The Royal Stones of Eden (Royal Secrecies Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

open gables and their divergent styles of shingles glistened in the crystal light.
    In a subtle attempt to be informative, David pointed at one of its rooftops as they both exited the street-parked car.
    “That’s a turret!” he gloated. He had no idea what that meant really.
    “Oh, I know—it’s a witch tower! That’s wonderful!” she said with boiling excitement.
    “It’s just a very old house,” David sighed and then processed what she had said. “A witch tower? Is that a British thing?”
    Mattie ignored his ignorance.
    There was a porch light on, but no one resided there, except for David. It was his grandmother’s home. He was raised there after the death of his parents. It was a two-story split-level house. It was an old Victorian home, built in the early 1900’s. It was a five-bedroom house with only a bath and a half. The house was a little dusty, but it was otherwise clean, with limited furniture and clutter.
    David’s grandmother had another house in Monterey, California, but David chose intentionally to hide that house from Mattie. That house was cleaner and well-maintained, but the house in San Francisco was his favorite. It was home. He was in charge of it from roof to floor, and all of the dust that was in-between. He wanted to appear to Mattie as just a regular guy. And maybe he was.
    As soon as they entered, David asked Mattie if she wanted anything to eat. Mattie was full of caffeine, and David’s alcohol left him empty.
    “I could use a bird and a bottle,” Mattie responded.
    There she goes again!
    “A what?” he interrogated as he grew mystified. This girl was complicated, he thought.
    “Oh sorry,” she said. She pronounced it as “sew–ree.” She quickly felt embarrassed, but she did not know why. “I don’t know why I said that. I mean, whatever you have is fine with me,” she consented. She was just as puzzled. Where did that come from, she thought.
    There were occasions when Mattie would say something, and then she would catch herself. She sometimes wondered why she would say something in a certain way. David was intrigued. She carried herself with an air of magic and mystery. She had a purity that he had not found with most women. She also had a toughness to her that David thought was from living a hard life. Sometimes she sounded as if she was British. Other times she simply used antiquated words. She used words like those he had heard in old movies. She beguiled him in countless ways.
    After they both had changed into more comfortable clothing, they sat down at a small table in the kitchen. They snacked on fast-food. The feast was some chicken from a venerable fridge in the cramped corner of the room. They drank milk. It was, unfortunately, David’s only available libation.
    Mattie wore shorts and a plain T-shirt. The shirt read, “North Carolina Girl at Heart!” David also wore shorts. His black shirt read, “E=MC SQUARED.”
    “That shirt isn’t exactly correct, is it?” Mattie asked.
    “It was five dollars,” David said, with a quick comeback.
    David then changed the subject with a random question. “So your parents are dead also?” he asked her without any discretion.
    “That was years ago. Why do you ask?” she said, with a look of circumspection.
    “You’re an independent woman—someone that takes care of herself?”
    “Absolutely—but I’m not so independent these days—age creates experience,” she said as she raised her eyebrows.
    “After school, I want just a simple life. I just want to be settled down.”—she didn’t mean to use the word “settled.”
    “I meant to say that I’ve had my share of heartache. I want some normality. That’s all,” she clarified.
    David looked at her. He was in a daze. He wondered how such an innocent and charming girl could have stayed hidden so well in the world. How had she managed not to allow herself to be taken by someone, he thought. David was an archaic kind of guy.
    Then, at her suggestion, they