Brush of Shade (31 page)

“I’m sorry,” he
said, his expression like his voice, grim.

“Eat the cake.
Have fun,” I ordered, ignoring his apology and the reason for it. His fork
automatically went into his mouth. I chuckled. “Sorry, was that a bad order?”

“Are you having
fun?” There was no sting behind his words, just concern.

“Yes,” I said
and meant it. Although, my eyes were suddenly teary after I’d promised myself
when I’d woke up this morning that I wouldn’t cry. My bite of the decadently
rich, chocolate cake with its fudge filling sat like glue on my tongue.

“
Livi
?” he said in his disarming drawl. “It was an ugly
scene and on your birthday, too.”

My smile
faltered.
“First birthday without . . . I just miss them
terribly.”
For Aunt Claire, I wasn’t going to turn on the faucet. I
cleared my throat and tried to sound cheerful. “Thanks for coming, Shadow. Both
of you please stop looking concerned. A girl only turns eighteen once in her
life. The valley’s problems can at least wait until after I’ve had some ice
cream.”

“I think you can
risk opening your presents,” Shade said, making room for Amber.

“Oh, most
definitely,” she said, shooting him a tentative smile. A rosy blush crept over
her face. “I was thinking, Olivia, maybe you’d like to sleep over tonight? We
could watch chic flicks and finalize plans for our shopping expedition.”

Thankfully her
nervousness around Shade kept her from seeing his slight grimace. At his side,
Shadow smirked.

“Trent and I are
going to the movies tonight. Why don’t you and
Dereck
join us? Afterwards, we can turn it into a girl’s night.”

“That sounds
fun. I’ll go call
Dereck
.”

As soon as Amber
had walked away, Meadow squeezed in between the twins.

“Hey, squirt,”
Shadow said, giving her a gentle pulse into his brother.

One of the
whirligigs in the box over his head fell out, striking his shoulder. My pony tail
flipped over my shoulder and wind chimes rang as far away as the front window.

Everyone at the
table turned to see who had caused the commotion. The rest of us were staring
down at Meadow, watching her entire body quiver.

In a gentle
voice Shadow asked, “How long have you been able to do that?”

“I . . . for a little while.
Please,
Shad,
don’t be mad. I didn’t mean it. Don’t tell Mom and Dad.”

“They don’t
know?” He squatted down and kissed her forehead. “Hey everybody, we’ve got a
newbie in the family.” He tipped his head back and exchanged a serious look
with his twin. “Grandma Willow?”

White flecks
swirled in Meadow’s eyes. She grabbed his arm and pleaded, “I’ll stop. I
promise!”

A light pulse
ruffled her hair. Shade placed a hand on her head. “Maybe if you ask nice,
Shadow will take you under his wing for a while.”

“Really?
Cool!” Her expression turned serious and she
leveled a determined gaze onto her cousin. “I want to learn how you— “

“Newbie, there
will be no wild stunts. You’re not even rated yet,” Shadow said sternly.

Her mouth
dropped open. “But you . . . My range is better than
Rylan’s
,”
she announced with all the confidence of a younger version of them.

“Is not,” her
brother argued from the table.

Shade laughed.
“Brother, she’s all yours.
Rylan
, call your parents
and give them the good news.”

Twenty minutes
later, Meadow’s parents and Sister Willow arrived at the shop. After lots of
hugs and a few stern words, they were invited to have some cake. I held back,
watching from the entrance to Hattie’s office, feeling like an eavesdropper on
a private celebration. Shade caught my eye and pointed to the office.

“You look upset.
Are you thinking about the memory you took from my grandmother?” he asked,
cracking the door.

“It was
horrible. Meadow’s so young.”

 “It’ll be
different this time. Our families and the clan will watch out for her.”

“Are you sure
about Shadow teaching her?”

“Trust me;
there’s nothing that she can think of that he hasn’t tried. A few insightful
joinings
with him will scare her straight.”

“Let’s hope so.
If she’s like her cousins, Shad’s going to go prematurely gray.”

That made Shade
smile. He came forward and placed a box on Hattie’s desk. “Happy Birthday,
Livi
,” he said, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

I opened the lid
and found a pre-paid card. “You brave man.”

“I figured if
you were going to try on all those clothes, then you might as well buy
something. But if you prefer, I can get you a gift card for overalls at Owen’s
Hardware Store.”

