*.*.*
Makayla’s eyes froze on the figure of the lean, young man who leaned down to help her up onto the dock. Brian’s intense stare held her captive for several long seconds before her hands lifted in slow motion to grasp his. The feel of his strong, warm fingers gripping her hands melted her fear and nervousness. A low gasp escaped her when he pulled her into his arms and pressed a hard kiss to her lips. She was breathless by the time he pulled back far enough to glare down at her.
“I swear, if you ever do anything so crazy again, I’ll…,” Brian started to say in a husky voice.
“You’ll what?” Makayla laughed breathlessly as she stared up at him with a raised eyebrow.
“Make sure that I’m right there by your side,” he finally admitted in a soft voice. He glanced over his shoulder at where Henry, Jason, and Teresa stood. “Are you ready for this?” He asked, looking back down at her and brushing her dark hair back from her face.
Makayla gave a nervous laugh and nodded her head. She turned, slipping out of Brian’s embrace to face the crowd of people silently watching her. She nervously wiped her hands down her tan shorts as she glanced over to where Tyrell stood with his arms wrapped around an elderly woman. He was talking quietly to a guy not much older than him that was standing beside them. The guy was looking at Tyrell as if he wasn’t sure what his reception was going to be. Whatever Tyrell said must have put the guy at ease, as his shoulders relaxed and he smiled.
Tyrell must have sensed her staring at him and his family. He turned and looked at her with that stupid grin that he used whenever he knew he had done something wrong, or was going to try to get her to agree with one of his crazy ideas. The image of him standing on the stern of the Defiance, all decked out in life vests when she was going to teach him how to swim, flashed through her mind.
A smile curved her lips, melting the uncertainty and fear threatening to overwhelm her when she saw his lips move as he mouthed ‘We made it’ again. He was right, she thought as she turned to where her mom, Henry, and Jason were standing, waiting for her.
She slowly stepped up onto the main dock, thankful that Brian was at her back in case she stumbled. In the back of her mind, she knew there were hundreds of people there. A man who identified himself as the Mayor of Tampa started to step forward, but stopped when he realized that she was looking past him. She saw all of that, but she didn’t.
“We made it,” Makayla whispered, suddenly blinded by tears as her mom stepped forward and opened her arms. Drawing in a deep breath, she rushed forward. “Mom, I’m home.”
The sounds of cheering rose as Makayla’s faint words were caught on the microphone of the reporter standing nearby. Makayla laughed and buried her head into her mom’s shoulder as Henry, Jason, and Brian stepped closer to shield her. She reached her hand out, squeezing Henry’s to let him know how much this meant to her. The small, trembling squeeze before he released her hand told her that she wasn’t the only one affected by what was happening.
A few minutes later, Makayla’s head rose and her eyes fastened on the reporter who had turned his attention to Tyrell. A wave of warmth swept through her when he winked at her and began talking about the school project that had started the whole thing. Raising her face to the sun, Makayla closed her eyes as the realization that they were really there sunk in.
Sometimes what starts out as defiance becomes a lesson in discovery, she thought as she listened to Tyrell share their amazing journey.
To be continued…. Capture of the Defiance….
The journey continues… Makayla makes plans to join her grandfather on a voyage during a break from college only to discover that he and the Defiance are missing. It will take Makayla and a few old friends, Tyrell and Brian, to help her find her grandfather on a harrowing trip that will take all their skills and knowledge to survive.
If you loved this story by me (S. E. Smith) please leave a review. You can also take a look at additional books and sign up for my newsletter at http://sesmithfl.com to hear about my latest releases or keep in touch using the following links:
Website: http://sesmithfl.com
Newsletter: http://sesmithfl.com/?s=newsletter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/se.smith.5
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sesmithfl
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/sesmithfl/
Blog: http://sesmithfl.com/blog/
About S. E. Smith
S. E. Smith is a New York Times, USA TODAY, International &Awarding Winning Bestselling author who has always been a romantic and a dreamer. A prolific writer, she spends her days and weekends writing and her nights dreaming up new stories. She enjoys camping and traveling.
Check out these other great stories by YA Authors: Pauline Gruber and H.D. Smith
(Printed with permission from the authors).
From Author Pauline Gruber: The Girl and the Raven Book 1
http://www.paulinegruber.com/
Synopsis:
Good versus evil just got complicated.
Sixteen-year-old Lucy Walker just wants a normal life, until she learns she is half-witch, half-demon. Now she's got other problems, like keeping her demon dad from killing her boyfriend, keeping the witches in her life from killing her demon dad, and keeping her non-supernatural friends safe from both sides. All the while she's desperately searching for the family raven that carries her magical legacy. She's walking a tightrope between good and evil, drawn to both, uncertain which she will ultimately choose.
Also, check out:
The Girl and the Gargoyle: Book 2
Good versus evil just got even more complicated...
Being half-witch/half-demon and dating Marcus, a gargoyle and demon enemy, is complicated enough for Lucy. She can almost tolerate Jude, her demon father, forcing her to undergo combat training. But when Marcus’s long-lost family returns to Chicago, her world begins to crumble. Marcus's mother wants him to leave to join the gargoyle clan; his father wants him to help kill Jude. There’s one major problem with this: if Jude dies, Lucy dies.
Marcus will do whatever it takes to save Lucy and her father. Meanwhile, Lucy has her own plan and with the aid of a surprise newcomer, seeks help from the most unlikely—and dangerous—source.
From Author H. D. Smith: Keegan's Point
From H. D. Smith, the author of the Devil’s Assistant books, Keegan’s Point is the start of a new adventure series where not all the bad guys are bad, where you just might find yourself rooting for both the bad guys and the good guys as they work together to survive.
http://www.hdsmithauthor.com/
Synopsis:
Yesterday twelve-year-old Charlie Parker would have given almost anything to see Keegan’s Point, the island estate built by the reclusive billionaire Marcus Keegan. Keegan died the same year Charlie was born. His body and twenty passports were the only things removed from the island—leaving a mystery and the unanswered question, who was Marcus Keegan?
But that was yesterday. Charlie’s biggest problem this morning was his presentation in fourth period. Since then he’s been beaten up by a bully, he’s lied to his mother, and he’s been kidnapped by three total strangers. And, as if the day couldn’t get any worse, no one even knows he’s missing.
Nick, one of the strangers, is one job away from finding the lost treasure he’s searched for his entire life. The plan is simple: go into Keegan’s mansion and follow the cryptic clues to the prize. There’s plenty of time, and his team is resourceful. He never expected that Charlie would overhear his plans or that he’d have to kidnap him to keep him quiet. Now there’s only one way forward, and that means risking everything. Soon, Nick realizes that Charlie’s involvement in his mission is the key to whether he’ll succeed or fail—because there’s much more at stake than a lost treasure.
S. E. Smith, Voyage of the Defiance
Thank you for reading books
on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends