Adventures In Murder Chasing (Funeral Crashing #3) (28 page)

Chloe could barely believe that she was in California about to start her new life. It was all really exciting. If only Jake would show up, so she could start the adventure. Jake was supposed to meet her outside the baggage claim when she arrived, but he hadn’t shown up yet. Chloe looked at her cell phone, wondering if she should call him. She felt a little shy about it. She would rather see him face-to-face first. Maybe she should text him. Why was she so scared about seeing him again?

Chloe tried to picture Jake in her mind, but could only see the little boy with unruly brown hair and mischievous blue eyes that she had played with as a child. Before she had left for California, Chloe’s mother had shown her a more recent picture, but Jake had been looking at the camera with only half of his face, so Chloe wasn’t quite sure what to expect when she actually saw him. Hopefully the picture her mother had sent his mother had been better. Chloe cringed inwardly, hoping that her mother hadn’t sent him her last year’s school picture. It had not been the best picture of her life. She had woken up late for school and hadn’t had any time to make herself look good for the photo.

Looking back, Chloe realized she should have friended Jake on Facebook. It would have been a good way to get to know him again before this meeting. His profile had been set to private, though, and although she had sat at the computer and tried to think of an email to send him or a way to add him as a friend she couldn’t do it. She had just been too shy and the situation just felt too awkward. Besides, Jake hadn’t sought her out either.

Chloe had tried her best to look good today, although five hours of flying had taken the curl out of her long blonde hair. She had quickly touched up her make-up before picking up her luggage, though, so she felt a little better about that. Still, she was nervous. She really wanted to make a good first impression. This was the start of the rest of her life.

“Chloe?” a male voice questioned from her right.

Chloe turned and stared into the bright blue eyes of Jake Spencer. Her breath caught and she felt her cheeks turn pink.

He was cute! He still had the unruly brown hair and his eyes had become an ocean shade of blue. A dimple creased the right corner of his mouth, making his smile contagious. Chloe smiled back.

“Hi, Jake?” Chloe said, attempting to recover from her sudden reaction to him.

“I’m so sorry! I was late and then I couldn’t find you in the baggage claim and I left your cell number at home,” Jake paused, catching his breath and then he grinned broadly, “It’s so good to see you!”

And, before she knew it Jake was engulfing her in a hug. Chloe hugged him back and noted, with wonder, at how nice it felt to be in his arms. Chloe caught a hint of his aftershave as he pulled away.

“It’s good to see you too,” Chloe smiled back.

They just grinned at each other for a moment and then Jake looked away, “My girlfriend, Kate, should be here any second. She’s circling, while I went to look for you. The airport’s crazy.”

Chloe nodded absently at his words, her mind suddenly elsewhere. Jake had a girlfriend. Of course he had a girlfriend. She felt a surge of disappointment. She immediately pushed it away. She hadn’t come to California for romance. Well, she hadn’t come for just romance, she admitted. Some romance would be nice eventually, but she had come for the adventure and to pursue her dream. Besides, even if it couldn’t be romantic, Chloe thought, she would enjoy getting to know Jake again. It had been a long time since they had been friends and she was eager to hear about his life since then.

They stood for a few moments in silence, watching the cars fly by. Chloe felt awkward and gawky, suddenly, standing next to Jake. He was at least a head taller than her, his shoulders broad and muscular. She looked at him from the corner of her eyes as he scanned the crowd for his girlfriend. She wondered if he was still the same boy she had known in grade school. She searched his features, looking for the friend she had lost to distance so long ago.

“There she is!” Jake motioned toward a blue convertible, which screeched to a halt next to them.

Wow, Chloe thought, as the sleek car pulled up. “Is this your car?”

“Yeah,” Jake grinned. “I love this car.”

Chloe looked at it in admiration. It was the ideal way to arrive in California. How much more perfect than a convertible driving by the ocean could you get? Chloe felt a warm glow of happiness form in her stomach. This was going to be great!

Jake busied himself with loading her luggage into the trunk and Chloe found herself gazing awkwardly at his girlfriend, Kate. She was the epitome of the California girl – tall, blonde, with cool blue eyes, and a killer sense of fashion.

Chloe felt old fashioned in comparison despite the efforts she had made to look nice in the airport bathroom before she had gotten her luggage. Her own blonde hair was a strawberry blonde, the curls she had tried to put in that morning, falling out, and she had on the normal jeans and baby doll T-shirt that were her usual ensemble. Chloe felt almost like she was staring at a girl from a magazine, sitting inside a perfect car. Kate, on the other hand, had sleek, bleach blonde hair, make-up that looked almost professionally done, a glowing tan, a mini-skirt, and a purple lacy tank top that fit her body perfectly. Chloe had a feeling that she was going to have a lot to learn if all the girls in California looked like Kate.

“Hi, I’m Chloe,” Chloe smiled, stretching out her hand.

“Kate,” Kate replied dismissively, pulling on big sunglasses that hid her eyes completely.