“Don’t you
dare.
What’s this?” I asked, pushing tissue paper aside.
“It’s lovely,” I exclaimed, fingering the copper aspen leaf dangling from a
delicate chain. I held it closer and found his initials on the underside of the
curled tip of the leaf. “You made this? It’s beautiful. Thank you.”

“
Hattie,
gave me a few lessons.”

“You’re
talented.”

“It’s nothing. I
just dabble,” he answered, concentrating on rapidly folding the tissue paper
into a tight square that he stuffed back into the box.

“Help me get it
on, please?”

When he’d done
up the clasp, he took my left hand and curled my fingers around the heart
shaped leaf, so I felt the delicate, small tooth edges press into my skin.
“When you feel lost, curl you hand about the leaf. It’ll be your happy memory,
so you’ll always know that you’ve got a home,” he said,
pulsing
his dark chocolate voice along my bare neck, tickling the fine hairs.

Dancers spilled
out of the family room and into the hallways. Squished against the family room wall
opposite the DJ, I could feel the music vibrating against my ear and through
the soles of my shoes. Maybe I should’ve stayed to watch the end of the water
basketball game. Unlike the bikini clad flock of giggling girls, I’d been
miserable in that humid air wearing jeans and a long sleeved sequined shirt.
Between the accident and subsequent surgeries, I had scars that I wasn’t ready
to reveal. Plus, my current batch of bruises was turning interesting shades of
putrid yellow, so I looked like a canvas that had erupted in splotches.

A cool breeze
caressed my flushed cheeks. Through a gap in the dancers, I saw that someone
had opened the patio doors. I inched forward and found myself pulled into a
conga line. Since it was making better progress, I went along for the ride. For
several grueling minutes the constant jarring movements irritated my tender
ribs and sore leg. I weighed my options, an embarrassing collapse or another
dose of winter’s bite. I’d already given the gossips too much fodder since my
arrival. I wrenched free of the hands on my waist and slipped through the open
doors. Brisk air went right through my shirt, chilling my damp skin. I turned
around and watched for the end of the conga line. The darn thing seemed to have
run into congestion and was now moving at a snail’s pace.

A quick glance
about the patio revealed a flagstone walkway bordering the narrow planting bed
next to the house. Perfect, I could follow the walk and cut back into the house
through the doors off the solarium, practically stepping right into the buffet
line ahead of the crowd. Trent had promised to meet me there in time for the
countdown to midnight.

Twinkling lights
hung like streamers from the trees while groupings of votive candles burned in
recesses set into massive stone planters. A warm breeze tickled my cold hands.
I aimed for it, finding a small heater at the base of a planter. Now that my
eyes had gotten used to the dark, I discovered more heaters tucked under the
built in benches that lined the opposite side of the patio. Toasty stones
radiated heat through my thin shirt while the heater warmed my feet. I sighed.
My idea of getting ahead of the crowd lost its appeal. What the heck, I still
had plenty of time before I had to dive back into the press of bodies. I might
as well wait for Trent to plow a path.

“Look at all of
them kids. Do you know how many families are represented?” a gritty voice said
from the other side of the planter, interrupting my peace and quiet.

“All in good
time,” another male voice cautioned.

“I wouldn’t lose
any sleep over torching the Cassidy’s ranch,” gritty voice said, sounding as
though he were salivating at the mouth over the opportunity the party
presented.

Frigid air might
as well been pouring out the heater; I’d gone quite numb inside. I strained to
hear over the music that was blaring through the door. A laughing couple
stumbled past my position. I flattened against the wall, praying the men hadn’t
left.

 “He
doesn’t want an arson investigation. The accidental death of eight or ten well
connected kids should be enough to throw the valley into a panic,” the second
man said.

“Bah. Forget
panic. I say strike now. Go for victory.”

“Do it and he’ll
feed you to the
investigators.
Look at the bright
side. There are plenty of windows that overlook the pool. It should be a hot
show.”

“Is she still in
there?”

“No, she headed
back to the party. But her boyfriend, the Cassidy’s son, is still there.”

Gritty voice
laughed. “That’ll draw out her terror.”

I clenched a
trembling hand over my mouth. Not that I could’ve gotten a sound out. Minutes
dragged by. I forced myself to wait, hardly daring to breathe until I was
certain that I was alone. I dug into my back pocket for the foreign device,
seriously missing my cell phone. With the
walkie
talkie pressed so close to my mouth that I’d probably sound garbled, I pushed
the button to beep Shade, confident that his would be in his hand.

