Shadow Keeper (5 page)

Her forehead wrinkled, and she shook her head. “No.”

My forehead wrinkled also. “I thought Grandma said—”

“Oh, that’s right.” Her fingers pressed against her lips. “I need help with Spanish.”

“Was it the homework assignment?”

She twisted around on the cushion to face me. “Yes. Homework.”

My first impression of Lisa told me she was very intelligent. In class, she did an excellent job of reading out loud from the textbook when it was her turn. “Which part of the homework are you having trouble with?”

“The, ah…” Her gaze brushed over my face and down my chest. “Actually, I haven’t looked at the homework yet.”

Something about the way she scanned my body made me think she didn’t come all the way to my house to ask about Spanish, but I went with her lead. “I finished the assignment if you want to take a look at the answers.”

“Yes, I would like to take a look.” She scooted to the middle cushion.

My jaw went slack. She was talking about homework—at least I thought she was, but at the moment, that was the last thing on my mind. My hand lay between us on the cushion. She sat so close that if I flicked my fingers, I could stroke her thigh. I moved my arm and rested it on the back of the couch.

“Brendon…” She leaned toward me.

Whatever else she was going to say didn’t matter. I gazed into her clear blue eyes. With her this near, her warmth surrounded me. My body heated from the closeness. I took a deep breath, hoping to calm myself, but when I did, I breathed in her scent. My body lost the battle.

“I was wondering if you would…” She touched her hand to my chest and brushed at the cotton hoodie.

I was there. Whatever she wanted, I’d do it.

Her fingers drew an invisible circle over my heart. “Earlier today, when we were at school, I saw something…”

Her words trailed off when the back of my knuckles brushed her hair. I couldn’t stop myself. Her soft, silky hair made my hand tingle. My fingers threaded through the length of a long, blonde strand, and I twirled the ends between my finger and thumb.

Grandma’s fuzzy bedroom slippers flopping against her heels made Lisa jerk her hand from my chest. Her hair slipped from my grasp.

I sat up straight and put both hands in my lap. With the position of the hallway, and the angle of the couch, I knew Grandma had a clear view of Lisa and me before we ever heard the slap of the plastic soles on the floor, but she was cool about it. She walked through the living room without stopping.

“I just need to get some clothes out of the dryer.” She paused at the entrance to the kitchen. “Brendon, why don’t you get Lisa something to drink?”

“That’s not necessary.” Lisa stared down at the laces on her Nikes while she spoke.

“Brendon.” Grandma’s voice sounded like a command.

That was her not so subtle way of getting me into the kitchen alone so she could lecture me. I resisted her demand. “Lisa doesn’t want anything to drink.”

Her lips thinned and tightened, but she didn’t say anything else. That look on her face was usually accompanied by her
you’re not so big that I can’t turn you over my knee
speech. Without another word, she disappeared into the kitchen and out the backdoor to the garage where the washer and dryer were located.

I glanced at Lisa while trying to remember what we were talking about. “You were going to ask me something?”

Her gaze darted to me, and then in the direction Grandma had taken. “Could I see your homework?”

“Sure.” I climbed from the couch. “I’ll get it for you.”

“Is it all right if I come with you?” she asked, but she’d already scooted off the couch.

Lisa in my bedroom? I couldn’t think of a single reason to refuse.

Chapter Six

“My bedroom is this way.” I walked ahead of Lisa to the room and went straight to the Spanish textbook on the desk. After I pulled out the folded piece of binder paper, I turned to the doorway where I thought she waited, but she’d walked across the thick rug without me hearing. Lisa sat on the bottom bunk. My gaze darted to the bedroom door. She’d closed it.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, even though I knew a burst of fresh oxygen wouldn’t slow the rapid pulse throbbing in my neck.

At times, she looked so sweet and demure, but right now she looked…exciting. With her hair pulled over one shoulder, I had an excellent view of her face. She looked beautiful—all soft and natural. I liked that she didn’t wear a lot of makeup, or that her clothes weren’t tight or reveling. The neckline of her tee shirt touched just below her collar bones, and the whole thing fit her loosely. Her dark blue jeans weren’t snug at the hips even with her sitting on the bed—my bed.

“Are you hot?” she asked.

My jaw dropped, but I kept my mouth from gaping opened. “Hot?” I repeated, not certain how to answer.

“Your room feels kind of stuffy,” she said. “You look hot with your sweatshirt on. Why don’t you take it off?”

I skinned the hoodie over my head and tossed it on the floor by the closet before the last word came out of her mouth.

Her dark blonde eyebrows knitted together. “You have on a different shirt.”

My hand brushed down the front of the tee shirt. If she didn’t like it, I’d rip that off too. “Don’t you like red?”

“Yes, it’s fine, but…” Her palms rubbed in circles on the top of her knees. “Earlier, you had on a tank top.”

“Oh, that’s what I wear after football practice until I cool down.”

She chewed on her lower lip while staring at me. Her gaze seemed to bore right through my shirt to my bare chest. That heightened my discomfort level, but in a good way. She glanced at me, and her mouth opened as if to speak, but no words passed her lips.

I offered her the homework. “Do you want to see the answers?”

She took the paper and scanned the page. “You have good handwriting.”

She’d barely looked at the answers. Maybe she didn’t understand Spanish that well. I took a seat beside her on the bed and slipped the paper from her hand. “The first part of the assignment is to write the sentences in the past tense. It’s not that difficult until you get to the irregular verbs.” I turned the page over and slid my finger halfway down. “They’re right here.” When I glanced at her, she wasn’t looking to where I pointed. Instead, her gaze lingered on me.

“You’re very nice,” she said.

