One transient moved to the sidelines to join three smaller orcas. The killer that had taken a break headed back for Bobbi.
“It looks like two of the adults are doing the hunting,” Rick said, then pointed at the other group of transients. “Those other three young ones are learning by observing.”
Cara didn’t care for Rick’s educational commentary at the moment.
Crossback swam back for Bobbi, but a transient had already reached him. The killer rammed into his little body. Bobbi flew out of the water and landed with a loud splash. The killer made its way back to the baby and pounced on top of him, forcing him underwater.
Tears streamed down Cara’s face, mixing with rain. She couldn’t find her voice to call out to the grays.
From behind her, Rick put a hand on her shoulder. “You don’t have to watch this, kiddo.”
“You call them transients,” she said, her voice breaking. “They’re killers.”
“It’s all part of nature. And the grays are called devilfish, you know, for their fierce defense. Crossback’s not giving up.”
Cara rested her forearms on the side tube and clasped her hands together.
Please, she pleaded. Help Bobbi and Crossback survive this.
Both killers jumped on Bobbi now.
“Crossback, hurry!” Cara shouted.
Crossback sped toward the killers and used her tail flukes to land crushing blows to their backs as they tried to drown her baby.
In the short time Cara and Rick had been watching, the battle had moved closer to land.
“It looks like the transients are giving up,” Rick said.
Unfortunately, it could be too late. Crossback buoyed Bobbi up on her belly, but the baby’s limp body slid off his injured mother and sank beneath the surface. Crossback disappeared behind him.
Rick was right about the fighting being over, though. The adult killers headed back to join the juveniles, then zig-zagged off toward deeper waters. Cara breathed into her hands with relief. All the way back to Liberty Charters, she continued to pray that Crossback and Bobbi would recover.
TWENTY-NINE
Cara was still reeling from the transient attack on Crossback and Bobbi that night when David’s number displayed on her cell phone screen. The heaviest portion of her sorrow lifted and the rough edges of uneasiness that had grated at her gut for most of the afternoon smoothed over.
But the heaviness and roughness returned to a greater degree when he said, “I’m at home, in Richland. I’ve been thinking, and your mom made some good points.”
Cara winced at this news almost as much as she had when she’d seen Bobbi’s limp body after his attack. She prayed David hadn’t gone home for good. No words came to her.
After an uncomfortable pause, David continued. “We should talk Monday night when I get back. Call me around six, if you can.”
Thank God he was coming back. She wanted to tell him how great it was to hear his voice—even though he sounded miserable—how worried she was about their relationship and how much she wanted to fight for it, how scared she was for Crossback and Bobbi.
“Sure,” was all she managed.
“Good night, then.” His quiet words sounded sad and apologetic, like a final good-bye.
* * *
Garren answered Cara’s call on the first ring Sunday morning. He agreed to go out with her and Rick to look for Crossback and Bobbi. An hour later, he met her in the lot in front of Liberty Charters.
“Such a sad face,” he said, greeting her in all his perfection as she stepped out of her Fit.
No sun shone through a thick cloud cover overhead, but she fished her sunglasses out of her backpack and put them on. No rain fell, either, yet she covered her head with her hood. Knowing Garren, he’d already guessed she was hiding evidence of not having showered and having cried herself to sleep the night before.
“I’m worried about Crossback and Bobbi,” she said.
“And something happened with David.”
She nodded and hung her head. Garren held his arms out and she fell into them. He hugged her close, then secured her against his side and guided her toward the office. As she detailed her phone conversation with David the night before, her voice faltered, and she sniffed back her tears.
They paused outside the office door.
“You think David changed his mind about your relationship.”
“I’m worried he might have.”
“Worry is normal. Your relationship is new and miscommunication is common. Be careful not to jump to conclusions.”
She was trying not to. But that was yet another thing that was easier said than done.
Out on the water, the common whale sighting grounds teemed with grays, many that interacted with the Lookout more than usual. The whales swam alongside the boat and glided underneath it. Several spyhopped nearby.
But there was no sign of the transients. Or Crossback and Bobbi. Cara worried the other grays were trying to convey a message—a morbid one.
* * *
Cara wished she didn’t have the day off school for Veterans Day. The distraction might have helped. As it was, she fretted all day, alternating between wanting 6:00 p.m. to come quickly and not wanting it to arrive at all. When the time came and she dialed David’s number, his answering “Hello” sounded neutral, unreadable.
“You’re home?” she asked, hoping he knew she meant at the beach house and not his dad’s.
“Yeah.”
She still couldn’t read his tone.
“Do you want me to come over so we can talk?” she asked.
“Why don’t we meet at the bottom of the stairs by Surfseekers?”
It couldn’t be a good sign that he didn’t want her to come over. Like the last time she talked to him, all she managed to say was, “Sure.”
