Page 11

11

Claira

“I t’s that road there,” I said, pointing and ignoring the fact that Barren’s phone was supplying the same directions. “Gram said she’ll be waiting on the porch.” The moment I unbuckled my seatbelt and threw it off, Kai frowned.

“Hey, it’s not safe?—”

I swatted his hand away from trying to refasten the belt. I knew Kai had a weird thing about seatbelts, but we were going, what, ten? Fifteen miles per hour? He could deal for a minute. “That one, there.” I was practically leaning off the edge of my seat. We were so close . “Third on the left.”

The front porch came into view, and I took a deep breath. There Gram was, rocking in her favorite chair like it was just another lazy evening.

I was clutching Kai’s shoulder a bit too tightly as we turned onto the rocky driveway, but he didn’t complain. Then I reached down to unclip his belt, too, and that got a grumble out of him.

“But the car is still moving,” Kai said with pouty lips.

“Sorry, I’m… excited,” I lied. Well, half lied. I was excited to be home, sure, but I was mostly worried about keeping this joyous reunion from devolving into an outright skirmish. Fishermen versus fishmen.

Leander, Barren, and Kai… These guys probably didn’t know how intimidating they looked to normal humans, all sharp-cut jaws and broad, confident shoulders. Sure, their faces were handsome enough to make a heart hurt with the need to touch them, but that didn’t take away from how much larger they were compared to every local in town. Well, mostly—Mr. Terance was a heavily built man, but he was about as threatening as the half-dead bloodworms he sold as bait. About as lively, too. The rest of us were insignificant shrimps in comparison, Dad included.

Freaking mermen. With Leander’s arrogant charm, Kai’s boundless energy, and Barren’s, well, everything , Gram needed to see that I was okay before she got a good look at them.

Because without Dad home to reason with her, knowing Gram, she was probably packing some heat.

My legs turned restless as I inched even closer to my seat’s edge. I wasn’t going to push Kai out or crawl over him—he was still recovering, after all—but as soon as this car parked, I needed him to tap into his endless well of energy and move .

Would antique lead shots do as much damage as modern bullets? I wasn’t even sure if Gram’s prized pirate pistol would fire if she tried, but today wasn’t the day I wanted to find out.

The car eased to a stop, and I scrambled over Kai to open the door. “Do you guys mind waiting here while I go talk to her?”

Barren grunted in affirmation while Leander agreed. “Go for it.”

“Great—I’ll give you a signal when I’m ready.”

Laverne’s neck stretched until the breath from her nose fogged the windshield. “Look at those waves.”

“Is your dad still gone?” Leander asked, struggling to see around Laverne.

I followed his gaze out to the beach, where the sight of an empty pier made my stomach sink. “Yeah, the boat’s gone,” I said, chewing my lip. That’s all right , I reassured myself. It was getting late; he’d be back soon.

Barren cut the engine, and I didn’t push Kai out of the car as much as help him along with an insistent scoot of my hips. When we’d both touched down on the driveway, I tried to nudge him back in the car before Gram could see him.

Kai wasn’t as tall as the rest of them, but he was still a man—err, merman—and I’d never brought a man, human or otherwise, back to the house.

His lips upturned into a warm, reassuring smile as he sat back in the car. “Take all the time you need.” He reached up to brush my hair back over my shoulders, smoothing it with his fingers. “She looks worried,” he breathed, a somewhat wistful lilt in his voice as he nodded toward Gram. “I bet she missed you a lot.”

I softly smiled. “I missed her, too.”

He gave me one last grin before pulling the door shut.

The sound of Gram’s voice spun me around. “Keeping me out here in the cold until suppertime, Claira?”

Although she was still on the porch, she’d risen from her chair, the rusted and weather-beaten rocker still teetering behind her. She beckoned me with a wave, then set her hands on her hips.

