by Gloria Craw
“For once, I think destiny was on my side,” I replied. “I found Phoebe and got her to agree to meeting up with me tomorrow.”
“Amazing work.”
“It went well. Maybe a little too well.”
“What does that mean?”
“Just that it came surprisingly easy. I keep feeling like it’s going to blow up in my face at some point.”
“Think positive. I always do.”
“You are a shining light,” I joked. “What did you do today?”
“I had breakfast at a little diner in town, talked to Stacy for about three hours, had lunch at the diner, and talked to Stacy some more. She keeps at the same topic like a dog with a bone. Her favorite thing to discuss is Theron. She’s told me all about the programs he’s coded and the paintings he’s done. She started in on his cooking about an hour ago. I had no idea he cooked, but according to Stacy he’s the next MasterChef.”
“He is pretty good at it,” I said.
“Whatever. The point is after she briefs me on what a wonderful guy he is, she starts pumping me for information about him. Anything she doesn’t already know, I can’t tell her, so I’m constantly trying to come up with ways to change the subject.”
“I would thoughtmake her into silence if I could.”
“Just one of many reasons I miss you.”
“I miss you, too,” I said truthfully.
That brightened his eyes. “I was thinking you could come down and have breakfast with me. As long as I don’t go up there to you, I think it’s safe enough. We’d have to eat at the diner though. Stacy only has ramen noodles in the house.”
“Okay, but it can’t be tomorrow. I’m planning to go into the Ledges early. I want to look around the lodge and get a feel for how it’s laid out.”
“Maybe the day after,” he suggested.
He stretched and put his arm behind his head. I blinked and I tried not to drool. Ian seemed to know how he it affected me and gave me a cocky smile.
I rolled my eyes. “You are so full of yourself.”
“Why? Because I’m naturally tempting? I’m just being me. I don’t get embarrassed because I think you have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen and the softest neck I’ve ever kissed. I accept things as they are.”
Feeling a little jealous, I asked, “How many necks have you kissed?”
“A few,” he responded, like he was having the time of his life.
“I think we should say good-night now.”
“You’re no fun. Theron must be sucking all the positive energy up. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
We said good-bye, and I turned the lamp on the nightstand off.
Hurricane emotions had worn me out. I fell asleep almost instantly.
It sounded like Theron was being assaulted in the living room the next morning. Loud banging and curses traveled down the hall into my room. I turned onto my stomach and put a pillow over my head. But it wasn’t thick enough to quiet the noise.
Planning how I was going to kill him, I pushed the covers off and rubbed my cold nose. Then I stomped across the room and threw the door open. I took one step out and bumped into him. He was as surprised to see me as I was to see his purple-and-green checked shirt.
“Good morning, Sunshine,” I said as sarcastically as I could. “Did you kill him?”
“Did I kill who?”
“The intruder you’ve been fighting with for the last ten minutes?”
He just stood there looking confused.
“The noise. The banging,” I continued. He still looked clueless. “Never mind. Move so I can go to the little girls’ room.”
I pushed at him, but he didn’t shift. I pushed harder and got the same result.
“Here,” he said, handing me a bundle of yet more flannel material. “They’re pajama pants,” he explained. “They may be a little long, but they’ll be warmer than whatever it is you’re wearing now.”
“Are you trying to convert me into a flannel-wearing lumberjack like you?”
“I’m not a lumberjack. And I’m not trying to convert you into anything. I’m trying to help you keep your legs from turning blue.”
“Well…that’s actually very nice of you,” I said, taking them from him. “I’m sorry I planned your murder.”
“Huh?”
His gaze wandered to my bare legs for like the third time since I’d opened the door. A slow smile spread across my lips. “Oh, I get it,” I said. “You’re a leg guy, aren’t you, Theron?”
He narrowed his eyes at me.
“Theron has a weakness,” I teased in a singsong voice.
He turned away. “If I did, your personality ruined it for me.”
He’d chuckled at me the day before. I got to giggle at him all the way to the bathroom.
After getting ready for another day on the slopes, I went in search of that wonderful box of sugary cereal, but I couldn’t find it.
Theron had moved his banging and cursing to the porch, so I wrapped a blanket around myself and went to ask him where he kept it.
He had cans of food sorted out on the stairs and was putting them into a hiking pack.
“What are you doing?” I asked. “Preparing to feed the all the wildlife within a mile?”
“Preparing to take food to a friend.”
“Does Stacy know about this friend? Ian says she’s in looooove with you.”
He looked up at me with annoyance written all over his face.
“It’s okay,” I teased. “If you’re going to hike with cans of beans and corn to your other girlfriend’s place, I won’t tell.”
“For your information, my friend’s name is Frank Shoemaker.”
“She sounds pretty.”
“He’s an eighty-nine-year-old war veteran who’s snowed in.” He strapped snowshoes on his feet, and then said, “Hand me that pack, will you?”
I picked it up, but it was so heavy I almost tipped over. He hefted it like it weighed nothing and put his arms through the straps. Then he adjusted the weight and put a pair of sunglasses on.
