It was getting late, so I motioned for Mitch to follow me back to the lagoon. She wasn’t happy about it, but came anyway. Jallia was swimming near the gate, her agitation obvious. She was close to calving again and wouldn’t leave the rest of her adopted pod. I kissed Mitch goodbye and unlocked the gate for her to go back into the protected areas. Jallia swam out and nuzzled my side, her mothering instincts in full gear as she checked me over. Patiently, I held out my arms and let her see that I was okay. Once she was satisfied, she nuzzled my face and I ran my hands down her back. My fingers lingered at the fullness of her belly and I smiled. I wasn’t really sure how it worked, and neither was Mom or Dad, but I could sense the tiny dolphin growing inside of Jallia. It would be the dolphin’s first son and we were all excited.

I whistled reassurances as she twisted to look at me. I hoped she would birth at night so I could be in the water with her and help. Otherwise, it would be too dangerous for me to assist while in my mer-form. Mitch made irritated noises from inside of the pen and Jallia admonished her in turn. I couldn’t help the bubble of laughter that came while watching them. Jallia gave me a playful shove before darting back into the pen, arguing with Mitch. I checked the lock and headed back for my quiet beach.

I surfaced slowly, loathe to leave the water but tired enough to want my bed. My eyes closed and I concentrated on the change. It was harder when I was this tired, but the sooner I was finished, the sooner I could hit the hay. My teal scales slowly disappeared as my legs split. My long turquoise flukes shrank and were replaced with feet. I looked down at my human toes and sighed. I’d have to repaint my toenails before work tomorrow. They glimmered in the moonlight, the same color as my scales. My fingernails never lost their paint when I changed, because my hands stayed the same. I only had to repaint those as often as they chipped. I looked at my hands and cussed under my breath. All the cleaning had eaten a lot of that nail polish off too.

I gathered the last of my energy and dragged myself back up to the beach where I had left my clothes. I threw my shirt and shorts back on and slid my feet into the flip-flops. I could see better, smell better, and was stronger than most humans my size, but my feet were incredibly tender. The only time you would catch me without shoes was in the water or in the sand.

When I got back to the small bungalow I shared with my parents, I smiled at the music drifting out the open windows and door. Mom was listening to her favorite eighties hair band again, which must mean she was cleaning. Dad was much more likely to be listening to Jimmy Buffett. I always gave him a hard time for fitting the stereotype of living in the Bahamas and he pretended to be offended. It was our longtime joke. Shaking the sand out of my shoes, I threw them into the box near the door and immediately grabbed my house slippers from just inside. I jumped over the vacuum cord and hugged Mom from behind.

“Hey, sweetheart!” She turned her head and kissed my cheek.

“Hey, Mom. Any food left?” I headed for the kitchen and opened the fridge.

“Some spaghetti and cheese bread. Sorry we didn’t wait for you.”

“Nah, that’s okay. I needed a good swim.” Grabbing a plate out of the cabinet, I spooned a heaping amount of food on my plate and sat down at the counter.

“You’re not going to heat it up?” Mom shook her head at me and shut the vacuum off.

“Nah. Too hungry, too tired.” I slurped a noodle into my mouth and sighed. “Plus, it’s good like this.”

“Okay. If you’re happy, I’m happy.” She ruffled my hair before getting us both a bottle of water to drink. “So, how did the new recruits do today?”

“Meh.” I shrugged and ripped off a hunk of cheese bread. “Okay, I guess. There are a couple that are really lazy. A couple of smart-mouths.”

“So, same old, same old?” She sat on the stool across from me and smiled.

“Yeah. There was a late guy too.” I frowned at my dinner. Blake’s cocky smile had haunted me through my swim. I wasn’t really sure why he got under my skin so much.

“Oh, yeah? What did Dad say?”

“He sent him to clean out the sea lion pens.” I smiled while Mom laughed. That was one of the worst tasks you could get. Especially on your first day.

“Well, you know how your dad feels about being punctual.” Mom smiled and looked past my shoulder.

“What’s that about me?” Dad kissed the top of my head and pulled the pan of spaghetti over to him. Using the spatula, he scooped some of the food into his mouth.

“You had the late guy clean out the pens.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Did you go check behind him? He left really late.”

“Mmhmm. I did. He cleaned all three.”

“All three?” I looked at Dad, surprised. “No wonder he left so late.”

