Somewhere in the Middle

by Linda Palmer

  “Guess I’m a happy ending kind of guy,” he said, flushing.

  “Aww.”

  Click!

  Chapter Eleven

  Eli giggled. “What’s next?” He referred to another superhero epic, no doubt.

  “Lunch. Do you eat turkey, Roone? And by that I mean one we cooked, not the prefab, paper-thin stuff in the delis.”

  Roone nodded. “Sounds great.”

  I headed to the kitchen. The guys soon joined me there and watched as I sliced turkey and made sandwiches. Using a big cookie cutter, I cut Eli’s in the shape of a star so didn’t have to trim off the crust. After adding a dill pickle and some chips, we went back to the TV. By then it was one-thirty, which left us just enough time for one more superhero movie. Eli chose Captain America.

  While we munched and watched Steve Rogers kick Nazi butt, I sneaked in several peeks at Roone, who seemed very thoughtful and maybe even a little distracted. I couldn’t blame him. Three long movies were probably a bit much for one day. But by the time this one was over, he was totally into it, thank goodness. I sure didn’t want to bore him.

  “I like that guy,” Roone said once the credits started to roll. “He’s very…polite.”

  “Just like you, right? So he’s your favorite hero so far?” I asked as I slipped the DVD into its case.

  “No. That would be Thor.”

  “Mine, too! Mine, too!” said Eli.

  “And mine,” I told him. “Of course the whole thing is pretty farfetched.”

  Roone stood. “Especially the part about him communicating with Loki by simply talking out loud.” Loki was Thor’s wily stepbrother. Supposedly the first shapeshifter, he had a lot of tricks up his sleeve and no conscience to restrain him, which put Earth in constant peril.

  “I know, right? But if you’re going to watch a movie, you might as well suspend your disbelief, even if you have to accept that a dad would throw his son off their home planet just to teach him humility.”

  “Is that what happened to you?” Eli tugged on the hem of Roone’s tee.

  Roone seemed disconcerted by the question. “Now why would you ask that?”

  I burst out laughing. “Because you’re his hero, of course.”

  He blinked. “Me?”

  Eli quickly nodded. “You saved Everly and Shannon and mommy’s star.” He held out his arms, palms up, in a silent Duh!

  He’d realized Roone saved the ornament? Yikes. I’d definitely have to put a new spin on that tale when he blabbed to our parents, which he’d definitely do. A little panicky, I quickly changed the subject. “Our grades should be posted online by now. Want to check yours?”

  Roone winced. “Not so much.”

  “Oh come on. Don’t you want to know if you passed physics?” I led Roone over to the computer table, which was tucked in a corner of the room. There I sat and found my way to the school’s website on the laptop. After typing in my name and password, I checked my grades. Four As and two Bs. Still somewhere in the middle. “Now you.”

  Roone sat with visible reluctance, but I didn’t let him off the hook. Just call me nosy, but I wanted to know if my prayers for a miracle had done any good. The grades popped up. All As. Even in Physics.

  My chin dropped. “How in the world did you—”

  “Last minute cramming with Dad must’ve worked.”

  “I’ll say. Wow. Congratulations!” Now I gave him a hug, but it was from behind, and there was a chair back between us. “Your dad will be so proud of you.”

  “Yeah.” Roone stood, carefully not looking me in the eye for some reason. That caused a vibe so weird even non-psychic me picked up on it. “I really need to go. Thanks for including me in superhero day, Eli.”

  “Thanks for helping us with the tree,” I said, walking him to the door. Eli stayed in the den, already engrossed in whatever cartoon was on. I snagged Roone’s jacket from the peg mounted on the foyer wall and handed it to him.

  He dug into the pocket and handed me a small black box. “Merry Christmas.”

  I wanted to crawl into a light socket. “But I didn’t get you anything.”

  “You’ve given me enough already. Your friendship. Your silence. A turkey sandwich.”

  That made me laugh. “Whatever. May I open this now?”

  He nodded.

  My hand shook as I lifted the lid and found a delicate gold bracelet with a single round charm. Looking closer, I saw it had unfamiliar markings on both sides of it. “Do these mean something?”

