Waterborn (The Emerald Series Book 1) (32 page)

Somehow I didn’t think the truth would go over very well. I kept the message simple.

me: sorry I didn’t come home. I’m at Noah’s. Hope you didn’t worry.

Yeah, that wasn’t going to fly, but I sent it anyway. No sooner had I pushed send and set the phone down beside my plate than it buzzed and chimed on the counter.

Dad: It’s my job to worry. Next time I’m sending out the Coast Guard. Tell Noah I’d like to speak with him.

I held up the screen for Noah to read. He didn’t look too concerned.

“You can’t tell him what happened yesterday, Noah. He would totally freak.”

“You want to talk about it? What happened?”

“I seem to remember this unbelievably sexy guy, doing these astonishingly delicious things to my body,” I said, deliberately misunderstanding him. “Are you sure that was your first time? And second? And third?”

My attempt to distract him from unpleasant thoughts almost worked. I definitely detected a hint of male smugness in the slight quirk of his mouth.

“Caris, you know that’s not what I meant.” He hadn’t taken a bite of his food yet, so I forked some omelet and lifted it to his mouth. He had to be hungry. My stomach was practically eating itself, and he’d exerted quite a bit more energy in the last twelve hours than I had. My body still thrummed with it. He took the bite I offered, eyes intent on my face.

“I know. God, I don’t want to think about it. I can’t believe what those guys did. They shot at the pod. They shot me. And they had a dolphin on the boat. Dead. It looked liked he’d been shot in the head. I didn’t get the why of it.” I picked at the bell peppers that had fallen from their omelet bed, appetite gone.

“There is no why. Some people are destructive and cruel for the fun of it. I’d like to tell you I haven’t heard or seen stuff like that before, but I have.”

“It was just the way they looked at me.” I shuddered thinking about it. “Thank God my father came. It’s just…”

“What?” Noah went completely still, his expression hard as if some unnamed threat circled us. I wanted so badly to put his mind at ease, but how could I when mine was still so unsettled.

“He scares me,” I admitted. Not that I thought he would hurt me, not that kind of scared. He made me too aware of myself, turned me into someone I didn’t recognize. Someone I wasn’t sure I wanted to be.

“Did he do something to you?”

Yes. No. It had been like with Sol on the beach with the fire. The silent greedy fingers of his fog and the way they’d coaxed something out of me I didn’t know how to give. My father had done that too. But while with Sol it had been a slow seepage, with my father it had been like a dam breaking. Forceful.

“No.” I covered my face with my hands. I had no idea what I was even trying to say. There was so much I still didn’t understand. “I don’t know. I don’t know what it is. He scares me, yes. But it’s not just him. When I’m with him, I scare myself.”

Because I was drawn to him. Because I didn’t hate him. Because I thought he had the ability to make me like him, make him a part of my life. I’d watched him on that boat with the wind and the rain, calling down lightning. But it hadn’t been just him; it had been us, communing in a way that had been fascinating.

“It was like with Sol, only bigger, so much more, and it wasn’t like he just took from me. I’d wanted it. I’d wanted to hurt them for what they had done. I wanted my father to hurt them. This, what’s inside me, it’s not always good.”

“Caris, you are good. Don’t ever think that you’re not. You’re not Athen Kelley.”

“No, but I’m his daughter. And even knowing what he probably did to those guys, what he did to my mother, I can’t hate him. What does it say about me that I can’t hate him?”

“It says you have a kind and forgiving heart, Caris. And that’s a good thing.” Noah leaned over and kissed me, a light touch of lips.

The side door opened on a sprinkle of feminine conversation and in walked Mrs. Jacobs, Maggie right behind her. I welcomed the distraction. The last twelve hours had been so carefree and perfect. It had only taken about fifteen minutes to tarnish it. They looked pleasantly surprised to see us. Maggie’s face broke out into a dazzling smile, like sunshine breaking through my dismal thoughts.

“Caris,” Maggie said, coming over to give me a hug. She kept her hands on my arms, her diamond eyes giving me a thorough inspection. “The Deep agrees with you. Isn’t she stunning, Lara.”

