SilverMoonLight (SilverMoonSaga Book 1) (8 page)

Did
I owe him an explanation? I hesitated. I didn’t like talking about my secret.

»It’s
not easy to explain.«

I
looked at him. His blue eyes were as captivating as ever. I gripped my tea more
tightly and tore myself away from his gaze.

»Just
try,« he said, his voice as soft as silk. He sat down beside me on the blanket.
My skin began to tingle.

»It’s
not a complete fear, I mean, I enjoy swimming. Water has this magical power
over me,« I began with a trembling voice.

»So
I see.« Now he was smiling.

»Why
do you do that?« I asked abruptly.

»What
do you mean?«

I
shook my head, it was too embarrassing. Maybe he hadn’t been intentionally
avoiding me all this time after all.

»My
mother never let me go into the water. We often went hiking, but she would
never let me go near the banks of a lake. I wasn’t even allowed to paddle my
feet in the water. When I got older and went to summer camp, I had to promise
her faithfully that I wouldn’t go in any lakes or the sea.« I fell silent for a
moment. »That was difficult, as I’m sure you can imagine, but I kept my word.
And over time, her fear transferred to me.«

The
memories forced tears into my eyes. They ran slowly down over my cheeks.

»Why
are you crying?«

»She
died. Not too long ago.«

»You
miss her a lot,« he said.

I
tried to get ahold of myself.

»I
know that my fear of water is irrational, but there’s nothing I can do about
it. I didn’t really want to come today. But...«

»But?«

»Well,
Amelie can be quite convincing. When she gets something in her head...there’s
no chance of talking her out of it.«

We
sat there in silence for a while.

»Are
you happy here?«

I
looked at him skeptically.

»Why
do you ask?«

»I
don’t know.« He smiled at me, making my heart catapult. All my intentions of
ignoring him, or at least of being impolite, had completely vanished.

»To
start with, it was hard, but I’m starting to feel more settled now. Amelie is
my best friend, even though she can be a challenge sometimes. As to whether I’d
call myself happy...well, I’m not sure,« I answered truthfully.

We
both fell silent again, staring out over the lake.

»I
was hoping that you’d come along today,« he suddenly whispered, so quietly that
I wasn’t sure he had really said it. We looked at each other and I sunk into
his gaze.

»Come
on, we should gather some firewood while the others are swimming,« said Calum
hesitantly, breaking the moment.

We
walked over to the wood by the shore of the lake. It was so small that it was
barely worthy of being called a wood, but we gathered together as much dry wood
as we could carry. Calum seemed to be taking great care not to touch me.

After
the others had exhausted themselves swimming, we made a bonfire, tossed
potatoes onto the embers, and roasted sausages. Then, to round it all off, we
had the essential and sickly-sweet dessert of roasted marshmallows.

Amelie
gave me a few inquisitive looks. Later this evening I would have to tell her in
detail what Calum and I had been talking about; our conversation clearly hadn’t
slipped past her.

After
the meal, Aidan and Calum fetched their guitars from the car and sang Scottish
folk and country songs, of which I knew only a few. I lay on the blanket,
feeling the sun warm my skin and wishing that Calum would carry on singing
forever. 

»Wake
up!« shouted Amelie in my ear, shaking her wet hair across my bare stomach.

»Stop
it!« I shrieked. »God, that’s freezing!«

Amelie
laughed. I pulled myself upright and reached for my towel. Calum sat a little
distance away, looking at me. His lips formed a smile.

»Come
on, we have to go, otherwise we won’t be back in time,« called Amelie, running
to the car to get changed.

I
slipped into my jeans and T-shirt, rolled up our blanket and packed everything
up into the baskets.

As
we all said goodbye, I had to admit to myself that the sight of Valerie sliding
onto the back seat of the other car next to Calum made me jealous.

For
the whole of the journey back, I was lost in thought, trying to remember every
one of his words, looks and gestures.

As
usual, Amelie ripped me out of my daydreams. »What’s up with you?«

»Nothing,
why?« I answered gruffly.

»What
were you talking to Calum about? He was staring at you the whole time.«

Aidan,
who was sitting next to her this time, leant over to her. »Jealous?«

I
gave him a shove and looked out of the window. Amelie dropped the subject, but
in the rearview mirror I could see her looking at me with a knowing smile.
Embarrassed, I bit my lower lip.

When
we got back, Ethan, Bree, and the twins were waiting for us in the pizzeria.
The place was full and it smelled heavenly. Exhausted and hungry, I collapsed
onto a chair.

»So,
how was it?« asked Ethan as he studied the menu. Not that the selection on
offer was anything new to him; after all, there weren’t many options here on
the island for eating out.

»Great,«
we all answered, practically in unison.

Bree
beamed at me. »I knew you’d like the lake.«

»Well,
I wouldn’t say it was the lake she liked,« murmured Amelie behind her menu. I
gave her a kick under the table and she shot me a conspiratorial look.

I
ordered a mushroom pizza and a coke.

In
good spirits, we ate our pizzas then ordered a large portion of tiramisu as
dessert. We talked about all sorts of things, and for the first time in weeks,
I felt really happy.

Chapter Six

»Bree,
would it be okay if I go to the Ericksons’ this afternoon? I’d really like to
look at a picture of my mother that Sophie told me about recently.«

I
tried to formulate my question as innocently as possible. Calum hadn’t been at
swim training yesterday, and I hadn’t seen him at school for a whole week. I
was getting more and more agitated by the day. The fluttering sensation in my
stomach was driving me mad, and I was constantly thinking about last Saturday,
about his words, his touch. How would he behave when I saw him again?

