Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (160 page)

* * *

On Friday night, my mom and dad had
left me home alone while they went to an out-of-state book signing
for the weekend. I felt a little safer this time, because my dad
had installed a security system. When nighttime came, though, I did
start to get the creeps, and I obsessively stared out the window to
watch for ski-masked or furry would-be intruders.

Feeling lonely and a bit frightened, I
texted Jesse, “I can’t stop thinking of you.”

A few minutes later, he texted back,
“If I had a rose for every time I thought of you, I’d be walking
through my beautiful garden forever.”

I
gushed.
Aw,
I
thought.
He’s just the
sweetest.

I texted back, “I love when you text
me sweet nothings, so here’s one for you. If I had a star for every
time you brightened my day, I’d have a galaxy in my
hand.”

He replied, “Love it! If snowflakes
were kisses, I’d send you a blizzard.”

A little while later, Max was sitting
on the couch with me as I watched television. When I heard knocking
coming from upstairs, my body froze, but I was ready to bolt out of
the house again if I had to, and this time I was fully dressed.
When the knocking finally subsided, I exhaled a long-held
breath.

I stood shakily to my feet. “Max,
let’s go upstairs and check it out, boy.”

I refused to go unarmed, so I grabbed
a butcher knife and let my dog lead the way. Again, I had to wonder
if I was losing my mind, considering it wasn’t the first time I’d
been creeping around my house, brandishing a sharp kitchen utensil.
Still, I needed to confront my fears. Inhaling and exhaling deeply,
I took a bold step up the stairs, the wood creaking with every step
I took.

When I reached the top of the stairs,
I heard the knocking sound again, coming from my room. My heart
thundered, and I held the knife in a white-knuckled grasp. I walked
to my room, reached around to flick on the switch, and then took a
look around. When I realized tree branches were banging against the
window, I could finally breathe again, and the staccato rhythm of
my heart settled down.

When my cell phone rang, I jumped. I
reached into my pocket, grabbed it, and quickly answered,
“Yeah?”

“
Taylor? What’s wrong?”
Jesse asked.

“
I’m freaking out
again.”

“
You shouldn’t be
alone.”

“
Right. Are you busy?” I
asked.

“
I’m going night-fishing
with my brother and sister on the boat. Wanna come?”

“
I’d love to!”

“
Okay. I’ll be there
soon.”

* * *

I couldn’t wait to meet Sam and
Kierra, and I hoped they would accept me as easily as their brother
had.

We pulled in and parked.

As we walked to the dock, a thin girl
with long, black hair and light blue eyes greeted me with a smile.
“I’m Kierra,” she said, “Jesse’s big sister.” She was gorgeous in a
red wrap dress that just reached the top of her knees, and the
color accentuated her sun-kissed complexion.

“
Taylor,” I said, shaking
her hand. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”

“
Likewise. I’ve heard many
good things about you.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Sam, she’s
here!” she yelled, then smiled back at me.

“
Coming!” a voice called
from the boat.

The guy who emerged was attractive,
also with black hair. He looked at Jesse with his pale blue eyes
and said, “I thought you wanted to look good for your
date.”

“
I look fine,” Jesse
said.

“
Hmm. Looks to me like you
stopped at the zoo and stole the gorilla’s face,” Sam
teased.

“
Ha-ha,” Jesse said, then
shot me a look. “See what I have to put up with?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at their
brotherly banter.

“
Thank God I inherited the
intelligent genes,” Kierra said.

Sam spun to face her. “Right. Since
you joined the family tree, I’ve been dying to cut it
down.”

“
Whatever,” she
said.

“
You’re just trying to
embarrass me, Sam,” Jesse said.

“
And is it working?” he
retorted.

“
Yes, so cut the crap. You
promised to be on your best behavior.”

Sam playfully slugged Jesse right in
the tattoo. “Just kidding, li’l bro’.”

“
This is Taylor,” Jesse
said.

“
She is just as hot as you
described her,” Sam said.

Jesse playfully slugged him back, and
Sam nudged him in the ribs.

“
Nice to meet you, Taylor,”
Sam said. “In case you haven’t guessed, I’m Sam, the coolest of our
little trifecta.”

I smiled, then looked from Sam to
Kierra. “It’s nice to meet you both.”

Sam winked. “The pleasure’s all
mine.”

“
You all have the same
pretty blue eyes.”

“
It’s a curse,” Sam
said.

I laughed. “A nice one then. I’ve
never seen blue eyes that light.”

“
It’s not
a
nice
curse at
all, but I do enjoy getting the ladies’ attention with my weird
peepers,” Sam said. “Can you fish?”

I smiled as a cool breeze blew through
my long hair. “I’m gonna bring in the big one.”

“
Hmm. Well, that’s going to
be hard with me on your boat,” Sam said. “I’m a regular Captain
Ahab.”

“
Yeah…and with cereal for
brains like Captain Crunch,” Jesse teased.

“
Just ignore Sam, Taylor,”
Kierra said. “He didn’t get enough oxygen during birth.”

“
Never a dull moment with
my family,” Jesse whispered in my ear. “If he starts repeating
everything she says like some cockamamie parrot, we’re outta
here.”

I smiled. “We’ll jump ship if we have
to.”

We walked down the long dock, and
Jesse helped me aboard. Kierra started the boat, and we sped off to
the perfect fishing spot. Jesse handed me a fishing pole, then
started sorting through the colorful lures in the tackle box. I
listened carefully as Sam gave me some fishing tips, even though I
didn’t really need them.

The boat stopped and wavered slightly
in the water. “We’re here,” Kierra said.

Jesse hooked my lure up for me, and I
wasted no time in raising the rod tip. In one swooping motion, I
threw out my line.

Jesse stood next to me. “I love to
fish at night. It’s nice to get away and just hang out.”

