The Legend of the Light Keeper (The Light Keeper Series Book 1)
Read The Legend of the Light Keeper (The Light Keeper Series Book 1) Online
Authors: Kelly Hall
A novel by
K
ELLY
H
ALL
Booktrope Editions
Seattle WA 2015
Copyright 2015 Kelly Hall
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
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Cover Design by Melody Barber
Edited by Patricia D. Eddy
Proofread by Cindy Slator
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to similarly named places or to persons living or deceased is unintentional.
Print ISBN 978-1-62015-761-9
EPUB ISBN 978-1-62015-782-4
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015903037
To the Light lookers and those who seek the rush of adrenaline only fear and mystery can bring.
I’d like to thank my husband, Randy, and our two amazing sons, Ty and Jesse, for all of their patience and for always giving me the inspiration and support with my many creative endeavors.
Thanks also to my mom, Faye, and sister, Sheila, for being my first readers and giving me the encouragement to keep writing. Special thanks to my Booktrope family which includes my wonderful team: Samantha, Patricia, Melody and Cindy. Also thank you to Robert Stringer, Jesse James Freeman, Alysen Campbell, and all of my friends and family for your help and support.
THE ROAD
SEEMED TO GO ON FOREVER
, winding in the darkness with nothing but trees and the occasional porch light in the distance, but we hadn’t passed one of those for miles. I was growing impatient. My new life was ahead, and I was ready to get on with it. I hoped that somewhere in my strange new living situation I could find the sense of normalcy that used to exist before the hurricane took it all away.
“How much farther?” I slumped down in my seat, leaned my head on the cool window and stared up at the black sky. My butt was asleep from the long drive. It had been a busy day.
Mom sighed. “I told you it was
way
out in the woods, Lily.”
It
was our new house; a double-wide to be exact. Mom and her fiancé, Tom, had it delivered the day before. I’d only seen it once while it was still on the sales lot. Now it sat in the black abyss of the woods ahead. I wasn’t used to the woods. I’d spent my whole life living on the beach. Not many trees there, only uninterrupted skies, and even though I was just over an hour inland it felt like I was in another world.
Mom slowed the Suburban to look for the road. She’d been gabbing on her cell phone for the last few miles, but now she searched intently up ahead. Her short blond hair was already a mess from the move, and she raked her hand through it and leaned forward in her seat over the steering wheel.
“Help me find it, Lily. There’s no street light, but there’s a big metal sign that says something about Ghost Road Drive.” She squinted into the darkness ahead.
“What? Did you say…
Ghost
Road?” I stared at her with disbelief, not quite sure I’d heard correctly.
“Now don’t overreact, it’s just some sort of local legend.” Mom’s gaze pleaded. She was the one overreacting. I knew exactly how to react. I had experiences with ghosts. She’d never believed me.
“It’s a silly tourist attraction,” she said, waving her hand dismissively.
“Tourist attraction? Really?” I looked out at the black tree line. “Oh, sure. I can see why people would
flock
here for a tour.”
Mom shrugged off my sarcasm. “It’s going to be great, Jo-Jo, you’ll see.” She’d always used my sappy nickname when she wanted to charm me. It was cute when I was younger, but now that I was almost sixteen, “cute” was the last thing I wanted any part of.
“After the wedding is over and we’re all settled in, you’ll learn to love it out here.” I couldn’t fathom
liking
it, much less
loving
it. I was used to the beach with its steady breeze and the never-ending crowds of people that came and went like the tide. There was always excitement. I had missed that for the past few months at the hotel and longed to have it back. This move seemed like it was taking me farther and farther away from anything exciting. “Ah! This is it,” Mom cheered. As she turned onto the road, the headlights reflected across a large metal sign.
GHOST ROAD SCENIC DRIVE
“What’s all this ghost stuff about anyway?” I asked. I’d never heard of a haunted road before, only haunted houses, so the idea of it seemed odd.
“It’s a story about a light and some man who’s looking for his head or
something
like that.” She explained it like some dumb movie she’d seen and didn’t care to see again. “I didn’t pay much attention when the surveyor told Tom about it.” Mom never could tell a good story. I’d have to ask Tom about it. The subject of ghosts and the paranormal had always fascinated me, and I was always searching for answers to the things in my life that I could not explain.
