by Nancy Holder
Cordelia continued past the front of the house, driving the length of the curving structure, then pulled around to the back and parked next to a couple of other cars—a Mercedes and a Volvo SUV. As she turned the engine off, she heaved a sigh. Her hands dropped to her lap, and Katelyn froze in the middle of opening her door.
“What’s wrong?” Katelyn asked.
“It looks like my sisters are visiting.” Cordelia’s voice was low, hushed as she studied the two cars.
“Is that a problem?”
“Yeah. I’d give anything to be an only child.”
“I guess the grass is always greener,” Katelyn said, suppressing a nervous laugh. “I always wanted a sister.”
“You can have both of mine,” Cordelia said with a weak smile. She climbed out of the cab and headed for the back door, which was solid wood.
Katelyn jumped down and shut the truck door, then hastily followed her friend into the house. Inside, she found herself in a sort of courtyard with a trickling fountain and a skylight overhead. She looked around admiringly as Cordelia nervously scanned left and right. There were more of the pretty purple flowers in pots.
Katelyn heard trilling laughter and the sound of high heels clicking on the floor.
“Oh, crap,” Cordelia muttered.
Two older girls approached, one blond and the other brunette, and their resemblance to Cordelia was startling.
The blonde was wearing tight bronze leather pants and a sleeveless black blouse that showed off her curves. On her feet were super-high metallic heels with leather straps that wrapped up around her ankles, and chains laden with chunks of amber hung around her neck. Her makeup was perfectly applied, all smoky eyes and shimmering lips.
The brunette had on a black pencil mini, which looked like it was made of raw silk, and a sleeveless red mock turtleneck knit top. But unlike her sister, she was as hip-free and flat as a model. Her makeup was heavy and elaborate, her lips deep scarlet.
Cordelia crossed her arms in a defensive posture as the two approached. Something about how they walked over made Katelyn wonder if it had been a mistake not asking her grandfather if Cordelia could come to their house instead. The two were eyeing her in a way that made Katelyn even more uncomfortable than the staring animal heads at home did. What her grandfather had said the night before about predators and prey came back to her. These women definitely made her feel like prey.
They walked up and, instead of introducing themselves, continued moving around, taking in Katelyn from head to toe.
“Well, well, look what our little sister dragged home,” the brunette drawled.
“It looks like a stranger,” the blonde said.
It?
They moved gracefully. Katelyn fought down an instinctive reaction to turn in a circle, too, tracking them the way they seemed to be tracking her.
“Smells like a stranger,” the brunette confirmed.
“Kat, these are my sisters, Arial and Regan.” Cordelia sounded unhappy, which Katelyn understood, because she was feeling the same way.
“Um, o-kay,” Katelyn said.
“Hear that voice, Regan? It sounds like a stranger, too,” the blonde—Arial—said.
What kind of freaks are they? Katelyn thought as they continued to circle her. Is this some result of banjo inbreeding?
Before Katelyn could say anything, Arial and Regan burst into laughter.
“Now, dear, don’t scare the children,” a tall, thin guy with tired gray eyes said as he walked into the room. He looked to be midtwenties, but maybe older. It was hard to say.
“Albert, what are you doing here?” Cordelia asked with a short relieved laugh. She clearly liked him more than her sisters.
“I’ve come to collect my wife,” he said.
Arial sauntered over to him. “Killjoy,” she said, pouting.
He gave her a weak smile. “You should be happy if I kill anything, pet.” He turned to Katelyn and stuck out a hand. “I’m Al Fontaine. You must be a friend of Cordelia’s from school.” His smile was strained but his manner was pleasant.
Bemused, Katelyn shook hands with him. “Nice to meet you,” she said, hearing her emphasis after the fact. His tired face lit up one or two watts, and he chuckled.
“Come on, Kat, let’s go to my room,” Cordelia said, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her quickly away.
Katelyn was relieved to get out of there, and as soon as they were out of earshot, she blurted, “What the hell was that?”
“They like to scare people, manipulate them,” Cordelia muttered as they entered a paneled corridor. “Don’t let them get to you. I try not to.”