A half hour later, David waited at the bottom of the stairs with his back to her as he faced the dark, raging sea. Orange-tinted lights mounted on the resort wall to the right highlighted the stretch of beach before them. The smell of a nearby bonfire sweetened the air and waves swished softly on the sand.
“How was your trip?” she asked when she stood directly behind him. She wanted to touch him, but didn’t feel comfortable enough, or desperate enough, yet.
He whirled around as if she’d taken him by surprise. His gaze fell to his shoe and he dug its toe in the sand. “Thanks for meeting me.”
“Why would you thank me for meeting you?” She put a hand on his upper arm.
He didn’t back away, but also didn’t respond to her touch.
“What’s going on, David?”
“I wanted to tell you that I respect your mom’s opinions, and I understand that it could be hard for you to express those things yourself.”
“What are you saying? You think I agree with what my mom said to you?”
His expression remained guarded. “You didn’t disagree with anything she said.”
“You didn’t disagree with anything she said, either,” she said, her tone more snippy than she intended.
“So you don’t agree with her?” He looked into her eyes.
She took a deep breath and slowly let it out as their warm connection reestablished itself. “Not at all. Do you?”
He looked down for a moment, then back up at her. “No. But your mom cares about you. And she believes what she said. I respect that.”
“Do you respect her opinions more than you care about us?”
He hesitated. “I don’t want to push things if us being together is too much for you.”
She shook her head. “The only thing that would be too much for me would be if there were no us.”
Her eyes chased his as they traveled over her face. Finally, his gaze settled on hers.
“I have a confession to make,” he said.
She didn’t know how to take his casual tone. Her heart constricted.
“I have plans to move to Seattle this summer.”
If he could see her face as well
as she could see his in the orange glow of the resort lights, he had to notice when her mouth dropped open.
“You’re moving to Seattle, too?”
“Yep.” His lips bunched up, as if he was trying not to laugh at her dumbfounded reaction.
Warm waves of relief flowed through the tether between them and thawed her frosty heart. “Since when?”
He stepped closer to her. “I hadn’t planned to get involved with you during the school year.” He tapped her nose with his finger. “At first, I decided to wait until the summer to see if you were still interested. I knew you’d be leaving for college, so I figured if I moved to Seattle, I’d have time to try to win you over.”
She couldn’t believe she was hearing such magical—no—providential words.
“I enrolled in some classes at the UW. Hopefully I’ll be able to teach college.”
She smiled up at him and he shared his lopsided grin with her.
“I’m glad you’re happy. I was waiting to tell you because I worried you might think it was a bit much.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his chest. “It is. Much more than I could’ve hoped for.”
* * *
The next day, Cara’s mom insisted on driving her to school and picking her up.
After school, Cara climbed into the passenger seat of the Outback. “You’re not taking my car away for good, are you?”
“I just wanted to make sure you were available after school so we could do some shopping, get a bite to eat, and talk. Not that you don’t deserve to have your car taken away. You haven’t done as I said when I told you to stay home when you weren’t in school.”
“After the way you treated David, I’m not going to serve your prison sentence, no matter what you do to me.”
They drove down to the outlet mall, surrounded by strained silence. Her mom brought her back to the store they’d shopped at before her first date with David. Cara acted as a clothes hanger while her mom selected items from the racks.
“Do you like this top?” her mom asked, holding up a blouse.
“It’s nice.”
Her mom added the shirt to Cara’s load. Cara felt a twinge of guilt when she realized that all the outfits her mom had selected were for her. She might be grounded, but she was still being spoiled.
“I’m assuming you want to talk about David?” Cara asked.
Her mom sifted through another rack of blouses. “We could start with that.”
“He told me last night he’s moving to Seattle this summer, to be near me. He’ll be taking classes at the UW. He wants to teach college.”
Her mom grasped the bar of the rack in front of her. “It remains to be seen whether he’ll follow through with that plan.”
Cara shook her head, though her mom didn’t see it. “I guess only time will convince you that his feelings for me are sincere.”
Less than an hour later, Cara and her mom walked into the Cove and waited by the hostess stand. Kathy walked over, balancing a tray, and nodded for them to follow her.
“Sorry, ladies. We’re short a hostess at the moment. But there are plenty of window seats to choose from.”
Cara wondered if Lori was the hostess who either quit or got fired. Her mom followed her to the same table Cara and David had sat at on their first date. Kathy set her tray down by another window seat and served one of the few groups of customers in the restaurant.
Pointing down at Seagoer’s Cove, Cara said, “David and I fell overboard right outside that rock wall.”
Her mom looked down at the water, but remained quiet.
Kathy appeared with a soda for Cara and a cup of coffee for her mom. “I’ve got the chowder coming,” she said.
“Is Lori still working here?” Cara asked Kathy, whose face scrunched up with disapproval.
“I shouldn’t gossip, but I hope you’re not hanging out with that girl. She’s mixed up in some bad things. We had to let her go.”
