"Oh, I'm Marcus Ranger, by the way. My mom and Nibbles live a couple of doors up. The brick house on the corner." He reached out to shake her hand, which she couldn't do, not properly. Her lower right arm and her fingers were still in a cast, but she couldn't be rude. She intended to stay in Bonneville as long as it took--forever if need be, and alienating him wouldn't help matters.
"Tommi Wood." She clasped his hand with her left, more like a finger or two, and shook it quickly then let go. If she had taken his offering the right way, his hands were so large hers would be completely lost inside.
His head tilted sideways, probably wondering about that awkward handshake. Or perhaps he felt that little jolt of static electricity when they'd touched.
That is what it was. She was certain of it ... wasn't she?
She shook off the odd thought and said, "Well, you'd better get that little guy back to your mother. I'm sure she's worried."
"Oh, yeah. You're probably right. Well, um, goodnight."
"Goodnight."
He turned, paused as if he were going to say something else, then continued down her driveway.
Relieved he hadn't stopped to chat longer, Tommi began her hobbled pace to her front door, determined to dismiss the odd events of the evening. But something made her pause at the porch steps and look over her shoulder.
He'd stopped at the end of the drive and was watching her. She could see the sharp plains of his face illuminated by a nearby streetlight, but couldn't tell if he felt sorry for her. Regardless, his gaze made her feel strange, as if he were seeing more than she wanted him to. But that was ridiculous, considering she had to be nothing more than a vague shadow.
"Welcome home, Thomasina," he said softly. The words barely reached her ears before he disappeared around the hedge.
He knew.
No one called her Thomasina, except her mother. She turned and hurried inside, raking her brain for the slightest memory, but nothing about Marcus Ranger came to mind. And yet there was something familiar in the way he said her name.
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