Stepping
Stones (The Stone Series, #1)
Release
Date: 08/25/15
Urban
Fey Press
Summary
from Goodreads:
Onnaleigh
Moore is part of a plan—and it isn’t hers. When her brother dies
in a car accident, Onna is desperate to preserve the tatters of her
family. Any hope of finding normalcy vanishes when her mother runs
off and her dad turns to booze to numb his pain. Onna’s grief is
crippling, but the boy who showed up just when she needed him is
helping her cope.
Everett’s presence is comforting, though he knows things—Onna’s name just before they met, where she lives, and sometimes he comments on thoughts she doesn’t say aloud. She pegs him for a stalker, or maybe psychic, but the truth is deadlier than she imagines. As their feelings for one another deepen, Everett confesses a horrifying secret: Onna’s brother is only the beginning of the plan, and some fates are worse than death.
Everett’s presence is comforting, though he knows things—Onna’s name just before they met, where she lives, and sometimes he comments on thoughts she doesn’t say aloud. She pegs him for a stalker, or maybe psychic, but the truth is deadlier than she imagines. As their feelings for one another deepen, Everett confesses a horrifying secret: Onna’s brother is only the beginning of the plan, and some fates are worse than death.
About
the Author
Kacey
Vanderkarr is a young adult author. She dabbles in fantasy, romance,
and sci-fi, complete with faeries, alternate realities, and the
occasional plasma gun. She’s known to be annoyingly optimistic and
listen to music at the highest decibel. When she’s not writing, she
coaches winterguard and works as a sonographer. Kacey lives in
Michigan, with her husband, son, and crazy cats. Along with her
novels, Reflection Pond and Antithesis, Kacey's short fiction can be
found in Sucker Literary Vol 3, and the upcoming Spark Vol 7, Ember:
A Journal of Luminous Things, and Out of the Green: Tales from
Fairyland.
Divorce.
The
word burrowed deep in Onna’s chest, barbed like the sharp quills of
a porcupine. The sting radiated from her heart into her lungs, her
head, her hands. She knew she should stick around and listen to her
parents’ stumbling apologies and paper-thin explanations, but she
couldn’t.
She burst through the
front door into dazzling sunshine. The sky hung endless above her
from horizon to horizon—perfect, crisp blue. She glanced back at
the windows, rooms hidden by curtains and blinds. Houses were
facades, masks to cover pain and heartbreak. She could stare at the
glass all day, where cheery vines and flowers spilled from window
boxes, and never see past the guise. Even now, her parents were
probably sitting in cruel silence, debating how to avoid each other
until one of them moved out.
It made her sick.
Sliding into the
driver seat of her Grand Am felt like stepping into a sauna.
End-of-summer heat collected in the car and made the interior
stifling. Onna cranked the windows and cursed her parents for not
buying her a car with automatic anything,
and
the air conditioner was broken. Her dad promised to fix it four
months ago. Guess he was too busy planning the divorce to get around
to it.
Onna pressed her
phone to her ear before she backed out of the driveway. Caleb
answered on the first ring.
“Baby sister,” he
said, a smile in his voice. The knot around Onna’s heart eased.
“What’s shakin’?”
She pictured him on
the balcony of his apartment in Traverse City, feet propped on the
banister, staring out over Lake Michigan. She stayed with him for two
weeks in July, spending her days sprawled on the beach with a book in
her hands while Caleb studied for medical boards. At night, they
prowled the town and sampled swanky restaurants, and Cora, Caleb’s
girlfriend, took Onna dancing at a beachside club.
“Caleb—” Onna
said, wondering how to break the news.
“They finally told
you.”
Onna nearly dropped
the phone. An angry honk sounded from behind her, and she realized
she’d stopped at a green light. Muttering, she passed through the
intersection and pulled into a parking lot. The convenience store was
dead, the lot deserted. The relentless heat drove everyone indoors
where there was air conditioning and iced-tea and Saturday afternoon
movie marathons. Neon signs advertising beer and cigarettes flickered
in the window. The attendant inside leaned over the counter, watching
her.
Returning to her
conversation with Caleb, she hissed, “You knew?” The pause was
long enough to serve as Caleb’s confession.
“Don’t be upset,
Leelee.” He fell back on her childhood nickname, even though she’d
asked him to stop. Onnie, Leelee, Leigha—her name, Onnaleigh Evelyn
Moore, was too easily shortened. “They fell out of love,” Caleb
continued. “We can’t expect them to stay together if they’re
unhappy.”
