Runes (Paranormal Romance, YA,) (2 page)

He rolled his eyes, plucked wraparound sunglasses from the breast pocket of his jacket, and slipped them on before turning to leave.

Yeah, good riddance. To copy Cora’s favorite saying, ‘he just lost hotness points’.

He paused as though he’d changed his mind and faced me, the corners of his mouth lifting in a slow smile. “Okay, Raine with an E, what do I have to do to make you play nice?”

Whoa, what a smile. I was still staring at his lips when what he’d said registered. I peered at him, hating that I had to look up at him. At five-seven, I was above average for a girl, but he was taller. Six-two or three I’d guess. Worse, my face stared back at me from the surface of his dark sunglasses, making me feel like I was talking to myself.

“Stop being rude and condescending for starters,” I said.

He chuckled, the sound rich and throaty. Sexy. A delicious shiver ran up my spine. “I thought I was being extremely polite.”

I snorted. “Right.”

“Do I need to apologize?”

“Not if you don’t mean it.”

“Then I won’t.”

I debated whether to step back and slam the door on his face, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. One, it was rude. Two, I wanted to know why he was looking for Eirik. “Okay, shoot. What’s the favor?”

“Tell your boyfriend that he and I need to talk. Today. In the next hour if possible.”

That annoying, commanding tone got to me again. I mock saluted him. “Yes, sir.”

He chuckled, then did something strange. He reached out and touched my nose. “Cute. Nice meeting you, Raine with an E.”

Cute? Ew. I reached up to swat his hand, but he was already turning away. I followed him, not realizing what I was doing until I reached the driveway. Where was he going? He wore biker’s gloves, but there was no motorcycle parked at the curb. He turned left, moving past our mailbox.

“What’s your name?” I called out.

He turned, lowered his sunglasses, and studied me suspiciously. “Why do you want to know?”

“I don’t,” I said with as much distain as I could muster, “but Eirik will need a name to go with the message.”

“My name won’t mean anything to him. Just tell him the message is from your new neighbor.”

My stomach hollowed out as though I’d jumped off a plane without a parachute. He couldn’t possibly be my next-door neighbor. A week ago, the For Sale sign had disappeared, but I hadn’t seen any moving truck to indicate someone was moving in.

Please, let his home be farther down the street.
Several houses around my neighborhood had been up for sale the last year. Using a trip to our mailbox as an excuse, I continued to watch him. Nice walk. Too bad it was overshadowed by his arrogance. He passed the low-lying white fence separating our yard from our next-door neighbor’s then cut across the lawn and headed for the front door.

Crap.

He stepped on the patio, turned, and looked at me, a mocking smile on his sculptured lips. I averted my eyes and pretended to sift the bills in my hand. As soon as he disappeared inside, I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and furiously texted Eirik.

“Who was that?” Cora asked from on top of the stairs when I entered the house.

I bumped the door closed with my foot and dropped the mail on the foyer table. “Our new neighbor.”

She hurried down the stairs. “Eirik’s old house or down the street neighbor?”

“Eirik’s old house.”

“Oh, I hate you. How come hot guys don’t move next door to my house?”

“That’s because you live on a farm in the middle of nowhere,” I retorted.

“Yeah, whatever.” She ran across the living room to the kitchen window and peered outside like an overstimulated terrier. “Where is he? Where did he go?”

I grinned. Trust Cora to provide me with comic relief. I collected my books, the empty bag of chips and soda can I had left on the coffee table, and followed her. “I told you, Eirik’s place.”

“Ooh, if he takes Eirik’s old bedroom, he’d be able to see right inside yours and you his.”

“And that’s interesting because…?”

“We want to see him shirtless.”

“Hey, don’t include me in your craziness.”

She made a face and mouthed the words I’d just said. “Oh, live a little, Raine. Seriously, sometimes I wonder how we can be so tight. You move slower than a slug when it comes to guys.”

“And you go at warp speed.”

