Shifter Magick (17 page)

Maddox frowned. “No I don’t.” He glanced down at the menu, tension apparent across his shoulders. “
I am using my trust while I’m in school.”

Sam sat forward, “D
o you have your own place?” he continued.

A muscle ticked in Maddox’s jaw. “I live on campus but I have a shop where I work on my car.”

“Any roommates?”

“No.”

Kera cleared her throat. “I think I’m ready to order.” The waitress was young and looked shocked to see Maddox sitting with Kera and her father. Sam noticed. He studied Maddox a little harder while they ate in silence. The tension could be cut with a knife. Kera didn’t know if it was a good
time to bring up what happened last night. It would only remind her father that she was alone with Maddox in the middle of the night. She wanted to reassure her father that nothing had happened but that would have been a lie. Maddox’s kisses were something. Sleeping in his arms was something. She wasn’t even sure she would be able to tell her dad that sleeping with Maddox in other ways was out of the question. She wanted to guard herself but she also had a weakness.

Her mother had told her once that when you find someone special there were certain steps you took with that person. First you became friends, and then you became best friends. You went through good times and bad times with that person to see how they dealt with problems. She warned Kera about giving away her heart too early and now Kera understood. Every touch she shared with Maddox was a piece of her heart she would never get back. She would never forget her first kiss with him especially since it was her first kiss with anyone.

If they slept together then she would be his first too. Would it be the same for him? Would his heart be hers?

Maddox looked at her then and she realized she’d been staring at him as she thought. She blushed and watched his eyes turn from dark to light blue. Her heart sped up and skipped a beat when he brushed a finger against hers. For the first time, the energy from his skin didn’t calm her.

You
okay
?
He whispered.

Kera nodded.

“Tell me how you enrolled to Mountain View University Kera.” Her father cut in.

Blushing further, Kera cleared her throat. “I got a letter in the mail. It was strange because I felt like I’d been expecting it all of the sudden.” Kera paused at the memory. She had torn into the letter, heart racing in expectation to find out if she had been accepted or not. She remembered smiling when she had. “The application was incomplete and they told me what information I needed. Financing applications came a few days later. I sat down and wrote the essay and mailed it all out the same week.”

“You said you thought I turned this in for you?”

Kera felt like she couldn’t breathe.
So stunned by what she was remembering. It was through a haze that she enrolled and only after her final acceptance letter had she begun to blame her father for what happened. “I don’t know why I did it.”
S
he whispered around the lump in her throat.

“Kera.” Maddox covered her hand with his. “What do you remember about the letter? Do you still have it?”

She saw the worry in his face. “I don’t know.”

“If it was at home where would you have put it?” Her father asked, his voice soft.

“I don’t know.” She said again, feeling numbness creeping over her.

“Let me see your other hand Kera.” Maddox moved his plate around the table to the empty seat then pushed hers to the center of the table. “Can you concentrate on my hands Kera?” He grabbed both of her hands and angled his body to her. His thumbs stroked her skin.

“What is this about?” Sam
practically growled.

Maddox met her father’s harsh stare. “Trust me.”

“I do.” Kera whispered.

Her father turned to her at the same time Maddox did. In that moment, two things happened. Kera felt a jolt of energy from the palms of Maddox’s hands pour into her and a freak wind blew through the restaurant and rattled the tables. Kera gasped and looked around. Everyone in the room was silently looking around for t
he source. The doors were closed
, windows were shut and everyone looked to be just as confused as she was.

“Are you better?” Maddox’s deep voice brought her back to the first event. He stroked her fingers, holding her hands tightly. His expression guarded.

Sam
shifted in his seat on the other side of her.
“What did you do?”
he demanded of Maddox. The look he gave him could have wilted a flower in spring. He didn’t look nearly as shocked as Kera felt.

“Distraction will sometimes change the course of adrenaline being released into the body.” Maddox told him. “I gave her a focal point because she was panicking.”

“Psychology at its best.” Kera murmured.
“Now let’s see if we can start to get along.”

“Kera.” Sam grumbled.

“I think I’d like both of you to listen to me for a moment.” She found herself pulling her hands away from Maddox. “Dad, you’ve seen me at my worst and I know you can’t get over that. I checked out the year after mom died and I still struggle with my part in it…”

“It wasn’t…”

“It has been almost five years now.” Kera continued even though her father tried to cut in. “I’ve kept a lot of things from you and I’m sorry for that. It would be easier now if I hadn’t but I’m still working on how I’m going to fix that.”

“What was there to hide Kera? I have been there for you and I’m supposed to know your worst. That’s what father’s are for.”

Kera smiled at him, tears burning her eyes. “I know.” She whispered. “I didn’t understand and I still don’t know exactly what some of it means. Mom had secrets Dad. I have secrets. If you know anything about mom’s past I need to know.”

Her father’s eyes bore into her like he was trying to see through her.

“Maddox.” She turned to him. He was leaning both elbo
ws on the table. H
is hands were folded together
and pressing
against his lips. He raised his eyebrows to her, waiting for what she had to say. “We’ve just met.” She didn’t need to say that he knew more than her father, he was already aware of that. “I’m used to being alone.”

I can help.
He whispered behind his hands. His eyes were sharp and focused on her.

Kera swallowed. “
I want to do this myself. It’s not that I don’t trust you but it’s personal to me.”

