Shadows at Sunset: Sunset Trilogy ~ Book 1 (31 page)

“What about telling your dad? Just to be vigilant.”

“No way,” I said quickly. “If my dad thinks there was someone out in the woods, he’ll put the entire town on lockdown and I probably wouldn’t be allowed out of his sight. If it happens again, I’ll tell him. I’m just not ready to sound an alarm over something I’m not sure of. It happened so fast that now, looking back, I think it could have been the shadow of a tree blowing in the wind. It was really dark.”

“Laken, I know you have your doubts, but I would feel a lot better if you told him.” It was almost as if he was pleading with me. Why couldn’t he just let it go? I had told him several times that I wasn’t sure about what I’d seen.

I sighed, frustrated. I knew that I had really seen a person in the woods last night even though a part of me truly wished that I had been mistaken. Obviously, I wasn’t doing a very good job of convincing Noah that it had been my imagination. “I’ll think about it, okay? But that’s the best I’m going to do right now.” As images of the night before flashed through my mind, I twisted a lock of hair around my finger. “I just wish none of this was happening. It’s hard to believe that about a month ago, things were pretty boring around here.”

It suddenly hit me. Xander and his father moved to town a few weeks ago, right about the time the golden-eyed wolf appeared. Although, for the most part, Xander seemed harmless, I had to admit that his intense stare sometimes scared me. And then there was his reclusive father who locked himself up in their remote house with an alarm system and a driveway gate. Maybe the jewelry making was just a cover story. Did Xander and his father have something to do with the wolf? Could Xander be the person I had seen last night?

That’s crazy,
I told myself.
You spent an entire day with him last weekend and he was a perfect gentleman. Not to mention how warm and friendly his father was.
Despite my thoughts, I couldn’t shake my suspicions. I distinctly remembered him watching me in the school parking lot last week. There was something I didn’t trust about him, I just didn’t know what it was yet.

“Laken?” Noah’s voice broke me out of my thoughts. “Are you still there?”

“Yes, sorry,” I said. “I was just thinking about something.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s nothing, really.” It was one thing for me to suspect Xander, but I didn’t want to plant any suspicions in Noah’s mind unless I could prove them. “I was just thinking about how safe I used to feel. We never locked our doors for as long as I can remember, and now everything is different. It’s not the way it used to be.”

“I’m sure it will all blow over in time,” Noah said, but something in his voice told me he didn’t believe his own words.

“I hope you’re right. But until then, at least I have Dakota.”

“Just promise me if you see anything suspicious, anything at all, you’ll let me know right away.” Grave concern lingered in his voice.

“I will,” I promised, a warm glow coming over me as I realized he cared about me.

“Good. Well, I need to run and you probably need to get back to whatever you were doing.”

I glanced across my desk at my books. “Calculus homework,” I groaned.

“Sounds fun.”

“You’re welcome to come by and help,” I offered.

“No thanks,” he replied quickly. “But I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

“Yes. I like hearing your voice.” I also hoped that he would stop by school one afternoon like he’d done last week.

“Me, too. I’ll see you soon,” he said, leaving me to wonder if he had read my mind.

After a quick good-bye, I hung up the phone and set it down on my desk. I reached for my Calculus book, but I found it extremely hard to resume concentrating. My thoughts bounced from Noah’s kisses to my suspicions that Xander had been watching us from the woods. My homework seemed to be worlds away as I stared straight ahead, entranced in my thoughts.

Finally, with a deep sigh, I picked up my pencil and resumed writing what I could only hope were the correct answers to the Calculus problems.

***

“Where were you Saturday night?” I fired my burning question at Xander the first chance I got Monday morning which happened to be at my locker before homeroom. I had been in the midst of organizing my books when I sensed him behind me. Without hesitating, I spun around to face him as I glanced around to make sure no one, specifically Marlena or Carrie, was listening. I didn’t even want Brooke or Ethan to hear this. I hadn’t told them about the person in the woods Saturday night, and I didn’t want to.