Katelyn was embarrassed for her. Her sisters were freaks. “I can see why you said you wished you were an only child. I don’t blame you. For the first time in my life, I’m glad I’m sibling-free.”
Cordelia glanced back. “Well, then, they were good for something. That’s a switch.”
“Sorry,” Katelyn said, “that was mean of me.”
“Not even close, trust me,” Cordelia said. “Here’s my room.”
The room was about three times the size of Katelyn’s room at her grandfather’s. It was paneled in silvery wallpaper with lavender accents, very light and airy when compared to the dark, heavy furniture. The central focus was a carved canopy bed and, beside it, a full-length oval mirror on wooden clawed feet etched with a moon and a star. Cheerleading trophies covered the top of a chest of drawers. Pictures of Cordelia in her uniform and other girls in Wolf Springs Cheer regalia were everywhere.
Beyond the bureau, a sliding glass door led to a small patio and from there straight into the woods. Katelyn stared into the thick, shadowy blurs of pine needles and fiery autumn leaves. She wondered if Cordelia was forbidden to go into the woods as well. Given what had happened the night before, it seemed like a pretty good rule.
She turned to Cordelia, who was watching her expectantly.
“Nice,” Katelyn said. “You’ve got a lot of space.”
Cordelia smiled, but she was still tense. “Yeah. It’s a luxury, but I like my privacy.” She shrugged as if to apologize. “I’m weird that way.”
“Who doesn’t?” Katelyn asked. “I would kill to have this much space to myself.”
Cordelia plopped down on the bed and stretched out on her stomach, propping her chin up on her fists. “Tell me about L.A.”
Katelyn sat down on a wooden chair upholstered with gray tapestry fabric. It was nubby and rough but comfortable. What could she say: It’s so much better than here?
“Big. Busy. Plus, the ocean.” She hoped she kept the longing out of her voice. She didn’t want to insult Cordelia by dissing her hometown. Although, Katelyn’s impulse to make a friend of her had been dampened a bit by Paulette’s remarks in class.
“We have a lot of ponds. Okay, swampy bogs.” Cordelia wrinkled her nose. “And the river. When the snow starts melting, it practically is like an ocean.”
“Hmm,” Katelyn said neutrally, but inwardly quaked at the thought of living in snow. In Southern California, you had to make a deliberate effort to find snow.
“So what are your friends like?” Cordelia pressed, obviously eager for details.
“My best friend, Kimi, we did everything together. We were—are—like sisters,” she said, flinching at the use of the past tense. Kimi was still her best friend, and when she got back to L.A., things would be just the same as they used to be. Her eyes started tearing and her vision blurred. She needed to get the attention off herself before full-on tears came. “So who do you hang out with?”
Cordelia gestured to all the pictures and trophies. “Well, you know I used to be a cheerleader.” She slumped back on her bed, still watching Katelyn curiously. “Lately, though, I’ve just been spending a lot of time with my family.”
“Oh … that’s … cool,” Katelyn said, hoping for Cordelia’s sake that the rest of the family wasn’t like her sisters.
Cordelia grimaced. “My two cousins moved in a
few months ago when their father died. It’s been an adjustment for everyone—but you know, family.”
“Yeah.” She knew only too well. The only family she had left was a trigger-happy grandfather she couldn’t relate to. But Cordelia had obviously had a life here—one she’d put on hold. So they had that in common.
“So shall we get started?” Cordelia said, sitting up.
“Sure.” Katelyn was grateful for the topic change.
Cordelia dug some books out from underneath her bed while Katelyn fished in her backpack for the library book, which she still hadn’t told Mrs. Walker she’d taken.
“My trip to the library was a preemptive strike,” Cordelia announced. “I checked out a bunch of books before anyone else got to them. Most of the really good local stuff hasn’t made it onto the Internet yet.” She dropped the books on the bed and spread them around so that all the covers were visible.
Katelyn glanced at the titles of some books. “Arkansas and the Civil War. The People Rule: A History of Arkansas. This is the really good stuff?”
