Cascades of Moonlight (The Parker Harris Series: Book #1)

  “Parker, sweetie, can you come downstairs, please,” my mom called from the living room. I hung up the phone from filling Jackie in about Quinn meeting my parents. I ran downstairs and my parents were seated on the couch, looking quite serious about something. Uh-oh, this can’t be good.

  “What’s up?” I asked. They motioned for me to sit down. This is probably going to be a lecture about the limitations I have now that I have a boyfriend. I hoped it wouldn’t turn into an embarrassing sex-ed talk.

  “Princess,” my dad began, “my job requires me to go to a conference next week, and we'll be gone for two weeks. It's in Seattle, Washington so we're going to use this as a chance to take a long vacation together. We were going to ask you to go, but after meeting Quinn and the fact that you're in school at the moment, we think you probably would rather stay here.” I agreed. A vacation would be nice, but Seattle? It rains there like 24/7, so no big loss.

  He continued, "That being said, we need to lay some ground rules about the house and what goes on here while we're gone.” I cringed.

  Oh great, here comes the sex talk. I had hoped I avoided that. “I know what you're going to say Dad. Don’t worry, I won't have overnight visits with Quinn or throw any wild parties or do anything crazy like that.”

  He smiled, “I trust you, Princess. You're about to turn eighteen and you'll officially be an adult. You've always been more mature than most teenage girls. Quinn seems like a fine upstanding young man. We don't mind if he comes over, and if it makes you feel better for someone to stay with you…” What? My parents are going to allow me to have a boy spend the night! “…you could have Jackie spend the week,” he finished. That made more sense. For a second there, I actually thought Quinn had won them over entirely.

  “Cool dad, I think I will have Jackie stay. Girl time would be nice.” I replied.

  My parents went on about different rules that I had to follow and requested I check in with them every night. When I was excused, I went up to my room and called Jackie back. I told her the good news and she was so excited. We were going to have a good old fashioned sleepover, no boys allowed. Well, okay, so the boys would probably be here some, I’m a teenage girl after all. I can’t be expected to follow all the rules, all the time! Besides, they said no boys could sleep over, but didn’t say that they couldn’t hang with us.

  At school the next day, I had been standing at my locker when Quinn grabbed me from behind and playfully bit my neck. I squealed and laughed as I turned around to face him. I couldn’t wait to tell him about my parents and when I did he got a sly look on his face. He was disappointed when I told him not to get any ideas of sleeping over and filled him in on their rules, but he understood. He kissed me and said, “Don’t move,” and then reached into his locker. He put his hand behind his back and shut the door. “Happy Birthday, Parker,” he said as he brought his hand forward, enclosed around a small box.

  “How did you know?” I said, elated as I took the gift from him.

  “Jackie told me the other day. I was wondering why you hadn’t mentioned it.”

  I shrugged my shoulders, “Truthfully, I forgot because it’s never really been that important to me. It’s just another day really.”

  He put his arms around my waist. “Well, it’s an important day to me, so get used to celebrating it from now on. Now open your present!” he said eagerly.

  All I could think about at this moment was that he was making plans to celebrate my birthday in the future; he genuinely did care about me. The gift was wrapped so perfectly in gold wrapping; inside it was a small velvet box. I slowly opened it and inside there was a ring. No, not that kind of ring; I know we’ve moved fast, but come on now. It was a claddagh ring, with an opal heart in the center. My ability to speak was gone, it was beautiful and this was the first time I’d ever gotten jewelry from a man.

  Quinn reached in and picked up the ring. He took the box from me and lifted my wrist. My hand jerked back instinctively, “I can’t wear that, it's silver!”

  He reached for my hand again and as he slid the ring onto my left ring finger he said “It's white gold, silly.” It was a perfect fit. “Do you like it? It’s a claddagh ring,”

  “An Irish ring that symbolizes love and friendship,” we said at the same time.

  I couldn't take my eyes off of it. “I…I love it. I have always wanted one, ever since Angel gave one to Buffy,” he chuckled at my television reference. “And it has my birthstone in it; I’ve never seen one with a stone in it. Thank you…thank you so much.” I threw my arms around him, his arms lingered at my waist and he nestled his face in my neck.

  He started laughing, “Now that's the reaction I was hoping for. I am glad you like it.”

  Letting go of him, I exclaimed, “Like it? I love it! It is the perfect gift, and you even got white gold. That was so thoughtful.”

