Current Impressions (24 page)

Kieran’s eyes widened as he took in the
furnishings. Apparently, this was his first time in Angus’
quarters. He raised an eyebrow at me in question. I just smiled and
shrugged. Let Angus explain it.

“Let me just turn this down.” My uncle muted
the movie playing in the background. It was one of the blockbusters
from last spring. He caught me watching. “Have you seen this one,
Meara? It’s quite good.”

“I saw it with some girlfriends.”

“In the theater, no doubt?” His gaze held
mine with interest. “I do love movie theaters.”

“Yes—”

“If you don’t mind, sir.” Kieran shot me an
impatient look when he interrupted. “We have some rather unsettling
news to share with you.”

“Do you?” Angus looked at me for
confirmation. I nodded. “Then please, sit. Let’s at least talk in
comfort.”

Kieran and I each took one end of the
leather couch. Angus sat across from us in his chair. Clearing his
throat, Kieran started, “We encountered mass destruction, about
eight leagues northwest of the island.”

Angus thumped his hand on the chair and
glared at us. “And what were you doing out in the ocean?”

“That’s hardly the point, sir,” Kieran
corrected, managing to sound polite at the same time. “The decay
stretched as far as we could see. I tried to determine a source,
but could not.”

Angus stroked his beard and didn’t say
anything. Kieran’s expression remained polite and patient. With a
sigh, Angus sat back, his anger replaced with concern. “Do you
think it’s spreading?”

“My guess would be that it is, but I don’t
know for sure.” Kieran leaned forward. “The waters surrounding the
island are crowded with fish. More than I’ve seen before. It’s like
they’re being forced out.”

“Any idea how widespread it is?” Angus
asked. His beard was a mess of corkscrews from worrying
fingers.

“No, sir. As I said, it was black as far as
we could see, but we didn’t venture into the space. We came back to
tell you.”

“A wise choice,” Angus said before piercing
me with his eyes. “Even if your initial decision was poor.” Angus
stood, and I knew he was dismissing us. “I’ll contact David and
Brigid. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.”

“Is there anything I can do?” Kieran rose to
meet my uncle eye to eye.

“Yes,” Angus said. “Guard Meara. Keep her
safe.”

I jumped up and was about to tell my uncle
that I could protect myself when Kieran’s words took my thoughts
away.

“Always,” Kieran replied. “With my
life.”

Angus visibly relaxed and pulled me into a
hug. “Our lessons are suspended for a few days,” he whispered.
“I’ll contact you when we can resume. Be safe, niece.”

“You, too, Uncle Angus.” I kissed his cheek
and stepped back. Kieran placed his hand on the small of my back
and guided me toward the door. Unlike Evan, his touch was gentle
and not pushy. Did he mean what he said? Would he give his life for
me?

****

Dinner that evening was quiet. With my dad,
Aunt Brigid, and now Uncle Angus gone, only Ula and I sat at the
table with Uncle Ren, Aunt Atiya, and my little cousin, Nico, who
insisted on sitting next to me. At the moment, his sticky fingers
tugged on the ends of my hair.

“No, Nico. Let Meara eat her dinner,” Atiya
scolded while she untangled his hand. He took a few strands of my
hair with him. I would be using extra shampoo tonight.

“Meara’s pretty.” He patted my arm. “Love
you.”

I looked down at him. His bright green eyes
were so exotic against his dark skin and hair. He was a cute kid
even when covered in tomato sauce. “I love you, too, Nico.”

“Can Meara play with me?” he asked his
mom.

“Not tonight, Nico,” Atiya said. “It’s bath
night for you.”

“Tomorrow?” His voice lifted in a whine as
his bottom lip pouted.

“I’ll play with you before dinner tomorrow,
okay, kiddo?” I ruffled his hair, and then confirmed with my aunt
and uncle. “Will that be okay?”

Atiya smiled. “He’d love that. Don’t feel
like you have to, though. I know you’re busy training.”

“My pleasure,” I said. “I’ve never had a
little cousin before.”

