I'm so excited to bring to you a hauntingly beautiful YA read. I had the great honor of reading this prior to publication, and its intense pacing kept me turning pages, desperate to find out what happens next. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
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Girl
moves to new town.
Girl
meets Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome.
Cue
Happily Ever After.
That’s
how the story goes, right?
Except
this is Lucy. The same Lucy whose stellar driving skills single-handedly wiped
out both of her parents, leaving her with nothing but the suitcase in her hand
and the screws in her skull. Not to mention that Mr. Tall, Dark, and
Handsome—AKA Oliver—is just as annoyingly bossy as he is hot. According to
Oliver, Lucy’s not safe in her new hometown, but he refuses to say why. He just
gives her some lame warning about not going out after dark, like that’ll stop
her.
When
several townspeople vanish, the lethargic community springs to life, fearful of
the danger lurking among them. The problem is that Lucy’s the last person to
have seen any of the missing. Doesn’t exactly qualify her for the Neighbor of
the Year Award.
Lucy’s
already given up on Happily Ever After, but now she has two choices left: find
out what’s happening in her new home, or become the next victim.
Excerpt
“Do you trust me?” he asks. He’s closer to me.
“Do
I have a choice?”
“Not
really. We’ve got to get you back to the mansion before . . .” His voice trails
off. I want to slug him in the arm for being spooky again, but I’d have to find
his arm first.
He
swoops in without warning, whisking me from my feet. Again, I cry out. He sucks
in a sharp breath that catches between his teeth. “Lucy, I’m not kidding—stop
making noise.”
My
blood simmers beneath my skin. “Warn me next time you’re planning on picking me
up, then.”
“Sorry,”
he fires back, his mouth too close to my ear.
I
want nothing more than for the strength in my legs to return so I can get away
from him and his nerve, but Oliver is in control now and holds me pressed
unnecessarily tightly to his body. Turning my head from him is my only means of
escape. I’d shown him, all right.
With
a little more energy than necessary, he heaves me up into the blackness. My
bottom connects to something soft yet solid—Jasper’s back—and pain spikes down
my spine. I gasp as my body starts to curl in on itself.
“Okay,”
Oliver says. “Slide your right leg over to the other side. I’ll keep you
steady.”
My
mouth flops open and I wonder if he can see the ever-growing whites of my eyes.
Or maybe he’s picked up on the stampede going on between the valves of my
heart, because he softens. “Lucy, I’m not going to let you fall. Trust me.”
“The
only people I’ve ever trusted are dead,” I shoot down to him as I claw around
for something, anything, to keep me from falling on my face.
Oliver
snorts, which sends me over the edge.
“What?
You think that’s funny?” I challenge him, no longer concerned about keeping
quiet. His hand clamps on my leg in piercing reproof. I’ll have bruises there
tomorrow, for sure. Through locked teeth, I order, “Let. Go.”
“Please
stop,” he says. “I’m trying to keep you sa—”
A
rumble beyond us, where the orchard fades into the rest of the forest,
interrupts his plea. Even though I sit astride stoic Jasper, I can feel the
ground vibrating beneath us.
“What
in the—?” I cry, whipping my head in the direction of the growing commotion.
“Slide
back,” Oliver commands. I know better than to take offense at his bossy tone.
I’d made a big mistake, one he’d been trying to protect me from. The fear of
horses leaves my body, only to be replaced by the fear of the unknown. Ignoring
the bite of pain in my hip, I throw my leg over Jasper’s withers and shove
myself backward, using my palms for leverage. A second later, Oliver sweeps
himself upward and in front of me on his horse’s back.
“Hold
on,” he yells over the thunder moving our direction.
Author Bio
S. J. Henderson is the founder of the Kid Authors Project, as well as a published author of the DANIEL THE DRAW-ER series. Now that she's published IN THE MIDDLE, she'll start working on the next big thing.
S. J. lives on a farm with her husband, four boys, two dogs, and cat. When she’s not writing, you can usually find her riding one of her family’s three horses. She loves to sing and is slowly learning to play the ukulele.
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