Catalyst (A Tethered Novel)

by Jennifer Snyder

  “Morning,” I replied as I stretched my sore limbs out.

  “I learned something about you last night.”

  “Really, and what’s that?” I grinned a little lopsidedly, expecting some smartass comment regarding what we’d been doing last night that would no doubt make me blush.

  “You snore.”

  “What!” I sat up in bed some. “I do not.”

  Kace laughed loudly, the rich rumble vibrated through my chest. “I’m teasing. Well, not really…you are sort of a mouth breather.”

  Laughing, I slapped him on the chest, harder than I’d intended, and crawled out of bed. The desire to cover myself up with a sheet or something before walking to my dresser for some clothes gnawed at my insides, but I suppressed it and straightened my back as I crossed the room. Kace’s eyes were on me, I could feel them, and I prayed my face didn’t betray me with a tinge of color when I turned back around. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t seen last night, but still. There was something embarrassing about it. I’d never been one who oozed confidence in her body, especially not while naked.

  “And where are you going?” he asked.

  “To take a shower,” I said as I riffled through my underwear drawer, searching for something a little sexier than the granny panties that rested on top.

  “Can I join you?”

  I bit my bottom lip to suppress a smile. “I guess.”

  After our shower, and a repeat of last night, Kace took me to breakfast at a little restaurant called Putman’s Diner. It was small and reminded me of the mom and pop style diners back home.

  “So, is this place magickal too?” I asked as we seated ourselves at a booth near the back close to a window.

  Kace shook his head. “Nope, not at all, just plain good food.”

  I glanced around at the place. It was a little old-fashioned, a little run-down, but homey feeling as well. The floors were a fifties-style black and white tile. The beige walls—that could use another coat or two of paint—were framed with black wainscoting in places, and there wasn’t a single ocean-themed decoration in the entire restaurant. This seemed refreshing to me, because I’d always thought the whole beach theme was overrated, and in some cases just plain tacky, especially when in a beach town.

  I liked the place already and I hadn’t tasted a single bite of food yet.

  “Must be a pretty good place to eat since it’s still open then,” I said quietly as I continued to look around.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Kace asked, sounding a little thrown off.

  I looked at him. His brows were drawn together, and I thought he’d never looked sexier than he did now, while he was all confused.

  “I just mean, with all of the unfair advantages Collette’s and Paisley’s have over it, it would have to be good food to stay open.”

  Kace nodded. “True, I’ve never really thought about it that way.”

  Our waitress came and took our drink orders, while handing us two menus. Everything sounded good to me right about now; I was famished. Settling on a stack of blueberry pancakes with syrup and butter on top, I took a sip of my orange juice through a straw and began to study Kace instead of the menu.

  “Still like what you see as much as you did last night?” he asked with a smile, his eyes never leaving his menu while he spoke.

  “I’m still undecided,” I teased as I sat back against the booth and crossed my arms over my chest.

  His mouth dropped open in mock hurt, and he set his menu down to lean against the table. “Ouch, most girls at least try me out twice before they decide there must be a glitch in me someplace and hit the road before I reveal it.”

  “You sound bitter,” I noticed and wondered if he was feeling a little insecure today. This made me smile. It wasn’t every day you saw a guy as good-looking as him feeling insecure.

  “Nah, not bitter. Just honest.” He leaned back and cleared his throat as his right hand smoothed over his stubbly chin. “So, what’s your answer? Don’t just leave me hanging.”

  “Jury is still out,” I said in a teasing tone, enjoying toying with him and watching him squirm. “Maybe I’ll let you know after breakfast.”

  “Ah, so you’re one of those, are you?” He shook his finger at me and grinned.

  “Enlighten me on what one of those I am this time.”

  “The type who likes to get a free meal the next morning before they bolt. Which is also the type who keeps all gifts given during the relationship no matter what. Sound like you?”

  I flashed him my most sinful look. “Not necessarily.”

  Our waitress came to take our order before Kace could respond, but from the look on his face, I could tell it had been something cocky.