Cara’s mom nodded as if she understood. Probably, her mom thought Kathy meant Lori was doing drugs. Maybe Kathy did mean that. But Cara knew what Lori was really messing around with. Not that her mom would believe any of that.
Kathy headed off to the kitchen.
“So what is it you wanted to talk to me about?” Cara asked her mom.
“I’m going to a conference in Seattle next month. I want you to come with me. We can check out the UW campus again and look into getting you a room at the dorms.”
“I want to get an apartment. And I can do that hunting online. I don’t need to get specific until spring.”
“I’d still like you to come with me.”
Cara sipped her soda. “If you’re trying to keep me away from David, taking me away to a conference with you isn’t going to work any more than trying to lock me up at home.”
Her mom pegged her with a pleading sideways gaze.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but if it makes you feel better, David and I aren’t sleeping together,” Cara said.
Her mom’s eyes widened.
“And that was David’s decision.”
Leaning back against her chair, her mom studied her, then said, “I hope I don’t regret this, but I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and trust you to be smart.”
Cara smiled, grabbed her mom’s hand, and squeezed it.
“So be smart,” her mom ordered.
THIRTY
Cara had counted on Ms. Clark to find a way to help Rachel. But come Thanksgiving break, Rachel remained as comatose and glued to Ethan as ever. Fortunately, Garren was coming over for Thanksgiving dinner, so Cara would have a chance to ask him for help. God willing, whatever he came up with would work.
That year, Cara was reminded of the holidays back when her grandparents had been around. Once again, a male figure was present during Thanksgiving dinner, to carve the turkey and serve the trimmings after the women spent most of the day cooking. Except Garren also helped in the kitchen.
He seemed to enjoy the preparations. Several times, Cara caught him pausing to inhale the succulent scents of turkey baked with butter-drenched onion, celery, and bread stuffing. He smiled at Cara as if he were the most thankful person in the world.
Before they ate, Cara, her mom, and Garren sat at the dinner table and expressed their gratitude for each other. Cara mentioned her thankfulness for her mom and Garren, as well as for David, and for her mom’s making an effort to accept their relationship. Her mom gave thanks for Cara. Garren gave thanks to God.
Cara wanted to ask about Garren’s family, but didn’t want to put a damper on the joy he seemed to be feeling celebrating with her and her mom. After eating a heaping plateful of turkey and the trimmings, he still found room for the pumpkin pie and whipped cream Cara’s mom served for dessert. Still, he beat Cara’s mom to the majority of the cleanup. Cara offered to help, but her mom shooed her out of the kitchen.
“This is my chance to get to know Garren better,” her mom said, carting off their glasses.
At the kitchen sink, Garren smiled and shrugged as he rinsed their dinner plates.
Cara removed the linens from the table and wondered how David’s Thanksgiving celebration was going with his dad. It troubled her to think they were missing David’s mom and this might be a sad holiday for them. David had promised to call every night he was gone. She kept her phone close, anxious to talk to him.
Once Garren and her mom finished up in the kitchen, Garren offered to take Cara for a walk on the beach. He drove them down to the same spot Cara took him on her birthday. They bundled up against the cold, fastening their jackets and pulling on their hoods.
Salty sea air mixed with sand scraped at Cara’s face as Garren helped her down from his truck. Strangely, the wind died down entirely as they walked. She stopped to look at him. The darkness of the night and his hood cloaked the details of his face.
“You’ve been right about so many things when it comes to Rachel,” Cara said. “I’
m hoping you can help me come up with a plan to help her.”
He lowered his hood and smiled at her. “Of course. If you can arrange for us to see Rachel, I know an expert on demonic possession.”
“An expert on demons?”
“An exorcist.”
She should have foreseen this kind of thing coming from Garren. “I can’t tell Ms. Clark we’re bringing someone over to do an exorcism.” She couldn’t control her incredulous tone.
“An exorcism can also be referred to as a blessing.”
Cara thought about that for a few moments as they strolled across the sand. “I guess I could tell her we’re coming over to do an intervention—that we want to say some prayers and offer Rachel a blessing?”
“Sounds about right.”
Glad to have a somewhat solid plan in place, Cara reflected on Thanksgiving dinner. “My mom wanted to see what you thought about my relationship with David, didn’t she? That’s why she wouldn’t let me help in the kitchen.”
It irked Cara to think her mom still thought she might be interested in Garren. She kicked at the sand as they walked. “What did she say?”
“She seemed to think I was secretly in love with you.”
“No way. She’s a psychologist. She should be able to tell you’re not.”
“I think she did think I was in love with you before I talked to her. I told her we’re close, but not romantically involved. I didn’t mention your relationship with David.”
“Speaking of David. Things like your spending Thanksgiving with me, and the flowers for my birthday, they’re making him pretty jealous.”
“It’s good for him.”
“It’s not so great for me, always having to insist that we’re just friends.”
“It’ll be good for you, too,” he said, taking her hand and holding it as they walked, “when David learns to get over it.”
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