The Legend of the Light Keeper (The Light Keeper Series Book 1) (17 page)

“I think that only happens when I die.”

“No talk of dying,” he said with a grimace. I realized what I had said and why I shouldn’t have. I felt like a heel.

“Do you think Hunter is right about the activity? That the storm made it increase? Gave it energy?” I felt a subject change was best. “Because, I have a theory. What if the storm called me here? I mean, Alyssa came after a storm and I did too. That can’t be coincidence. What if this place beckons us? What if what we are brings us here?” I asked. He stroked my hand softly.

“Well, if that’s the case, what brought me here?” He laughed. “When I first heard about moving out here, I only hoped that Dad would start to trust me again. I didn’t care where I was. I kind of wanted to be away from all my past drama, away from Angie, away from everyone who knew about my wreck. I never gave it much thought, but now I ‘m glad I’m here. I’m glad I have you, whatever comes with you.”

“What do you think about the Water?” I had wanted to get his real opinion on it without the influence of the other guys or the excitement of it in his system.

He shrugged. “I don’t know what to think about it, really. I mean, it’s kind of a lot to think about. All of this is. In a way it’s awesome, being strong and fast. It could come in handy. I just don’t know if I want to lose myself in it. I feel like I’m just getting myself back.” I thought on his words and how much I could relate to them. I’d never be that girl before the storm again. Looking into Talon’s eyes, I was sure I didn’t mind.

He closed his eyes and we were both quiet for a few moments and then his breathing leveled off as he fell asleep. I thought I should wake him and send him to the comfort of his bed, but there, with his hand in mine, it felt like home. And even though I was just minutes past the appearance of the Light, and the pain began, finding its familiar place behind my temples, I finally felt normal.

THE FOURTH
OF JULY
had always been one of my favorite times at the beach. There were tons people crowding in for parties, food and fun. It was the one holiday I figured I would miss the most moving out to the woods in the middle of nowhere, but it didn’t take me long to realize I was wrong.

With the excitement of Alyssa, Michael and the Light still lingering, Hunter decided we needed a break, so he’d taken Talon and Owen into town to buy food and fireworks. I stayed behind to help Granny in the kitchen getting a few other dishes ready for dinner. “Just how many potatoes does it take to make potato salad?” I asked, rubbing an itch on my forehead with the back of my wrist. I was on my sixth one and had just as many more to peel. I washed it off and threw it into the bowl with the others.

“You keep peeling,” Granny said. “We need plenty to feed those boys.” Granny was opening the largest can of baked beans I’d ever seen. She put them in a pan and then squeezed pancake syrup all over the top. I could only imagine how sweet they’d be, and wondered if that was another of our family recipes.

“That looks like plenty by itself.” I giggled.

“With those two of mine and that boyfriend of yours, there won’t be much left when all is said and done.” I laughed as she stuck the pan in the oven and noticed that she set it on low. I kept peeling as she dug in the fridge.

Just as I was finishing the last potato, I glanced up to find her staring at me. I could see there was something on her mind, and that she was having a hard time finding her next words. “Are you okay, Granny?” She untied her apron and wiped her hands before crumpling it up on the counter.

“Lily, I have—oh, I just have to tell someone,” she said, as her eyes grew red. Tears were close and she swallowed hard before opening her eyes to meet mine.

“Tell someone what?” I was suddenly scared something was wrong with Granny. I’d never seen her so upset. Was she sick? Was it terrible news? So many things came to my mind and not one was good, but before her tears could spill she wiped them away and gained her composure.

“It’s just, I need a favor. Lily, I need someone I can trust, a confidant. It’s a lonely life out here with no one but the boys.” I had never really thought about the fact that Granny might be lonely for female friendship. I was lucky to have Mom, but I understood Granny because it was sort of how I felt being the only girl in the “circle” with all boys.

“You can tell me anything.” I took her hand and squeezed it tight. “Of course you can trust me. I hope you know that.” Without saying a word she led me to her room. She dropped my hand and stepped to her beautiful antique dresser where she opened the top drawer. She reached way in the back and pulled out a small handkerchief that she placed on her bed. She glanced up at me and nodded, swallowing the last bit of fear before showing me what was inside.

There on the bed, on top of the yellowed handkerchief, lay eight pieces of gold. They matched the one Hunter had found in Mr. Hill’s house. My mouth dropped open and I leaned in closer to admire the beautiful coins. “Where on earth did you get these?” I asked, daring not to touch them. Each one was not quite perfectly round with lots of intricate markings, and at the very center was a cross.

“I found them, out in the flower bed. I think it’s why our crazy neighbor kept stealing our shovels. He didn’t want us to find this. That must have been some more of what Hunter saw.” She raised her gaze to mine to see my reaction.

“Where do you think the gold came from? I mean, it’s amazing. How much do you think it’s worth?” It had to be worth a small fortune. There was no telling how long it had been out here on this road or who put it there, but then Granny reminded me of the history lesson she’d given me about Bragg Road.

“Remember the legends, Lily, the one about the Spanish Conquistadors and their gold?” My mouth popped open in disbelief. “It’s the only thing I can think of, and as for its worth, well, I have another confession.” She wrung her hands, her knuckles turning white. I blinked, trying to find my own words, but she didn’t let me. “This isn’t the only gold I’ve found. There was more, when we first moved in. I put it in the bank.”

“The bank?” The very thought that my family was wealthy was hard to believe. Hunter and Owen certainly weren’t doing without, but if they didn’t know about it, surely Granny couldn’t use it without being noticed. “It’s a lot isn’t it?” She nodded in response.

