The Key

  The Key

  Secret Defenders, Book 1

  Felicia Rogers

  Smashwords Edition

  Copyright © 2011, 2015 by Felicia Rogers

  

  Dingbat Publishing

  THE KEY

  Copyright © 2011, 2015 by Felicia Rogers

  ISBN 978-1-940520-44-5

  Published in the United States of America

  Dingbat Publishing

  Humble, Texas

  Originally published by Solstice Publishing 2011–2012

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events and persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole or in part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.

  First and foremost I would like to acknowledge my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for the ability to write even one word. Next my cousin, Traci Conkle, for pushing me when I thought a published novel was a hopeless dream. And last, but definitely not least, the two ladies who read the original manuscript tirelessly and without complaint: Alicia Mountjoy and Kim Knoll.

  Part I

  Changes

  Chapter 1

  The chain rattled and clanked against the aluminum bike rack. Pushing her hair from her face, Maddie released a breath. Customers passed her and entered the convenience store. The overhead bell rang in announcement each time.

  Salt covered the icy roads and the sidewalk at the bike rack, but not the walkway to the door. Maddie cringed. How many times had she busted her behind? Since she’d moved to the southern town of Coal Creek, more than she cared to count. It would make her look like a dork… again. No matter how hard she tried to blend in, she always wound up making a dork of herself. No wonder she wasn’t making any friends — who’d want to be friends with her?

  The autumn weather was so strange, one day sunny, the next rainy, the next snowy. She’d never lived in the South before; was every year like this one, or was the world determined to mess with her?

  Drawing in a deep breath for courage, she took a step and slipped. Legs spread wide, she reached out to steady herself against the paned glass window, but missed the mark.

  “Whoa!” someone said. A masculine voice, nice and strong.

  Heat flushed her face. The object she gripped wasn’t the cool frame of the store window but a shirt covering the hard muscles of a well-developed chest.

  Lifting her chin a fraction, she stared into the bluest eyes she’d ever seen. A smile tilted the corner of her rescuer’s lips.

  “Are you okay, miss?”

  Miss! He called her miss! Not oaf or clumsy or… A thrill rattled up her spine, setting her brain askew.

  Fighting a rising fog, she shook her head. “Yes.” And cringed. She’d just dorked herself again.

  His smile widened and he helped her straighten. “I was just going in the store. May I help you inside?”

  She managed a nod without contradicting herself this time.

  He gathered her small hand in his larger one and squeezed. He opened the door and waited. “You go first.”

  Don’t act like an idiot, Maddie. He released her hand and a hollow place opened inside her, as if she’d lost her best friend. His lips tilted in a smirk as if this was a common occurrence between him and those of the female persuasion. She didn’t doubt it.

  Determined he not realize the full extent of how he’d affected her, she squared her shoulders and strutted inside. The warmth slapped her face and dispelled the fog. Removing her scarf, she turned to thank the stranger, but he’d disappeared. The store seemed filled with boys, but they were all the wrong boys.

  She twisted her lips in disappointment and strode to the back wall housing the coolers. Milk and eggs gathered, she strolled past the candy bar aisle. Chocolate bars with nougat, chocolate bars with peanuts, chocolate bars with chocolate filled an entire row and her mouth watered in anticipation. Maddie closed her eyes, paused for a deep, settling breath, and reached forward. The plastic covering of a candy bar didn’t fill her hand, but rather something warm. She opened her eyes, hoping her rescuer had reappeared.

  “May I help you?” An elderly gentleman stared at her hand, closed around his coated forearm, and frowned.

  She released him, heat searing her face. “I— I don’t think I need a candy bar today.” Dorks don’t deserve them.

  She ran to the cash register, checked out, raced to her bike without suffering a repeat of her earlier disaster, and stowed the groceries in the front basket. The lock fumbled in her hands and she dropped the key twice.

  She almost sighed when she managed to open the lock. Unfortunately, the chain slid from her grasp and fell onto the ground. Angrily, she ripped it up, threw it in the basket on top of the milk, and took off down the road.

  Just another day in her new and dorkish life.

  ****

  Chase raced to the restroom. Hopefully the damsel he’d left could find her way around the store. The poor girl seemed lost.

  When he returned, his family milled about. The damsel wasn’t in sight. She hadn’t been very tall; she might be hidden by the chip racks in the back. He peered around them. Not there.

  “Look here, Mom! They have chewy caramel sticks. May I have one?” yelled Chris, who loved everything sweet and enjoyed at least two cavities per year.

  Was that a flash of auburn hair, over by the back cooler? Chase frowned. No, just the lights reflecting off a display of sodas. The girl couldn’t have left that quickly, could she?

  His mother rolled her eyes and grabbed a handful of the caramel sticks from the shelf. “Now, don’t ask for anything else. If we keep eating like this I’m going to be as big as a horse.”

  His father leaned over and planted a kiss on Mom’s cheek. “Doesn’t matter to me, Carissa, I’ll still love you.”

