The Secret of Strange Waters (The Light Keeper Series Book 2) by Kelly Hall Read Free Book Online

asked. “You look pale.”
    I stayed quiet as Talon put his hand to my face. “You are a little pale,” he said.
    “She’s probably pregnant,” Owen said. He meant it as a joke, of course. And any other day I’d have elbowed him or stuck my tongue out at him, but no, it had to be this day, so instead my eyes puffed up red and threatened tears—tears that I did not allow to spill.
    Talon gave Owen a harsh look, and Owen leaned in his face. “What did you do?” He was green with accusation and disgust. “I’ll kill you!” Hunter got in between them and told them to stop making a scene for my sake.
    “You got it all wrong!” Talon insisted, not backing down from Owen.
    I held back the tears but looked away from them, not able to speak, for fear that I would break. Holly stared at me wide-eyed while Talon held me close. Owen was still seething mad, and Hunter looked confused. Talon tried to console me, and glared at my anxious cousins. “We’ll talk about this later . Not now!” I didn’t see, but I was sure he motioned to Holly somehow. After all, if we did explain, even a little, Holly would know my secret. Owen kept on seething, his eyes burning through Talon. “Save your aggression for your game tonight,” Talon warned.
    After lunch, Holly and I stopped by the bathroom on the way to class. I calmed down again. “Lily, are you?” I could hear the concern in her voice.
    “No. It’s totally not possible.” I tried to smile for her benefit.
    “Oh, well, if you need to talk about anything, I’m here,” she offered.
    “Thanks, I’ve been emotional lately. Maybe it’s PMS,” I said, trying to sound as matter-of-fact as possible.
    “Oh! Yeah, maybe.” She bought it. And, thankfully, that was the end of that conversation.
    As soon as we got home, Hunter brought Holly in to meet Granny as Talon and I walked to our house. “Lily, you have to hold it together tonight. You need to focus. Hunter’s worried that you’ll accidentally summon the Light while Holly’s here. He doesn’t want her scared. She may not ever want to come back.”
    “I’ll be fine really. I just—it’s complicated. I know we made the right decision.” I couldn’t explain it to him. I was afraid I would get upset again. He and Hunter were right. I had to focus.
    Hunter and Holly came over a while later. Holly was beaming from meeting Granny. I could hear her as they approached my room: “I love her, Hunter,” she was saying. “She’s exactly like you described. Now I know where you get your sense of humor.” They appeared in my doorway.
    “Here, will you look after her?” he asked, playfully pushing her through the door. “Talon and I have some guy stuff to sort out.” He went into Talon’s room and closed the door behind him.
    “Guy stuff,” I repeated, raising a brow at Holly.
    “Don’t ask me.” She shook her head and put her hands up. With those two, there was no telling. They’d gotten so close and had become best friends over the summer. I didn’t know what they were up to, but I hoped it wouldn’t be anything embarrassing. Surely Hunter will behave himself tonight .
    After we fixed our hair, I painted Holly’s nails. She gazed around my room at the blank walls, and I could guess what was coming next. “You sure keep your room clean . Mine is full of stuff. Junk, mostly.” I figured I might as well get the story over with. She’d hear it soon enough, anyway. I had a feeling she’d be sticking around.
    “Mom and I lost our home in the hurricane last year. I haven’t replaced everything yet.”
    “Oh, I’m sorry.” Her face turned pink. “Hunter never told me that.”
    “It’s no big deal. I have everything I need.” I motioned to Talon’s room and smiled. Then the conversation took an awkward turn.
    “What’s it like? You know, living with him,” she asked. “Do you ever get tired of each other?”
    I thought about it for half a second before answering. “No. Never.” She waited