Shadows at Sunset: Sunset Trilogy ~ Book 1 (18 page)

I glanced over at the glowing red numbers on my alarm clock. Five-thirty. No wonder it was so dark and I wasn’t ready to jump out of bed yet. The alarm wouldn’t ring for thirty more minutes. “It’s too early,” I groaned at Dakota, reaching out to gently stroke the black fur between his ears. When I pulled my hand back and closed my eyes, drifting into a light sleep, Dakota never moved from his position beside my bed.

A light knock on my door woke me twenty minutes later. I opened my eyes to see the early morning light creeping into my room from around the window curtains. “Come in,” I called hoarsely as I shifted up to a sitting position.

Dakota lifted his head and watched the door. My father, ready for another day on the job in jeans and a blue button-down shirt adorned with his sheriff’s badge, appeared in the doorway. “I didn’t wake you up, did I?” he asked as he crossed the room to my bed. He sat down next to me, scratching Dakota’s cheek in a gentle greeting as his soft brown eyes gazed at me.

I reached over to turn off my alarm clock before it rang. “No,” I lied. “I was just getting up.”

“Well, happy birthday. I wanted to give you something before I left for the station this morning.” He held out a tiny black velvet box. “I know it’s early, but I’ve been waiting eighteen years to give this to you and I didn’t want to wait another twelve hours.”

I took the box from him and raised the lid. Inside on a white satin cushion rested a silver necklace with a pendant of intertwined circles that sparkled with tiny diamonds. “It’s beautiful,” I gasped.

“I hoped you would like it. It’s been in our family for generations. I can’t even tell you how old it is. No one knows.”

“Are these diamonds?”

“Yes. This is very valuable, so you need to be extra careful with it.”

“I will,” I promised earnestly. “I’ll take good care of it.”

“I trust you will. Do you want to try it on?”

“Yes, but after I take my shower.” I ran my fingers gently along the circles, admiring the beautiful pendant. “It’s so shiny. It looks brand new.”

“I assure you, it’s not. I’ve been told it’s at least a couple hundred years old.”

“Wow,” was all I could think of to say.

“And now it’s yours, but it should be passed down to your daughter someday. It needs to stay in the family.”

“Of course.” I closed the black velvet box, thinking how strange it was for my father to talk about me having children. That seemed so far off in the future, it was practically unimaginable. I couldn’t even see past my senior year to college, let alone marriage and children. I placed the box on my nightstand and lifted my gaze to meet my father’s stare. “Thank you for trusting me with this.”

“You’re a responsible young woman. I’m proud to be able to trust you with something this valuable.”

I smiled as I suddenly realized I hadn’t told him about my date with Noah. This was the perfect opportunity. “Responsible enough to go on a date with an older guy not in high school?”

My father raised his eyebrows. “I’m going to need a little more information to answer that. Who are we talking about?”

“It’s Noah, Dad,” I said quickly to put his concerns to rest.

A sly grin broke out across his face. “I knew that.”

“What? Then why did you ask me who it was?”

“I wanted to hear you say it. Yes, it’s okay. I’m not exactly thrilled about it, but he’s a fine young man. He already asked me if he could take you out.”

“He did? What did you say?”

“Only that if he lays a hand on you, I have a gun and I’m not afraid to use it.”

“Dad!” I gasped, mortified.

“I’m only kidding. I didn’t say that because I didn’t have to. He’s a decent guy. I trust him.” My father’s teasing grin faded as a serious look crossed over his face. “I’m not going to tell you I’m particularly excited about you going out with an older guy, but on the other hand, I’m not going to tell you no. You’re old enough to make these decisions and I trust you won’t do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

“You’re right. I won’t,” I said. “Thanks for being so cool, Dad.”

He stifled a smile. “So when is this big date?” he asked.

“Tomorrow.”

A knowing look spread across my father’s face. “That explains why Noah wanted to cover tonight and take tomorrow night off. Well, you need to get ready for school and I have to get to the station.” He stood and walked to the door where he paused, turning back for a moment. “Have a great day and I’ll see you tonight for your birthday dinner.”

“Thanks, Dad. For everything--the necklace and being so cool about tomorrow night.” I felt like a broken record repeating how cool he was, but I honestly couldn’t believe it.
Why not?
I asked myself.
It’s not like you’ve ever given him or Mom any trouble in the past. Except for taking off into the woods for hours at a time. He’s probably relieved you’re actually going on a real date. How many did you have last year? One?
I shook my head to clear my thoughts. The voice inside my head wasn’t being nice this morning.

“You’ve earned it, Laken.” With a slight nod of his head, he shut the door behind him and left me to get ready for school.

***

I received a cheerful happy birthday greeting from Ethan, Brooke, and a few other students that morning at school. As I walked through the crowded hallway to my locker, I saw a white envelope sticking out from the slat between the door and the edge. Approaching it, I noticed my name scrawled across the front. Before opening my locker, I grabbed it as I glanced around to see if anyone was watching. Students mingled about, talking excitedly about the weekend, but no one paid attention to me.

