“I can’t seem to get this thing to work,” she said with a pout that looked rehearsed. “Would you mind?”
Kaden stepped around the woman and reached for the gas cap. With one quick twist of his wrist, it was free and he placed it in the holder on the inside of the gas door.
The woman, who was standing a little too close for Kaden’s comfort, reached a hand around him and patted his chest.
“My hero,” she said as she pulled off her glasses and stepped in front of him. “I can never get these silly things to work for me.”
Her pink painted lips pulled up in a seductive smile as she batted her eyes and watched him. In a practiced pose, she leaned over far enough for Kaden to see down her skimpy dress as she pulled the gas hose from the holder and placed it in her tank. Instinctively, he turned his head and waited for her to right herself before he looked back in her direction.
When he did, he was met with the cool blue stare of her eyes. She had soft blue eyes the color of summer sky and for a moment he thought he recognized her from somewhere.
“Thank you, kind sir,” she said as she held a hand out for him to shake. “My name is Isabelle, but you can call me Belle.”
“Nice to meet you, Is . . .ah . . . Belle. ” Kaden took her hand and gave a halfhearted shake before he dropped it and wiped his hand on his pant leg. He didn’t like the uncomfortable feeling she gave him and was anxious to get away.
His gas hose clicked to signal the tank was full and he quickly moved back to his side of the pump. After he placed the cap back on the tank, he turned to get in the car when he noticed Isabelle watching the others exit the gas station.
“Where are y’all headed?” Belle asked from behind him and he almost jumped out of his skin. He hadn’t heard her walk up behind him.
“North,” he offered absentmindedly and then quickly qualified, “to visit family.”
“Sounds like a long trip.”
Kaden nodded and then turned to get into his car when Belle stopped him.
“Can I ask who the strawberry blonde girl is?”
Kaden paused for a moment before he turned to give Belle a suspicious look.
“I only ask because she looks like, well, she is the spitting image of . . .” Belle paused and shook her head. “No, that’s crazy. They live on the East Coast and she’s been missing for years. It can’t be the same person.”
Belle stepped back around the pump to her car and pulled the hose from the tank. Kaden watched her every move and wondered if he should ask the question burning on his tongue or ignore the feeling and walk away.
The question won out.
“Who does my friend look like?” Kaden asked and Isabelle paused with one foot in the driver’s side of her car.
“She looks like a young girl that went missing on the East Coast several years ago. But like I said, it’s probably nothing. Just her doppelganger or something.” Belle sat in her car and turned to look at Kaden as he watched her. “Thanks again, lover.”
She closed the door, cranked her engine, and drove away with a wink in Kaden’s direction as her blonde hair whipped in the wind of her convertible.
“Who was that, lover?” Raine mimicked as she stepped up behind Kaden. “Someone I should know about?”
Kaden turned to Raine and reached for her, wanting badly to pull her to his chest. The uneasy feeling he had since meeting Belle made him apprehensive and he needed the comfort she could provide. Raine let him pull her into a hug and he buried his nose in her hair.
“Kaden, what’s wrong?” Raine asked around the mouthful of shirt.
“I’m not sure,” he said and pulled back. “We need to get going.”
Raine gave him a skeptical look and then turned to get into the backseat of the car.
As Kaden pulled away from the station, he hit the junction to continue north, but he paused as he looked east and wondered if Autumn could be the missing girl Belle spoke about. Autumn and Raine were busy in the backseat and didn’t notice his hesitation, but Skye looked his way and cocked an eyebrow.
“You okay, man?” he asked.
The sound of a horn made him jump and he pushed on the gas, headed north for Alaska.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
Skye turned on the radio, closed his eyes, and dropped his head back on the headrest behind him. Kaden looked past him out the window when he suddenly pulled over and slammed on the brakes.
“Kaden, what’s going on?” The concern in Raine’s voice tempted him to lower his mental block and talk with her privately. He caught her stare in the rearview mirror, then shook his head and turned to face everyone.
“That girl back there, she said she knew you.” Kaden pointed to Autumn as he spoke. “Or knew someone who looked like you.”
“From where? I’ve never seen her before in my life.” Autumn sat up straight in the seat.
“I think we need to go to North Carolina.” Kaden’s eyes flickered to Raine, then back to Autumn. “I can’t really explain why, but I feel we need to go.”
“But what about Raine’s need to learn how to control the wind? And I’m sure Skye is ready to go back to his family.”
“Actually,” Skye chimed in. “I’m not exactly excited to go back there and face my family. We parted on bad terms and I don’t think I’m ready for that yet.”
“Raine also needs to learn how to control Donovan’s powers of earth and maybe North Carolina holds the key to that.” Kaden watched Autumn carefully and saw the look she gave Skye. There was a history there that he knew nothing about, but the silent exchange had Autumn consenting.
“Okay, but I’m not confident this will do any good. I told you, I’ve been in foster care since I can remember. I have no clue if my family is there. And with Isa draining my powers, I don’t have much I can teach Raine, other than basic stuff.” Autumn looked over at Raine and gave her a weak smile. Raine placed her hand on Autumn’s knee, giving her a quick squeeze.
“I’m sure that whatever you teach me will be sufficient,” she said with a smile. “And if there’s a chance we can find your family, we should take it.”
Kaden gave Autumn a quick nod and turned back to face the steering wheel. He punched the gas, turn the car around, and headed for the East Coast.
EPILOGUE
Bryson City, North Carolina was a small town set close to the Smokey Mountains. A major tourist attraction for its proximity to rivers, mountains, biking trails, and a plethora of rental homes, the city only boasted a population of fourteen hundred people. The main road stretched the length of the city, cut in half by railroad tracks that split the town in two.
