Starcrossed: Perigee - A paranormal romance trilogy (8 page)

"This is where I first saw you. In Craigsville, I mean."

I looked at the empty booth he'd been sitting in.

"I know, and you kept staring at me. I was beginning to think I'd grown two heads or something."

"Sorry. And I wasn't staring - I was admiring. There's a difference you know! I couldn't help myself - I thought - think - you're very pretty."

My heart leapt, pleased with the compliment, and I knew I was blushing. I snorted to cover my embarrassment. Had he really thought I was pretty? I didn't think I was particularly pretty. Average maybe. My uncle and my friends often told me I was gorgeous, but I figured they were just trying to boost my self esteem. At most, I thought I would rate a six out of ten for looks.

"I'd rate you ten out of ten," Aric said.

I looked up sharply. He was looking at me with intense blue eyes.

"Why'd you just say that?"

"What? Ten out of ten? Because, I told you, you're very pretty, in fact, more than pretty - beautiful."

"Yes, but why'd you just say you'd rate me ten out of ten? I was just thinking that I was... it's like you can read my mind."

"You rate yourself ten out of ten? Great to see a girl with good self esteem!"

I gritted my teeth. "No! I gave myself six out of ten, in my mind and then you... oh never mind."

The waitress appeared with our order, and Aric slurped happily on his milkshake for a while, all the time, looking at me from under impossibly long eyelashes. This was the first time I'd been able to sit with him in broad daylight, face to face, the first time I had a proper excuse to submit to this compulsion to stare at him, study him. His eyes were a strange, deep shade of blue I'd never seen before - almost aquamarine, but not quite. They were extraordinary - not just because of their color, but because they held in them what seemed to be the answers to a mystery I didn't even know I'd been trying to solve. We stayed silent, looking at each other, for a long moment.

In a staring contest, he would win. I broke eye contact, blushing after I imagined myself leaning over to kiss his lips.

I coughed, embarrassed, pushing my milkshake aside. He cocked his head to one side, and my heart lurched again. He was adorable. I could tell he was stifling a grin. I was certain I must be close to dark crimson by now.

"Okay, what are you thinking?" I asked, in the absence of nothing witty to say. His eyes met mine, and for once I couldn't look away, no matter how acutely aware I was of my blushing complexion.

His expression was thoughtful as he watched me, and then he looked away, throwing his straw into the milkshake cup. "I'm thinking this milkshake is absolute rubbish."

I laughed. The mood was broken. "Sorry. Maybe I'm immune to the food here now. I don't get around much. I don't think I've been further than fifty miles from this town in the past couple of years." I cringed at how that might sound, but what the hell, I told myself, if it made me sound like an unworldly country bumpkin, too bad. He probably had worked that out for himself.

He smiled and peered out through the window at the sky, his face unreadable.

I finished off my pie and wiped my mouth with a napkin. I was being extra careful I didn't leave anything on my face after yesterday's ice cream debacle.

"Thanks for the grub," I said, throwing the crumpled napkin on to my plate.

He leaned back against his seat, and I tried not to drool as the outline of his chest showed through his t-shirt. The words '
and for the view
' sprang to mind and I quickly diverted my eyes.
Cut it out Lucy,
I told myself sternly.
You're turning into a besotted perv.
This was so weird. I'd never reacted so strongly to anyone like this before. I had to get myself in hand before it was too late and I really was 'in love'.

He stood up and fished his wallet from his back pocket.

"You're welcome," he said, producing some bills for the tip. "I wish I could thank you for recommending it!"

For a second, caught up in my own thoughts, I couldn't work out what he was talking about, and then I remembered we'd been talking about the food. We laughed together. I didn't think there would be another moment in my life where I could be happier and I wanted to save the moment like a snapshot I could revisit in the future. He stood up and stretched out his hand to me.

"Come on," he said, "I'd better get you home. I think your uncle has a job for us."

* * * * *

Chapter Three

Uncle Tom already had two horses saddled up when we got back to the ranch. Gus was tying his sleeping bag to the back of the saddle. They seemed to have plans to spend the night out of doors. Tom fetched a load of gear from the front porch and dumped it near his horse.

