Shadows at Sunset: Sunset Trilogy ~ Book 1 (32 page)

I scanned the empty library, rolling my eyes in bewilderment. There was no one here to be bothered by any noise. Yet I simply nodded my head. “Yes, ma’am,” I said quietly before wandering off between the bookshelves.

I walked toward the back of the library, glancing at the hundreds of books as I looked for a good place to leave my things. Behind the last bookshelf, I found an old wooden table in the dusty corner. I placed my book bag on the scratched surface and peeled off my raincoat. After I folded it over the back of a wobbly chair, I started browsing the aisles of books, looking for the eighteen hundreds. The Underground Railroad dated from 1800 to 1865, so I would have a big section to work with once I found it.

When I located the aisle marked 1800 to 1850, I started inspecting the books. Some were leather bound, some were hard back, and all of them smelled old and musty. Dust billowed up above each book I pulled out. The covers were generally plain, most of them listing a title and an author on a solid background of dark brown, green, or blue.

For nearly forty-five minutes, I sifted through the books and wondered when they had last been read. I found stories from a lifetime of hardships that I couldn’t even begin to imagine. They described frigid winter nights when the only heat in the house came from a fire and food harvests that were picked by hand with the hope that it would be enough to last the long cold winter.

It was nearly five o’clock when I realized that I hadn’t found anything on the Underground Railroad. Considering I’d only read through about twenty of the hundreds of books lining the shelves, that wasn’t surprising. I also wondered where Xander was. He’d said four-thirty. Where could he be? I hoped he hadn’t gotten lost trying to find the library, but he struck me as someone who didn’t get lost.

I carefully slid a book of witch trials back between the other dusty books and returned to my things on the table in the back corner. I dug into my book bag to find my phone, realizing I’d forgotten to turn off the ringer since arriving at the library. I quickly switched it to vibrate as I glanced down the aisle to the front desk. A bookshelf blocked my view of the librarian, but I knew she was still there from the occasional footsteps I heard. I sighed, grateful my phone hadn’t rung while I’d been browsing the bookshelves. The last thing I wanted was to suffer through a scolding from her, especially since she seemed to expect nothing but trouble from me.

The librarian forgotten, I checked for new text messages and found none.
Where are you?
I wondered, drumming my fingers nervously against the side of my phone. Finally I typed a text message to Xander.
I’m at the library. Are you coming?

After sending it, I stuffed the phone in the back pocket of my jeans and returned to the aisle I had just left. Instead of resuming my search on the top shelves where I had left off, I kneeled down to browse some of the books at the bottom. I pulled one book out after another, only flipping through them once I had returned the previous book to its slot on the shelf. The fourth one I pulled out was entitled “Memoirs of my Grandmother, A True Hero of the Underground Railroad.” I smiled excitedly and set it aside as I continued looking for more on the subject. Since I had found one, maybe there would be more in the same section.

I pulled a few books out at one time, hoping at least one of them contained something about the Underground Railroad. As I reached for the next book along the opening, a black shape suddenly moved in the empty space between the missing books. Two green eyes with slitted pupils stared at me before lunging out toward me with a high-pitched meow. I shrieked as a black cat leaped into my arms for a split second, scratching me as it scrambled down to the floor. I fell backward from my kneeling position, reaching my arms behind myself to catch my balance. My heart pounded as I breathed deeply. It was only a cat, nothing to get too worried about. I watched it scamper off down the aisle and disappear around the corner.
That was fun,
I thought sarcastically. I never expected to be ambushed by a cat in a library, but this was no ordinary library.

As my pulse slowed and I looked down at the stack of books I had piled beside me, I heard the librarian’s footsteps round the corner at the end of the aisle. She peered at me accusingly from behind her glasses as she put one finger up to her lips to shush me.

“Sorry,” I whispered. “The cat scared me.”

With a huff, she turned on her heels to head back to her desk. I rolled my eyes, wondering once again where Xander was. This was supposed to be a team effort. I wasn’t about to do all the work only to let him take half the credit for it. Forgetting about the books stacked on the floor, I reached into my back pocket for my phone. As if on cue, it vibrated.
Xander
!
I thought.
Finally
!
But when I read the screen, my frustration only intensified. It wasn’t Xander at all. It was Noah calling. I pushed aside my annoyance with Xander’s no-show as a smile tugged at my lips. My heart flip-flopped as it did every time I saw Noah’s name light up my phone.

“Hello?” I whispered as I scrambled to my feet and rushed to the back corner table, hoping the nosy, suspicious librarian wouldn’t hear me. I leaned against the side wall, facing the cob-webs in the corner.

“Laken?” Concern lurked in Noah’s voice. “Is everything okay? Why are you whispering?”

“I’m fine,” I assured him, my voice hushed. “I’m at a creepy library up in Littleton and if the librarian hears me talking, I’ll probably get kicked out.”
Especially after screaming when her cat jumped out at me,
I thought.

