Riley's Secret (A Moon's Glow Novel # 1) (16 page)

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 incident 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.

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.