The Second Sign (3 page)

“Whoa, why couldn’t we get that one?” He pointed,
leading Jenna’s gaze there.

She smiled at him, her eyes lit up. “Yeah, you wish.
But we can go say hi if it pleases you. You know, to be hospitable
and invited to all the parties they may have. And lookee here,” she
said with a twang. “This trail leads straight for the house in a
semi-circle. I’m sure even you, dahling, cannot get lost.”

“You suck, you know that.” He couldn’t help but
smile at her.

She pouted and looked at him through thick lashes.
“Oh come on my dahling sibling, do be kind and help me with this
shit before I throw it upside yo head.” She smirked. “And take this
hybrid beast out of the flatbed. I so don’t want to be seen
associated with it.”

“Hey, this is—” It was his precious Harley she was
referring to, but when he met her gaze, his voice caught in his
throat. The fading light glimmered off her bright blue eyes,
reminding him so much of his mother it hurt.

She seemed to notice and gave him a sheepish smile,
shrugged, and walked into the house they would be holing up in for
the next six weeks. Well, five weeks, six days, and eight hours.
But who’s counting.

It took Jake all of twelve minutes to scram and go
searching for more interesting species to hang with. “I’ll see ya
later. Don’t wait up.” He planted his sister with a hard kiss on
the forehead and bounded out the door before she opened her
mouth.

The night looked freaky with no lights. He almost
wished he had some fluorescent light to tie up around his neck so
he wouldn’t be run over by...well, nothing. Five homes rimmed the
lake and only one had any indication of life. He gravitated toward
it like a fly to shit. He zipped his bomber jacket and wished he’d
worn his canvas sneakers instead of his heavy riding boots.

The house across the lake was magnificent to look
at, a looming structure with two large solar panels on the roof.
The back portion of the house was raised on stilts with a large
veranda and steps leading to the dock and into the lake. Jake had a
special place in his heart for structural wonders and knew, though
he’d never admit it to his dad, he wanted to follow in the family
business of engineering and design. His sister got the creativity
part of the brain, with aesthetics, while he looked for sound
structure and mathematical equations that made sense.

The porch light flickered, then lit and footsteps
stomped onto the veranda overlooking the lake. Jake saw a figure
and couldn’t quite breathe. This person had sucked up all the air
around him and left him breathless. Her long, dark hair held up in
a ponytail revealed pale, white skin, like the moon. She seemed to
glow in the soft light. Her features were hidden in shadows, but he
could see the sensual outline of her full lips, chin, and nose. She
turned to him. His heart made a leap for his throat and he had to
swallow that puppy down. Under the lamp, her eyes looked
violet.

“What are you looking at?” she snapped, pulling him
out of his thoughts and stupidity.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Idiot came to his mind. “My sister
and I just got here and I noticed you seemed to be the only light
around and came by to say hi.” He spoke so fast he couldn’t even
remember what he said.

“Oh.” She looked away from him and set a pair of
dark sunglasses on, hiding her eyes. “Well, since you’re here, can
you help me carry in some things?”

“Yeah, sure. Cool.” He had to restrain himself from
smacking his palm against his forehead and chanting
stupid
a
million times. He shook off the gooey feeling and jogged to the
front of the house where a car, haphazardly parked with its front
wheels deep in the sand, looked abandoned. He wished she wouldn’t
ask him to help her dig it out. It looked pretty stuck.

She bounded toward him. “Don’t worry about the car.
My idiot brother doesn’t know how to drive and had to fly off.” She
whirled to face him and bit her lip. “Fly off to run some errands.”
She chuckled.

He had to resist the urge to pull off her shades to
get another glimpse of her eyes.

“Yeah,” she went on. “I need help with my things.
Not that I can’t carry them myself, but...” She looked at him
again, inspecting his reaction.

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. “It’s
cool. I’d rather help a total stranger than my sister.” He
shrugged. He liked the way she bit her lip to keep from
smiling.

“Cool, can you grab the bags in the trunk? They’re
pretty heavy. I’ll get the bags in the backseat.”

He pulled out the bags. She wasn’t kidding. He broke
out in a sweat by the time he entered the house. “You ain’t kidding
this is heavy. Whatcha got in here, the kitchen sink?”

