Shucked (22 page)

I followed her directions, not sure
if I was hallucinating from the loss of blood, or maybe it was a side effect of
the chloroform they’d used on me.

“I’m so glad it works.”

“Can you tell me how we’re talking?”
A branch nearly slapped me in the head. I ducked to avoid a second injury. Luckily
I’d made the right decision to run into the copse. The ninja couldn’t stay
silent on the crunchy leaves when he was running. I couldn’t tell if he was
gaining, but as long as I was in front I had a chance.

“The necklace I gave you is
retrofitted with some special equipment.”

I fingered the necklace bouncing
against my chest.

“Don’t do that now. It makes a loud
crackling noise on my end.”

I dropped it. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. You didn’t know. There’s
a lot you don’t know, Tabitha. And I’m sorry I’ve kept it from you for so long.”

“That’s fine, Mom, but do you know
where I’m at? Can you get me out of here?” I looked behind me and saw the ninja
closing in, along with his buddy I’d left in the house. “Mom, oh my God, Mom,
they’re coming. They’re going to kill me.” Panic ripped through my veins.

“Keep moving, baby. You’ll be fine.
Trust me.”

I heard static and then silence.

“Mom?” My heart thudded. The snapping
branches got closer and closer until I felt their hands on my arms. “Mom!” I
screamed as they yanked me to the ground.

Chapter
Thirty-Three

A large boom echoed through the
trees.

I struggled under their grasp,
fighting back with every ounce of energy I had. The blood poured down my forehead,
my t-shirt lost somewhere in the struggle. The world got fuzzy as another boom punctuated
the quiet woods.

Their hands let go. The blood flowed
through my arms again, reminding me I was still alive, though lost.

Three men burst through the branches,
all in army fatigues. The ninjas disappeared from my view. My head lolled to
the side.

“Tabitha!” One of the army guys ran
over to me. “Are you okay?”

I looked up at the man and recognized
him even though a helmet covered the majority of his face. It was the shape of
his mouth. I recognized it because I saw it every time I looked in a mirror. “Mr.
Dad?” I said, confused at the man who was my teacher and my father.

He laughed. “Yeah, it’s me. I’ve got
you. I wasn’t going to let them hurt my little girl.” He cradled me in his
arms. “I’m going to get you to a hospital and get you checked out.”

The two ninjas were on the ground,
hands behind their backs, being cuffed by three men in suits. More commandos in
cammo trained guns on them.

I nodded, then blacked out.

***

I woke to the smell of antiseptic and
gauze. Bright lights blinded my eyes and I quickly shut them again. “Hospital?”

A hand swept across my hair. “We’re
all here. Are you okay?”

“Who’s we?” I asked.

“Your mom, Gramps and I, and your
dad.”

“Which dad?” I asked.

“The one who saved you,” my mom said.
“Your real dad. The one I should have told you was your father so many years
ago.”

“Good. Because my other dad was
holding me hostage.”

I opened my eyes again. Their faces
swam in front of me. With each breath, they became clearer. I couldn’t help but
notice my mom and dad were holding hands.

“I never thought he’d go that far.
I’m so, so sorry. I underestimated how much he wanted the dogu.”

“So you guys weren’t using me as
bait?”

My dad shook his head. “Of course
not. We were worried about you, which is why that necklace was retrofitted with
a GPS and a comm device. Your mom and I hoped we’d never have to activate it.”

“I’m glad you did.”

“Do you remember much before Jon found
you?” My mom sat down on the bed next to me. “The device we put in the necklace
didn’t work where Alastair was holding you. It wasn’t until you came out of the
shelter that we picked up your signal.”

“Yeah. I fought back.” I told them
the whole story, pretty sure I was remembering everything. I even cracked a
smile when I reenacted the nutcracker move.

“You’re a tough girl.” My dad slung
an arm around my shoulder.

“We both knew that,” my mom said. “I
know you better than anyone, Tabitha. I’ve never had to worry about your
safety.”

I rolled my eyes. Obviously there was
a lot they needed to tell me. But one thing hadn’t changed – my mom still
believed I could take care of myself. And I could. Once in a while it wouldn’t
hurt for her to treat me like a fragile child, like Becky’s mom treated her.

“This was all for the dogu. He was
going to steal it from the Japanese businessman, then sell it. That’s why I
stole the dogu first. We couldn’t convince the museum this was going to happen,
so our little, um, group stepped in,” my mom said.

“And you?” I looked my dad up and
down. “That’s not exactly your normal school clothes.”

“The army got called in and since I’m
a member, and your dad, I forced my way on the team. I hope that’s okay.”

“Yeah, it is. I just think that maybe
I need to take a break from math for a while. Do you think my teacher would
understand?”

“Maybe. We’ll see. It’s just a few
stitches on your forehead. I’m pretty sure that won’t keep you out of school,
especially since you’re going to the dance tonight.”

“The dance? Really!” My heart leapt
around in my chest. Alex. The dress.

“It starts in a couple hours, but
there’s still time to get ready,” Mom said. “The other cheerleaders were really
concerned about it, but I told them I needed you. They’ve all heard about our
little car accident by now.”

“Car accident?” I reached up to feel
the cut on my head, but Mimi grabbed my hand.

“Don’t touch it,” she ordered.

“When I realized you were missing, we
had to keep everything a secret,” my dad said.

“Really? You were at the school?”

He nodded. “I missed your kidnapping
by seconds. I wish I would have been there.”

“Well, considering it happened in the
girls’ bathroom, I’m kinda glad you weren’t. Awkward. Besides, it’s all good. I
took care of myself just fine.”

“You are your mother’s daughter.”

I took it as a compliment.

