Full Moon (29 page)

Outside, I opened the car door, put my
sunglasses on, and called Max. He hopped into the passenger’s side
and barked, and I put the window halfway down for him.

“Ready to have some fun, Max?” I asked.

He barked again, and I laughed at his answer
as I pulled out of the driveway.

At the docks, Julie spotted me and squealed
my name. “We’re gonna have so much fun,” she said.

“Is Jesse here yet?” I asked.

“Yep.” Julie reached down and petted Max.
“Hi, Max.”

He barked and wagged his tail.

I climbed onto the boat and found Jesse
sitting on the bow, surrounded by an entourage of bikini-clad,
giggling girls. One was showing off her bellybutton ring, and
another was asking his opinion of her tramp stamp.

When Jesse met my gaze, he smiled.

Max started barking at Jesse again, and I
secretly hoped he’d chase away his fan club.

Jesse left the swarm of girls and walked
straight to me. “Hi. You look amazing.”

“Thanks,” I said, almost smiling back at the
girls who scowled at me and walked away.

He embraced me in a long hug, then kissed my
lips.

“Sadly, ladies,” a brunette said, “it
appears Jesse is taken by the new girl.”

“Yep,” another said, shaking her head.

“Not to worry. My fun boat brings all the
boys to the yard,” she said with a grin, pointing in the direction
of the dock.

I turned and saw a whole herd of guys
climbing onboard, some in trunks and others bravely donning
Speedos.

Julie smiled. “Whoa. Talk about precious
cargo. I got dibs on the blond.”

We all burst out in laughter.

Jesse smiled at me, set me on his lap and
wrapped his arms around me. I loved being the object of his
affection, and I was beginning to feel very comfortable with
him.

“With all those animal attacks happening,”
Amy said, “I thought this would be a good idea. What could be safer
than hanging out in water in the middle of the lake?”

“It’s brilliant!” Julie squealed. “Most
animals can’t swim, and as far as I know, there aren’t any sharks
in the lake.”

The sun beat down on my skin, but the last
thing I wanted was to look like a lobster in front of Jesse. I
drizzled sunscreen from the bottle into my hands, then smeared the
coconut-scented cream all over my arms and legs. “I do feel a lot
safer here,” I said.

Amy smiled. “Me too.”

Jesse reached for the lotion with a smile.
“Need some help?” he offered.

“Sure,” I said, holding my hair up. “You’ve
always got my back, huh?” I punned.

“I have spray-on sunblock,” one of the
girl’s said.

Julie laughed. “I’m sure Jesse prefers the
hands-on method.”

“It works better to really rub it in,” Jesse
said.

“Yeah, I bet,” Julie said with a
chuckle.

My heart sped up as he rubbed the lotion
slowly down my shoulders and across my back.

“I can do your back if you want,” I said.
“It’s only fair.”

“Nah, I’m good.”

“What’s the matter, Jesse? You got a gorilla
back or something like those apes in the zoo where you work?” Julie
asked.

“Ha-ha,” he said.

A popular tune came on the radio, and some
of the girls started dancing. Others laughed, talked, and sipped on
their drinks they’d taken from the two coolers that were loaded
with sandwiches and sodas.

One of them casually said to Amy, “I heard
about the breakup. What happened?”

She frowned. “Well, he’s doing drugs and
getting all possessive.”

“Wow. It’s good you broke it off now then,”
Julie said, “especially if he’s hooked on drugs.”

Amy’s brown eyes sparkled in the sun as her
long, reddish-brown hair blew in the wind. “I don’t wanna talk
about my pitiful love life. Let’s jump in!” And with that, she did
a cannonball into the lake.

Jesse followed her, and I laughed.

“Oh my gosh! It’s freezing in here!” Amy
said.

Jesse glanced up at me. “Come on in! And
don’t worry. I’ll keep you warm.”

Taking the offer I couldn’t possibly refuse,
I dove in, then wiped the hair out of my eyes.

Max barked and was next to jump into the
water

“
Come on, Max!” I coaxed.

He started dog-paddling toward us.

I then turned to Jesse. “You left your shirt
on again.”

“Like Julie said, I’m shy.”

“Liar, liar, trunks on fire,” I said.

He grinned widely.

“I don’t care about your scar, if that’s
what you’re worried about.”

