when I finally pick up his call
Later that night.
* * *
“What are you talking about?”
* * *
I haven’t looked at my phone in hours, because
He and Jacey have been bombarding me with texts
I don’t want to read.
* * *
“You winning third place?” he asks.
“I thought you were watching the live feed.”
* * *
I sit up in bed,
My heart palpitating.
“Are you saying I won third place?”
* * *
“Are you saying you didn’t know?”
* * *
“Meet me at the dock,” I tell him,
Barely managing to hang up before
I scream.
* * *
After that,
The silence sounds so loud,
Like it’s not quite sure that I won third place either.
140
“DAD, I’M MEETING TREVOR FOR A FEW MINUTES.”
I rush past Dad’s office on
My way to the front door.
* * *
“Wait a second,” he calls.
“Where are you going?”
* * *
“Just to the dock.
Ten minutes, I swear.”
I can’t stop smiling, and
I swear my heart has never beat this fast before.
“I won third place!”
* * *
His brow furrows for a moment, then
He yells.
“You won third place!”
He reaches for his jacket and
Calls to Rose.
“Let me drive you.
We’ll go celebrate.”
141
MY DAD IS WITH ME
I text Trevor, so
He’ll have some warning, but
I find I don’t care if
My dad is with me.
* * *
Trevor is sitting in his car when
We get there, because
It’s windy and cold tonight.
* * *
He either didn’t get the text, or
Doesn’t care, because
He leaps from the car and
Gathers me into a tight hug
Right in front of my father.
* * *
I hold onto his warmth,
Not caring who sees us here,
Hugging.
I don’t need to hide anything
From anyone
Anymore.
* * *
I give him a squeeze,
Hoping he’ll be able to take how I feel and
Recognize it.
* * *
“Thank you,” I whisper, and
He buries his face in my neck and says,
“I love you.”
About Elana Johnson
Elana Johnson is the author of the Possession series, which includes full-length novels POSSESSION, SURRENDER, and ABANDON, and short stories REGRET (ebook only) and RESIST (free). She is also the author of ELEVATED and SOMETHING ABOUT LOVE, which are young adult contemporary romance novels-in-verse, and a new adult futuristic fantasy series that includes ELEMENTA RUSH, ELEMENTAL HUNGER, and ELEMENTAL RELEASE.
* * *
She also writes under the name Liz Isaacson, with an inspirational romance SECOND CHANCE RANCH, coming out on September 8. She loves writing romance, usually in Texas, or Wyoming, or anywhere else horses and cowboys exist. She lives in Utah, where she teaches elementary school, taxis her daughter to dance several times a week, and eats a lot of Ferrero Rocher while writing.
* * *
Sign up for Elana’s newsletter by clicking HERE.
Visit Elana’s website: http://elanajohnson.blogspot.com
Behind the Stars
By Leigh Talbert Moore
* * *
Prentiss Puckett is certain of three things:
-Graduation is two weeks away.
-Summer only gets hotter in south Mississippi.
-She’s getting a job with air-conditioning.
* * *
She did not expect to be kidnapped walking to work.
And she never expected to become a hero.
* * *
Red Dawn meets LOST in this action-adventure/paranormal romance from Amazon bestselling author Leigh Talbert Moore.
If you are reading this book and did not purchase it or win it from an author-sponsored giveaway, this book has been pirated. Please delete it from your device, and support the author(s) by purchasing a legal copy from one of its many distributors.
* * *
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
* * *
Behind the Stars
Copyright © Leigh Talbert Moore, 2104
www.leightmoore.com
* * *
Printed in the United States of America.
* * *
Cover design by Steven Novak, Novak Illustration.
* * *
All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, photocopying, mechanical, or otherwise—without prior permission of the publisher and author.
For my readers and for JRM,
and for my Spanish Fort book club ladies, who fell in love with this story years ago.
“Captive”
* * *
Volume 1
Chapter 1
Mid-May, and it was already hot. And wet. Sweat pasted the few strands of stringy blonde hair that had escaped my ponytail to my damp neck, and I tried not to stir up dust as I walked fast down the old dirt road.
Today was my last day working with Dr. Green, the only large-animal vet in Dabb Creek, and it wasn’t much different from my first. Except on that day it had rained. Stormed more like it, and Doc had said to meet him at Mrs. Blalock’s barn.
My boyfriend Jackson and his best friend D’Lo had to tag along, of course. They didn’t think I’d go through with it, and I think even Dr. Green was skeptical, which was why he’d said I’d have to palpate the widow’s best milking cow before he’d agree to make me his assistant.
Palpate. I knew what that meant. Fancy word for sticking your arm up a cow’s backside to see if she was pregnant. They didn’t think I could do it because I was so little. Years of stretching and drinking milk had only got me up to five-foot tall, but I climbed up on that stool, set my jaw, and plunged right in.
Dr. Green stood close by me, holding up Elsie’s tail. His man-sized plastic glove went all the way over my shoulder to my neck, and it was slathered in lubricant. It kept me clean, but I was getting the full experience of hot, smelly cow butt.
“Make your hand like a wedge, Prentiss,” he said. “Now slowly reach all the way to your elbow.”
Thunder rumbled low outside, and the hiss of r
ain grew louder. I closed my eyes and followed his instructions, focusing on what I was trying to find rather than where I was trying to find it.
“Let the contractions pass,” he said, referencing the muscle spasms I felt around my forearm. “Now feel downward to locate the uterus, not forward. Careful… see if you can detect the embryo.”
