either. He’d burst into tears at the first sign of trouble, more concerned with his dad finding out about the beers they’d lifted. Kelley had taken one look at the bone poking through Benny’s flesh and vomited back up the beer, before passing out and hitting his own head on a rock.
As a ghost hunting mission, it had been a complete failure. Getting Benny back down the hill with a concussion and trying to explain his friend’s broken leg hadn’t been a picnic either. His own father had seen right through their rather elaborate cover story and had delivered a blistering lecture followed by a grounding that had lasted the rest of the semester. A little harsh Kelley had felt, but the one little pearl of wisdom he had gained from their little adventure was don’t drink and ride.
The tree line began to thin out and beyond it he could see the clearing which led up to the huge imposing gray building. His hands began to sweat a little and his stomach began to roll. For a second, he’d felt like his sixteen-year-old self about to hurl up his contraband beer, but this time it had nothing to do with broken bones or torn flesh, it didn’t even have anything to do with the enormous creepy-ass house.
He hadn’t felt like this since he’d asked Nancy Kitteridge to Homecoming, well over a decade ago. He was moments from being face to face with a girl he really liked, and he was pretty certain he was about to make a complete idiot of himself, incidentally just like he had with Nancy. He hadn’t at the time realized his sneaker was untied and instead of being smooth and suave, he’d managed to trip over his own laces and crash into the water fountain, once again knocking himself out.
Come to think of it… he’d managed to knock himself unconscious with alarming frequency as a kid. Perhaps he had some sort of permanent brain damage. That was surely the only explanation for him driving out to the scariest spot on the island at nightfall, to see a girl he barely knew, and who may or may not end up thinking he was some sort of psychopath.
Still, he’d always had the luck of the devil, or so his uncle continuously told him. Sure, he’d knocked himself out rather ungraciously in front of the prettiest girl in school, but he’d come to, on the ground, with her peering over him in concern. She’d helped him to the nurse’s office, said yes to the dance and they’d dated for nearly four months until her parents decided they were moving to Wichita, of all places.
Randomly he found himself wondering what had happened to Nancy Kitteridge.
She was probably married with three kids by now. Most people his age were, with the exception of his brother who was almost up to five, but then again, he was cheating by having them in pairs. Not that Kelley had given any thought to marriage and kids. He’d been perfectly happy with his life just the way it was… until she’d walked through the door and ordered an eighteen-dollar steak for her dog.
It was like being hit with a lightning bolt.
He was like one of those dumb sheep who kept electrocuting themselves on the same stretch of fence and couldn’t wait to be zapped again. So, instead of waiting until a civilized hour and introducing himself properly, he was creeping through the rapidly darkening woods, well not creeping, stalking, no that sounded even worse… walking purposefully to her makeshift camp to… what exactly? Get to know her? Ask her out on a date? Propose marriage? Jesus, he really hadn’t thought this one through. This was probably why he was still single.
The trees parted and he stepped into the clearing. The light was all but gone, casting long shadows. A short distance away he could see a large dark truck parked on the grass; beside it was a tent and an open campfire. Sitting at the edge of the fire holding onto some kind of large cooking pan was the dark haired, golden skinned woman who’d ruthlessly consumed his thoughts for the past twenty-four hours.
He took a hesitant step forward and as he did a spicy, mouth-watering scent wafted toward him on the night breeze. Drawn toward her and the delicious smell his stomach growled, although whether that was due to the woman or the food, he wasn’t sure.
His gaze focused on her as he