  “Wouldn’t matter even if you were. I’m willing to take my chances with you,” he whispered once our waitress had walked away.

  I smiled and dropped my eyes to my orange juice, but didn’t respond. God, I was falling fast. I wished Vera was here to tell me if this was just a typical rebound relationship, or if it was actually leaning toward something more. Right now, I couldn’t be sure, and she had always been an expert of sorts in that area.

  “So…do you work or are you in school?” I asked as I twirled my straw around in my orange juice.

  Kace cocked an eyebrow at me. “Ah, so you wanna get to know me a little better so you can decide whether to keep me or not. I see where this is going.” He grinned. “I work at my parents’ hotel down by the beach, but I’ll be attending college again in the fall.”

  My stomach sank. Everyone seemed to have a plan except me.

  “What are you going for?” I couldn’t remember the name of the college, but I did remember passing signs for one on my way here.

  “Business, of course. I’ll probably just end up taking over my parents’ hotel in a few years.”

  “Gee, don’t sound so excited about it,” I teased.

  Kace shrugged. “Well, there really isn’t anything I want to do at the moment, and taking over for them seems like an easy future. I don’t want to waste my time being undecided, you know? Might as well do something while I try to figure everything else out.”

  I knew exactly what he meant. Problem was I didn’t just want to fall back on my family’s business. I guess I was one of those who was content to just waste time while what I wanted to do in life came to me. It was better than going to school for something I didn’t really want to do or going to school just for the sake of filling in that time of my day. I didn’t want to be the type who spent ten years of their life in school only to finally graduate with a cosmetology degree or something else that would have taken a fraction of the time and money they’d spent to get it.

  “What about you? What are your plans for the future?” Kace asked.

  “I really don’t know. All I know for sure is I’m here for the summer. After that, well…I haven’t thought that far ahead yet.” Part lie. Part truth. I’d thought about after; I just hadn’t decided on anything worth mentioning yet.

  “Well, maybe you’ll figure it out while you’re here. Craven isn’t the best school in the U.S., but it is decent. For a junior college, that is.”

  “I might look into it.” I shrugged, wishing we could talk about something else now. College talk always seemed to make me nervous.

  It felt like once I’d graduated high school, everyone instantly began to harp on me about what I planned on doing next, like I wasn’t allowed to breathe for a moment and enjoy the fact that high school was over and I had survived. Nope. Everyone expected me to just jump headfirst into the next phase of my life. Since I didn’t, I was positive I’d been labeled a slacker. Maybe I was a slacker when it came to life. So what. Aren’t we all allowed to have our moments?

  “I think Callie is the only one of us who’s going for something unrelated to business. She decided a while back she wasn’t taking over her mom’s shop. Instead, she’s going to open up her own vet place, or so she says. This fall will be her first semester at
Craven,” Kace continued.

  “That’s cool,” I said as I watched our food make its way toward our table and hoped a change of subject would come along with it.

  After breakfast, Kace held my hand in his as we exited the diner and headed toward his car. The warmth his touch always awakened inside of me wrapped around my hand and began to travel up my arm. A light breeze blew, ruffling my hair and caressing my skin. The smell of seafood mixed with some kind of bread clung heavily to the air, and I wondered where it was coming from. It was then that I realized which restaurant we were just down the street from—Fisherman’s Brew. A slight shiver ran down my spine as I glanced at the building.

  I caught sight of Theo as he climbed out of a black truck. It looked familiar somehow. Suddenly it dawned on me why: I’d seen it in my vision. Theo turned and looked directly at me, almost as though he could feel my eyes on him even with the distance between us. I didn’t have to be close to him to know how dangerously dark his caramel-colored eyes would be right now. A coldness slithered through me at the thought of what he’d left on my doorstep. He’d been in my house while I was there, and I hadn’t even known it.

  “What’s the matter? Why did you stop?” Kace asked. I hadn’t realized I’d stopped walking until he’d said something. He followed my gaze. “Oh. You know, I really should go over there and say something to that son of a bitch.”