“She’s right.” Her dad said. “It’s a family matter.”

Kera winced, remembering Luke saying the same thing to him.

Maddox’s eyes darkened considerably. “I’m here when you need me.” He said coolly, his heart beating considerably faster. He began to tap his foot in a smooth rhythm but never looked away from her. “I think I should let you have some time alone with your father.” He stood up and reached for his wallet, pulled out a few twenties and left them on the table. “Sir.” He nodded to her father.

Sam stood up and reached out to shake Maddox’s hand. They said goodbyes and then he was gone.

Kera wiped the tears from her eyes and wondered if she had just made a huge mistake. Her father wasn’t comfortable around Maddox. The tension was
palpable
. She had to know what her father had found. She didn’t see him speaking freely around Maddox though. The idea that she may have hurt his feelings settled heavily on her stomach making her squirm.

“Where did you meet this guy, Luke, who said he was your mom’s brother?” Her father asked a minute later.

“His father’s house.” Kera croaked out.

“Honey.” Her father grabbed her hand like Maddox had and she started crying again. “You care about him too huh?”

She nodded. “His family knows about her. His dad was her friend.”

Sam’s lips thinned. “I’d like to meet this Luke character. You said he is a professor. Maybe he found out about you.”

“What would interest him about me dad?”

“Family is important Kera.” Her dad said. “I found letters from a man named Alan Larsen in your mother’s things. I think she kept in touch with him. They didn’t make much sense but one thing was apparent, they were in code. He knew about me and that your mother and I were married. He always asked how her roses were doing and if they had bloomed yet. Your mother loved roses. But as I read the context I knew they were talking about you Kera. I got the impressing that they were waiting for something to happen but it hadn’t yet. This secret you have. When did it bloom?”

Kera wanted to reach for Maddox but he was no longer by her side. The feeling was unwelcome. Sam’s deep brown eyes studied her. Her father was a different man than she remembered. He had coddled her for the past five years but now he was asking questions and expecting answers. Her he
art galloped in her chest. “The
day mom died.” She whispered. Her foot tapped the floor and her fingers drummed against the table top. She watched the water in her cup pulse from the small movement the table made underneath the base.

“
Did you tell Doctor Clark?”

“I’m not crazy dad
.”
She whispered.

Sam sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. “What did he say?”

“That I had post traumatic stress and it wasn’t real.” She gulped. Was she going to do this? Really tell her dad what she could do? She looked around and only a few people were looking in her direction. The waitress most of all, who was texting away in between what she thought were furtive glances in Kera’s direction.

“Your mother believed certain things I could never understand.” He pointed to her and Kera looked down at the key around her neck. “That necklace was important to her. She kept it in a safe place. She used to wear it every day, even to bed. She taught you those silly songs but wouldn’t tell me the meaning. She just said they were special.”

Kera nodded. “I remember them.”

“Does he know this secret of yours?” He sighe
d heavily when she nodded. “
Okay
.”

Her dad didn’t pressure her any further and Kera was glad.
After they finished eating the best barbeque she had ever had, h
e told her his flight back was at four and he wanted to meet with the dean alone. Kera didn’t know if her emotions could handle anything else today so she didn’t put up a fight. Back at the dorm, she turned on Maddox’s iPod and listened to his acoustic melodies over and over as she lay on her bed. She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew she was surrounded by darkness. Thunder rolled outside her window. Kera turned and looked at the iPod. It was silent. She ran the batteries completely out and didn’t have the charger.

Kera sighed and looked around for her purse. When she found it
,
she pulled everything out before she came to the resolution that she didn’t have her phone. Her dad would have called. Maybe Maddox too. She went to the window and looked out into the parking lot. There weren’t many students out in the rain. Maybe her phone was in her car. She could get down and back without her crutches.

She let her senses fan out before she opened the door to the hall. She listened on her way down the stairs to make sure she didn’t
run into anyone
. When she got to the lobby she kept her head down and ignored the few people lounging on the
sofas
. They weren’t familiar to her
so she doubted they would care she was without her crutches. Never the less, she hurried anyway.

She ran up to her jeep, keys in hand and opened the door. Once inside she brushed the ra
i
n from her face and looked around for her phone. She remembered messing with it while her father drove, wondering if she should text Maddox.
She found it under the passenger seat. She woke the screen and saw four missed calls and six text messages.

The knocking at her window startled her. She dropped the phone.
The silhouette on the other side was the form of a tall male. Maddox! Kera opened the door and hopped out of the car, worried he was still angry about her sending him away.

All at once she realized her mistake.

His scent was wrong. He wasn’t as tall. His hair wasn’t as dark. “Andrew.” She whispered.

He leaned against her door quickly, cutting her off from her
escape. She could run, but the large bruise on his eye kept her there. “He seemed to think I did something to you.” Andrew narrowed his eyes at her, one more narrow than the other because of the swelling. “I’ve only ever wanted to be your friend Kera Conway.”

A cold chill skated down her spine
, lightning lit the sky behind him, but the rain seemed to come to a stop
. “Why do you keep saying my name like that?”

He took a step toward her. “It is your name.”
Kera tensed
and he smiled. “I’ve been informed you know a little bit more about us now.”

Kera forced herself
to relax. “What do you want?” H
er eyes darted to her
jeep
door, wondering if she had enough room to get on the other side of him.