Her jaw dropped. “Are you calling me a—”

“Male connoisseur… aficionado… nothing tacky.” We laughed. Cora fell in love fast and often, and got bored just as easily. I was only interested in one guy: Eirik. He and I had been neighbors until last year when they moved up the hill to one of the mansions at the end of Orchard Road. I never worried about him seeing inside my bedroom. The thought of the new guy that close to me was, I don’t know, unsettling. I dumped the soda can and bag in the garbage and started toward the stairs.

“It would be like old times,” Cora continued, moving away from the window, “except with him instead of boring Eirik.”

“Eirik’s not boring.”

“Is to. So what’s Mr. Hotness’ name? What did he want? Is he throwing a meet-the-new-neighbor party? First dibs on your plus-one.” She looked at me expectantly.

I laughed. “No one throws that kind of a party around here. I don’t know his name, and he was looking for Eirik.”

“Pretty Boy knows him? He just lost hotness points,” Cora mumbled.

“I heard that.” I waited for her to catch up before I continued upstairs. “I don’t get it. You and Eirik used to get along so well. Now all you do is snipe at each other every time you’re in the same room. What happened?”

“He talks down to me, like I’m stupid or something.”

“He does not.”

“Does to. Today I asked him to help me with a math problem, and he looked at me like I was a slug masquerading as a human being. Then he smirked and told me to ask Keith. He can be so...” She growled, her eyes narrowing. “I wanted to smack him. I should have smacked him.”

Cora was smart, but she tended to act helpless around guys, which drove Eirik nuts. Deciding not to comment, I pushed open my bedroom door, and my eyes went to the window facing our neighbor’s. The wide window seat with its comfortable cushions was my favorite relaxing spot in the room. Outside, I preferred the wicker chairs on my side of the balcony. I was going to have to deal with my new neighbor whether I liked it or not.

Cora removed the cute little jacket she’d worn over her tank top, threw it on my bed, and walked to the window. She and I were about the same height, except she was skinnier and had bigger boobs. Throw in her blonde hair and gray eyes and you had every teenage boy’s fantasy. I was rounder with brown hair and hazel eyes, nothing to brag about, but I wasn’t at the shallow end of the beauty pool either.

“How does he know Eirik? Do you think he’s going to go to our school?” Cora asked.

“I don’t know
anything
about him, Cora.”

She threw me an annoyed look. “Only you can talk to a hot guy and forget to ask important questions. I would have gotten everything from him, including whether he has a girlfriend or not.”

She wasn’t bragging. Cora was amazingly good at gathering information, and she could be relentless when it came to guys, which is great for a vlogger. Sometimes it was funny, but other times annoying. Like now. I couldn’t tell her I’d been too busy making a fool of myself to say much to my blue-eyed neighbor.

 
“Are you done with my laptop?” I asked, settling on the bed. “I have to check a few things after I finish my report.”

Cora glanced at her watch. “Keith will be here in ten minutes, so I just need a few minutes to respond to comments; then it’s all yours.” She glanced outside then at me then back outside again. “It’s such a beautiful day. Let’s sit outside on the balcony.”

Oh, she thought she was clever. The weather was perfect, but I refused to be a groupie to that rude guy. “No, I’m fine in here.”

Cora pouted. “Pwease… pwetty pwease?”

I shook my head. “I want to focus on my work. You want to talk to my new neighbor, walk to his house and knock on the door.”

A thoughtful expression settled on her pretty face. “I might just do that.”

“Good. Just remember, you have a boyfriend,” I reminded her.

She grinned. “Yeah, but I’m a mere mortal with a weakness for guys built like gods. I could feature him on my vlog.”

I hope not.
He looked like the type who could tear Cora apart if she dared. “You don’t even know if he’ll be going to our school.”

“I would if you’d bothered to ask him.” Cora sighed dramatically and settled on the window seat with my laptop. Occasionally, she stared outside. I was tempted to ask her if my new neighbor was outside, which bugged me. I shouldn’t be interested in any guy period. I had Eirik—or I
would
if he could get his act together and ask me out. I hoped his feelings for me were just as strong as mine were for him. As for Cora, her restlessness made it impossible for me to focus. I was happy when Keith picked her up.