»Yes,
of course, I’m sure Dr. Erickson and Sophie would love that. I’ll call them in
a bit and let them know.« Bree smiled, making me feel guilty. After all, she
couldn’t possibly know that the main reason I wanted to go to the parsonage was
to see Calum.

At
school, I was so excited about the coming afternoon that I couldn’t concentrate
in class, and promptly failed a surprise math test.

When
we got home, Bree had left a note in the kitchen: »Emma, the Ericksons are
expecting you at five for tea. Have fun.«

It
was just half-past three now, so I still had an hour and a half to wait.
Knowing the time would drag on endlessly, I decided to do my homework. That
way, at least I would be putting the time to good use. Once I was finished, I
took out my art folder and looked for the drawings I was planning to take to
the Ericksons’. I wanted to frame two or three of them to hang in my room, but
hadn’t gotten around to it so far. It was difficult to decide on which ones.

I
eventually picked out a portrait of my mother, three landscapes I had done back
at home, and my first drawing here, of the sea.

I
picked out a clean pair of jeans and a light blue pullover, combed my hair and
put on some lip gloss. Looking in the mirror, I was content with the result.
The shadows beneath my eyes had faded over the last few weeks, and the spring
sunshine had dusted my skin with soft bronze.

At
around half past four, I set off, aiming to be at the parsonage a few minutes
before five. The name ‘parsonage’ was misleading, for no parson had lived there
for more than a hundred and fifty years. The house had belonged to the Erickson
family for generations. I took a deep breath and rang the old-fashioned
doorbell. A clear ring sounded out. As I waited, I tugged at the fine silver
chain I was wearing around my neck. The door opened and Calum stood before me,
looking far too good in his jeans and ivory-colored, slim-fitting pullover. All
at once, my confidence in my own appearance vanished and I felt plain.

My
anxious expression clearly amused him, for he smiled. »I believe you’d like to
come in and drink tea with us.«

I
was still focusing on the ‘us’ when he gently freed my hand from its grip
around the necklace and pulled me into the spacious hallway.

»Be
careful with that, you might break the chain.«

I
shook my hand free of his and answered more petulantly than was necessary: »I
can look after myself, thank you.«

He
gave me a startled look. I went bright red.

»Sorry,«
I stammered. »I’m not normally rude like that.«

He
looked at me. »Hmm, I’ll try to ignore your improper comments in future then.«

Was
he making fun of me?

»I
had a lovely time at the lake,« he continued.

I
nodded and stared down at my feet.

»Would
you like to come in now?« he asked again. I stepped inside.

The
interior of the house was almost more impressive than its exterior. Where other
people would have tapestries or pictures on the walls, here there were
bookshelves. It smelled deliciously of old paper and leather.

»Where
have you been hiding all week?« I asked, choosing to pose the most urgent
question while we were still alone.

»It
was a private matter,« he answered briefly, walking into the kitchen.

Dr.
Erickson greeted me, and Sophie ushered me towards an armchair in the living
room. There was a bookcase on every wall, even in here. And there were also
piles upon piles of books on the floor. Aside from in a library, I had never
seen so many books.

The
table was set with delicate porcelain crockery, and there was a feast of
delicate little sandwiches and homemade scones laid out.

»Calum,
would you pour the tea please?« asked Sophie. He nodded and poured the brew
into the cups. A delicious smell wafted up to my nose. He looked at me and
smiled. Embarrassed but relieved, I smiled back. Clearly he wasn’t insulted or
angry. But the most important thing was that, by the looks of it, he intended
to spend the afternoon with us.

We
drank tea, ate the baked goodies and chatted. We told stories about school and
joked about our teachers. Dr. Erickson told us about his walks over the island
and invited me to accompany him sometime.

»So
now show us these drawings of yours,« he requested. I had almost forgotten;
time had raced past and it was already starting to get dark outside. I reached
for my folder and handed him one picture after the other. He looked at the
portrait of my mother for a long time, tracing his finger gently over the lines
of her face.

»She
was a wonderful woman,« he said raptly. Out of the corner of my eye, I could
see Calum looking at me.

Then
he took the picture from Dr. Erickson’s hand. »It’s beautiful,« he established.

The
other pictures were studied by each of them in turn.

»I’d
really like to get them framed,« I said as I packed the pictures away. »Do you
know where I could do that?«

»Oh,
we can do that for you. Calum’s really good at things like that.«

I
looked at Calum. I certainly had nothing against the prospect of spending some
more time with him.

»Come
on, I’ll show you a few frames,« he said. »I’m sure we’ll find something.«

Sophie
smiled at me. »I’ll call Bree and tell her you’re having dinner with us and
will be back later. Calum can drive you home afterwards.«

My
heart began to pound with excitement at the prospect of being alone with him.
For a second, I was afraid that everyone in the room could hear it.

Dr.
Erickson and Calum guided me out into the huge garden behind the house. A vast
variety of flowers was blooming, most of which I had never seen before. We
walked through the garden, which looked magical in the fading light, to an old warped
shed at the edge of the vegetable patch. It was overgrown with ivy. Calum
opened the big, creaky wooden door and we stepped in. I was met by the smell of
freshly cut wood, paint and turpentine. The last rays of sunlight stretched
across the room, and tiny dust particles were floating through the air. I
looked around in amazement; it was like something from an old movie. There were
travel mementos hanging on the bare brick walls, a variety of masks, pictures,
and an ancient-looking wooden cross. On one wall, there was an old bridle and
at least twenty rusty horseshoes.

»My
good luck charms,« smiled Dr. Erickson, noticing my amazed expression. »They’re
all from different countries.«