“What’s wrong?”
he asked, coming straight to the point.

 “I
overheard two men planning to hurt the kids in the pool.” I couldn’t bring
myself to say kill, but I knew the urgency in my voice conveyed my meaning.
“They’re going to start a fire.”

“Where are you?”

“Do something!”

“Where are you?”
he shouted, his voice practically leaping out of the device.

“Safe on the patio off the family room.”

“I’m coming.
Stay there. Do you hear me? Shad and I will handle this.”

They were quick,
and it wasn’t that far from their friend Mason’s place, but what if they didn’t
get here in time? I stared in the direction of the pool house towards the soft
glow of lights spilling out into the night through the long bank of skylights.
It had taken me several minutes to weave my way through the breezeway and two
halls filled with kids. A direct route on the empty walk that connected the
lower poolside terrace with this upper patio would save time. All I had to do
was get to the pool deck, stick my head in the door, and yell fire.

Once I cleared
the patio and left the laughing voices behind, my footsteps dragged. Shadows
pressed closer. Disturbing memories transformed branches into long-fingered
hands that clawed at my hair. Close by something tapped. Heart hammering, I
half turned towards the safety of the crowds, ready to leave the situation to
Shade. A cold breeze swept down the stairs carrying with it the smell of pine
mingled with cranberry
votives
. Simple, and yet, it
had the power to ground me in the real world. I had survived that terrible
night. Certainly I could face a night shadowed yard. The pull of the music
folded about me, becoming my partner against the dark. Together we broke into a
steady beat.

I plunged ahead,
skidding and slipping on ice patches, thinking for safety sake they should
leave the recessed lights on year-round. I made it as far as the next set of stairs
that led down to the lower level gardens and terrace, when my guiding lights
from the pool suddenly winked out. Icy fingers closed over my heart and
squeezed. I launched myself down the flight of stairs, taking steps two at a
time, swallowing my cries inside my clamped mouth. Back on the walk, my hip
clipped a decorative post then the side of my head grazed what I thought was a
bird feeder. I refused to slow down, choosing to rely upon snow drifts and the
faint glow of holiday lights buried beneath two feet of snow to keep me on the
sidewalk when I had nothing else to guide me.

Any second I
expected to hear frantic shouting or worse, agonizing screams. Music from the
successful party wafted on the breeze, descending onto the secluded terrace
from the noisier upper levels. Even if I could stop puffing long enough to
shout, no one would hear. Too many minutes had already ticked by. All because
of my stupid leg and a boat load of issues my classmates were going to die!

I replayed the
layout of the pool room in my head. Had the door been at the far end near the
barbeque pit? My toe caught the brick lip that marked the wide patio that
curved about the pool house. I stumbled, thrusting my hands out in front of me
as I fell.

“What have we
got here? You’re supposed to be inside with the others. Get up.”

I rolled away
from gritty voice towards one of the shadowy blobs that might be a bush. Gusts
lashed the patio, driving ice pellets into the windows, rattling them so hard
that I was certain the glass would crack. Abruptly the wind switched
directions, swooped low, and raced along the patio, hail cracking against the
brick. Ice daggers riddled my shirt, stinging my back. From the far side of the
patio came the low rumble of something heavy rolling over the pavers. A whimper
slipped out of my quivering lips. I scrambled to my feet just as the block on
wheels shot out of the inky blackness. I spun towards the path with it on my
heels. A burst of air, the crack of snapping wood, and then it was upon me,
knocking me over.

I squirmed out
from beneath the mass and onto my knees, forming a plan certain to upset Shade.
Ice had seeped into the seams, sealing the cabinet door shut. I stared into the
darkness, tracking the heavy thud of boots on the pavers. My breaths came in frightened
spurts as I pried and yanked, scraping nails across the wood paneling of the
bar. “Please, I twisted my ankle.” I moaned over the sound of the door
wrenching open. Fingers found the edge of a drink tray.

A rough hand
grabbed my left arm and yanked me to my feet. I went limp, putting as much of
my weight as possible into it. The grip tightened, and the man leaned
conveniently closer. My right hand curved up with the tray parallel to the
ground, catching him in the throat.

He hit the
bricks, choking and gagging. I kicked him for good measure. From the sound of
his agony, for the first time tonight, my aim was perfect. I hobbled across the
patio, envisioning myself tripping over a piece of patio furniture that someone
had forgotten to pack away for the winter.