I stared up at Xander, watching his reaction. The other students milling in the hallway were a blur behind him. He didn’t answer immediately, but rather gazed at me curiously, his ice blue eyes meeting my stare.

I was quickly mesmerized by his gaze and handsome features. Somehow he didn’t seem as intimidating as I remembered, but that could be because his blue jeans and khaki colored shirt weren’t as dark as the black clothes he wore so often.

“Good morning to you, too,” he finally said, his voice laced with sarcasm.

“Are you going to answer my question?”

“Not until you tell me why it matters to you.”

I sighed deeply, staring at him. He obviously wasn’t about to answer me until I explained why I was asking. I folded my arms across my black sweater.

“Fine.” I glanced around to make sure no one was listening. “I saw someone in the woods behind my house Saturday night,” I stated quietly.

Xander glared at me incredulously. “And you think it was me?”

His reaction made me wonder if asking him point blank had been a good idea. “Well, was it?” I asked slowly, deliberately.

“No, of course not. If you must know, I was out with Marlena Saturday night. Unlike you, she accepted my invitation to the Homecoming dance.”

My mood suddenly darkened on two accounts. First off, I knew he was telling the truth. Marlena would never let a guy she was dating out of her sight on a Saturday night. And secondly, jealousy rose up inside me at the thought of Marlena and Xander together.

“Oh,” I said. “Okay. I’m sorry. It must have been someone else.”

I shook my head and started to turn back to my locker when Xander grabbed my upper arm. I stopped, looking up at him.

“Why would you think I was in the woods behind your house like some kind of psychopath? Do you really think I’d do that?” he asked softly in a hurt voice.

“I don’t know. I barely know you.”

“But you think I was stalking you? Trust me, Laken, that’s not my style. If you don’t want to go out with me, I get it. I’ve moved on. If you want an alibi, just ask Marlena. I’m sure she’d be happy to tell you exactly what we did Saturday night.”

“That won’t be necessary. But if you must know, sometimes, you--you scare me a little,” I admitted reluctantly. I looked up, meeting his blue eyes. “Like when you corner me here at my locker.”

He instantly dropped his hand away from my arm. “Were you scared of me when we went hiking?”

“No. That was actually nice. But last week, you acted a little strange after you asked me to the dance.”

“And I apologized for that.” A faint smile formed on his lips. “Look, there’s a lot you don’t know right now, but once you do, you’re going to understand where I’m coming from.”

“Then tell me,” I challenged him. “You’ve been dropping hints like this since you got here. Why can’t you just come out with it?”

“Because it’s not that easy. You wouldn’t believe me, anyway.”

“Try me.”

“Not so fast. First, tell me what happened Saturday night.”

I shrugged, not wanting to talk about it. “It’s nothing, really.”

“That’s not true. You said someone was in the woods behind your house. Were they watching you?”

“I don’t know. It was really dark. I saw something move between the trees and I thought it was a person, but it was hard to tell.” I glanced away from his stare, aimlessly watching the other students as I suddenly wished he would drop the subject.

“This isn’t good,” he muttered, looking away from me before his gaze settled on me again. “Listen, Laken. I need you to trust me. I’m glad you told me about this. If it happens again, I need you to tell me right away. Even if it’s in the middle of the night, just call my cell phone,” he said seriously. “This is really important. Do you promise to tell me if it happens again?”

I knew he wouldn’t accept no for an answer. “Sure. But I just hope it never happens again.”

“Yeah,” he agreed with a deep breath before abruptly changing the subject. “So what are we doing for our History assignment?”

Grateful to talk about something much less frightening, I grinned. “How about the Underground Railroad?”

Xander smiled, pleasantly surprised. “You mean slaves escaping to Canada?”

“That’s right. One of the routes went straight through New Hampshire. In fact, a house in town was part of it. I haven’t been in it, but I’ve heard it has a lot of secret hiding places.”

