Shadowlands (Shadowlands 1)

“And you are?” my father asked pleasantly.

“Dad, this is Krista,” Darcy piped up. “The party’s at her house.”

“Oh,” my father said, clearing his throat. “Nice to meet you, Krista. Will there be adults at this party?”

“Dad!” Darcy said through her teeth.

“Oh, of course!” Krista replied, giggling. “My mom’s the mayor, so she always makes sur

e to let the police know when my brother and I hold a party. She’s totally overprotective, so they usually send a couple of officers to sort of ‘police the perimeter,’” she said, adding some air quotes. “They’re, like, the tamest parties ever.” Then she looked at me and Darcy and colored. “But still fun!”

“See?” I said, raising my eyebrows. “A party with police presence. Doesn’t get any safer than that, right, Darcy?”

“Totally!” Darcy exclaimed.

“You have to let them come, Mr. Thayer,” Krista said, touching my father’s arm. I glanced at her leather bracelet, which looked stiff in comparison to her brother’s soft, broken-in one. “I’m dying to get to know Rory better.” She grinned at me.

I forced myself to smile back even though the last thing I wanted was for Krista to fire questions at me all night. I couldn’t help but feel like she was looking for a reason to get close to me. For something to bind us together. She held my gaze, and a smattering of goose bumps popped out along my arms.

“All right. If it’s at the mayor’s house, I’m sure it’ll be fine,” my father said finally. “You girls can go.”

“Yay! Thank you thank you thank you!” Darcy cheered.

I blew out a breath. “Thanks, Dad.”

“Thank you, Mr. Thayer!” Krista said.

My father smiled. Maybe he was realizing it had been a long time since he’d done anything to make so many people happy at once.

“You guys let me know if you need anything, okay?” Krista said. “I’ll be right behind the counter!”

She practically skipped away, her skirt flouncing, and grabbed the old-school phone behind the counter. After dialing quickly, she turned her back to us to whisper to whoever was on the opposite end. When I heard her squeal, I knew she was telling someone that we’d decided to come to the party. I wondered if it was Tristan. I wondered if he was smiling.

And I wondered why I cared.

I jogged down the street leading to the docks that afternoon, telling myself that I wasn’t going this way because I wanted to bump into Tristan. I was going this way because I wanted to check out the island, I wanted to try different running routes—to be somewhere populated, to feel slightly safer on my first solo run since Nell.

But as I took the corner and headed toward the Thirsty Swan, my heart fluttered with nerves and I found myself wondering if I was overly sweaty, if my face was too red, if—oh god—what if I smelled?

What the hell was I thinking, coming down here?

I upped my pace as I passed by the bar, a round of laughter wafting out to engulf me. A glimpse inside told me nothing. All I saw was a blur of faces, the lights of the jukebox, and someone in shadow keeping bar. I jogged past the alleyway between the bar and a restaurant next door called the Crab Shack and paused, bracing my hands above my knees and trying to catch my breath. I couldn’t believe I’d run all the way down here for nothing. Maybe I should just turn around and walk to the general store right now, where I could promptly nurse my inner humiliation with a nice, big bowl of ice cream.

I stood up straight and was about to put my plan into action, when a door nearby squealed open and I heard Tristan’s voice.

“All I’m saying is you have to back off her a little.”

My heart skipped about two thousand beats. Whoever he was talking to, they were in the alleyway just around the corner from where I was standing. I leaned back against the wall of the Crab Shack and, as carefully as I could, glimpsed around the corner. Krista stood in front of Tristan in the empty, clean-swept alley, still in her general store uniform. She said something in reply that I couldn’t make out.

Tristan sighed heavily. “I understand why you’re so—”

The door to the Crab Shack opened and slammed, drowning out his next few words. I cursed under my breath and tried to look natural as a group of young guys strolled out the door and loped past me.

“…want to get to know her. That’s all,” Krista was saying when I was able to tune in again.

“I get it, but you’re starting to freak her out,” Tristan replied. “I can tell.”

“How do you know you’re not the one freaking her out?” Krista demanded.