Lena Crawford Tales Book 2 "Howling" excerpt

John Kelly was tall, dark, and exotically handsome. He had ice blue eyes that glistened in the late afternoon sunlight. His broad shoulders suggested years of hard labor but his hands were free of the rough calloused surface associated with the required work.

Indeed, John was rich, well maintained, and appreciated in the community. The real estate business was kind to him. On the west coast, he was the highest paid for his waterfront developments. His eccentric collection of antiquities filled his early retirement years and granted him millionaire status. He was welcome in every restaurant, idolized at every fund raiser, and popular with every well known politician in the state of California. But, he was no Jack Wellington…

The curser stared defiantly at Lena Crawford. The glaring blank screen a desolate reminder of just how difficult an author’s job really was. Her last novel, about the vampire god, had brought her more money and more desire by the literary community for another best seller. But, not only had it left her creative mind empty yet again, but it left her soul torn with uncertainty.

With all the money Lena had made, there was no further necessity to remain in Los Angelis. The town was dry on ideas anyhow. She had packed up not long after the failed relationship with John and relocated to the tiny beach town of North Beach, Maryland.

How Lena had chosen the particular place was a conundrum within itself. She had been sitting in the waiting room at her editor’s office. Kyle was running late with another meeting. The travel book sat perched on the coffee table. She flipped through the pages out of boredom. When she came across the article about the east coast fishing community, she found herself enchanted by the simplicity. By the time Kyle had gotten to her, she had made up her mind.

“I’m moving to the east coast, Kyle.”

“You can’t be serious Lena. Everyone loves you here.”

“Everyone can kiss my ass. If you want another best seller by Christmas, I need to make a change.”

It was June now. Still, Lena had yet to type one word of her promised novel. She sighed and began typing.

It was a dark afternoon…

That was no good, she hit the backspace key.

He came to her out of the fog… more back spacing, returning to an empty screen and that evil blinking curser.

It was suppose to be a fantastic vacation from her normal life. But now she wondered, was it going to rain all the time? Lena sighed, put her feelings aside with a quick delete, and sat back defeated. Before the screen could laugh at her further, she slammed it shut in frustration.

Lena decided that before she gave into the urge to throw the laptop off the porch, she should take a stroll along the beach to calm her nerves. She left the computer on the coffee table and made her way down the hall. Her room, to the right of the hallway, was dimly lit by the Tiffany style lamp on the nightstand. She pulled a sweater out of the closet and slipped into her tennis shoes.

The office door at the end of the hall, used to be a bedroom. Without company, or family, Lena used it to house her collection of manuscripts and ideas. Across the hall from the bedroom was the bathroom, with lilac colored wallpaper, where she stopped briefly to tie her hair back with a rubber band. Back down the hall to the stairwell, straight down to the front door and off to the left was another door way that led to the finished basement. The previous owner had built a game room out of it. Now, it stood collecting dust since she had no desire to use it.

Down the sidewalk and across the street stood the beginning of the three mile long boardwalk that stretched the length of the beach. Near the end she would find the fisherman’s wharf, and what few shops that the locals called town.  A fire department, bar, and restaurant; small police station and bait shop.

At her end of the boardwalk, several docks stretched out into the bay to form the marina. Lena watched the boats rocking gently in the light breeze as she passed them by. In a few more nights the moon would be full. The bright light shimmered across the black mass of salt water casting an eerie glow across the landscape as she ended her walk by the wharf.

The salty sea air blew in on the gentle breeze and for a moment Lena just breathed it in. She could forget about all the stress, and the let downs, and the idea that she was alone out here on the coast. As she relaxed, her mind wandered.

Before Lena could gather the wandering thoughts, a bright light cut through the darkness. The sound of tires slowly chewing up the pavement disturbed the peace as it stopped behind her and caused her to turn around slowly. The lights on the car were bright, but as her eyes adjusted she could see the white letters and lights that identified the police chief’s cruiser.

The thin black man dressed all in police issue black with shiny metallic buttons, stepped from the car. As he did so, the flashlight flicked on. Lena shielded her eyes for a moment as he focused on her face. He walked around the car lowering his flashlight as he went, and made his way across the lot to where she stood with her back to the open water.

