Rising (24 page)

Nothing seemed to have changed since
Sara had been gone. Everywhere her mom went, she caused a scene. Men ogled, women sneered, and truth be told, Nicole didn’t even know that people were watching her. Sara’s mom was beautiful, sensual, and super embarrassing to daughter. Sara always looked like a freak beside her.

“Sara
, you’re home. I missed you so much.” Nicole leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek. Sara inhaled the perfumed scent of plumeria, a native Hawaiian flower. Memories flooded back. Not all of them were unpleasant. Nicole could be sweet when she wasn’t being mental.

“Hi
, Mom. Listen, I want to warn you that I’m not here to stay. But we need to have a long talk. I have a lot to ask you about.”

“Oh yes, dear. Let’s get you home and we’ll get caught up on what you’ve been up to.”

Nicole pushed Sara toward the baggage claim area, “Um, Mom. I don’t have any luggage.”

“Okay
, baby.” Without a second thought, Nicole turned her chair and headed through the crowded airport toward short-term parking.

Oh yeah, that was
her mom. Any other mother would be wondering why their daughter came home after disappearing for so long and then showed up with no luggage in hand. But not Nicole. The thought that this was strange didn’t even cross her mind.

Nicole
wheeled Sara to a Mercedes. Sara looked at the extravagant car and recalled a time when they couldn’t afford a wheelchair. Her mom’s failed marriages had been good to her over the years.

“Do you want to stop for lunch?
” Nicole glanced her way and smiled. Sara noticed she still had flawless skin. Sara didn’t think her mother would ever age. At thirty-nine, she was often mistaken as Sara’s sister.

“No
, thanks Mom. I’d rather just go on to the house right now.” Sara leaned her head back and closed her eyes. A headache was building at the base of her skull.

Sara
felt the turns in the road and the warm Hawaiian breeze blow through her hair. Xanthus seemed so very far away right now and the hole in her heart grew with each mile. She wondered if he was looking for her. She had texted him just as she was taking off. She’d told him she loved him but she had to leave. She asked him to forget her and go on with his life. Then she’d turned off her phone.

Knowing him,
he was busy trying to track her down. Gretchen had to have told him about the note. Sara could imagine how livid he would be. She hoped he’s wasn’t angry with her. After all, she’d left to protect
him
. Sara hoped he understood that. Maybe once he had time to think about it, he’d realize it was for the best. They’d kill him for just being with her. He had to know he’d be better off without her.

She
hoped he could just let her go.

That
Dagonian and his stupid note. Where had he come from? Why did he have to show up now, when she finally had a chance at happiness? They could have made it work. She knew they could. Xanthus had no doubt.

How could one simple sentence destroy
her world so completely?

“What’s wrong, baby? Why are you crying? Aren’t you glad to be home?” Oh, great. Her mom had noticed she was crying before she’d even realized it. Nicole was so unobservant. This was epic.

“Mom, I’ll tell you everything when we get home. I just need to rest now.”
Sara rubbed her temples to ease the ache in her head.

“Why not tell me now?”

Because you might freak and I don’t want to die in a fiery car crash.
Of course, Sara couldn’t say that. “I just need to think, Mom. And I just want to get home.” That was a lie. Sara hated the fact that she had to come home.

“I knew you’
d come back. You love your mother, don’t you?”

“Yes
Mom, I do.” That wasn’t a lie. Sara did love her. She just couldn’t live with her.

They
pulled down the long driveway of her mother’s home. Coconut palms lined the sides of the lane and towered over them. The home was a beautiful, canary-yellow, sprawling estate. Its interior was immaculate, but its highest selling feature was the view out the back. There was a thirty-foot, rocky drop to the ocean.

The waves were spectacular
, crashing just off shore and against the cliff below. This cliff had given Sara nightmares from the day they’d moved in. The whole time she’d lived in this home, Sara avoided looking out the back windows. Now she could finally appreciate the beauty of it. The whole place was beautiful—the house, its furnishings, and the land around it.

Nicole
had bought this house with husband number two and she got to keep it after the divorce, along with a sizable monthly alimony check. Something good had come from being married to that jerk.

Nicole
got Sara’s wheelchair out of the back. “Let’s get inside, I’m starved. I’ve sure missed your Roman sandwiches.”

Great
. Just what Sara wanted to do on the worst day of her life—make lunch for her mother. But, Sara really needed money. “Roman sandwiches sound great, Mom. Do we have the ingredients for them?”

“I don’t know
. The new maid is out for the day, so you’ll just have to look around. I’m going to sit down and do some reading. Let me know if you need me to get anything down for you.”

“Sure thing
. We can have our talk while we eat.” Sara looked in the refrigerator and found salami, provolone, onion, sauerkraut, and ham—the most essential parts of a Roman sandwich.

Sara
turned on the skillet and began sautéing the onion. A few minutes later, the sandwiches were done. She got out some chips, fresh pineapple, and then plated the food. She wheeled the plates and drinks one at a time to the table. It took several trips to get everything set up. Then she poured some lemonade.

Sara
peeked into the living area to see if her mother was still awake. There was nothing Nicole liked less that being woken up from a nap. Thankfully, she was still reading. “Mom, lunch is ready.”

“Okay, dear. I’m just going to finish up this chapter.”

Oh great. Sara hoped the sandwiches wouldn’t get cold.

Ten minutes later,
the sandwiches were as cool as the Hawaiian breeze coming through the window. Nicole stepped into the dining room.

“It looks good.”
Nicole was sure being extra sweet.

