Phoenix: Book One of The Stardust Series (8 page)

The Boardwalk

“Monopoly, Uno, or
Checkers?” Chase looked at me expectantly, holding up the three classic games.
Their loose plastic pawns rattled gently against each other and the box.
Surprised by the question, I didn’t immediately respond. “Please, Haley,” he
implored. “I’m so bored, and I love games.”

His adorable smile was
too much to resist, especially with his dimple. And the idea of passing the
afternoon with a game was infinitely more appealing than continuing to stare
out the window and worry about my uncertain future. “Monopoly,” I finally
suggested, smiling back at him.

“Yes! I love Monopoly.
I always pick the battleship. What piece do you want?” He started laying out
the game pieces on the table.

I laughed at his
enthusiasm, considering my choices. “I’ve always wanted a dog, so I’ll go with
the Scottish Terrier.”

I watched with
amusement while Chase set up the game. He chatted about playing Monopoly with
his grandmother and Ethan, and he told me how Ethan always tried to fight him
for the battleship. It was nice to see this easy-going side of Chase. He said
more in those few minutes than he had the rest of the day put together.

As we got into the
game, I had to admit that I was having fun with Chase. I’d never had the chance
to do normal things like this with anyone other than my dad and Jessica. For
probably the millionth time, I wondered what it would have been like to be an
ordinary teenager.

“So, Haley.” Chase’s
voice had an inquisitive tone, and I was slightly worried about what he was
going to ask me. “What was it like, growing up with your dad as your teacher?
Did he give you straight As?”

I laughed quietly. “My
dad was a great teacher. And no, he did not
give
me perfect grades; I
earned them.” I confidently moved my pawn and collected cash from the bank.

Chase grinned.
“Touché.”

“When we first moved
out here, my dad was home with me all the time. He focused on the basics—reading,
writing, math, and science, but he used every opportunity as a chance to learn.
Eventually he transitioned to working part-time, and he gave me more input on
what I wanted to study.

The older I got, the
more independent my studies became. By the time I was thirteen, he went to work
all day, and I completed my chores and my lessons on my own. After dinner, we
would sit down at the kitchen table and go over what I had learned. He didn’t
give me grades per se, but he tested me to see how prepared I was. He asked
tough questions, so I always tried to anticipate what he would quiz me on. I
learned a lot from him.”

Chase purchased a
property before continuing with his questions. “That sounds like a good way to
learn. But what about friends? Sports? School dances?”

I smiled. “I can’t say
the idea of a school dance ever appealed to me. As far as sports go, I love
running. Plus, my dad took me hiking and camping all the time and taught me
basic survival skills. And friends.” I paused. “Well, I have one really close
friend who moved away last year for college, but we still keep in touch.”

“You said you already
finished your high school curriculum. Are you planning on going to college?”

The question was
innocent enough, but it was a difficult one for me to answer. How could I tell
him that opportunities like college had never been open to me? I didn’t want
him to think poorly of my dad, and I wasn’t sure that he would understand Dad’s
overprotectiveness. “I don’t know yet. It’s something that my dad and I still
need to discuss.”

Anxious to deflect, I
asked, “What about you? Did you decide to work in private security instead of
going to college?” Chase looked a little older than me but was definitely still
in the typical college student age range. Since he appeared to be employed
full-time, I guessed he wasn’t in school.

“Actually, I’m a
student at the University of California, Santa Cruz. I’m studying computer
science.” Apparently I was wrong. How did he manage to go to school and go away
for work for days at a time?

He told me a little
about the campus and his classes, and I couldn’t help but feel jealous. Santa
Cruz sounded like the ideal place to live and go to school. I could easily
imagine myself biking down the boardwalk on a beach cruiser, the cool ocean
breeze in my face. I silently laughed at myself. Such a daydream was pointless,
too distant from my current lifestyle to be a realistic possibility.

I turned to Chase,
finally asking the question that had been running through my mind since I first
saw him in the cabin. “You were following me, weren’t you? When I ran into you
at the library?” Anticipating his answer, I almost forgot to take my turn.

