Riley's Secret (A Moon's Glow Novel # 1)

by Smith, Christina

  The wind blew his hair in his eyes. “Nothing. I just know what you mean. It’s beautiful by the water at night. I love waking up looking out my window, watching the waves come in.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He turned his head and pointed.

  Following his gaze, I gasped. There was a cute little cottage nestled on the beach. I hadn’t even noticed it when we arrived. “You live here?”

  “Yes I do.”

  It was a log cabin with a large bay window and wraparound deck. I stood up, slipping on my flip-flops that I had discarded earlier and made my way to the porch. Before I took the first step up, I glanced at him to make sure I could continue.

  After he nodded, I climbed the rest of the way and opened the door to a cozy living room. The inside was framed with large faded wooden beams that featured a cathedral ceiling. The kitchen, dining and living room took up one open-concept area. The living room furniture was all placed around the window overlooking the lake. The kitchen was at the back, with white cupboards and a large marble island separating the rooms. To the left was an old mahogany dining set that looked like an antique.

  Off to the right of the sofa was a beautiful marble fireplace with a flat-screen TV above it. I was amazed that this was the home of an eighteen-year-old. “This is great. I can’t believe you live here by yourself.”

  “It was furnished when I moved in.”

  “It’s so comfortable here.” I fell onto the plush leather sofa, lifting my feet and placing them on the coffee table. The moon reflecting on the water caught my eye through the window. The glittering ripples of the silver-stroked waves were breathtaking. “Oh look, it’s a half moon.” I pointed out the window as he sat down beside me.

  “It’s called a waning crescent moon.”

  I raised a brow at him, wondering what he was talking about. “What is?”

  He nodded outside. “The moon. It was full two weeks ago. That’s what this phase is called. By this time next week it’ll be fully covered and that’s called the new moon.”

  I stared at him. “How do you know so much about the moon?”

  “I’m a bit of an astrology buff. Like you, I love staring up at the sky at night.”

  I gazed back out the window, watching the waves crash against a small wooden dock. “Did you hear everything my father said?” I asked, changing the subject. I had been worried about that the whole way over here. He was quiet during the ride and I was too mortified to say anything.

  “Yes.”

  “I’m so embarrassed. I can’t believe they’re my parents. We are nothing alike. I don’t feel like I belong anywhere in my life anymore. I’m not involved with my family.” I sat up, turning to face him. “You know, tonight was the first night my father has spoken to me since the fire. I no longer have Mandy and the rest of them. It doesn’t matter, though. I didn’t feel like I belonged with them either. Thank God for Lauren and the girls.”

  “You belong right here,” he said softly, pushing my head down onto his shoulder. I couldn’t help but feel butterflies dancing in my stomach. His shoulder was warm. The T-shirt he wore was soft and smelled of the outdoors in springtime.

  “Was my dad right about the insurance? Is everything covered? Do you know?”

  “Ah… the insurance company has paid them and they’ve started renovating. I’m just not sure about the rest. You know, furniture and clothes. They have nothing. We’ve been giving them some money out of petty cash, but we need to raise more. It could be months before the house is rebuilt, but they may not have anything to put in it.”

  “Ugh… God, life sucks.”

  “Sometimes it does, yes.” His voice vibrated against my hair; it was deep and soothing.

  I lifted my head from his shoulder, looking up at his vibrant blue eyes. “What am I going to do?”

  His eyebrows creased. “Well, at first I was sure you should tell the police what really happened. But now I don’t know.” I felt him gently rub the back of my neck in slow soft circles, his fingers leaving tingles along my skin.

  Maybe it was his touch that inspired me, because an idea suddenly formed in my mind. “What if there was a way to make them admit what they did and get good publicity?”

  “How?” He asked doubtfully.

  I smiled, took out my phone and dialed. “Hello, Mandy. I need to talk to you.”

  When I hung up the phone a few minutes later, Nate was gaping at me with wide eyes. “Do you think they’ll do it?”

  “I hope so. Mandy told me she’d let me know. But if this works, everyone wins.” Tossing my phone onto the table, I leaned back against him. Now that I had finally found a solution to my problem, I felt a weight lift from my shoulders, making me feel giddy. With this feeling flowing through my body, I took his hand in mine. “Where’s your Band-aid?” His skin was smooth and bare.

  “What Band-aid?” he asked absently, leaning against me.

  “The one you went to put on after you cut your hand. I don’t even see a cut.”

  He pulled his hand out of mine, sitting up suddenly, knocking my chin with his shoulder. “Oh, it turned out to be very small. No big deal.”

  I rubbed my face where he accidentally nudged me. “There was a lot of blood on the towel.”

  “No, it’s fine.” He stood up and stepped away from me. “How about I take you home? It’s getting late.” His lips pressed together tightly, the set of his jaw, hard.

  That was weird. We seemed to be enjoying the evening, quietly watching the night sky from his picture window. But now he was obviously trying to get rid of me.

  “Oh… okay,” I stuttered, the atmosphere suddenly felt tense. Hoping to lighten the mood, I said, “Next time I come over, I want to go swimming.”