“Easy for you to
say, you don’t live with them. You didn’t see how Dad looked at
Mom. You didn’t see him cry.” Onna closed her eyes. Tears burned
behind her lids. She wished she were with Caleb now. He’d tell her
a dirty joke or let her drink half his six-pack. He’d make it
bearable.
Her parents always
laughed about Onna’s devotion to her older brother. Whenever she
hurt herself as a child, she ran to Caleb. From the time she could
walk, Caleb was the one who kissed her scrapes and chased the
boogeyman from beneath her bed. Even now, she called him with
breakups and bad grades and for advice about everything. He was the
only twenty-five-year-old male Onna knew who would listen to her
ramble about boys, makeup, and what color dress she wanted for prom.
During Caleb’s
drawn out silence, a vintage, kelly green Mustang pulled into the
convenience store lot, all sleek lines and muscle. Onna groaned as
the driver, instead of choosing a space near the entrance, pulled in
next to her at the far corner. She wiped her eyes and debated rolling
up the windows. There was nothing worse than crying in public, except
having a witness. In the end, she settled for glowering at the driver
as he emerged.
Much like his car,
which was a sex-machine with four wheels, the guy was hard lines and
hotness. He wore board shorts and a blue t-shirt over dark, olive
skin. A longish crop of unruly brown hair hung to his eyebrows. Black
aviators perched on a straight nose.
Onna swore she felt
his gaze on her face. She sank lower into the seat and her cheeks
heated. The guy nodded in her direction before crossing the lot and
disappearing into the store. The doorbell’s jangle reached her
ears, followed by Caleb’s worried voice.
“Onna? Hello?”
She swallowed, heart
thudding against her ribs in a frantic dash to be free. The Grand
Am’s vents blew hot against damp cheeks. She propped her door open
and gulped fresh air. Who
is that guy?
“I’m here,” she
said, peeking over the seat back. She lost sight of the guy between
the shelves.
“Cora and I are
coming home next weekend. Can you survive until then? I have some
time off saved for a special occasion, but I wouldn’t mind spending
it on you.” In the background, the excited tone of Cora’s voice
rose, and Caleb mumbled, “It’s Onna.”
There was a moment of
deafening static, and then Cora was on the line. “We’re engaged!”
she yelled.
Onna squealed.
“You’vegottabekiddingme!”
“Not
kidding. He got me a rock. I can hardly hold my hand up.”
“Lies,” Caleb
said, voice far away. Another rumble of static and Caleb spoke again.
“She was supposed to wait
until next weekend.” His voice distorted as if he covered the
mouthpiece with his palm. “You
were supposed to wait... You know, wait. Should I spell it for you?”
Cora giggled and
Caleb’s voice lifted to full strength. “Keep it to yourself. With
everything going on…” he trailed off and suddenly Onna was back
in the living room, seeing her mom glare at her dad while tension
churned around them.
“Right,” she
said, forcing brightness into her words. “Congratulations, Caleb.”
“Thanks. Hang in
there. At least school starts soon. Senior year.” He faked a sob.
“My baby sister’s growing up. Anyways, call me if you want to
talk. Cora and I are headed out to tell her parents. She thinks her
dad will chase me with a shovel.”
Onna was horrified.
“He wouldn’t.”
“That’s what I
said,” Caleb agreed, laughing.
“He’s got a
shotgun,” Cora yelled.
She’d just hung up
when the guy came out of the store carrying two jumbo blue slushes.
Prickles crawled up Onna’s neck. She tossed her phone onto the
passenger seat and closed her driver door. When she looked up, he was
outside her window, dripping plastic cup held through the opening. A
red swirly straw sat atop the melting blue drink.
“You looked like
you could use this,” he said, leaning down so his face filled her
open window. His mouth curled in a sexy smile that made Onna lose
conscious thought. She wished she could see his eyes, but the lenses
of his glasses were so opaque she couldn’t guess the color behind
them.
“Uh—thanks?”
she said, hoping he’d go away.
He pushed the drink
closer. The sharp sting of cold condensation falling onto her bare
legs jolted her from the stupor. She took the slippery cup, burning
fingers brushing his freezing ones. Her stomach tickled.
“See you around,
Onna,” he said, standing.
She watched him climb
into his car. He rolled down the windows—also manual—giving her a
view of an all leather interior and shiny four-speed shifter on the
floor. The guy put the straw of his slush—also red swirly—to his
lips and drank deeply. Onna thought she would die before that sip
ended. Then he smiled, backed neatly around her car, and tore out of
the parking lot.
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Beautiful cover! I'd love to read this!
ReplyDeleteTHank you for informing me about this book.
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