  “I think they’re just part of the design.”

  “Help me?” I set the box aside and held out my hand so Roone could fasten the bracelet around my wrist. “It’s perfect. I love it.”

  I could tell he was pleased.

  “Wait right here.” Turning, I hurried to the kitchen and got one of the boxes of colorful Christmas cookies we planned to share with friends and neighbors. “Almost forgot to give these to you. So you’re not leaving empty handed, though cookies aren’t anything compared to this.”

  “Actually, they are. None of the Thorsens bake.”

  Hating to see him go, I nonetheless opened the door. We stepped onto the porch. “I guess I won’t see you for a while.” Our school break ended January third.

  “Guess not. See you then, though, and feel free to text me if you…well…get lonely or something.”

  “Thanks, I will.” I reluctantly stepped back inside and let the storm door shut before waving goodbye through the glass. By then he’d descended the steps. He waved back and headed to his car.

  Feeling oddly down, I decided to distract myself by opening the other tub we’d dragged down from the attic before the dance. I dug out the stockings for the mantel. There were other things in the box, too. A lighted Santa that I set on a side table, a tiny snow village that I spread out on the coffee table, and a wreath that I hung on the front door. Then I sat down by my brother, who promptly put his head in my lap and went to sleep, even though it was way too late in the day for a nap.

  Christmas day was usually fun at the Sayers house, and this year was no exception. Shortly after Eli woke us up before dawn, we all gathered by the tree and attacked the pile of presents that Santa had left there. What fun watching my little brother get everything he wanted and then some. Yeah, we spoiled him something awful.

  Click!

  We had a huge breakfast after that, and when we finished, I played with Eli so Mom and Dad could get more sleep. My little brother soon had all his toys littering the floor. After carefully separating them from the shreds of wrapping paper, I counted all the superhero themed stuff and came to the conclusion that there couldn’t be many he hadn’t received.

  I briefly wondered what next year’s obsession would be. Something else, I was sure, which meant most of this would ultimately be donated to the local firemen’s toy drive. Though the waste of money bothered me a little, knowing that some other kid would eventually get them made up for it since that was kind of like recycling. We would also make use of the Christmas tree when we took it down, either dropping it in the lake so the fish could make use of it or setting it in the back yard and stringing popcorn or berries or other fruit to make it a bird feeder.

  While Eli and I played, he commented that Roone would love this or that figurine, mask, or weapon. That warmed my heart. Eli clearly adored my un-boyfriend just as much as I did.

  Adored? I didn’t bother to deny it. Roone definitely had my heart in his back pocket, which was going to make the continuation of our boyfriend-girlfriend performance hard on me once we got back to school. It I wasn’t careful, I’d give myself away, something I could thank my parents for.

  Not in the least embarrassed by PDA, they’d raised us to be just as honest, the reason poor Eli got so many random kisses and hugs from me. My new worst fear was forgetting that Roone was still pretending, which could make an accidental show of affection from me very uncomfortable for him.

  Both my parents and even Cory asked if Roone was dropping
by the house later. I showed them my bracelet and reminded them once again that we weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend, but two people helping each other out. As night fell, so did scattered rain showers, making the roads a little iffy. But I was so stir crazy by the time we had our traditional mid-afternoon Christmas dinner that I risked the weather and drove to my lookout once the kitchen had been set to rights.

  When I got there, I found a motorcycle already in the flat spot that served as a makeshift parking area. That bummed me out a little, though I went ahead and pulled on my brother’s old McAlister High Eagles hoodie and hiked to my rock. There were other spots around there where a stargazer could sit. Whoever owned that bike might’ve gone to one of them, and if not, I would.

  Everly’s Law prevailed. Before I got where I was going I could hear someone—a male—talking. It wasn’t until I was almost on him that I thought I recognized the voice. Was that…Roone? Naturally I proceeded very quietly from there, pausing before I actually stepped out of the woods, but within listening distance. Dressed in jeans and a leather jacket I’d never seen before that fit very, very nicely, he sat all alone on my giant rock with his back to me. Was he talking to someone on his cell? But no. There wasn’t an iPhone or even an earbud in sight. So why was he sitting there talking to himself.

