The Siren (41 page)

I searched for the buoy. I had painted this one with a special marker to tell it apart from all the others. I slowed even more, looking for the black dot that would separate one buoy from the dozens we kept. It took a little while, but then there it was… and I felt I’d found it all too soon.

Suck it up, Akinli. She loves you. You love her. This is no big deal.

I pulled up beside the dotted buoy and started reeling it in.

“What can I do?” Kahlen asked.

Say yes.

“Nothing for now.” I smiled. “Just look pretty.”

“I’m on it!” She laughed. “I wonder why Ben was so grumpy today. He’s usually in a much better mood.”

“Blame it on hunger. He was home later than he wanted is all,” I said, continuing to pull.

“I guess. How many traps do we need to pull up?”

“Not many. This’ll be fast.”

“No rush. I like it on the water.” I was distracted as she leaned her head back and let the wind pick up her hair. She had really gotten over that fear of the water, and now she seemed like she could practically live out here.

One of her mysteries.

“Yeah, I know you do.” I could see the outline of the cage coming into sight.

“It’s so beautiful out today,” she commented.

“It is.” I started to sweat.

“Do you need a hand?” She could see the trap breaking the water.

“No, I’m good,” I said, clearing my throat.

“Oh, that stinks. It’s empty.”

“Oh well. No loss.” Maybe I didn’t have to do this now. Maybe she wouldn’t see the box, and I could just pull up the traps I had set earlier today. She didn’t have to know.

“Wait. What’s that?”

Okay, never mind. Back to plan A.

“What’s what?” That was smooth.

“In the trap— there’s a box.”

I took a calming breath. I got down on my knees. She would just think it was to get into the trap better. I pulled out the black metal box, the waterproof one I’d borrowed from a friend. I’d tested it last week— worked like a charm. My fingers trembled a little as I opened the hatches.

Kahlen had gotten closer now, bending over to see what was inside. I opened the box, and pulled out the smaller, velvet box inside. She whispered a “wow.” The way she said it was inquisitive. She was still in the dark, thinking we’d stumbled upon a treasure.

Hands shaking, I opened the box. Inside was the small, delicate ring I’d picked out months ago. It wasn’t much. I had plenty of money put away by now. I adored the girl so much I wanted to put an ice rink on her finger. But she wasn’t about flash or show, so I went for understated— something like her.

“Oh my gosh!” She covered her mouth. Now she got it.

I couldn’t find my voice.

“Oh my…” she whispered. I looked up. My Kahlen had tears in her eyes. Now, so did I.

“Kahlen Ocean Woods.” The words came out stronger than I thought they would. “I love you more than anything in the world. I managed to lose you once, and it…” I choked. I cleared my throat. “And it nearly broke me. I don’t ever want to be separated from you again. I know I’m not much, but I promise to keep you safe and to take care of you. Would you please do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

Terror. Absolute terror.

It was out there now. Was I crazy? What in the world did I think I could offer this girl? Kahlen loved me, sure, but I was a nobody. Hadn’t Casey made that clear? I was an orphaned, uneducated loser. How could I have presumed to be something good enough for Kahlen? I should have done more to prove I deserved her. I couldn’t even bring myself to look into her eyes. I wasn’t worth it.

“Yes,” she breathed.

What?

“Yes, yes, yes.” She could barely speak the words.

I looked up at her face. She was smiling. It was brighter than any smile she’d ever given me. Tears sparkled down her cheeks. I had never known a girl who looked beautiful when she cried. Kahlen was the exception for every rule I’d ever known.

“Umm, really?” Oh man, did I really just say that out loud?

She laughed, completely delighted. “Of course!”

“Oh, you poor girl. You have no idea what you just got roped into!”

“I’ll take my chances.”

Between both our hands shaking, it took a minute to get the ring on her finger. She fell onto me, covering me with kisses. I don’t really remember much after that.

 
CHAPTER
20

Kahlen kept telling me I was a hopeless romantic. I didn’t think so at first, but she was right. When she walked up to me in that white dress, I cried almost as much as she did. Though I’d had reason enough to in the past, tears weren’t something I liked to show. But I figured this would be one of two forgivable times for me to cry in public: the moment I became a husband, and the moment I became a father.

By this point, my collection of mental snapshots nearly filled all the space in my head, but I couldn’t help myself; I lived in a constant fear that she would disappear. Even though this day meant she would never be apart from me again, I couldn’t help but put it all to memory. She wore her hair down, which was perfect. It was full of gentle curls that tumbled down past her bare shoulders, accented by the delicate veil. The dress was strapless and sparkled its way down to her waist where it hugged her curves and flared out gently near her feet. She said she didn’t want anything too fancy. And this wasn’t; this was perfect. Of the three shining dresses I’d seen her in, this was by far my favorite.

The wedding itself was in the bright white church on the way into town, and we all walked the distance to the reception on the dock. We exchanged vows near twilight so that even those who worked on Saturdays would be done, and people wouldn’t mind us taking up the space. Kahlen had planned ahead for the size and feel of our town. While only so many could fit into the church, she’d invited most of the village to the reception. I even spotted her talking to a few tourists in shorts, insisting they at least have a glass of champagne.

The entire Schaefer clan had turned out to see this. I knew a lot of them had worried about me when my parents died. I think they were elated to see me settle down, even with a girl whose only memories were of me. To the women in my family, that was the most romantic thing they’d ever heard.

Everyone doted on my new wife, which was easy enough to do. At the reception, they hugged her and kissed her and made her pause for photographs. And while it was all important to me, my favorite moment of the evening by far was when we came upon Casey.

