Free Swans Landing #1 - Surfacing by Shana Norris Page A

but the hard look in his eyes kept my mouth shut. After another moment of complete silence, he started to walk around me. I was hit by the sudden desire to keep him close.
    So I said the first thing that popped into my head.
    “What do you know about finfolk?”
    Josh stopped, his shoulders stiff. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he turned to look back at me.
    “What did you say?” he asked in a low voice.
    I swallowed, but managed to speak despite my surprise at his reaction. “Finfolk,” I said again. “What do you know about them?”
    His eyes looked me up and down. “What do you know about them?” he countered.
    I threw my hands up in frustration. “Nothing. I heard the word for the first time two minutes ago, but no one will tell me what it means.”
    His nose wrinkled. “So you think I’m going to tell you?”
    Of course he wasn’t. That much was clear. Whatever these finfolk were, they were a closely guarded secret. It wasn’t that I even cared, but it was infuriating to keep finding more and more secrets everywhere I looked.
    “No,” I said. “Forget it.”
    I turned to walk in the other direction, hitching my bag up on my shoulder.
    “There’s a book you might want to read.”
    My boots squeaked on the floor at my sudden stop. Josh still stood in the same place I had left him, but he didn’t meet my gaze.
    “What?” I asked.
    “A book in the library.” He stared at a poster advertising the student council’s fish fry fundraiser as he spoke, picking at a loose thread on his hoodie. “ Fae and Other Tales .”
    “I don’t believe in fairies,” I told him.
    He shrugged. “It might have other answers you’re looking for.”
    With that, he turned and shuffled down the hall.

Chapter Nine
     
    The slam of the front door downstairs made me jump from my spot on the mattress in the loft. My Saturday afternoon so far had consisted of ignoring the mounds of homework my teachers had loaded me down with in an effort to help me catch up to the rest of the class. Outside, rain had threatened to fall all day and thick ashy clouds blanketed the sky.
    I was perfectly content to spend all afternoon examining the exposed wooden slats of my loft bedroom, hoping that Lake had found the time to replace the shingles on this crumbling little house every now and then over the years. Mostly, though, I was trying to take my mind off Josh Canavan, who seemed to be invading all of my thoughts lately. The more I tried not to think about him, the more his face appeared in my mind.
    Heavy footsteps stomped across the floor downstairs. Lake must have gotten home from wherever he’d run off to this morning.
    Then another sound drifted toward me. Shouting. More like ranting and raving actually, coming from outside.
    Through the porthole window, I saw a thin woman with wild hair standing in our front yard. She screamed obscenities in the direction of the house. It took me a moment to figure out why she looked familiar.
    It was the woman from the bus the first day I came to Swans Landing. She picked up one of the white rocks lining the path to the steps, then swung her arm back and hurled it at the house. The rock hit the wall and skittered back across the front porch.
    What was going on now?
    Lake stood at the kitchen counter, his back to me when I entered the room. “What’s that outside?” I asked.
    Lake jumped and then tried to appear busy, as if he’d been downstairs washing the dishes all day, despite the fact that he rarely washed dishes.
    “Oh, hey,” he said. “I didn’t know you were home. I figured you were hanging out with Dylan today.”
    “No, I’m trying to take a nap,” I said.
    Lake’s shoulders relaxed slightly, but he still seemed on edge. “Got anything interesting planned today?” he asked.
    “Probably not as interesting as your day seems to be.”
    His eyebrows rose. “What do you mean?”
    I walked toward the front door and pulled it open. “I mean, there’s a woman standing on our