  The anger flaring in Kace’s words startled me. There was nothing I wanted more than to march over there and ask Theo who he’d done the Hotfoot spell for—his family or someone else—but something kept me at bay. The sinister disposition of his features, maybe. The fear that confronting him would only instigate the situation further. Both of those things combined together most likely.

  “No, don’t,” I said, glancing at Kace. “Please, don’t. Let’s not ruin a perfectly good morning with drama.”

  “Fine, BUT HE BETTER NOT MESS WITH YOU AGAIN REGARDLESS OF WHO’S PAYING HIM,” Kace shouted, making sure Theo heard him.

  A family who looked as though they were vacationing, due to their sunburned features and wild attire, stopped walking and stared at us for a moment before passing by us cautiously.

  I tugged on Kace’s arm. “Come on, let’s go.”

  Still feeling Theo’s eyes on me as we started walking toward Kace’s car again, I glanced back over my shoulder toward Fisherman’s Brew. He still stood in the same spot. His hands seemed to be clenched into fists at his sides, and I couldn’t be sure, but he appeared to be smirking at either me or Kace. My stomach felt like I’d just eaten ten tons of rocks as I climbed into Kace’s car, hoping the menacing glare of Theo’s was directed toward Kace’s reaction to him and not a sign that he was plotting something else for me. Or worse, that he’d added Kace to his must-leave-town list.

  Kace left shortly after he’d brought me back to my place, saying he had to head home and get changed into his work uniform. He did, however, manage to do a thorough sweep of the house for any signs of Hoodoo magick that might be used against me in any way. Without a revealer spell, I wasn’t so sure he’d be able to pick up on anything though. But what did I know? I’d only been at this for a few days.

  After he’d left, I called my mom to check in and then I called Vera. She’d answered on the fifth ring, when I had begun to ready myself for leaving a message.

  “Hello?” she answered, sounding out of breath, as if she’d had to frantically search for her phone before answering. This was common with her. She was always losing her phone.

  “Hey,” I said.

  “Oh my God, I was wondering when you were going to take the time out of your busy, working-girl life to call me.”

  I smiled. “Yeah, yeah. You do know the phone works both ways, right?”

  “Of course, but it makes me feel good when I’m the one people call and not the other way around,” she said. I knew there was a bit of truth to her statement. She wasn’t just saying it to be funny, and I felt a slight pang of guilt for not calling her sooner. “So, how’s the beach?”

  “Honestly, I haven’t hung out there since you left.”

  “Why the hell not?” She scoffed.

  God, I missed her.

  “I just haven’t.” I laughed. “I worked yesterday and I’ve been hanging out with Kace and stuff so I haven’t had the time.”

  Silence filled the phone and I thought she’d hung up for a second. “You’ve been hanging out with Kace? Elaborate please.”

  I chuckled. “Well, we met up yesterday after I got off work and…had dinner.” I’d nearly forgotten I couldn’t tell her about all the magick stuff. Not that anyone had told me I couldn’t per say, it was just one of those unspoken rules reinforced by common sense. There was no way she’d believe me, I knew this.

  “Dinner, huh? Was this at a restaurant? Did he come back to your place? Stop being so flipping cryptic and give me some damn details!”

  I laughed. “We actually ordered in…from my house. There was some wine involved and a little kissing.” My cheeks flushed. Talking about sex was not something I was comfortable with. Vera, on the other hand, could go into some serious detail and never bat an eyelash.

  “And?” she prompted. “Did you guys screw?”

  I smiled and shook my head. Leave it to her to be completely blunt.

  “Well…maybe just a little bit.” My face scrunched up and flamed all at the same time. I could feel its hotness move down my neck to my chest as I waited for her to press for more details.

  “No, there is no little bit. It’s either yes or no…just like was it good or bad…there are no in-betweens here,” she insisted.

  “Yes and good,” I said, answering both questions at once.

