Before I could stop her, Ash leaped onto the dock and phased into legs.
“Ash!” I whisper-yelled, looking around to make sure no one from the nearby beach saw her.
She ran up the dock toward the house, dripping wet. I swam to the shore and shifted, trying to catch up.
“Wait!” My hands couldn’t fasten the Velcro on my board shorts fast enough.
I looked up, and to my horror, she’d already charged inside.
THREE – ASH – May 15 – 3:39 p.m.
My heart pounded with thoughts of why they’d come. Did something happen to Dad? Gran? My mother? Once I entered the house, the taller of the two cops stopped talking.
“Ash?” My mother blinked at me, eyes red and swollen. Then she jumped up and attacked me with a hug.
My arms circled around her, squeezing tight. I didn’t understand why the happy reunion since I’d only been gone for a few weeks. Tears wet my cheeks anyway. I’d wanted this, for her to miss me. Gran hugged me next, followed amazingly by my sister, Lucy. Then they all stared at me like my head might pop.
“What’s going on? Why are they here?” I gestured to the cops.
Mom eyed me up and down “What are you wearing, and why are you all wet?”
I looked down at the puddle under my feet from my pink beaded gown, realizing my mistake. Luckily, Fin walked in behind me. He quickly sang, using his mer mojo to get them to ignore my attire.
“I’m sorry to interrupt the reunion,” the shorter cop turned to me, “but you’re under arrest, Ashlyn, for arson.”
“Arrest?” I leaped backward.
Mom stood between us. “I told you. She didn’t do this. I don’t care what evidence you have!”
“Ma’am, please…”
Fin started to sing, “Ash is innocent, and it’s time for you both to leave.”
The cops’ eyes glazed over.
“Sorry for the confusion.” The taller of the two looked at the shorter one, then nodded and they left. “We’ll be going.”
I swallowed hard, my heart thundering.
Then my mother’s gaze turned cold. “Where have you been?”
I flicked a glance at Fin. She’d been mojoed. How could she have forgotten? “I was on a mission trip in Africa.”
She chuckled. “Really? And where are your plane tickets? Your visa? Your passport?”
Fin opened his mouth to sing, but I grabbed onto his hand to stop him.
“No. Let me handle this.” They deserved answers, not some fishy mind-jacking makeover. I turned to my mother. “You’re right. I wasn’t in Africa.”
Mom’s jaw tightened. “Then where were you?”
“I was with Fin and his family.”
“Doing what?”
I gritted my teeth. What could I say that didn’t sound totally lame? “Just traveling.”
“Traveling?” Mom barked out a laugh. “Are you kidding me? Oooh! Jack and Maggie are going to get an earful!”
“Karen,” Gran said. “I’m sure there’s a logical explanation.”
“Let me handle this, Mother!” Mom snapped.
“Please,” Fin whispered to me.
I held up my hand for him to wait, but I had no excuse to give her that wasn’t a lie. How was that any better than just singing them a story? “Mom, just trust me—”
“Trust you? You disappear without a word, and I’m just supposed to look the other way?” She stretched the small space between us and slapped me. “This is unforgivable, and your life will be over as you know it, Ashlyn Francis Lanski. You can leave now, Fin.”
“Karen!” Gran scolded. “That’s uncalled for.”
I turned away, gasping while I held onto the stinging flesh. My mother and I may have had a strained relationship, but she’d never hit me before.
Gran begged for Mom to calm down, while Lucy let out a rude cackle. Fin sang for everyone to sit and be quiet. Tears trickled down over my hot face, and my stomach turned over, making me want to vomit. I knew coming home wouldn't be blissful, but this? The wedding most definitely wasn’t happening now.
Fin walked over to me. “Let’s just smooth this over and find out what’s happened.”
I wanted to, but with the cops ready to arrest me, I knew whatever had happened was irreparable.
I barked out a laugh. “Smooth it over? Isn’t that what we were doing the last time?”