Chloe felt her smile falter at Kate’s lack of enthusiasm. She wasn’t sure how to react to it.

“Okay, bags are in the trunk. Let’s go!” Jake said, coming up behind Chloe.

Chloe was glad of Jake’s appearance and crawled into the tiny backseat, as he sat down in the front, next to Kate. As they drove off, Chloe could almost feel Kate’s cold eyes boring into her through the rear view mirror.

Chloe pushed the thought away. Perhaps Kate was a little unsettled by the idea of Chloe living with her boyfriend. When she had a chance, Chloe thought, she would reassure Kate that she had no intention of stealing Jake away from her. Chloe almost laughed at that thought. If you put her and Kate side by side, Chloe imagined, there would be no comparison. Kate would blow her out of the water in a beauty contest. Regardless, Chloe thought, she would never try and steal someone else’s boyfriend, no matter how cute he had grown up to be.

As they walked up to Jake’s house, Jake carrying the bulk of her luggage, Chloe couldn’t help but wonder at the beauty of her new home. It was nestled into a hill above the ocean. Other houses were littered all the way down the hill, perched above blue water. The house itself was modest in size, but the exterior was cozy, almost like a chalet nested into the hill.

“Chloe!” Jeanette Spencer cried happily, seconds after Chloe walked into the house. “It’s so good to see you!”

She enveloped Chloe in a hug and then stepped back to get a better look at her, “You look just like your mom at your age! I’m so happy you’re here! It’ll be like having her here with me!”

Chloe grinned, “Well, you might get the real thing in about a month. She’s already itching to come visit me. Thank you so much, Mrs. Spencer, for everything. ”

“First of all, no Mrs. Spencer’s here. Call me Jeanette. And, secondly, it’s such a pleasure to have you here! I would do anything for Stacy. This will be fun,” Jeanette looked over at Jake and Kate. “Do we have time for dinner or are you all off to that party?”

“Party?” Chloe looked over at Jake and managed to see a quick look pass between him and Kate. Obviously, Kate wasn’t thrilled with Chloe attending the party with them. She’d have to have that talk with Kate and soon.

“We weren’t sure if you wanted to go, but there’s a party tonight at this girl’s house on the beach, sort of a back to school thing. It’s up to you, though, no pressure. I understand if you’re tired from the flight and all,” Jake managed, without looking at Kate again.

“Um…” Chloe felt indecisive. On the one hand, she was tired from the trip across the country, but on the other, she was absolutely energetic with excitement about her new life and a party sounded like a great way to start it all out. It would be a great way to meet the people she’d be going to school with tomorrow.

“Why are you even thinking? You’re young! Go out and have a good time!” Jeanette replied before Chloe could say anything and then she looked at Jake seriously, “Just not too good of a time.”

“Mom,” Jake replied, laughing uncomfortably.

“What? I worry. Especially, after your father died,” Jeanette’s smiling face crumpled for a moment, at the memory, but then regained it’s composure.

“I know,” Jake said, softly.

Chloe felt uncomfortable and glanced over at Kate, who was staring at the ground.

“A party sounds perfect!” Chloe said, breaking the uneasy silence. “Let me just change clothes and I’ll be ready.”

Although she had forced herself to sound more cheery and energetic than she felt, Chloe really did think the party sounded fun. She picked up her backpack and swung it onto her shoulder, her mind on what she might wear to make a good impression on her new classmates, when there was a crash. She had just knocked over a vase on the kitchen table with her backpack.

“I’m so sorry!” Chloe said, automatically dropping everything and stooping down to help clean up the broken vase and flowers.

“Oh, don’t worry about it!” Jeanette said, running into the kitchen for clean up supplies.

The white carnations that had looked so pretty on the kitchen table were now in a pool of water on the floor. Chloe couldn’t believe she had just been so clumsy. Two minutes in their house and she had already broken something. Jake stooped down to help her, as Kate stood awkwardly nearby.

“
Be careful!” Jeanette said, walking back toward them with towels and a bag for the broken glass and flowers.

As she said it, Chloe felt a piece of the vase she was collecting slice into her finger. A drop of blood escaped and stained one of the white carnations on the floor. Chloe felt a strange sense of foreboding. She should have taken the warning.

Milda Harris is a Chicago girl who is pursuing her screenwriting dreams in Hollywood. She likes silly sports like Dodgeball and Kickball and loves John Hughes teen movies. Between working in production on television shows like
Austin & Ally,
Hannah Montana
and
That's So Raven
and playing with her super cute dog Licorice, she writes young adult and chick lit novels.

This book series started out as a 3 Day Novel Contest submission and is the third book in the Funeral Crashing series. The fourth book will be out in 2014. Make sure to check out Milda Harris' other young adult books:
The New Girl Who Found A Dead Body, Doppelganger,
and
Connected (A Paranormal Romance).

Connect with Me Online:

Website:
http://www.mildaharris.com

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http://twitter.com/MildaHarris

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Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4965095.Milda_Harris

Blog:
http://www.writergirlinla.com