ride.”
“Thanks, but I’ll have it changed in no time.”
Ivy tossed her hair over her shoulder and gazed up at him through those thick, curly lashes. “Are you sure you don’t need help with the lug nuts? They’re always so hard to get off.”
I didn’t know how she managed to pack so much sexual innuendo into two simple sentences, but she did.
Thane looked bemused…and wary. He glanced at his watch. “Shouldn’t you girls still be in school?” His tone was devoid of inflection, but I had a feeling the question was a conscious attempt to put Ivy in her place. A valiant effort, but one that seemed to sail right over the girl’s head as she twirled a dark strand of hair around one fingertip.
“We left early,” she said. “We had better things to do, right, Sid?” The two exchanged another glance, and Ivy grinned.
Thane’s gaze was on me, those green eyes gleaming with something dark. Something just for me. I didn’t know how to feel about that look. I was just as wary of him as he was of Ivy but for a very different reason. “And what part did you play in these shenanigans?”
“None at all. I’m just giving them a lift home.”
“Let’s hope the truant officer sees it your way,” he said ominously, but his eyes were still teasing. “How goes the cemetery restoration?”
“I’ve hardly begun. It’s only been one day.”
“Maybe I’ll drop by sometime. I haven’t been up there in years.”
Ivy’s grin faded, and she gave me a hard stare. She wasn’t the type of girl who would be comfortable sharing the spotlight, let alone relinquishing it to someone like me. “What is so fascinating about a bunch of old headstones?” she asked with an eye roll.
“It’s history,” Thane said. “How can you know who you are if you don’t know where you come from?”
How strange that his question should mirror the doubts and the uncertainties of my adoption that I’d pondered just last night. The insight made me uneasy.
I put a hand on the gearshift. “We should let you get back to that tire.”
His eyes lingered as he nodded. “You ladies take care.”
He stepped away from the curb, and as I drove off, I refused to look in the mirror. But I had a feeling he was staring after us. I was almost certain of it.
Ivy whirled. “How do you know Thane Asher?”
“I don’t really know him. We met yesterday on the ferry.”
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
I shrugged. “There was no reason to.”
She folded her arms. “I wouldn’t go getting any ideas if I were you. Thane would never choose someone like you.”
“Someone like me?”
“An outsider,” she said with disdain.
“I guess it’s lucky I’m not here to socialize, then. I just want to finish my job and go home.”
“You should do that. Go home, I mean.”
The whole conversation was starting to make me feel very uncomfortable. I couldn’t wait to drop them off and drive back to the Covey house. Although at that moment, I would have liked nothing more than to heed Ivy’s advice and head home to Charleston.
Something was seriously amiss in this town. I’d felt it the moment I crossed Bell Lake. The shadows seemed deeper, the nights longer, the secrets older. Even the wind felt different here. And I couldn’t forget the repugnant man in the cemetery who had mimicked my worst fears or the ghost who had somehow let me sense her confusion.
According to Ivy, Asher Falls was located near a thin place. Could that explain the bizarre nature of the town and the people who inhabited it? Maybe there was hyper supernatural activity in the area. I’d have to ask Dr. Shaw next time I went home. He ran the Charleston Institute for Parapsychology Studies and usually had answers for all my questions, whether or not they were the ones I wanted.
With an effort, I turned my attention back to the road. As we passed a gray stone building shrouded in vines, I noticed several girls dressed in the same uniform as Ivy and Sidra ambling out a side door.
“Is
“Thanks, but I’ll have it changed in no time.”
Ivy tossed her hair over her shoulder and gazed up at him through those thick, curly lashes. “Are you sure you don’t need help with the lug nuts? They’re always so hard to get off.”
I didn’t know how she managed to pack so much sexual innuendo into two simple sentences, but she did.
Thane looked bemused…and wary. He glanced at his watch. “Shouldn’t you girls still be in school?” His tone was devoid of inflection, but I had a feeling the question was a conscious attempt to put Ivy in her place. A valiant effort, but one that seemed to sail right over the girl’s head as she twirled a dark strand of hair around one fingertip.
“We left early,” she said. “We had better things to do, right, Sid?” The two exchanged another glance, and Ivy grinned.
Thane’s gaze was on me, those green eyes gleaming with something dark. Something just for me. I didn’t know how to feel about that look. I was just as wary of him as he was of Ivy but for a very different reason. “And what part did you play in these shenanigans?”
“None at all. I’m just giving them a lift home.”
“Let’s hope the truant officer sees it your way,” he said ominously, but his eyes were still teasing. “How goes the cemetery restoration?”
“I’ve hardly begun. It’s only been one day.”
“Maybe I’ll drop by sometime. I haven’t been up there in years.”
Ivy’s grin faded, and she gave me a hard stare. She wasn’t the type of girl who would be comfortable sharing the spotlight, let alone relinquishing it to someone like me. “What is so fascinating about a bunch of old headstones?” she asked with an eye roll.
“It’s history,” Thane said. “How can you know who you are if you don’t know where you come from?”
How strange that his question should mirror the doubts and the uncertainties of my adoption that I’d pondered just last night. The insight made me uneasy.
I put a hand on the gearshift. “We should let you get back to that tire.”
His eyes lingered as he nodded. “You ladies take care.”
He stepped away from the curb, and as I drove off, I refused to look in the mirror. But I had a feeling he was staring after us. I was almost certain of it.
Ivy whirled. “How do you know Thane Asher?”
“I don’t really know him. We met yesterday on the ferry.”
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
I shrugged. “There was no reason to.”
She folded her arms. “I wouldn’t go getting any ideas if I were you. Thane would never choose someone like you.”
“Someone like me?”
“An outsider,” she said with disdain.
“I guess it’s lucky I’m not here to socialize, then. I just want to finish my job and go home.”
“You should do that. Go home, I mean.”
The whole conversation was starting to make me feel very uncomfortable. I couldn’t wait to drop them off and drive back to the Covey house. Although at that moment, I would have liked nothing more than to heed Ivy’s advice and head home to Charleston.
Something was seriously amiss in this town. I’d felt it the moment I crossed Bell Lake. The shadows seemed deeper, the nights longer, the secrets older. Even the wind felt different here. And I couldn’t forget the repugnant man in the cemetery who had mimicked my worst fears or the ghost who had somehow let me sense her confusion.
According to Ivy, Asher Falls was located near a thin place. Could that explain the bizarre nature of the town and the people who inhabited it? Maybe there was hyper supernatural activity in the area. I’d have to ask Dr. Shaw next time I went home. He ran the Charleston Institute for Parapsychology Studies and usually had answers for all my questions, whether or not they were the ones I wanted.
With an effort, I turned my attention back to the road. As we passed a gray stone building shrouded in vines, I noticed several girls dressed in the same uniform as Ivy and Sidra ambling out a side door.
“Is
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