  Mom smiled and slapped Dad playfully. Embarrassed, Chase moved away and squatted to study the store shelf. Jerky and healthy snacks as well as candy. Not bad for a small town, so maybe this wouldn’t be the worst place on earth for his family to settle down.

  The girl he’d rescued seemed to have disappeared, and he let the stab of disappointment trickle down deep. She’d been pretty in an unusual way. Waist-length auburn hair and jade green eyes had drawn him as soon as she had tilted her face toward him. But again, small town; he should be able to find her at school.

  He groaned at the thought of settling in at yet another place. Sometimes being part of a military family had major drawbacks. Like traveling and moving multiple times a year. Hopefully this would be the last time for a while. His father had retired from the military and taken a job as a consultant at a weapons plant. Now they were moving to the sleepy town of Coal Creek, close to his father’s employment.

  “Chase!” Craig, his younger brother by two years, waved at him.

  Chase’s legs cramped and he shook them as he stalked toward Craig.

  “Hey, bro, what do you think of this? There’s a comb in the honey!”

  Chase rolled his eyes and patted his brother’s back. “You need serious help.”

  “Boys, it’s time to head out.”

  Colton and Cole, the twins, grabbed snack bags of chips, snagged candy bars, and plopped them on the counter. The pile grew as
each of them laid down their snacks for the remainder of the trip. Dad paid, and they ran outside and filed into the SUV.

  “Shouldn’t be long now, guys. Your mom and I are really excited about this house. We know you’re going to love it.” They squeezed each other’s hands and looked longingly into each other’s eyes.

  Cole groaned. “Mom! Dad! Do you have to do that in front of us? We’re only ten! You might scar us for life.”

  Music poured through Chase’s headphones, blocking the ensuing explanation. The twins received more lectures than a college student.

  The vehicle sped along the highway. A cool breeze drifted through a cracked-open window and he shivered. November in the town of Coal Creek wouldn’t be warm like sunny southern California. Surfing and sunning most of the year would be a thing of the past. He’d made some great friends in California. And what of the girls! Tanned, with that honey-colored hair that only comes from lying in the sun. He almost sighed aloud. Why did it seem like every time they moved somewhere good, they didn’t get to stay long?

  Chase bobbed his head to the music and stared out the window at a fast-flowing river. He blinked. A creature with glowing red eyes slithered into the water. Only a second’s glimpse, that was all he got, then the car had passed it and trees blocked the view.

  He rubbed his eyes and faceplanted against the pane. His heart raced. What was it he’d learned in school? Alligators lived in freshwater and their eyes reflected light, which made them look red. Could it be? Could that giant lizard-like creature have been a real alligator?

  He fell back against the seat. It couldn’t have been anything weird and bizarre, like something out of a strange novel — what was he thinking? Gators weren’t weird and bizarre? Chase laughed at himself and settled deeper into the music.

  Finally the SUV turned in at a driveway and shuddered to a halt. Everyone climbed out, but Chase hung back, watching. The two-story white house with a picket fence reminded him of an old sitcom set. Kids rode skateboards along the dead-end street. Older boys played ball in their driveways.

  Coal Creek might not be such a bad place after all. Especially once he found that strange damsel again.

  ****

  Next morning, Maddie fumbled into school, yawning and rubbing her tired eyes. The nightmares had begun again. The therapist said time healed all wounds. But what did he know?

  She hitched her full backpack a little higher. She was still fairly new to Coal Creek High School. Because it was the middle of the year and there were no empty lockers, she had to carry her books everywhere she went, shouldering the heavy load. There’d been talk about finding her some space in the teachers’ lounge. Wouldn’t that be fun.

  This school really needed a construction project, focusing on shiny new lockers. And the girls’ restrooms, of course. Powder blue with wall-to-wall mirrors and soft lighting would be good. Yeah. Right.

  Everything was different, so different from…

  Stroking a stray hair behind her ear, she shook off the memories and wondered about the boy at the gas station. Was he just passing through? Did he live nearby? He’d had blond hair and kind blue eyes. He’d been nice to her, which was a rarity. These days she either received pitying or awkward stares. Nothing attuned to the friendships she’d enjoyed before she came to live in Coal Creek.

  She entered English class and headed to the back corner. On her first day a couple months earlier, it had been the only available seat. Fortunately, it provided room for her to shove her books out of the way. It also gave her a place to hide from inquisitive eyes. Being the new girl was a pain.

  But someone occupied her chair. The guy was dressed in black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black boots. Thick and wavy black hair lay across his forehead and caressed the top of his shoulders. He was handsome in a dark kind of way. And he was newer than she was. Excellent, she was off that particular hook.

  What were the odds that she’d meet two handsome strangers in two days, in such a small town? Of course, neither would want anything to do with her, not with all the cheerleaders sashaying around. Not a dork like her.

  But this handsome stranger lifted his eyes to her face and grinned. “Am I in your seat?”