Nicole
took a bite of the sandwich and surprised Sara when she didn’t say a word about the food being cold. Nicole took a deep breath, a sip of lemonade, and said, “So, tell me what you’ve been up to.”

Sara
took a few slow breaths before she spoke. “Actually, I wanted to ask you about my father.” She spoke low, her shoulders tensed, waiting for her mom’s reaction.

Nicole
nodded slightly. “I knew you would ask again sooner or later. Are you ready to believe me? I don’t want to talk about him if you’re just going to dismiss what I say.” Her eyes darted in Sara’s direction.

“Mom, I’ll believe you.”
Sara heard the sadness in her own voice.

Nicole
looked uncertain. “Well, he was the most amazing man I’d ever met—handsome, funny, strong, and so self-assured. We met in a seaside café just outside of Los Angeles. For the next week, we spent every waking moment together.

“I fell hard for him. I was only eighteen and a bit naïve, but I swear he loved me too, but then he told me he couldn’t stay with me. You see, his father was a very powerful man. He told me there was no way his father would allow him to stay and he said I couldn’t follow him. I was devastated. I was determined to find a way to convince him to stay with me. After all, once you’re an adult, you need to make your own path, right? I figured one day he’d have to leave his father and be independent. Why couldn’t I be the reason?

“When it came time for him to leave
, he said I had to go on with my life without him. I told him I’d never love anyone like I loved him—and I haven’t. Your father is the only man I’ve ever really loved.

“
Still, he left me standing there. But, I couldn’t let him leave me, so I followed him. He surprised me when he drove to a beach. I’d thought he’d be headed to the airport, but he parked and walked to the shoreline.

“He stripped out of his clothing and then the most amazing thing happened. He do
ve into the water and as he swam away, a tail swished out of the water behind him just before he disappeared under the waves. I thought it looked like the tail of a shark and I was very afraid for him.

“When he didn’t resurface,
I was sure he’d been attacked. I dove out into the water, desperate to find him. I searched for a long time, not finding anything, but I just couldn’t stop. I couldn’t leave him there. Then on one of my dives, I thought I saw something and followed it down deep. When I ran out of air, I was nowhere near the surface and I blacked out before I could resurface again. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in the hospital.

“My
dad stuck by me until he found out I was pregnant. He was furious and demanded I have an abortion. But, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t give you up. You were all I had left of the man I loved. Even though you didn’t look much like him, you were part of him.”

Sara
looked down and realized she hadn’t touched any of her food. “What did he look like?” She took a nibble of a potato chip.

“Oh
, he was one of a kind. He looked like a Greek god. He was tall, had blond, curly hair, and was very strong. There was one time I was being harassed and manhandled by some drunk men as I was waiting for him after I got off work.

“
When your father came and saw what was happening, he let loose on them. They were all unconscious within a few seconds. When he saw the bruises they’d given me, he was angry all over again and kicked their truck, caving in the entire side. The whole thing looked mangled, like it was folded in half.”

Sara had
seen Xanthus’s strength and it was incredible. Still, folding a truck in half with a kick was amazing. And this Dagonian who was her father seemed larger than life.

“Did he know about me?”
Sara took a bite of her sandwich, not tasting it. She was too enthralled in the story.

“Oh baby, he never knew I was expecting you. I was told I couldn’
t have children. Knowing that, we hadn’t... you know, well we hadn’t used any birth control. I didn’t know you could happen, but then you did.” Her mother took a sip, her sad eyes watching Sara from over the glass.

“When did you figure out he
hadn’t drown?”

“It was when you were born. Being alone at
nineteen and pregnant, I didn’t have much money and I never had any prenatal care. The hospital staff freaked out when you were born. They’d never seen anyone like you. But I had. I realized I hadn’t imagined it. Ty did have a tail.”

“Was that his name?
Ty?” The sandwich wasn’t going down easy and Sara took a sip of lemonade to loosen it from her throat.

“
Well, he told me to call him Ty. He said it was short for something else, but he never told me what. I thought maybe he hated his real name, so I didn’t press it.”

Sara
sighed. “I wish I’d met him.”

“Me too, sweet
heart. You did get
something
from him though.”

“I did?”
Sara took another sip of lemonade.

“Yes
. You may not look much like him, but your eyes are exactly the same shade of blue as his.”

Sara
was so surprised, she gasped, which was bad considering she had a mouthful of lemonade. She coughed and sputtered, her hand barely making it over her mouth in time to keep from spewing lemonade all over the table.

“Sara, you’re supposed to drink
—not inhale.” Her mother came over to pat her down with a hand towel.

“He had blue eyes?”
Sara rasped.

“Yes, he did. Is there something wrong with him having blue eyes?”
Sara was having a déjà vu moment. Hadn’t she said those exact words to Xanthus when he had freaked about
her
blue eyes? But her father had had blue eyes. How was that possible?

“Are you sure he had blue eyes?”

“
Sara, what is this all about? You’re scaring me.”

“Are you sure?”
Sara asked again, her voice rising. Normally, her mother would be upset that Sara had raised her voice, but Nicole was so shocked at Sara’s display, she snapped out an answer.

“Sara, I’m very sure. I could never forget his eyes. Now, tell me what you’re so upset about.”

“I know what I am. At least I thought I did.”
Sara dragged the towel over her hands and between her fingers to dry the lemonade.

“What are you saying?”
Her mother’s brows creased.

“I met someone.”
Sara sighed and dropped the towel down on the table.

“
Please tell me you didn’t see another doctor.” Her mother pressed her fingers into her temple as if the idea gave her an immediate migraine.