“Wow. All I could think of was the Mayflower or the Boston Tea Party. That’s a much better idea. I knew there was a reason I picked you for a partner.”

“You didn’t have a choice, remember? Everyone else had already teamed up with someone.”

“I know.” He paused, leaning in close. “But I only wanted to work with you,” he whispered into my ear.

As he raised his head, my eyes met his again and my breath caught. Tingling shivers raced through me, and I swallowed nervously.

The moment ended abruptly as Xander looked down the hall. I followed his gaze to see what had ripped his attention away from me so quickly. Shiny blonde hair bobbed above the heads of the other students in the distance. Xander backed away from me, his eyes locked on the crowded hallway. “Hey, I’ve got to run. We’ll get started on the project soon. Don’t forget what I said earlier.” He shot one last quick, almost apologetic smile my way before dashing off into the mob of students.

I sighed with disappointment, watching him until he disappeared into the crowd. With a frown, I turned back to my locker, my mood suddenly as dark as the midnight black sweater I wore.

Chapter 19

Rain moved into the area Tuesday morning and pummeled the region for several days. Heavy, moisture-filled clouds hung in the sky, shielding the blue heavens with their low cover. I trudged to school and home each day in my dark green rain slicker, holding my black umbrella high above me as I ran from the parking lot to school each morning and then back again each afternoon. The steady rain filled dips in the pavement with puddles and saturated the grass. By the time I returned home each day, my shoes and ankles were dripping wet. But the rain didn’t bother me one bit. Noah called nightly, lifting my spirits as if the sun had found me through the dense clouds.

The miserable weather also made me feel safer. Hopefully, whoever had been in the woods Saturday night wouldn’t return in the pouring rain. And Dakota needed no convincing to stay in and gnaw on raw chicken. He never minded a light misting drizzle, but he only ran outside for quick bathroom breaks at my insistence during monsoon-like downpours.

On Thursday afternoon, I headed to my locker after the last bell rang to get my things before I was to meet Xander at his truck in the parking lot. We had decided to check out the library in Littleton that my mother had told me about.

As I walked down the hall, my phone buzzed in my book bag. I hurried between a few students, bumping into one of them in my rush to get to my locker where I dropped my book bag on the floor and knelt beside it. I reached into it, feeling around blindly for my phone. When I finally pulled it out, I had a text from Xander.
Something came up. I’ll meet you at the library at four-thirty
.

I sighed. That figured. Now I would have to drive there by myself instead of riding with him. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise. I hadn’t been too thrilled at the idea of being alone with him for thirty-minutes on our way to Littleton. At least now, I would only have to endure his company at the library while we started our research.

I dropped my phone back into my bag and stood to sort through the books on my locker shelf. Once I had the ones that I needed for the night, I reached for my dark green rain slicker. I slipped it on over my purple V-neck sweater and blue jeans, not bothering to pull my braided hair out from under it. Then I reached for my umbrella before shutting the locker door. As I turned with my book bag strap over one shoulder and my umbrella in my hand, Brooke emerged from the crowded hallway. A navy rain slicker cloaked her shoulders, her shiny red hair brushing against the hood that folded behind her neck.

“Hey, Laken,” she said smiling. “Want to grab some pizza in town? I’m so sick of this rain. I just don’t feel like going home and being trapped inside one more night.”

“I can’t. Xander and I are meeting at an old library in Littleton to start working on the research for our History project.”

Brooke wrinkled her nose. “I don’t even have a topic yet and you’re already starting? I wish you would tell me what you guys are doing. You seem a little too excited about it.”

“I’ll tell you soon enough. But for now, he made me promise I wouldn’t tell anyone.”

“I still can’t believe you ended up with him for your partner. I’m working with Abby and, while she’ll do a good job, it won’t be nearly as much fun as it would be with a hot guy.”

