Embrace the Heat Read Free Page A

humans who used his
kind dead.
     

Chapter Two
    Sixty Six Years Later
    Layla was so excited! Today she was going to
see her mom. It’s not that she wasn’t happy living with Raven.
Actually, living with Raven was better than living with her mom.
Raven spent time with her and never forgot her anywhere. Well,
Layla had to stay with sitters a lot because Raven worked, but the
sitters were nice, and Raven was there to tuck her in every
night.
    “Ready to go?” Danny called from the door to
the room. Danny was her age but already a lot taller than her.
Layla hated being shorter than everyone, but at least she was
stronger than most of them, even Danny. Sometimes they pretended to
train like Raven; Layla usually won.
    “Yes!” Layla squealed and spun around in
circles. Her blonde hair swung out behind her. That’s when she
caught the worried look in Danny’s green eyes. Freezing
mid spin, Layla glared at her friend. “You don’t think she’s
coming, do you?”
    Danny cringed, his cheeks flushed a shade
nearly as deep as his dark red hair. “I hate seeing you get so
excited when she might not be there.”
    “It’s our birthday,” Layla said extra slowly.
“I’m turning seven, and she’s turning twenty seven. She has to be there. Moms don’t miss birthdays.”
    Danny ducked his head, and Layla instantly
felt bad. Danny didn’t really know when his birthday was. Raven had
made up a day, but his mom didn’t celebrate his birth. Danny’s
father had been killed years ago, and his mom was strange. She’d
take Danny places and leave him there. That’s why Danny was at
Raven’s now. His mom had told him to sit and wait while she got
supplies. When it got dark, he’d walked to Raven’s house. He knew
his way home now, but he was always a little angry and embarrassed
when his mom forgot him. She didn’t do it on purpose. Raven said
something was broken in Danny’s mom, and Layla had to agree.
    “Sorry for opening my big mouth,” Layla said
and hugged her friend.
    Danny tried to squirm away. He thought girls
were gross. “Stop hugging me, Layla! It’s okay. You’re right; moms
should be there for birthdays. I’ll bet you won’t forget your kids’
birthdays when you’re a mom.”
    Layla couldn’t even imagine wanting to be a
mom. Life sucked too much. They were stuck on the island and
weren’t even allowed near the water for fear of being killed. Who
would want to bring a kid into this world? Besides, she was never
kissing a boy. “There is no way I’m going to be a mom. Do you even
know how babies are made?”
    Danny grinned at her. “Sure I do. Do you know how babies are made?”
    “Sure, boys kiss girls on the mouth,” Layla
explained.
    Danny laughed at her. “That’s not how it
happens. Well, there’s usually kissing at first. Sometimes the man
puts his thing in the woman’s .”
    “Danny!” Raven called from the kitchen. Raven
was making peach pie for Layla. Luckily Layla’s birthday was in
spring or she might not have a sweet treat. They canned fruit for
the winter, but they didn’t use it for anything frivolous. Winter
was a time to save up their food for emergencies. During the
spring, Raven could get a jar of peaches without causing too many
problems. Raven was a wood nymph, and she helped their crops grow
strong. She was also the only nonhuman living on the island, making
her an outcast to most.
    “What?” Danny called back. “She’s gonna have
to learn how babies are made, especially if she doesn’t want to
have one.”
    “I don’t want to know where you got your
information,” Raven said sternly as she walked into the room. Her
long brown hair was pulled back from her face. “Layla will learn
how babies are made when she’s older. You and I are definitely
going to talk about this later.”
    Danny gave Raven a sheepish smile. “Did I get
it wrong?”
    Raven laughed. “No, you got it right. I just
want you to tell me where you learned that from. Something tells