  He gave me a strange look and whispered, “Well, silver wouldn't exactly be good for me either. I would prefer to hold your hand without feeling my skin burn.”

  Hmm, that's news to me, “So, Vampires can’t touch silver either? I didn’t know that. Does it make you sick too?”

  He shook his head, “No, it burns our skin. I could show you if you want. It'll heal; it just takes longer than normal.”

  He reached for a trophy in a case nearby to prove his point and I quickly grabbed his arm, “That's really okay, babe. Don’t need to watch your skin sizzle, I believe you.” He nodded in understanding and we made our way to the lunchroom.

  We joined Mitchell and Jackie in the cafeteria and started making plans for the next week. Jackie and I told them we wanted some girl time to do our nails, gossip and act goofy without having to impress boys for at least one night. Out of nowhere, Jackie screamed and grabbed my hand, “What is that? It’s stunning!” So apparently people do say stunning.

  I blushed and looked at Quinn, “It’s from Quinn, for my birthday.”

  Jackie’s hand went to her mouth, “Sweetie, I forgot that's today. I'm so sorry. I have your gift at home and I'll bring it to your house this weekend.”

  She came around the table and threw her arm around me as she continued squealing over the ring. The guys were laughing at our how girly-girl we were at the moment. “Happy Birthday Parker,” Mitchell said.

  As he was saying it, Will walked up. “It’s your birthday? I had no idea, Happy Birthday, babe” he said and he leaned down and kissed my cheek.

  If looks could kill, Quinn would've just murdered him on the spot. I placed my hand on his leg to steady him. He got the hint and did his best to smile, not his normal cute smile though, a forced one. “Thanks, Will, please join us for lunch,” I said, trying to be nice and ease the tension at the table. Will sat down on the other side of me and we all tried to act normal, but you could cut the tension with a knife. This awkwardness was my fault. I brought Will into our group and I am also the dummy that wasn’t paying attention and basically asked him to kiss me which, in turn, made everyone hate him.

  Lunch was almost over and I couldn’t let things continue this way. “Ok, look guys, this is my fault. Will didn’t do anything wrong. He's my friend and I want all of us to get along. It's my birthday, so I get what I want, right? Will, next week my parents will be out of town and I’d like you to join us for movie and pizza night. What do you say?” Quinn looked at me astonished.

  Will replied “I’d love to, thanks, Parker.” Will grinned and looked straight at Quinn, who was fuming. I really wished he would act more mature after I extended an olive branch to make sure he stayed in the group and doesn’t end up alone in the woods again. Instead, he acted like he won a round over my boyfriend, and that is so not the case.

  After lunch, I gave Quinn a quick kiss and asked him to go on to class without me. He was a bit hesitant at first but gave in and left alone. I grabbed Will’s arm and pulled him back to the table. “What’s up, Harri
s?” he asked. He called me by my last name this time which was actually cool because that’s usually what ‘buddies’ do and it was much better than him calling me babe and making Quinn’s head explode.

  “Look, Will, I need you to help me out here. I care about you and I want us to be friends, but it's hard to do that when you are exchanging looks with Quinn all the time and trying to mark territories. You need to meet me half way here and really try to get along with everyone…that includes Quinn.”

  Will sighed, “I’m sorry, Parker. Quinn and I will never be best friends, but I'll try and exhibit my best behavior from now on. I don’t want to lose you as a friend. I'll do this…for you, OK?”

  I smiled, “That's all I'm asking, for you to try. It means a lot to me that you're willing.”

  He grinned, “Well, willing is my first name, Will’s just a nickname.” I groaned at his lame joke. He leaned down and kissed my cheek, lingering with his lips touching my face for a little longer than he probably should have.

  As I pulled away from him, and turned to walk out of the lunchroom, I saw Quinn standing there watching. Here comes the lecture, I thought. My shoulders slumped; I didn't have the energy to fight today. I walked up to him and said in a defeated tone, “I thought we were going to meet in class.”

  He looked over my shoulder at Will and then took my hand in his, “I wanted to wait on you so we could walk together, hope that's okay.” And then, that smile. He knew exactly how to make me forget everything else.

  At the end of the day, walking home was a bit awkward with Quinn. “I’m sorry about Will. I should've talked to you first. I felt bad because he left his whole family and he has no one and I couldn’t let him lose a chance at four good friends over a stupid mistake,” I started rambling, again.

