by Linda Palmer
“That makes sense, but what, I honestly don’t know, though I’m pretty sure we can mark the Cherufe and Peuchen off the list.” Kit played with my hair, which fell halfway down my back when I wore it loose and straight. “What do you think of Phil’s offer?”
“In a perfect world it would be amazing. I could travel, something I’ve always loved doing, and have all sorts of adventures, just like my parents. But this isn’t that world. You have a job you’ve wanted half your life. I have Hot Cakes.”
“I haven’t accepted the job offer.”
“But you will.”
Kit didn’t answer.
I sat and looked down at him. “You will, right?”
“Actually…Phil’s idea is more tempting.”
“What!”
“Look at it from my perspective, Boone. I still get to travel to exotic locations and photograph the wild, only I get to do it with you. Plus there’s a pay raise to consider. Thirty thousand more than World Wonders is promising.”
“That much, huh?”
“That much. What about you? Can you give up Hot Cakes? The bills, the hours, the stress?”
“When you put it that way…” I still hesitated. “Can you give up honest reporting of the who, what, when, and where of planet earth?”
He grinned. “Others can do that. Just think. You could pay off your parents, sell the business, and hit the road with me. Imagine sleeping together under the wide open sky. We’ll avoid caves, of course.”
“I’m so over caves.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“So what do you say?”
I hesitated before answering. “Are you doing this for you or me?” I didn’t want him to sacrifice his dreams.
“I’m doing it for you and me. Are you in?”
“Absolutely.”
A Friday morning phone call to Phil really got the ball rolling. He promised to get a contract to us the following week. I next called my folks. They weren’t as surprised as I’d expected. Suspicious as to why, I asked flat out. Mom told me that she and Dad had suggested the new series to Phil in the first place.
I should’ve known.
Their interference didn’t really bother me. Although independent to the nth degree, I was too damn happy to be mad.
I really hated to break the news to Leslie and Cherie. When I told them I’d be closing in a month and shared my good news, Cherie got a little huffy and mumbled something about pounding the pavement to look for another job. I felt pretty bad…until Leslie spoke up.
“Will you sell Hot Cakes to me? I’d have to pay it out, but I think I could make a go of the business.”
Based on what she’d accomplished during my absence, I did, too. Was her ‘paying it out’ a viable option? I decided I’d find a way to make sure it was.
By Sunday morning things were falling into place. Kit had officially turned down the World Wonders offer. I had officially sold Hot Cakes to Leslie, though I’d be hanging out a while to teach her some of my techniques. She quickly proved she had skills, so I wasn’t very surprised when she confessed that sculpting had been a hobby for years. Crafting a cake wasn’t that different. As for Phil, he’d already assigned his tech team to begin promotion of the series and poll future—we hoped—viewers regarding the legends they wanted us to prove or debunk. I couldn’t wait to see how that turned out.
The best part was the snappy new title of our series: “Cryptid Unscripted.”
Yeah, perfect.
Sunday night, Hanna came home. To say she was thrilled to find Kit and I sharing a bed didn’t begin to go there. I’d never seen her so ecstatic. She updated us on her dad and grandmother. We told her about our new jobs. The three of us talked until midnight.
I slept in Kit’s arms that night, a habit easily formed with no regrets.
I hiked through the dense Philippine jungle, my eye on the lookout for deadly insects and venomous snakes. Kit followed, his trusty camera recording our trek. Suddenly something blocked the path. No, not something. Someone.
Ben.
“You two are looking very cozy thanks to me.” He gave us a smug smile.
“I grudgingly give you full credit,” I said.
Kit lowered his camera. “What are you doing here?”
“Just checking in, bro. What’s the cryptid-du-jour?”
I answered. “The manananggal. Ever heard of it?”
“Scary looking bitch? Has a knack for disconnecting at the waist and growing bat wings so she can fly into the night and wreak havoc?”
“That would be her.” Kit’s tone was dry.
“Yeah, I have heard of it. Don’t be surprised if you spot the old hag. I know for a fact that she hangs out around here. Good luck with your series, by the way. I’m feeling pretty confident of your success. In fact, I predict you’ll find every monster anyone has ever heard of.”
With a sly wink, he vanished.
I woke with a gasp and sat straight up. A glance to my left revealed Kit lying nearby, wide awake and waiting for my reaction to my dream, the first he’d starred in since I realized he could. “Ben sounded pretty sure we’ll find what we’re looking for.”
Kit sighed. “He did, didn’t he?”
“Oh God. Do you think he’d—”
“Count on it.”
About the Author
Linda Palmer has always had a vivid imagination and loved creating elaborate scenarios when playing with her sisters and friends as a child. She began writing for pleasure in the third grade, mostly poetry, and has letters from her grade school teachers predicting she’d be an author. Her poems eventually became short stories; her short stories became books. And even though a writing career was never actually a dream, it was something she pursued with intent after joining a writer’s group. Silhouette Books published Linda’s first novel in l989 and the next twenty over a ten-year period (writing as Linda Varner). In 1999 she took a break to take care of her family, but learned that she couldn’t not write and began again, changing her genre to young adult/new adult paranormal romance. She has now written over forty full-length novels as well as numerous novellas and short stories. There are always more in the works.
Linda was a Romance Writers of America finalist twice and won the 2011 and 2012 EPIC eBook awards in the Young Adult category. She married her junior high school sweetheart many years ago and lives in Arkansas, USA, with her family. Her website is www.lindavpalmer.com. Facebook her: Linda Varner Palmer. Twitter @ lvarnerpalmer.
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Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
About the Author