Chase rubbed the back
of his neck, looking sheepish. “Yeah, I was.” He paused. “We’d actually been keeping
an eye on you and your dad for a couple of days. Although our investigation led
us to the area, we had to be sure that we tracked down the correct person. We
weren’t even expecting Brian Taylor to have a daughter.”

“Brian Taylor?” The
name sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place it. And then the pieces
started to fall into place. Kira . . . Taylor. I hadn’t
even thought about my former last name when I’d discovered my change in
identity.

Chase looked at me,
surprised. “Your dad’s given name is Brian Taylor. You didn’t know that?”

I hesitated.
Truthfully, it was embarrassing that my past had practically been a blank slate
until a few days ago. “No, I actually just found out about the name change, and
I didn’t think to ask what my dad’s name used to be.”

I shook my head, stung
that Chase had to tell me Dad’s real name.
There’s so much I still don’t
know about my parents, my family.
My heart ached with fear and loss. A few
days ago I would have given anything for the answers to my past, the keys to my
freedom.
Be careful what you wish for
, I thought.

After a couple hours of
passing “Go” and buying and losing properties, we finally finished the game.
“Good game,” Chase said. “Can you do me a favor and not mention to the guys
that you beat me,” he said, a teasing grin on his face.

I raised one eyebrow.
“Really? I didn’t peg you as one of those guys who can’t deal with losing to a
girl.” Chase’s soft laugh flowed through me, warming me. I couldn’t believe how
quickly I had become comfortable in his presence. I think it helped that he
also seemed just a little shy, making my own awkwardness less obvious.

“Speaking of the guys,
I was kind of hoping that I could make dinner tonight. I’ll probably need
assistance getting around in the kitchen, but I want to do something to thank
you all for helping me.” I wasn’t used to being waited on hand and foot and was
ready to contribute something to the group.

Still sitting at the
table, the Monopoly pieces scattered around the board, Chase pulled gently at
the neck of his T-shirt. “That’s nice of you, but it’s really not necessary.
Besides, if I let you stand on your feet that long, Ethan will kill me.”

I frowned, not one to
be easily deterred. Glancing around, I noticed a bar stool and pointed it out
to Chase. “How about this? I can sit on the bar stool at the counter and you
can just put everything on the counter in front of me.”

He hesitated,
deliberating as he pushed his chair back from the table. Standing up, he
shrugged. “I guess that could work; I can even be your sous-chef. And, I’m sure
Ethan will be relieved since he’s been stuck with most of the cooking since
we’ve been here.”

*  *  *

It was cozy in the
cabin, and I felt relaxed and comfortable. September was always one of my
favorite months, and not just because of my birthday. I loved the beginning of
autumn, when the sun began to set earlier, making the evening air cool and
crisp. Just thinking about it had me craving a warm bowl of soup.

Chase gave me a quick
inventory of the ingredients available as I ran through my mental catalogue of
recipes. While the kitchen wasn’t stocked, we had what I needed apart from
tortilla chips and cilantro. Chase texted Knox, asking him to pick some up on
his way back to the cabin.

Chase was an excellent
sous-chef, not that the chicken tortilla soup I was preparing required much
assistance. After years of making dinner, cooking had become routine. Although
I wouldn’t call myself a master chef by any means, I was a decent cook when it
came to the basics. This recipe was an old favorite, an easy standby, that I
had long since memorized.

While I chopped,
sautéed, and stirred, Chase handed me items from the fridge or pantry and
talked about his grandmother’s cooking. As he told me about her famous meatball
recipe, I could feel the love and respect in his voice. He was clearly close to
her and a devoted grandson.

I wondered what my own
grandparents were like. My dad had been my only family for so long that I had
never really given the rest of our family much thought. And whenever I had
asked about them, he gave vague or noncommittal answers that made it clear the
topic was not up for discussion. Now that I knew the truth about our lifestyle,
I wondered what family I had still living after all these years.

When I finally saw my
dad again, I would have to ask him. Dad had been my whole world for so long
that I had never really considered a life without him. The thought was simply
inconceivable. Now, faced with exactly that situation, I was trying to avoid
giving it too much thought. I would find Dad; I just needed to put all his
lessons into practice.

