Waiting for Dusk Read online

  Waiting For Dusk

  Book One

  by Nancy Pennick

  Published by

  Fire and Ice

  A Young Adult Imprint of Melange Books, LLC

  White Bear Lake, MN 55110

  www.fireandiceya.com

  Waiting For Dusk, Copyright 2012 by Nancy Pennick

  ISBN: 978-1-61235-524-5

  Names, characters, and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Published in the United States of America.

  Cover Art by Lynsee Lauritsen

  WAITING FOR DUSK

  NANCY PENNICK

  Read a book.

  Fall asleep.

  Meet a boy.

  is it real or just a dream?

  Katie's everyday life suddenly turns exciting when she travels back in time and meets the boy of her dreams. Thinking of nothing else, willing to leave the real world behind, she's determined to find out if it's all a dream...or not. Returning again and again, Katie almost has her answers until one day her precious book goes missing.

  Dedication

  To

  Bonnie Urbancek McGarry,

  the best friend a girl could ever have

  Acknowledgments

  To my wonderful husband, Ron, who only reads the sports page, but read my rough draft and encouraged me to finish.

  To my son, Matt, my creative tech guy, who supported me along the way.

  To my sister, Sue Gesing, and niece, Megan Gesing, who were the first to read my book and are my biggest cheerleaders.

  To Ashley Dombrowski, who unknowingly was my inspiration to keep writing.

  To Lynsee Lauritsen for designing the wonderful book cover that captured the essence of the book.

  And finally to my publisher, Nancy Schumacher for giving my book a home and a huge thank you to her and everyone at Melange-Books who’s helped me through this exciting journey, my first published book.

  Table of Contents

  "Waiting For Dusk"

  Dedication/Acknowledgments

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  About the Author

  Previews

  Chapter One

  Boredom, boring, bored. Kathryn Roberts couldn’t think of any more ways to say she was bored. Summer vacation was supposed to be fun. It was something everyone looked forward to and yet...she was bored. Katie sighed. She picked up her phone, looked for any new messages, and set it down. She strolled over to her desk and grabbed her laptop. As she flopped on the bed, Katie thought she heard a door slam downstairs.

  “Katie! Katie! Are you home?” her mother called from the kitchen.

  “Yeah, I’m home.” Katie ran down the stairs and collapsed on the sofa in the family room. Her soft, light brown hair flowed over the pillow. It had streaks of gold from the summer sun, and was showing a slight wave from the humidity that hung thick in the air.

  “What have you been doing since I left?”

  “Nothing, I’m bored.”

  “Bored? Did I just hear you say that?” Her mother sounded irritated. “Well, all you do is stare at your laptop, stare at the TV and stare at your phone. When I was your age, I actually met my friends to do things. We went for ice cream, went to the beach, movies, you name it. We did things. I’ll give you bored. You’re bored of staring. That’s what it is. Go do something.”

  “Easier said than done. Most of my friends are gone for the summer. Lindsey went to stay with her aunt at her ranch out west somewhere. Tyson’s at basketball camp. Jordyn is in China on a cool vacation, studying her roots with her two moms. And me? I’m here.”

  Kate could tell her mother was gathering her thoughts and heard her calmly say, “We went on a vacation last year. If I remember correctly, someone said they would never go on a vacation with her nerdy parents again.”

  “Okay, sorry about that. What I really meant was that it was hard to be cooped up in a car with your parents for three weeks. The Grand Canyon was worth seeing, I guess.”

  Katie bounced off the sofa and gave her mother a hug. She knew she had to calm her down before she thought of some chore Katie could do.

  “Apology accepted!” her mom stared into Katie’s blue eyes. “Thanks, Blue Eyes. Now you can help me with dinner.”

  Katie rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything. She didn’t like it when her mother called her Blue Eyes, but kept quiet. Katie opened the refrigerator instead. “Just you and me?”

  “Actually, no. I’ve invited Mrs. Johnson over for dinner tonight.”

  Maya Johnson was the Roberts’ neighbor. They became close when Katie’s mom was a college student and Maya worked at the university’s library. Her mother spent a lot of time in the library and got to know Mrs. Johnson very well. They became like family.

  After college graduation, Katie’s mom married Jackson Roberts and moved away. A teaching opportunity opened up at the college so the family moved back home.

  “So glad we moved next door to her. I know I was only three, but I remember how she baby-sat while you went to work.” She was excited Mrs. Johnson was coming over to break up the monotony of the day

  The doorbell suddenly rang and she knew who it would be.

  “I’ll get it!” Katie bounded out of the kitchen to the front door, opening it wide. “Mrs. Johnson!” Katie wrapped her arms around her and gave a quick hug.

