Daughter of the Red Dawn (The Lost Kingdom of Fallada) (3 page)

The run from the field to the small
,
two-bedroom house she shared with
her grandmother
had taken less than t
hirty
seconds. It had to have been the fast
est
she’d ever run in her life. Fea
r had been nipping at her heels
and for some reason did not dissipate as she’d hoped it would once she’d put some distance between her and Titus. For some reason, his icy blue eyes stayed with her, lingering in her mind with a dangerous gleam. What had he meant to accomplish by revealing that he knew
her secret? To make fun of her, ask her how she did it,
take her to the nearest lab facility?

Whatever it was, it couldn’t have been good. Somethin
g in the way he’d smiled at her,
the gleam in his eyes told her that
his intentions couldn’t be honorable
. She couldn’t explain it. Aside from super speed worthy of the pages of a comic book, she also had a sharp intuition. She didn’t know how to describe it other than just saying that she could ‘feel things’. The feelings that she’d gotten from Titus were strong. Sure he
was hot, but he was also dangerous and Selena had been right to run away from him.

Once she’d gotten her breathing under control, Selena stood and tossed her backpack to the bed.
S
he replaced her white peasant top with her
black and red Dairy Queen t-
shirt. She only had one hour to get to work and she still had to eat something before the
ten
-minute walk
into town
.

She hated her job spoo
ning up ice cream treats, but
aside from a few mom and pop diners and a gas station, it was the only place in Twin Oaks where a high-school student could get a job. It paid
less than
minimum wage and she left every night smelling like French fries but it was worth it. Just thinking of the freedom she’d experience after graduation because of the money she’d saved
made it worthwhile
.
There was also the satisfaction
of
being able to help
her grandmother
put food on the table. Her
deceased
grandfather’s pension only covered so much.

She pulled her long hair into a ponytail at the back of her head before looping it through the hole on the back of the black baseball cap
, which
matched her work shirt
. She
pinned on her name tag before exiting the room.

“I made you a sandwich,” said
Rose
as Selena entered the kitchen.

She kissed her grandmother’s leathery, wrinkled cheek affectionately and accepted the plate and a glass of lemonade.

“Thanks
,
Gram.”

Rose
McKinley
was the only family that Selena had ever known. Her parents had died in a car acci
dent shortly after she was born
and there were no sib
l
ings, cousins
, aunts, or uncles. Her grandfather had
died years before she was born
, so
she’d never known him
. It was just her,
Rose,
and Freckles the cat. The orange tabby leapt up onto the kitc
hen island and arched her back, begging for attention. Selena stroked her
fur
before pinching a piece of lunch meat off of her sandwich and giving it to the cat. Freckles took the treat and purred happily before leaping down and curling up at Selena’s feet.

“Working tonight?”

Selena nodded as she took a big bite out of the sandwich.

“You’ve been working so many hours during the week,”
Rose
said with a shake of her head. She sat at one of the
island’s
cushioned bar stools and plucked at the sleeve of her floral top.

“I was hoping you’d be off this weekend so we could go to the county fair.”

Selena suppressed a groan. She couldn’t think of anything more boring than the Twin Oaks County Fair. Every year it was the same; local ranchers showing off their pigs for ribbons, a rodeo in which one of the McClendon boys always won the cash prize, bake sales and barbeques, and the same old carnival rides. It had been the same since Selena was a kid
,
and she suspected, when
Rose
had been a kid as well.

She put on a smile for
Rose’s
benefit, though.
Selena
knew that her grandmother loved the fair. In fact, she didn’t think
Rose
had ever been away from Twin Oaks for more than a few days
at a time
. She didn’t seem to have any inclination to
leave
either.

Selena would go to the fair. She would eat ribs and watch the rodeo and pretend to enjoy it because next year she would be gone and
Rose
would have to go without her. She would do it for her.

“Sure Gram. I think I’m off Sunday. We could go then.”

Rose
smiled and lifted her glass for a sip of lemonade. “Perfect. I hear there’s going to be a dance this year.”

Selena rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I’ll be going to that never.”

Rose
chuckled. “Oh come on, I bet they’ll even play some of that Gaga person you all seem to be so crazy about.”

Selena couldn’t help but laugh
,
too.
“Yeah
,
in between all the honky tonk.”

“I raised you on country music, young lady. I would think you’d appreciate it by now.”

“Sorry
,
Gram.
Music about dead dogs and broken hearts doesn’t interest me.”

“
It will, someday. Mark my words.”

Selena wolfed down the last of her sandwich and downed the last of her lemonade in one gulp. She dabbed at her mouth with the napkin.

“You’re probably right. I gotta go
,
Gram. See you tonight.”

“Be careful walking home, sweet pea.”

Selena waved off her warning as she always did before going to work. In Twin Oaks, everybody knew everybody. Her walks home from work were always uneventful and pleasant and Selena enjoyed the balmy night air.