Ahead and to our left, there appeared a large clearing with a short drive that led to three houses. The only way to see it was the line of red reflectors that led the way, and if it weren’t for the outdoor lights shining in the distance, you wouldn’t see the houses at all. Our house was the first one on the right. There was another double-wide next door to ours and a little dilapidated single that sat at the very end of the little drive.
As Mom pulled into our driveway and the car came to a stop, it hit me. I was home.
* * *
I carried an armful of clothes inside, and took the first left down the hallway to the first room on the left. It was mine and the bigger of the two rooms on that end of the house. The master suite, at the other end, was for Mom and Tom.
My room had a huge walk-in closet and a door that led directly into the bathroom. It had the same tan carpet as the other rooms and the same linen textured wall board that I would normally consider white if Mom hadn’t informed me that it was actually called “eggshell.” The other room across the hall belonged to Tom’s son, Talon Thomas. He was around my age, and really into his cell phone. That was all I knew about him.
I made my way past the few boxes that waited to be unpacked and went into my closet. Hanging up my clothes freed my hands from the small but heavy load. I scanned around the room and found that everything had been set up like I’d asked and my new comforter set was waiting on my naked mattress, still in its package. I opened the sheets and put them on. The rest could wait till tomorrow. I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was sleep.
I’d spent the whole day packing at the guys’ house. It was grueling, but at least they had stuff to pack. For that I was both grateful and a little jealous, since Mom and I didn’t have much of anything. I’d felt bad when she’d told me that Talon had insisted that I have the larger room that was attached to the bathroom. It was a nice gesture, but I really didn’t need it. I didn’t have much to fill it.
I grabbed the plastic bag that held my toiletries and headed through the door to my new, shared bathroom. It was really nice. Everything was sparkling clean, and Mom had already put some towels and rugs in place: burgundy and paisley to match the existing tiles that ran along the wall above the sinks. That was Mom’s idea. She said that paisley was both masculine and feminine and would work for me and Talon. I was certain he cared about as much as I did, which was not at all. There was a huge mirror above the sink with a decorative cabinet on each side. I opened the cabinet to the right of the mirror and found it already stocked with Talon’s things. Curious, I scanned though them.
It was the normal stuff you’d expect to find: hair gel, deodorant, nothing interesting. Not even some gross ointment for a foot fungus or anything scandalous like condoms. I had to laugh at his body spray. It was the brand with commercials that had girls attacking the men who wore it in a sexual frenzy. “Yeah right, stud,” I whispered, letting a giggle escape.
“Is something funny?” I glanced over to see Talon standing in the doorway that led to the hall. He stared at me with a smirk and waited for an answer.
Realizing that I was totally busted, I closed the cabinet door as the blood rushed to my face. “Just looking for a place to put my stuff.” I shrugged.
“Other side,” he said, coming in to stand next to me. I watched him in the mirror as he spoke. “You’re
left
of the mirror. I’m …well, just remember, I’m always
right
.” He laughed at his little joke, his smile touching his eyes.
“I’ll try to remember that,” I said. That’s when I noticed him. I mean,
really
noticed him.
I had only met Talon on two occasions. Even though our parents had dated for months, they’d barely found time to be together, much less get their teenage kids together. So we’d been dragged along on two separate dinner dates, both of which lasted no more than an hour, and since Talon stayed on the phone the entire time, probably with some girl, I didn’t pay him much mind. Even through the move we’d seen each other only in passing and hadn’t really said more than a few words or given each other awkward nods. But there he was: tall, dark and shirtless.
It had escaped me before how handsome he was. He was a good head taller than me, lean and muscular with a gorgeous golden complexion that I’d kill for. His eyes were the deepest brown and matched his hair. It was cropped shorter in back, but a mess of curls on top, like he’d just woken up and run his fingers through them. At this moment, he was barefoot and his baby blue boxers peeked from the top of his jeans. I stood there, my mouth gaping, and finally snapped out of my daydream when he asked, “Do you mind if I brush my teeth?”
“Please,” I joked, waving my hand in front of my nose. He smiled, and once again, his whole face lit up. My heart began to race.
While he got his toothbrush and toothpaste, I quickly finished putting away my things and then went back to my room to find my facial cleanser. It was missing from my bag. Besides, I didn’t want him to think I was hovering.
As soon as I got to my room, Talon started spitting and gagging. “Dad!” he called. I sat down on the floor amongst the boxes and started digging as Tom ran down the hall. Whatever was going on, they’d handle it. He passed my door and then I could hear them talking. “Dad, there’s something wrong with this water! It’s sour.” He coughed.