I didn’t know about stunning. But I smiled at the compliment just the same. Mrs. Jacobs stepped forward, joining Maggie in her perusal. Her eyes were a couple of shades lighter than Noah’s, hardly green at all. Her hair hung over one shoulder in a fishtail braid, a rich, dark chocolate brown, and she had the smoothest skin I’d ever seen. Beautiful.

“Caris,” she whispered. Tears welled in her eyes, the sight of which froze me in place. She waved them off. “I’m sorry. You just look so much like her. This is how I remember her.” She touched my hair and ran warm fingers over my arms. I knew a moment of self-consciousness, sitting in her house, dressed in Noah’s clothes, the knowledge of what we had been doing all night so fresh I could still taste him. And then it struck me, for the first time since stepping inside this house, that it had at one time been my mother’s house too. This was the closest to her I had ever been. She had lived here while she carried me.

“I’ve wanted to come see you, but I know this has been so overwhelming for you.” She wrapped her arms around me, and when she pulled me close, her scent overwhelmed me. There was something so familiar about it. I closed my eyes and saw my mother and it was her arms holding me. I didn’t even know this woman, but I knew this was what my mother’s hugs would have felt like, smelled like.

She drew away slowly, her eyes a maternal caress. I ducked my head and wiped at my cheeks, my chest tight with emotion.

“You know we love you already,” she said, and the tightness in my chest became almost unbearable.

I couldn’t look up. I stared at my hands in my lap and managed to nod my head. I had to wipe my eyes again. “Thank you, Mrs. Jacobs.”

“Call me Lara.” She stepped back, taking her smell and her touch with her. I took a wobbly breath as Maggie patted my back, slow circles of her hand that relieved the tension.

“Knock, knock.”

I looked up at the sound of my dad’s voice. He stood in the doorway with an anxious look on his face until his eyes fell on me. Maggie and Mrs. Jacobs turned around and I was thankful the attention shifted off me. Only Noah was still watching me. I would happily drown in those eyes. He had gotten up when his mom and Maggie had come in and now leaned against the counter in front of the sink, arms crossed in front of his chest, the sleeves of his t-shirt tight around his biceps. We stared at each other while Lara introduced Maggie to my dad, saying so much without saying a word. I should have told him this morning. Told him I was so completely in love with him. Last night, this morning, he had made me feel so womanly, so worldly, so adult. And now I was adrift again, feeling childish in comparison.

My dad came between us, blocking my view, smothering me in a yet another hug.

“I know,” he said as I hugged him back. “I needed to see with my own eyes you were all right. Marshall called me and told me Sol was mixed up in some business with Jax Harrison.”

“I’m good, Dad. What about Sol and Jax?”

My dad tucked a wayward strand of hair behind my ear. “Evidently they got into it the night before last night. Jax ended up in the emergency room. Nasty stuff.”

I looked over at Noah. He gave me a slight shake of his head. My heart felt heavy. I had never had to keep things from my dad before. I felt it, a whole new life building that had nothing to with him, that he had no part of.

“Mr. Harper.” Noah came over and offered his hand without the slightest trepidation.

“Good to see you again, Noah.” My dad’s eyes narrowed the slightest when they shook hands. Then they cut to me sitting on the stool, raking over my attire. It couldn’t be much later than eight thirty or nine in the morning and obviously we had just had breakfast. I waited for my dad to let go of Noah’s hand.

“I realize my daughter is fond of you, Noah. I expect you to treat her with respect.”

“Dad, this isn’t necessary.” Heat crept up my neck. I cast a quick glance at Maggie, who smiled ruefully. Noah’s mom had her eyes pinned on him, alert to my dad’s every word. I groaned inwardly, imagining all the admonishments to be safe, not rush into anything before we were ready. Totally embarrassing. Totally too late.

“I understand, Mr. Harper. I will.” Noah met his unswerving gaze. After what seemed like forever they dropped hands and Noah sided up to me, my shoulder bumping his elbow, his stance almost territorial.

My dad looked down at me and smiled. “You ready to go home?”

What else could I say but yes.

I
hadn’t seen
Noah for forty-eight hours. I’d slept most of the first day after my dad had brought me home from his house and we’d spent that evening at home. We’d grilled out and talked more about school then watched a movie.