  He smirked at me, his face relaxing a tiny bit. “Wouldn’t your pool be warmer? It’s still spring, the water will be freezing.”

  “Yes, but we’re alone here. At my house there’s always the chance that my annoying parents will interrupt us like my father did tonight.”

  “Let’s wait a month and then we’ll both go swimming.” The tension fell away leaving bright eyes and a smile.

  I stood up and leaned into him for a kiss. “All right, take me home.”

  He took my hand and led me out of the cottage and down the beach to his car.

  The next day, after a long conversation with the football bullies and their families, we were all gathered at the Riley House’s dining room. It was the only room large enough to accommodate the amount of people we were expecting. Chairs lined the shiny hardwood floor in two sections and a makeshift podium had been set up in front. Reporters were all seated, waiting patiently for the promised announcement. All the families involved were seated behind my father while the employees of the shelter stood beside us against the wall.

  I was sitting next to my mother. My Designer suit almost matched hers, the only difference being color and a slight change in the lapels—otherwise we looked like twins. She was in her glory over this. She got to dress both me and my father and was now being photographed beside her perfectly styled daughter.

  I usually steered clear of any work-related event where she paraded me around like a dog at a show, but today was different. I was getting what I wanted, so I grinned for the cameras, knowing that as soon as this was over I could rip off the clothes and go back to ignoring her.

  But for now, I sat listening to the loud buzz of voices as everyone talked at the same time.

  Since my Dad loved attention, he was the one to make the announcement. He made his way to the podium with long strides, standing in front of it with his head held high. He was wearing a charcoal pin-striped suit that was handpicked by my mother. His expression was one of authority and concern. A perfect mix for today’s agenda, but I wasn’t surprised. My father was a great lawyer who knew how to play a jury.

  “Thank you, everyone, for coming,” he began. Instantly the room became quiet; every face turned to him. “As some of you know, there was an i
ncident with our children a few weeks ago at the school, concerning my daughter and other kids from Banks Industries’ families. We were deeply saddened to hear that a family in our community has lost everything because of the reckless behavior of our children. There is no excuse for what happened and I assure you they have each been dealt with accordingly.”

  He paused as a few reporters murmured to each other and began writing notes. I laughed quietly to myself at his words. No punishment had been handed out to anyone other than me and that was from the police, not my family. My mother nudged me, having heard my giggle. I looked up, fighting a grin, waiting for my father to continue.

  “Now, I’d like to call on Shane Whitmore, Chris Hunter and Brandon Buchman.” He took his seat on the other side of my mother.

  The boys walked up, taking turns reading the speech I wrote for them. “A few weeks ago we were in the school football field and set off some fireworks that we thought we could contain within the field. One flew, but didn’t go off. We didn’t realize until later that it landed on Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins’ roof,” Shane read, his voice strong, holding the perfect amount of shame.

  He stepped back, making room for Chris, who stepped up to the mic to read his part. “We were afraid to get in trouble and ran off after we called nine-one-one. We realize it was wrong and would like to apologize to the Wilkins and to our families.”

  Chris nodded solemnly and moved aside for Brandon to take his turn. “Our behavior was cowardly and we regret it more than you know. We would never knowingly hurt anyone and we are very sorry that our actions caused others pain.”

  Brandon joined the other two and together they returned to their seats. Their heads were down, with a look of fake remorse shining from each of their faces.

  My dad stood up to take the podium again. “Thank you, boys,” he said with a quick glance in the football bullies’ direction. Then he turned back to the reporters and their cameras. “Unfortunately, I hear that the insurance money the Wilkins received will not cover all of their needs. So, on behalf of the families of Banks Industries, I would like to present this check to Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins for twenty-five thousand dollars.” He held up a check and smiled. It almost looked sincere.

  The room erupted with applause. I could see that most of the people thought that my father was one of the most generous men in town. Little did they know that I had to beg him to do this.

  My father stood back as Anna and Mike Wilkins stood up from their seats, joining him at the podium to take the check. They posed beside my father for photos.

  After they returned to their seats my father once again took the podium. “We also would like to donate a check for twenty-five thousand dollars to Riley House. Hopefully it will assist in helping other families like the Wilkins.”

  He handed the check to a man I was told later was Lauren’s father, William Riley. My father, the Wilkins and Mr. Riley stood for pictures. After a few shots, my father pulled my mother over, which of course was why she was here. My parents loved a photo op. But that was fine; they got what they wanted. The firm looked good. My ex-friends were off the hook and would now hopefully leave me alone.

  Life was good.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Star Gazing

  Nate closed his desk drawer. “Done,” he finally declared.

  Dinner had been finished and cleaned up hours ago. The other volunteers and I cleaned and set up for the next day while Nate did paperwork. I snuck up to the office, hoping he was almost finished. That was forty-five minutes ago.

  I lifted my head that had been resting against the chair. I had been fighting sleep for the last ten minutes. “Finally,” I said with a sigh.

  He stood up and leaned over me. “Sorry to keep you waiting” As he bent down to kiss me softly, I felt his fingers link with mine. When he pulled away, he yanked me up, leading me down the stairs.