“Did a damn good job, too.” He smiled. “I have to admit I was surprised when I heard his name.”

“Violet knew who he was too.” I frowned at my parents. I hated feeling like I was out of the loop.

“Weathering. His family owns most of the hotels on the island. Met his dad once but wasn’t impressed.” He pushed the pan back to my mom, who covered it with the plastic lid. “He was a scary guy. Big fancy car, suit, cell phone attached to his ear the whole time, ignoring the little guy next to him that was trying to show him a picture he had drawn. Well, he’s not so little anymore, huh? Kid’s taller than I am.”

“Huh.” I grabbed my empty plate and took it to the sink. That picture didn’t really mesh up well with the cocky guy on the motorcycle.

“Don’t be too hard on him, Meena. Despite the fancy digs and clothes, I don’t think his life has been a bed of roses. Maybe this will be his chance to see what a real family should be like.” Dad came behind me and squeezed my shoulders. “Go get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be another long one. Got to get as much work out of those kids as I can early on. They always start slacking after the first week.”

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at my dad, even though I loved him to death. If you didn’t know his insane obsession with being on time, you would think he was a born islander. All love and be loved. “Night, guys. Love you.”

“Love you too!” They chorused. I looked over my shoulder to see them smiling at each other. I knew I was lucky that my parents were still in love, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t grossed out by their moments. I made a gagging noise and they laughed.

My bedroom was at the end of a short hallway, next to the guest bathroom. It wasn’t large but had a great view of the ocean. A quick shower, old pajamas, and I was ready for bed. I kicked off my slippers and was out almost immediately.

Chapter Three

- Blake-

The whine of my alarm made me sit up in bed. I slammed my palm down on the snooze button and tried to remember why the hell I was awake so early. Looking around my room in confusion, I noticed the dirty clothes sitting on the floor next to my closet. I groaned and scrubbed my eyes with the palms of my hands. Another day of community service and I didn’t want to be late again. I’d had meetings with Dad twice last week, and each of them had run over. I’d be damned if I gave the owner’s daughter a reason to look at me like I was a piece of crap again. I’d been stuck mucking drains and fixing plumbing in the bathrooms. Every time I came out stinking like crap, she would smirk and flounce away.

Of course, I had insulted her family’s business, so I might deserve a little shit. I groaned and wondered why it bothered me so much. She was pretty, but I’d dated pretty and it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Maybe it was the instant fire in her eyes? Or the way she worked just as hard as everyone else. Shaking my head, I stood up and stretched. Nothing mattered right now except getting clean and finding some food. Since I hadn’t showered the night before, I could smell myself and that became my top priority. I shoved the door open to my bathroom and almost tripped on the rug.

“Damn it!” I kicked at the stupid mat my mom had picked out before she went back to France and turned on the shower. It was warm almost immediately, so I jumped in and turned on the extra shower head. The shower was probably going to be the best part of my day, so I decided to enjoy it.

Once my stomach started growling, I cut the water off and hopped out. I dried off, brushed my teeth, and dug around in my closet for clothes. For the last week I had been scrubbing tanks, hauling shrubbery, and trying to stay out of Meena’s way. I grabbed some swim trunks, an old sleeveless T-shirt, and some flip-flops. I tucked my wallet and bike keys into my pocket and stuck my sunglasses on my head.

As I jogged down the stairs, I could hear voices in the kitchen and almost decided to forgo breakfast. I could hear Vincent and his friend Liv arguing over the last grapefruit. They had been best friends since they both wore diapers. I wished I’d thought to bring my iPod; I could have ignored them both. My stomach growled again and I checked the time on my cell phone. There wasn’t enough time to hit town for some food, so I’d just have to suck it up and grab something here.

I pushed through the door and frowned at Liv. She was sitting on the counter in a pair of Vincent’s ridiculous pajamas and waved at me like a lunatic.

“Get your ass off the counter. We put our food there.” I opened the pantry and grabbed a box of cereal.

“I’ve got pants on.” She flipped me the bird and I chuckled. It was kind of hard to take the tiny girl seriously when she had her hair in pigtails and looked like she belonged in middle school.

“They aren’t your pants.” I poured milk on my cereal and checked the time on the microwave.

“They look better on her than on me.” Vincent frowned in my direction. “What the hell are you doing up so early?”