“Trust me.” Fin gave my hand a squeeze before he moved to the couch and sat down next to my mother. “So… what’s been going on since we left?”
Lucy cocked a brow. “Justice.”
I glared at her. “Having Mom and Dad all to yourself isn’t good enough for you?”
“Ash! This is serious,” Mom interrupted. “Haven’t you seen the news?”
I gritted my teeth. “No?”
“No?” She shook her head. “Where have you been? A hole?”
Something like that.
“You were missing, dear,” Gran interjected.
“What?” I mouthed, but nothing came out.
Mom clenched her jaw. “When I told the authorities you were in Africa on a mission trip, they just kept asking questions, threatening that I was covering for you when they couldn’t find anything to support you’d left the country.” Her head swung around to Fin. “You told me not to worry. You told me everything was fine.”
I cringed, ready to let Fin just sing and get it over with.
“There’s a warrant out for your arrest, too,” Mom hissed.
“For what?” he asked calmly.
“You’ve been charged with arson. The both of you.”
I swallowed, my head swaying. Didn’t she remember what happened? That Fin was presumed dead when they couldn’t find him in the basement. It didn’t matter. This was too big to fix. Unless we mojoed the whole police force, someone else would show up to arrest me.
“We didn’t start the fire. Fin’s Uncle Alaster did,” I defended.
Mom’s eyes lost focus and she wrung her hands. “Well, there were witnesses who saw you, and when you disappeared, it looked suspicious, and I didn’t have any answers to their questions. I just…” She glanced over at the door, confusion crossing her face. “Why did the cops leave?”
I pressed my hand to my forehead. “Because I didn’t do it, Mom.”
“It wasn’t arson,” Fin said quickly. “It was an accident. And now that my family is back, there’s no need to panic, and no one is pressing charges. In fact, my dad will start rebuilding this week.”
Mom let out a pent up breath. “Well, I’d like to talk to them.”
“You always get out of everything,” Lucy huffed and left the room.
My shoulders slid downward, and I slumped onto the couch. I didn’t want to get away with anything. I wanted to stop the deception. The truth needed to set me free. But how do you tell your human parents you’re… inhuman?
“We ran away because we want to get married,” I muttered.
Mom spit out the tea she’d just sipped. “What?”
The front door flew open behind us, and Dad appeared, eyes wide and face flushed. I took in the site of him, terrified. But he wasn’t angry. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. He stumbled forward, arms outstretched. I jumped up and ran toward him.
His giant arms slid around me and squeezed. “Oh, my baby girl. I knew you’d be alright.”
For a brief moment, I believed I was his baby girl, that he was my only father; that I was human again and not stuck between two worlds. My stomach, though, knew differently and tightened all the same. How could I have lied to the one person who loved me unconditionally?
“I’m so sorry, Dad,” I said through my tears.
He pulled away and studied me, pressing his hands against the sides of my head. “There’s no way you started the fire. I didn’t believe it. Is that what kept you away?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“I—I—” I stuttered.
“Was someone threatening you?
There was this witness who saw you, but I knew there had to be a good reason why they couldn’t find your documents.”
“It’s ‘cause I didn’t go, Daddy,” I said through sniffles.
He stopped for a second. His disappointed look zinged into me, making my heart squeeze.
“Where’d you go?”
“I…” I couldn’t tell him.
“They were getting ready to elope,” Mom interrupted.
“Cantaloupe? What does that have to do with anything?” Gran asked from across the room.
Mom growled. “No, Mom… ugh. Don’t you have your hearing aid in?” She turned to Dad. “When I see Jack and Maggie, they are going to get an earful…” Mom’s glare swung to me. “You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”
“What? No.” I pinched my eyes shut to think. “It’s just… with the fire… Fin had to leave again, and I couldn’t be without him. He was the one that saved my life when I fell into the lake. We have a special bond, one that I can’t explain. He understands me. And I love him. Lying was just… easier.”
