Oh. “That’s why the festival is always the same weekend as the full moon?”
He nodded. “We have it in the middle of the week, when we have to. Don’t get as many people that way, but there’s always someone who manages to find their mate.”
“How many Vikings were on that boat?”
“A small village worth. We had to travel with everyone we needed — people to hunt and cook and make the things we used every day to survive. Men and women were part of our entourage, and now part of the curse.”
He helped me climb the slippery rocks again and led me to a truck parked in front of his cabin.
“How do you pay for all this?” I asked. He only had three days above water, and they were all spent searching for a mate.
“The Keepers and the Mer that have found mates help us. They give us everything we need, and when we become mated, it’s our duty to help those who are still looking.” He turned the engine. “The cabin is mine. The truck is borrowed.”
“You’re lucky. These things cost a fortune. Mine cost as much as my tiny house.”
He grinned as the truck bumped down the dirt driveway. “I want to see how you get everything in that little box.”
“There was some very careful planning.” I never got sick of answering questions about my tiny house. As long as the person asking didn’t make fun of it or call it a mobile home. It was the first thing that totally belonged to me. Before I met Abel, of course. I couldn’t let myself think like that. “Not an inch is wasted. A lot of things have multiple uses. But I still made sure it felt like home.”
“What does home mean to you?” Clever Mer.
It wasn’t a place, he knew that. It was a feeling. “It’s having a place to come back to, and knowing I belong there. No judgment. Just filled with all the things I love. A place I can totally, completely be me.”
“That’s what you’re really looking for on this trip,” he said as he pulled into traffic. “Yourself.”
Chapter Ten
ABEL
I craved Tori’s stunned silences as much as her kisses. If only I could convince her to wear my mark. Make that labradorite stone into a ring proclaiming she belonged to me, no matter where she was in the world.
I loved the wide-eyed shock the most. The parted lips, and the little gasps when I challenged her way of thinking. When I broke down a wall and showed her something more than she’d considered was possible.
There was so much I could show her. Being stuck at the bottom of the lake for centuries, I’d had plenty of time to think about how to please my mate.
“Thought you said we wouldn’t get stuck in traffic,” she said, changing the subject, like she did when the energy between us ran so hot it threatened to set us on fire.
“Nope.” I turned off the crowded road, onto a dirt driveway. “I said we had secrets.”
The road took us away from the lake, the scenic route so many out of towners loved, closer to the mountains. In a few weeks, these roads would be impassible thanks to snow. But for now, we could take advantage of them.
I pulled into a lot marked private, but it was far from empty. Saturday was the main day of the festival, and when we held the parade. The floats lined up, decorated with Mer tails in shades of teal, pink, purple, and silver, ready for their show.
Tori gravitated toward them and I followed, reaching for her hand. “They look like they’re made out of jewels,” she said.
The light from the floats danced on her face. “We want you to leave Aurora Falls believing in magic. Tell me I’ve at least accomplished that.”
I didn’t want her to leave at all. I wanted that magic to consume her, and for her to not be able to live without it.
She licked her lips. “You have.”
“Come meet my friends.” They made my life worth living, and if I couldn’t convince Tori to stay on my own, they’d be more than happy to fight on my behalf. “Dolly should be getting ready for the parade. Zander...I don’t know what the hell he’s doing. We were supposed to pair up at the Festival for our act, but that plan changed.” Shit, I had to give her the background. “Before you meet them, you should know that Dolly is head over heels in love with Zander, but she’s never been able to see his mark.”
“That doesn’t mean they still can’t be together, right? If they fall in love?” Tori’s lips twisted into a frown.
“They can, for the three days he’s human.” I realized she didn’t understand how monumental it was to find the person who could see my mark. “It’s worse than finding a mate and losing her, loving one that you couldn’t have.”
“Is there any way for her to see the mark?”
“Every month he hopes she will, but each time, he’s called back to the lake.” I wished there was something, anything I could do to help my friend find his mate, especially when I had a feeling she was right here, already with him.
Dolly squealed and jumped off the float she’d been working on when she saw us. She knocked one of the sponsors’ banners off the float, and she readjusted the Operation Fit banner before she body slammed me with a hug. She pulled away, eyeing Tori and then looking back to me with the biggest shit-eating grin I’d ever seen.
“Is she...the one?”
“Hope so.”
“What do you mean, hope so?” Dolly sighed and shook her head as she broke away from me. She moved over to Tori and held out her hand. “I’m Dolly. I’ve been doing everything I can to help these guys find their mates for as long as I’ve known about the Legend of the Lake. Did you come to town for the festival? I should let you introduce yourself before I start the interrogation. Sorry. I’m just so excited you’re finally here.”
I didn’t have to worry about scaring Tori away. Dolly was more than willing to do it for me.
“I’m Tori.” She laughed. Good sign. “No, I didn’t exactly come for the festival, but that’s where I met Abel.”
“Lie to me and tell me I did my job.” Dolly held out her hand, but pulled it back. “Are you a hugger? Because shaking your hand seems so formal. You’re about to be family.”
