Deep Water Read Online Free Page B

sculpted by her uncle, some sort of local
artist. It’s really rather well done, but I didn’t know you were coming in,
otherwise—”
    Amphitrite gave her a pained look, and Heather
stopped babbling. “Sorry,” she muttered. “ Er , I’ll
just stick it out of sight, then.”
    “No. It’s all right.” The Nereid reached
out, trailing one fingertip over a high cheekbone, a beautifully full lip, a wide,
strong brow. “It doesn’t really look like her, of course,” Amphitrite said
absently. “But then again, that’s hardly surprising. Most people never look
beyond the snakes.”
    Heather noticed her sister avoided the
sinuous shapes that curled around the bust’s head. With a sound she hoped was
supportive and not as grunty as she suspected it
really was, she hefted the bust. “Be a dear and put the kettle on,” she said,
trundling off towards the back of the store.
    Once the bust had been safely stored with
the Halloween decor, she came back and flicked the door’s OPEN sign to CLOSED,
then headed to the tiny office tucked in the building’s front corner. Her curly
red hair and green glasses disappeared, replaced by her true form as the Nereid
Hyacinth.
    Inside the office she saw her electric
kettle, a teapot, a bottle of milk, two mugs carrying the shop’s logo, and a
plate of snickerdoodles already out on her desk, and her sister sitting on the
edge of the visitor’s chair. “You really do need tea, don’t you?”
    “I suppose I do,” Amphitrite said as the
kettle clicked off, wisps of steam rising from its spout. “Or wine, if you have
it.”
    Hyacinth thought about the bottle of Merlot
upstairs in her apartment, and then eyed the clock over the office door. Even
for divine beings, 10 AM was a bit early to start drinking. “Not at the moment,
sorry,” she lied. “Let me just mash this up and we’ll have a nice talk, yes?”
    She busied herself with that, handing her
sister a cup of tea and a cookie. “So, what’s the Earthshaker done now?”
    “Well … nothing,” Amphitrite said slowly.
“Not exactly, anyway. I was at the cove this morning for a therapy session with
Nick, Aidan, and Liam.”
    Once again Hyacinth was impressed by the
breadth of mortal skills her sister had picked up over the millennia. “Nice to
see you using your psychology degree again,” she said over the rim of her cup.
    The other Nereid shrugged. “Afterwards I
went over to the boys’ cottage to ask Aphros about a recipe. Poseidon was there
with Bythos and Ian. I assume they were having some sort of war council.”
    “Did Poseidon say anything to you?”
    “He offered to step out so that I could
speak with Bythos.”
    “And?”
    “That was it.”
    Hyacinth weighed her next words. “Did you want him to say anything else?”
    Amphitrite slumped in her chair. “I
suppose it’s childish of me to want him to grovel every time I see him.”
    “A bit, yes.”
    She nodded gloomily. “We’ve done so well,
avoiding each other. And now we wind up meeting twice in six weeks. I knew it was
possible if I agreed to be Nick’s therapist, but there’s a difference between
knowing something intellectually and actually having it happen to you.”
    “Perhaps the two of you could set up some
sort of schedule so that you don’t have to run into each other?” Hyacinth
suggested.
    Amphitrite’s brows went up. “Custody of
Olympic Cove? That’s a thought. Although I can’t see him holding to it.”
    Hyacinth made a muffled noise of agreement
into her tea. She’d been Poseidon’s sister-in-law long enough to know that he
would ignore an agreement if it suited him. “You’re sure he didn’t say anything
else to you?”
    “No. Just stood there like a
self-important martinet and looked constipated. Although I do think he tried to
smile once. I’m surprised his cheeks didn’t crack.”
    There was nothing useful Hyacinth could
say to that. “Well, why don’t you arrange to meet with Nick, Aidan, and Liam
somewhere