Midweek Excerpt

This excerpt is from Chapter Two of LIGHT BRINGERS:

Kalie dressed in a powder-blue bikini, ready for a day on the water, then slipped on a pair of denim cut-offs. It was still pretty early so the house was quiet. She headed down the hall to Ryan’s old bedroom and listened at the door, hearing his low snoring from inside. She opened the door a crack.

He lay sprawled like a starfish with his neck bent at an awkward angle. At six-foot-four, he took up the entire bed. His big feet hung off the end, and Kalie had to resist the urge to tickle them. Ryan hated being tickled. She crept inside, because to wake him before he was ready would be like poking a hungry bear with a short stick. His cell phone sat on his head by his temple. He had apparently fallen asleep while talking to someone. God help him if it was Amber. Kalie snickered, hoping that he had indeed drifted off on the bimbo he called a girlfriend.

Hugging his pillow, Ryan farted so loudly that he woke himself up with a snort. Kalie jumped back, clamping her hand over her mouth and nose. His unfocused eyes blinked angrily at her as if she was responsible for waking him. He grumbled “Shicken wings,” and then flopped back to the bed, fast asleep.

“So gross.” She rushed out of the room, holding her breath.

Quietly, she headed down to the library or study or whatever they were currently calling the room with the family computer and hundreds of books. She rooted through several bags filled with newly purchased books, and just then decided to have everything read before the start of her first semester at Lawrence State University. Evolution of Endowments: Effects of the Solstice was not on the required list for her courses, but Kalie wanted to read it first. She stuck an ink pen between her teeth, grabbed a legal pad, tucked the thick book under her arm, and made her way into the back yard.