I laughed. Sometimes Brooke’s mind seemed to be stuck in the gutter. “At least you won’t be distracted.”

“Are you admitting that you will be?”

“What?” I gasped. “No, of course not,” I lied, trying my hardest to keep a straight face.

Brooke stared at me with a knowing look in her blue eyes. “Good try. You can’t fool me. I can tell you have a thing for him.”

As I frowned, feeling heat flush my cheeks, a male voice suddenly interrupted us. “A thing for who?” Ethan asked from behind Brooke.

“Xander,” Brooke answered quickly, glancing up over her shoulder at Ethan with a bright smile.

Ethan shot her a secret smile and then looked at me, but not before I noticed his brown eyes softening the moment he looked at her. He shrugged. “Where have you been, Brooke? That’s old news.”

I groaned and rolled my eyes at both of them. “It’s not news at all, so can we please stop talking about this?”

“Only if you give me an idea for this stupid History assignment,” Brooke pleaded.

Ethan’s eyes widened in mock surprise. “You and Abby haven’t picked a topic yet? You’d better get a move on it. It’s due tomorrow.”

“I know. What are you doing your project on? I need help. I’m getting desperate.”

“So what’s new?” Ethan teased with a warm smile.

She turned and playfully slapped his shoulder. “Hey! Just for that, you’re taking me out for pizza before I start on my homework tonight.”

“I’m always up for pizza. Laken, are you coming with us?”

“I can’t. I’m going up to the Littleton library with Xander. I think I mentioned that earlier, remember?”

“Oh yeah,” he said thoughtfully. “But I think he may have left already. I saw him running down the hall a few minutes ago. He looked kind of upset. What was that all about?”

“I have no idea. He sent me a text a few minutes ago saying something came up, so we’re meeting at the library instead of carpooling up there.”

“Maybe Marlena beckoned,” Brooke piped up.

As Ethan and I stared at her, her teasing smile faded. “What? Let’s face it, they are an item,” she defended.

I sighed. “You’re right. And it’s none of my business. All I care about is that he shows up at the library on time to help me with our research.” I glanced at my watch. If I left the school now, I would get to the library about thirty minutes earlier than Xander. I could use that time to get a head start. “I think I’m going to take off. I’ll see you guys tomorrow, okay?”

“Yep,” Brooke replied. “But I’m not going to tell you what Abby and I come up with for our History project until you’re ready to tell.”

“That’s only fair.” I waved to them with my free hand before turning on my heels and plodding through the crowded hallway to the double doors. Once outside, I paused under the overhang to open my umbrella. Rain poured from the sky, pattering into the puddles that shimmered in the sidewalk dips.

With my umbrella held high over my head, I hurried down the steps and across the parking lot. I tried to dodge the puddles, and yet I still ended up soaking my sneakers. When I reached the Explorer, I tossed my book bag on the front passenger seat and climbed in behind the wheel. I leaned out the door to shake the water off my umbrella, but somehow I managed to spray most of it in the truck and all over my raincoat. Frustrated, I tossed the soaking umbrella in the backseat and yanked the door shut. Rain thundered on the metal roof as I pulled the directions to the library out of my bag. In the dim light, I reviewed them before tucking them into the cup holder between the seats. Then I started the engine, immediately flipping on the headlights and windshield wipers. Once I buckled my seatbelt, I backed away from the curb and drove out of the school parking lot.

The steady rain pelted the windshield as I passed through town. The maple trees scattered between the sidewalk and town buildings were only a blur against the gray sky. Once outside of town, I turned onto a road that twisted up and down through the forest. I carefully navigated each turn, many of them snaking up the mountain with only a metal guard rail separating the road from a steep cliff. In other places, dense branches high above reached across the road, making it seem like night had fallen even though it was barely four o’clock.