The sun was at the
horizon and dinner was almost ready when the front door opened. Knox entered
and dumped a backpack and his leather jacket on the floor by the door. Closing
his eyes, he inhaled deeply. His voice boomed through the small space. “Smells
good. What’s for dinner?”

Without looking up, I
responded, “Chicken tortilla soup.”

A few minutes later,
Ethan opened the door and quickly spotted me. He glared at me, but I caught the
twitch of his lip that was forcing down a smirk. “And just what do you think
you’re doing?” He walked through the living room toward the kitchen, setting
his satchel on a chair as he made his way toward us.

Chase and Knox were
standing between the living room and the table. When Ethan reached Chase, he
squared his shoulders. “I thought I told you not to let her put any weight on
her ankle.”

Facing the stove, I
only had a partial view of the rest of the cabin. While I couldn’t see either
of their faces, the tone of Ethan’s voice was loud and clear. Already warm from
cooking and sitting in front of the stove, I felt my temperature rise a few
more degrees. Not wanting to get in the middle, I kept my mouth shut and
stirred the soup.

Chase shifted on his
feet and sighed impatiently. Ethan waved a hand through the air as if
dismissing him. In a lowered voice I heard Ethan say, “I guess I can’t blame
you; I’m sure she’s pretty persuasive when she wants to be.” I felt myself
blushing and hoped they wouldn’t notice.

Dinner was mostly
uneventful. I was curious where Knox and Ethan had been all day but couldn’t
think of a good way to subtly bring it up. Knox and Chase mostly talked sports;
Ethan complimented my soup and we discussed cooking.

Toward the end of the
meal, I was surprised when Ethan brought up my dad. “Haley, I wanted to let you
know that I went by your house today, or what’s left of it, and didn’t see any
signs of your dad. I also discreetly asked around in town, but no one has seen
him.”

He paused. “No one
seemed surprised by my questions. In fact, a few people mentioned that I wasn’t
the first one making these inquiries. I don’t want to alarm you, but I think
you need to be on your guard; someone may be after you too.”

I listened but pushed
the idea to the back of my mind for the moment, not really ready to deal with
it. This situation was only creating more questions than answers; one in
particular had been nagging me all day. “What did you tell your client about me
and my dad?”

Absorbed in what Ethan
was saying, I didn’t realize that Knox and Chase had stopped talking, and I was
surprised when Knox responded. “All we told our client was that we found a man who
we believed to be Brian Taylor using the alias Stephen Jones. We provided your
dad’s work address only and didn’t mention anything about you.”

Knox paused, scratching
his tricep then letting his fingers linger, grasping the muscle. “We gave him
that information the morning of the fire, so technically it is possible that he
is connected to the men who were following your dad after the explosion. But,
like I said before, we can’t be sure of his involvement. We just don’t know
enough about what is going on yet.”

I exhaled, feeling
relieved. Although the timing was suspicious, the information they gave their
client, whoever that was, was pretty vague. And their client may not be
connected to the criminals at all. There was still the chance that they didn’t
actively work for the criminals. My heart lifted at the thought.

Flushed

After dinner, Knox
pulled out a deck of cards and placed it on the table. “Who wants to play
poker?” Ethan and Chase accepted quickly. Realizing I hadn’t responded, Knox
turned to me. “Haley, you in?”

I shook my head before
Chase chimed in. “Come on, Haley. It will be fun.”

“I don’t know how to
play,” I said in a quiet voice.

Ethan smirked. “Don’t
worry, we’ll teach you.”

I watched, mesmerized,
as Knox shuffled the deck of cards with the finesse of a card shark straight
from the movies. “I take it you do this a lot?” I asked, curious how he was so
skilled at shuffling.

Knox shrugged. “Poker
happens to be one of my favorite hobbies. It helps me unwind.” I wasn’t really
surprised by his admission. I’d already witnessed his poker face on more
occasions than I could count, today alone.

