The Wraith's Return by Raemi A. Ray

Author:Raemi A. Ray
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9781962707336
Publisher: Tule Publishing Group, LLC
Published: 2024-05-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

The sunshine did nothing for Kyra’s stormy mood as she parked her SUV in the Menemsha parking lot. She yanked her sunglasses off and flipped down the visor. She looked at herself in the mirror. With the pads of her fingers, she tried to pat out the dark smudges under her eyes. She’d woken up in a cold sweat, the recurring nightmare of being trapped on the Neamhnaid leaving her exhausted and raw. She’d almost caved and called Chase, just to hear his voice. He’d have answered, sat with her like she’d done for him at least a dozen times, but she’d never made a late-night call to him before and she couldn’t bring herself to pick up the phone.

Kyra wrapped her arms around herself and let her forehead drop to the steering wheel. I can do this. Chase won’t let anything happen to me. There is no storm. This is not the Neamhnaid. She’d been repeating this mantra over and over in her mind all morning. It wasn’t helping. She replaced her oversized sunglasses, forced her lips into a weak smile. Fake it ’till you make it, right? Gathering the vestiges of her courage, she stepped out onto the sunbaked pavement.

Kyra’s senses were overwhelmed by Menemsha in the summer. The tiny harbor bustled with boats of all sizes. The breeze carried scents of diesel fuel and fish. People were already camped out on the beach. Children flew kites dangerously close to a sculpture of a spearfisherman.

She made her way down the docks to the enclave of private boathouses. The Hawthorn shed had been refreshed since she’d been assaulted there last spring. It’d been painted a bright blue, and the faded decorations removed. The island’s would-be national flag replaced the dingy American one that used to fly on the pole. She bit into her lip and grateful tears welled in her eyes. Chase had done it for her. Not for the first time, she wondered how much of the party-boy persona was an act for the public, and the real Chase was the empathetic person she had come to cherish these last few months.

“Morning,” she called through the open door.

“Oomph!”

Something hit the floor, and Chase swore. There was another muffled bang, and he emerged from the boathouse holding a few sorry looking life jackets. He flashed her his playboy smile, half teasing, half devious, and pushed his hair out of his eyes.

“You need a bell.”

Kyra laughed, but it came out high-pitched and nervous.

Chase’s eyes narrowed and his smile faded. “Couldn’t talk Grace and Charlie into coming?”

“No.” Kyra made a face. “I think Charlie has been turned off sailing for life.”

“Hmmm, makes living on an island more challenging…”

Kyra huffed another strained laugh. “Her fear is understandable.” But since the easiest way on and off the island was by ferry, she hoped for Grace’s sake, Charlie’s phobia was limited to sailboats, especially since Charlie had regular visits with specialists on the mainland for her diabetes.

“I know,” he mumbled, more to himself than to Kyra.

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