“Sounds like fun. What are you doing up there?”

“Research for the History project.”

“Oh, right,” Noah mused. “Well, listen, I know it’s kind of last minute, but do you want to have dinner with me tonight? I could meet you at the pizza shop around six.”

I glanced at my watch. It was already five-twenty. Xander was nearly an hour late, and as the seconds ticked by, I grew less hopeful that he would make it at all. If I left the library within the next ten minutes, I could make it back in time to meet Noah. “Sure. That would be nice,” I whispered. “I’ll be there.”

“Great.” He paused. “You know, I’ve been thinking. This is a small town. I’m the deputy and you’re the sheriff’s daughter. If people start seeing us out together in public, they’re going to talk. Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

I laughed softly, hoping the librarian didn’t hear me. “Of course. I don’t care who sees us. Let them talk. But I have to go now before the librarian hears me.” I wanted to ask him if he was okay with it, but I didn’t want to keep talking and get in trouble. Instead, I pushed that thought to the back of my mind.

“Okay. See you soon.”

A huge grin lingered on my face as I hung up the call. Memories of our kiss in the kitchen Saturday night crept into my mind for a moment as I bumped my phone against my chin. Then I sighed, remembering the pile of books I had left on the aisle floor. I shoved my phone back into my pocket and hurried back to them.

This is just going to have to wait until next time when Xander is here to help,
I thought as I kneeled down to return all but one of the books to the shelf. I made a mental note of their location, assuming that there was a pretty good chance they’d be right where I left them the next time I came to the library.

As I thought about coming back here, my frustration with Xander returned. I still couldn’t believe that he’d stood me up this afternoon. I had never expected him to blow me off like this, and I really hoped he wouldn’t do it again. Until now, I had believed that I could count on him to carry his weight on this project. If he thought I was going to do all of the work, he had another thing coming. A scowl formed on my face as I hurried to the back corner to gather my things, the book of memoirs in my hand.

I reached the table and donned my raincoat, moving my phone from my jeans to the deep side pocket in my coat. Then I hoisted my book bag onto my shoulder and carried the library book to the front to check it out. When I stopped in front of the desk, the librarian was gazing down at a book, one arm outstretched as she stroked the purring black cat lying beside it. The minute the cat saw me, it jumped to its feet with a shrieking meow and leaped off the desk. The old woman sighed with annoyance, not bothering to raise her head as she looked at me over the top of her glasses. She didn’t say a word, but rather questioned me silently, her eyebrows raised.

“Yes--um--hi,” I stuttered. “I’d like to check out this book.” I gingerly placed the book on the desk. “Please.”

“We don’t do that here,” she replied curtly.

“Excuse me?”

“All of the books in this library are authentic antiques. We don’t allow them to leave the premises, especially with teenagers.”

I sighed with disappointment. “Okay. I’ll put it back where I found it.” I started to reach for the book, but her hand struck out like lightning to pull it toward her and out of my reach.

“Not so fast, missy. You just leave that with me and I’ll take care of it. If you want to read it, you’ll have to come back. I’m here every day, seven days a week from nine to six.”

I nodded in understanding. Without another word, I turned to leave. I couldn’t wait to escape the woman’s accusing stare. Never before had I been treated like a disrespectful child. I wondered what my parents would think, and I made a mental note to make sure I told them about her when I got home.

I pulled open the front door and raced out onto the porch only to skid to a stop under the small overhang. It was pouring again. The dark gray sky hid the descending sun and the earlier mist was gone. As the miserable rain pounded the roof and the gravel, I snapped the front of my raincoat together and lifted the hood up over my head, my braid tucked under it.

I cursed as I realized I had left my umbrella in the truck.
Lovely,
I thought, staring out at the pouring rain. I contemplated the mad dash I would have to make to the Explorer.
A lot of good my umbrella does me in the car.
I fished my car keys out of my coat pocket and tucked one hand on my book bag to hold it steady. Then I raced down the steps and out into the rain. I ran as fast as I could across the gravel. Yet by the time I reached the Explorer and jumped in the driver’s seat, beads of water rolled down my face.

Rain beat against the metal roof as I pulled the door shut. In the tight quarters of the driver’s seat, I pushed the dripping hood behind me, feeling the water against the back of my neck. My movements were stiff from the heavy raincoat when I moved my phone from my pocket to the cup holder before starting the truck. The engine was barely audible over the rain. I flipped on the headlights, turned the windshield wipers on high, and started the heat. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough, but I resisted flooring the accelerator. Instead, I slowly turned the truck around and guided it down the driveway to the road, my nerves finally fading as soon as I left the ramshackle library and suspicious old lady far behind.