  Quinn stopped me just in time. Thank goodness, I was getting on my own nerves a little. “I’m not mad at you; I could've lived without him kissing you though…twice. But, that’s beside the point; I wanted to say that I thought you exhibited real grace and maturity. That’s one of the things I love most about you. You're different than most teenage girls.”

  I couldn't believe he used the 'L' word again. “Quinn, you know you've used the 'L' word more than once with me, but we've never actually said it to each other, or even talked about it.” Ok, so saying 'the 'L' word' lacked a bit in maturity, I’m new at this, I can’t help it.

  With a tone of arrogance, he replied, “Well you loved me from the moment you saw me at the cabin…or at least you were desperately hot for me.”

  A loud, “HA!” came out of my mouth and I doubled over in laughter in front of him slapping my legs. “Whew, that's a good one. I freaking hated you. You took my safe place and you were a smart as…”

  “As I was saying…” he interrupted, “you wanted me…bad,” He laughed, I smacked his arm and he flinched back laughing even harder.

  “Be serious, I think we should talk about how we feel so we know that we're both on the same page,” I told him as his laughter subsided.

  “I am serious. Vampires have excellent senses and your hormones were raging that day that you hid on the side of my house.” His mouth turned up on one side in an adorable half grin that was starting to irk me.

  Throwing my hands up in the air, I turned and walked off, “Forget it.”

  Quinn grabbed my arm and lifted my left hand running his finger over my ring. “This is a claddagh ring, but it's a particular kind. It’s called a Trinity Knot, which symbolizes infinite love, faith, loyalty and protection.” It was an even more romantic gift than I had initially realized. He dropped my hand and cupped my face with both of his. “Parker Harris, You're the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. Everything about you draws me in. The way you have a slight lisp that makes your words sound so adorable, the way you jump the gun and get so mad at me before I finish what I'm saying.” It was my turn to smirk at that comment. I do get mad at him all the time, it’s a wonder he puts up with me.

  He was still listing the sweetest things anyone has ever said to me, “The way you feel so strongly for your friends and family and how protective you are of them. I love your smile, your generous heart, your laugh and the adorable way you ramble.” I blushed and there was that sexy grin of his that seems to be reserved for me. “I love how you get embarrassed when I give you compliments…” He kissed my nose, “I love you.”

  Sigh. That was without a doubt the most romantic moment of my entire life. There were so many thoughts in my head now. Above all, I couldn’t believe I found someone so perfect. How did I get so lucky to find someone so sweet and so damn sexy too? Wait, why is his smile fading? Oh geez, I didn’t respond.

  “Quinn Roberts, I love you more.” I stopped with those simple words and kissed him. Whew, nice save, Parker. I think that made him happy because he grabbed me around the waist and pulled me to him.

  Someone cleared their throat and it caused us to finally break apart. As I turned around, I see that it’s Mitchell. “Sorry guys, I didn’t mean to interrupt, but I really need to talk to you Quinn…alone.” There was an odd tone in his voice and I was a bit taken back at the mysterious nature of his request. His hands were shaking and his face was grim.

  Gracefully, I excused myself stating I needed to get home anyway. I kissed Quinn again and waved goodbye at Mitchell as I turned to leave, but he didn’t seem to notice. As I was walking away, I turned to look back and Quinn's face had become stern and he had a hand on each of Mitchell’s shoulders as though he was trying to calm him. That's odd, but maybe someone made him mad and he is trying to determine how to deal with it. Shifting can be affected by anger so it would be easy to relate if anger causes a vamp to get out of control. Whatever it is, hopefully Quinn will fill me in soon.

  A few hours later, I got a text from Quinn and was hoping it would give me a clue to what I walked away from today.

  Quinn: Sorry we were interrupted today, I was enjoying that. I love you.

  I was a little disappointed, not at what he said, but at what he didn’t say. What could have upset Mitchell so much? Wonder if I am the only girlfriend in the dark about this?

  It was imperative I find out what happened with Mitchell and there was one person I could check with who may know. I hit one on my speed dial. “Jackie, what’s up chickie? What is up with Mitchell today? He came to see Quinn and looked so serious?” I said, as soon as Jackie answered the phone, barely letting her say hello before I started in.