“Gotta be at the sanctuary.” I shoved a mouthful of chocolate puffs into my mouth and wished I’d skipped breakfast. Reminding Vincent about my community service wasn’t going to make anyone happy.

“I wish you’d let me do it for you.” He picked his bowl up and set it in the sink. Apparently he and Liv had decided to split the grapefruit.

“It’s not that bad.” Not wanting to see his guilty expression, I put the cereal back in the pantry.

“What’s it like? Did you get to play with the dolphins?” Liv hoped off the counter. “I’ve always wanted to swim with the dolphins.”

“All work, no play.” Shaking my head, I dumped my bowl in the sink and headed for the garage.

“Blake.” Vincent followed me but I didn’t want to have this talk. It was done and over. I wouldn’t have changed anything.

“I’ve gotta go, Vince. I can’t be late.” Gritting my teeth, I opened the door and headed for the bike—my freedom.

“I know. I just wanted to say thanks.” He leaned against the door in a ridiculous pair of men’s pajamas.

“Anytime, bro.” I shoved my helmet over my head and then slid my sunglasses on. “Hit the garage-door opener.”

Vincent used his elbow to punch the flat white button and waved over his shoulder as I pulled out. I revved my engine, checked the traffic, and headed out of town.

It was still quiet at the sanctuary when I pulled up and I smiled. I liked it like this, with no one around. I left the bike but brought the helmet with me. I didn’t want someone to swipe it while I was knee-deep in fish crap. Or walrus crap. Hell, it would probably be some type of crap. Especially if Meena had anything to do with it. She had still acted pissed when I saw her the other night. And in a hurry, apparently. I had ignored her obvious attempts to ditch me. Maybe she had been going to meet someone. I’d seen her heading down to that little beach a couple of times over the last week.

My instant irritation surprised me. What did I care if she was seeing someone? I shook my head and kicked at a broken stepping stone. I was out of these damn islands as soon I could get my trust-fund money. Girls were the last thing on my mind. Not that I wasn’t going to enjoy the scenery while I could. It was hard to ignore a girl that looked like Meena. Really hard when she was wearing that tiny bikini top and scrubbing tanks.

Shit. I was thinking about her and she wasn’t even around. Damn bikinis. Maybe I needed to go scrub fish crap. Worry about something more immediate and focus on getting the hell out of here.

“Blake! Over here.” The owner, Ben, waved me toward the toolshed.

“Morning.” Nodding my head, I set my helmet on a shelf in the shed and looked at Ben expectantly. I wanted to just get whatever type of torture I had to do out of the way.

“How are you today?” Ben picked up a rake and looked back at me.

“Um, good.” I looked around the shed and stared at the shovel—my salvation with a metal scoop.

“You look hungry. Have you eaten breakfast?” Ben leaned on his rake and looked me up and down.

“Had some cereal.” I looked from the shovel over to Ben and frowned. Why was he being so friendly? Wasn’t I here to work off my penance?

“That’s not food. C’mon. You’re here early, so you might as well get some good grub.” Ben laughed as he walked past me. “You’re going to need it.”

Not sure what I was about to get into, I followed the older man up to the little cottage on top of a hill. The bungalow overlooked the entire facility and had kick-ass views from every window. Ben kicked his shoes off at the door and I followed suit. It was a little weird to walk around in someone else’s house without shoes on, but the smell of bacon and eggs made me forget about it immediately. When my stomach growled, Ben clapped me on the shoulder and pushed me toward the kitchen.

“Marion! I brought a beggar.” My back stiffened immediately. I wasn’t begging for anyone’s food. Ben seemed to sense my tension, because he turned back and winked once.

Marion turned away from the stove and smiled at me. She was a pretty woman, but I couldn’t help but notice that Meena didn’t favor either of her parents.

“Blake, right? You’re here early.” Grabbing a plate, she turned around and started piling food on it. “Orange juice, milk, or coffee?”

“Coffee, please.” I sat down on the bar stool next to Ben and had to fight to not drum my fingers on the counter. I couldn’t remember the last time my mother made me breakfast. In fact, I wasn’t even sure if our cook was a mother. Did it count if she was and made me breakfast? Marion set a plate in front of me and drool pooled in my mouth. This was real, home-cooked food. Even the stuff our cook made felt fake. Our eggs came with parsley leaves and the bacon was set on toast with fluffy garnishes.