  She had always been like a grandmother to Katie. She called her ’MiMi’ when she was little. As she got older, her mother insisted on proper respect and told Katie that she should call her “Mrs. Johnson”. That didn’t make sense because they were family.

  “MiMi,” Katie whispered in her ear.

  “Child, I swear you grow taller every time I see you!” Mrs. Johnson’s brown eyes glistened. “You should be a model!” She walked into the house and through to the kitchen.

  “Maya,” Joanna outstretched her arms, “So good to see you! How was your vacation?”

  “Good to see you, too. My vacation was too short, just like all vacations are. Now I’m back to the real world of paying bills, cleaning a
nd grocery shopping.”

  She looked at Katie with a twinkle in her eyes, almost like she knew what Katie was thinking.

  That is why Katie loved Mrs. Johnson so much. Even though Mrs. Johnson lived alone, she seemed to have a history that was fascinating, yet mysterious. She always told wonderful stories about how she and her husband traveled the country when they were young. They settled down in the house next door when Mrs. Johnson was expecting Carl Jr. He now lived on the California coast working as a marine biologist. Mrs. Johnson always took long vacations to visit him, and just got back from one of those trips.

  “So how is Carl Jr.?” Katie’s mother asked.

  “Looking more and more like his father every passing year, God rest his soul.”

  Katie whispered the words with her under her breath. Mrs. Johnson looked at her and smiled. “So what have you two been up to while I was gone?”

  “Mom is teaching a summer class, and I’ve been hanging out here at home with nothing to do. I guess I just got bored of staring.”

  “Bored of staring?”

  “Inside joke,” Kate’s mother quickly responded. “Plus you know Jackson is gone for most of the summer on business. We really didn’t plan a vacation.”

  Katie really missed her father. Jackson Roberts was a world traveler with business taking him far and wide. He wrote books, lectured and went on many promotional tours. Most of his books were nonfiction, from self-help to nature. Katie didn’t have a clue how he got all of this knowledge and didn’t really care. She just missed him because he would have made the summer enjoyable. There had been no word from him in quite a few days. Her mom said he was either somewhere with no service or he let his battery die again. Nothing new for her dad.

  Mrs. Johnson, Katie and her mom sat outside to eat their dinner. They laughed and talked until the sun began to set. Katie excused herself at that time. “If it’s alright with everyone, I’d like to go up to my room now. Glad you’re home again, Mi...Mrs. Johnson.” Katie stammered.

  Mrs. Johnson chuckled. “Of course you are excused. Your mother and I need to make some plans to add some excitement in your life. First come over here and give me a kiss goodnight.”

  Katie skipped over to Maya and hugged her tightly. Maya kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear, “Sweet dreams.”

  Katie went upstairs, turned her TV on, grabbed the laptop and settled in for the night. Maybe Linds would call or Ty. That would be a bonus. Having Mrs. Johnson home for the summer was great because Katie didn’t feel so alone. She could visit her during the day and maybe she could look for a summer job. Not that she wanted a summer job, but it would fill the days with something to do while waiting for her friends to get back in town.

  It was close to midnight when Katie’s mom came in to say good night. “Good night, sweet girl,” she said and placed a book on Katie’s nightstand. “Here’s something to read. It may help put you to sleep.”

  “What is it?”

  “Some romantic historical fiction. Just an old book I had. You loved to read when you were young, but I thought it was a little grown up for you back then. You’re just the right age to read it now.”

  “Oh, thanks. Good night.”

  She glanced at the book on the nightstand and went back to what she was doing. What am I doing?

  She looked at her webpage every ten minutes, updated her profile and watched some dumb short films people posted online. She sent texts to her father, Linds, Ty, Jordyn and a few school friends plus planned her outfits for tomorrow. Katie looked at the book again.

  She didn’t read books anymore. What’s my mother thinking?

  Katie wasn’t really tired though. If the book could help put her to sleep, she’d give it a try. It was old but well taken care of. One could tell it was read many times as she flipped through the pages of the black leather book. Katie opened to chapter one and began reading.

  Suddenly, there was a banging on her door. “Miss Kathryn, time to get up! You overslept. Get up!”

  Katie turned over in the bed. Sun streamed into the room from the window.

  Overslept? she thought. Was Mrs. Johnson calling me?

  She got up, stumbled to the door and opened it. Although Katie was still groggy, she could tell something wasn’t right. She looked to the left, and saw a long hallway with three more closed doors on her side, and then a large open doorway to what looked like a kitchen on the other side. She looked to the right, and there stood Mrs. Johnson.

  “Oh, MiMi...Mrs. Johnson! What’s going on?”

  “I’ll tell you what’s going on, missy. You’re going to be late for work. And you youngsters have got to get my name right. It’s Mrs. Johansson. YO-hon-sen!”

