Blood of a Mermaid Read Online Free Page A

Cape Cod gift shops.
    “I got something for you.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out a small box, carefully wrapped in shiny blue paper with raffia string. “I saw it in Hyannis the other day when I was walking on Main Street with John and Hailey. I thought of you.”
    Kae stared at the package in Shea’s hand, but didn’t reach for the gift. “Oh, it’s pretty. And so shiny blue! Like the ocean’s surface on a sunny day. But Shea, I don’t think paper will last very long underwater.”
    Shea’s face cracked into a wide grin. “That’s just the wrapping, silly.” He placed the box in her hand. “You need to look inside for the gift.”
    “I’ve never heard of wrapping paper,” Kae turned the box slowly around in her hands, the shine of the paper reflecting the light. “It’s so pretty.”
    “You’re supposed to rip it off,” Shea explained, shaking his head. Sometimes he forgot that they came from such different worlds. He showed her how to slide the bow off, and then tore the edge of the paper to get her started.
    It was a small package, and the paper came off fairly quickly once she started to rip it. She stared at the white box. “Oh, it’s lovely. But Shea, cardboard is not much better than paper…”
    He interrupted. “The box isn’t the present.”
    She looked up at him, cocking her head to the side. “Then why did you give it to me? Why give me shiny paper to rip and a box that isn’t a present? I don’t understand.”
    He shifted his weight uncomfortably, feeling slightly foolish. “I don’t know. It’s how we give gifts.” He smiled again. “Just open the box already.”
    Inside was a cuff bracelet of hammered silver, made of five thin distinct strands that rippled across like waves, looking like the undulating surface of the ocean. Kae stared, not saying anything.
    “I saw it and thought of you, leaving on your journey,” Shea stammered, unsure how to gauge her reaction. “You know, the five lines of silver flowing like water, like the five oceans…” His voice trailed off. “You don’t like it?”
    “It’s beautiful,” she whispered, her eyes looking watery.
    “It’s just a bracelet.” He reached over to take it out of the box. “Let’s see if it fits okay.” He slipped the cuff over her wrist and gently squeezed so that it closed snugly against her skin. He trailed his fingers up to her elbow and leaned his forehead against hers. “It’s so you don’t forget me while we’re apart.”
    “Oh, Shea…” Her voice was still a mere whisper. “I won’t forget you.”
    He suddenly straightened. “Speaking of forgetting! Hailey’s in the kitchen, and she was just telling me her family’s leaving Cape Cod on a trip, too. What am I going to do with myself with both of you gone? The whole rest of the summer is going to suck so hard. I’ll be bored out of my mind!”
    Kae was still staring at her new bracelet. She finally looked up and frowned. “How long is she staying? You and I need to talk.”
    He cocked his head to one side, a slight flurry of panic twirling in his belly. Talk? What do we need to talk about? He tamped down on the uncertainty and refocused. “We have no secrets from Hailey. Remember? She already knows everything.” He reached out to take her hand. “Come on, she’s waiting in the kitchen.”
    “She doesn’t know everything,” Kae muttered, shaking her head, but followed him down the hall to the kitchen.
    Hailey was sitting on the floor, scratching the top of Lucky’s head. She looked up as the mermaid entered the room. “Kae! It’s so good to see you.” Her words were welcoming but her smile looked less than genuine.
    “Hailey. Why am I not surprised to find you here?” Kae’s smile matched Hailey’s in its insincerity.
    Shea felt the tension level in the room start to rise, and put a hand on Kae’s arm to try to bring it down a notch. “Maybe because I told you she was here?”
    “She’s always here,” Kae countered,