Secrets of the Guardian (Waldgrave Book 3) (37 page)

“Where are we?”

“Are you one of those shallow girls? The ones who never think about life?”

Ember wasn’t one of those girls. She would have said so.

“Do you love your mother? Does she love you?”

She remembered staring up at the stars, trying hard to think of something clever to say, but all of her wits seemed to have evaporated. The air around them was so cold, but the mist was hot. Not mist—steam, from the ground, was rising in wisps all around them. The mist was making her eyes water, and then she had started to cry.

“I wish she was dead…”

Fortunately, Acton was happy when he was drunk. He had started laughing, and then she had started laughing.

“You’re not afraid of anything.”

“No.”

“And you really wish she was dead.”

“Sometimes. Most times. It would be easier than explain, or wondering…”

And Acton had looked her in the eye; the two of them, lying on their stomachs facing each other in the tall grass. The steam was swirling around them, and the night sky was above them, dawn making a pink fringe on the horizon.

“Okay.”

That’s all he had said about it. It took her breath away how simple his acceptance was.

“Okay.”

*****

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A.L. Tyler is a longtime writer. She lives in Colorado, and started her writing career in high school by creating plays for the drama department. She has a BA, MA, and MLS, and has worked for pay or life experience at a water park, a candle dipping enterprise, a federal research agency, and an evidence room. Through it all she has written several novels.

She can be found on her blog at
http://addisynltyler.blogspot.com/
.