Page 2 of Untraced Magic
She leaned out of the cart, and I lifted onto my toes, taking the coffee from her.
“Thanks. I’m Morgan. And I might just do that.” With a nod, I waved goodbye.
At that moment the bus pulled away, revealing the waterfront I hadn’t seen from where I’d exited moments prior. I mean, nothing ever looks like the photos, but hell, the real estate agent had really oversold this place.
In the previous town I lived in, I’d found myself instantly drawn to a new board listing properties for sale in Cutters Cove. The house prices seemed reasonable, and before I knew it, I’d fallen in love with a cottage from the pictures alone and bought it. The agent had described the town as a quaint seaside village.
I guess that much was true, but quaint?
It was an insane thing to do, move to a town I’d never been to, to buy a house I’d never seen in person. I was never spontaneous, but something about Cutters Cove spoke to me, invitation by instincts you could say. Aside from the small rental house I’d lived in, with a roommate that seemed to think neon was the new black, I’d only ever lived with my parents. But life threw me a giant curve ball.
I learned that when your parents die, a piece of you dies with them. And that piece, the gaping hole in your heart, I don’t believe ever mends. It could be stitched, or patched up, like the worn knees on your pants as a child, but never fully mended. Turns out you also get a reasonable inheritance... and an unfathomable urge to just get the hell away fromeverything.
I surveyed the bleak harbor, where trees drained of life stood bare in the ill waters. Others floated on the surface, evidence of storms since past that had claimed their souls.
There seemed to be a channel in the grave of limbs that led beyond the murky scene, and I wondered what lay beyond its blanket of secrecy. Closer to shore, boats scaled with grime bobbed like ghost ships in the thin mist that skimmed the water. Its harbor docks proved uneven and weathered, held together by brazen bolts seeping rust into its hollows.
It was like it had no heart. Like no one cared. I grimaced at the sight.
A brittle gust swept my long, dark hair over my face, and I gathered it in my hands, pulling my wool coat tighter around me.
Walking up the main street, I continued along the pavement where I passed a corner shop, an apothecary, and a large stone complex that appeared to be a town hall. I was halfway across the road when a prickle chilled the nape of my neck.
The kind that told me curious eyes followed my every move.
I was the new girl in town. The outcast. But my parents had moved often for work, so it was something I’d become used to over time and I no longer cared, happy to fade into whatever town they dragged me to next.
People could stare all they wanted with their eyes that assumed who I was in one wild sweep. It was usually backed up by an onslaught of verbal diarrhea among the elderly that had nothing better to do than gossip, like a rite of passage in small towns.
I expected nothing less. Still…
I stole a glance to my side, convinced I was the center of someone’s attention.
Turns out I wasn’t wrong.
Except the eyes that found mine lacked the usual crinkled corners framed by gray hair I’d become accustomed to.
Fifty feet away, in what I thought was an abandoned gasoline station, charcoal irises found mine with an intensity that made time drag into amoment.
Curiosity piqued my senses. So much so that my feet faltered as I greedily searched to uncover the figure attached to the dark coals that had brought me to a sudden halt. Dressed in coveralls, his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. Oil-smudged hands gripped the side of a car hood.
His thick brown hair matched the morning shadow that edged his jaw, but his eyes…
They were locked onto mine.
An intense heat slid over me. Into every part of me.
Theslamof the hood shutting made me jump as he turned away, walking deeper into the building.
Who wasthat?
Men rarely grasped my attention.
My feet fell into step once more, and I chanced a glance over my shoulder but didn’t see him.
I let out a long breath, trying to calm the beat that thundered in my chest.
Seriously.Get yourself together.