  His words dripped with both honey and venom in a strange sort of way. She gulped. Had he just spoken to her? The dork, the oaf, the friendless?

  “Yeah, but umm…” How do you tell someone like him to give your seat back?

  He folded his muscled arms over his broad chest. “Mr. Henley told me to sit in the back. How lucky am I?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Looks like I was lucky enough to take the seat of a beautiful woman.”

  Maddie heard a gasp and glanced behind her. Stephanie — better known as Miss Popularity — gawked. She blinked rapidly and said to those around her, “What, what did he say? He can’t be talking to her.”

  Maddie faced the new guy, her confidence renewed. If talking to the dark handsome stranger got Stephanie’s goat, then she was all for it. “Yes, that’s my seat.”

  Stephanie’s voice rose an octave. “Did she just speak to him? Someone fan me!” Stephanie poured on the drama, and her sidekick Marley grabbed a book and waved it like a fan.

  The boy in black stood and offered Maddie her seat. “Sorry about the mix-up.” He held his hand out. “I’m Dougal Lachlan. It’s nice to meet you.”

  Maddie glanced again over her shoulder. Stephanie was on the verge of stroking out, her face as red as a pomegranate as she gasped for breath. With a satisfied grin, Maddie accepted Dougal’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, too. I’m Madelyn Clevenger. But you can call me Maddie for short.”

  They shook hands and a thud echoed behind them. Stephanie had slipped from her chair and toppled to the floor in a theatrical, deliberate move.

  Maybe her lack of friends hadn’t been entirely her own dorky fault.

  ****

  Maddie fought a grin as she walked to her next class. Other students stared at her and she lowered her head, allowing her hair to drape across her face. Her Cheshire cat grin was for herself alone.

  News of Dougal and their conversation had caught the school rumor mills and she’d become an instant sensation. She didn’t like being stared at, but man, it beat the pity and indifference by a long country mile.

  She entered her next class and strode to the back to take her seat. Again Dougal sat there, his legs crossed at the ankles and propped on the seat before him.

  “Maddie, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Looks like I’ve done it again.”

  “Looks like it.” Heat flushed her cheeks and she stroked a strand of hair behind her ear. Wait, did she do that when she got nervous?

  Dougal moved and swept out his arm. Maddie took her seat and shoved her books underneath. When she lifted her head, everyone stared at her. She cleared her throat and flipped her book open. Felt good.

  Stephanie vigorously fanned herself with a folded piece of paper. “I don’t get it. I just don’t get it.”

  “Don’t worry, girlfriend,” Marley said. “I’m sure it’s just an anomaly in the space-time continuum.”

  “What?” Stephanie glared and shook her head. “Marley, what are you babbling about?”

  “I was trying to explain the new guy’s odd behavior.”

  “How, by being odd yourself?”

  Marley narrowed her eyes and fell back against her chair.

  It was almost comical. If Maddie hadn’t considered the entire situation weird, then she’d have been jumping in delight.

  The teacher entered and Maddie shifted her gaze. A tingle raced along her spine. Dougal was kicked back and staring at her. He lifted his hand in a salute. Gnawing her lip, she lowered her gaze and studied her book.

  It wouldn’t do to gloat too much. Just enough.

  ****

  “Chase, the principal will see you now,” said the plump school secretary.

  Chase nodded. He hated the first day at a new school, especially w
hen the year was already started. Being the only one wandering around and getting lost, wondering between classes if he had enough time for his locker and the bathroom both, finding himself at the wrong end of a long hall with ten seconds before the bell…

  At Coal Creek High, the principal met with all new students. Chase’s parents thought of it as a great opportunity. He thought of it as a way to ruin a guy’s reputation before it even started. And how many new students could a small, one-horse town possibly get?

  He entered the office. The rotund, balding man behind the desk held a large pastrami on rye. He took a bite, laid it down, leaned forward, and offered his hand. “Chase Donovan? Welcome to Coal Creek. Hope you don’t mind if I eat lunch.”

  Chase averted his gaze. A piece of lettuce was wedged between the principal’s front teeth. “No, sir. I don’t mind.”

  “Good.” He waved Chase to a chair, then took another bite, chewed, and swallowed. “Young man, I believe you’ll like it here. We’re a small school with big opportunities. Do you play sports?”

  “Only for recreation.”

  “What a pity. You’ve got the build.” The principal chomped another bite. He picked up some papers on his desk and riffled through them. “I see here that your father was in the Air Force. I was a military man myself.”

  Chase critiqued the man’s physique and refrained from comment about how long ago that must have been. “Yes, he’s retired now.”

  “Ah, so he came here to retire. I don’t blame him. This is a wonderful community. And now that the weapons plant is expanding… well, they’re the big employer in the area. If they’re expanding, it’s really great for the town.”

  “That’s good to know.”

  “Do you have any questions?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Very well, then. See Mrs. Grady at the front desk and she’ll help with your schedule. I’m sure you’re going to love it here.”