Parahuman (Parahuman Series) (10 page)

     And
in what why had he been looking at her? 

     “I
don’t know what you’re talking about.” Devan said, keeping his face composed
and free of all emotion.   

     “Keep
telling yourself that or I can make your life miserable.” Jarrod snapped.
Seeing that Laney had reached the ground he hooked up and lowered himself over
the side. Looking up Jarrod’s lip curled disdainfully. “I suggest you look for
another job, this one’s not a good fit for you.” He then swung out in a
downward rappel.

    
Interesting! For someone who spent a great deal of time in nature this guy sure
wasn’t very serene. Devan had come across a few males who had shown aggression
to his presence before, but this guy definitely topped all of them. It hadn’t
been hard to convince the others of Devan’s passiveness when it was revealed
how quiet and solitary he was. Besides, Laney had only spoken to him a couple
times this morning; he didn’t know where Jarrod’s paranoia was coming
from.      

     Had
he really been looking at Laney in a certain way different than other people?
He had to admit she brought out sensations he’d never experienced before, but
he liked being with her, that was all. They both loved the outdoors and she
was…sort of…enjoyable to be around. Jarrod was mistaken if he thought it was
something more. Something like that was impossible for him because who and what
he was. 

    
“Devan,” Nick called up interrupting his thoughts, “come on down.”   

    
Looking over the side Devan could see that Jarrod had reached the ground.
Swinging his legs over the side, Devan began to lower himself down the cliff.
He had to stop at each cam to remove a carabineer so he wasn’t able to rappel
down in one sweep like the others.

     “Just
look at him, he’s a natural; few people in the world can climb like that.” Nick
commented from below.  

     This
at least reiterated that Devan wasn’t being freakishly fast. 

     Hitting
the ground he turned to see Laney and Nick looking at him in open admiration.
He had to say it did a lot for his ego to see her looking at him like that.
When their eyes connected, though, she suddenly bent and started gathering her
gear. It dampened his mood somewhat to see her avoiding his gaze.    

     “That
was definitely impressive.” Nick said, walking up to him smiling. “I would have
to say that you passed the test with flying colors. The job is yours.” He held
out his hand to acknowledge the agreement.

    
Walking forward, Devan grasped Nick’s hand. His gaze slid by Jarrod—who was
glaring ferociously at him—to Laney who was grinning widely. Devan’s mood
shifted once more. From disheartened to cheerful instantaneously. He’d never
gone through so many mood changes in his life.

     “I appreciate
the opportunity.” He acknowledged.

     The
situation with Jarrod could end up being challenging, but this didn’t cause him
to hesitate taking the job. He could handle unpleasantness; he had been handling
it for almost years now.

     Nick
continued shaking Devan’s hand enthusiastically. “With what you just showed me
I would have hired you just for your climbing ability alone, even if you had tested
poorly at everything else. We need to sign you up for the annual speed climb in
June, you’ll outdistance everyone. It will be great for business.”

     Uh
oh. That wouldn’t do, something like that would get news coverage. Someone
Devan’s age winning a competition would bring The Company in to investigate. He
was sure they were diligent in checking out anyone who showed exceptional
talent in any area. All they needed was certain characteristics and they would
know it was him. Devan could only hope his refusal wouldn’t affect Nick’s
decision.  

     “I’m
afraid I’m not allowed involvement in any type of competitions. My uncle
doesn’t allow it.”

    
Nick’s hand halted in mid-shake and he gave Devan a bewildered look; however,
he shrugged his shoulders and gave Devan’s hand another hard pump.     

     “That’s
okay.” Nick sounded genially, but his expression was disappointed. “I just
thought it might be something that would interest you.” He turned to join Laney
in packing up the equipment.  

    
Jarrod gave him a snide sort of look before turning away. He appeared to want
to say something, but refrained with the others around. It would appear he was
selective with whom he displayed his dislike around.  

     Devan
slipped his harness and helmet off carrying them over to the van where Laney
was packing away the equipment. He found himself wanting to say something to
her, but Jarrod was hovering behind her like some bodyguard giving him the barbed
heated looks. Devan really didn’t know what to say to her anyway, and her eyes
skittered away whenever their gazes came close to connecting.

    
Subsequently, he was surprised when Laney turned taking the gear from his hands
and looked him in the face.

    
“Don’t worry about the competition. My dad’s wanted to beat this rival of his
for a while and I think he saw you as the perfect opportunity to do it.” Devan
grimaced apologetically, and she added hastily. “It’s not like he’s going to
hold it against you; he would never do that.” She stressed. It didn’t really
make him feel better. Surprisingly, Devan would like to have helped her father
out. Then he wondered why he wanted to help; was because it was
her
father that he wanted to do it?

     “I
don’t know, Laney, he’s wanted to beat Rick for quite a while.” Jarrod
commented nonchalantly from behind Laney. Devan was the only one who could see
his face and know that the words weren’t meant casually. Jarrod had that snide
look on his face once again.   

     Laney
swung around abruptly and Jarrod was quick to wipe his face clean of dislike.
He was actually pretty quick with the transformation to disinterest.

     “You
know my dad would never treat him differently just because he didn’t do that
competition.” She said vehemently.  

    
Jarrod held his hands up in a manner of surrender. “I’m sure your dad won’t
hold it against Devan. I was just commenting on the fact that your dad would
really have liked to beat Rick this year.” Jarrod rephrased, smiling
innocently. 

     This
guy was diabolical!

     “I
wish I could help him out.” Devan spoke up. He had wanted to talk to her and
here she was talking to Jarrod. At least she was quarreling with him.