I lifted my head and looked up at the
black velvet sky, speckled with twinkling stars. “Yeah, it’s so
beautiful out here on Big Bear Lake.”

We all chatted for a while. I could
tell they were a close-knit family like my own, and I loved being
around them. In spite of Fred’s speculation that they were witches,
I felt completely comfortable in their presence.

Suddenly, my pole jerked, and I gave
it a quick tug. “I got a bite!” I said. The fishing line screamed
out of the aluminum casting reel as a giant fish stole the hook,
line, and almost me. Luckily, I caught my balance. I hauled back on
my fishing pole, bending it in such a sharp arc that it nearly
snapped. I stole a glance at Jesse, shooting him a triumphant
smile. “I told you I’d bring in a big one.”

“
And you delivered!” he
said. “I never doubted you for a minute.”

Sam jumped off the chrome rail. “Are
you sure you didn’t snag a submarine?”

“
Feels like it.” As I
reeled in the line, the crank handle spun and clicked like crazy.
The tug-of-war went on for a while, and my muscles began to ache
from the strain. “I swear this thing’s fighting harder than Mike
Tyson!”

Powerful deck lights mounted high
above me illuminated the surface of the water. Big Bear Lake
pitched and churned like a pan of boiling water. The fish broke the
surface in a clatter of spray, thrashed its head, and danced on its
tail.

When I caught sight of its
black-striped body, my eyes widened. “Look at that!”

Sam whistled and cheered.
“Bravo!”

Kierra clapped. “It’s a largemouth
bass,” Kierra said.

“
She’s a real beauty,”
Jesse said. “I knew coming out here at night would pay off.” He
then helped me haul the exhausted, two-foot fish up over the rail
of the sailboat.

With
a
thud
, the
metallic-scaled bass hit the deck.
The fish had a big mouth, and its
upper jaw extended past its eyes.
The bass was dark green,
with greenish-yellow sides and a dark stripe running down the side
of its body.
Its fins shimmered in the
silver moonlight. Applause erupted as everyone hopped and twisted
to avoid the thrashing monster.

Kierra sprang from her chair and
cheered me on. “The only thing bigger than that fish is the smile
on your face—oh, and Sam’s ego.”

I laughed. Night-fishing under a sky
full of shining stars would be on my list of favorite things from
that day forward. Catching a giant fish was just an added
bonus.

The fish wriggled its fins and smacked
its body against the deck, and I jumped back as its forked tail
slapped across my legs. I wiped the water off my face with my
tank-top. “How much do you think it weighs?”

Droplets glimmered in Sam’s black
hair. “At least twenty pounds.” His finger touched the slimy
fish.

I brushed off my cutoff shorts and
straightened my tank-top. I then pulled out my camera and handed it
to Kierra. “Can you get a picture of me and Jesse with the
fish?”

Kierra
laughed. “No way! This is
your
moment in the limelight. Don’t let Jesse steal
your thunder.”

I smiled. Even though I wanted a
picture of Jesse and me together, I couldn’t argue with her logic.
“All right. Just me then.” I held the fish and felt my lips stretch
into a wide grin. I couldn’t wait to send it to everybody across
the entire planet by morning. My biggest regret was that Jesse
wouldn’t be in it, which would have been a nice touch for the
ex.

“
Okay. On the count of
three. One…two…three!” With that, Kierra snapped the
photo.

The bright flash blinded me, and white
spots danced in my vision. I sighed and straightened up, then
glanced at the LCD screen. “It’s perfect! Thanks.”

“
So…do we keep it for
dinner or let it go?” Sam asked.

“
We should throw it back. I
just wanted a picture with it.”

Sam threw
the bass back into the water with a loud
splash,
and I was happy to see it
swim off. Jesse, Sam, and Kierra caught lots of fish, but we didn’t
keep any of them, and none of them were as big as my first catch of
the night.

“
Let’s try a different
spot, sis,” Sam said.

Kierra started up the boat, and we
sped across the lake.

Jesse put an arm around me as the wind
blew my hair around over and over again. I looked at him, and he
smiled the most delicious movie star smile I’d ever seen. The
moonlight made his winter-blue eyes sparkle even more than usual,
rivaling the stars above us.

The boat stopped, and Kierra smiled.
“This is a great spot. I’ve had lots of luck here.”

This time, Jesse and I didn’t fish. We
just gazed into each other’s eyes and talked while Kierra and Sam
tried to outdo my catch, to no avail.

When I looked off into the woods, a
flash of white caught my attention. I peered closer and saw another
flash of white. Something moved in the bushes, and I smiled at the
outline of an animal. It took a few more steps out of the greenery
and started to sip the water. As my eyes focused, I realized it was
a buck, white as snow and stunningly majestic.

“
What are you looking at?”
Jesse asked.

“
Don’t you see
it?”

“
See what?”

“
That deer over there, a
white buck sipping water.”

He squinted. “No.”

“
Huh? I’m looking right at
it.”

“
Taylor, I have excellent
eyesight, better than most, and I don’t see anything.”

“
Look! It lifted its
head.”

“
Kierra!” Jesse called.
“C’mere!”

She rushed to my side. “What’s
up?”

“
Taylor says there’s a
white buck on the shore.”

She looked. “I don’t see
it.”

“
Me neither,” Sam said,
approaching from my right.

Kierra
shot Sam and Jesse a look, as if they thought I was some kind of
nutcase, and I suddenly wished I’d kept my mouth shut. I had no
idea why I was being plagued by hallucinations, but in that moment,
I also had to wonder if I’d really heard a wolf in our house the
night my parents had gone out and I’d ended up at McDonald’s in my
bathrobe.
Maybe all this fresh mountain
air is making me chronically lightheaded,
I
thought.