I could see why Stacy was into him. It was an impressive show, and snow gear plus sunglasses suited him.
“Text me if you run into problems today,” he said, turning away.
He got to the edge of the trees before I remembered why I’d come out in the first place. “Where’s the cereal?” I yelled.
“Shelf above the refrigerator,” he yelled back. “Leave some for me.”
“No promises,” I replied.
I ate three bowls of Theron’s cereal and checked the time. I still had a while.
I felt like reading, but the only book I had with me was the dewing history book in my backpack. It was better than nothing, so I went to my room, got it and hustled back to my chair by the fire.
After opening the book on my lap, I turned to the map of Atlantis and looked at all the cities with clan names. There was one name I didn’t recognize, Arx. Under the word the artist had drawn several white-pillared buildings that reminded me of Greek temples.
I turned to the next page, which was all writing, and searched for a word that looked like Arx. Near the bottom of the page, I found one and concentrated on translating what was being said about it. It seemed the Arx was some kind of fortress or castle. The author went on to write things about the solstices and equinoxes.
I turned a couple more pages to another drawing. This one showed the moon eclipsing the sun. A young man and woman dressed in light blue stood at the top of a set of stairs leading into one of the white-pillared buildings. Their faces had been rubbed out, so I couldn’t see their features clearly. But there was a brooch on the left side of the woman’s chest. The man was wearing a similar type of thing as a buckle on his belt.
The pieces looked to be made of gold and had a design on them I recognized. The vining wreath with a few small flowers opening up on it was the Laurel signet or stamp.
The couple must have been Laurels, and whatever they were doing was importa
nt. More interested in my history than ever before, I touched their blurred-out faces and felt a kind of pull. Instead of creeping me out, it comforted me.
Closing the book, I decided Katherine was right. I should start learning more about my clan.
Chapter Fourteen
I arrived at the Ledges early. Like the exterior, the interior space was designed to look rustic. It worked pretty well except for the uniformed staff behind varnished wood countertops at the check-in.
I smiled at a nice-looking guy helping an older couple at the service desk. He smiled back and winked at me. A little weird, but okay.
Like Theron said, the shops and boutiques were on the main level. I wasn’t interested in shopping, though. I wanted to find the elevators so I could go up and get a look at the conference rooms. I figured if there were so many Truss around, they’d likely use one of them for a meeting.
I found the elevators but was disappointed. They were key-card controlled. Without a room reservation, I wasn’t going to be able to go up. At least not on my own.
I moved on to the shops. There was quite a variety. A store that sold stationery and clocks right next to one that sold ergonomic neck rolls. I knew where to go if I got the urge to write to someone’s grandparents and developed a stiff neck.
Seeing some interesting lotions, I went into the spa to have a look. A woman in a lab coat approached me. “You have beautiful skin,” she said. “Such a lovely olive complexion.”
I looked behind me to see who she was talking to and then remembered the pills I’d been taking to make me look tan. I touched my chin self-consciously. “Thank you.”
“We have a seaweed scrub especially for skin like yours. I can put you down for a facial this afternoon.”
A facial sounded great, but I wasn’t sure how my fake skin color would react to a seaweed scrub. “I have plans for the day,” I replied. “I’ll keep it in mind for later, though.”
She handed me a card. “Ask for me if you decide to come in.”
I put the card in my pocket and headed toward a souvenir shop. I’d just gone inside when I felt two male dewing coming toward me. Through the store window, I watched them pass.
I had another choice before me. Follow them and risk heating up or stay in the shop and look at beanies with “the Ledges” embroidered on them.
Feeling brave, I left the shop and followed some distance behind the men.
From the back they looked similar. They were about the same height, which was an inch or so shorter than me, they had matching shades of dishwater-blonde hair, and they were wearing identical white button-up shirts.
I tailed them to a bistro where they sat down at a table.
Doing a quick rewind to view even my smallest reaction to them, I was pleased. The anger was still there, and the heat was, too, but it hadn’t gotten out of control. I did a few breathing exercises, waited for my temperature to normalize, and then went inside.
A waitress was still putting menus on the tables. “Sit where you’d like,” she said to me. “I’ll be right with you.”
I chose a place a couple of tables away from the dewing guys and pretended to read my menu while observing them. It looked like they were in their mid-twenties, but that didn’t mean much. They could have been fifty for all I knew.
The similarities I’d noted between them ended at the neck. One of them had a round head with round features. The other had a longish face with a pointy chin and slits for eyes. He reminded me of a fox. The kind that liked to kill chickens.
The round-faced guy tossed a questioning glance my way. I directed my eyes toward the menu again and pretended to be fascinated with the food choices.
Things were pretty uninteresting for a while. They ordered food, I ordered food. They ate food, I ate food. Things changed when the round-faced man left and fox man got a call.
Looking at the caller ID, he tensed up. Then he grumbled something and answered. I understood a few words here and there, but for a time, nothing stood out. Then I heard, You can’t do that. Then a pause followed by, You’re dealing with two lives. Another pause and, Just don’t do anything we’ll both regret.
