The Lunam Ceremony (Book One) (26 page)

I must have dozed up off, because when I open my eyes, we’re in a town. I check my watch; it’s five thirty. Dillan must know I’m gone by now. “Are we almost there? I need to make a phone call.”

I yawn and look at Jase. I let out a small gasp when I see the man staring back. He’s taken off his beanie and goggles. His dark hair is a mass of waves that fall in perfect little swells on the crown of his head. His blueish-gray eyes sparkle under thick eyebrows. “You ok?” Jase distorts his face, and if I wasn’t already drooling, I definitely am now. He’s hot. Like fireman calendar hot.

“I’m fine.” I look away, but as soon as I do, I sneak a look at this profile. His parents must be supermodels.

“You look familiar,” he says as we pull into a driveway. The sign above the garage reads Jase’s Tow and Repair. He puts the truck in park and turns in his seat to look at me.

I know I’ve never met Jase, because there is no way I would ever forget that face. “I just moved to California from Nevada so I doubt we’ve met.”

“Really, when?” Jase gathers his gloves and hat from the seat.

“Last fall.” I pull my beanie over my head and pick my gloves up off the floor.

“Well then you must look like someone I should know.” Jase looks me over one more time before opening his door. Someone he
should
know? Was he flirting with me? Something inside me feels warm and tingly. This is bad, really bad.

I get out of the truck and Jase points me towards the office where he tells me that Lucky will take care of me. Lucky, the voice on the radio, looks to be around my age. He’s a smaller, less good-looking version of Jase. He has me fill out some forms while Jase unloads my truck. I skip the home address and just give him my cell phone number. “Is this good?” I hand back the clipboard, and he says it’s fine without ever looking at the paper.

Jase appears in the doorway and says, “I have good news and bad news.”

I sigh and put my head in my hands. “Give it to me quick.”

“That’s what she said,” Lucky cackles. Jase punches his arm and sends him to close the shop.

“The good news is, the truck had a spare. I put it on. Bad news is, they closed eighty-nine.” He pulls out a laptop and shows me an alternate route that will take me east, through Sacramento. “You might have a better shot that way. The storm is moving north, so the roads here and here are clear.” He points to spots on the screen. “You’ll be in Tahoe at about nine or ten.” I try to focus on the map, but all I see is the way the light of the computer screen dances off Jase’s eyes. “So what do you think?” Jase spins the laptop away and leans on the counter.

“Uh, I don’t know. What do you think?”

Jase looks at me strange and shrugs. “I don’t know; I mean; I guess it depends on how badly you want to get home.”

“I don’t want to go home,” I answer quickly. I’m shocked at how the truth just fell from my lips.

Jase breaks into a huge grin and I find myself smiling back. “Ok, then. Do you want to go to a party?”

Lucky pops his head in the door and interrupts me before I can answer. “All closed up, boss. I’ll see you at Bill’s.” He looks at me with a sly smile. “It was a pleasure, Kali.”

I didn’t realize I gave him the name Bud used. It seems fitting. I don’t want to be Kalysia right now. I don’t want the responsibilities, the pain, the anger. Tonight, I want to be Kali—the Howlin’ Ale delivery girl.

“So, where’s this party?” I lean on the counter and lift my eyebrows to Lucky, the flirty way I’ve seen Layla do.

“Seriously?” Lucky looks from me to Jase. “I knew today was going to be a good day.”

After a lengthy debate, Jase thinks it’s best that I ride to the party with him in his Bronco rather than on the back of Lucky’s bike. The Bronco is an older model, tricked out with enormous tires and a roll bar. Lucky follows us on his motorcycle. The roads in town are wet, but Lucky races by doing a wheelie like it’s nothing.

I cringe when he slices through a couple of big rigs. “Should he be doing that?”

“He’s a fast healer,” Jase jokes.

After a short drive, we arrive at a motel called Lariat Lodge. It’s a horseshoe-shaped property with rooms that form a u-shape around the parking lot. During the drive, I find out the party is for Jase’s cousin, Lacy. I have to admit I was relived Lacy was a relative and not a girlfriend.

The lot is already full when we arrive. Smoke from a barbeque billows from the small patch of grass that wishes it was a lawn. We pull into an empty space and Jase jumps out. He rushes around the truck and opens my door. It feels like a scene from a Nicholas Sparks movie. I take his hand as I step out of the truck. I look at our hands clasped together like they are two piece of the same puzzle. He squeezes tighter and blushes. “Sorry, it just feels right,” he says. I think of Dillan and Cassie. Even though they are doing more than holding hands, I know it’s wrong. I slowly slide my fingers free, and the moment I do, I regret it. Jase looks slightly disappointed, but he doesn’t show it for long. We are bombarded by a group of people. Jase introduces me to everyone as if we’re at this party together. Like I was invited and not just some stray he picked up in the middle of a snow storm.

Jase’s cousin Lacy is serious and reserved. She is the total opposite of Jase’s younger sister, Delilah. Delilah is a ball of energy. She dances when nobody else does and sings like nobody is listening. I love her. The motel is owned by Jase’s uncle Bill and his aunt Deb. They are a couple of retired flower children that moved from San Francisco to escape the capitalism that now encompasses the city. After Jase introduces me to half the party, I finally settle down with Bill as he barbeques on the lawn.