Under the gloom
of the overcast sky, I used my freezing hands to count off the three,
plate-glass windows. Just as I reached the entrance, frantic pounding erupted
from the other side of the glass. I tugged. Metal jangled. Trembling fingers
fumbled with a padlock suspended off a heavy chain looped between the set of
double doors. The key was probably in that man’s pocket. Crap, I had to go
back.

I took a nervous
step. Something beeped behind me. I yelped and fell back against a door with a
thud. Kids screamed and shout. I jerked away from the banging that only I could
do something about. Heart thumping loud enough to wake the dead or at least one
downed assailant, I stumbled forward. From my pocket, the
walkie
talkie beeped again as a cheery rendition of “Jingle Bells” streamed into the
night. It took a couple of tries for my frozen fingers to yank the angrily
beeping device out of my pocket.

“Where are you?”
I yelled into the device.

“At the pool house, putting out the electrical fire.”
In a
suspicious tone Shade demanded, “What’s that racket?”

“The kids beating on the patio door.
It’s been chained shut.
I’m going to get the key.”

“From where?”
his voice exploded over the air.

My eyes locked
on the faint outline of a man illuminated by a handful of twinkling holiday
lights that had gotten unburied when he skidded off the path. “You don’t want
to know,” I answered.

“Don’t move!”

I stuffed the
device back into my pocket. Shade was busy. It was up to me.

Ready to run, I
kicked the man’s leg. He didn’t move or make a sound. Oh, God, I’d killed him!
I sunk to my knees in a slushy mess that soaked through my jeans. Freezing
water bathed my skin, instantly making my teeth chatter. I shook uncontrollably
as I searched his jacket pockets, stopping several times to blow across burning
fingers that didn’t want to bend properly.
Nothing.
From behind me the shouting grew louder, punctuated by several screams.
Frowning, I slid a finger into his jeans’ pocket.

A hand snatched
my wrist, twisting hard. “Should’ve run while you had the chance, girl.”

Vibrations drove
brutally into my wrist. Fire burned through my nerves. In the dark, my shocked
mind supplied a circular saw severing flesh and bone. I writhed and screamed,
clawing at his hand.

“So you want to
play?” Thick fingers closed about my throat, jerking my head about like a
bobble head doll. Pinpricks of light exploded behind my clenched eyes.
Desperate for air, I kicked and thrashed wildly, my free hand prying at rock
hard fingers.

A gale swooped
around the pool house, tossing the bar aside as though it was nothing more than
a piece of dollhouse furniture. My assailant dragged me to my feet. “Show
yourself or I’ll snap the girl’s neck,” he shouted.

Instantly the
gale stopped. “I am here,” a voice filled with menace answered.

“Show yourself!”

My legs swung in
an arc. In spurts, I surfaced and remembered for half a strained breath to claw
weakly. My air-starved, frightened mind converted my limp, swinging body into
that of a woman I’d seen once in a circus, spinning from a rope high above the
crowd. In my case, things took a nasty turn. The rope frayed and snapped. I
screamed or at least I did in my head. Ground rushed up to meet me. Over the
crowd’s horrified cries, I heard a sick gurgle followed by a pop.

Firm and yet,
surprisingly giving, my landing wasn’t the bone shattering impact I expected.
Cold air rushed into my bruised throat, filling my lungs and clearing my head.
Muscular arms clamped hold, restraining my struggles against a hot, vibrating
body.

 “You’re
safe. He won’t hurt you again,” Shadow reassured, his voice, like his body,
quivering with anger.

“Key,” I shouted
or tried to, but all that came out was a rasping whisper that made my throat
ache.

“Don’t need
one,” a glacial voice said close by.

Relief welled
up. Shade would get the kids out. The heat pouring off Shadow beckoned. I
buried my face against his shoulder and stuffed my icy fingers under his
collar.

He jerked and
drew a quick, startled breath. “Give a guy a warning. Jeez your hands are like
ice.” He tipped my head back and said, his voice rough, “Did that SOB hurt
you?”

A light shined
onto my face. “Saving me twice is going to ruin your tough guy image.”

“Wasn’t me this
time, although I did catch you. I suppose I get partial credit for the assist.”
The flashlight was lowered; its light redirected. I tried to turn to see what
was going on. Shadow’s arms tightened. “Don’t look,” he said kindly.