“You lied?” Dad gave me a despondent look, confusion covering his face. Then he looked down at my beaded dress. “What are you wearing?”
Fin quickly sang for him to ignore my attire. Dad’s eyes glazed over, driving a dagger into my subconscious. I couldn’t keep doing this, especially to him.
“Forget it.” I jumped up and stormed out of the room, running upstairs.
I went to my room and slammed the door. A row of cards blew off my desk and hit the floor. My gaze panned to the dresser. Cards and flowers, some new and the others wilted and drooping in their vases, covered the top.
I sucked in a strangled gasp, then caught a glimpse of something shiny outside. Mylar balloons were tethered to a sign nailed to our tree in the yard and flapped in the wind. Stuffed animals and candles crowded the trunk underneath. I leaned against the window, legs weak. Reality sunk in.
I was missing.
FOUR – FIN – May 15 – 4:20 p.m.
“Stay here,” I sang to her parents, then followed Ash upstairs.
Only one door was shut, so I approached slowly.
“Ash?” I knocked, then turned the knob.
She sat curled up on the bench seat under the window, fingers pressed to the glass. “They think I’m missing.”
“Who does?”
“Everyone.”
I walked closer and placed my hands on her shoulders.
She yanked away, popping to her feet. “No.”
“Ash?” I stepped backward.
“Your Uncle Alaster did this. He needs to pay.” Her voice was shaking.
“I know. And he will—” I started.
“No, I’m serious. You find him and make him pay.” Her voice deepened. “Not only for this, but for what he almost did to me.” She lifted her hand to show the scars on her ring and pinkie fingers. “He’s a monster and he forced me into a life I wasn’t prepared for. This is his fault.”
“I promise you, if it takes my entire life to find him, he’ll pay.”
She blinked at me, then swallowed. “We need to fix this because I’m not disappearing from my parents’ lives again. I mean… I know I’m not their biological daughter, but to them I am. So… I want to make them happy.”
“Okay,” I agreed. “Let’s go downstairs and I’ll ask for your hand in marriage right now. Weddings make everyone happy.”
Her mouth opened, then shut, her eyes wide.
“Or not,” I added, unsure how to fix this.
“I just…” she sniffled. “This isn’t how I’d imagined it to go.”
I nodded, not quite understanding, wishing she’d give me a little more go to on. “How did you imagine it?”
“I know it’s corny, but I just want my dad to agree… on his own.”
“Oh?”
“And we can’t tell anyone about this.”
My brow furrowed. “Tell anyone about what?”
“About the arrest warrants!” She shook her open hands at me. “Where have you been?”
I sucked in a breath. “Well, sure… yeah. Of course.”
She gawked at me, determination wrinkling her forehead. “You can tell your parents, but…” she stood and took my hands in hers, “if we truly want the mers to have the freedom to live on land, then no one can know about this. We’re supposed to be the masters at it.”
“Oh,” I said, thankful I finally understood. “Yeah. Right.”
“So, you and your dad have to figure out a way to fix this before anyone visits. Find Alaster, pin it on him, or come up with a convincing story about how the fire was started, and where I went. Not something that the press would go after and not let go, but something decent.”
Decent. Right. I had no clue what that could be, but I’d figure out something. Anything to make her smile.
“Until then,” she lifted her chin, “I’m finishing out my senior year.”
I nodded, suddenly regretting that I’d agreed to join her.
“That’s a good idea,” I said.
The space between her eyes puckered in that cute way I liked. “You’re coming with me, right?”
“Of course I am.”
“To high school.”
“Yep.”
“For four weeks.”
“If that’s how long it is, then yes.”
“You’re not going to argue with me?”
I dipped my head. “With my wife? No way. We’re a team, remember? And if this is what you need, so be it.”
Her eyes teared up again, her lip quivering. My insides seized. What did I say wrong now?
“What did I do to deserve you?” She grabbed onto me, laying her lips on mine.