I tore the envelope open to reveal a gold-rimmed white card with note written on the inside.
Happy Birthday, Laken. I hope you have a memorable year
. It was signed Xander. I sighed, hoping his gesture wouldn’t thwart my determination to stay away from him. Just when I had started to get him out of my mind, he had to do something nice. And so unlike what I knew about him so far. In spite of my uneasiness, a small smile slithered across my lips as I dropped the card into my book bag.

Opening my locker, I tried to remember what book I needed for my first class. As I scanned the stack of textbooks on the locker shelf, my phone buzzed from inside my bag. I scrambled to balance the books I held with one hand as I reached into my book bag with my other one.

I felt around at the bottom until I finally touched my phone and pulled it out. A text message from Noah lit up the screen.
Happy birthday. I’ll call you tonight. Have a great day!

It really would be a great day now. I knelt down to place my books on the floor, freeing my other hand so that I could answer his text message.
Thank you! Talk to you tonight
, I typed and then hit send.

After returning my phone to my bag, I picked my books up off the floor. Standing, I resumed sorting through my locker to get organized for the day. I felt the smile on my face lingering as my heart glowed.

There was no doubt in my mind that concentrating on my classes would be hopeless today.

***

Xander skipped school that day, and I scolded myself for the disappointment that lurked in my subconscious. After all, why should I care where he was and why he had left me a birthday card? My classes passed slowly, each lecture seeming to drag on as I counted the minutes until the end of the day.

By the time I returned home, I felt like Saturday night would never arrive.

That night, my parents ordered take-out from the only Chinese restaurant in town. Brooke, Ethan, and I were in our family room when they returned home with the white containers of food. Ethan jumped to his feet from where he sat on the couch when we heard the kitchen door to the garage open and shut.

Brooke rolled her eyes, slowly rising to her feet beside him. “Easy boy,” she said, placing her hand on his forearm to keep him from bolting for the kitchen. “The birthday girl goes first, then us ladies. Oh, heck, you should just let all of us get our food first, and then you can have everything that’s left.”

Ethan’s boyish face lit up. “Sounds good to me.” He broke away from Brooke’s grip to head to the kitchen, but I rushed around him to block the doorway.

“Not so fast,” I told him as I studied him and Brooke. “Before we eat, I want to know what the plan is for tonight.” They still hadn’t told me exactly what we were doing.

Brooke shot a teasing glare at Ethan. “Aw, shucks, Ethan, she’s on to us.” Then she looked at me. “So, after dinner and cake and ice cream and all the usual birthday ritual stuff with your parents, Brian is having an all-night bonfire party up at Matthews Pond in honor of your birthday. Everyone from school will be there. It’ll be great.” Pure fear must have shone on my face because Brooke broke out into laughter. “Gotcha! I’m only kidding. The only action you’re going to get this weekend is tomorrow night and I’m going to see that you’re well rested for it.”

Heat flushed through my cheeks. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said innocently.

“Oh, please, if you don’t get any action tomorrow night, you don’t deserve a guy as hot as Noah. So after the birthday stuff tonight, I’m going to help you pick out an outfit for your big date. Then we can stay up late talking about who I should go to Homecoming with. After all, it’s going to be coming up soon and you pretty much already have a date.”

“Ooh, sounds fun,” Ethan quipped. “Can I stay for the girl talk, too?”

Brooke glared at him and gently slapped his shoulder. “No.”

“Thank God,” he said with a deep breath. “Now can we please eat? I’m starving and whatever your parents brought home smells really good.”

“I can’t think of a better idea,” I said, turning and leading them into the kitchen where my mother was busy setting out all the food with serving spoons, plates, and silverware.

“There you kids are,” she said as she looked up. “Hungry?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Ethan responded as he eyed the open white containers of rice, noodle, vegetable, and chicken dishes. The spicy scent of soy sauce and teriyaki filled the kitchen.

“Well, Ethan and Brooke, why don’t the two of you get started serving yourselves. Laken’s father is waiting for her in the garage with a birthday surprise.” My mother glanced over at me. “I need you to come with me.”

I raised my eyebrows curiously as I followed her through the kitchen door that led to the garage. I shut the door behind me before stepping down to the cement floor. The garage was open, and we passed between the Explorer and the utility shelves on our way outside. My father stood in the driveway admiring a shiny new maroon Jeep Grand Cherokee as the evening light faded.

“What’s this?” The words slowly rolled off my tongue as I glanced from my mother to my father, trying to read their expressions. I couldn’t believe they had bought me a new car for my birthday, and it turned out I was right.

My mother stood by my side, smiling at me. “Your father and I decided that it was getting a little hard for the two of us to keep sharing the Explorer. So, this is for me.” She gestured at the Jeep. “And, you my dear, now have exclusive use of the Explorer. We no longer have to coordinate schedules and carpool during the week. What do you think?” Both she and my father watched me, waiting for my reaction.

I smiled from ear to ear. I was happy about my mother’s shiny new Jeep, but I was overjoyed to have the Explorer all to myself. “This is awesome! Thank you!” I hugged my parents.

“That old truck still has a lot of life left,” my father explained. “You should be able to take it to college next year.”

The thought of college dampened my mood, but only for a minute. “Mom, I love your new Jeep. But I am kind of hungry, so can we head back in for dinner before Ethan has time for seconds?”