“You shouldn’t be out this late Ms. Crawford.” The man smiled as he lowered the light.

“I couldn’t clear my mind at home Paul, you know how I get.” She chuckled.

“The beach is dangerous this time of the month.”

“You’ve been telling me this same story about the North Beach wolf since I moved in Paul. I suppose next, mermaids will come spiraling up out of the water to drown me beneath the wharf.” She jested.

“That’s some imagination you got there.” He smiled in the dim light.

“It pays the bills.” Lena laughed.

“Come on, I’ll give you a lift home.”

Paul held the passenger door open. With a defeated sigh, Lena climbed inside and allowed him to escort her home. Once there she unlocked the door, walked inside, and gave her computer a dirty look. She fixed a sandwich then went to bed far more exhausted than she anticipated.

In the morning Lena showered, dressed, and put on a pot of coffee. It was already seventy degrees by ten am so she took her coffee and laptop out on the porch. It booted right up and auto logged her onto the messenger service. Kyle popped right up with a cheesy smiley face icon.

“How’s my favorite author?” She read.

Lena typed back, “Tired, lazy, and bored. When am I going to get a break from you?”

“When you move to Italy and start writing long hand again.” He replied then added, “How’s the new book?”

“It refuses to exist,” She replied. “Worried?”

“Nah, you came through last time. Keep me posted.”

“Will do.”

Kyle logged off leaving Lena to enjoy the view with her coffee in silence. The blue green water sparkled with the yellow tint from the morning sun. Joggers came and went on the boardwalk. Dog walkers, mothers with strollers, lovers holding hands; disgusted and defeated, she went back inside.

The old Monte Carlo fired right up. Lena drove into town. The grocery store was packed full of people shopping for what appeared to be nothing in particular. In a town that small, it was pretty much the most exciting thing any of them could do for entertainment on a nice day. She stocked up her cart, and forty five minutes later, she was back at home.

Meat in serving size containers went into the freezer, veggies into the fridge, and pasta into the cupboard; everything in its place. Lena returned to the porch with a feeling of accomplishment. It was only late afternoon and she had done everything possible to avoid working on the new book. Well, almost everything, she smirked.

Lena put on her bathing suit and drove two miles to the public beach access. It wasn’t at all like the long sandy beaches of Florida or California. It was more of a man made patch of sand in-between the boardwalk and the rock barrier wall that protected the boardwalk from the high surf.

Lena passed through the gate, laid her beach towel down on the sand, and sat peacefully watching the tide flow in. It could have been far busier on the shoreline, for as nice as the day had turned out to be. All that she could see were a few toddlers with their respected parents wading through the surf. She lay down, closed her eyes, and enjoyed the feel of the sun on her skin. While she rested, she listened to the waves as they broke on the shore, another sound soon broke the tranquility.

“Look out!” The man shouted.

The Frisbee whizzed over Lena’s head. Sand went flying as the man to whom the Frisbee was intended for, came sailing down off the rocks with a string of curses and flailing limbs. He landed in her stunned lap, both unable to move out of shock.

His eyes were green, and his hair was short, wavy, and chestnut brown. Lena could feel the softness of his skin, taught over his muscular chest, as she gave him a violent shove. He left her lap and hit the sand beside her. The initial shock had passed. He smiled and blushed in embarrassment.

“I am so sorry miss.” He stood and began to dust himself off.

“You should be.” She snapped.

He appeared genuinely wounded.

“Dude, that was classic!” Another man laughed from out of her line of sight.

“Shut up Keith!” He barked.

When the man turned back, he found that the unnamed woman had already gathered her things and had a head start to her parked car.

He chased after her calling out, “Hey, wait, please?”

The pavement burned his bare feet. He hopped around trying to keep the heat off the sensitive parts of his feet as he finally chased her down.

“Look, the guys are just jerks. They didn’t mean any harm by it. Let me make it up to you.” He said.

She spun around, “I’m not interested.”

“Fine,” He gave up and walked away muttering, “Bitter crone.”

Lena was shocked. Had she become that withdrawn? In California, attention was required due to her status in the community. It finally registered to her mind. This isn’t California. It’s a small town, with normal people, most of which wouldn’t recognize her even if they held her autobiography in their hands while they stared. Fame had indeed made her bitter and blind.

