"What did it look like?"

"Sort of intense."

"Haley, I don't understand what you're saying."

"I don't know how to describe it. The guy looked sort of strung out or something and they were deep in what looked like a heated conversation."

"You don't think my mom's doing drugs, do you?" My chest tightened with fear.

"I don't think so."

After hanging up, I immediately dialed my mom. I had to know what she was involved in. Of course I got her voice mail. She never answered when I called. As I left a message, I pictured her out with some druggie and it brought back memories of Trent. I shivered when I thought of Mom's ex-boyfriend's bloodshot eyes and roving hands. It definitely wasn't one of Mom's shining parental moments. I really thought she had learned her lesson back then.

At around ten o'clock, Grandma went to bed. I lit a couple of candles in my room and pulled the Ouija board out from under my mattress. After peeling away the glossy cellophane, I discarded it and opened the box. I pulled the board out and set it on the floor and then placed the planchette on top. Crossing my legs, I took a deep breath and placed my fingers on the pointer.

"h.e.l.lo," I whispered into the room.

I felt a tingling under my fingers like a vibration as the planchette began to move.

H-I.

The air around me turned ice cold. My heart beat like a drum.

"Wesley? Is that you?"

Y-E-S.

It worked. I was able to conjure him on my own board. Now that I had him here I needed to ask some key questions. I knew how quickly he could vanish.

"Wesley, what's my full name?"

M-A-C-K-E-N-Z-I-E-S-M-I-T-H.

"When's my birthday?"

I-S-T-H-I-S-A-Q-U-I-Z?.

I chuckled. Evidently, spirits had a sense of humor.

O-C-T-O-B-E-R-T-W-O.

I shivered.

"How old was my mom when she had me?"

E-I-G-H-T-E-E-N.

"Are you my dad?"

W-H-A-T-DO-Y-O-U-T-H-I-N-K?.

"I don't know. You tell me."

The candles flickered. A breeze blew through the room causing a paper on my dresser to flutter to the ground. I glanced over at my window, which was securely closed. My pulse quickened. Sweat broke out on my forehead. Both candles simultaneously went out blanketing my room in utter darkness.

I clutched my chest and held my breath. Puffs of cold air shot at my neck and down my arms. I hugged myself as terror filled my veins. For several minutes I sat without moving. The air around me seemed to shift and it was warm again. Feeling like it was safe, I stood on wobbly legs. The hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention as I imagined someone behind me. I scolded the thought away and flicked on the wall switch. Yellow light illuminated the room and I gulped in air, steadying my nerves. The room was empty, the pointer still. I packed the board away and tucked it securely under the mattress.

Chapter Eleven.

Ringing awakened me. Without opening my eyes, I reached over and pushed the b.u.t.ton on my alarm clock. The piercing sound persisted. I opened my eyes and listened. It was the phone. Judging by the amount of times it rang it was obvious that Grandma was either outside gardening or not home. I fumbled for the phone on my nightstand and answered it.

"h.e.l.lo." My voice was thick and groggy.

"Hi Kenzie," Mom responded. "Did I wake you?"

"Yeah," I mumbled.

"Wow. Must've been a late night."

I glanced at the clock. It was almost ten. Isaac would be here to pick me up in an hour for the lake.

"So," Mom continued. "I got your message. You wanted to talk with me about something?"

There were a million things we needed to talk about but I didn't have time to get into all of them right then. So I chose one question. "Do you know where Dad is?"

"Grandma said you'd been asking a lot of questions about him. Why?"

"Because he's my dad. I have a right to know about him."

"Yes, but why now? Is Grandma encouraging this?"

"This has nothing to do with Grandma, okay. It has to do with me. I want to know the truth. Is he dead?"

"No. Gosh, why would you think that?"

"Are you sure?"

"Kenzie, what's gotten into you?"

"Well, that would certainly explain why he's never gotten in contact with me."

"Believe me, he's not dead."

"Well, then where is he? Why hasn't he contacted me?"

"I don't know, Kenzie."

"It's because of you, isn't it? You pushed him away. You didn't want him in my life."

"That's not true. You don't know anything about it."

"Whose fault is that?"

Silence.

"Mom? You still there?"

"I don't want to fight with you, Kenzie. I'll talk to you later." The line went dead.

I slammed the phone down so hard my fingers stung. Tears p.r.i.c.ked my eyes and I blinked them back. It was always the same with her. She was never going to tell me the truth. All the more reason I had to find out on my own. Putting all thoughts of Mom aside, I hopped out of bed and raced to the bathroom to take a shower.