I took off for the porch at a sprint, and her arms found their way around me before I’d even made it up the last step. “Shhh, shhh, dear girl,” she soothed in my ear. While I wasn’t crying, I was close. A gentle warmth seeped into me as her arms embraced me, making it hard not to feel like a little kid again. I wasn’t usually one for hugs, but Gram’s hugs were the best. “You look like you went on quite the trip.”

“I hadn’t planned on taking a trip at all.” Sighing, I held her tight. “I’m sorry I left. And that I lost your slow cooker.”

“Don’t you worry.” She chuckled and gave my forehead a big, wet kiss. “Slow cookers are replaceable. You are not.”

Somehow, my heart melted even more. She smelled of aniseed oil and white linen, and… was that gun smoke? My nose wrinkled as I pulled away. There might have been a suspicious lump underneath her knitted shawl. One that wasn’t normally there. “Gram?—”

Her smile turned wry. “You can never be too careful,” she confided, shimmying her shawl to better conceal what was hiding underneath it. Definitely her pirate pistol. But what was holding it up?

The thought of Gram stashing a weapon in her bra popped to mind, which wasn’t a visual I appreciated. As soon as I shook it away, another thought appeared.

Huh… Maybe I’d gotten my penchant for stashing knives from her.

A car door opened and slammed behind me. I twisted around to look, but it was just Laverne darting out of the car. She headed down to the beach, her mouth wide and tongue flapping out of the side of her face as she ran.

Gram must not have noticed the spectacle because her hands fell to the sides of my arms. She gave them a squeeze as she backed up to get a good look at me. “Well, you look hale and hearty. Must not have seen too much trouble while you were gone,” she said with an exasperated sigh that had my smile turning nervous. If only she knew the half of it.

Then she huffed. “John has been beside himself with worry. I know that boy’s going to hate that he’s not here.”

My heart pulled tight. Gram looked so concerned not only for me but for Dad, too. It must have been the mother in her, still trying to look after her son-in-law’s well-being—the only family she had left—even though he was long grown. “I’m sorry I made him worry,” I whispered, my throat tight.

She gave my arm a good pat. “It’s done now, so no more apologizing. I radioed the boat right after you called, so I expect John will be here soon. No tears, now. You know John will have enough for all of us when he gets here. That boy can sure blubber.”

Something in my chest twisted. When Dad got here, I would have to tell them I wouldn’t be staying long. I knew they’d get by without me—they’d been taking care of each other since before I was even around—but it hurt not knowing how long I’d be gone.

I just needed this trident nonsense to end or for someone to find a way to break the curse. Then I’d be back. Merfolk were gifted with all sorts of magic, right? So why not curse breaking magic?

I froze—that sounded a lot like what my touch did. Freaking hell . Why did all these things have to point back at me?

Suddenly, Gram’s voice was in my ear, shaking me back to the present. “Are you going to introduce me to the good folks who brought you back to us?”

“They really are good folk…” I assured her, but my voice trailed as Gram’s hand crept underneath her shawl.

Oh . How could I forget Gram’s personal brand of sarcasm?

“Wait, wait—” I gasped. “They’re not the ones who took me.” In a rush, I squared myself in front of her in case she whipped her pistol out to do something crazy like shoot at their tires. Or worse.

“They’re my—my friends. ” I cringed as soon as the words left my mouth. That last word came out so wobbly, there was no way she was believing it. Not for a second.

One of her thin eyebrows hitched as she looked around me, her hand still planted firmly underneath her shawl. “Your friends?”

A burst of heat flared inside of me, setting my face ablaze. “Yes—er, no—” My hands were waving wildly. Why was I so bad at lying? “Just, please , Gram. They aren’t bad guys. Not at all.” I pleaded with my eyes, and I must have been convincing enough because she dropped her hand with a sigh.

“I just worry about you, you know.” Her tongue clicked a time or two before she huffed. “You haven’t done anything like this before, Claira. It’s not in your nature to run off.”

“I know, I know,” I agreed. “I’m not sure what Dad told you happened, but…”

Suddenly, there was the sound of doors opening and closing behind us. Before I could turn to look back, I knew by the look on Gram’s face that the guys had gotten out of the car.