The man was too far away for her to apologize. So she just got in her car and went home, alone, yet again.

“You wanted seclusion Lena.” Kyle scolded.

“Yeah, I know.” She grumbled.

“You wanted to be anonymous.” He prodded.

“You’re not helping, jerk.” She muttered.

“Come home Lena. You’ve proven nothing other than how to shelter yourself from the world that loves you.” He stated.

“I’ve got work to do Kyle. I’ll call you later.”

It was a lie but Lena was just done talking about it. It was getting late, and she really didn’t feel like working anymore than she felt like talking. So, rather than pacing the floor in discontent, she locked up the house and took off at a slow walk to the restaurant for dinner.

The night was warm and the nearly full moon broke through the shading clouds to cast brilliant light upon the darkened shoreline. If one wasn’t careful they could get lost trying to distinguish between stars and ships on the horizon.

Tonight, Lena stepped over the line and careful became a thing of the past. It was hard for her to pull herself away from the bobbing lights that danced across the water of the bay. She watched as each sparkled, danced, and disappeared behind the waves.

A dog barked somewhere off in the distance. The gentle lap, lap, lap of the water became hypnotizing. Lena stood on the shore, leaning heavily on the banister, entranced by the simple serenity. The dog went from barking to yelping, then silence, until the dull growl was just beyond where she stood.

The hair on Lena’s arms stood up, suddenly aware of being in danger. She could see, just inside the shadows, a large dog hunched on the rocks below her. She slowly backed away as the growling grew louder. Arms wrapped around her from behind. She began to scream. The hand cupped over her mouth to silence her as it turned her head.

Lena recognized him as he began to snarl back at the creature. The man from the beach put himself between her and the wild dog, growling just as intensely as the beast, until it gave up and vanished into the fog. She was trembling with uncontrolled motion.

“Tell me that wasn’t the North Beach wolf.”

“So, you do know better than to be out this late at night. I thought after earlier today, you were just that ignorant.”

“I’m sorry about that and thank you for helping me.” She muttered still shivering.

“Come on, I’ll walk you home.” He replied as he put his strong arm around her.

“Sometimes I forget I’m not in the city anymore.” She chattered on as she tried to regain her composure.

“You just go through so much there that everyone has to be out to get you.” She sighed.

“No worries.” He replied.

“It wasn’t fair of me to judge you based on my past. It’s not like you could have known.” She continued.

“Do you ever shut up Lena or do you just like the sound of your own voice?”

“I, uh,” She stammered.

“You’re at a complete lost now huh?” He laughed.

“I’ll let you in on a secret. I’m not from North Beach either. We all have our reasons to hide.”

“So, you know me, and I don’t know you, and the walk ends here.” She pointed up at her house.

“I’m Barry, from San Francisco. I was at the last book signing there. But, I’m sure, with the amount of publicity you have, one geek from the beach is just as good as another.” He chuckled.

“Not always. You should have met John Kelly, all geek none of your audacity.” She smiled.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You should.”

“Good night Lena. Please stay indoors after dark, and be safe.”

“Ok,” She whispered.

Barry smiled and disappeared into the night. Lena raced inside, fired up her laptop, and began typing. Her heart poured over the first few pages as she began retelling the tale.

In the darkness it did wait. Slouching, and silently crouched, ready to take the first step at the prey it found. While she stood there looking out across the water it never crossed her mind that she was in danger. But as the silence was broken with the low growl she let out a yelp. Before she could fully utter a scream the beast had her in its grasp…

Morning found Lena asleep on the couch, sun filtering in through the shades. Automatic save kicked on when the battery on the laptop failed. She yawned, plugged it in to charge, and made herself a pot of coffee. As the coffee brewed, she fetched the morning paper off the front steps, and then threw it on the table before grabbing a quick shower.

The hot water felt good as it ran down Lena’s back. She soaped up her hair and scrubbed out the evening sweat. When she reached for the soap she had to juggle it to keep from dropping it. But she managed to hang on long enough to get clean.

