Heart's Reflection

"Everything - the action, the characters
-suck you in."

Tamara

Book Reviewer

"This story is sweet, fast-paced and has an
ending that will blow your mind. A must read."

Lois Lavrisa, Amazon Kindle bestselling author
of Liquid Lies

"The characters were well-rounded and I
found myself laughing out loud while reading it."

Lisette Carrithers

Book Reviewer

Overview
of Heart's Reflection: A paranormal anthology:

More
acclaim for P.R. Mason:

"Ms. Mason blends the paranormal...into a
world I was sucked into."

Jess Macallan

ParaYourNormal

The
Banshee and the Linebacker

Chapter One

Liam's full lips
brushed mine and a sweet hum of pleasure played along my nerve endings. His
kisses made me feel safe.
Liam
made
me feel safe. Some might have thought there was something strange about that,
him being the star running back of our high school's football team. Weren't all
football players supposed to be rough? But Liam restricted his roughness to the
field.

When he pulled
back, one of his hands remained lightly at my waist as he smiled down at me.
"You're so pretty, Tara," he said.

"Hmmm."
Hiding my face against his chest, I cuddled close to him. My looks bordered on
average, but I was glad Liam saw me differently.

We were lost in
our own world even as we stood on the sidelines of Richard Johnson Academy
Stadium. My hands rested on Liam's shoulders. With one finger he swept a long
lock of blonde hair from my face and tucked it behind my right ear, being
careful not to snag the hoop earring I wore.

I loved so many
things about Liam. But most of all I loved that he wouldn't die until he was a
very old age. His death would take place in his own bed where he was surrounded
by his children and grandchildren. As a banshee of the O'Neil clan— as my
grandmother had been and her grandmother before her—I knew these things.
A vision of Liam's fate had hit me with the force of a semi-truck the first
time I'd touched him when we were both just ten. His destiny hadn't changed in
the seven years since then or I would have known the next time we came into
contact. I'd have
seen
his new death.

Liam put a hand to
my chin and brought my face up so our eyes met. "Let's go across the river
to the reserve tonight."

The wildlife
reserve was the local lovers' lane. In the last few weeks, Liam had been subtly
pressing to take our relationship to the next stage: a full-fledged hook up.
Sex, or even heavy petting, scared me. But I also didn't want to lose Liam. So
far he'd been patient about me keeping my virginity, although he did joke that
at seventeen I must be the oldest one in the school. How long could he stay
faithful to me if I didn't go all the way?

Even though I was
unsure of how I would answer, and put him off yet again, I opened my mouth to
speak.

"Ellsworth,"
Coach Dixon barked out to Liam, interrupting us from a few feet away. A scowl
furrowed his brow. "You planning to practice today? Or shall I consider
you off the team?"

"Practice,
Coach." Liam picked up his helmet and tossed me one last smile before he
sprinted off toward the field.

The coach turned
his red-faced glare on me as he mopped at his forehead with a handkerchief.
"Tara Jones. Shouldn't you be practicing with the other cheerleaders in
the gym?"

A voice spoke
beside me: Keagan.

"Yeah. Don't
you have anything better to do than hang with my boring brother? Like, maybe,
watch the Astroturf grow?"

"I'm just
going, Coach." I didn't respond to Keagan with even a glance. No need. His
teasing smirk radiated from him.

Unlike his
fraternal twin, Keagan didn't make me feel safe. He was going to die young in a
motorcycle accident with his head cracked open and his body horribly mangled
under the wheels of a car. The vision hadn't told me exactly when, but Keagan
had looked about the same age as he was now. How could I warn him? He wouldn't
believe me. Nobody believed me about my visions. Nobody but Gran. Even my
parents hadn't believed me. If only they had.

"Come on. Not
going to say anything to defend Liam?" he drawled. "That's new.
You're usually such a cheerleader." His fingers flicked at the skirt of my
uniform, brushing the top of my thigh. That glancing touch sent an involuntary
shiver through me and I jumped away from him.

How could twins be
this different? Where Liam was a sunny day, Keagan was a stormy one. Liam had
shoulder-length blond hair where Keagan had short brown. Liam was athletic but
lanky and Keagan had the physique of a wrestler. Where Liam's eyes were sky
blue with a mischievous glint, Keagan's were storm cloud gray with an angry
edge. Liam was boy-next-door cute but Keagan was dangerously hot sexy. Even as
that comparison occurred, a pang of guilt pinched at me.

"Come on,
Goody," Keagan said. "Where's your sense of humor?"

"Don't call
me that nickname," I grumbled. "I'm not a goody two-shoes."

He chuckled, a low
baritone rumble.

"What are you
doing here?" I demanded, angrily. Keagan didn't attend our private high
school, Richard Johnson Academy or Double Dick as the students had dubbed it.
When Keagan had failed a math test, his father went crazy, ranting how he
wasn't going to waste good money on tuition.

"Either
you're stupid or lazy," Mr. Ellsworth had screamed. "And I'm not going
to pay for either."

Unfortunately, I'd
been at the Ellsworth house for dinner and heard the whole horrible fight. I
would never forget the shame that twisted Keagan's face when he realized I was
there. Keagan's response had been to rush out and total the family car. After
that, he'd been relegated to the public school: Broughton High.

"I'm here
scouting the talent," Keagan answered me. "The big game is this
Friday night. Johnson Flyers vs. Broughton Hawks."

"You're
playing?" Now I did turn to him in surprise. The rivalry between our two
schools was fierce. Almost as fierce as the one between Keagan and Liam.

"I'm the
Hawks' new middle linebacker. Broughton's coach was thrilled when I enrolled.
He even tracked me down to recruit me to the team." His sneering lip
quirked even higher. "It seems
someone
appreciates my talents."

"Does Liam
know?"

"He will
soon." His tone dripped with such animosity it frightened me. I'd always
thought Keagan's Mom and Dad were wrong to treat him like demon spawn and Liam
like an angelic gift, but that wasn't Liam's fault.

"Are you
really so jealous of your brother that you actually hate him?" I asked.
"Sometimes you can be such a...a...a...toad."

"Ribbit"

"What's that
supposed to mean?"

"You say I
act like I'm a toad, so I thought I'd sound like one." His eyes bored into
mine. "Maybe if you'd kiss me, I'd turn into a handsome prince."
Puckering his lips, Keagan closed his eyes before waiting expectantly.

Thank God for
those closed eyes. Otherwise he might have seen the desire I knew must be
showing on my face. I cut off the feeling with a ruthless swing of my
conscience club. If I had to beat those stupid impulses of attraction to Keagan
into submission, I'd do it. Getting swept into his black hole was all kinds of
wrong. And why was I so attracted anyway? Keagan was mean to me and the
intensity of his meanness had only mounted over the last three years. Ever
since I began dating Liam, in fact.

"Stop
that," I said, punching his shoulder with the flat of my palm.
"Everyone knows it's frogs that turn into princes, not toads."

"Oh, right.
But you know you want to break out of the good girl mode and go wild. Why not
with me? Just one kiss. How 'bout it?"

"You've got
every pretty girl in the area panting after you. Why don't you leave me
alone?"

"All those
girls don't matter." Keagan put a hand on my arm and the tingles radiated
outward from his touch like exploding fireworks. "I'm just using them to
make you jealous. You're the one I really want." The comment was nice but
his quirky smirk and arched brow taunted me.