“It’s just—”

“You don’t have to explain.”

“Jesse, you need to lose the shirt and put
on a Speedo like some of those other guys,” Julie said, right
before she jumped in, splashing us. “I think a leopard print would
really bring out your eyes.”

The whirring of a boat engine caught my
attention as it approached.

“Crap. I was also hoping my nutcase
ex-boyfriend wouldn’t find me here,” Amy said.

When the boat got closer, a guy about our
age called Amy’s name. “Hey, I just wanna talk.”

Max started barking and causing a
ruckus.

The guy shot us a look. “Shut the dog up
before I shut him up for you.”

“Max!” I said, petting his head and trying
to calm him. “Shh!”

Amy looked at us. “I’ve gotta go talk to him
for a minute, or else he’ll never leave.”

“Just be careful,” Julie said.

When I noticed that all the guys were
drinking something a bit stronger than Mountain Dew, I realized it
might not be a good idea for Amy to be alone on their boat. “You
oughtta stay here, Amy,” I said. “They all look wasted. They
shouldn’t even be driving a boat.”

She ignored me, swam over, and climbed
aboard the boat. It didn’t take long for their calm conversation to
turn into a full-blown argument.

“That’s no way to talk to a girl!” Jesse
yelled.

“Shut up,” the guy said. “Just mind your own
business.”

“Well, it is my business when you pull up
next to our boat,” Jesse said.

“Piss off!” the guy replied.

I nudged Jesse. “We need to go get her,” I
said, fearing they might try to take off with poor Amy held captive
on their boat. “Amy,” I pleaded, “please come back to our
boat.”

She looked in my direction, her cheeks red.
“You’re right. He’s stubborn and bullheaded, and I don’t want to be
anywhere near him.”

I swam closer to the boat as Amy climbed
over the rail. Just as she began to jump off, her hotheaded
ex-boyfriend grabbed her and pulled her back on deck. She shouted a
few curses at the guy, and in the next second, he pulled out a
knife and angrily lunged at her.

Next, it was like everything went into slow
motion. In a flash, Jesse was on the boat, knocking the knife out
of the guy’s hand and throwing him about twenty feet. Amy and Jesse
jumped back in the water, and we all climbed back on our boat.

“Are you okay?” I asked Amy.

She let out a trembling breath. “We’re going
back to shore. I’m getting a restraining order and having Eddie
thrown in jail. He tried to kill me!”

As we headed back to the dock, I tried to
figure out what I’d just seen.
How the heck did Jesse get on the boat
that quickly? He was right beside me one second, then on the boat
in the next, like when he disappeared out of my back yard that day
I first met him. How could somebody disappear like that?
And what’s with him
throwing Eddie around like a ragdoll?
He was in good shape, of course, but I didn’t
understand how he could be so strong.
Talk about the power of
adrenaline.

Chapter 18

Julie and I went hiking in the woods on one
of the local trails along Bear Lake, hoping to burn off some major
calories. My shorts were getting a little snug, and I wasn’t too
fond of that.

“Let’s grab some tacos for lunch,” Julie
said. “I’m starving.”

“Jules!” I said. “What’s the point of hiking
if we’re gonna eat junk food? I say we have a grilled chicken
salad, with lots of veggies and light dressing.”

“Ew. I hate rabbit food.”

I laughed and shook my head. “What am I
gonna do with you?”

“Still thinking about the big kiss
yesterday?”

I smiled. “Yeah.”

“Well, you’d better lip-lock the guy with
some tongue action next time. If you don’t snag him, I’m next in
line.”

“Hey!” I playfully slugged her.

“I want you to hook me up with Jesse’s
friend, the blond who drove us home.”

“Wow. You must really have a thing for
blonds.”

“Not really. It just so happens that the guy
is gorgeous. Hello! Didn’t you notice his gorgeous eyes?”

“Yeah. They’re the same color as Jesse’s. I
wonder if they’re related, cousins or something.”

She laughed. “Heh. If we end up with them,
we might be in-laws.”

As we turned the bend in the path, I saw two
legs sticking out from the bushes. Julie screamed, and I ran to
check for a pulse and discovered that the man had short, dark hair.
When I rolled him over to feel for a pulse, I saw distinct bite
marks on his neck, as if a wild animal had attacked him. His green
eyes were glazed over, and I could tell by his pale face that he
was dead. “Oh my gosh!”