By the time I reached Littleton, my hands had grown weary from clutching the steering wheel with a tight grip. The rain had finally slowed, and I was able to relax a little. I passed buildings, storefronts, and a few lonely souls hustling along the sidewalks in their raincoats, some under the cover of umbrellas. The directions took me through town to the end of the business district where I turned onto a side street. I drove by a few Victorian houses set back from the sidewalk behind white picket fences. Then the road curled through more thick endless woods. Just as I began to wonder if I’d taken a wrong turn somewhere along the way, the trees opened up and I saw a cemetery on the right. Directly across from it was a gravel driveway, a faded white picket fence lining both sides.

I slowed immediately, stopping to read the rickety sign at the entrance. Through the misty fog, I barely made out the dull print that read
Littleton Library, Established 1825
. Relief washed over me.
I made it,
I thought as I cut the tight turn onto the gravel.

The Explorer ambled along the short driveway, the tires crunching over the stones. Finding a tiny parking lot at the end, I eased the SUV to a stop and gaped at the ramshackle building in front of me. It was no bigger than a shoebox house on one level. Three steps led up to the front door, and the faded white paint had chipped away from the decaying wood planks. It reminded me of a one-room schoolhouse from the turn of the century. Who knew? Maybe it had been a school long ago. Only one other car faced the back of the parking lot on the other side. If I hadn’t seen it, I would have been tempted to turn around without even going in. The windows were dark, showing no signs of life inside. But I had made it this far, at my mother’s recommendation no less, so I owed it to myself to at least see if any hidden treasures waited inside.

I shut off the engine and grabbed my book bag from the passenger seat. Easing out of the Explorer, I felt a shiver run up my spine as I stepped out into the cool mist. A crow cawed from across the street, and I jumped, turning to study the cemetery.

A black iron fence surrounded the grassy lot. Gray headstones, some round at the top and others square, were randomly scattered beyond the fence. Weeds and tall grass grew along the base of the iron fence, and several black crows perched on the railing. An old dead tree rose up next to the front gate, its crooked barren branches snaking their gnarled way up to the gray sky.

I stared at the cemetery, mesmerized by the creepy scene that looked like something right out of a Halloween movie. One of the crows stretched its wings out and fluttered them in the eerie silence, drawing me out of my thoughts.

I finally turned toward the tiny library, forcing myself to walk across the gravel parking lot to the front steps. The wooden planks creaked under my weight as I ascended them to the door. Hesitantly, not sure of what waited on the other side, I turned the knob and pushed the door open. It squeaked in protest, the noise a rude awakening in the quiet. Not wanting to draw attention to myself, I tried to shut it gently, but it continued to creak and groan.

As I entered the library, I found myself facing an elderly woman who sat at an old scratched wooden desk. She rested her elbows on it as she stared at me, her gray eyes blurry behind her thick, black-framed reading glasses. Her wiry silver hair had been swept up into a stern bun. A delicate chain hung down from her glasses beside her wrinkled, sunken face. She wore a white blouse with a ruffled upright collar, a pink cameo hanging from a silver necklace below it. There wasn’t another soul in the library. Beyond her station were rows of shelves cluttered with old, musty-smelling books.

“Can I help you?” the woman asked, her voice quiet, yet suspicious.

I smiled faintly, hoping to see her stern expression soften. “I’m here to do some research on a school project for my History class. The topic is the Underground Railroad that ran through New England. Do you have a section on that?”

Her cold stare never faltered. “The books here are organized by date of publication. We have no card catalogue or internet service. Are you sure you’re in the right place?”

“Yes,” I whispered, unnerved by her stare. I composed myself before speaking up. “My mother is an elementary school teacher in Lincoln. She told me about this library because she thought I might find some books for my project. I’m hoping she’s right.”

“Very well, then. You may have a look around. But I close up at six o’clock sharp.”

I nodded at her and started to venture toward the bookshelves. But I stopped when she spoke again.

“Listen up. This is a library. The quiet rules are strictly enforced, so make sure to turn off your phone and any other gadgets you have while you’re here.”