“Come by our room. He wakes up from his nap
around three.”

While Atiya began the enormous task of
cleaning Nico’s dinner off his skin, my uncle leaned over and
smiled at me. “I’m sure that’s all we’re going to hear about until
you come by tomorrow. Nico talks about you almost nonstop as it
is.”

My cheeks warmed from the attention. Ula
grinned from my uncle’s other side. She already teased me about
Nico’s crush. The one thing I learned was that toddlers share
sticky, gooey affection. Several wet cloths later, Atiya decided
Nico was clean enough. When she released him, Nico stood on his
chair and wrapped his chubby arms around my neck. Pressing his lips
to my cheek, he blew his cheeks out like a blowfish in an
impression of a kiss.

He finished saying goodbye by patting my
face with soft hands. I bit my cheek to keep from laughing and
gently held his hands at bay.

“See you tomorrow, Meara.” He climbed down
and took his mom’s hand.

“Goodnight, Nico.”

I watched the three of them walk away, Nico
in the middle, holding hands with his parents. They were such a
close family. What would it be like to be raised by two loving
parents? Would I get the chance someday to show that kind of love
to a child of my own? I was in no hurry to have kids, but I missed
the closeness I shared with Mom.

“They’re so loving,” Ula said once they were
out of earshot. “Sometimes it’s sickening.”

“I think it’s sweet.”

“It is,” she said. “I’m probably just
jealous. Anyway, do you want to come back to my room? I had Angus
pick up some of those magazines you like.”

I was tempted, but I really needed to find
Kieran. I hadn’t asked him about dinner on Sunday night yet, and I
knew it was going to take some serious convincing.

“I’d like to,” I said. “But I can’t.
Tomorrow night?”

She looked disappointed, but cheered up a
little when I rescheduled. “Okay. What are you doing?”

“I need to talk to someone.” I didn’t want
to say his name, but she asked anyway.

“Kieran?”

“Yeah.”

“You sure spend a lot of time with him.” She
sunk in her chair and sulked. I raised my eyebrow, and she waved
her hand at me. “I know, I know, you’re training and all that.
Fine. I don’t like it, but as your aunt and friend, I’ll try to
understand.”

I stood and gave her a quick hug. “Thanks,
Ula.”

“What are friends for?” she murmured,
returning my hug.

I straightened and noticed Kieran leaving
the cave. If I hurried, I could catch him before he got back to his
room. Ula followed my gaze and gave me a slight push.

“Go,” she said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I hurried up the steps and down the hall. He
was nowhere in sight, but I caught up on the second-floor
landing.

“Kieran, wait!” I called, slightly
breathless.

He turned and smirked at me. “Are you
chasing me? ’Cause all you have to do is ask, and I’m yours.”

“Well, yes, but no, thank you,” I stammered,
suddenly nervous. He wasn’t going to be happy when I asked him. He
raised an eyebrow and waited. I took a deep breath. “I need to ask
you a favor.”

He studied my face. “Must be a big one,” he
commented.

“Can we talk somewhere?” I didn’t want to
have this conversation in the hallway where anyone might hear
us.

“It is serious. You have my full attention
now.” With a flirtatious edge, he asked, “My room or yours?”

I wanted to say neither, although that would
probably offend him. “Your room,” I decided. What would his room
look like?

Both eyebrows went up, and his lips curved
into a slow, sexy smile. My insides turned to jelly when he looked
at me like that.
You’re doing this for Evan
, I reminded
myself.

“Follow me.” He headed down the hall. When
we reached his room, he held open the door. “After you.”

I stepped around him, careful not to brush
against him. His room was slightly smaller than mine with fewer
windows. His bed was unmade, the sheets navy blue. A lighter blue
blanket spilled off the corner and pooled on the floor. A few
posters of basketball players hung on his wall. I didn’t know all
the athletes, but I recognized some of the older, more famous ones
like Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. A basketball hoop hung on
the wall opposite the bed. A jersey lay over the back of the only
chair in the room. Kieran pulled it off and folded it with care,
placing it next to him when he sat on the edge of the bed. He
gestured for me to sit in the chair.