Kaden drove his car down the darkened street and marveled at how empty it felt. Lights illuminated the main road, but many of the shops had closed up for the night. He followed the main road through the small town as it snaked close to the Tuckasegee River until they found a small hotel with lights burning bright. Lloyd’s On the River beamed through the night like a beacon as Kaden slipped into an empty spot in the parking lot.
An eerie feeling crept over him as shut the car off and looked around. He hoped their decision to come to North Carolina was the right decision, but either way, it was too late now. They were here. Kaden switched off the dome light before he opened the door and stepped from the car to stretch his legs. The last few days of travel had taken a toll on his body and he was more than thankful to finally be somewhere for the night.
Raine had fallen asleep in the passenger seat and Kaden watched her from where he stood. She tried to stay awake with him and he smiled at the effort she put into their silly conversation. Their relationship had really grown over the last few days and he was grateful for her insight to keep their bonding and mental connection on an ‘emergency’ basis. He was learning all her quirky looks, her playful nature, and her annoyingly cute habits by keeping out of her head.
Kaden knelt down and reached in the back where Skye and Autumn were tangled together in the backseat. With a soft tap to Skye’s l
eg, he woke with a start and almost dumped Autumn off his lap onto the floor. She barely moved.
“We’re here,” Kaden whispered and Skye nodded. Gently he shook Autumn awake and they climbed out of the car, closing the driver’s door with a soft click.
Kaden walked around the car and opened the passenger door, reaching in to cradle Raine in his arms. Without waking, she nestled into his chest and said something about pale eyes and purple dinosaurs. Kaden chuckled as he kicked the door shut and engaged the lock with the key fob in his hand.
Skye held the door open as Kaden walked through the lobby of the hotel, stopping at the front desk. Autumn followed Skye in and lay her head against his back as he stood next to Kaden.
A woman with strawberry blonde hair came out of the back with a stack of papers in her hand. She set them on the counter with a thud that woke Raine instantly. Raine gasped and looked around, her body shaking from the sudden awakening.
“Sorry about that,” the woman said when she realized there were people waiting for a room. “I didn’t see you there.”
“We would like to get some rooms for the night,” Kaden said as he set Raine on the floor next to him and reached for his wallet in his back pocket. He came up empty.
“I must have left my wallet in the car. I’ll be right back.” Kaden turned to Skye. “Get us two rooms and I’ll be right back.”
Kaden turned and quickly walked to the front door. He heard a shriek from behind him and turned back when a blonde woman ran into his chest, excused herself quickly, and exited out the door.
“It can’t be.” The woman’s voice bounced off the walls. “Charlie!” she screamed into the office behind her just as an old, bald man with a scruffy red mustache walked through the door. “I’m going to fai . . .” The woman fell just as her husband caught her.
“What in the world?” Charlie said as he looked to his customers and saw Autumn’s surprised face. He almost dropped his wife on the floor when his knees gave out.
Raine and Skye took a step back and watched the drama unfold around them.
“Autumn?” Charlie said as he ran around the counter and pulled Autumn into a tight hug. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
Autumn stood still in the man’s embrace with a look of confusion on her face.
Kaden watched as Charlie wept and the woman on the floor came to, when a thought came to him. The blonde woman who ran into him moments ago felt very familiar.
He ran to the parking lot and watched as a red convertible drove away, blonde hair whipping in the wind.
THE END
Read where the Elemental’s began in Kaesen and Alwen’s story: Elemental Princess: Elemental Series book 1
To my Husband, Jason, and children, Ashlee, Hannah, and Hunter who have been there to support me from the beginning and encouraged me to reach for the stars
Acknowledgements: I need to thank first and foremost, my Father in Heaven, without whom, I am nothing. To my husband, Jason, thank you for believing in me and supporting my desire to write by working hard to provide for our family. Thank you, Hunter, for being self-sufficient as much as possible and not complaining too much when we ate out, yet again. I know how you love a home-cooked meal that consists of more than mac and cheese. Ash, thank you for the constant encouragement you showered me with when I was ready to give up. Your quirky texts and infectious laugh helped center me when I needed them most. To my beta readers, Marilyn, Vanessa, Helen, and Ashlee, thank you for reading this script as many times as I asked you. You’ve been there with me from the beginning and I can never thank you enough. Thank you to Pat for checking in weekly and pushing me forward. Your random emails and song posts always came when I needed them most. And, last but not least, thank you to Creative Prose Publishing’s Sherry Gammon and Cindy C. Bennett for taking a chance on me.
Without the love, support, and encouragement of my friends and family, this story would still be a document on my hard-drive.
God Bless!
Author M.M. Roethig is a ‘happily-ever-after’ author whose guilty pleasure is a swoon worthy romance. Growing up, she spent her youth on various Air Force bases in many different states, which encouraged her imagination and love of make believe stories with each new city, scenery, and situation.
Finally settling in Idaho, M.M. Roethig finished her schooling years and eventually met and married her very own Prince Charming. A recent move took her to Northern Colorado, a place she has instantly fallen in love with and embraced as her home.
When she is not swooning over romance stories or writing, M.M. Roethig enjoys spending time with her husband and son who also call Colorado home. With two grown daughters and one son-in-law living in Idaho, she finds every excuse to travel back as much as possible.
Other hobbies M.M. Roethig enjoys are running, photography, baking, watching her son swim, and cheering on the Denver Broncos.
© M.M. Roethig 2014
All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Exceptions are reviewers who may quote short excerpts for review.
Cover Design by Sherry Gammon
Cover Copyright Sherry Gammon 2014
Cover image © via Deposit Photos: Nejron (Andrejs Pidjass)
Interior Design by Cindy C Bennett
All Rights Reserved USA
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
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