Cordelia grimaced. “Kind of boring, huh?”
“I thought we were going to do the school. Because it’s haunted?” Katelyn said, prompting her.
“Can’t. I saw Maria at the library and she and Jackson called dibs. Her aunt has some old yearbooks or something. I don’t think there’d be much left for us.”
“Well, what about some other ghost story? Tri—I heard there are all kinds of stories about scary stuff up here in the mountains.” She was determined not to mention Trick’s name around Cordelia again.
Making a face, Cordelia resolutely picked up a book. Katelyn read the title on the cover: A History of Arkansas: From Spanish Settlement to Prohibition. “I’m not really big on supernatural stuff,” she said apologetically. “I scare easily. My dad says I’m the biggest baby on the planet.”
“Oh. Well, what about your family? Do you have a big mystery? Where your granny’s special pumpkin pie recipe came from? Or when you came over from the Old Country, something like that?”
“Oh, gosh, we’re boring as heck,” Cordelia said with a smile, but her voice sounded a little strained. Katelyn picked up on it and wondered if maybe the Fenners had a scandalous past of some kind. Kimi’s mother had told Katelyn that people in the South took a lot of pride in their families—who “their people” were. Californians tended to be a lot more rootless.
“Maybe you can find something in this,” Cordelia said, handing the book over to Katelyn. “I guess I’m just not feeling like an investigative historian today.”
Clearly the unexpected appearance of Cordelia’s sisters had upset her. She seemed much more subdued than she had been at school. Glancing at the pictures of a laughing Cordelia with her cheer squad, Katelyn thought the Cordelia who sat across from her on the bed looked almost like a different person.
“I’ll give it a shot,” Katelyn said as Cordelia idly pulled out the handout for their project and read it. Katelyn flipped to the table of contents of the book and skimmed it. Her eyes widened with excitement when she came to “Buried Treasure.”
“Cordelia,” she said, “what about this?” She tapped her finger on the words. “Spanish treasure, outlaw booty, hidden mines.”
“Shake your booty,” Cordelia sang softly.
Katelyn thumbed her way to the chapter. She began to scan the text. “Spanish settlements … Let’s see.… Whoa, look at this. Did you know Hot Springs was run by the mob in the thirties? Hidden mines … gold mines. Oooh, a hidden gold mine.”
“That might be good,” Cordelia said. “There’s gold in these thar hills.”
Katelyn smiled and kept reading. Suddenly the words “Wolf Springs” popped out at her. She followed along and then read aloud. “ ‘The tiny Victorian village of Wolf Springs, a miniature jewel in the crown of the nearly untouched towns dotting the Ozarks, is well known by treasure-seekers for the lost silver mine called the Madre Vena.’ ” With a grin, she looked up at Cordelia. “Score!”
To her surprise, Cordelia looked a little pale, drawing up the left side of her mouth in an expression of distaste. “Silver? Gold’s … cooler.” She imitated Mr. Henderson’s un-Southern accent as she said the word.
“Yeah, but the Madre Vena mine is right here,” Katelyn pointed out, surprised Cordelia hadn’t made the connection. “It’s in Wolf Springs.”
“So they say,” Cordelia replied, sounding dubious. “How old is that book? It’s probably been found by now.”
“But if it hasn’t been, we should totally do it,” Katelyn insisted. “Didn’t you say Mr. Henderson was an archaeologist? He would love us.” She went back to the first couple of pages of the book. “This book’s only a year old,” she announced. “Oh, come on, let’s do it.”
“Well …,” Cordelia said, sounding reluctant. Then she swiveled her head suddenly, as though she’d heard something. “We should be going before it gets any later. We can talk about this in the truck. It’s a long drive.”
Katelyn frowned, puzzled. They’d just gotten there. What was the point in getting together if it was only for ten minutes?
“If we have extra time, we can hang at your place, right?” Cordelia said. Her voice rose a little at the end. She was even tenser than she’d been when she’d seen her sisters’ cars.
“Sure.” At least, Katelyn hoped it would be okay with her grandfather.
