Moon River Read Online Free PDF

power from the energy of the Earth itself.”
    “ Of course,” I said. “Who doesn’t know that?”
    “ Don’t you dare laugh, Samantha Moon, who just so happens to draw her own power from blood—”
    “ Shhh,” I hushed. “You talk too loud.”
    “ I talk the way I talk. You’re just going to have to deal with it.”
    I rolled my eyes. “So, is this the new you?”
    “The new and empowered me,” said Allison.
    “ Fine. Then tell the new and empowered you that we have some important secrets that we don’t need the world knowing.”
    “ Fine,” she said, and happily dug into her salad.
    It had, of course, been a long, long time since I’d had anything like a salad. My mouth watered, which was a useless leftover trait from my human days. Still, the salad, with all its bright veggies and leafy greens, looked incredible...and crispy. The crispy part was proven to be true as Allison bit into each forkful. She crunched her food in a way that made me long for cucumbers, tomatoes, and lettuce dressed in a nice balsamic vinaigrette.
    I sighed and looked away, and my thoughts turned to my own problems.
    “ Do you want to talk about it?” asked Allison, between bites. She had also, somehow, managed to order another glass of wine without my knowledge. Maybe she had a telepathic link with the bartender. Wouldn’t surprise me.
    “ Rude,” said Allison, picking up my stray thought.
    “ Sorry,” I said. “I’m just cranky.”
    “ I would be, too, if I couldn’t eat. So, let’s get back to what else is making you cranky.”
    I nodded. She had, of course, picked up on my brooding thoughts...and what I knew I had to do.
    “You’re going to break up with him,” she said.
    By him , she was referring to my boyfriend of the past four months. Russell Baker was a professional boxer and about the sexiest thing I’d ever come across. He was also, of course, the man who had killed Allison’s fiancé. Or, at least, that’s what we had initially figured.
    Turned out, the case had been far stranger than originally thought, and Allison never held a grudge against him, and as well, she shouldn’t.
    “Yes,” I said. “I’m breaking up with him.”
    “ Why?”
    I thought about it again with a heavy heart...then told her why.
     
     
     
    Chapter Nine
     
     
    We were jogging Tri-City Park.
    The park connected three cities: Fullerton, Brea and Placentia, cities that didn’t mean anything to anyone outside of Orange County. Truth was, I wasn’t sure which city the park was actually in. I liked to think that with each one-third loop around the park I was entering a new town. I was easily amused.
    My jogging partner was Russell Baker. He was a professional boxer and, I guess you could say, my kind-of boyfriend. We’d been dating now for six months, and we seemed to be committed enough, although no one had said much of anything about anything. Meaning, we’d never discussed our situation. We just sort of flowed .
    I saw Russell about twice a week, which was enough for me. Maybe I wasn’t ready for more, I don’t know. Or maybe Russell and I didn’t have enough chemistry. We were always comfortable, relaxed, friendly...and yes, passionate, too. But the passion didn’t extend much further than the bedroom.
    The evening was warm. It was early summer. School had just gotten out. I would have my kids for the next three months. A good thing on the one hand: I could sleep in. My kids knew my super-secret identity, and kept it brilliantly, including secrets of their own.
    That my kids had to go around keeping so many secrets was something of a burden for me. I hated knowing that I had inconvenienced them. Lord knew I tried to keep it all from them...I just couldn’t. Not consistently.
    Granted, it hadn’t all been bad. Truth be known, our combined freakiness—my immortality, my son’s super-strength, and my daughter’s ability to read all minds—had brought us closer. It was a sort of us versus them , and it was