“It’s not much, but it’s home,” he said.

“I didn’t take you for a basketball fan,” I
said.

“Why not?” He looked around the room.
“Selkie’s need to have hobbies, too.”

“Have you ever played?”

“With some of my cousins back home. Just for
fun.”

I glanced at the jersey next to him. “Whose
jersey is that?”

“Michael Jordan’s. I met him once, and he
signed it.” He shifted on the bed. “You’re stalling, Meara. I know
you didn’t come here to talk b-ball.”

“No.” I studied the posters on the wall,
unable to meet Kieran’s eyes. Better to get this over with, I
thought. “I need you to escort me back to Aberdeen on Sunday.”

“What?”

My eyes flicked to Kieran’s at the disbelief
he conveyed in one word. “I promised Evan we’d join them for
dinner. Ken, the owner of the house, invited us.” My voice fell to
a whisper. “I couldn’t say no.”

“I’ll say it for you. No. Absolutely not.”
He crossed to the chair and crouched in front of me. “Your dad will
have my head. It’s bad enough he’s going to find out that we were
swimming against his wishes. Are you trying to get me killed?”

I raised my chin. “Then I’ll go alone.”

“You’ll do no such thing.” His voice lowered
with the threat.

“I will.” My voice grew stronger, although
my lips trembled. “Watch me.”

He leaned in close, his breath hot on my
face. For once, I could see why others found him dangerous.
“Meara—”

Before I knew what was happening, he was
kissing me. His lips crushed mine as he pulled me close. I would’ve
protested, but my mind went blank, and all I could do was respond
or drown. I shoved him away when my sense of reason returned. At
first, he looked as shocked as I felt, but he quickly recovered
with a smug expression.

“Consider that payment,” he said. “If I’m
risking my life for you, I deserve something in return.”

I ignored the first part of his statement,
and instead focused on what he left unsaid. “You’ll go?” My heart
hammered in my chest, and my blood was on fire. I tried to take a
few deep breaths without Kieran noticing. I needed to show him I
was cool, that his kiss didn’t affect me.

“I’ll go.” He shook his head. “Against my
better judgment.” He stood and offered me a hand to pull me up. I
reluctantly took it and swore at the power humming between us. His
breath hitched and with a deep voice, he said, “I think you should
leave now.”

“Night,” I mumbled as I fled.

“What do you think?”

Evan ran his hand down the front of the suit
and turned to get a better view in the mirror. His tuxedo for prom
hadn’t looked this good. He looked rich. Elegant. Then he glanced
at the price tag — too bad he couldn’t pay for it.

“It’s great.” Evan met Ken’s eyes in the
reflection. “But I can’t afford this.”

Ken laughed. “Who said you had to? My
treat.”

“I can’t accept that kind of gift—”

“Sure you can,” Ken interrupted. “Consider
it a bonus for all of your hard work.”

The saleswoman hummed appreciatively. “I’d
take him up on it, hon. It looks amazing on you.”

Evan glanced at the clerk and wondered why
he hadn’t noticed her before. Thin, but curvy in all the right
places. Her straight, black hair hung to her waist. She watched him
with wide, brown eyes, and he realized he was staring.

“Thanks,” he said, not sure if he was
thanking Ken or the girl. “I’ll take it. I’m going to change
now.”

Ken chuckled as Evan walked away. The clerk
was already checking the fit on Ken’s suit. The last thing Evan saw
before he turned away was a thin strip of skin at her waist when
she stretched to adjust Ken’s collar. Why did he feel the urge to
run his finger along that stretch and feel her shiver in reply? Why
was he thinking about her anyway?

He felt more like himself once he was back
in his jeans and T-shirt. He went to the lobby to wait for Ken,
handing the salesclerk his suit. She placed it in a garment bag,
and then did the same with Ken’s when he gave it to her a few
minutes later. As promised, Ken paid for both and took the garment
bags from the saleswoman.