  The house was quiet, with only the faint sounds from a few different TVs and low voices from the game room. We snuck out without disturbing anyone. It was dark, but the fixture above the door provided lots of light to guide us to his car.

  “What did you think about Steve, Markus and Frannie?” Nate asked as he pulled out of the parking lot. He was referring to the volunteers who had been away for a few weeks. They had started today before the press conference.

  “Uh… the guys seem all right, but I don’t think Frannie likes me.” Nate frowned as he slowed down to make a turn. “But that’s because she likes you.”

  He spun to face me. “No, she doesn’t. Why would she like me? She’s twenty-two. I’m too young for her.”

  I grinned at his reaction. If I didn’t know any better, I would think he was terrified at the thought. “I don’t think she cares. When you kissed me while I was doing the dishes she gave me a dirty look. After you left to go upstairs, she spoke to everyone but me.”

  “Do you want me to talk to her?” he asked, looking over at me then back to the road. He stopped behind a blue car, waiting for a red light.

  “God no, that will just make it worse. It’s fine. It’s not like we work alone.”

  He grew silent, his expression filled with anxiety. I suppressed a laugh. I had no idea he’d react this way. “Do you want me to take you home?” he asked suddenly, drawing my attention back to him and away from the view from the window.

  “No.”

  “Where do you want to go?” He stepped on the gas once the light turned green.

  “Surprise me.”

  His smile was full of mischief. “Okay.” He made a quick turn at the light, cutting off a man in a gray car. The blast of a horn shot out from behind us. We weaved through side streets, going back the way we came, until he made the turn heading into the marina.

  “What are we doing here?” I asked once he pulled into the lot and turned the car off.

  “You said to surprise you, so let’s go.” He climbed out and waited until I joined him. I followed as he stepped onto a narrow dock that bounced and swayed as our feet touched the wooden planks. Boats of a variety of different sizes lined each side. There was a small aluminum row boat docked beside a large white shiny yacht named Beelzebub.

  I followed him down to the end until he stopped along a large red speedboat. “Climb on,” he called, reaching for my hand. I noticed the name Moonlight Mist as I stepped up and over the hull.

  “Whose boat is this?”

  “The Rileys. It’s one of the perks to working at the charity.”

  “Are you sure this is okay? What are we going to do? Just hang out?” I asked, about to sit down on one of the seats, but hesitating. I couldn’t stop worrying that Mr. Riley would show up at any moment.

  He noticed my hesitation and laughed. “It’s fine. We’re going for a ride.” He nodded to reassure me. I wasn’t sure if it worked, but I sat down anyway, not entirely confident we should be doing this.

  When he turned the key in the ignition, water bubbled from behind and the smell of gas drifted out as the motor roared to life. Apprehension flowed through me at the sound.

  We started to slowly move backwards. “Are you really sure they won’t mind? I mean you’re only eighteen and they let you use their speedboat?”

  He looked at me and paused. “I told you, it’s one of the perks of working for them. Now relax and enjoy. Being on the water at night is amazing.” Once we were out of the way of the other boats he pushed down on the throttle and we really took off. The wind whipped my hair, blowing it in my face. I had to hold it back so I could see the lights glowing off the shore as we sped by houses and businesses.

  He was right. It was awesome. He spun us around the lake, pointing out his cottage, the Riley estate and other houses he knew of. Most were members of the board of directors for the charity he helped run.

  After driving around for a while he pulled up to Lake Wapoose. It was an amusement park that was nestled along the lake, a place where families could enjoy rides and picnics by the beach. It was very popular when I was growing up. Mona h
ad taken me a few times.

  He stopped at the dock, the sound of the water slapping against the boats echoed around us. After he anchored us, we hopped off the boat and strolled up the hill and into the crowd.

  It was busy tonight; the lights, the music and the people working the games yelling at us to play. It was loud, noisy and very exciting. I felt like a kid again. The air smelled of popcorn, grease and the sugary scent of cotton candy.

  “Hey, buddy, you want to win a prize for your girl? I bet she likes dolphins,” a guy in a red Wapoose amusement park T-shirt yelled from his booth. He held up a big blue stuffed dolphin.

  Nate strolled over and plunked money down onto the counter.

  “Nate, don’t. These games are really hard to win.” I stood beside him, touching his arm.

  He turned to me, gave me a wink and threw the ball, knocking the group of five bottles down. That earned him a small stuffed pig. He threw a couple more times, knocking them all down on each try. The worker looked shocked as he handed Nate the big dolphin, taking the pathetic-looking pig back.

  “Thank you, I’ll sleep with him every night,” I said after he handed me the soft plush toy.

  We turned away from the game and started walking, falling in with the crowd. A shrill alarm went off beside me, making me jump. I looked over and saw a little boy had won at the water pistol game. He jumped up and down shouting, “Wahoo!”

  I smiled and took Nate’s hand.

  We wandered around watching the kids go on rides and play games. I felt at peace here. Nothing complicated at an amusement park; just play and have fun, that’s it. I didn’t have to worry about fires, old friends or snooty, stuck-up parents.

  “Are you hungry?” he asked as we came up to a food stand.

  “Not really, we just had dinner a few hours ago. But I could eat some cotton candy.”