Read Online Inevitable by Tamara Hart Heiner - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Tamara Hart Heiner
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medium works well for me.”
“You would be a natural on television.”
I smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Thanks.” The wavy hair popped free again.
“So why journalism? Are you a curious person? Do you like to solve mysteries?”
At the mention of mysteries, I felt a stirring in my heart. Sometimes I did find myself wanting to go out and play detective when I heard about crimes or missing persons on T.V. But I knew that would bring me face to face with too many unwanteds. So I contented myself with letting someone else make the front-page news.
But thanks to Hannah, I was in the middle of a mystery right now.
I shrugged and lay back on the blanket, staring up at the darkening sky. “Nah. I’d rather not know about things, really. What about you?”
He moved his sunglasses to the top of his head, a dangerous move that instantly increased my heart rate. “I’m generally pretty curious. Like, about prom. I can’t figure out why it’s such a big deal. It’s just a high school dance.”
I propped myself up on my elbows, being careful to direct my line of vision just to the right of his face. “You are so not American. Prom is way more than that. It’s a chance for a girl to star in her own fairy tale. To get dressed up, pampered, and ride off into the night with her prince charming.” I sighed, my romantic aspirations for that magical night returning for a moment.
“I see you take it very seriously.”
I glared in his general direction, wishing he’d left his sunglasses on. “Very.”
“So who are you going with?”
I dropped my eyes, deflated. “Haven’t figured that out yet.”
He straightened one leg and rested his elbow on his knee. “You don’t like to meet my eyes. Is that a self-confidence issue?”
Irritation surged in my chest. Dang it, he’d noticed. “No.”
He waited, but I didn’t bother explaining. Instead, I took the easy way out: I changed the subject. “How are you liking Forked River?”
“Fork-ed,” he repeated, the stress on the second syllable sounding awkward and unsure. “Several times people have laughed at me for saying ‘forked.’”
“Yeah? At least it’s an easy way for us to spot an outsider. Messing up the name.”
“Why the strange pronunciation?”
“You’re one to speak,” I returned. “Everything you say is pronounced strangely.”
He laughed and stood up, brushing his hands on his khakis. The light color was the only thing I could see clearly, now that the sun had dipped below the horizon. “Funny, I think everything you say is cute.” He extended a hand. “You’re going to be late for your shift.”
Dang it. I accepted his hand. He effortlessly pulled me up, his hand drifting up to my shoulder before letting go. It only took a minute to gather up the picnic items.
“Thanks for coming,” he said as he dropped me off at JT’s. “Sorry for making you late.”
“Thanks for inviting me,” I replied, ducking my head and climbing out. I hesitated, wanting to say something more but finding it impossible to say something sincere while my eyes were on the pavement. So I just shrugged. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
“ Y ou did what last night?” Dana's question rang out over the heads of the student body as everyone scurried to first hour.
“Shh!” I hissed, waving a hand at her. “I’ll tell you all about it in calculus. He came to my work and took me out on my break.”
I’d waylaid Dana in the hallway with my good news, too excited to keep it to myself. I felt a stirring of guilt for being so happy when the serial killer was still out there, about to strike Hannah down. But what could I do about it? I couldn’t prevent it. I couldn’t even find her. The most I could do was learn from it and not go out alone. I shoved the negative emotions aside, telling myself I was powerless in the situation.
Dana’s blue eyes gleamed. “To where?” she asked, bringing me back to the Aaron
“You would be a natural on television.”
I smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Thanks.” The wavy hair popped free again.
“So why journalism? Are you a curious person? Do you like to solve mysteries?”
At the mention of mysteries, I felt a stirring in my heart. Sometimes I did find myself wanting to go out and play detective when I heard about crimes or missing persons on T.V. But I knew that would bring me face to face with too many unwanteds. So I contented myself with letting someone else make the front-page news.
But thanks to Hannah, I was in the middle of a mystery right now.
I shrugged and lay back on the blanket, staring up at the darkening sky. “Nah. I’d rather not know about things, really. What about you?”
He moved his sunglasses to the top of his head, a dangerous move that instantly increased my heart rate. “I’m generally pretty curious. Like, about prom. I can’t figure out why it’s such a big deal. It’s just a high school dance.”
I propped myself up on my elbows, being careful to direct my line of vision just to the right of his face. “You are so not American. Prom is way more than that. It’s a chance for a girl to star in her own fairy tale. To get dressed up, pampered, and ride off into the night with her prince charming.” I sighed, my romantic aspirations for that magical night returning for a moment.
“I see you take it very seriously.”
I glared in his general direction, wishing he’d left his sunglasses on. “Very.”
“So who are you going with?”
I dropped my eyes, deflated. “Haven’t figured that out yet.”
He straightened one leg and rested his elbow on his knee. “You don’t like to meet my eyes. Is that a self-confidence issue?”
Irritation surged in my chest. Dang it, he’d noticed. “No.”
He waited, but I didn’t bother explaining. Instead, I took the easy way out: I changed the subject. “How are you liking Forked River?”
“Fork-ed,” he repeated, the stress on the second syllable sounding awkward and unsure. “Several times people have laughed at me for saying ‘forked.’”
“Yeah? At least it’s an easy way for us to spot an outsider. Messing up the name.”
“Why the strange pronunciation?”
“You’re one to speak,” I returned. “Everything you say is pronounced strangely.”
He laughed and stood up, brushing his hands on his khakis. The light color was the only thing I could see clearly, now that the sun had dipped below the horizon. “Funny, I think everything you say is cute.” He extended a hand. “You’re going to be late for your shift.”
Dang it. I accepted his hand. He effortlessly pulled me up, his hand drifting up to my shoulder before letting go. It only took a minute to gather up the picnic items.
“Thanks for coming,” he said as he dropped me off at JT’s. “Sorry for making you late.”
“Thanks for inviting me,” I replied, ducking my head and climbing out. I hesitated, wanting to say something more but finding it impossible to say something sincere while my eyes were on the pavement. So I just shrugged. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
“ Y ou did what last night?” Dana's question rang out over the heads of the student body as everyone scurried to first hour.
“Shh!” I hissed, waving a hand at her. “I’ll tell you all about it in calculus. He came to my work and took me out on my break.”
I’d waylaid Dana in the hallway with my good news, too excited to keep it to myself. I felt a stirring of guilt for being so happy when the serial killer was still out there, about to strike Hannah down. But what could I do about it? I couldn’t prevent it. I couldn’t even find her. The most I could do was learn from it and not go out alone. I shoved the negative emotions aside, telling myself I was powerless in the situation.
Dana’s blue eyes gleamed. “To where?” she asked, bringing me back to the Aaron
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