Body and Soul (Body and Soul Trilogy) (24 page)

Thank you!

I send a thank you to everyone who believed in me. I truly thank you for having faith in my ability to weave a story with words, and finish it.

To Dad – Thanks for bugging me every day. Yes, the questions were annoying at the time, but now that both the manuscript and cover are finished, you can ask me any question you want. Thanks for being proud of me.

To Mom – Thanks for reading my book and telling me about my spelling errors! I promise that you’ll be a part of the editing process next time. Thanks for being proud of me, too. And thanks for leaving me at home for that one long, yet productive, week.

To Jason – Thank you for being patient with me through this entire process. I love you for being there for me. Now you just have to read it!!

To Gracie – Thank you for being my first reader. Don’t forget, we’re going to the movie premiere together! Thank you for giving me my first, honest, review.

To everyone else that has purchased or read my book, I hope that you love Kate and Rico as much as I do. I’m so thankful for all of you. I write the rest of Kate’s story every day for you. Thank you again! And keep reading!

Jamie :)

About the Author

Jamie Loeak is an aspiring YA author. She has written and published her first novel and continues to work toward finishing the trilogy, while new ideas for more novels pop into her ever changing mind. Jamie resides in Florida, where she is a middle school teacher. Finding time for writing is difficult within the world of lesson plans, assessments, and students; however, Jamie makes sure to make time for all of the things that she loves in life, including her students, pets, and loving boyfriend. When Jamie isn't writing or grading papers, she is forcing her sister into photo shoots or playing guitar. Her current goal is to finish the Body and Soul Trilogy so that she can let her other ideas escape.

Contact the Author

http://www.amazon.com/Jamie-Loeak/e/B0092HM3CA/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_2

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jamie-Loeak/280066588751968

http://jamieloeak.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/jamiee005

Email:
[email protected]

And now, an exciting preview from author Teresa Smith’s debut novel in the Sun and Moon Trilogy, “Pyramid of the Moon”!

1~stranger

A twig snapping in the nearby hazy woods startled Eva and caused her to abruptly lift up her head from a brief nap.

Her soft cheek was slightly chilled and damp from the soppy green moss that was growing in clusters on the base of her mother’s cold granite headstone, where she had rested it.   

It seemed only moments ago that she rested her head upon that same spot, as she usually did every weekend. She mourned the tragic accident. “
Accident
,” There was that word again that stuck in her throat and painfully twisted in her gut. Why do people label car crashes as
accidents
? There is always someone to be held responsible- someone
irresponsible
.   

The salty tears that soaked her impossibly long lashes were now absent. Eva sighed heavily and wiped away any remnants with the back of her hand. How often did she come to visit this lonely place? Has it really been eight years since the car accident claimed her devoted mother?   

With the back of her slender hand, she brushed aside her long brown hair. It fell half way down her back in loose curls.    

Eva casually pulled herself up from a leisurely position by placing both of her hands on the dull white memorial, and groaned. Her muscles were stiff and unresponsive. Both her feet and ankles were immediately assaulted with the sensation of a million needles. It felt as though they were prickling to the very core of her bones.    

She stood up straight, flexing her right foot, and then her left. After a few long-suffering minutes, she finally felt satisfied that her slender legs could support her weight without betraying her, and consequently falling on her backside. She hesitantly let go of the cold stone.    

Eva stretched out her long lean figure and rolled her aching neck in a circular motion, catching a glimpse of the sorrowful weeping angel statue that was not very far from where she now stood.    

The beautiful angel was hiding her eyes, not letting anyone see what painful secrets her face may be concealing.  

“I know exactly how it feels.” Eva muttered with a heavyhearted sigh.    

As Eva took in a long, calming breath, the dank earthy aroma of the desolate cemetery filled her lungs. Every time she came to this place, she felt a certain tranquility that she could not find anywhere else. It seemed even more so during the evening hours, when the sun was just setting and the moon was about to make her illuminating appearance.     What she really craved for now though, was to place her full lips on a mug of hot cocoa to soothe her soul.    

She stepped forward to leave when she heard another branch break. A second breaking branch was no coincidence, and this break sounded more substantial.  

Whoa!   

A breaking branch would require weight. Like, something, or
someone
.   

Eva stopped dead in her tracks, and with trepidation, slowly turned towards the misty woods which were approximately thirty yards or so, awa
y from her current position.