That gorgeous flush was back on Tori’s cheeks as Dolly swallowed her in a hug.
“Dolly...” I had to slam on the brakes. “Tori just learned about the Legend of the Lake.”
She pulled away, frowning when she realized Tori had doubts. “Oh. Sorry. We’ve been really patient, waiting for good news for this guy. Forgive me for jumping to conclusions.”
Tori relaxed. “It’s okay. I love seeing my friends happy too.”
Was that what this feeling was? Something as simple as happiness? It had been a long time since I let myself feel it.
Dolly raised an eyebrow. “After the parade, my schedule frees up. How long are you in town? I’d love to grab a coffee with you, if I can peel you away from this guy.”
“I’d like that. A lot.”
“It’s a date. But now if I don’t get the parade going on time, we’ll be using a bullhorn to get people out of the streets.” Dolly laughed and squeezed my arm. “This is the best festival ever. I don’t think you’ll be the only one staying on land this month.”
With that, she climbed back on the lead float, honking and waving as she pulled the beast out of the parking spot.
I blew out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. “I would’ve warned you, but I didn’t expect an ambush.”
Tori laughed. “It’s cool.” She gazed down the street, in the direction of the parade route. “Is she the one who can’t see the mark?”
I nodded. “Yeah. But no one’s given up yet.”
“I like her even more for being happy for someone who has what she so desperately wants. That’s a good friend. I’m glad you have them.”
At that moment, I wondered if Tori had someone like Dolly in her life. A cheerleader who always wanted the best for her. I hadn’t asked her how old she was, but I assumed she was in her late twenties, maybe early thirties. She’d started her life over, hitting the road on h
er own. I wondered if her friends had found their mates. If this trip was her version of coming out of the lake, even if it was longer than three days.
We had a lot in common.
If only I could convince her to stay.
“Our timing is perfect.” I offered her my hand, and she took it. “Everyone will be busy with the parade. The shops and restaurants are all ours. Where do you want to go?
“I’d love to get these stones set. I’m so afraid I’ll lose them.” She pulled them out of her pocket and closed her fingers tightly over them, then she furrowed her brow. “What?”
Time to pull out all the stops, so she realized how special she was to me.
“I chose those stones for you years ago, because they were the best quality and the prettiest shapes I’d ever seen. We had a tradition, when we were doomed to the lake until we got the call, to find the stone we’d give our mate as a thank you for freeing us from our prison.”
She lowered her gaze. “Maybe we should wait to have them set.”
“No, I want you to have them, no matter what you decide. Rickard’s the town jeweler. He does amazing things with platinum.” I’d have to explain to him it wasn’t a mating ring.
Tori was willing to hold my hand on the walk to the store. The sidewalks on Main Street were filled to capacity with people waiting for the parade. She tensed when she saw them.
“Stick with me, I’ll show you the secret way to Rickard’s shop.”
“You might have to pick me up and carry me if one more person bumps into me,” she said through gritted teeth.
“Careful what you wish for.” I pulled her closer so she could avoid an oncoming cluster of people. “I can make that happen.”
Rickard’s shop was on a quieter side street. I realized how brave Tori was to set off on this trip on her own when she struggled with crowds. How brave she was to give me a chance, when her instincts were telling her to run.
Rickard gave me a megawatt grin when I walked in with a woman, winking at me as he showed her the traditional settings and told her to choose whatever she liked from his book.
“It doesn’t have to be like everyone else’s,” he said to me as she looked. “It’s the love that matters.”
Tori let herself get lost in choosing the settings. She’d mentioned working hard to buy the tiny house. I wondered what she’d sacrificed for that dream. How often she indulged herself.
She dug into her purse once she made a choice. “How much does it cost?”
Rickard waved her off. “Mating sets are free. It’s my way of giving back to the community.”
“It’s not a...” Tori’s mouth dropped and she looked at me. “Thank you very much,” she said to him, and we left the shop in an awkward silence.
Bringing her to town was a bad idea. The Keepers, and anyone in the know, automatically assumed when I introduced them to a woman, especially one who saw my mark, she was my mate. That she planned to stay forever. It wasn’t easy to explain to them that Tori loved freedom more than anything.
She was looking for the place she belonged, and I brought her here to give her a chance to fall in love with Aurora Falls. Even if she couldn’t fall for me. I had to give her a reason to come back.
Maybe we could be like Dolly and Zander. Three days together a month was better than nothing.
Burgers AF had a line out the door, so I brought her to Enchanted Brews instead, where her latte had a mermaid tail in the foam. Only Mer knew about the little room in the back with the cozy tables. Steam rose from Tori’s cup.
She sighed as she took a sip. “This is my idea of a perfect Saturday afternoon. Exploring a new town and finding places only the locals know about. A giant mug of coffee. Don’t worry, I won’t bore you by spending hours in the bookstore.”
Nothing she did would ever bore me. “I’d love to see what you picked out.”
“I like books full of woo that encourage me to do things like sell everything I own to buy a tiny house and explore Canada.”
“Where’s the top place you want to go?”
