The Complete Lost Children Series

by Krista Street

  The utter confusion in Dean’s voice made my eyes widen. I couldn’t believe Flint hadn’t been more careful about his speed.

  “He was on the hill, coming down from the barn,” I said quickly.

  “You were?” Dean asked.

  “Yep, he was. Okay, then. I’m turning in. Night, guys!” I bolted through the cabin door and slammed it behind me before either of them could respond. Guilt made me cringe. It wasn’t the nicest way to end the night with Dean, but I wasn’t ready to face that conversation. Not yet at least.

  Breathing heavily, I leaned against the door and sank to the floor. The hard wood pressed into my back, and the tiled entryway chilled my thighs. I didn’t care. All I knew was that I needed some time to figure out what the hell just happened.

  Since it was dark and quiet in the cabin, I knew Jacinda and Di were still working. I didn’t know where Mica was. Even though I usually preferred to be surrounded by people, at that moment, I was glad to be alone.

  “What the hell was that?” I finally muttered. I was about to stand when I felt it again. Flint’s energy. It came from behind the cabin. It was so strong I felt it through the wall.

  Wide-eyed, I stood and opened the door. Cool evening air swirled into the cabin. Moonlight illuminated the porch.

  With hesitant movements, I peeked out. Dean was gone, thankfully. I didn’t see anyone else. Shivering, I crossed my arms and walked quietly down the porch and around the side of the cabin.

  Tall grass brushed against my legs. When I rounded the back corner, sure enough, Flint sat in the grass, aggressively pulling petals off some wildflower.

  “Flint?” I said.

  He bolted to standing. “Lena?” Tousled hair covered his head, as if he’d run his fingers through it repeatedly. “What are you doing here?”

  I balked. “What am I doing here? Uh, I live here.”

  He dropped the flower and raked a hand through his hair. “Oh. Right.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  He looked down and shuffled his feet. The movement was entirely bizarre. I’d never seen Flint as anything but calm and cool. This was a complete one-eighty.

  “I . . . ah . . .” he stammered. He didn’t continue.

  I raised my eyebrows. “You what?”

  He stuffed his hands into his pockets and shrugged. A confused expression crossed his face. “I don’t know.”

  I shivered in the cool night. His head snapped up. “Are you cold?”

  “A little.”

  In a move so fast he was a blur, he stood beside me and was putting his jacket around my shoulders. The warm fabric fell around me before I could protest. In the next second, a cloud of spice, wood and tangerines wafted up to greet me. My head spun.

  In just a T-shirt and jeans, he shoved his hands back into his pockets. Strong, muscled forearms peeked out. A rush of desire shot through me again. As before, it took me completely by surprise.

  “What did you want to talk about in the dining room?” I asked. Hot, raw energy flowed out of him again. My pulse quickened.

  “Nothing.”

  “Nothing?” I cocked an eyebrow.

  He glanced away and ran a hand through his hair again. “It was just . . .” he made a noise in his throat, like a frustrated growl. “Dammit.” He seethed.

  His frustration took me completely by surprise. “Is everything okay?”

  He laughed humorlessly. “Oh yeah, everything’s fine.”

  When I raised my eyebrows, he took a deep breath, as though it pained him to continue. “I don’t know why I came up to you like that. I’m sorry.”

  “So . . . you didn’t have anything you wanted to talk about?”

  His dark gaze had that deep emotion in it again. In the moonlight, it practically swirled. Except this time, it didn’t go away. “No, not really. I saw you sitting there with Dean. He was touching you, and I don’t know . . . I kind of . . .”

  The silence stretched.

  “You kind of what?”

  “I kind of lost it,” he said quietly.

  I waited for him to explain, but he didn’t.

  “What does that mean?”

  He raked a hand through his hair again. This time, he kept his gaze averted. “I wanted to get you away from him and telling you that I needed to talk to you outside was what I came up with.”

  That admission left me speechless.

  Flint ran a hand through his hair again. It was practically standing up straight by now. I’d never seen him so unsure or embarrassed before.