Less than an hour later, I grabbed by swim bag and raced outside. I had ten minutes to get my butt to Total Fitness Club for swim practice. I’d swum varsity since my freshman year, but high school swim season didn’t start until next week. Off season, I swam with the Dolphins. Luckily, Matt ‘Doc’ Fletcher, my high school coach, also coached the Dolphins. Kayville might be a small town in northwestern Oregon, but we had three high schools and three swim clubs, and the rivalry was fierce. Most Dolphins went to my high school, too.

I threw my bag in the front passenger seat of my Sentra, ran around the hood, and saw the right front tire. I had a leak? It looked low. Could I take a chance and drive it? Maybe if I drove carefully and slow? Coach Fletcher was anal about tardiness. Worse, my attendance this past summer had suffered because of Dad.

My throat closed and tears rushed to my eyes. Not knowing whether my father was alive or dead was the hardest part of my nightmare. I still remembered the last conversation we’d had before he boarded the plane in Honolulu, the horror at the news about the plane crashing into the Pacific Ocean, the frustration as bodies were recovered and none matched Dad’s. I was losing hope, while Mom still believed he was alive. How could he be after three months?

Our neighbors no longer asked us if we’d heard any news, but I’d overheard Mrs. Rutledge and Mrs. Ross from across the street gossip about Mom, calling her delusional. Prune-faced hags. I hated that we lived on the same cul-de-sac.

I kicked at the tire as though the simple act would ease my frustration, then pulled out my cell phone and checked for text messages. There was none from Eirik, which meant I couldn’t ask him for a ride.
I hope he’s at practice in case I need help with my car.
I texted him before calling Mom.

“Hey, sweetie.” She sounded preoccupied.

“I have swimming, but I think my front tire has a leak and—”

“I can’t leave work right now to drop you off. I’m dealing with a mini-crisis, too. Skip swimming, and we’ll take care of your car when I get home. Call Coach Fletcher and explain.”

“That’s okay. I can still drive it. It’s a slow leak and should hold until—”

“No, Raine. If you must go, hitch a ride with Eirik or Cora. I don’t want you driving with a leaking tire.”

“Cora’s gone to the football game, and Eirik is not returning my calls. I can’t miss practice, Mom. Coach has a big announcement to make, and today’s the last class before tryouts for varsity.” I’d be mortified if he knew why I’d been flaky the last several months. I still hoped no one at school knew about my father, except Cora and Eirik. “You know how he secretly uses summer club swim attendance to choose co-captains. I don’t want to be the first co-captain to be dropped after one year.”

Mom humphed, which warned me she was about to switch to Mother Bear mode. “I don’t care how he chooses captains. You’ve earned it. I’ll call him and—” There was a cracking sound in the background.

“What was that?”

“Jared dropped a mirror.” There was mumbling in the background, then silence.

“Mom?”

More mumbled words reached me before, “I’m here. About the coach—”

“Don’t call him. I’ll take care of it.”

“Are you sure?” She sounded frazzled.

“Yes.”

“Okay. I’ll try to be home early. Six-ish.”

That meant seven or eight. My parents owned Mirage, a framing and mirror store on Main Street. With Dad gone, Mom was pulling double duty and often stayed behind to clean up and get the shop ready for the next business day. I rarely saw her anymore.

I texted Coach Fletcher, in case I didn’t make it on time, then slipped behind the wheel. The tire pressure should hold.
Please, let it hold.

I backed out of the driveway and reached out to shift gears when my new neighbor left his garage, pushing a Harley. Shirtless. I swallowed, drooled. His shoulders were broad and well-defined. His stomach ripped.

He glanced my way, and I quickly averted my eyes and stepped on the gas pedal. My car shot backwards instead of forward and slammed into something, jerking me forward. Panicking, I hit the brakes and looked behind me.