He hung up, left some money on the table, and stomped out. Whatever the call was about, he was clearly upset. I sipped my orange juice and replayed his words in my mind. You’re dealing with two lives. He could have been talking about his sick goldfish, but instinct told me he was talking about something else. Something a lot more serious.
The guy was super creepy, but I’d be on alert for opportunities to find out more about him.
Finishing up breakfast, I paid my bill and doubled back to get my snowboard. As I approached the help desk an idea dawned, and I headed for the guy who’d winked at me.
“Can I help you?” he asked with a flirtatious grin.
I crossed my arms and leaned forward on the high counter. I gave him my best you’re so cute smile and said, “I lost my key card. Can I get another?”
“Absolutely,” he drawled. “Just put your finger on the scanner, and it will pull up your room number.”
My smile turned plastic. The freaking scanners were everywhere. “It will only take a second,” he assured me.
A second or not, I wasn’t going to do it. No need for the scan. She’s in room 320, I mentally suggested.
He accepted my thought. “Just a moment,” he said, before going into the back room. When he came out, he handed me a card and looked me over. “Can I get you anything else?”
“Nope,” I replied, catching the scent of his musky cologne.
While I tried not to gag, he said, “I’m here until two if you need anything else.”
Just having him breathe on me made me feel gross. I wanted to ask for a bath in Purell, but I replied, “I’ll let you know.”
Phoebe arrived at the chairlift just after I did.
“Sorry I’m late,” she said loudly. “My mom sat me down for a lecture this morning.”
“I hate those.”
“This is an important week,” she said, mimicking someone I assumed was her mother. “Cross your ankles when you sit, pull your hair back like I’ve asked a hundred times, and find some clothes that fit. Don’t talk so loud, don’t interrupt people, and keep your inappropriate opinions to yourself.”
I laughed. “I’ve heard that one before.”
“Did it change anything for you?” she asked with disgust. “It didn’t for me. I sit the way that feels comfortable. I like my hair down and my clothes loose. As far as the rest of it is concerned, my dad taught me to think for myself and speak my mind. It’s too late to change all that.”
“I hear you,” I said.
She squared her shoulders, like she wanted to get rid of something clingy. “Anyway, I brought this back,” she said.
She held my washed and stain-free scarf out to me. I was careful not to touch her as I took it.
“How’s your side?”
“I woke up all better. I’m going to do a run. You can come if you want.”
Destiny was smiling on me again. “Yeah, sure,” I replied.
When we took our places in line, she got a text. “Crap,” she said, reading it.
“What’s wrong?”
“Jacob told my mom I interrupted one of his business calls this morning. She wants to skin me alive.” She rolled her eyes. “My family’s business is being restructured and no one can agree on how to do things.”
The business restructuring she mentioned was probably clan-related stuff. She was steering the conversation exactly where I wanted it to go, but once again, it seemed to be going too smoothly. Destiny didn’t like me that much.
“Our family business has pretty much been run into the ground,” she continued. “My dad had real problems with…the last CEO and how he managed things. My mom worshipped the guy. She and too many others in the family want to go on like nothing has changed.”
“You sound pretty passionate about it.”
“I am. My dad taught me to care and educ
ate myself on things that truly matter.”
“And you think it would be bad to keep doing business like before?”
“Absolutely. It would be like pushing the self-destruct button on…the company. I don’t know all the ins and outs, but I do know we have to reevaluate how we’ve done things in the past or the entire thing is going to collapse in on us.”
“You’re what…seventeen?” I asked. “You talk like a thirty-year-old.”
She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter how I talk, no one listens to me.”
I made a sympathetic sound.
She’d just given me a very important piece of information. Her mother and father, though hoping to get the clanship, didn’t agree on how to move forward with it. One of them liked Sebastian’s way of doing things, and the other didn’t. That might make for instability if they became chiefs.
We moved up a few positions, and I felt another Truss in the area. I breathed deep and visualized a dozen brownies. This time, I barely heated at all.
Phoebe waved to a short round man who came gliding our way. He had a head of fluffy white hair, his cheeks were rosy in the cold, and his baby-blue eyes sparkled with good humor.
“There’s my favorite niece,” he said, giving Phoebe a hug.
She kissed the miniature Santa Claus’s cheek.
Smiling, he turned to me. “Who’s your friend?”
“This is Ali. She helped me out yesterday.”
I watched nervously for a sign that the man might recognize me, but couldn’t detect anything.
“I’m Thomas,” he said. “Nice to meet you.”
I shook his hand and Phoebe said, “I thought Aunt Shannon had forbidden you to ski this trip.”
“We came to a mutual understanding. I get to ski from one until four o’clock, and she gets to control the TV station in the evenings.” He laughed cheerfully. “She gets to control the TV anyway, so I’m getting the better end of the deal.”
“How is she?” Phoebe asked with concern in her tone. “I haven’t seen her yet.”
