Beginnings (Nightwalkers) (4 page)

Authors: H.N. Sieverding

“I’m putting up a big display.” He chuckled as he motioned across from them.

“But what if no one buys them?” She gazed at him lovingly then watched him type the number twenty in the order box.

“I don’t care. Then I can look at them and it’ll remind me of how wonderful my beautiful, and talented, little girl is.”

“Awww…..” Blushing red, she watched him push the order button. A sold out message appeared on the screen. They both looked confused. “Sold out?”

“Let’s try another retailer.” He then went to another site.

Ashleigh pulled out her laptop and was helping in the search. She typed
Kiss of the Moon
into a search engine. Her eyes widened when she saw the first of the search results. It was the number ten book in horror in the country. Putting a hand over her mouth, Ashleigh couldn’t speak.

“Wow….” Her grandfather looked dumbfounded.

“I’m a best seller!” Ashleigh pointed to the screen. She then laughed and hugged her grandfather tight. When she let go, she grabbed her phone, took a shot of the screen, then immediately started texting Natalie.

He read the commentary at the bottom of the list, “
Kiss of the Moon
is a bite of pure sin with the aftertaste of throbbing erotica. Vampires have never been more raw and real.”

Ashleigh quickly clicked on another result. She squealed when she saw a new webpage dedicated to her book. “I have a fan club already!”

“Yeah….” He frowned slightly when he saw the very dark passage from
Kiss of the Moon
that was displayed on the header. He then glanced at the number of members. It was in the double digits. Her series already had a cult following.

“I can’t wait to see where Nightwalkers goes after this.” Ashleigh’s eyes lit up as she scrolled through the page. “It’s going to be more famous than any vampire book ever.”

“And what about you?”

“I don’t want fame.” She sent him a giant grin. “I want my stories to shine. And besides….” She turned back to her laptop. “If Nightwalkers is taking off like this, everyone’s going to be following me too. I’d rather stay a secret. Like Dr. Nevel from the Chickadee series.”

“He’s a children’s writer, Ashleigh.” Gramps laughed. “And people knew who he was.”

“Well….” She sent him a wicked grin. “
I’m
going to remain a mystery. Bask in Victoria’s fame and still live the life of the quiet neighbor next door.”

She then started speaking with quick hand motions, great passion in her voice, “The one with the huge secret. Who is the mysterious, sexy…” Her last word ignited a small glare from her grandfather, but it only made her laugh. “
Victoria
Allure? It’ll be fun. They’ll write about me in the papers and have reporters and stuff trying to uncover the mystery of my real identity. And here I’ll be, a small town girl who—”

“Is completely full of herself.” Gramps laughed, but his tone was playful.

She grabbed a candy bar from the stand and pealed back the wrapper. She dodged the annoyed look from her grandfather, who often scolded her for stealing the merchandise. “Then I’ll marry Caleb Mason and live in his huge mansion in Kingston.”

“Who’s this Mason fellow?” His eyes narrowed on her briefly before he turned back to his computer and searched for the other titles he wanted to order.

“Only the hottest, most amazing rock star in the world.”

“Rock star?” He let out a huff. He watched her surf the net looking for more info on her book. He smiled at her happiness, a proud look on his aging face.

**THE END**