  She didn't seem surprised at my outburst of questions. "I have no idea what's going on. Mitchell was supposed to meet me after school. He sent a text and said he had to see Quinn right away and he'd call me later." I filled her in on what was going on when he showed up, how shaken up Mitchell was and how Quinn reacted. Now both of us were curious at what our beaus were hiding from us. I made the choice to come out and ask mine. I’m not as patient as Jackie.

  My text to Quinn was short and sweet.

  Me: Why were we interrupted? What was Mitchell so upset about? I love you too.

  No response and so I turned in for the night. I barely slept and every time I woke up I checked to see if he texted me back. Nothing. Ugh, I hate when I text someone and don’t get a response. He could've at least told me not to worry or something.

  When I arrived at school the next day, I spotted Quinn at his locker. He noticed me and I expected him to run the other way and avoid me like he'd done before. Instead, he smiled and walked toward me, grabbed me up in his arms and kissed me with fervor. All the questions and thoughts left my mind at that moment. “Good Morning to you too,” I said once he released me. Jackie called my name and I turned to face her. I felt Quinn’s arms go around my waist from behind me and he put his head on my shoulder. Oh man, I love having a boyfriend.

  Quinn said, “Jackie, baby, where's our man Mitchell this morning?” It was obvious that she was anxious to tell us something because she hur
riedly answered him and then got to the topic that was eating at her.

  “He said he didn’t feel good so he stayed home. Did you guys hear what happened?” I had no idea what she was talking about and I guess she could tell because she kept going. “Christine Randall was found dead in the woods, they said it looks like a murder, her neck was cut wide open and she bled to death.”

  I was dumbfounded, and so was Quinn. My head turned to analyze his expression to see if he was surprised. He looked confused more than upset. I turned my attention back to Jackie, “What? What was she doing in the woods, how did they find her?” Quinn stared off into space with a look of bewilderment. What bothered me most about his reaction is that he wasn’t asking any questions or even acting like it was something he hadn’t heard before. Of course, he has killed people himself, so maybe he's numb to things like this.

  Jackie didn’t seem to notice though. “Some hunters found her. They were hunting wolves and practically tripped over her body. It sounded dreadful. They aren’t sure why she was in the woods though. They think someone may have tricked her out there and killed her. Can you believe this? I can’t ever remember there being a murder here before.”

  All day we heard rumors and gossip about what happened to Christine. Of course, everyone in town knew her because she grew up here just like 99% of the population. Christine was quite popular, but she was not very nice. Not that I am happy she is dead, I would never feel that way about anyone. However, people are acting like she was a saint. Girls that she bullied were crying their eyes out like their best friend had just been killed. I know it is pretty customary when someone dies, all of a sudden they're the most wonderful person on earth, but it was still annoying. I couldn’t help thinking about the way she died, her neck being slashed open. Who or what would do something like that?

  Quinn was nowhere to be found after school. I sent him a text to check in.

  Me: Where are you?

  A few minutes later I get a response.

  Quinn: Had something to take care of, talk later.

  He’s being secretive again. Thoughts of Christine plagued my mind as I walked. Mitchell was acting weird and had to talk to Quinn the other day. My mind flashed images of his face. He was angry and his hands were shaking. He barely looked at me. In fact, he barely acknowledged me being there. Mitchell had always been the gentlemanly type, holding doors, greeting people, friendliest guy you could ever know. For him to act like someone doesn’t exist, well that's not in his nature. Now Quinn is trying as hard as he can to keep me from knowing anything.

  Could Mitchell have killed Christine in a feeding frenzy? My hand immediately clasped over my mouth in shock. I texted Quinn again, I had to know what was going on. If Mitchell could get that out of control then, Jackie isn’t safe around him, no one's safe.

  Me: I need to know what is going on, now!

  No response, so I texted him again.

  Me: This is not negotiable Quinn Roberts, I don’t like secrets.

  Still nothing.

  Me: If you won’t answer me, fine, don’t bother coming over tonight.

  Finally, I get a response.

  Quinn: I’ll be at your house in a couple of hours and I will explain everything, I promise. I love you.

  I guess that I will have to live with that. He better show up, I won’t forgive him if he doesn’t, and I told him that.

  Me: You better explain or we are done.

  It was a bit immature not to tell him I love him, but I don’t want to sugarcoat things. If Jackie or any of my family is in danger, I won’t take that lightly.

  Chapter Ten