While Knox shuffled the
cards, Ethan explained the rules of Texas Hold ’em. Chase rummaged through the
kitchen for something to bet with. He opened and closed the cabinets, shoving
his hand in and searching quickly. At one point Chase called out to Ethan, his
voice muffled behind the cabinet door. “Ethan, you better hope I find something
to bet with or we’re going to have to use your secret stash of M&M’s.”

Ethan continued
explaining the rules without admitting or denying the existence of an M&M’s
stash. A few seconds later, Chase returned to the table with a bag of chocolate
Easter egg candies; a previous house guest must have left them behind months
ago. When he pried open the plastic bag, it popped loudly from the release of
pent up pressure.

Figuring it would be
easier to see the game in action, Knox dealt a few rounds for practice. There
were a number of rules and rounds of betting, but it didn’t seem too difficult.
Meanwhile, Chase dumped the candies onto the table, the small metallic eggs
rolling over the wood surface like a bunch of marbles. The overhead light hit
them, highlighting their bright, colorful wrappers.

Chase started counting
the eggs into four even piles, but before he could pass them out, Ethan swiped
a few and popped them in his mouth. Chase groaned. “Seriously?”

Shaking his head, Knox
said, “Watch him closely. I wouldn’t put it past him to steal your chips so he
can eat them.”

Ethan grinned. “Oh come
on; I’m not that bad. Just be glad they aren’t Peanut Butter M&M’s. Quit
stalling and deal.”

After placing the small
and big blinds, Knox dealt the cards around the table. His movements were swift
and professional. With two hole cards each, the flop was dealt, revealing three
of the community cards.

There was another round
of betting followed by Knox dealing the turn; then another round of betting
followed by the river. Finally, the last round of betting was capped off with
the showdown. Some rounds went more quickly than others, ending before the
showdown could be dealt.

I was mostly silent,
watching, determined to pick up the game quickly. The guys occasionally offered
me pointers but generally let me figure it out on my own. They were competitive
but encouraging. Slowly, I grew more comfortable with the mechanics of the game
and began to relax. Although I was enjoying the game, I was most entertained
watching the guys.

Gathered around the
table, any thoughts of their jobs or the hierarchy within the group melted
away. The room felt cozy and the atmosphere was one of friendly camaraderie.
They seemed closer than I imagined was typical for co-workers; not that I knew
what normal co-workers, or people, were really like. I wondered how much time
they actually spent together.

All three seemed
well-practiced in the art of poker, yet I was most in awe of Knox. Knox was
clearly in his element, completely cool and relaxed. It was obvious that he was
the superior player. He never gave anything away, his poker face masking all of
his thoughts and reactions.

Chase took the game
very seriously, a trait I’d also noticed during Monopoly. His deliberations
were often so long that Ethan would start humming the
Jeopardy!
tune, or
Knox would kick him under the table, urging him to get on with it.

Ethan, on the other
hand, didn’t take any of it too seriously. I could tell that while he was
probably just as competitive as the other guys, he was really just playing for
the fun of it. Every so often, I saw him snitch another piece of candy and
laughed to myself. It was a good thing he won his fair share of hands, or he
would have been out of the game several hands ago.

“So, I have a serious
question for you guys.” I kept my face completely blank while pausing
dramatically. Their expressions turned serious, expecting another conversation
about my dad or their backgrounds, I was sure. “Which one of you is responsible
for the apple-scented body wash in the shower?” I smiled at the end of the
question, unable to hide my amusement any longer.

Chase snickered and
Knox guffawed, both turning to look at Ethan. He glared at them. “What? I
happen to like the smell of fruit. It’s not a crime.”

I let out an
involuntary giggle, and all three guys immediately turned to stare. Ethan
commented, his tone mocking, “Well, look at that. Buffy here not only takes
down creatures of the night, she also giggles.”

My confusion apparent,
Ethan sighed. “Please tell me that you’ve seen
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
.
Television series about a beautiful, kick-ass teenage girl who single-handedly
takes down vampires and demons?”
Did he just imply that he thinks I’m
beautiful?
Forcing myself to focus, I shook my head at his question. He
continued, disgusted. “This is a disaster of epic proportions. We seriously
need to hook you up with a Netflix subscription.”