They packed up their bags and headed back toward the courtyard. As they crossed it, Katelyn heard the roar of a motorcycle pulling up outside.
They were almost to the door when it crashed open, making her jump. Framed in the doorway in front of a blaze of sunlight, a tall guy in aviator sunglasses froze. His face was sharply angled, his jaw square, and cheeks and chin stubbly with a five o’clock shadow. His wavy chestnut hair was flecked with gold. A black leather jacket stretched across broad shoulders; powerful thighs were encased in tight black jeans.
He raised a black-gloved hand, pulled off his sunglasses, and looked Katelyn over, eyes lingering. They were deep, deep blue, the color of a California summer. Katelyn’s heart began to pound. He was gorgeous, so sexy it almost hurt to look at him. He unzipped his jacket to reveal a simple black T-shirt pulled across his chest.
As though in slow motion he walked forward, pulling off his gloves, one finger at a time. Katelyn had to tilt back her head to look up at him when he stopped in front of her; he had her beat by at least a foot. Without taking his gaze off her, he stuffed the gloves in the pocket of his jacket.
“Kat, this is my cousin Justin. Justin, this is Kat. She’s new here.”
Katelyn held out her hand, willing him to take it just so she could feel his skin touching hers. His mouth twitched. He slid his hand around hers, consuming it, and gripped tight. Her skin tingled where it touched his and she parted her lips slightly. He was bending down toward her, his lips nearly touching her cheek. Then he inhaled sharply, as if he were catching his breath, and she jerked, but he kept tight hold of her hand.
What the heck? She blinked as he pulled away just enough to meet her eyes.
“Hello, Kat.” His voice was low and a little hoarse.
What did he just do? Was he going to kiss me?
He still held her hand in his, and as he continued to stare into her eyes, she felt an aching sensation in the pit of her stomach. She wanted with everything that was in her to throw her arms around his neck, press her body against his, and kiss his lips.
No, she didn’t just want to; she was going to. Her free hand was already moving up around his neck when she heard footsteps and a voice suddenly shouting, “Stranger!”
5
“Stranger!” the voice shouted again.
Justin pulled away and Katelyn sagged slightly even as she turned to identify the speaker. A guy with a thick neck that met his chin was standing just inside the door, dressed also in jeans and a leather jacket, a motorcycle helmet dangling from his left hand. His mouth was wide, and his eyes were like Ping-Pong ball
s. With his right hand he was jabbing his fingers at Katelyn. He began to make a soft whining noise of distress.
Cordelia moved swiftly to the newcomer’s side and gently took his arm. “I’m sorry, Jesse. I wasn’t expecting you home or I would have told you she was coming.” Her cheeks were red. “I thought you two were coming back tomorrow.”
Katelyn blinked, still slightly dazed, and forced herself to focus on Jesse. He looked a lot like Justin, although a bit shorter, and with fuller lips.
“Pretty stranger,” Jesse said, now grinning at her.
“Yes, Jesse,” Justin said without turning to look at him. “She is very pretty.”
Cordelia looked over at Katelyn. It was obvious that Cordelia hadn’t caught Katelyn’s reaction to Justin. And Katelyn was still so bewildered that she turned her back to him. Had Justin known she’d been on the verge of throwing herself at him? Her heart was thundering, and she was sweaty. And still very, very confused.
Okay, what just happened? she thought.
“Kat, I want you to meet my other cousin, Jesse,” Cordelia said. “Jesse, this is my friend Kat. She’s new here and needs friends.”
“Hello, Jesse,” Katelyn said softly, focusing her attention on him.
He didn’t appear to hear her. Katelyn took a step forward and repeated herself.
“The lady said hello,” Justin said. “She’s a nice lady. It’s okay.”
Finally Jesse lifted his eyes, took a couple of quick steps forward, and kissed her cheek, then retreated.
Startled, Katelyn looked at Cordelia. Cordelia made a grimace of apology, and Katelyn smiled to let her know she hadn’t minded. Then her glance flicked over to Justin. He was staring at her, the left side of his mouth quirked upward, a thumb looped in his front pocket.