“Yeah, that and everything else I own. Can you take
it up to the top of the stairs, first room on the right?”

He heaved the luggage up three flights of stairs and
lugged it to what couldn’t be mistaken as her room. The walls were
painted a deep violet with black trim. A four poster mahogany bed
stood centered in the room with a matching bedspread. Two tall
custom bookshelves filled with thick volumes of old leather books
flanked the bed. A set of three katana blades hung above her
headboard as if that would protect her from nightmares. He smirked.
An empty desk sat next to the window overlooking the lake. He had a
good view of his own decrepit house from the window. There was
enough floor space to fit a Harley, a whole band and his drafting
table. He let out a whistle.

“Yeah, it’s big.”

He almost jumped out of his skin. He caught a
glimpse of her eyes above her shades. They
were
violet. She
turned away from him and took off her glasses.

“Sorry, I’m usually not this nosey, but the
house...well, it’s awesome,” he admitted, trying not to say
anything about her eyes.

“Well, if you’re not some creepy stalker dude, I’ll
show you around.”

He laughed and threw up his hands. “Scout’s honor,
I’m not.”

“You don’t look like a scout. I think you have to be
one to have scout’s honor,” she said, turning to look back at
him.

“Yeah, I think so, too.” He kept his eyes on her,
realizing that she was even more beautiful than he had thought at
first. “I’m Jake by the way.” He shot out his hand for a
handshake.

She stiffened and looked at his hand as if it were
going to sprout legs and detach itself from his socket. She pulled
her sleeve down, covering her hand, and took his forearm instead.
Her fingers curled on his jacket.

“I’m Gabby,” she said with a smile. “Come on.” She
dropped her bag. “I’ll show you the rest of the house.”

Though modern on the outside, Jake was surprised
that the design inside the house was archaic. Jenna would love it.
Everything looked as if it came out of a fourteenth century castle.
Large high-back chairs, stone hearths, and oil paintings depicting
scenes of old people. Jake felt a sudden chill creep up his spine.
Gabby seemed to notice.

“My guardian designed the house and most of the
stuff in here is his.” She led him to a large empty room save for a
tall wardrobe and cabinets. Mats hung on the walls, rope hung from
the ceiling, and large wooden mannequins which seemed to have seen
heavy artillery were propped against the wall.

“What is this room used for? War?”

Gabby shrugged. “Max, my brother, uses it to train.
He’s into yoga and stuff.”

She gave him a smile that made him want to believe
all the crap she was saying, but he didn’t. “Yoga?” Whoever worked
out in there did more than breathe and stretch.

She rolled her eyes and led him back downstairs.

“Impressive.”

“Adler, my guardian, works and lives in New York,
but lets me hang out here when I have nowhere to go.”

Her eyes focused on the rafters while Jake focused
on her. She was rambling, he knew, but those words stung him. Why
wouldn’t she have anywhere to go? She seemed not to notice.

“Anyway,” she went on, “I hate it. I hate everything
about it. I wish I could put a torch to it and burn it to the
ground.” She gritted her teeth and turned to inspect him.

He resisted the urge to bolt from the intensity of
her gaze. They drove needles right through him.

“Why?” he asked.

She sighed, cocking her head to the side. “So where
are you from?” she asked, totally ignoring his question.

“California.”

“Figures. What brings you here?”

Suddenly feeling the need for air, he walked out
onto the veranda. A staircase led right to the calm lake and out to
the dock. “This is nice.”

She followed him outside and leaned forward on the
balustrade, her eyes gazing across the lake. “It’s prettier in the
day.”

He leaned his back on the guardrail, resting his
elbow on the post to look at her. “Why is it so quiet here?”

Her deep dark hair turned a glistening blue-black
under the moon.

“You didn’t answer my question.” Her eyes were fixed
to the inky dark of the lake.

He couldn’t help but smile. He couldn’t quite figure
her out. “You didn’t answer mine, and I didn’t point it out.”

She bit her lip. “I’m not very good with people,”
she admitted, crinkling her nose.

“You haven’t pulled out your hatchet—I think you’re
off to a fine start.” He felt lightheaded by her crooked smile. No,
more like drugged.

