Page 57

“Show us how it’s done,” Dale said. “Paddleboard master.”

“And apparently,” I directed to Kamala, “Gemma is really goodatit.”

“You have to face this fear sometime.”

“But do I?” I asked.

Asher was heading toward the water, already several feet away from us, and he looked at me over his shoulder with that smile of his. “You coming?”

“I’m going to pick up this board and walk to the water and when I get there you are going to get some call about something that we must leave immediately for,” I said quickly and quietly to Kamala.

“You’re going to drag me into this?” she asked.

“You are all the way in it, girl.”

She smiled and gave me a shove. “Fine. Go.”

I snatched up the board and paddle and rushed to catch up to Asher. He was already ankle-deep in water. “It’s cold,” he said when I was next to him.

The jetty separating the bay from the open ocean eliminated the waves, but the water still lapped at the shore in tiny ripples.

I zeroed in on the water, which became darker and more opaque the deeper it got.

“You look pale,” Asher said, the water now up to his calves.

“I’m pretty white.”

He chuckled.

I strained, listening for Kamala to rescue me, but so far nothing.

Asher laid his board across the shallow water and attached the strap around one ankle. “You can’t make fun of me for my lack of coordination.”

I set my board down in front of his.Come on, Kamala.“I won’t.”

Asher walked behind me and attached my leg strap as well. When he stood, he cussed under his breath.

My heart jumped, but I didn’t see any danger, besides what was lurking in the depths. “What?”

“Incoming.”

I turned just in time to see the girl from the parking lot pass Dale and Kamala, heading for us. Dale immediately ripped his phone off its makeshift helmet stand and followed her, obviously recording. He really thought he was a reality TV star. Did people care about his day-to-day life as much as he thought they did?

“Asher,” Elinor said when she stood in front of us. She was shorter than she had looked from a distance. “I thought that wasyou.”

“Hi,” he said, friendly as always. “How are you?”

“I’m okay. We just got back from San Diego.”

“Visiting your sister?” he asked.

“Yes. She had her baby. A little boy—Ezra.”

“Oh wow. Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” Elinor’s eyes flitted to me.

Asher noticed and took a step sideways, angling his body in front of me in a protective way. “We were just about to go out on the water,” he said. “Nice seeing you.”