"You didn't tell me that the friends we were going boating with was your youth pastor and his wife," I whispered to Isaac once we'd settled on the boat.

Isaac smiled, a gleam in his eye. "Would it have made a difference?"

I shook my head.

"Don and Sandy are cool. You'll see."

The boat idled out into the water. The warm sun beat down on my back, the scent of fish wafted under my nose. Waves lapped against the side of the boat, which rocked gently. My gaze swept the vast expanse of dark water, the clear blue sky. Isaac's arm came around my shoulder and hovered like a b.u.t.terfly before landing tentatively. My heart flipped in my chest and my face warmed. Sandy leaned over Don's shoulder speaking in his ear as he drove, her short brown hair fanning out behind her head. I found myself fantasizing about Isaac and me like that, and was glad Isaac couldn't read my thoughts like Rhiannon could. Usually I never let my mind wander down that path in a relationship. I was too jaded to believe in everlasting love. Something about Isaac made me think differently.

Sandy approached, holding out two waters. "Thirsty?"

"Thanks. I closed my fingers around the cold bottle. Sandy took the seat next to mine, tucking her bare feet up under her body. She wore a blue bathing suit cover-up that hung down past her knees like a dress. I felt self conscious in my bikini. I knew I should've brought a more conservative suit for today. Wrapping my arms around my body I made sure that my scars were hidden.

"So, are you enjoying your summer?" Sandy asked me.

"Yes. Very much. I've made some new friends and been trying new things."

Sandy studied me, her eyes piercing into mine. Something about her intense stare unnerved me.

Don't trust her.

The thought that popped into my mind caught me off guard. I quickly averted my gaze. The boat slowed to a stop. The motor quieted.

"So, who's first?" Don asked.

Isaac peered at me, flashing a dimpled grin.

"Don't look at me," I said. "I don't know how to ski."

"Okay, I'll go first," Isaac peeled off his t-shirt, showing off his muscular tanned chest. I couldn't help but stare. When I caught Sandy watching me I felt embarra.s.sed.

Don't worry about her. Just because she's a prude doesn't mean you need to be. I shook my head. Where were these thoughts coming from?

By the time I looked out at the water, Isaac was already out of the boat. He sat in the waves, the tops of his water-skis sticking up and bobbing with the movement of the water. He flashed a thumbs-up sign and the boat roared to life, sped forward. Isaac popped right up, stood on his skis. I clapped and cheered, watching as the boat pulled him. He glided on top, careening in and out of the wake. The wind whipped my hair into my face. I pulled the hair-tie off my wrist and fastened my hair at the nape of neck. A few strands immediately wrestled free and tickled my cheek. Isaac attempted a jump and crashed down into the water. The boat slowed and circled him.

"Great job!" I hollered over the sound of the motor.

He smiled at me as he paddled. Water dripped off his body when he pulled himself into the boat. He sat on the side and pulled off his skis.

"Your turn," he said.

I shook my head. "No way. I can't follow that."

"C'mon. You have to try."

Sandy handed me a smaller pair of skis and a lifejacket. "There's nothing to be afraid of. We all had to learn at some point."

I took the skis from her and looked up at Isaac. "Promise you won't laugh at me."

"I promise."

"Okay. What do I do?" I strapped on the lifejacket.

"Get in the water and then I'll throw out the skis," Isaac instructed me.

I jumped out of the boat and into the icy water. It nearly knocked the wind out of me. When I surfaced, I sucked in a breath.

"Pretty cold, huh?" Isaac chuckled.

"You could've warned me," I teased.

"You'll get used to it," Isaac said. "Okay, now I'm gonna throw one ski at a time for you to put on."

One at a time I secured the skis while floating in the freezing water. By now my body was numb.

"Here's the rope. Now hold on to it and sit in the water with your legs apart, knees bent. When you're ready give Don the thumbs-up sign. If you stay in that position the boat will naturally pull you up to a standing position."

Gripping the handle of the rope, I sat back and gave the thumbs-up sign. I was yanked forward and it felt like my shoulders would come out of their sockets. My body thrust slightly upward and then plunged back down. Water sprayed up my nose, burning into my brain. Coughing and sputtering, I went under. By the time I surfaced, the boat was circling around me.

"You okay?" Isaac called out.

I sluiced water from my face and forced a smile. The last thing I wanted to do was look like a big baby.

"Ready to try again?"

Not even a little.

"Sure. Sounds great."