“Don’t give me a guilt trip, or pity party...deal?”
She raised an eyebrow while meeting his eyes.

He nodded.

“I hate being here alone. My brother is off
somewhere. He usually doesn’t stay with me, and I’m here fending
for myself. If it didn’t exist, I wouldn’t be here.”

“My dad wants me to grow up and stop my adrenaline
junkie habits and start thinking about college so he sends me
here.” Okay, he could’ve lied, but the truth seemed to fit.

She snorted. Not the reaction he expected.

“What? It’s true,” he defended.

“Has your dad ever been here?”

“Yeah, he grew up here.”

“Well, then I'm sure he knows that we're early
risers to the feast. Come July, there will be people streaming
along the base of the lake, into the cliffs, hanging off gorges,
and doing all sorts of crazy things. Trust me, your adrenaline
junkie habits will rekindle.” She smirked, but something in her
eyes changed. Almost like regret.

He found himself with a glimmer of hope that the
summer wasn’t a total bomb. “Maybe you can show me around.”

She chuckled again, though this time it had a hint
of emptiness there. “No. I don’t hang out with those people.”

She took a step away from him. The lamp light
flickered off her eyes and he sucked in a breath. “Wow, I’ve never
seen eyes like that.”

“Me neither. Just don’t stare at the freak-show,
okay? I’m good with you totally ignoring me, so don’t beat yourself
up.”

His smile fell. “I’m not like that.”

Her gaze pierced him. It was as if she could look
directly into his soul with them. It was eerie but beautiful.

“Okay, I get it. Defense mechanism 101, make
yourself out to be the freak so that no one gets close to you. Been
there, done that,” he said sharply, angrily. Why should he be
angry? “But I am going to say hi to you every time I see you. I’m
going to shout at the top of my lungs”—he cupped his
lips—“Hello...Gabby!” he yelled, and she pinched her lips and
turned pink.

“Oh, you wait and see.” He laughed and she poked his
ribs, the connection sending ripples of excitement through him.
“Show me around so when July comes I'm not a total noob.”

He couldn't take his eyes off of her. She was close
enough that he could pick up a faint scent of vanilla. She took a
step away from him. He turned around and looked out into the dark
lake.

Jake had loads of girlfriends back home. He
considered himself relatively experienced when not base jumping or
jumping out of airplanes, but Gabby sent his heart on edge and he
wasn’t sure why. He felt her energy seep into his pores and under
his skin like heat. He was getting ready to give up when she
matched his posture and settled her gaze out into the lake.

“I can show you around,” she almost whispered. “At
least until you find more interesting people to spend time
with.”

She didn't look at him, and he wanted to run his
fingers through the inky silk of her hair.

“Great!” he said a little bit too eagerly. “I'll
pick you up at seven.”

She scowled. “That early?”

“I'm an early riser.” He shrugged and knew he looked
the fool, especially when he jumped over the banister and sprinted
down the steps toward the rim of the lake. He opted to bolt before
he changed his mind. Or before she changed her mind.

This was going to be an interesting summer
indeed.

A Thousand Screams

Gabby didn’t know what to make of Jake. After he
left last night, she couldn’t get him out of her head. The way his
dark curls fell around his strong features and how his deep green
eyes watched her every move. Why he seemed to want to be around her
confused her. Max was the one that got all the attention.

Gabby repelled everyone.

It was the way of the world, and she didn’t mind one
bit. That’s why this new feeling with Jake unnerved her. She knew
it wouldn’t last long, as she didn’t do well in public. She’d fall
on her face after an unexpected vision assaulted her, or someone
would touch her, sending images into her mind. Visions not even God
himself should know about. Shivers coursed through her just
thinking about it. Using her freaky talents on Jake unsettled her.
Though she wanted to know more about him, she wanted him to tell
her. Even
that
thought freaked her out.

She tied her shoes, pulled up her hair in a tight
tail, and sprinted down the steps to the foyer. Sunlight streamed
into the house, sending warmth and energy through the large
windows. The lake glimmered under a sheen of light. Inhaling, she
went out into the morning. A run would clear her head before Jake
came for her. She hoped.