Deep Betrayal Page 0,17

I asked. “What else did I miss?”

Neither of them acknowledged my questions.

“The other option isn’t any better,” Calder said. “If she can’t hear you, your silent approach will mean only one thing to her: that you’ve come to avenge Lily’s death. Maris will understand that. She knows revenge. But how do you think that confrontation is going to end for you?”

“I told you,” Dad said. “I have no choice but to go back, and I can’t allow Lily to go anywhere with you.”

It didn’t seem like Calder was listening to my dad. He was staring down at the table, deep in thought. “I need Lily with me,” he said. “She’s the only thing keeping me …”

Calder hesitated and looked up at Dad. There was a lot more he needed to explain about what Dad’s new merman nature might mean. Neither of us knew what forty years of being landlocked would do to his psyche. Maybe Dad would never suffer emotionally, like other merpeople did. I took Calder’s second of hesitation and made my move.

“Then it’s settled,” I said. Mentally, I licked my finger and made a hash mark in the air. Score: Annoying mermen, zero. Mutant girl, one. “Dad’s going back to Bayfield. He won’t let me go to the Bahamas, and I refuse to stay in Minneapolis. You won’t go anywhere without me. We’re all going back to the lake!”

“This is insanity,” Dad muttered under his breath. “All of it. But Lily’s right, we’re going back. To the Hancocks’, that is. If you intend to join us, Calder, that will be your choice to make.”

Calder scowled at the table and after a few long seconds said, “If you refuse to listen to reason, then you’re not giving me much choice. But, Lily … I’m sorry, but if you insist on going, you have to do something for me.”

“Anything,” I said.

He looked up at me as if he didn’t believe I could do what he was asking. “You have to promise to stay out of the water and close to the house. That is nonnegotiable.”

Dad shook his head slowly, his neck bent toward the table. “Are there any more secrets I should know about? I’d like to get everything out in the open all at once.”

I looked at Calder, whose eyes sparkled with good humor that felt completely out of place. He said, “Maybe now’s a good time to tell your dad about that tattoo.”

8

BAYFIELD

Shortly after we left the pool, Dad developed a sudden and alarming stomachache, so my parents ended up staying in Minneapolis an extra night, which gave me time to pack and say goodbye to Jules and her family.

The next morning, Calder asked if I’d ride with him on the trip north. But when Dad learned how Calder had come by the Buick, he made him put it back where he found it. Immediately.

There was a lot of protesting, bargaining, and attempts to justify the situation. It was actually hilarious. No matter how skilled Calder might think he was in the art of persuasion, he’d be the first guy in the history of the world to convince a dad that felony theft was a good idea.

“If you’re going to be part of this family,” Dad finally said, “there’ll be no more thievery.”

I’m not sure if he picked his words on purpose, but I could see what they meant to Calder, having no family of his own. Ultimately, Calder promised to try.

Unlike Dad, Mom was pleasantly surprised to hear about our meet-up with Calder. I thought she’d have more questions. I mean, it was all a little too serendipitous, wasn’t it? But Calder worked his charms on her better than he’d managed with Dad. No surprise that she was only too happy to have him ride with us up to Bayfield.

The only bad part about the trip was that the backseat was cramped with Sophie, Calder, and me squeezed together, and Dad had his rearview mirror focused on Calder, rather than the road.

Calder’s decision to come back with us had triggered a lovely father-daughter chat the night before. “We’ve got to set some ground rules,” Dad had said.

I hadn’t really cared too much what they were. For me, I was glad to obey as long as I wasn’t in exile anymore, and rules had never mattered much to Calder. I’d leave any rule breaking up to him.

A couple of hours out of the Twin Cities, towns made way for pine trees and the air temperature dropped. Calder rolled