“Wait a minute here.” She whispered to herself.    

Wasn’t that the exact same noise I heard before I woke up? Oh hell
!    

Eva panicked. Was this thing, or person, moving closer to her,
or farther into the woods? She reluctantly looked at the setting sun, and grimaced. She usually preferred the night time, but not under these circumstances.   

“How stupid,” Eva whispered and bit her bottom lip. She tried to swallow past the dry lump forming in her throat. Just like the dumb chic in a B- rated horror movie, right before she gets knifed to death. Or, right before she gets eaten by the werewolf- that lunges at her from the woods.    

Great!  

“Hello?” Eva’s tried to sound brave, but her shaking voice betrayed her. “Uh… is someone there?”    

Eva slowly retreated, just in case. Although, it would doubtfully give her a head start to escape, especially if this thing just happened to run around on all fours, devouring innocent young girls, that were stupidly alone in the woods, in the middle of nowhere, with nowhere to run. Jeez. She needed to stop this nonsensical babbling to her self- and stop thinking in such a morbid manner.    

She caught a glimpse of a shadowed figure just inside the scrawny saplings. Even when she squinted her eyes, she could barely make out any identifiable details, but the silhouette was tall, like a person.    

A person? Oh hell!

Eva squeaked and jumped several feet backwards, right into a tall neighboring tombstone. The rough granite bit into her back.   

“Ouch! Shit!” she shrieked louder than she intended to.    

Looking up, she noticed that the mysterious lurker had retreated farther into the dense part of the thickets. She
rubbed her sore back and checked for any damages to her favorite pink, short-sleeved T-shirt. She was relieved to find none.   

Realizing her loud outburst of profanity, she blushed. Even if nobody else was around to witness it, she was embarrassed. Well, nobody except for the stranger. And for some reason, Eva felt an odd sensation of longing, like she was being pulled in a direction that she wasn’t sure she should go. Soon after he left though, the feeling abated, leaving an aching abandonment deep in her chest.    

A few things Eva knew for certain, was that her unfamiliar visitor was tall, lean, and absolutely a guy. Another thing she couldn’t grasp- was the unfamiliar lure. She shivered and scanned the woods one last time. However, the dark, ghostly shadows of the trees and thick underbrush concealed any chance for her to know for certain if he was gone.

Her recently acquired yearning was nearly absent now, leaving her lonesome, lonesome? There’s a word she was intimately acquainted with. But how could she miss someone that she didn’t even know, and what the hell was wrong with me? Eva shook her entire body to dislodge this preposterous rambling with herself.  

“Sorry to disturb you.” A rather pleasant male’s voice said from directly behind her.

This time, she screamed and turned around so quickly, that she nearly tripped over her own two feet. Eva’s eyebrows shot up to the sky as she stared at a handsome young man. He was starring straight back at her with a lazy smirk, not e
ven five feet away from her.

Eva tried to swallow around the lump in her parched throat. “Umm…”   

“So, do you speak, or are you mute?”   

“Of course I speak.” Eva scoffed sarcastically. “You just scared me half to death!”   

“She speaks, and she’s sassy.”   

Eva rolled her eyes. “So, who are you, why are you here, and how long have you been standing there?”  

“Let’s see; Baret, visiting a grave, and I just got here a few minutes ago.” He chuckled. “But I must confess- I did hear you shout ‘ouch,’ and ‘shit’.”   

Eva stood with her arms wrapped protectively around herself, eyeing the young man suspiciously. “Did you happen to see anyone else around here? And why are you here so late?”   

“No, I didn’t see anyone else, and I could just as easily ask you the same question.” He raised his perfect brow. “And your name is…?” Baret extended his right arm towards Eva, gesturing for her to shake his proffered hand in a formal greeting.   

Eva briefly glanced down at his extended right hand. It was sinewy looking, slightly calloused, but definitely the hand of someone strong. She followed the long length of his arm with her greedy brown eyes, up to his broad chest, and finally resting on his glorious face.    

Whoa.   

Baret had captivating blue eyes- the color of a beautiful ocean after a storm, slightly wavering dark brown hair, and the sexiest dimples, ever. Eva just realized that she was standing there- like an idiot, taking inventory on the guy- and he was smiling at her. He obviously knew what she was doing.   

“Oh god, I’m so sorry.” Eva’s pale face immediately flushed. She extended her right hand to meet his and cleared her throat. “It’s Eva.”  