  “Oh, um, okay . . .” I murmured.

  “So yeah . . .” He turned and took a step back. Raw energy still poured from him. It took me a second before I realized he was about to walk away.

  “Wait!” I called.

  He stopped dead in his tracks. Pushing a strand of hair behind my ear, I waited until he turned to face me. “I don’t get it,” I said.

  His shoulders tensed.

  I tentatively put a hand on his forearm. His muscles bunched, and his heat seared my skin. Another rush of desire, so strong it made my knees weak, shot through me. “So . . . you don’t want me seeing Dean?”

  He gritted his teeth. “No. I guess I don’t.”

  “Why?”

  He shook his head but didn’t say anything.

  “Flint. Please tell me what’s going on.”

  He raked a hand through his hair again. “I don’t know.” He sighed harshly. “It’s just . . .” His silence stretched.

  “Just what?”

  He refused to meet my gaze. “That first day when we picked you up . . . something . . . changed in me when I saw you.”

  For a moment all I could do was breathe shallowly. I still had my hand on his arm. I was acutely aware of his hot, smooth skin. “Is that why you ignored me when I got in the Suburban?”

  He gave the barest hint of a nod.

  “And that’s why you barely speak to me, unless you have to?”

  Another slight nod.

  “Right.” I dropped my hand and gazed out over the pastures. I couldn’t think when I touched him. Nighttime sounds drifted to us: crickets, the wind, a distant vehicle on the county road.

  “I should probably go,” he said.

  My stomach sank. “Don’t.”

  He tensed again.

  “Talk to me. Don’t leave like this.”

  He was about to reach his hand to his hair when I grabbed it. Energy exploded off him. “Whoa,” I murmured. “You have no idea what’s coming off you right now.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Your cloud is so strong. I can feel it. You’re the only person I can feel like that.”

  “Really?”

  “I could feel you at the fire, when you were hiding behind that tree, and I felt when you followed Dean and me back here. I knew you were there.”

  Flint groaned quietly. “Well, shit, that’s embarrassing.”

  I laughed. I couldn’t help it. Once again, I’d never seen him so unsure and I swear he just blushed.

  “It makes me feel better when I can feel you,” I admitted.

  “It does?”

  “Yeah, you’re not the only one who felt something when we met. I . . . ah . . . got a feeling off you too.”

  “What kind of feeling?”

  “When I first saw you, something came over me . . . I felt . . . safe. Like you’d never let anyone hurt me.”

  “I wouldn’t.”

  “I know.”

  The silence stretched again. I let go of his hand even though I loved how it felt. Taking a deep breath, I finally got the courage to ask him something I’d been wondering all day. “Did you really spend last night outside our cabin?”

  His forehead furrowed. “How’d you know that?”

  “Jacinda.”

  He snorted. “Figures.”

  “She thought you were keeping watch—over me.”

  He didn’t respond.

  “Were you?”

  “Yes.”<
br />
  “You mean you weren’t concerned for everyone’s safety?”

  He smiled humorlessly. “I suppose I should have been. But no, if you want the honest answer, I was only worried about you.”

  “What about Di? Isn’t she your . . . girlfriend . . . or whatever?”

  Flint’s eyes widened. His mouth actually dropped. “Di? My girlfriend?”

  I squirmed. “I just thought . . . I mean I wasn’t sure since you two always hang out together.”

  “That doesn’t mean she’s my girlfriend. Lena, I think Di’s my sister.”

  Now it was my turn to look stunned. “Your sister?”

  “Haven’t you noticed how similar we are? We’re both tall, have dark eyes and olive skin. Even our personalities are similar. Both natural leaders, keep to ourselves, don’t always get along with others.”

  “Um, now that you mention it.” A warm rush of relief washed over me.

  He chuckled. We stood staring at one another for a moment. I was acutely aware of every second. Finally, he grunted, “So are you dating Dean?”

  “No.”

  His energy noticeably subsided. “Good. Keep it that way.”

