Hereafter (Shadowlands) by Kate Brian Read Free Book Online

you.”
    My heart bombarded my ribs with each beat. “Okay.”
    Up ahead, Joaquin flicked on a flashlight. The beam bounced over the jagged gray rocks until, suddenly, he dropped out of sight. The others, I noticed with a start, were already gone. I heard a thump and a squishing sound, and then Tristan squeezed my hand again.
    “You have to jump here.”
    He leaped down, his arm stretching out straight to keep his fingers twined in mine. I hesitated. All I could see was his face smiling up from a few feet below.
    “I won’t let you fall.”
    Someone laughed in the darkness, and a few more flashlights flickered to life. When I squinted, I saw Krista, Kevin, and Bea standing there, waiting. I swallowed my fear and jumped. Almost instantly, the soles of my sneakers hit soft, damp sand.
    “Rory!” Lauren rushed out of the darkness, slid between Bea and Kevin, and threw her arms around me. “You did your first ushering! Congratulations!” I could smell the alcohol on her breath and felt her fighting for balance. I patted her back awkwardly until she released me. She staggered sideways toward Bea and giggled.
    “How did it go?” she asked, looking around at the others.
    “He was…reluctant to leave us,” Joaquin said, kneading my shoulders from behind.
    The others laughed.
    “But Joaquin took care of that,” Tristan said.
    “I’ll bet,” Lauren said knowingly. Then she hiccuped and covered her mouth with one hand.
    “So, Rory…welcome to the cove,” Joaquin said, smiling as he tilted his flashlight toward his face. The effect was eerie, lighting his mouth and nose but casting his eyes in half shadow. “Check it out.”
    He trained the beam up ahead, and the others did the same. The tall rock wall we had just descended formed a perfect C around a wide swath of white sand. Waves curled into the shore, but in a more timid, tame way than they did out on the open beach. Dotting the sand along the sheer rock were several colorful camping tents, all but one of them dark. Someone was moving around in the second-to-last tent, which was lit from inside by a lantern.
    “Hey, Fish!” Joaquin shouted. “Get your ass out here.”
    The arc of the tent door unzipped, and Fisher stuck his head out. I half expected Darcy to be right behind him, since I’d last seen her flirting with him, but when he unfolded his large form in the small doorway, he was alone. A few beach towels were tucked under his arm, and he wore a white fedora at a jaunty angle.
    “Hey, all.” Fisher slapped hands with Joaquin, then slid his free arm over Lauren’s tiny shoulders. “How you feeling, lightweight?” he asked her. She giggled, then hiccuped, then giggled some more.
    “Okay, what’s your deal?” Joaquin asked Lauren.
    “Her new charge likes to drink,” Fisher said, grinning.
    “A lot,” Lauren said, widening her eyes as she swayed. “Like, a lot a lot.”
    Everyone laughed. “Someone’s going to be sleeping late tomorrow,” Bea chided.
    “What’s a charge?” I asked.
    “That’s what we call the people we’re supposed to usher,” Bea explained.
    “Brian was supposed to be mine,” Tristan told me.
    “Oh.” My cheeks warmed, and I looked down at my sneakers, pressing my toes farther into the sand.
    “It’s fine,” Tristan said, sliding a hand across my shoulders. “Don’t worry. I’m going to teach you everything you need to know.”
    “Yeah?” I said, a hopeful flutter inside my chest.
    “I promise,” he replied. “Why don’t you come by tomorrow morning? I’ll take you on a tour of the town. A Lifer tour.”
    I grinned. “I’m in.”
    His smile widened, and my heart responded with an extra hard thump. The weight of his hand on my shoulder felt comforting and meaningful. Here we were, in front of all his friends, and he had no problem keeping his arm wrapped around me for all to see.
    “So where are Nadia and those guys?” Joaquin asked.
    As if in answer to his question, there was a loud shriek,