Rose Petal Graves (The Lost Clan #1) Read Online Free Page A

parents if I could move into it, but they’d refused, suspecting that my incentive to live downstairs was based on my desire to break their rules.
    “Bathroom is through here,” I said, pushing through a door that led to a room paved in mosaics with a claw-foot bathtub and chrome and porcelain sinks.
    I tucked my hands in the back pocket of my jeans. “Only bathtub in the house.”
    He rested one of his hands on the curved ceramic edge. I must have imagined his skin glowing the other night because it didn’t tonight.
    “How long do you think you’ll be staying in town?”
    “A few days.”
    “The snow should stop by tomorrow, so you should be fine to leave then.” He frowned, probably because he picked up on my not so subtle attempt to get rid of him. “Let me get you a towel and some fresh sheets for the bed.”
    As I headed back into the bedroom, Cruz’s voice rang out, “Did you put a tarp up on that plot you dug up?”
    “What plot?”
    “The one between the rowan trees.”
    “What, are you a botanist too?” I asked, pulling out a set of pressed white sheets and fluffy navy towels.
    “My dad taught me about the fauna and the flora. He was a nature-lover.”
    “Was?” I placed the towels on top of the dresser and the sheets on the bed.
    “He and my mom died in a car accident when I was a teenager.”
    “Oh.”
    He shrugged. “You grieve, and then you forget the pain and you move on.”
    I didn’t think I could ever forget the pain of losing my mother, but it wasn’t worth debating with Cruz. For all I knew, he hadn’t been that close to his parents.
    “So, did you cover that plot?” he asked as I turned to leave. “With all that snow falling—”
    “That’s not where we’re putting Mom,” I said.
    “Then why did you dig it up?”
    “Mom did. The headstone started caving and she was afraid there would be a landslide. She wanted to solidify the foundations.”
    “So that’s where the old casket downstairs came from.”
    “What old casket?”
    “Didn’t you see it? It was in the middle of the room.”
    “No. I…I didn’t.” All I had seen was Mom.
    “Could you open it for me?” he asked.
    “There’s probably nothing left inside besides bones. ”
    “Still, I’m curious. Aren’t you?”
    “Seeing my ancestor’s remains isn’t at the top of my bucket list.”
    “Your ancestor? One of the twelve rumored to be powerful?”
    I snorted. “You’ve heard the stories?”
    “Stories? You don’t believe them?”
    “Are you really asking me if I believe in faeries?”
    “I am, Catori.” His green eyes seemed to glow brighter.
    “Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t. And I don’t think anyone in their right mind should believe in little people wielding magic sticks.”
    “Little people?” He chuckled. “Why would you assume they’re little?”
    “They were called pahans , which means ‘little people’. Haven’t you seen Tinker Bell? She’s tiny.”
    “And she’s also a piece of fiction,” Cruz said, still smiling.
    “Just like all faeries. Anyway, I should get cleaned up. I’ll see you at dinner.”
     
     

CHAPTER 4 – ROSE PETALS
     
    “It wasn’t me,” Blake said. I could hear he was at work from the sound of oil sizzling.
    “What do you mean it wasn’t you?” I asked, putting my cell phone on speaker so I could pull off my jeans.
    “Maybe your dad cleaned it up?”
    I frowned as I turned on the shower. “Maybe,” I said, but considering the state my father was in that morning, I doubted it was him. “Is your grams keeping the place open tonight?”
    “Yes and it’s packed. Who knew blizzards could be so good for business?”
    “People are getting dinner and a show.”
    Blake laughed. “Did the new medical examiner already leave town?”
    “Nope.”
    There was silence on the other end of the line. “Is he still at your place?”
    “Yep.”
    “Is he staying the night?”
    “Yep.” I picked up the tweezers from the mug in which I kept my