I almost collapsed in relief and deepened the kiss. “No. I’m the lucky one.”
Her body softened in my arms. “Thank you, Fin.”
I squeezed tighter. What was four weeks anyway? Piece of crab cake.
~|~
After Ash had found me one of her dad’s shirts to wear, she changed out of her dress into yoga pants while I searched for an alibi on the internet. Luckily, there was a city located close to the border in Arizona that would be an ideal place for a mission tour and sounded similar enough to be confused with Africa.
We walked downstairs, finding her parents where we’d left them, and smoothed things out the best we could before I headed over to the singed pile that used to be my house. Ash decided to stay behind to clean up the shrine in her yard. Glancing over to my parents’ driveway, I was momentarily jolted that my Jeep was missing until I remembered I’d left it in Florida.
“Where’s Ash?” Dad crossed over to me, his hands blackened with soot.
“She’s cleaning up the shrine in her front yard, and breaking the news to her best friend.”
“Shrine?” Dad asked.
I shrugged. “We didn’t think through the whole mission trip thing, so when they couldn’t reach her, they thought she was missing.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. There’s also a warrant out for my arrest,” I said.
“For?”
“Arson.” I gave him a fake smile. “Got any pull in the police department?”
Dad grabbed onto my shoulder and squeezed while he laughed. “Oh, don’t worry about it. I have to go sweet-talk the county for the building permits later anyway, so I’ll take care of it while I'm there.”
Hope filled me. I knew if anyone could fix this, he could.
“This is quite some mess.”
Dad gave me a disheartened look. “Yes, it is. I can’t believe my brother would do such a thing.”
“Have you seen him at all?”
Dad let out a low whistle. “No, but knowing him, he’s lurking somewhere embarrassed. He knows he’s not welcome.” Dad lifted another charred board. Underneath was a burnt picture of our family. He cursed. “He’ll more than pay. He’ll suffer.”
Oh, yes he will.
Forcing himself on Ash to be his mate, and then tr
ying to pass her off as Galadriel by chopping off her ring and pinkie fingers, set my teeth on edge. I’d made a promise, and I intended on keeping it.
“In the meantime,” Dad continued, “we’ve got our work cut out for us. And I could use a break from the politics in Natatoria, I bet you could, too.”
I nodded. How people could be happy one minute with a decision, to turn around and be upset was beyond me.
Dad’s bushy beard lifted with a smile. “Great. I could use all the help I can get.”
“Of course,” I said with a smile. “I’ll be here… uhhh, I mean, in the afternoons, I can.”
Dad’s eyes narrowed. “Ash already have you on wedding errands?”
“No. It’s even better than that.” I laughed and shook my head. “I’m going to attend high school.”
Dad deadpanned. “What?”
“It’s only for four weeks until she graduates. She just wants things to transition smoother than they have with her parents, and a high school diploma won’t hurt when asking her dad for her hand.”
“I see.” Dad’s head bobbed up and down. “You’re a good mate, you know that?”
“I know.”
“And humble.”
“The humblest.”
Dad chuckled and then lifted his chin to Badger, who paced around the back side of the property. He raised his hand to acknowledge me but kept shaking his head at the mess. How we’d clean this up and rebuild seemed daunting.
Dad let out a long exhale. “Well, I need to get over to the office. Hopefully, my basswipe of a brother didn’t wreck the work truck. I know of a houseboat for sale at the pier, and we’ll park it at the dock for appearances sake, and then order the lumber.”
Come to think of it, I’d need clothes for school, and if I had my Jeep, I’d pick up Ash and we’d go shopping.
But most importantly, I’d prove to Ash I could fix this without always resorting to the song. I’d show her I could fix everything.
FIVE – ASH – May 15 – 4:35 p.m.
Pushing another stuffed animal into the garbage bag from the shrine outside my parents’ house, I deleted yet another voice message from Georgia. I couldn’t believe she’d actually filled my voicemail; I wanted to scream.
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