“Shit.” The curse slipped out on its own, and Gram broke her bewildered stare to swat me with the end of her shawl.

“Language, young lady! I raised you better than that.”

“Sorry, Gram,” I choked out, turning around to give the guys a look that I hoped screamed what-the-heck-are-you-doing? They were walking up the driveway with confidence that annoyed me way more than it should have. They weren’t getting my look’s meaning. Not at all.

“Why did you leave the car?” I mouthed, and Kai was the only one to stop in his tracks, confused.

“What?” he mouthed back. “You were waving your arms like this.” His voice rose to a whisper-scream as his hands started flailing wildly like he was impersonating a monkey. It was enough to revive the blush on my face.

I had not looked like that.

“Told you.” Leander gave Barren a nudge that bounced off him like it was nothing. “You should have read her mind to see if that was our signal.”

Wait, what?

“Read… my mind?” I repeated, and Barren’s expression turned brittle, his shoulders somehow bunching even tighter than his jaw.

Knowing it wasn’t likely that Barren would elaborate, I turned to Leander as soon as he reached the bottom stair of the porch. “What do you mean by that?”

He shot Barren a sidelong glance before shrugging like it was nothing. “He’s good at reading people. That’s all.”

I was about to press him with an ‘ oh, really?’ when Gram’s hand tightened on my shoulder. Her eyes had gone wider than dinner plates. “You disappear for days only to reappear crawling out of the backseat of a car with this… this boy band? ”

Whoa, what? I looked around, searching for whatever had put that idea in her head. “Th-they’re not a boy band, Gram.”

Then Barren’s deep voice supplied, “I’m the drummer,” not even missing a beat, and I thought my brain might actually explode.

“Barren,” I gasped, swiveling around to gawk at him like he had uttered some unthinkable curse. I had to fight the urge to borrow the end of Gram’s shawl to swat some sense at him. What was happening here? I would have expected a wisecrack like that from Leander, sure. But from Barren?

Gram’s eyes slid to Barren’s missing arm and narrowed. “Is that right?” she questioned with a hum.

His mouth was straight and firm when he nodded without a hint of sarcasm on his face.

Poseidon’s balls—these guys were going to be the death of me.

I took a step between everyone, hoping to shield my guys from Gram’s watchful eyes. “Really, Gram, they’re not in a band.”

“I’ve seen the magazines, Claira,” she clucked, her hands on her hips again. “This one looks like he should be covered in piercings.” She pointed a finger aimed at Kai’s ears that had him startling back a step.

“Piercings?” Kai must have thought she was pointing at his head because he swiped a nervous hand through his lavender hair before his face lit with understanding. “Oh!” he piped up. “I did have my back pierced recently!”

Gram’s jaw almost hit the floor. “Your back? ” She looked absolutely appalled and turned that energy into a disapproving look she aimed right at me.

“ What? Wait—no,” I stuttered, shaking my head and pushing between them in panic. “He didn’t—he didn’t mean that like you think he meant it.”

How was I supposed to explain that he’d taken a spear to his back, not a piercing? A spear was even worse, wasn’t it? I was so panicked I wasn’t even sure anymore.

Gram let out a long, drawn-out sigh. “Well, y’all better come on inside before you catch your death. Or before Claira starts having more of a fit.” She stepped to the front door, easing it open.

“Really? You’ll let them come in?” I blinked at her, awestruck. I’d expected her to shoo them back to the car. She gave me a nod that I returned with a smile. “Thanks, Gram,” I said, relieved. She wouldn’t risk starting a fight inside the house. At least, I was pretty sure she wouldn’t. She was almost as fond of her rugs as I was of the shaggy pink one I kept in my bedroom.

A wall of heat hit me when I stepped inside, followed by the hearty smell of meat and vegetables cooking. My eyes fell on the kitchen counter where a shiny new slow cooker sat, glossy with stainless steel accents. It was at least double the size of her old one.