Knox interrupted, his
voice a low growl. “Excuse me; did you really just compare me to vampires and
demons?”

Ethan smirked. “If the
boot fits . . . ”

As their bantering
continued, Chase looked over at me and smiled. Clearly he was used to their behavior.
And for the second time that day, I felt a prickle of jealousy. I could see
myself being friends with these guys, hanging out and playing games, watching
movies. But, I also knew it would never happen. It was strange; they were
sitting right in front of me, but I already missed them.

One hand was going
particularly well, and it was down to Ethan and me for the showdown. I won the
hand with a full house and Knox rewarded me with a smile that stretched to his
eyes. I felt warmed to the core and smiled in return.

Ethan looked at me,
squinting slightly and cocking his head to the side. His tone was serious. “Are
you sure you’ve never played poker before?”

I grinned. “Positive.
Although I have watched
The Sting
about a million times.”

Knox’s eyebrows raised
in response. “Wait. You’ve seen, and like,
The Sting
?”

I scrunched up my nose
and forehead. “Um, yeah. Who doesn’t like Robert Redford and Paul Newman?”

The three of them sat
motionless, staring at me. Knox broke the silence. “I can’t wait ’til Jackson
hears this. He’s always talking about that movie and how Uncle reminds him of
Shaw.”

I looked from face to
face wondering who Jackson and Uncle were. I remembered Knox mentioned he had a
younger brother; maybe they had an uncle too? “Knox, is Jackson the younger
brother you mentioned?”

They all started
laughing, and I felt like the odd one out, wondering if I had missed the punch
line. Knox responded. “No, we’re not related. But Jax is like a brother to me.
And he’s a member of our team.”

There were more of
them? Hopefully they were in Santa Cruz and would stay there. I didn't know if
I could handle one more attractive guy in my life.

As the game progressed,
it was easier to see when I should bet and when I should fold. Since I had a
weak poker face, I focused on my cards and the odds. I enjoyed the game, the
strategy and the luck. I liked being with them, feeling like I belonged even if
only for the moment.

I had a hard time
thinking that any of them wanted to harm me or my Dad. If anything, hadn’t they
shown over and over that they were trying to help?

A little voice in the
back of my head spoke up.
You don’t know who their client is. You don’t know
what their motives are.

Maybe not, but I knew
that they had rescued me from the fire, even if their appearance there wasn’t
accidental. I knew that they had looked out for me, taken care of my injuries,
fed me, and even entertained me. And deep down, I believed that they couldn’t
be bad.

Knox yawned and
stretched his arms behind his head; we had been playing for a while and it was
getting late. My eyelids felt heavy; I was drowsy and about ready to call it a
night. Chase shifted in his chair, stretching muscles stiff from sitting so
long.

I glanced around the
table, sizing up the competition. Ethan’s chips were dwindling due to
consumption, and he decided to “cash in” by eating the remaining ones. Chase
and I had held our own and had about the same amount of chips remaining. Knox
was clearly in the lead.

The first three cards
were dealt. My hand looked promising, but I couldn’t tell for sure. After
another round of betting, the turn card was dealt and Chase folded.

With a ten of hearts,
queen of clubs, six of hearts, and ace of spades on the table, I was trying not
to get too excited. I struggled to still my nerves and keep my face straight.
It was down to Knox and me, and it was my turn to bet.

Glancing again at my
cards, I checked my hand for what felt like the hundredth time. I was holding
an eight and nine of hearts. If only the river would reveal a seven of hearts,
then I would have a straight flush. As far as I remembered, the only hands that
could beat a straight flush were one of a higher sequence of cards or a royal
flush.

Heart pounding, I wet
my lips. Looking down at my chocolate “chips,” I thought,
Maybe now’s the
time to go all in.

Hesitant yet excited, I
pushed all of my chips toward the pot, their bright metallic surfaces gleaming
as the eggs rolled across the table. I saw the guys perk up, even Knox. I
grinned, secretly delighting in their reaction. I held my breath as I waited
for the last card to be dealt.
Let the chips fall where they may.