“Sour?” Tom repeated, sounding confused. Then I heard him spitting, too. “Ugh! That’s awful! Don’t drink it. Use the bottled for your teeth and drinking. This is okay for flushing and showers, but it’ll probably take some time for the lines to clear.” When Tom hit the hallway, his voice boomed out, “Girls, don’t drink the water. The lines need to flush a bit longer.”
Great
, I thought.
Mom’s panicked voice sounded from the other end of the house, “What’s wrong?” Tom headed off to explain.
Talon and I met again in the bathroom after he’d returned with his bottled water. Mom and I had cases of it left over after the hurricane last September. The same hurricane that was responsible for our little “family experiment.”
Mom and I had been living in a hotel room for the past nine months and looking for a permanent place when Tom proposed and realized that his two bedroom house wasn’t big enough for the four of us. That was a little over two weeks ago. They bought this place and decided we’d live together for a few months to see how everything was going to work out. In the meantime, Mom would plan her dream wedding. It had all happened pretty fast. The whole situation was awkward and embarrassing. It had to be the same for Talon, both of us being thrust into this new place, not to mention the fact that our parents were shacking up.
“Mind if I share your water?” I asked.
“Not at all.” He shrugged. We put the paste on our brushes and poured a little water on them. Talon started scrubbing his teeth and his mouth filled with foam.
“Thanks for the bigger room,” I said, trying to make conversation. “Mom told me that you insisted I have it. That was really sweet of you.”
Talon spit. “No problem, glad you like it.”
“I
love
it…” I turned to face him and finish my sentence when he picked up our new decorative towel and wiped his mouth on it. My smile faded as he left it crumpled on the counter.
Mom would freak
.
“Night,” he said as he left for his room.
After he was gone, I refolded the towel so, hopefully, Mom wouldn’t notice. Living with men was going to be different. It had always only been the two of us. Tom was nice, and he really tried hard to make me feel welcome. It was borderline annoying at times, but he meant well. He really wanted everything to work out. I was beginning to wonder what Talon thought of the whole situation. It’s not like either of us really had a choice. We were both nearly grown and would be moving out soon, so our parents’ long-term plans didn’t really include us. I wanted Mom to be happy and for things to be normal again. If living out here in the middle of nowhere was what they wanted, so be it. There was nothing left of our old home anyway, and most of my friends’ families had left the beach for good.
Once I finished my teeth, taking the time to floss, I grabbed my hairbrush and pulled it through my dark brown hair. The loose waves hung past my shoulders, so I gave them a quick swipe with my fingers and pulled them up in a high ponytail. I turned the hot water on and washed my face with my cleanser, which I’d finally found in the bottom of a box. My mascara smeared, raccooning my eyes and hiding most of the freckles that swept my cheeks before I washed it away. The sour stench of the water was only slightly masked by the smell of my cleanser, and I hoped the lines would clear soon.
I closed my door enough for the light from the bathroom to spill in across my bed. I hated the dark, always had, and being in a new and strange place made it even more undesirable. Since my nightlight was still packed away somewhere, this would have to do.
I pulled back my covers and tucked my feet into the crisp, new sheets. They didn’t feel as good as my old ones. These were a lower thread count and not as soft. I buried my face in my pillow. It smelled funny with the new case, but it was better than the one at the hotel, which had been like sleeping snuggled up to a brick. I longed for something familiar, but nothing was familiar here. The storm had taken away all familiarity. Hurricanes cleanse; a fresh new start even when you don’t want one.
As I drifted toward sleep, I pictured my old house, my old room, and then the storm, its surge rising, flooding, getting deeper and deeper, and drowning everything. My heart sank.
I had a strange dream. I stared into the sun. Its warmth washed over my face and the smell of fresh-cut grass and tilled earth stirred around my nose. A shadow cut the blinding light, and I struggled to see it through the spots forming in my eyes, like static on a TV screen. The urge to reach up was killed by my lead-filled arms. I was paralyzed. My breathing was very shallow, peaceful, as if I could slip away.
* * *
A loud, annoying voice rang out from the hall. “
Rise and shine!
Let’s go Jo-Jo!” Mom was always enthusiastic in the morning and full of energy. I, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. “Come on, honey, get up!” She poked at me. I fought back with a moan and pulled the covers over my head.
“No! It’s summer,” I protested.
“Aw, Lily. There’s still so much to do, and besides, we’re having breakfast; our first one together as a family.”