Kahlen had insisted we invite her, saying she held no ill will against my former girlfriend. Admittedly, I’d done everything in my power to keep them from meeting again, but if Kahlen wanted her at the wedding, I couldn’t stop her.

Casey came and sat at a table with the handful of friends that stayed in touch from college. The dress she chose was scandalous: red with a plunging neckline and not nearly long enough… and with heels at least four inches high. A friend explained that she wanted me to see what I was missing. All I could do was roll my eyes. Casey was petite and attractive— I wasn’t an idiot. But she was also venomous— a quality that she hid well and I easily overlooked for a very long time. I hoped with all my heart she didn’t choose to be rude to my wife today. I’d never hit a lady, but I wasn’t above tossing her out of our reception.

“That’s her,” I whispered as we made our rounds. “In the red dress.”

Kahlen gasped. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah.” Oh, this was going to be bad. And then, to my surprise, she started laughing out loud. Kahlen was so tickled, she actually had to pause and dab at her eyes.

“What’s so funny?” I asked, finding myself smiling, too.

“Nothing, nothing. It’s just… really?!” And she started laughing again.

By the time we reached the table, Kahlen had composed herself. She hugged all of my friends, saving Casey for last. I realized then that besides Ben, Julie, Bex, and me, everyone she embraced today was a stranger. Casey was as smooth as a snake. How had I missed all this for so long? She hugged me, lingering too long to be friendly, and then turned to shake Kahlen’s hand.

“Well, hello Kahlen, dear. It’s nice to meet you again.”

“Casey, it was really nice of you to come. Thank you.” Kahlen tilted her head to the side, trying to hold back a laugh. Casey didn’t miss this and went to strike.

“That’s a nice dress. I mean, for
you
. I guess if you’re marrying a fisher,” Casey crinkled her nose and dropped her voice, “you can’t afford the nicest dress.”

Someone at the table gasped, but Kahlen didn’t miss a beat.

“I wonder who you’d have to marry to afford a
whole
dress.”

The table erupted. Casey’s mouth dropped in outrage. I had to bite my lips hard to hold back the laugh. Kahlen slid into place on my arm, winking as we continued around the room.

“Kahlen Ocean Schaefer! What’s gotten into you!?” I whispered as we strolled away.

“She insulted my husband,” she said simply, looking up at me with absolute adoration.

Casey, for some reason, didn’t stay for the cake.

That was a shame because Kahlen had picked the cake out herself. It was delicious. There was no denying Kahlen had an above average palate. She could probably be a chef if she had the inclination. But her love of food was something that she found obnoxious. She’d complained that she’d gained at least ten pounds since she came back to Port Clyde.

I had no idea what she was talking about.

Somewhere between bouquet tossing, line dancing, and relative hugging, I lost her. I assumed she would be with Ben and Julie, so I started hunting for them. I found Ben beside the dock with Julie there holding a sleeping Bex in her arms.

“Have you seen the bride?” I asked.

“How can you lose the only girl wearing white?” Ben snapped.

“I know! Just too many people, and it’s getting too dark. Do you see her?” I craned my neck, searching around the dancing couples.

“Here she is,” Julie said. And I whipped my head around to see Kahlen walking with her eyes downcast. Her arms were full of boxes, and she looked like she’d been crying. It startled all the champagne out of my system, and I took her in my arms immediately.

“Kahlen, sweetheart, are you alright?”

“Yes. Yes, I’m fine. I just met some more of your family, and they were just so kind to me.” She paused to sniff. “Why didn’t you tell me any of your family members were hearing-impaired? We could have had someone sign our ceremony.” She looked disappointed.

Sign language. It was one of the mysterious leftovers of her unknown life. Kahlen had patience that would outlast a saint’s and an amazing sense of taste. When Bex cried and I’d go to change her, Kahlen would say, “No, that cry means she’s hungry,” like the sounds were all different. She had lost her knowledge of certain favorites— like now she preferred spring to fall (something about rain, she said), and she couldn’t recall how to play poker at first—but her ability to sign stayed with her. We attributed it to muscle memory.

“Sweetheart, I don’t have any hearing-impaired family members.”

“But you do; they just gave me all these gifts. See.” She motioned towards her full hands. She held three things. First, a bottle of dark blue liquid with sea shells floating in the middle, refusing to settle. The next was a black velvet box that looked like it must contain jewelry. And the last gift was rectangular, about the size of the boxes my checks came in, only much sturdier looking.

“What are those?” Julie asked.

“I don’t know. I mean, the one is just water, I think.”

“Wait, wait.” We couldn’t get off track just yet. “Kahlen, who gave you these?”

“Three women. They were all deaf and said they were your family. Well, they
signed
they were. I mean, isn’t everyone here your family?”

“Yes, except for the tourists you keep feeding,” Ben said.

“What were their names?” I asked. There were a few distant cousins whose names were a blur, but they’d probably ring a bell.

“Oh,” Kahlen said. “Actually, they didn’t tell me their names.”

She looked up at me apologetically, afraid I was upset. I shouldn’t push her so hard. Here she was, getting married in front of a bunch of strangers, and she was obviously in over her head.

“Hey, I’m sorry, honey. It’s okay.” I stroked her hair and wiped off the last of her tears. “What did they say to make you cry?”

“Oh, no, nothing. They were very kind. They just looked sad as they walked away. And I felt very close to them. It hurt me to see them go.” She looked confused again. Poor kid. I wondered if she’d ever feel completely settled. I’d do my best to make sure she did.

“So they left?” I asked.

“Yes. They held each other and walked away.”

Well, whoever these girls were, at least they were nice to Kahlen. I’d figure out who they were later and thank them for their gifts.