  The possessive tone in his voice surprised me. I wanted to ask him why he didn’t want me dating Dean, but then I heard voices. Footsteps on gravel accompanied the voices and then the thump of people climbing the porch.

  “Di and Jacinda are back,” Flint said. A breeze ruffled his thoroughly mussed hair. I wanted to reach up and smooth it. I barely stopped my fingers.

  “Yeah, I hear.”

  “It’s late. We should probably turn in.”

  Disappointment swelled in me. I cleared my throat. “Yeah, of course.”

  We walked to the front of the cabin. Our arms brushed each other’s. The slight contact sent desire racing through me again. My body’s reaction to him bordered on crazy.

  At the bottom of the porch steps, he turned to face me. The porch light illuminated his dark eyes and that deep emotion that still swirled in them. He wasn’t shielding anything right now. His energy had also picked up again, but it was more controlled, like soft waves instead of the fierce power it had been earlier.

  “What are you doing tomorrow night after work?” he asked.

  His eyes and scent made my head swim. “Um, nothing, I don’t think.”

  “Do you want to go somewhere with me? Just the two of us?”

  I stopped breathing. “Yes.”

  He smiled, a small crooked smile that looked sexy as hell. “I’ll see you then.”

  And with that, he was gone.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  The next morning, I woke early and lay in bed going over every detail from the night before.

  Flint didn’t want me dating Dean. He’d actually admitted that.

  I turned on my side and stared at the wall. A sheetrock screw had popped. I picked at it and snuggled deeper under the warm covers.

  Flint had also followed me from the dining room to the bonfire. After that, he’d raced to my side when Dean kissed me. He’d been angry at the thought of me with Dean. That poor wildflower had taken the brunt of his aggression.

  I muffled a giggle and smiled into my pillow.

  By the time I got up, I had to scramble. Scents of brewing coffee wafted into the room. I knew Di was at the kitchenette.

  The blow dryer sounded in the bathroom. Jacinda was probably putting the finishing touches on her hair.

  As for me, I threw on the first thing I picked up: jeans and a T-shirt. I almost fell over as I hurriedly stuffed my legs into the pants.

  “Lena!” Di called from the living room. “Get moving. We gotta go!”

  That’s right. It was Val’s day off today so all three of us were working. “Coming!” I tried to call quietly.

  Mica grumbled in her sleep and buried her head under her covers. I nearly tripped trying to get out of the room. Mica was as messy as me. Our stuff lay everywhere.

  When Di, Jacinda and I finally walked out the front door, the last thing I expected was what greeted us on the porch.

  Flint sat on the swing.

  One foot rocked the swing, while the other sat idle. He was staring at the sunrise, but his gaze honed onto me as soon as I passed through the door.

  I could tell his presence took all of us by surprise, although Di tried to act perfectly normal as she turned to lock the door. However, Jacinda and I both stared, wide-eyed.

  When my brain actually worked enough to do something, I looked out across the ranch. I didn’t know what else to do. Flint waited on our porch, but why? The sun burned on the horizon, the breeze cool. A blur of movement swirled the air at my side.

  Flint stood beside me.

  Startled, I anxiously assessed our surroundings, wondering if anyone had seen him move that fast. No one else was out.

  It always seemed Flint knew when he could and couldn’t move at his speed. The times he did, not a soul could be seen. Well, except for last night, when he’d been unable to control himself after Dean kissed me. I smiled inwardly.

  Flint’s scent flowed like a soft caress across my skin. I resisted the urge to close my eyes and inhale. Peeking up at him, I mumbled, “Hello.”

  His response was to clasp my hand and pull me toward the steps. My heart stopped. It was only then I remembered we weren’t alone. Di and Jacinda both watched, mouths agape.

  “Coming?” Flint called.

  They kicked into action, and we all began walking toward the main house. Nobody said a thing. This is definitely going to be an awkward five minutes.

  Jacinda finally broke the ice a few steps later. “Nice morning, don’t you think?”

  “Pretty sunrise,” Di commented.

  “Yeah, lots of colors,” Jacinda said.