  “BAM! What did I tell you? That you were going to have a hot fisherman fling at some point during your stay there. I’m proud of you!” She squealed. “I swear, I need to be your freaking personal psychic or something.”

  I rolled my eyes, embarrassed as all get out. “Yep, you sure did.”

  We talked for a while longer after my mortifying confession and then she said she had to go. I hung up with a grimace. I was feeling homesick, but not enough to leave. Slipping into some sandals, I decided to head out to the beach for a walk.

  I crossed the wooden bridge over the shrubs and sand dunes that led down to the beach. It was more crowded than the last time I’d been, but I didn’t mind. Being around people was nice sometimes. I slipped my sandals off and hung them from my fingertips once I’d reached the soft sand. Weaving my way through the clusters of people either sitting in chairs beneath umbrellas or laid out on towels soaking up the sun, I made my way down to the water’s edge. I turned until I was facing the sun and began walking.

  Closing my eyes as I walked, I listened to the crashing waves, the seagulls as they cried out overhead, the people laughing and talking, and the barking of someone’s dog in the distance. Life. That was what surrounded me. I smiled as I felt the sun heating my face, soaking into my pores and refreshing my soul. The warm water rippled around my ankles as I walked, and I felt myself relax fully.

  Something scratchy brushed against my bare ankle, startling me, and I snapped my eyes open. My hands flew to my chest, and I laughed out loud at how stupid I felt when I realized it was only a strand of seaweed. I’d never imagined it would feel so prickly and scratchy. One sandal dropped from my grip and landed with a slap across the skim of water lapping at my feet. The water pulled out just at that moment, taking my sandal with it. I lunged, but the water was too fast. Either that or my reflexes were too slow. The sun had relaxed me to a near Jell-O-like state, so they were both feasible excuses for why I couldn’t reach it in time.

  “Here,” a soft, familiar voice called as a delicate hand handed me my soaked sandal.

  I glanced up, meeting a set of bright blue eyes—Callie. “Oh, hey. Thanks, it sort of got away from me.”

  “Not a problem.” She smiled. “It happens. You wouldn’t believe some of the things people lose here. I’
ve found umpteen pairs of sunglasses, earrings, sandals, loads of crazy stuff. I used to make a game of it when I was little. Coming here was like a treasure hunt almost, because you never knew what you would find. Sorry, I’m rambling.” Her cheeks turned a faint shade of pink, and she dropped her eyes to the water we stood in.

  “It’s fine. I bet all sorts of oddities wash up all the time,” I said.

  Callie smiled. Her light blue bikini set off her eyes, and I noticed for the first time she had freckles splashed across the bridge of her nose. She was gorgeous. The type of girl who instantly made you remember all of your flaws.

  “Where are you headed to? Just out walking?” she asked shyly.

  “Yeah, Kace had to work and well…I’m sure you heard about my friend, Vera, leaving.”

  She pursed her lips together and nodded. “I did. Adam told me. I hope you don’t mind. He and Kace are like brothers. They can’t keep a secret, and I hear everything because I’m always hanging out at their apartment.”

  “They have an apartment together?” I’d asked if he went to school and even what his favorite color was, but I had completely forgotten to ask if he lived at home still.

  Callie nodded. She turned around and glanced at something over her shoulder, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand. “Yeah. They got a place over the summer last year. Adam doesn’t really get along with his parents all the time, and Kace wanted something a little closer to Craven because his parents’ house is sort of out there, so becoming roomies was a win-win for both of them.”

  “Cool,” I said just as a little girl dressed in a red and white polka dot bathing suit came splashing up to us. She wrapped her arms around Callie’s legs and hugged her tightly.

  “Brayden won’t stop splashing me in the eyes.” She whined.

  Callie looked back over her shoulder. There was a little boy about eight, I guessed, with a devilish grin plastered on his face staring at us.

  I chucked. “That must be Brayden, huh?”

  “Yeah.” Callie tried to stifle a grin, but it didn’t work. “Payton, tell Brayden I said to stop or else he gets no ice cream when we leave.”