His hand is so warm and strong.
She sheepishly thought to herself. She retracted her hand and knotted her fingers nervously. “So, other than the obvious fact that we are in an isolated cemetery at night, by
ourselves
…”   

“I’m not a psycho killer, if that’s what you’re worried about.”  

“And that’s
probably
what a psycho killer
would
say.”   

“I’m just here visiting someone, like you are.”   

“Oh,” Eva unleashed the power of her full pouty lips. “I’m sorry.”   

Baret casually leaned against a random tombstone and crossed his arms in front of him. “Don’t be. It was a long time ago,” he shrugged.   

Eva shifted her weight back and forth on her feet, randomly kicking at some small stones. “Are you new in town, then? Well, I mean,
obviously
.” She smiled- a little embarrassed by her abstruse behavior.   

“Not new, just returning after a long time away, actually.” Baret eyed her knowingly, returning a heart- stopping grin.    

She stared back at him bemused, wondering if she missed some sort of vital information. She couldn’t recall anything. “Oh, I umm…don’t remember you ever living here.” Eva stumbled over her words. “I think I would have remembered those eyes. I mean…
I didn’t mean that!
” Eva blanched. It was a brain to mouth filtering malfunction that she suffered from quite often.
I so did not mean to blurt that out loud
!   

Baret snickered. “Well, I certainly remember those warm brown eyes.” He nodded towards her face.   

The ground was squishing around Eva’s brown suede boots. She could feel her cotton socks becoming mushy through the thin leather material. What was she thinking when she decided to put theses on?
And, what did he just say to me?!
    

“Eva?”   

“
What did you just say?
” she looked at Baret with her mouth gawking and her brown eyes furrowed. Her voice was barely audible.  

“You
really
don’t remember me? I am much older now, probably not much left of the little boy that you once knew. Although we were quite close,”   

“There were only two little boys that I was close to…” Eva’s breath hitched. And then it hit her like a freight train. “
Baret Sommers?
” without even thinking about what she was doing, Eva slowly stepped towards him. She was now less than a foot away, and could smell the alluring after shave that he must have recently applied to his incredibly smooth face.   

Oh, he smells so good.   

Baret’s gorgeous mouth hinted a smile, and he rested his hand on top of his heart in a dramatic gesture. “And I was beginning to think that you’ve forgotten me completely.”

“Oh my god,” Eva mumbled.  

“Well, sometimes I like to think of myself as a god.”    

Oh jeez - smug bastard!
  

“Where have you been? What happened to you after my mom’s accident? Why didn’t you keep in touch with me?” Eva fired away, getting angrier with each question.   

“We moved shortly after my mother’s death, Eva. We needed to get away.”   

They both stood in uncomfortable silence. Baret sauntered closer to Eva and lifted her chin with his index finger, so he could look into her warm eyes.    

“You’re more beautiful than I remember.”  

“And you’re taller.”   

They smiled at each other. Eva wanted to kiss those soft lips. Did he want to kiss her? And, would it be too forward of her to kiss a guy, the first time they were re-introduced to each other? Was she drooling?
Jeez, I feel like a harlot.
Certainly, this sort of behavior would not have been socially acceptable a hundred years ago. What was wrong with her today?
Raging teenage hormones?   

Eva decided to go for it. And besides, actions
do
speak louder than words! She angled her head slightly, so that her full lips could reach his. But instead of his sensuous lips meeting hers, he placed a warm, chaste kiss on her forehead.   

Awkward!   

Baret held her in place and hugged her briefly- the way one would hug a sister. Eva, on the other hand, was thoroughly disappointed. She bit the inside of her cheek and tried not to feign rejection. What the hell? Was she getting mixed signals, or was she just reading too much into his compliment?
Maybe he has a girlfriend, Eva.
She mentally scolded herself.   

Noticing her discomfort, Baret cleared his throat. “It’s late. I’ll walk you home. I’m assuming you still live a few houses down from mine?”   

Eva nodded, and stepped back a bit. Once again, she wrapped her arms around her torso. She felt absurd, and something else. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Was it hatred, or malice? It was a gut feeling, like a warning. Intuition? Whatever this was, it caused the hair on the nape of her neck to stand on end, and her body temperature seemed to chill. This was the polar opposite of the longing she felt before Baret made his unexpected appearance. She physically shivered.