“It’s nice, eh?” Gram said with a wink. “The last one was getting a little long in the tooth, anyway.”

“These shells are lovely,” Barren said, making me turn around to him and the other guys. He was looking at the shadow boxes full of seashells set up on the wall beside the front door. I was surprised he’d spoken up, just as he did on the porch when he claimed to be a drummer, of all things.

“Why thank you, drummer boy.” I crossed my arms over my chest. The corner of Barren’s mouth barely twitched into an almost imperceptible smirk that I found myself returning. “I made the box you’re looking at. Dad made this one, and then Gram’s box is over here.” His eyes moved along the boxes as I pointed each one out.

Leander leaned in, giving Gram’s box an appreciative look. “Your giant cockle is beautiful,” he called out to her across the room, gesturing to the big brown and tan striped shell set in the center of her box. He gave me a smug smile like he was waiting for the same praise I’d given Barren.

Poseidon, help me. This was going to be an interesting night.

“And where did you learn your manners?” Gram called to Leander from the kitchen, a hand firmly placed on her hip. “I don’t know where you come from, young man, but here in the south, it’s considered impolite to comment on a lady’s cockle .” Despite her scolding tone, there was also humor there. “At least not before you buy her a drink first,” she added with a wink.

I hadn’t expected Leander to be the one to amuse her—especially not so quickly—but here we were.

“This is Kai, Barren, and Leander,” I cut in before Leander could attempt to confess where he came from. Surely even he wasn’t idiotic enough to admit to learning his manners in an underwater palace. But Gram, like the rest of the humans in town, was unaware of the merfolk living deep in the waters she frequented, and that’s how I planned to keep it.

“And I promise they’re not in a band.” I laughed dryly, gesturing to the three of them and watching their chests puff and backs straighten as they dutifully presented themselves. A blush bloomed over my face at how serious they looked, their eyes focused, determined, with their attention turned fully to Gram. Then my gaze caught on Barren, who, for once, didn’t look intent on shrinking his enormous frame into his surroundings. Like maybe Gram’s appraisal meant something to him, too.

A lump tickled my throat as I added, “But they did help me get back home.”

It was strange seeing them in the place where I’d always felt the safest. Surrounded by everything I cared about, it was impossible to deny how well they fit in. How in Poseidon’s Deep had the three of them become so dear to me in such a short time?

When Gram didn’t answer, Kai blurted, “It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.” He gave her an exaggerated bow—much too low for a normal, sane human greeting—before turning his head to throw me a sheepish smile. Oh, Kai . He was trying his hardest to earn her approval like Leander just had, but Gram was a tough cookie to crack.

And crack, she did not. Gram completely disregarded Kai’s flashy bow, her sharp gaze bouncing dismissively from his short, spiked hair to focus back on her slow cooker. “Is that right?” She hummed as she opened the lid to check on her stew.

Okay—it was official. Gram wasn’t a fan of my bubbly, purple-haired shark man. That thought made me want to give him a hug because Kai was as kind as could be, and how could anyone not be drawn to his infectious laugh and genuine smile?

“Oh, Claira, before I forget,” Gram piped up, returning the lid and moving to rinse her ladle at the sink. “One of Rita’s grandkids found your bag while the town was out looking for you. You know, the shy one who helps out around the docks. Such a polite boy, that Shaun… I always thought he was a bit sweet on you.”

Uh-oh. And there she went, baiting them like the shrewd fisher she was. She’d obviously picked up on my ‘ friend’ lie and was trying to uncover which of the three men standing in her living room had caught my attention. Only, I wasn’t sure she would ever be ready for the answer to that question.

Heck, I wasn’t sure I could confess the truth to her out loud. Not without my cheeks melting off and Laverne bursting in here to slap around what was left of my face for daring to claim members of her harem. I could practically hear her screaming in my head now. Shameless, shameless, shameless!

