RUNES (A Runes Book 1)

Chapter 9

9. THE UNEXPECTED

“No,” I moaned.

“What?” Cora asked.

“My car’s missing.” I parked and jumped out of Cora’s. Who could have taken it? Mom? I reached into my pocket for my cell phone and speed dialed her number. Please, let her be okay. “Do you have my car, Mom?”

“Hey, sweetie. You didn’t use it, so I took it in for inspection. The registration card’s been sitting in my office for weeks, and the deadline is tomorrow. All’s taken care of now. I’ll bring it home.”

I was so relieved she was fine, but I wasn’t taking chances. “That’s great, Mom. Can I just come over and pick it up? I need it now.”

“Sure. Bring mine. The spare key’s in the drawer. Oh, Mrs. Rutledge said you left with our new neighbor on his Harley this morning. When am I going to meet this young man?”

I swear I couldn’t sneeze without that nosey hag saying something to somebody. “I don’t know. Whenever. I’ll see you in a few minutes, Mom.” I hung up, looked at Cora, and grinned. “My mom took it in for inspection.”

Cora rolled her eyes. “Of course she did, and you were acting like it’s the end of the world. No one around here steals cars. Pick you up at seven fifteen,” she added then reversed.

I waved and went inside the house to retrieve the spare key from the kitchen, my car keys, wallet, and laptop and headed to the garage. I almost collided with Torin, who was entering the cul-de-sac as I left. I ignored him even though my stomach did its usual flip-flop. I didn’t understand my body and how it could ignore what I knew. Torin was bad for me on some many levels. It didn’t matter that I melted every time he was within an inch of me or that the mere thought of him had the power to send my pulse leaping. He was trouble. I’d lied to the principal and my counselor today to protect him and his friends. Who would I lie to next? My friends? My mother?

Mom’s store was on Center Street, one of the busiest streets in Kayville. I couldn’t find a place to park, so I parked in one of the reserved lots in the back. My Sentra was there, runes squiggled all over it. I really hated those things.

The bell dinged when I opened the back door to enter the custom-framing and mirror store. I couldn’t see Mom, but Jared waved from behind the service desk while the new girl, Deirdre, was busy talking to a customer at the other end of the store. I ran a hand along a baroque picture frame, peered at the designs, and frowned. No, it couldn’t be. My crazy mind was seeing symbols that looked like runes in places they shouldn’t be.

“Hey, Raine,” Jared called out.

I moved closer and smiled. “Hey. Where’s Mom?”

“With a customer, but she said you should wait for her. How’s school?”

I shrugged. “Same. How are things here?”

“Crazy busy. We got a huge order from the museum that’s keeping us busy.”

That explained Mom’s new schedule. Not only did she frame mirrors and print art for furniture stores, she started receiving orders from Portland Art Museum a year ago. I moved around the store, studying framed photographs and mirrors.

“There you are,” Mom said from behind me, and I turned. As usual she was dressed in a colorful top and skirt. Then I saw who her customer was, and my smile disappeared. Eirik’s mother. Despite not being related, she was tall with blonde hair like Eirik. Unlike him, she always dressed in an expensive, designer suit and was unapproachable.