  Katie blinked. She turned and looked at her room, then gasped. It was very sparse: bed on a metal frame, a dresser with a pitcher and bowl on it and a braided rug on the floor.

  I must be dreaming. She pinched herself. “Ouch!” She looked forlornly at Mrs. Johnson...Mrs. Johansson. She does look younger than Mrs. Johnson, Katie admitted and said, “Where’s the bathroom?”

  Mrs. Johansson laughed. “You city girls.” She pointed down the hall.

  “Which door?”

  “The one that takes you outside, Miss Kathryn. Just keep on walking and you’ll see a little house. It’s called an outhouse. Does that ring a bell?”

  Oh, yes. It rang a bell alright. Katie was in Girl Scouts for awhile, and went away for an overnight summer camp. The camp had an outhouse. After that trip, Katie was a Girl Scout no more. “Yuck!” she screamed.

  “Before you go out there, go fill this up in the kitchen and put it in your room.”

  Mrs. Johansson handed Katie the large ceramic pitcher. Katie decided to do as she was told. She went into the kitchen and saw a large pump over what appeared to be the kitchen sink. Mrs. Johansson stood in the doorway. “Start pumping,” she laughed.

  Chapter Two

  Katie filled the pitcher and when she turned around, Mrs. Johansson was gone. She carried her pitcher into the bedroom, poured the water in the bowl and then visited the outhouse.

  What a dream! Whoever visited an outhouse in their dreams?

  When she returned, she washed up in her bowl using the towel that was placed beside it, and then flopped on the bed. There was another knock at her door. She got up to answer it, and there was Mrs. Johansson again. “Here’s your uniform. Put it on and be ready to go soon. You missed breakfast. I’ll give you something to eat in the car. Mr. Johansson is pulling the Buick around to take you girls to work.”

  Work? Really? Katie could not believe she would have to go to work in her dream. She decided to play along and put the uniform on. It was a crisp black dress, almost floor length, black socks and shoes. She tied a stiff, white bib apron over the dress and was finished. There was no mirror to see how everything fit. Katie felt like she stepped back in time in the outfit. Perhaps it was an old-fashion or Amish restaurant.

  Yes, that has to be it. All of this will make sense once I get there.

  Katie stepped into the hallway and all the other doors were open too. Three girls about her age, dressed the same way, were in the hallway. Two of the girls were talking while the third leaned on the doorframe to her bedroom.

  “Oh, hello. You must be the new girl, Kathryn. I’m Lucinda and this is Ruthie.” She pointed to the girl next to her. “And that one,” pointing to the leaning girl, “is Anna.” She leaned in closer to Katie. “Not too friendly, that one.”

  By then, Katie decided to go along with anything that happened. She nodded her head but waved to Anna. Anna held up a hand and then quickly put it back down.

  “Girls, girls! Oh good, you are ready. Mr. Carl is parked out front and ready to go. Have a good day and see you tonight.” Mrs. Johansson scooped all four into her arms and gave them a group hug. “Do a good job.” Her voice trailed after them as they headed out to the waiting car.

  When Katie saw the car, she stopped short. “We’re going to ride in that?” S
he stood with her mouth open. “Is that thing in working condition?”

  Mr. Carl came around from the driver side. He laughed. “The car’s not that old. I did buy it used this year but I needed more room to drive you girls from the boardinghouse to the hotel. This here is a 1925 Buick, holds seven passengers.”

  Katie just shook her head. That’s used, alright.

  The girls climbed in. “You know the car’s not that old,” Lucinda chimed in. She seemed to be the talker of the group. “It’s only two-years-old. It’s a very nice car, Mr. Johansson.” She pronounced Johansson very exactly, in the proper, correct way.

  Katie’s head spun and she closed her eyes. Please wake up. Please wake up. She didn’t wake up. All she did was bounce in her seat as they traveled along a dirt road. The air felt hot and dry. The landscape was filled with pine trees when she finally opened her eyes. She closed them again tightly. Thankfully it was a short drive.

  Mr. Johansson pulled up to a door in the back of the hotel. The girls jumped from the car, waved good-bye and ran inside. All of them, except Katie.

  Mr. Johansson turned around from the driver’s seat. “I thought I only counted three going in.” He smiled at Katie. “The first day is always hard. Don’t worry. Everyone will help you. Most everyone’s very kind. You’ll have a good day. I’ll be back to pick you up in no time.”

  Katie slowly got out of the car, tears filled her eyes. She wasn’t in Kansas, make that Ohio, anymore. She said she would go along with whatever happened in her dream, and that was what she would do.

  Chapter Three

  Katie slowly opened the door to the back of the hotel, and stepped inside a very large kitchen. There was a lot going on with people running everywhere--servers, cooks, busboys.