Birthright (Residue Series #2) Read Online Free PDF

door , or crossing my path at just the right time , so I was never alone. I knew Jameson must be enduring the same circumstances, which only intensified my fury.
    Throughout the rest of the day, I gradually became more accustomed to seeing the moldavite stones glistening around me. Though, it wasn’t until later, at evening class, that I finally started to understand just how precarious our situation had become.
    “Do you think Ms. Veilleux’s forgiven us yet?” Estelle asked as my cousins and I stood at the entrance to our evening school’s courtyard. Estelle’s love for color convinced her to wear a fluorescent green scarf tonight that seemed to illuminate the darkness ; it was slightly distracting. The rest of us contemplated her question as we surveyed what was before us.
    The courtyard once held a copious number of tropical plants and boasted antique gas lanterns accentuating weathered , brick walls. Though, now, it looked nothing like it once did.
    A pile of scorched palm leaves and mangled foliage had been swept into a pile to the left. Directly next to it sat a heap of broken brick, glass shards, and jagged wood pieces . A thin strand of smoke was still rising from the center of the mound. All around us , stains were left on the exterior walls resembling black ghosts remaining here … to taunt us …to watch over us …to accuse us of destroying this once-beautiful and majestic school.
    As we silently gazed upward at the charred wooden beams that formerly held a balcony , encircling the courtyard from above, Spencer muttered the response we were all thinking. “No… she hasn’t forgiven us.”
    “We did send her a nice flower arrangement,” Nolan pointed out , which warranted dazed stares from the rest of us. He seemed to be perfecting his talent for delivering insensitive statements.
    “We destroyed her school, ” Oscar stated , amazed by his brother.
    Nolan shrugged it off. “Just the outside of it…”
    “Forget it,” Vinnia cut in. “He’s never going to understand.”
    “Understand what?” asked Nolan, insolently .
    Spencer placed a comforting hand on Nolan’s shoulder. “Trust me. Even if we told you…you still wouldn’t get it.”
    While the rest of us chuckled, Nolan scornfully shrugged off Spencer’s hand , as if he thought we were keeping him from a private joke.
    “He’s right you know.”
    The voice came from behind us, carrying down the corridor that ran from the street to the courtyard . Its familiarity sent a warm tremor through me.
    Jameson came strolling out of the shadows and into the hazy light cast from makeshift lanterns placed around the area of destruction . A seductive grin tugged at one side of his mouth, tantalizing me , sending my heart into a tantrum.
    He continued his leisurely stroll without any intention of stopping. He couldn’t. Someone might be watching. Regardless, it didn’t prevent him from taking advantage of our close proximity. As he passed by, he closed our distance and came so close that our forearms faintly brushed, sending a shock wave up my arm and across my chest. In those brief seconds, he sent a private message that only I could hear.
    “You look beautiful tonight.”
    After taking another step, he swiveled his head back towards me, his grin spreading wider as he saw my reaction. Before he fully came into view of the courtyard , where other students mingled and our charade of playing enemies needed to resume, he finished his initial announcement to the rest of the group. “The insides were left virtually untouched.”
    “See?” Nolan sounded justified. “It just needs a facelift.”
    The rest of the Caldwells followed, none of them coming to a standstill or even slowing their pace. A few students in the courtyard had seen us by then – and knowing the history of our family feud, they were astutely aware of us – so only Alison dared to speak. She winked at Nolan and whispered, “I said the very same thing…”
    Instantly, Nolan’s