Lena had barely turned off the water when she heard the furious pounding on her door. She wrapped up in a towel and dripped all the way to the front door. Barry rushed in as she opened it, and without noticing how she was dressed, began to blurt out half sentences until she silenced him.

“Coffee is in the kitchen, cups are above the sink. I take mine black thank you. I’m going to get dressed now. You catch your breath.” She spun on her heels and stormed off.

Barry realized just then what he had interrupted. He blushed, smacked his own head for the stupidity of it all, and went to make the coffee as Lena had instructed. She returned from her room wearing a simple teal colored sundress, her bronzed red hair still dripping wet down her back.

“I suppose you have good reason to be stammering away at me this early in the morning.” She said as she took her coffee and sat down on the couch.

“It’s all over the TV and newspaper. Something broke into several houses on this side of the beach. One person is still missing.” He handed her the paper.

Sure enough, the story was on the front page. Lena skimmed through it. There were five houses in total that had damage from breaking and entering. Nothing was missing other than the woman in the first house located a few blocks away from her house. She sighed and then lay the paper down.

“You were worried about me?” She asked.

“Yes,” He blushed again, this time where she could see it.

“That’s sweet. You know, you said something that surprised me. People really get into this North Beach wolf phobia don’t they?” She chuckled.

“It’s not just a phobia, it’s true you know. They found hair from some beast at the first house where the lady is still missing from. They said it looked as if she fought back.”

“How do you know all this?” She asked curiously.

“In this town, Paul is head gossip. Isn’t much that goes on that isn’t well known by supper time.” He grinned.

“Welcome to small town USA.” She rolled her eyes.

“Hope I didn’t interrupt your morning rituals too much.” He sighed as he put the coffee cup down.

“It wasn’t a bad change.” She smiled.

“There’s more coffee left.” She pointed out.

“I’ll get us a refill then.” He grabbed the cups and drifted into the kitchen.

“So, what do you do when you’re not busy saving my life?” She asked loud enough for him to hear.

“I’m a trust fund kid. So, that leaves my schedule open to save the occasional damsel in distress.” He replied as he returned with the coffee.

“You come from money and live like a bum on the beach?” She laughed.

“Well yeah, mostly, why not? Not everyone should have to struggle working their whole life away.” He smiled.

“It sounds way too easy.”

“It’s worth getting lost in.” He grinned.

“How about we splurge a little and I take you out for a nice breakfast?”

“I’d like that.” She replied. “Let me grab a few things and we’ll head right out.”

“Ok.”

“Where would you like to go?” She shouted from down the hall.

“Oh Paris, China, Rome, or maybe just up the street; who cares really as long as it’s with you.” He replied.

She laughed, “There is no way you’re getting me on a flight to Paris.”

“Why not?” He replied as she returned to the living room.

“I don’t have a passport.” She laughed.

“That’s odd, how could someone like you not have a passport?” He chuckled. “But, alright, local it is.” He gave her his most charming smile.

By local, Barry insisted they drive up to the mall. It took nearly forty minutes in the rush hour traffic. Lena breathed a sigh of relief when they pulled into the parking lot. What started out as a breakfast mission, ended up being a late lunch. They sat down in the booth, ordered their meal and chatted casually together.

“What brought you to our town from the city?” Barry asked politely.

“I was in desperate need of a change. It seemed like everything I touched there turned to shit and I couldn’t concentrate anymore.” She smiled.

“I can understand that. Before I figured out that I wanted to settle down somewhere I was all over the place. Cities, towns, countries, I burnt up half of my trust fund finding this place.” He chuckled.

“Of course, my editor was pissed. He’s genuinely a good guy and has faith in my ability to pull a rabbit out of my ass when it comes to writing. But in the long run, if he isn’t showing me off to investors he thinks I’m cheating him.” She added with a slight smirk.

“Ah, sounds like an interesting guy.” He smiled in return.

“That’s the glitter and gold of a life of fame and fortune.” She laughed as they finished their meal.

 After the meal they took the time to catch an afternoon movie before heading back to the quiet beach town. Barry kissed Lena on the cheek and bid her good night just before sunset. She danced happily back into her home and settled into do some writing. The day out with him was just what she needed to stir up the monotony in her life that had caused her writers block. With a smile she typed away contently.