  “Four months I’ve been stuck here without a clue that we could talk.” Pause. “I know, right? Saw it in a film about Thor.” Another pause…almost as if someone were answering. Roone fell out laughing. “I couldn’t believe it, either. The filmmakers romanticized everything, but the mythological stuff I found on the internet was right on the mark.” Pause. “That’s what I’m thinking, too. Can’t believe we’ve never heard about it.”

  Frozen to the spot, I didn’t know what to think. Was someone that I couldn’t see sitting on the ground in front the rock? If so, I’d surely have spotted a foot or a leg sticking out.

  “I really miss Neils and Sven. Everly has a brother named Eli who’s four. I spent the day with them yesterday.” Pause. “Everly, Leif. The girl I was just telling you about.”

  Leif?

  He was talking to his brother far away in NowhereNear?

  “Yeah, she’s beautiful. Smart, too, and she cares about things.” Pause. “Doesn’t matter how I feel. It takes two to have a relationship, and she’s not into me.” Pause. “I know, okay? And I tried. I really did. But there she sat with those beautiful brown eyes and that great big heart. How the hell could I not fall for her?”

  I sagged against a tree, my mouth open in shock and my heart swelling with joy. He’d fallen for me?

  “You’re one to talk. You knew Tyra what…? A whole month before you married her? Everly and I are just pretend dating at the moment, which is all I can do with Dad breathing down my neck. He’d kill me if he knew how I really feel.” Pause. “Yeah, well, I’m not up to a confession just now. I’ll deal with that when I have to. And speaking of that, how’s the restoration going?” Long pause. Roone leapt to his feet. “Are you shitting me? Why didn’t you say something?” Pause. “But what if it’s not a rumor?” Pause. “No, no, no! It’s way too soon for that. You’ll all be slaughtered.” Pause and then a strangled sob. “Leif, listen to me. You have to wait until everyone is trained. We’ll go underground if those guys really come to help Teo.”

  Hearing that gut-wrenching emotion, I actually choked up even though I didn’t have a clue what Roone was so upset about. That must’ve been why I stepped from the thicket without really meaning to.

  Roone spun to face me, tears streaming down his face. “Everly! Wow. I… Wow.” He self-consciously swiped the tears off his face. “How long have you been here?”

  “A better question is how could a guy with your psychic abilities not know that I was?”

  “I had something on my mind—”

  “Or maybe you were busy talking with your brother in NowhereNear.” I pressed my hand to my hammering heart and blurted my worst fear. “Do you have any idea how this looks to me?” Tears filled my eyes. “Please don’t be crazy, Roone. If you’re crazy I can’t have you, and I’ll never want anyone more.”

  Roone moved so fast he was a blur. Powerful arms locked around my waist and lifted me until I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. Our lips came together in a crushing kiss. As all-out as our last one, it would’ve knocked me to my knees if I’d been standing. And I wasn’t the only one so affected. Roone actually staggered, taking me with him. When the backs of his legs met the rock, he sat down pretty hard on it.

  I immediately took advantage, straddling his thighs and framing his flushed face with my hands. “Have you really fallen for me?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  “Why the heck didn’t you say something?”

  “To protect you.”

  “From what?”

  “My future.”

  “Is fortune telling another of your gifts?”

  “No.” Tucking his fingers into my back pockets, Roone scooted me closer to him. “But in this case, I know that some things are inevitable—things that won’t be pretty. I don’t want you involved in them.”

  “Will you tell me where you’re from? And don’t you dare say ‘NowhereNear.’”

  “Början.”

  Tucking a finger under his chin, I lifted it until he looked me in the eye. “What state is Bur-yan in?”

  “It’s…not.”

  “Not what?”

  “In a state.”

  “Oh! Which country, then?”

  He simply shook his head.

  I gave up with a frustrated sigh. He still wasn’t talking? Unbelievable, and hurtful. “Is that your motorcycle in the clearing?”

  “Yeah. A Christmas present from Dad.”

  “Will we be riding it to school?”

  “Nope. That was the condition I had to accept in order to get it.”

  I thought of his cause bracelet. “Because a ride that sweet would definitely boost you from the safety of somewhere in the middle?”

  He managed a wry grin. “Right in one.”

  “I have a million questions.”

  “And I can’t answer any of them.”

  “But—”

  Roone’s hand over my mouth smothered my argument. “Do you really love me?”

  “Well how could I not when you’re so perfect?”

  That made him laugh. “I love you, too, babe. So much that there’s nothing I want more than to tell you everything.”

  “Nothing?” I gently brushed my lips over his, hoping to tantalize him.

  His low groan told me I’d managed it. As for the hungry look in his eye…

  Click!

  Pleased to be wanted that way, I kissed my guy once, twice, and then again, gently sipping at his bottom lip when I finally pulled back to end the last one. Noting the pulse pounding in his neck, I kissed it, too. Roone slid his hands under my hoodie and tee in the back. His fingers felt deliciously warm as they moved over the goose bumps there.

  An icy wind suddenly blasted us. Surprised, we faced it. My hair whipped around my face even as a second gust threatened to snatch off my clothes. A shiver shimmied down my spine. The valley lay below us, now nothing more than a night shadow except for random strings of color that were probably some family’s Christmas lights.

  I felt moisture on my cheeks that had nothing to do with our tears. “It’s going to rain again.”

  “Maybe.”

  Hearing a note of caution in Roone’s answer, I peered down at him in the dark. “Is something wrong?”

  “I’m getting that watched feeling I should’ve gotten the moment you walked up. Are you?” He set me on my feet and stood to slowly turn, his gaze sweeping the trees behind us.

  “Yeah, now that you mention it.” Spooked, I began to scan the woods, too. Then I stepped around him and looked out over the valley again. Far on the horizon, a flash of lightning revealed rolling storm clouds and signaled the approach of some bad weather that could probably explai
n that wicked wind. I felt a little better. Roone, on the other hand, seemed even more anxious.

  And then I saw it. That amazing lightshow I’d seen months ago from this very spot, complete with the Technicolor clouds. The rainbow colors each lightning strike revealed were unlike any I’d ever seen in an electrical storm, and I could only guess that something in the atmosphere now created the illusion of the sky reaching for Earth. Or was Earth reaching for the heavens?

  “Roone.”

  He turned. I pointed. Roone went completely still, his full concentration on the distant horizon. Even as we stared, the tumultuous clouds moved swiftly over the valley, obscuring everything. But he’d seen enough. “Leif was right.”

  “About what?”

  “Everything. I’ve got to go.”

  “What! Why?”

  “I have to talk to Dad.”

  I blocked his path. “To tell him about us?”

  “Probably not yet.” He tenderly touched my face. “Do you mind?”

  “No.”

  Pulling me to him, Roone kissed my forehead and hugged me for several seconds. “No matter what happens, you’ll always be the love of my life.”

  That got me. “What do you mean? What’s going to happen?”

  “Nothing.” He caught my frown. “Really, Everly. Don’t worry about anything.” Grasping my wrist in his hand, he started into the woods. When we reached the parking area, he pulled me close once again and kissed the top of my head. “Watch the roads, okay? It’s starting to sleet.”

  I nodded and got into my car.

  “I’ll call later to make sure you got home all right.” Roone waited until I had my seatbelt fastened and my motor running before he let me shut the door. Then he mounted his bike and started it. Vroom. Vroom. He put on a helmet. I smiled, loving the sight of him straddling that growling motorcycle and wearing that leather jacket.

  Click!

  Roone motioned for me to take the lead and then followed me until I turned the Trans Am to the right to head to my subdivision. He turned to the left. I got home after another ten minutes. By then rain and sleet slashed against my windshield, but that wasn’t why my stomach was one big knot. The winter mix and wet roads were nothing compared to Roone’s unexpected profession of love. I’d never been in love before, at least like this. Emotions bombarded me—joy, shock, amazement, disbelief. And then there was the fear.