Chapter 20

The windshield wipers pulsed furiously as I crossed through Littleton and then turned onto the road that cut through the mountains and led back to my town. The rain poured steadily, showing no signs of letting up as it streaked down through the headlight beams. I drove slowly, staying under the speed limit in the treacherous conditions. Not a single car passed in the other direction or came up behind me as I covered miles of road up and down steep slopes and around tight hairpin turns.

I had no idea how deep into the mountains I had gone when my phone vibrated against the cup holder. I glanced down at it for a quick moment, but it remained dark. It must have been a text. Whatever it was would have to wait until I got back to town.

As I raised my eyes up to the rain-streaked windshield, a white wolf stood in the middle of the road. Its damp fur reflected in the headlight beams. I screamed, slamming on my brakes to avoid hitting it. It jumped off to the side of the road, escaping an impact with the truck with only seconds to spare. My relief that I hadn’t hit it was short-lived. The truck suddenly hydroplaned on the slick pavement as the brakes locked up. The back end fishtailed to the side, sending the Explorer into a spin in the pitch black. I couldn’t see anything except the blurred shadows of trees rising up around the truck. My foot locked down on the brake, I clutched the steering wheel in a death grip as the truck veered off the road and down an embankment.

The Explorer slid to a stop, the front end pitching downward on the soft, saturated ground. My heart pounded with fear as tears blurred my vision. My foot seemed to be stuck in place on the brake as I breathed deeply, trying to stop my trembling. I fought to calm my nerves, staring at the windshield wipers moving up and down in unison. The rain thundered against the roof, but I blocked out the noise. All I could think was that the truck had stopped and I was okay. The fact that it hadn’t slammed into a tree was a miracle. The headlights shone into the forest, and a huge tree trunk nearly two feet in diameter rose up just inches away from the front grill of the truck.

I’m alive, for now,
I told myself.
But I need to get out of here if I want to stay alive. That wolf couldn’t have gotten very far in the last few minutes.
I shook my head as the white wolf flashed through my mind. So there were two strange wolves roaming around here, not just one? I couldn’t believe it. Where had they come from and why were they here?
Well, one thing’s for sure. I won’t find any answers sitting here all night.

With my foot still firmly planted on the brake, I turned the knob on the dashboard to switch the truck into four-wheel drive. As I shifted into reverse, I held my breath, praying that all four tires working together would be enough to get the truck up the steep embankment to the road.
Please work. Please, please, please.

I eased my foot off the brake and touched down on the accelerator. The Explorer rocked backward and, as I felt it start to move, I punched the gas. But as quickly as the truck moved, it stopped, sinking into the soft earth as I revved the engine. The tires spun aimlessly, and I felt them digging deep into the saturated ground until I finally gave up. I shifted my foot from the accelerator to the brake, realizing that it was hopeless. The ground was too soft to get enough traction, even in four-wheel drive. A feeling of dread washed over me. I was stranded on a deserted mountain road in the middle of a dark rainstorm.

An unnerving chill raced down my spine. I glanced at the doors to make sure they were locked as I remembered the person in the woods behind my house. Could that person be near right now, just waiting for the chance to get to me?
That’s ridiculous. I’m miles from home right now. How could anyone know where I am? I haven’t seen a single car since I left Littleton,
I thought.
I’ll just call Noah and he’ll come get me. I’ll be fine.
But my thoughts failed to calm the panic that raced through me. I knew better than to rely on a cell phone in these mountains. Coverage was spotty, at best. One minute I could have full service, and the next my call would drop just from going around a tight turn or climbing up a steep hill.

I grabbed my phone as if it was my last hope of surviving this nightmare that was like something out of a horror movie. Only this was real. With a prayer, I swiped the screen to turn it on. The bars in the top corner remained blank. No service.

“Damn!” I swore under my breath as tears welled up in my eyes. I dropped my phone back into the cup holder and leaned my forehead against the top of the steering wheel. Closing my eyes, I listened intently to the humming engine and punishing rain. “I can’t believe this is happening,” I muttered, desperately wondering what options I had at this point other than getting out of the Explorer and walking. As much as I hesitated to step out into the cold, dark rain, it was really my fear of the strange wolf roaming nearby that kept me from running up to the road. After my encounter with the black wolf at the campground, I assumed that this one wouldn’t be receptive to me, either.

But I had to overcome my fear. I knew what I needed to do, whether or not I was comfortable with it. I turned off the windshield wipers and headlights, sending the woods into complete darkness. When I shut off the engine, the rain pelting the truck seemed even louder. With the keys in one hand, I lifted my hood up over my head. Then, as I shuddered with fear, I opened the door. I had to get up to the road right away to flag down the next car, if there was one.

I twisted to the side and slowly lowered my feet out of the truck, clutching the car door for support as I felt the soggy ground sink beneath my sneakers. The incline was soft and slippery, but I managed to shut the door behind me. Then I turned to look up the hill, my eyes slowly adjusting to the dark. Rain pattered against my slicker, blowing in under the hood at an angle. Water rolled down my face, but I ignored it.