She froze, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end as a prickling sensation worked its way up her spine.

Titus.

Just that quickly, she’d forgotten about him. Was he still out there somewhere, lurking in the field? Was she in danger of encountering him on her way home…in the dark?

“Geez relax, he’s not a vampire,” she murmured to herself as she put all thoughts of the strange boy out of her mind.

She’d probably overreacted earlier. Titus had seemed threatening at the time
,
but now that she looked back on it, she decided that she was just being silly. In fact, Titus had probably laughed all the way home at her strange behavior.

Great,
she thought,
add him to the never-ending list of people who think I’m weird.

~*~

He came in
just ten minutes before closing time.

Selena paused in the middle of making a peanut butter cup Blizzard for
Mark
McClendon, her mouth hanging open as Titus stood framed in the doorway of the Dairy Queen, staring at her with a smug expression. She turned her attention back to the blizzard just before the ice cream overflowed in the cup.

Selena snatched the cup away from the machine and reached for a red plastic spoon. She stuck it into the ice cream and turned it upside down, once, as she always did when making a Blizzard. She always wondered at the bizarre ritual demonstrated to her during her first days of training. Was she supposed to be demonstrating the thickness of the
ice cream to the customers? Did anybody really care? Every day that she worked behind that counter, she was secretly hoping that she’d turn a cup over and ice cream would splat to the floor.
Just once.

Mark
took off with his Blizzard, eyeing Titus curiously as he left. The door slammed behind him and Selena faintly heard the chime of the bell as Titus approached the counter. Selena glanced over her shoulder
,
but noticed that most of her co-workers had retreated to the back, probably getting ready to close up for the night. Selena glanced at the clock on the wall behind her and turned back to Titus.

“I’m
sorry,
we’re closing in like ten minutes. If you want something you’re going to have to order
quick
.”

“I didn’t come for this swill you call food,” he replied wrinkling his nose.

Selena felt the knots in her stomach tightening. “Oh, well then you should probably go. The parking lot’s empty, so I’m going to lock up now.”

He came forward and leaned against the counter on his elbows.

“It’s late. You should let me walk you home.”

“I don’t think so.”

“I do.”

“I’m
sorry,
do you have a hearing problem?”

“No, but you obviously have a listening problem.”

Titus raised on
e
eyebrow at her shocked expression and grinned. Selena was green with envy. She’d always wished she could raise one eyebrow like that. She scowled.

“I’ll be waiting outside,” h
e said, his voice a warning as he backed away from the counter.
“Right outside that door.”

“What makes you think
—
”

“You know you want to, so just meet me outside when you’re done, okay?”

Selena wrestled with curiosity and uncertainty. She had convinced herself earlier that she was being silly about Titus. Standing there now with a boyish grin on hi
s face, he was like any other gu
y in Twin Oaks.

No, he was different. Titus was different in a wonderful way that made Selena want to know him. She didn’t know why, but she felt as if they were two sides of the same coin. While one part of her wanted to run, the other part of her needed to know why.

She nodded yes
,
but kept the scowl on her face. He didn’t have to know that she was looking forward to the walk home.

~*~

“So, your parents let you walk home alone every night?”

Selena shrugged. “Not every night. I only work four days a week.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

“Look, it’s just me and my grandmother and we don’t have a car. Besides,
this place
is the size of a dime. Everything’s within walking distance and everybody knows everybody.”

Titus laughed, shoving his hands in his pockets as they walked. They were back in the field where they’d met earlier that day. She wasn’t sure why, but ever since he’d shown up at Dairy Queen, her nerves had
been standing on end. Once again, his presence was putting her intuition on high alert. As they walked through the tall grass, she glanced over at him and studied his profile.

He was even more stunning in the moonlight, with the
dim
glow of the night on his pale face and dark hair. His eyes almost glowed. Selena lowered her eyes as he looked up at her just in time to catch her staring.

“I take it you don’t like it too much.”

“Seriously, I hate it here. I’m counting the days to graduation. I’m buying a car, putting
all my stuff in the back of it
,
and getting the hell out of Ole Dirtpatch.”

“Dirtpatch?”

“That’s my nickname f
or it. Don’t tell me you like Twin Oaks
. I can tell by looking that you’re not from around here. You’ve got the look of a city boy about you.”

He stopped, bringing her up short beside him. He turned to face her and a wistful expression crossed his features.

“Not exactly,” he said. “My home is beautiful though. There’s nothing like it in the whole world.”

“You miss it.”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“What happened? Why did you have to leave?”

“It’s complicated.”

“You don’t want to talk about it.”

“Do you want to tell me what happened to your parents?”

“Point taken.”

He pressed his lips together in a firm line and turned to lead her on. Selena loped along beside him, her insides burning with curiosity. Despite the nervous tension he created in her, she couldn’t help but want to know more about him. What was that saying about curiosity killing the cat? Yeah, that was pretty much where she was headed.