dagger is so much more significant than the missing ring.
12
Brielle
I have mixed feelings about the Fourth of July. Both Dad and Olivia are going to be there, and that can’t mean good things for Jake and me, but I don’t want to deal with them alone, so I drag Jake along.
And Canaan.
And since Olivia is going, Helene decides she’ll get some sun as well. The first time I met Helene, she was yanking me out of a warehouse full of abducted children and tucking me beneath her wings. Like Canaan, she’s assigned to Stratus. Assigned to me.
Marco’s also a reluctant participant in the Independence Day festivities.
“I’m not really a sunshine kind of guy,” he says.
Cue every vampire joke I can come up with—and I’ve read all the books, seen all the movies. Eventually I shame Marco into getting some sun.
Jake hauls him down to Main Street to grab some sunblock and a pair of shorts—something that takes them far longer than is reasonable in any city, big or small. I wait outside, sitting on Slugger’s hood in a pair of shorts and a Bohemian-looking swimsuit cover-up. I’ve also got the halo on my wrist. It’s a ridiculous-looking thing to wear to the lake, and I fully expect Dad to give me grief, but I’m determined to nap in the sun today, and I’ll do whatever it takes to stave off those nightmares.
It’s another fifteen minutes before Jake and Marco make their way to the car. I’m tempted to make fun of them—call them girls or something—but they look like they’re bonding, and Marco needs that. I huddle them into the car and drive up a block to Jelly’s to meet the rest of our party.
Jelly’s is an old diner of the greasy spoon variety. A giant grape jelly jar sitting atop its stainless steel structure is the first thing you see when driving onto Main Street. Neon purple lights spell out Jelly’s on the jar and run like racing stripes around the center of the building. When Kaylee’s not at the community center, she’s here helping her Aunt Delia, who owns the place.
I pull Slugger up to the curb, just feet away from Canaan and Helene. The two Shields sit side by side on a weathered wooden bench outside the diner. Canaan, with his broad shoulders and chiseled jaw, one leg crossed over the other; Helene, a lovely heart-shaped face framed by auburn hair, her hands resting gently on her knees. So different, but with so much in common. There’s the obvious, those striking silver eyes, but it’s more than that. It’s the look on their faces as they converse. It’s that incorrigible interest they have in every single interaction. I watch as they talk, their heads bent close, their lips moving intently. It’s like they understand the gravity of the present. That every moment has meaning.
Jake opens my door and offers his hand. “You all right there?”
“Just daydreaming.”
Our flip-flops smack the pavement, pulling the angels from their counsel.
“Marco, this is Helene,” Jake says. “She and Canaan go way back.”
“Yeah, we’ve met, haven’t we?” Marco steps onto the curb and takes her hand, his eyes lingering on the connection. “When I was here before? Or wait. No . . .”
Helene slides her dainty hand away, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re from Portland, right?”
“Born and raised,” Marco says.
“I’ve spent some time there. We could have run into one another.”
“Huh.” Marco tilts his head, blinking at her like she’s too bright, or like he’s got something stuck in his eye.
She turns to me, unfazed by the awkwardness. “Where’s your dad?”
“Picking up Olivia.” I don’t make a face or growl when I say her name. In fact, I do my very best to keep my irritation to myself. “They’ll meet us there.”
“And you know where we’re going?” Canaan asks.
“Not the foggiest. We’re following these guys,” I say, gesturing to the comedy act making their way onto Main.
Kaylee has tugged Delia out of the diner and locked the door behind her. “Don’t even think about it!”
“This might be one of them times when waving a white flag is your best option,” Delia says, screwing her sunhat in place.
“Not a chance,” Kaylee says. “You’re going.”
“Humph. You think I’m a difficult boss, you just wait. I’m going to make one needy sunbather.”
“Fine. Be needy, but you’re coming.” Kaylee gets behind her and pushes Delia toward our circle.
“Oh, you unleashed it now, girl. I’m talking little umbrella drinks and foot rubs and .