  Flint’s fingers curled around mine. They felt hard, calloused, and warm. I couldn’t manage a reply to the sunrise conversation.

  Flint, of course, remained silent.

  Di and Jacinda eyed each other and took a big step forward, then another. Slowly, they moved farther and farther ahead.

  “Did you sleep okay?” Flint asked when we fell behind. Our arms brushed each other’s. That small sensation sent tingles along my nerves. He was still holding my hand.

  “Um, yeah, fine. You?” I replied.

  “Really good.”

  I swallowed self-consciously. “Well . . . it probably helps that you didn’t slink around our cabin all night.”

  He smiled. “I might have gotten up a few times to check on you.”

  My eyes shot to his. From the teasing glint in his gaze, I couldn’t tell if he was serious or not.

  When we arrived at the main house, he stopped and faced me. I held my breath, unsure of what he would do.

  Another crooked smile greeted me. “Have a good day.”

  I tried to reply. All that came out was an unintelligible sound.

  “See you tonight,” he added. “I’ll pick you up at nine.” With that, he turned and walked away.

  I SPENT THE entire day watching the clock. The morning crawled by, the afternoon not much better. Since things ended awkwardly with Dean the previous night, I didn’t go to the barn on my break. I felt guilty about that. I knew sooner or later I’d have to face him, to try to smooth things over, but today wasn’t that day.

  Consequently, I paced the cabin for the entire four hours in the afternoon. My nerves didn’t abate one bit when we went back to work at supper.

  By the time eight o’clock finally rolled around, I was so anxious I ran back to the cabin. Given I still had an hour until Flint arrived, I had enough time to mull over what to wear. Of course, Jacinda approved whole-heartedly.

  With her help, I chose fitted jeans and a green sweater that matched my eyes. Since I figured we’d be somewhere on the ranch, I anticipated being outside. Mica suggested I tie my hair up in case it got windy. I hesitated. Fingering my curls would give my hands something to do.

  “I think I’ll keep it down,” I replied
.

  Mica shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

  “What about shoes?” I asked.

  “Definitely hiking boots.” Mica lounged on her bottom bunk. “Then you’re ready for anything.”

  Jacinda snorted. “Hiking boots? No.” She rummaged through my closet and pulled out my lone pair of heels. “These would look great with skinny jeans, but we may need to change your top . . .” She bit her lip.

  I snatched the hiking boots off the floor. “These will do!”

  Running from the room, I escaped to the couch. Di merely raised an eyebrow when I plopped next to her.

  Her book, Amnesia—The Mystery behind the Secrets Within, was visible from where I sat. I was pretty sure Di had raided the entire medical section in Little Raven’s small public library. Last week, she’d been reading, The Science of Memory.

  I hurriedly pulled my boots on. I was about to ask Di if she’d discovered anything to explain our memory loss when a knock rapped on the front door. All of the blood drained from my face. My gaze flew to the clock. I gulped.

  Nine o’clock had arrived.

  My heart pounded as I walked to the door. Out of my peripheral vision, I saw Jacinda and Mica take my place on the couch, which of course, gave them an unobstructed view of the front door. I cast them an irritated look. Mica merely grinned.

  “Well, don’t keep him waiting!” she called.

  Taking a deep breath, I opened the door. The second my eyes met Flint’s, I stopped breathing. He lounged casually against the door frame and smelled freshly showered. That mix of spice, wood and tangerines wafted toward me. His chestnut hair curled at the ends, still slightly damp. A clean, flannel button-up shirt stretched across his broad chest. Worn jeans hugged his lean hips, and an old tattered, wool blanket was tucked under one arm.

  He stood at the threshold, not coming in. Instead, he held out his hand.

  It took me a moment to understand I was supposed to take it. I was glad my back blocked my shaking fingers from view.

  “Ready?” Flint asked.

  “Bye!” I called over my shoulder.

  Flint pulled me onto the porch. Just as the door closed, Mica yelled, “Have fun!”

  A few muffled laughs followed. I gritted my teeth and tried to stop the nervousness that churned my stomach. My free hand was already pulling a curl.