“Yeah, we don’t care much about equity or property value. If we did, we wouldn’t have bought this place.” Bills laughs as he flips burgers on the grill. “I still can’t wrap my head around someone paying six bucks for a cup of coffee.” He shakes his head and takes a drag on his hand-rolled cigarette. “What do you make of that, Kali?”

“I don’t know. I was raised in a little city in the middle of the desert.” I take a sip from the red solo cup Delilah handed me. It smells like orange juice spiked with pineapple flavored vodka.

“Now see!” Bill points his spatula at me. “Your parents had the right idea.”

I nod and take a bigger sip from the cup. I like this, anonymity. It’s so much easier than real life. Lacy stops in front of me to get a burger from Bill, and I ask her how old she is.

“I’m eighteen.” She shrugs like it’s no big deal. “How old are you?”

“Wait, let me guess.” Bill taps the dirty spatula to his temple. “Twenty-one.”

I’m flattered he thinks I’m older. I consider lying to him, but I change my mind at the last minute. “No, I’m eighteen. I’ll be nineteen in October.”

“Oh. My. God. I’m turning eighteen next month! You have to come to my party! We’re having it at the Elks lodge; it’s going to be amazing.” Delilah spins in a circle, and then hugs her cousin. “No offense.” Lacy rolls her eyes and walks away with her burger.

“Darn, I thought you had to be older, since you’re wearing that Howlin’ Ale jacket.” Bill adds another stack of burgers to the grill. I forgot I had on a Howlin’ Ale fleece under my snow coat. “Yeah, we’re Shasta Brew people.”

My heart is in my throat when Bill says Shasta. I look around the group; these people can’t be Shasta. They’re human. I can sense it. I think. I look at the blue eyes and wavy brown hair that some of the older people have. They could be Shasta, except for the small imperfections they carry. Most of them are overweight; wolves don’t even get winter weight. Jase places a chair beside mine and sits down. He has a beanie on, but it sits far back on his head, exposing his forehead. He is the only one here aside from Lucky that has the poise of a young wolf. If not for the small scar above his left eyebrow, Jase could pass for one of us. Lucky is Bill and Deb’s son, and they are without a doubt human, so that rules him out. He’s just your typical cocky teenage boy.

“Don’t look so worried. We aren’t going to roast you over a fire just because you work for Howlin’ Ale,” Bill teases. He takes a long drag on his cigarette. “You got any of that swill on you?”

I tell him I have a few cases in my truck, and he sends Lucky to the garage to retrieve them. Bill heads into the house for more meat, leaving Jase and I alone. I sip from my cup and try to avoid eye contact. Something about his blue-gray eyes makes me feel a way I shouldn’t.

Jase shifts next to me and clears his throat. He’s waiting for me to look at him. Now I’m really not turning around. The legs of his chair scrape the ground, and I feel that he’s moved closer to me. I angle my body away from him even further. Jase lets out a soft laugh. It’s a game now. I wait for his next move. Twenty seconds pass. Then thirty. I don’t feel him behind me anymore. I turn around and find the spot where he was sitting empty. Even his chair is gone. I stand and scan the crowd. I can’t believe he bailed that fast. I shouldn’t care. I shouldn’t feel rejected. I shouldn’t feel anything for him. I sit down with a huff then freeze when I feel someone beneath me. I jump up and find Jase sitting casually in my chair. He takes a pull on his beer and smiles. He slouches like he doesn’t have a care in the world. His swag is off the charts.

“I was sitting there.” I pretend to be annoyed, but I’m sure it comes across as flirting. Layla flirts all the time to get her way. As long as I stay in control, I have nothing to feel bad about. I’m just having fun. Innocent fun. Unlike Dillan and Cassie.

“I know.” He smiles and pats his thigh. “Have a seat.” Thoughts race through my head. Bad thoughts, good thoughts.

“I can’t,” I say. I should tell him why, but I don’t. I’m not Kalysia tonight. I’m Kali. Kali doesn’t have to explain a damn thing.

“How about a tour then?” Jase stands and offers me his hand.

I stare at his warm, inviting palm. “Ok,” I say. I put down my red solo cup and shove my hands in my pockets.

Jase takes the small form of rejection with a mischievous grin. “Ok.” He leads me through the crowded parking lot, pointing out an ice machine that looks like it’s been around since the turn of the century, and a vending machine that only works if you kick the right side three times. We make a quick turn past a utility closet and come out at the back of the motel. There’s something that resembles a pool and a Jacuzzi. “In the summer the water is blue, I swear.”

I laugh and continue to follow Jase around the motel. We move next to each other easily. Every now and then he places his hand on the small of my back to guide me in another direction. It feels so nice, so right. “And over there is the trailer I sleep in.” He points to a small camper-like thing that hooks onto the back of a pick-up.

“Good to know,” I say sarcastically. The ego on this guy. Ok, maybe I would sleep with him if I really was just a delivery girl. But I’m not.

“Hey, just thought you’d like to know. In case you have a bad dream or you need a cup of warm milk.” Jase bumps my arm with his like he’s just teasing. I roll my eyes like it’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard and not something I will most likely dream about tonight.

“What’s that?” I point to the wooded area behind the motel.

“It’s part of the Plumas National Forest.” He steps closer to me and says, “Don’t worry, I’m the most dangerous animal in these woods and I would never hurt a creature as beautiful as you.” He brings my hand to his face and kisses my knuckles. My heart thumps in my chest and a familiar burn rises in my belly. I suck in the cold night air and step away. Jase holds my hand a second longer then lets me go. “Sorry if I overstepped.”