“Who is it?” Julie desperately asked.

“It’s Fred, that cute guy who did yard work
for my dad.”

My shaking fingers reached into my pocket,
and I pulled out my cell phone to call 911. I tried to remain calm
as I explained the situation, but I’d never been more freaked out
in my life and couldn’t speak very coherently. I couldn’t stop
gasping for air as I fell to my knees, sobbing.

The police showed up almost immediately, and
a female officer pulled me aside to ask me some questions.

“What happened to him?” I asked, closing my
eyes and taking a deep breath. “Who would do this?”

“Animal attack,” she said.

“No!” I yelled. “Not Fred.”

“I’m so sorry,” the policewoman said.

“I-I know who…er, what killed him.” Slowly,
I opened my eyes. Memories of the wolves stalking me came flooding
back. “I was in the woods a while back with my friends, and there
was a pack of wolves stalking us, and—”

The officer touched my back, trying to
console me. “It wasn’t wolves,” she said. “They don’t bother
humans.”

I let out a trembling breath. “No, you don’t
understand. These wolves weren’t…they didn’t act like normal
wolves.”

“This was a bear attack or maybe mountain
lion,” she surmised, sounding confident.

“Taylor!” When I turned around, my mother
was standing right there. She embraced me in a tight hug, and worry
flooded her features. “I rushed right up here when Julie called me.
Sergeant Davidson told me the entire story.”

I was suddenly so nauseated that I feared I
might throw up right there in front of everyone. “Oh, Mom, it’s so
awful.”

“I’m so sorry about Fred, honey. The officer
said I can take you home now.”

My hands still trembled. “But my car’s
here.”

“Don’t worry. Your dad and I will come up
and get it later. Let’s get you home.”

* * *

At home, I sat on the couch next to my dad.
“None of my friends have ever died before. I just feel so helpless,
so bad.”

My dad wrapped his arm around me. “I know,
sweetheart. It was a horrible accident.”

“I was walking on that trail. What if it had
decided to attack Julie or me?”

“I know. From now on, until they capture or
shoot whatever animal is responsible for these attacks, I want you
to stay off those trails.”

“Dad, how can this be happening?” I
yelled.

“There was an attack yesterday too,” my mom
said. “A tourist. It’s been all over the news. It might be
beautiful here,” she said, “but I’m scared. It’s dangerous out
there.”

“It’ll be okay,” Dad said. “When they catch
the animal, everything will get back to normal.”

I looked up at my dad. “I think it’s more
than one animal, Dad. I think it’s wolves.”

“Honey, remember what I told you about
wolves.”

“Yes, you said they rarely attack, but these
do.” I stopped and thought for a moment about what Fred had told
me. “And Dad…”

“Yes?”

“Fred said…” I stopped to sob as I thought
back on our conversation. “He told me he had evidence of,
uh…vampires around here,” I said softly. “Do you think they found
him?”

“Honey, that’s silly. Trust me, it wasn’t
vampires.”

“I’m sure you’re right. I mean, when he told
me, I laughed.”

“Poor Fred was just at the wrong place at
the wrong time,” my Dad said. “He was such a good kid. I can’t
believe this happened to him.”

His voice wavered as he spoke, and I could
tell my dad was completely shook up.

“Taylor,” my mom called from the other room,
“Julie is on the phone.”

“Can you ask her if she can call my cell?
I’m gonna go up to my room and lie down.”

“Okay.”

I hurried upstairs and picked up my ringing
cell. “Hello?” I said.

“Taylor, I’m freakin’!”

“Do you think it was the curse or the
animals?” I asked.

“I don’t know anymore. Could there really be
a curse?”

“I don’t know either, Julie, but Fred is
dead. Maybe there’s more to all of this than what we want to
believe.”

“Do you think we’re next?”

“Maybe, but what can we do about it?”

“We can start by digging up information,
talking to people who have lived here for a long time. Maybe
someone will know an urban legend that will help us figure out how
to lift the curse.”

“But it could just be the wildlife. There
have been other attacks.”

“Yeah. My dad just told me about that woman
the other day.”

“Do you think it’s the wolves?”

“I don’t know. What I do know is that we’re
lucky your blue-eyed Superman spotted that cabin in the woods.”