Read Sweetwater: The Kihn (The Sweet Series) for Free Online Page B

moving around and was distracted.
    “Looking out my bedroom window. A shadow flashed past, and I was afraid maybe we had a cow out—but I don’t see anything. What about Nick?” She gives me her full attention again.
    “When we shook hands... it was as if a... hot flash... shot up our arms.”
    “When was that?”
    “Right before you came in the kitchen and stole my piece of pie.”
    “Did he feel it?”
    “Yes, most definitely.”
    “Weird.”
    “Yeah,” I agreed.
    “Did you ask him about it?”
    “I did, but he didn’t have a clue. What do you think?”
    “Could it have been a shock?”
    “No.”
    “Remember the time we raised that electric fence wire old Mr. Haney had strung out in the field? That sent warmth all over my body.”
    “It wasn’t anything near that,” I tell her with a smile.
    “I remember you peed your pants.”
    “ That was you.” I remind her.
    “Oh... yeah. Well, let me know if you come up with anything.”
    “Don’t say anything about this.”
    “Of course not,” she assures me.
    “Okay, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
    “Night.”
    “Night, Di.”
     
    I’m not sure what particular noise wakes me and alerts me to someone who isn’t Jake moving about in the house. After years of hearing him get up in the night, I know the sounds he makes. These sounds are different—steps shuffling as if someone is dragging something heavy. It sounds as if it’s coming down the hall from the front room. It hasn’t reached my bedroom door yet, but I sense it’s coming.
    I scoot across the bed to the far side, slide to the cold floor, and push my way under the bed. I’m more afraid of what’s outside my room than possible spiders on the floor. And I’m plenty scared of spiders.
    It’s pitch black; I can’t see my hand in front of my face. Weird. I should be able to, at least from the light of the alarm clock. Only—nothing, total darkness, which scares me the most, I think.
    It’s close to my room. Too late, I realize I should have gone out the window, climbed the tree by the house to the roof, and woken Jake.
    Now it’s at my door, and it’s not the first time I’ve tried to breathe while making as little sound as possible as the adrenaline pumps through my body. I’m starting to shiver, too. I only have on a long-sleeved tee and boy’s boxer-type shorts. The floor’s ice cold, damp and clammy, and the air smells musty. I tense every muscle in my body and grit my teeth to stop them from chattering. I try to lie as quiet as possible on my stomach, my pounding heart the only sound. Is it still out there?
    As if answering my silent question, the door makes a loud groaning noise as something pushes against it. Covering my mouth with ice-cold hands, I want to scream for Jake. The door rattles loudly, and I pray he’ll wake from the noise.
    Whatever pushed against the door moves away. I hear it as it shuffles back toward the front of the house. As I ponder coming out from under the bed, a stair board creaks. It’s moving up the stairs, to a sleeping Jake!
    I am scared shitless as I move across the floor, going into the open. I stand, shaking, and try to decide if I should try the window or the door. Jake keeps a shotgun in the kitchen and another one in the front hall closet. The closet is in view of the stairs, so I decide on the kitchen.
    I place my ear to the door, but the only sound is the pounding of my heart. The darkness will be a problem. The power must be out. I move slowly back toward my bed. Evidently, being terrified makes me stupid because I haven’t considered the phone. With the power out, the phone won’t work anyway. My cell phone! I feel around the bottom of the nightstand where I stash my purse. I hear the floor creak above my head; it’s in the hallway above me.
    I quickly return to the door, unconcerned by stealth now. I open the door, step out into the hallway, and turn to my left toward the kitchen. I take a couple of steps when I sense something