The Unwanted (Black Water Tales Book 2) Read Online Free Page A

outskirts of a small city in Virginia with a picture -perfect little family: a hard -working father, a doting mother, and two older, strapping brothers.” Laurely crossed his mind briefly but was gone as soon as she came, like an obscure sound in the night. “I love my family, but I was dying to get out of that place; hunting and freezing through the winter months, which were most of the year was just never my idea of a good time. When I was old enough, I moved to Miami for school and never looked back.”
    “You’re single? I wouldn’t believe it if you said you were.” Blaire laughed at her joke.
    “By choice, of course.” He snapped back playfully.
    Blaire became more serious. “That’s the right attitude. So your parents are okay with you…?” Blaire began, but stopped abruptly when she noticed a formidable change in Travis.
    “Oh, sorry, is that personal? That was a dumb question.”
    “Nah, it isn’t. I told them recently. They seemed okay at first, but I don’t think they’re taking it too well, to be honest.”
    Blaire nodded as if she understood, but she didn’t. She would never get the chance to tell her parents any life -changing news.
    “But they’ll get over it.” Travis finally spoke.
    “Yes, I’m sure they will.” Blaire added as she decided she would shut up for a while.
    The beers went through them like water down a slide; smooth. They laughed, danced and somehow fell in with a rowdy local by the name of Petro. He was a burly man with bushels of reddish brown curls and a wavy mustache that filtered down into a thick goatee. Round the floor, Petro whirled Blaire like a feather -weight rag doll, while Travis and Petro’s wife, Soreena, scooted around them in an energetic dance.
    “DRINK!” Petro yelled.
    “DRINK!” Everyone in the room responded creating something like a drunken choral reading. Blaire’s eyes quickly found Travis’, and they both exploded in amusement. Petro, Blaire, and Travis headed to the bar, but Soreena waved them on and continued to dance, taking up with someone else.
    “Three vodka shooters!” Petro instructed Vana, who poured up three more shots of the intensely potent liquid.
    “This is it for me.” Blaire made the announcement as if she were in a state of mind to make such a firm commitment.
    “Agreed,” Travis said.
    Petro lifted his glass to long life, as Blaire and Travis raised their glasses to meet his before throwing back the alcohol.
    “Hooooooooo,” Travis groaned as he sat his empty glass on the bar. Just as Blaire finished her shot, she felt someone standing close to her.
    “Another?” the man asked. His eyes deep and dark like the sea that crested on the beach below St. Sebastian.
    “Uh, no. I couldn’t.” Blaire told the stranger.
    “Latif,” he said, extending his hand.
    “Latif…I’m Braaairrre, Blaairre Baker.” She immediately became embarrassed at hearing herself slur her own name. “Blaire Baker” came the words again as she made a concentrated effort to speak clearly this time.
    “Nice to meet you, Blaire Baker,” Latif said as he turned his shot glass up, threw his money on the table, and disappeared back into the crowd.
    “So, you two are American, no?” Petro’s voice boomed.
    “Yes,” Travis answered for the both of them.
    “I always wanted to go there.”
    “You should go, Petro. You would probably love America,” Blaire said.
    “One day,” Petro responded, smiling at the newcomers. “Who do you know here in Borslav?”
    “No one,” Travis explained.
    “We are volunteers with a program called United Care. We’re donating a year of our time to help the staff at St. Sebastian,” Blaire said.
    “St. Sebastian?” Petro’s brow furrowed and an inquisitive look spread across his face. “Why?”
    Blaire and Travis caught one another’s glances.
    “Just to help,” Blaire explained.
    “The Americans...always just wanting to help,” Petro said with a grin.
    “Is something wrong with