Barren must have been the only one to understand Gram’s meaning because his dark eyes flicked right to me like he was seeking some confirmation or denial of her statement. Before I could react, Gram continued, “I put it in your bedroom, right next to your bed. It still has your money in it and everything. Goodness, John and I were shocked when we noticed—Rita sure is raising those boys right.”

I winced, my stomach twisting at the thought of Shaun’s hands on my bag. Of all the people in town, why did it have to be him? “Wow, that was… nice of him.”

Shaun was neither shy nor sweet, but I couldn’t blame Gram for thinking the best of her dear friend’s eldest grandchild. Gram and Rita had been steering us together for as long as I could remember, all because we happened to share the same age.

But although both of our families were fishers, we were as different as they came. It was like comparing a stately kingfish to a lowly seaworm, and he knew it, too. Shaun was popular, and I… Well, I would always be the awkward new girl who hadn’t known humans usually cooked their fish before eating them—and that classrooms sometimes had tanks filled with class pets that certainly weren’t meant to be eaten at snack time.

I couldn’t recall if he’d been among the unlucky classmates who’d witnessed my blunder or if he’d just been a part of the horrible aftermath of mourning and tears that followed. But even if Shaun hadn’t seen it, there wasn’t a soul our age within a hundred miles who hadn’t heard of the redheaded fish murderer as the tale of that snack time grew and twisted.

Had I reached in and stuffed one fish into my mouth or lunged onto the side of the tank and stuck my entire head in the water to gobble down every last cute, defenseless guppy? I’d heard the story retold so many times, even I wasn’t sure how I’d gone about it. I just remembered being really, really hungry. And then equally embarrassed when the school called Dad to come get me for ‘upsetting the class.’

At least Dad never scolded me for it. He understood. Shaun, on the other hand, never let me forget. He and his friends usually went with the more colorful versions of the tale, and even after learning to blend in and growing accustomed to life on land, the normalcy I’d found hadn’t mattered to guys like him.

“I can’t believe my bag survived,” I mumbled, glancing back at the hall. I was so sure I’d lost it, along with Gram’s old slow cooker, back when the Turbula twins knocked me out. But now that I knew Shaun had his hands all over my bag, I itched to go check on my things.

Barren was still staring straight at me, his eyebrows pinched, assessing me. If he really was as good at reading people as Leander claimed, then he knew how wrong Gram’s words had been. Shaun was not sweet on me. Not in the least bit.

Sproing-oing! The sudden noise severed our locked gazes, and Kai released a delighted gasp that had all of our necks snapping toward the front door.

He’d discovered the doorstop and was completely mesmerized by the simple metal spiral. He nudged it cautiously with the side of his shoe a third time while I shook my head.

“Maybe I should go check on my bag. See if my phone’s still in it.”

One of Leander’s eyebrows hitched in my direction as I sidestepped closer to the hall. Surely they couldn’t get into too much trouble in the time it took me to run to my room and back, right? Kai looked so drawn to the doorstop that I was positive it could entertain him for a couple of hours, at least.

“I’m sure I saw it in there, but go on, dear,” Gram said. “And come on out of the doorway, you three. Make yourselves at home.” It didn’t sound like she’d meant her offer one bit. Still, a weight on my heart lifted. She was at least trying to be hospitable.

“Excuse me for a minute.” Spinning around, I bolted for my bedroom.

My shaggy pink rug was a welcome sight, and as soon as I made it through the door, I tossed myself down on my bed before thinking better of it.

“Oh, how I missed you.” Rolling my head over my cupcake covered pillow, I sighed, contented. It smelled of fresh detergent, and I breathed in deeply, enjoying the way it actually supported my head.

“You feel so good,” I practically moaned, face down in the fluffy, cool fabric, just as my door creaked open.

“Remembering yesterday?”

I jolted upright at the smooth yet uninvited voice.

When I saw it was Leander coming through my bedroom door, I scrunched up my nose. “No one ever did teach you manners, did they?” Damn cocky prince .