"Ah, Luce, I was about to phone you. I need Aric here. I'm afraid a fence is down over at the Flats. We're missing four head of cattle - probably headed over Turner's Ridge into Shadow Valley. Don't know what it is about that place, but the heifers love it there. Gus and I are going to have to go after them, we're taking the gear in case we don't find them before night fall. We need Aric to repair the fence."

Aric passed a bag to Tom, and he strapped it across the front of the saddle. "Well I can go find the cattle if you like - it'll give me a chance to see the lay of the land."

Ask to take Gus's place.
Aric's voice appeared inside my head. I reacted with a start. He was affecting me so weirdly I was hearing things but I did as the imaginary voice had ordered.

"And I can go instead of Gus." I suggested. "I know my way around up there as much as you two do, and well, Aric and I are, well young and fit and you two are..."

Gus shook his head and his leathery face broke into a grin. "The young pups are trying to oust the old dogs."

I tried again. "It's going to be pretty cold tonight - wouldn't you rather be inside by the fire?"

Uncle Tom laughed. "So what you're really saying is that us old geezers need to put our feet up and take it easy?"

"There's also that game on tonight... you don't want to miss that." Aric seemed to hit on the persuading point.

"Well, he's right enough about that," said Gus. Tom shrugged and handed the reins to Aric. "He's all yours. I'll fix the fence. Lucy, I doubt if they've got as far as the valley, but if they have, you'll have to sleep rough and take up the search in the morning. Maybe you'll make it to the cabin by nightfall, but if you don't, we've packed the sleeping bags."

"What about food?" I asked. They'd forgotten it, and I raced inside to make up some ham sandwiches and a large thermos of coffee. After getting warm jackets and replacing my cell phone battery with a charged spare, we headed for Turner's Ridge.

We followed the trail of cloven hoof prints up the path which skirted Carson's Creek. The trail rose from the sparse woodland near the flats to the rockier slopes at the approach to the Ridge. The cattle had broken through the fence a few times before, and had always headed for Shadow Valley. I had no idea why - the grass there didn't seem any different to the lush pasture of the ranch.

We rode in companionable silence for a while. Occasionally I would point out a landmark, and two thirds up the ridge we stopped to watch the setting sun cast its golden glow across the valley. It was worth the ride up here just to see that view, but we had a way to go before we reached the cabin at Turner's Ridge. It looked as if we'd be spending the night on the mountain, but I was secretly pleased. It was a nice change, and I loved the company.

Aric led the way up the trail, and I spent my time marveling at how the sun transformed his dark blond hair into a shining golden halo. His hair was long enough to cover his ears, and one piece in particular flopped over his forehead and fell into his eyes. I had an urge to push it aside as it seemed a shame to cover such a beautiful face. I wondered what it would be like to run my fingers through his hair, and then I wanted to smack myself - I sounded like a love-sick moron from a romance novel. I watched him ride up a particularly rocky and steep part of the trail. He stuck to the saddle easily, his denim clad thighs expertly guiding his mount around the obstacles. I couldn't look away as he urged his horse into a trot and he rose in the saddle. He had a cute behind. I wondered what he'd think if he knew my mind wasn't on finding cattle...

The sun had almost set by the time we reached the small cabin on Turner's Ridge. The only sign of the cattle had been a few stray tracks among the pine needles littering the path. I was glad we hadn't found them - we could spend the night on the mountain.

We checked out the cabin. It was built for hikers and forestry workers for temporary shelter. It was sparsely furnished with a couple of rusting, uninviting camp beds and a rickety table. A box with some matches and an old lantern lay on the web-covered window sill. Despite the spider webs, the cabin was fairly clean, and the rough hewn timber walls were solid and kept the cold mountain air at bay. Rejecting the squeaky camp beds, I set up our bivouacs on the cabin floor, while Aric headed out side to make us a camp fire.

* * * * *

Aric's campfire was blazing cheerfully when I left the cabin. I found him hunched on a log, poking a stray branch back into the mound of glowing firewood. He motioned for me to sit on another log he'd pulled closer to the fire. I wished we'd brought along something to cook, but all we had were the sandwiches I'd quickly put together. We sat in silence for a while, munching on our bread and ham and gazing into the flames.