Chapter
Thirty-Four

Since I’d had that little emergency
before the dance, one I could never speak of to any of my new friends, my mom
and dad brought me to the school a little late. Mimi and Gramps even joined us,
with Gramps in his military uniform. Farm life kept him just as trim as he’d
been back then and Mimi put on her pointiest torpedo bra. They were going to be
the most beautiful couple there, I was sure.

As for me, I wore the orange dress from
Becky. Mimi picked it up for me while I was, um, busy. In typical Mimi fashion
she assumed everything would be just fine. She had this incredible trust in the
universe to deliver us all into happiness. If she didn’t, I wasn’t sure she
could have held out hope for a reconciliation with my mom all those years.

We walked in together, the most
unlikely family. No one even knew my mom and dad were anything more to each
other than old flames. But I knew my mom and that look in her eye. She was in
love, still. So I had a complete family, even though no one could know.

The gym had completely changed
overnight. I gasped, stunned at how much it looked like a 1940’s ballroom. “Is
this for real?” I fingered some of the army uniforms on mannequins, forming a
line in the entrance.

“They are,” Mimi said. “Almost
everyone here served in the war. And no one ever throws anything away. That TV
show American Pickers has been here more than once.”

I’d never witnessed such a true slice
of Americana. It wasn’t cheesy, though. It didn’t just feel authentic – it
was the real thing. I’d always believed America was a boring place with no
history. Compared to the places I’d lived and the cultures I’d been exposed to,
America seemed like a wasteland. But this proved me wrong. It was a young
country and thousands of years from now, archaeologists would be unearthing our
history. In the future, some kid like me would marvel at our artifacts.

Alex paced on the other side of the
gym. He looked so handsome in his dress pants, shirt, and tie. I wanted to grab
that tie, pull him closer, and –

“Go get him, honey.” My mom gave me a
little push.

“Now, wait a second,” my dad started,
but I ignored him. My focus was zeroed in on Alex and nothing could get in my
way.

I set off across the room, wobbling
in a pair of high heels from my mom’s closet. They weren’t quite the strappy
ones Becky had promised, but they did the job, even if they were older than me.

“Hey, handsome.” I tapped Alex on the
shoulder.

He turned around and gathered me up
into his arms. “Where were you? Is your mom okay?”

I nodded and pointed over my
shoulder. “Just fine. False alarm. She decided to come to the dance with Illinois
Jon too. Kind of gross, my mom going out with my math teacher.”

“I heard they used to date in high
school.” Alex whispered in my ear as he led me to the dance floor for a slow
dance to “Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall in Love” by Cole Porter. I didn’t point out
that it came out a decade before the dance’s theme. I was tired of being a
know-it-all.

“Yeah, I heard that too,” I said,
wanting so bad to tell him Illinois Jon was my dad. But I couldn’t. In the
debriefing they’d made me promise to keep the secret. I almost felt bad for the
agent. He’d had to sit on my bed while my mom and Mimi got me ready for the
dance. Mom had made it clear to him that the dance was non-negotiable. Either
he talked to me then or he waited until after the dance. The government waited
for no one, but apparently they were okay with compromise.

“I was worried about you.” Alex ran
his thumb on my cheek. “Are you going to be okay? That looks like a nasty gash
on your head.” His other hand rubbed up and down my back, sending tingles dancing
over my skin. It was helping to erase the adrenaline-based fear I’d felt just a
few short hours ago.

“Nah. It was just a little car
accident.” I rolled my eyes. All those years I thought my mom had been
uninterested in me. Turns out having me with her was the greatest gift she
could have given me. And I wanted to be just like her. “Crisis averted. I hope
you and Becky weren’t too worried.”

“She’ll be fine. We all will. I just
have a feeling we’ll have to get used to a little mystery with you.” Alex
leaned down and laid his lips on mine. I melted into his kiss, thrilled that it
wouldn’t be the beginning of the end. After much cajoling, my mom had agreed to
let me stay for the school year.

“Tabby!” A squeal broke us apart.

“Hey, Becky,” I said, only slightly annoyed
at the new nickname. If that was part of being her best friend, then I could
take it. Alex spun me around and I came face to face with a vision. “Oh my God!
Becks!”

She twirled around, showing off everything
she’d been hiding from the kids at school. No more braids. No more glasses. The
clumsy, awkward girl was replaced by the beauty inside.

“Everyone can see you! Do they know?”

“Know what?” She winked at me. “I
just decided to let my hair down tonight.”

Trent stood next to her, a stupid
smile on his face. I was pretty sure he liked her when she was plain old Becky,
but I could understand why he’d be even a little more excited. The most
beautiful girl in school was with him tonight.

We all had our little secrets. There
was nothing wrong with that.

The band on stage announced their
break. One of the upperclassmen jumped up on stage to DJ for the next twenty
minutes, already pumping out Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake before the older crowd
could run off the dance floor.

“This is the best night ever!” Becky
grabbed my hand and squeezed. “I’m so glad you came to school this year.”

I looked over at my mom and dad, standing
close, but not too close. They were both practiced in the art of deception and
they executed it well. Too bad I could tell all they really wanted was to jump
each other’s bones. It was gross, but made me happy in a twisted way. What kid
didn’t want their mom and dad together?

Alex kissed the top of my head and I
snuggled closer to his chest.

“Yeah, I’m really glad my mom dumped
me off here too. It’s not so bad I guess. Definitely not as exciting as living in
the jungle, but it’ll do.”

I looked around the gym at everyone dancing.
They weren’t the beasts I’d feared so much. They were people, just like me.
Well, maybe not exactly like me…

My greatest adventure was only
beginning.

-end-

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