The next day had passed with one cryptic text from Noah saying he’d be out of the area and he’d come see me when he got back. That night I had stayed at Erin’s, consoling a tearful Ally. Jax, bruises and all, had left for college, and while I pretended to be sympathetic, inwardly I was glad he was gone.

I had gotten home about an hour ago after a failed attempt to swim in Erin’s pool. She’d warned me not to, and after about five minutes, I had thought I was dying. All that chlorine had seeped into my skin, nearly suffocating me.

I’d decided to try to sweat it out and had taken off on my bike. Surprisingly, it seemed to have worked, and I felt much better when I wheeled my bike back into the garage. No sooner had I dropped the kickstand than a pair of arms wrapped around me from behind, lifting me off the ground. Noah buried his face in my neck, squeezing tight.

“I can’t breathe,” I gasped, slapping at his hands. He spun me around in his arms and crushed his mouth to mine. I sagged against him. Finally. I’d missed his mouth.

“I’ve missed you,” he said when I let him pull away.

“Me too.” I pulled his head back down and we kissed for what seemed like forever, which wasn’t nearly long enough. We didn’t stop until my dad’s dramatic throat clearing drew our attention. He stood in the doorway, the keys to his car in his hand.

Noah slowly put me down then held out his hand to my dad. “Mr. Harper. It’s good to see you.”

“Noah,” he said, looking between us before settling his eyes on me. “I have to run a few errands. You need anything while I’m at the store?”

I thought for a minute. “No, I’m good.”

He walked to the car and opened the door, then paused before crawling inside. “You two be careful.”

“I’ll take care of her,” Noah said, throwing his arm over my shoulders.

I thought I heard my dad mutter something like “That’s what I’m afraid of,” as he got into his car.

We watched as he backed out of the driveway and as soon as his car was out of sight, I was on him again.

“Where have you been?” I asked between kisses.

“Maggie needed some more materials and I had to make a quick run.”

“And you’re not going to tell me where.”

“Oh hell no. That’s my own little secret.”

“I bet I could coax it out it of you,” I said, skimming my tongue up the side of his neck.

“I bet you could too,” he said, moaning into my mouth. “Before you try, I want to take you somewhere. Will you come with me?”

I’m pretty sure he knew I’d go anywhere with him. After two days of being deprived of his presence, it was absolutely glorious when we shot through the water together. I hadn’t ventured far into the Deep since the spear incident and it felt good to be out here again. We made frequent stops, to kiss, and to touch, sometimes just to gaze at each other with goofy smiles on our faces and float tangled together.

Eventually he led me out of the surf.

“What is this place?” I stood beside Noah on a deserted beach that was different from the ones we’d been to before. This one stretched for about a mile in either direction, a single two-lane road running parallel to the Gulf some fifty yards away. Too much prime open space to be anything but government-owned. All that was out here was a lone building nestled among the dunes. Constructed of concrete blocks and painted white, it blended into the beach with complete obscurity. The parking lot beside the building sat empty.

“We call it the Facility,” he said with a note of sarcasm. “It’s a research center, specializing in the local aquatic life.”

“You mean us?” I felt a tremor run down his arm through the hand that held mine, his wariness apparent in the coiled lines of his body. This place made him uneasy.

“Yes. Government’s not too keen on the unknown and the unknowable, so they set this place up under the guise of doing us a favor. It’s the closest thing we have to a hospital,” he said. “At one time there were plans to build us a community of sorts. Our own school. Places to live close to the water. Not all of us have that. Landers consider it a luxury to live on the water. For us, it’s a way of life. Or it should be.”

“What happened? Why didn’t it ever get built?”

“Epidemic hit. A flu strain that wiped out nearly twenty percent of our population.” His hand tightened on mine. “Your mother was one of them.”

“My dad said she died of an infection.” I shivered in the warm breeze and Noah wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

“Same difference. I think at the time that was the explanation they were giving. The landers were getting nervous. An attempt to avoid a panic.”

“How do you know all this?”

“Well, since you’ve been back, my mom’s been pretty open about it. Did you know your mother babysat for me a few times before you were born?”

Astonishment spread over my face.

“Do you remember her?” I looked up at him expectantly.

“No.” He pressed his lips to my forehead. “I was still too little. I doubt even Jamie would have remembered.”

“So maybe that’s why it was you. You were in a way familiar.”