Tags:
Fantasy,
Paranormal,
California,
romantic suspense,
Love Story,
young adult romance,
mermaid,
fantasy romance,
supernatural romance,
first love,
Mermaids,
surfing,
mermaid romance,
teen girl series
everything he got that I was embarrassed when my
father called on his connections in order to get me enrolled after
the deadline.
I wouldn’t be eighteen until January, and
once I was, no one had any say in our plans but us. Those eight
months stretched out before us like an eternity.
The next morning I woke at dawn, eager to get
to Ethan. I wanted to tell him about the meeting with the council,
and what we planned to say. I needed reassurance that everything
was going to be okay. I dressed in a hurry and found Abby in the
kitchen, reading the paper.
“Good morning honey! How was the prom?”
“It was alright,” I said, “How are you
feeling this morning?”
Abby smiled as she stroked her pregnant
belly, “I’m good, just a little more tired than usual. I’m sorry I
didn’t stay up to see you get in, Cruz told me that Evie came by to
take you all out. That was sure nice of her.”
“Yeah… nice,” I said. I hoped Ethan was over
it by now.
“Do you want to go with me to the farmer’s
market?” she asked.
I smiled, “I was just on my way there.”
She got up to get ready, pressing her hand on
the small of her back. I offered to drive, and when we got to the
market we went our separate ways, agreeing to meet up later. I made
a bee line for Ethan’s booth, disappointed to see his friend Long
standing there with him.
Long was the grandson of Lue Khang, Ethan’s
employer and my confidant. A wise and kind man, Lue seemed to know
all about the mermaid’s presence and my connection to them. His
Hmong beliefs considered them to be part of the natural world– he
thought I was good luck. His grandson didn’t see things that way at
all. Long viewed me with suspicion and fear, believing that I was
using supernatural powers to manipulate and control Ethan. Little
did he know, somewhere deep down inside, I was afraid of the same
thing.
I slowed my pace and approached them
cautiously. They were engrossed in an intense conversation and
didn’t notice me until I came right up to them. When they looked up
at me both of their faces were serious, clouded over and
unhappy.
“What happened?” I asked, looking back and
forth between them, suddenly alarmed.
“I gotta go,” said Long. He walked away,
taking care to avoid me.
“Come here,” Ethan said, walking to the back
of his stand to meet me with open arms. He wrapped himself around
me, clinging to me tightly. He seemed even more in need of a hug
than I was.
“Uhm, no pun intended, but why the long
face?” I asked, pulling back to look up into his eyes.
“We just got some really bad news. There’s a
problem with Lue’s land,” he said unhappily, “Apparently the
government’s seizing it and there’s nothing we can do about
it.”
“What?” I was confused, “I thought he owned
it.”
“He does,” he said grimly. “But we just found
out that they can still take it from him. They just have to
say it’s for the public good. If they prove it’ll be put to a
better use they can force him to sell it to someone else.”
“But that’s crazy!” I exclaimed, “What better
use?”
He looked angry, “There’s a developer that
has plans for a seaside resort and golf course.” He snorted
bitterly, “They call it ‘eminent domain’. Our congressman wants the
tax dollars it’ll bring in.”
“Your land too?” I asked, horrified. It was
everything he’d been working so hard for. It was his future– our
future. I had seen his house…
“Everything,” he said with a sorrowful shake
of his head, “Including the fields on either side of Lue’s.”
I stood rooted to the spot, stunned, as he
turned to help a customer. Ethan’s land meant everything to him– it
was his stake in the ground, something permanent in a world where
the rug could be pulled out from under you at any minute. I thought
about the injustice of it and started to feel a familiar flicker of
anger welling up inside of me. I began pacing back and forth. When
Ethan
Robert Chazz Chute, Holly Pop