Chapter 50 Resufaced
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To say it was awkward would be the biggest understatement of the century because I was painfully aware of several things.
His body against mine. His lips against mine. And every damn unwelcome emotion I had no doubt belonged to him.
Or, it could be mine? It was hard to tell at this point.
There was a consistent flutter inside my belly, and I hated the fact that it felt nice to be so close to him.
I've never been so conflicted in my life.
I sighed, shifting my focus to what I would do when Mom found us. More importantly, how we were going to stage the setup. I couldn't just lie there on the beach and freeze until she eventually found me.
"Hector is taking care of it."
I was caught off-guard with Kayn's sudden response; I almost tore away from him. I could feel him smile against my mouth.
Jerk, I thought.
"If only your words matched your actual feelings.".
This couldn't be over soon enough.
Once we broke the surface, I pushed Kayn away faster than I could count to one.
His brows shot up, but he didn't say anything as I sloshed my way toward the sand. From a distance, I could see all the lights were on inside the cottage.
"You don't think this is too coincidental?" I asked. "My mom doesn't miss these kinds of things, considering what she does for a profession."
"We could take another trip. I don't mind," he suggested. "Bowmore a bit more convincing?"
I turned to scowl at him. "Oh, for the love of!" I spun away, cheeks flaming. I forgot he was stark naked sans a tail. And, of course, he would be without it once he was out of the water.
"What, you can't expect me to flop my way toward the house, now do you?"
"Whatever," I murmured, crossing my arms to shield myself from the cold. I didn't ask him how he managed to dry off so quickly. "Now what?"
"Lie down onto the sand. Look a bit confused, and make it convincing," he instructed. "I'm getting help."
"Okay," I said, sinking down onto the sand. My brows furrowed, "But you're—"
"Already taken care of," he appeared in front of me, plus swim trunks. "We bury clothes around here."
"Okay, good," I nodded, not sure what to say to him. My stomach was already clenching. I wasn't too sure if I was ready to face Mom and her fit of hysterics.
"Go, please," I pleaded. "Get it over with."
It took a few minutes before I heard voices and crunching of the earth as shoes pounded toward my direction.
"Where is she?" My stomach lurched at the sound of Mom's voice.
I didn't have to act. I was beyond exhausted and shook from the cold. I sat up with my knees folded to my chest and my arms wrapped around my legs.
I remained still, not breathing as I listened to the voices approaching.
"Oh my...Carly," Mom cried out, and I could hear Lachlan cursing. I heard Hector among the voices, but it was impossible to tell what he was saying with Mom yelling.
Mom plopped down beside me onto the sand, lifting my face with her hands. "Oh, honey. I'm so, so sorry."
"'Tis okay," my teeth clattered. "I'm okay."
"You need to check her, please," Mom glanced up at someone.
There was a deep grunt in response, and Hector appeared next to Mom, dumping down a medkit beside us. "You'll need to move."
Mom crawled to my side, placing a hand on my arm. "Kayn said you don't know how you got here?"
Shivering, I shook my head. "I woke up when he found me."
"It's a miracle the current pushed her out here," Lachlan sounded thoughtful.
"One heck of a miracle," Hector's voice was stiff, sinking beside me and pulling out things from the medkit.
I didn't care what he was doing. I was too focused on Kayn's face and the deep frown marring his features.
He worried I'd slip up. I gave him a look that said I wouldn't, but it didn't seem to assure him.
"We need to get her to a hospital," Mom insisted. "After what she went through."
"There's no need," Hector said. "Her vitals are normal."
"I need to be sure. You might have—"
"Mom, please. I'm fine."
"Carly, love, we need to be safe. You can't—"
"Sarah," Hector pressed. "The girl is fine. You don't need to put her through more trauma than necessary. What she needs is proper rest. Nothing less, nothing more."
I threw Hector a grateful look, and I swear, the old man returned a slight smile.
This night couldn't be more interesting.
I glanced at Kayn, curious what he told Hector and what had changed his demeanor toward me.
I could feel there was still more to this than the fact that they were merfolk.