A few sparks escaped the fire and sailed up into the night. Aric's gaze followed them.

"This is nice. Those cows should escape more often," he said.

I nodded in agreement. Our little spot in front of the cabin was cozy, intimate. We could see the faint lights of the ranch house far below in the valley through the trees, but it still felt as though we could be the only two people left on earth.

I took a stick and drew a smiley face in the dirt near my feet. "My dad used to take me camping when I was little. My mom hated camping. She never came along."

A twig cracked sharply and the coals settled lower. We stared into the dwindling flames, embraced by the sense of peace and contemplation only a flickering fire can bring. I looked at Aric, he was waiting for me to continue. I knew I was nearing territory I had never shared with anyone, but I sensed he wouldn't judge me. Perhaps now was the time we could share whatever it was we'd been holding back from one other.

"My dad and I used to play a game, around the camp fire. 'Truth, Dare or Promise'- you heard of it?"

"Of course."

"I used to ask him silly things - you know, like would you rather be eaten by an alligator or a shark? Stupid really..." I looked at him from under my eyelashes. "Do you want to play it?"

"Sure."

"Okay, so, um... you go first. 'Truth', okay? I'll ask the question and you have to answer truthfully."

"Don't I get to choose truth, dare or promise?"

"No."

He grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, you're the boss. Ask away."

I frowned and embellished the smiley face in the sand with a head full of spiky hair. I didn't want to waste my truth question, so it had to be a good one. I didn't know where to start. Maybe I should just start from the beginning.

"So... where are you from? I mean... what town? Where exactly?"

Aric moved to sit on the ground and leaned back on the log.

"England, originally - you heard of Stonehenge?"

"The place with the big circle of stones, right?"

"Yeah. Well, not far from there."

"You don't sound English - in fact, you don't sound like you've come from anywhere."

"It's because I've moved around a lot." He waved his hand around as though he were indicating everywhere and nowhere.

"So where do you call 'home'?"

He shrugged. "You know what they say... 'wherever I lay my hat'..."

"So you don't really have a home? What about your family - your parents?"

He shook his head, and flicked a leaf into the fire. "Died a long time ago. Every now and then I'll come across my brothers and sisters, but..."

"Do you like living like that?" I didn't mean the question to come out so bluntly. I hoped it didn't seem rude. After my unsettled childhood, home and family were a big deal.

He shifted in the dirt, and sat up. "Hey, that's heaps of questions you've asked me. Now it's my turn. 'Truth' right?"

I swallowed hard and pulled my knees up, clasping my hands together in front of them. "Okay, ask me then."

He looked straight at me. I could feel the force of his gaze like a warm beam of sunlight.

"So what happened to your family, and why are you living with your uncle?"

I smiled at him. "That's two questions."

He grinned back, and waggled a finger at me. "No, it's two parts to the one question."

I took a deep breath, and looked back at the fire. The image of my mother's face appeared in the coals, she was screaming, as they dragged her away from me. I didn't want to go there, but if we were sharing the truth...

"My dad died when I was six. I think it affected my mother pretty badly. She became... delusional I guess." I stopped to see his initial reaction, but his face was unreadable.

He nodded encouragingly. "Go on..."

"She dragged me along to all sorts of doctors, telling them I had something inside of me that needed to be taken out. She wanted them to do surgery. She said I wasn't safe while I had it... whatever it was. I had x-rays, and they found nothing. None of the doctors would agree to operate on me, so she tried to do it herself. She cut me, here, near my bottom rib. It hurt like hell - I remember screaming and my mother holding me down and digging about with a pair of tweezers. There was so much blood... just... blood everywhere."

I sat, silent for a moment. The coals glowed red, echoing the memory of crimson gore, glinting off of the kitchen knife, dripping from the kitchen table to form puddles on the old worn linoleum floor.

Aric moved closer and took my hand. I was talking as if in a trance now - it didn't matter if anyone was listening - the story was finally coming out.