“I don’t want them to know, Lily. Money changes people. I want them to grow up well-rounded, hard-working men. I want them to have a great future and money for college. If they know, they’ll want it all now. They’ve always had everything they needed. I borrowed against it from the bank, but it’s not really mine it seems. I’m too scared to touch that money.” So it was most definitely a lot of it. More than Granny knew what to do with, and with her simple lifestyle it was enough to make her nervous.

“It’s really wonderful though. I mean you don’t have to worry about anything now. You and the boys are set for life.” Even knowing how nervous it made her I couldn’t understand someone not being a little excited about wealth. Something was not right.

“I do have something else to worry about, Lily. I’m old. Anything could happen. Sure I’m in good health, but for how long? I want to see them grow up. I want to see them become men and have lives of their own.” She stared down to the floor again, not meeting my eyes while she finished. “I have another secret, actually.” She reached into her drawer again and pulled out a small vial. “I found this in Hunter’s room. I know what it is, Lily.” My mouth fell open when I saw what it was she was holding. Inside the vial I could see the cloudy Water.

“You can’t take that,” I gasped. “Hunter needs to figure out what’s in it first.” My heart started to pound, thinking of Granny dosing on the Water like Mr. Hill. Sure it could prolong her life, but at what cost? We didn’t know enough about it. “Promise me—”

“I only have it around for emergencies. Though, I’ll admit, I tried it already, just a drop, and left enough for Hunter to test.” There was so little in the vial that Hunter would probably not know it was missing, but my main question was, how did she know about it in the first place? And then I got a strange mental image of Granny lifting the sofa high above her head. Before I could freak out about it, Granny was explaining herself. “I came across it in Hunter’s room while cleaning. Bless his heart, but he had it there with a label so it wasn’t hard to figure out what it was, and I do hear the boys talking while they think I’m asleep. The walls are thin in this house; I pretty much know everything, Lily, but don’t worry; your secrets are safe with me. Promise me you’ll look after them if anything does happen to me. I’ve made arrangements, Lily. You’ll all be taken care of.”

“Of course I will.” I hated to think of anything happening to Granny and even though it worried me, I was glad she had the Water as a safety net. I gave her a hug. It was sweet that she wanted to take care of me and Talon too. “You know I’ll always take care of my family.” Guilt crept in knowing that I might someday put the boys in danger. If and when Rex came for me, they’d stop at nothing to protect me. This was certain.

“I knew I could count on you. I’m so glad my boys have you.” With that she hid the gold and we returned to the kitchen and to our preparations. It was awkwardly silent for the next half hour until the boys returned.

That night, after the best steak dinner I’d ever had, we watched the night sky along Bragg Road light up with fireworks. It was quite a show with great company. I observed the smiling faces of my family. Mom and Tom had joined us, Talon and Hunter were having a blast setting off the display, and Granny laughed and covered her ears from the noise. Owen sat back in the shadows, but when I looked his way his eyes were on me instead of the fireworks. He flashed me a smile before looking back up to the sky. I noticed the way he grinned as if deep in a thought that amused him, and I was just too curious to let it go.

I dragged my chair up to his and sat, putting my feet up on an old cinder block that was broken and painted blue. “What’s so amusing?” I asked.

“I wouldn’t use the word
amusing
, actually. I was thinking more like
amazing
.” He stared at the sky and watched the next colorful explosion. I looked up too, and could appreciate the beauty.

“Yeah, I’ve always thought fireworks were pretty cool, all the colors and the sounds.” I was content to stare at the sky, but his chuckle earned him another glance.

“Not the fireworks. I mean
this
— us and you — especially you.” I didn’t know what to say. I could see thinking that our new family dynamic was amazing. That was true. The way we’d grown so close in such a short time, the things we’d been through; everything had changed so fast and was still changing. “I was thinking about that first time we went riding. You and Talon were so interested in the Light and I was so eager to tell you all about it. Seems funny now doesn’t it? I mean, it was
you
all along, or
for
you, rather. I thought I knew it all, and I didn’t know a thing.” He paused and smiled warmly. “Remember those stories that Granny told us? All those Light legends?”

“Yeah, guess the only mystery left is why? We know what it is,” I said.

“Yeah. You’re the legend now, Lily. Think about it. One day, some old lady is going to be telling all those same old stories, and they’ll be about you. It’s amazing.” Owen sat quiet a minute until Hunter pulled his attention away.

I sat there thinking of his words.
I am the Light. I am the legend.
Then I remembered something else. Granny had said that legends change through time, the stories grow, but one thing remains the same, the Light exists. The Light would go on even after I didn’t.
This is who I am
. Not the normal life I’d been hoping for, but one I’d never trade. Looking to my family, I realized my legend was still growing, still changing. My legend had just begun.

The End

Dear Reader,

Thanks so much for reading
The Legend of the Light Keeper
! I hope you enjoyed the story as much I do, and that you’ll stay tuned for Book Two where Lily will explore the ups and downs of her Light gift and learn more about the Water and its purpose. The circle will be complete with the addition of a new character, while others try to tear it apart and expose Lily’s powers. Also, find out if Talon and Lily’s relationship is rocked by the inevitable wedding day.

I’d love to hear from you! If you could take a minute to leave a quick review on the website of your choice it would sure mean a lot. You can also message or follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. Check out my website and sign up to receive my newsletter for special announcements and extra content. I promise not send any spam or give out your personal information.

Thanks again, and happy reading!

~Kelly

Website:
authorkellyhall.com

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Kelly Hall
was born and raised in Southeast Texas, and lives in a small town just a stone’s throw from the ghost road where her Light Keeper series is based. When she’s not busy writing, or spending time with her husband and two sons, this self-proclaimed creative junkie dabbles in many different forms of art, including cake decorating and mixed media. Learn more about Kelly at
authorkellyhall.com
.

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