I almost groaned out loud. To have a girl tell a guy he was nice was like the kiss of death for anything further. That statement meant she only wanted to be friends. I dropped the paper in my lap. Whatever her reason, she didn’t come here to see me. “Do you want to take the homework with you so you can copy it?”

“Perhaps I will. As it is, I’ll probably be up half the night doing all my other homework.” She took the page from my lap. “I’m sure the answers are right. You seem really smart.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, trying to keep the sarcasm from my voice. “I’m the nice, smart guy with all the answers people want to copy.”

Her forehead wrinkled. “Is something wrong?”

“No. Just get my homework back to me before class tomorrow.”

I figured she would leave now that she got what she came for, but she turned on the bed and looked at me. “Do you know anything about the symbolism of the sun and the strength it gives to those who possess the knowledge of its power?”

“No. I’m not taking astrology. You’ll have to get those answers from somebody else.”

“It’s not school work.” Her eyebrows lifted while she stared at me. “It’s about religion—ancient mystical religion.”

“You mean like the occult?”

“Sort of.” She chewed at her lip. “Do you know anything about it?”

I wasn’t sure where she was going with this, but I didn’t believe in all that horoscope and voodoo crap, so I gave a flippant answer. “Sorry, but I can’t help you. We’re Baptists.”

She didn’t laugh, didn’t even crack a smile. Her fingers glided over my chest. “But you have that mark.”

The warmth of her hand penetrated through my thin cotton tee. I covered her hand with mine. Maybe friendship wasn’t all she wanted. With my other hand, I cupped her cheek. It was a bold move, but total rejection couldn’t be any worse than being
just friends
. If she slapped my face, I’d know exactly where we stood.

Just as I was about to pull her to me, the bedroom door burst open, and my little sister rushed in. Lisa and I jerked away from each other. Krystal ran to me and threw her arms around my neck. “Goodnight, Brendon.”

“Goodnight, sweetie.” I gave her a peck on the cheek. “Krystal, you haven’t met Lisa. She goes to my school.”

Krystal managed to say hi before darting out of the room almost as fast as she came in. With one hand on the doorknob, she paused and looked back, but it wasn’t me she shouted to. “They’re sitting on the bed, Grandma. And they’re holding hands and kissing.”

“No, we’re not.” I jumped off the bed and ran after her. She dashed out of the room before I could catch her. I flung open the door, but Grandma stood in the doorway.

“You and Lisa can come out to the living room now,” she said. “Krystal is going to bed, and she won’t bother you.”

“We’re fine in here.”

Grandma put her hand against the door when I tried to close it. “The living room,” she repeated in a stern voice. “Your mom should be home at any moment. Stevie will be going to bed, so you’ll have to come out anyway.”

Lisa slipped through the small opening in the doorway and ducked under Grandma’s arm. “I should be going.”

“You don’t have to leave.” I chased her down the hallway.

She didn’t seem inclined to change her mind and headed for the front door. I accepted the inevitable. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Her eyebrows scrunched together.

“Yeah, at school,” I clarified.

“What’s your number? I’ll call you later.” She pulled her cell phone from her jean pocket and put in my number when I gave it to her. “Is that your cell?”

I shook my head. “I don’t have one. That’s the phone here at the house.”

She opened the door, but paused and turned back. “It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Mrs. Nelson.”

“Thank you, dear. I’ve enjoyed talking with you. I hope you’ll visit us again.”

As soon as the door closed, I turned to Grandma. “If you wanted to see her again, then why’d you just run her off?”

“Don’t get all huffy with me. And I didn’t run her off.”

“You sent Krystal in the bedroom to spy on us.”

“Krystal.” She made a gasping noise as her hand pressed against her mouth. “I promised to say prayers with her and tuck her in bed.” She dashed off down the hallway.

I went into the kitchen. By the time I flipped the grilled cheese sandwich over in the frying pan, Mom and Stevie walked in.

“Are you still eating?” Mom slung the strap of her purse over a chair back.

“I’m hungry,” I grumbled.

“I’m hungry, too,” Stevie said. “Will you make one for me?”

“Make it yourself.” I tossed the spatula in the sink.

Mom always had an uncanny ability of knowing when I was ticked off. I figured she learned how to tell when people were upset from her work as a nurse. She crossed her arms over the front of the green hospital scrubs she still wore. “What’s wrong?”

“Grandma,” I said around a mouthful of grilled cheese. “She just ran off one of my friends.”

About that time, Grandma walked into the kitchen. “Stevie, change out of your karate clothes and get into your pajamas. I’ll make you a sandwich.”

“What’s going on?” Mom asked after Stevie left the room.

Grandma glanced at me, but talked to Mom. “I didn’t run off anyone. I just didn’t think it was appropriate for Brendon to entertain a guest in his bedroom and suggested they both come out to the living room.”

Mom shrugged as if mystified by the argument. “Brendon always has friends in his room.”

“I know, Ellie,” Grandma said. “But this was a little different.”

“We weren’t doing anything, Mom. Just talking.”

One of Grandma’s silver eyebrows arched. “That’s not what Krystal said.”

“Oh, I forgot.” I glanced at Mom. “Grandma sent Krystal into my room to spy on us.”

“Mom,” my mom said to her mother. “Brendon deserves some privacy when he has friends over.”

“You think you’re cute, don’t you?” Grandma squinted at me through narrowed eyelids. “Why don’t you tell her the little detail you left out?”

“What detail?” Mom glanced back and forth between us.

“You’re dying to tell her, so go ahead.” I turned to the sink so my back was to them and brushed toasted bread crumbs from my hands.

“You may be upset, Brendon,” Mom said, “but I don’t think I like your attitude. And you don’t need to talk to your grandmother like that either.”

“Okay, I’ll tell you.” I turned to face them. “My
guest
was a girl. She’s new at school and came over to ask me about homework. We went in my room because that’s where I keep my books.”