     Laney
spun back to Devan with a look of contrition. “Really, don’t worry about it; my
dad understands that people have different ideologies.”

    
Jarrod’s face swiftly transformed back to nasty when Laney turned her back to
him. His adeptness at switching expressions was phenomenal.    

    
“Everything packed up?” Nick asked, walking up to the back of the van and
throwing in his chair. “If so, let’s go.”

    
Everyone piled back into the van, taking their previous seats. Jarrod didn’t
bother initiating a conversation with Devan this time; he focused his attention
solely on Laney. 

    
“Laney, are you going over to Duane’s tonight?” Jarrod’s back was to Devan,
making sure of his exclusion. 

    
“Yes.” Laney twisted in her seat to look at Jarrod and in doing so she also
faced Devan. Leaning back in his seat Devan observed them with an uncomfortable
tightness in his chest. Why the tightness was there was unknown to him.

     “Do
you need a ride over?” Jarrod asked.

    
“Thanks, but no. I’m going to head over with Hali.” Laney’s gaze shifted to
Devan and then refocused back onto Jarrod.    

    
Devan’s phone buzzed in his pocket. A quick look at the display revealed a
message from Brett…no one else had his number. ‘
Gone to library’
. Devan
contemplated those words with a frown. It was highly improbable that Silverton
library had any reading material that would be of interest to Brett, so why
would he visit the library?

     Nick
parked the van in front of the main building when they returned; they’d been
just over two hours. He shut off the engine and turned.

    
“Laney, take Devan inside and have him fill out the essential paper work.
Jarrod and I need to finish getting ready for our hike this afternoon.”

     Devan
could feel Jarrod’s gaze burning a hole in his back as he walked into the
building behind Laney. Turning his back on someone behaving so aggressively
toward him was contrary to Devan’s nature and made all his hairs stand on end.
The prospect of incessant hostility from Jarrod made Devan wonder why he was
going forth with the employment, but as this quandary was crossing Devan’s mind
his gaze tracked the figure walking ahead of him, and the realization came to
him that
she
was the reason he was resolute in his decision.

     It
was a puzzle why she had such a hold on his interest, and puzzles were of a
keen interest to Devan. Unfortunately, when your I.Q. was off the charts
puzzles didn’t remain a mystery for long so he was certain he’d figure it out.   

    
Stepping through the front door Devan halted at the counter as Laney walked
around. Seeing that he had stopped she waved him forward.

     “Come
on around, you’re going to be working here so you need to know the layout of
the building. Not that there’s much of a layout. There’s the front entry, a
small closet, an even smaller bathroom, and the office.”  

     Devan
walked around and followed her to the back office. He stayed in the doorway as
she bent and shuffled through a cabinet against the wall. The office space was
small but utilized efficiently with only one desk containing a computer and a
filing cabinet. The walls had a multitude of photographs displaying Nick, Laney
and another woman, presumably Laney’s mother, in a variety of outdoor
activities. They appeared to be a very happy family, if the smiles were any
indication. 

     “You
have a lot of family pictures.” Devan commented conversationally. He had never
been to anyone’s home to see a collection of family photographs, and it was
fascinating to see the time-line of Laney’s life here on the wall. They ranged
from her young childhood to very recent.

     The
only pictures taken of Devan had been at the facility documenting his growth
progress. These weren’t anything like those. For one thing everyone was smiling
in these.  

     She
looked up from her paper shuffling to contemplate the pictures. Her gaze
fixated on one family portrait in particular with a pained expression. Laney
looked younger in this picture by about two years; she was standing next to her
father and probable mother at the summit of some cliff with the Colorado
landscape as a backdrop. They were all smiling and waving at the camera, so
Devan wasn’t sure why Laney appeared upset. Weren’t smiling pictures supposed
to be a sign of happy memories?

     “Did
I say something wrong?” Devan asked.   

    
Laney’s head jerked in his direction and he noticed her eyes were glistening
with unshed tears. “No, sorry, just thinking.” The roughness of her voice was
contrary to her denial though. Reaching back into the filing cabinet she pulled
out several sheets of paper. “These are the papers you need to fill out; there
are government tax forms and some of our own that need to be completed. Your
uncle will have to sign them also since you’re underage.”

     Devan
walked forward to retrieve the papers in the same instance she stood and turned
to walk toward him. With the office being as small as it was it didn’t take but
two steps for the both them to reach each other, and as her head was still down
she was unaware of the imminent collision.

     Devan
threw his hands up to her shoulders to stop the full impact and then jerked
them away just as quickly, but not before he noticed her skin was warm through
her shirt, and her structure, though sturdy, was at the same time soft and
delicate. He also received a concentrated whiff of her natural fragrance under
the other smells of her shampoo and soaps. It was fresh like the outdoors and
heady. Devan couldn’t help but breath it in deeply.

     Laney
looked up at him startled. “Ohhh,” she gasped. Her eyes still looked wet, like
she was close to crying. Devan was in the process of apologizing, but her
watery eyes sent him in another direction.

     “Are
you sure you’re alright?” he asked. A constriction was developing in his chest.
Devan rubbed at wondering if he was going through some growth pains again.   

     It
was as if his question unleashed something in her because two tears spilled
from her eyes down her cheeks. It was quite alarming, and Devan wasn’t sure
what to do. The constriction in his chest got worse.

     “Why
did you have to ask me if I was okay?” Laney cried indignantly, turning away. 

     Feeling
very much out of his depth Devan looked at her in alarm. Although, Devan wasn’t
proficient in human relationships he knew it was standard to ask after the
feelings of another if they appeared upset.

     “I
would have been fine if you would have just let it go.” She huffed, snatching a
tissue off the desk to rub her eyes.