Jaden (St. Sebastians Quartet #1) by Heather Elizabeth King Read Free Book Online Page A

Kenda wanted to see that sculpture. He wanted to see that maze. True, he wasn't dressed for it, but he had other suits. "Are you sure we can't go inside today?"
    "No. Another day, when you're dressed properly."
    She and Chris continued on, but he lingered where he was. Maybe he could find pictures of it online. There had to be something from when the murders happened.
    "Kenda?"
    Kenda looked ahead at Chris, who'd called him. Kenda looked at the maze one last time.
     
    *****
     
    The day had been an odd one, to say the least. They had gotten the job to do the Lancaster Mansion remodel without putting forth much effort at all. And the money; Kenda couldn't wrap his head around making so much money on one job.
    Kenda stepped into his house and headed for the kitchen. One thing was for sure, he'd been so focused on gathering everything that was needed for a remodel that he hadn't had a minute to think about his beautiful new neighbor. But now that he was home, he realized he'd be seeing her in just a few hours.
    "If she goes for Chris, or Tyler, or Nico, no big deal," he told himself. He reached in his fridge and got out a bottle of water. "It's happened before, it'll happen again. No biggie."
    But he thought he just might feel differently this time around, if this one edged toward one of the other guys. He actually wanted this one. So he had to do his best not to blend in like wallpaper. He had to make sure she noticed him somehow, he had to be more engaging than them.
    "Right," he said, then took a swig of water. "That'll be the day."
     

CHAPTER SIX
     
    Jaden couldn't believe how quickly the day had flown by. She'd split her day between the historical society and the St. Sebastians Museum. She hadn't learned anything. Sure, she knew how St. Sebastians had come to be a town, and when it had become a town, but there'd been nothing in the pages and pages of documents, and letters, and newspaper clippings that gave her a clue as to why the Man in White would want her out of this town. Now it was close to six, and she hadn't even started getting ready. She'd come home around three, sat on the bed for a minute to rest her legs, and had promptly fallen asleep.
    By the time she got to the gallery it was close to eight and a small line had formed at the entrance.
    Jaden had never seen an art gallery quite like this. As Hayley had said, the St. Sebastians Downtown Mall wasn't really a mall. It was a boardwalk. All of the shops looked out onto the ocean. Some shop keepers had put benches out in front of their shop, while others had set up ornate, wrought iron tables and chairs. It was all very pretty and picturesque. Again, the thought came to her that being in St. Sebastians was like living in a fairy tale.
    Hayley had told her to go around back and knock. Was it too late to do that? Only one way to find out.
    She had to walk to the end of the block, turn left, then walked until she could find a side street that would take her down behind the buildings. There was a narrow alley, large enough for a van, behind all of the shops. Jaden supposed this was the only way for shop owners to easily get items into or out of their shops. Not to mention park. It was a bit narrow for delivery trucks, but she supposed they managed.
    She walked down the alley, looking at the backs of the shops. Incredibly, the rear entries were nearly as nice as the front. There was a line of parking spaces against a tall, black fence that bordered the alley. She didn't see many cars. Probably in a place like this, people walked or rode bikes everywhere.
    It didn't take her long to get to the gallery. She was pleased to find there wasn't a line out back. She knocked softly at the door. Almost immediately she heard Hayley's voice.
    "Jaden, is that you? You're late."
    The door opened to reveal Hayley. She was gorgeous. She'd slicked her hair back and held it in place with a simple black clip at the nape of her neck. Instead of the bright pastels Jaden had been