Holding my arms out at my sides for balance, I trudged alongside the Explorer, determined to make it up the hill. I had taken two steps away from the SUV when I heard a growl in front of me. I stopped and looked up. Two yellow eyes glared at me from the top of the embankment. The black wolf’s body blended into the shadows behind it.

I stood frozen in place on the muddy slope. As my heart raced, I shivered from both fear and the cold rain. “What do you want from me? You know I won’t hurt you,” I whispered.

As soon as I spoke, the wolf deepened its growl and bared its teeth. Just like I had suspected the last time, it didn’t welcome my attempts to communicate with it. It started heading down the hill, and I instinctively moved backward.

Another growl erupted to my side, and I gasped as I turned in the direction of it. Two more pairs of eyes, one set belonging to the white wolf and the other set belonging to a gray one, were locked in on me. I backed up as the three wolves moved in my direction. I shifted my eyes to each of them, not sure what to do next. I suddenly wished I’d stayed in the truck, but it was too late.

As the wolves stepped closer, their huge paws sinking in the mud, I whipped around and scrambled back to the Explorer. I fumbled with my keys, but my hands shook uncontrollably. As the growling became louder behind me, tears blurred my vision. I spun to face the wolves, pressing my back against the metal door.

“What do you want?” I gasped. “Please, don’t hurt me.”

The three of them suddenly hushed, their upper lips lowering over their fangs. The rain intensified, but all I noticed was that the wolves had turned their attention to the road behind them. A figure appeared at the top of the ditch. A long trench coat reached the stranger’s knees and I made the assumption from the broad shoulders that it was a man. His face was shadowed in the darkness, but I still stared up at him, my jaw dropped open in fright.

“Who are you?” I asked, but he probably couldn’t hear me over the rain as he didn’t say a word.

In a flash, the wolves sprang at me. I leaped away from the truck and took off running into the woods as fast as I could. Holding my hands out in front of me, I dodged the trees as the wolves snarled behind me. They snapped at my heels as I scrambled to get away, my feet sliding on the slippery wet leaves. I wasn’t sure how far I had run before I slammed into a huge tree trunk.

I whirled around, my back to the knotted bark, as the wolves closed in on me. They lingered inches away, their hungry eyes focused on me. I swallowed nervously, my heart pounding. My back pressed against the tree as if I could get farther away from them, but it was hopeless. I was cornered.

‘
Please, leave me alone
!
I don’t know what you want with me, but I’ll do anything if you let me go
!’
I begged silently, hoping at least one of the wolves would grant me mercy.

Their growling rumbled again, louder this time, and I heard a rustling in the leaves over the rain. The wolves fell silent at once, and I opened my eyes, curious to know what was happening. They focused on something off to the side, cautiously backing up as if threatened.

Suddenly, a bull moose charged out of the trees, its antlers angled downward at the wolves. They whimpered fearfully as they turned and dispersed into the woods. Then the moose took off up the hill, and I thought I saw the man again for a second before he disappeared.

The moose stopped about twenty feet away from me and raised his head. He snorted noisily, his nostrils ruffling from his breath as he turned to look at me. I watched him as my panic began to subside. As if sensing my helplessness, the moose lumbered down the hill, his hooves sliding in the mud with each step he took. When he reached me, he stopped and stretched his head out to sniff me. His breath whispered across my chin, the soft damp fur on his nostrils brushing against me.

I raised a hand to stroke his wet muzzle. “Thank you,” I murmured. “I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t come along when you did.”

He nodded subtly, his soft brown eyes meeting mine. Raindrops glistened between his eyelashes and his fur was soaked.

“Stay with me?” I asked. “I need to get back up to the road.”

As I headed up the embankment in the rain, the moose walked beside me. He towered above me, his antlers spanning nearly four feet across. And yet he stepped carefully, making sure not to brush me with them.

After we passed the Explorer, the incline grew steeper, the footing more slippery. I almost fell about halfway up and reached out, grabbing the moose for balance. He halted until I had steadied myself, and then we climbed to the top together.

We stopped at the edge of the road and I looked in both directions to see only darkness. The moose stood patiently beside me, his presence calming me, making me feel safe. After a few moments of listening to the pitter-patter of rain, headlights shone in the distance. As they came closer, the moose spun around and disappeared into the woods.

My heart lurched as the headlights eased to a stop in front of me, the rain streaking down in their beams. When they shut off, I instantly recognized the black pick-up truck. I looked up at the windshield to see Xander staring at me. He looked puzzled as his forehead furrowed in confusion. I lifted a hand to wave at him as a single tear of relief rolled down my face.

Whatever the wolves and the stranger wanted with me would have to wait for another day. I was safe for now, or so I hoped.