She closed her eyes for a long blink, like she was trying to picture her version of paradise. “I never put importance on the place. I wanted the feeling of being totally free. To be honest, I don’t have anything specific planned after Aurora Falls. I planned to look at the map and go to where called to me.”
I could do this. I could make her stay.
Maybe I was thinking about it all wrong.
I could go with her, and when we got tired of the road, Aurora Falls would be the place that always welcomed us home.
A tight lump bobbed in her throat as she swallowed. “I also love mystery books where a kindly old lady owns a cupcake shop and one of her zillion cats somehow helps her bust the baddie. They’re such a guilty pleasure. I have a stack of them in the house for the days I want to totally unplug.”
She pressed her lips together, like she’d told me a secret.
“Do you like living in the tiny house?”
“I like the idea of it, but the reality is, I totally suck at living off the grid.” She laughed. “I have to Google everything, which is a bitch when I’m out in the middle of nowhere, I have a black thumb, and I get flabbergasted when there are too many recycling choices. I want to do the right thing and leave everywhere better than I found it.”
“You do.” I wouldn’t let her talk shit about herself. “If you venture on after this weekend, you left me better than I found me.”
“Abel.” She let go of the mug and knotted her fingers together on the table. “This is the best day I’ve had in a long time.”
“I’m not making you stay,” I reminded her.
“But you’re making it really hard for me to go.” She let out a sad chuckle. “This isn’t only about what I want. I saw your mark. I didn’t understand what a big deal that was until I met Dolly. When I saw how excited she was about me. Even the jeweler and the lady who made our coffees, their faces lit up when they saw us together. How many people can see your mark?”
“Just one,” I said. “Just my mate.”
“What if...”
“You leave?”
She nodded.
“I’ll go back into the lake, maybe for the eternal slumber. Some Mer have done that. Given up.”
She drew a ragged breath. “What if I came back every full moon? No.” She raked her hand through her hair and stared out the window at the knot of trees and the brightly colored leaves that had gathered in the skinny stream. “I can’t do that to you.”
“Taking me as your mate doesn’t mean we have to stay here,” I reminded her. “You’d free me from the lake. We can go wherever we want. I wouldn’t be bound to Aurora Falls anymore.”
“I know. I don’t want to do this out of—”
“Pity?”
She shook her head.
“Desperation,” she said. “I’ve waited a long time to find a beautiful man who’s collected pretty stones for me. One that will bring me to a cute little coffee shop on an autumn afternoon and offers to hang out with me while I pick out used paperbacks. I don’t want to hold you up to a standard you can’t possibly meet. You’re not the only one who’s been waiting for their mate, Abel. I want to make sure I’m not romanticizing this in my head, and this whole thing isn’t too good to be true.”
“It can be whatever you want it to be.” I stood when I realized her mug was empty. “The parade should be at the other end of town. And if I remember correctly, there’s one more thing we have to check off your weekend to-do list.”
Chapter Eleven
TORI
Maybe this was all a dream, and I was the one who’d wake up at the bottom of the lake and find out I was bound to it until an unsuspecting merman saved me. Abel was kind, patient, and amazing. But his entire life, since this curse, had revolved around me showing up.
What if I couldn’t live up to his expectations?
Then there was the matter of the tiny house. Everything I’d done for the last
three years was in preparation of for this trip. Could I give up that dream so easily? Would I really be giving up the dream if I said yes to Abel? Did it have to be one or the other? Abel wasn’t bound to Aurora Falls once he found his mate. We could go anywhere we wanted.
But if I said yes, we were bound to each other forever.
It was so much to consider in so little time. It didn’t help that he was so freaking beautiful. And so freaking amazing.
The sun was starting to slip down the sky when we got back to the lake. Not quite sunset yet, but the light had changed, casting long shadows over the water. The trees were a riot of color, treating us to their own show. I loved this time of year, when nature set itself on fire so it could be reborn.
We were caught in each other’s gaze, lost in our own thoughts, in the cab of his truck. It wasn’t a complaint. Time moved in a funny way when I was with Abel. Stretching out like it didn’t move, and then I felt like it had been stolen from me when I realized how little time we actually had together.
Unless I could commit. Every day wouldn’t be like this, when he cooked breakfast and we spent time doing things we loved. We’d have to go back to real life. The magic would fade.
It always did. That was why I put my house on wheels, because I wanted to chase this feeling.
I’d found it. I just had to let myself actually appreciate it.
“Can I see the inside of your house?” Abel asked, shattering the silence.
“I’d love to show you.” I climbed out of the truck, nervous. People didn’t know how to react to a tiny house. First of all, it was tiny, which meant I had a fraction of the stuff most of my friends thought they couldn’t live without. Secondly, it was on wheels. It was never supposed to grow roots. I convinced myself it threatened people when they saw how little I kept, but it didn’t take the sting away from their comments.
“I didn’t do the best job stabilizing it, since the beach isn’t exactly built for tiny houses.”
Abel nodded, grinning. “That’s why we have the no camping signs...everywhere.”
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