Parahuman (Parahuman Series) by S. L. Hess Page A

sidled up alongside him, but Devan kept his face forward. It was
like he was trying to avoid eye contact which seemed kind of over the top since
he was wearing those sunglasses again.
         As
they walked Laney’s thoughts flashed back to Devan’s ‘here one second gone the
next’ act. How had he known about the mountain lion? They had been too far away
for him to have seen it. It was possible he had heard it growl, though, she hadn’t
heard anything. At the time Laney had been too caught up in the situation to
take in how fast Devan had taken off, but now that she looked back on it…she’d
never seen anyone move that fast before. Blink of the eye kind of fast.
        
“Devan, what was that crash I heard when you jumped over me? It was like a
‘crunch’ and ‘thump’ sound.”
        
Johnny’s break from constant hero worship monologue to asking a question jerked
Laney out of her inner musing. Crash? Wait…she’d heard that same thing. 
         “I
caught a dead tree branch and it broke off from the tree.” There was no
hesitation in Devan’s ready explanation, and it should have induced anyone to
believe that what he said was the truth, but for some reason Laney was
unconvinced. It was like he had expected the question and had a prepared
answer.
         “What
part of you hit the branch? Did you hurt yourself?” Laney asked, looking him
over. As he was so tall there was a lot to look over. No wonder the mountain
lion had run away scared. The guy was huge.
         Devan
threw a glance in her direction. Was that surprise in his expression? Difficult
to tell with the sunglasses, but it sure seemed like surprise. Why would he be
surprised that she was concerned about him being injured?
         “My
shoulder caught the branch, but its fine.” He answered with a roll of his
shoulder and another sidelong look in her direction.
         That
response hadn’t seemed prepared. Had he really hurt himself? Maybe he had, but
for some reason Laney was suspicious of the tree branch explanation. From what
then? There were no rips or tears in his shirt, and no blood, so odds indicated
it wasn’t an open wound…maybe a bruise then. He wasn’t rubbing it or hunched in
a ‘this is killing me’ way, so in all likelihood it wasn’t a serious injury,
but it was really bothering her that he might actually be hurt.
         “Are
you sure you’re alright?” Laney asked in concern.
         She
received what she thought was yet another quizzical look in her direction.
         “Perfectly.”
         “Man,
I wish we could have gotten a picture of that lion. Everyone at school would be
soooo jealous.” Johnny lamented.
         Laney
pulled her attention from Devan, laying her hand on Johnny‘s shoulder. “I doubt
they would have been soooo jealous if that lion had gotten its claws on you.
Next time, if there is a next time, you need to follow the rules and not go off
on your own. There are some dangerous animals in this area; you need to be
aware of that. It’s one of the reasons my dad brings a rifle with him.”
        
Johnny nodded his head vigorously and vowed. “I’ll follow the rules next time,
I swear. I really want to come back again.”
        
“Yeah…I have a feeling your mom and dad will need some time to get over this,
so it might be awhile before we see you again.” Laney commented dryly.
         “Oh,
man.” Johnny grumbled.
         Laney
gave Johnny a rueful smile and tousled his hair. “You gotta look for the
consequences in everything.” Glancing up at Devan, Laney saw him staring down
at them with a frown between his eyes again; as though he were confused by
their interaction. He turned away quickly at her regard.
         Laney
continued staring at him; her gaze taking in his extraordinary height, his
multicolored hair, and those glasses that hid hypnotizing eyes. He wasn’t what
anyone would call ‘pretty’ or ‘gorgeous’, but he was