Page 14 of Bewitched By the Siren
I don’t know what it is, but one thing is clear. Even without the stage presence and equipment, Hali sounds like an angel. Even better than that, she sounds like a star.
And once again, I’m hit with the importance of making this deal. My own personal success aside, Hali deserves it. And the music fans of the world deserveher.
I need to come up with some excuses to spend time with her this week. Tonight was great, but I still have a long road ahead to gaining her trust and making her see her own potential. And what potential it is. Discovering and signing Hali Weston would put me on the map. Julius might even make me a partner if I can pull this off.
That thought would usually fill me with nervous excitement, but right now, sitting on this deck in the deep south, a gorgeous woman serenading me with the crash of the ocean as her orchestra?
I feel nothing but easy contentment. Like everything is right in the world.
Like this is right where I’m supposed to be.
CHAPTER TEN
Hali
I takea sip of my morning coffee as I use my free hand to knead my aching lower back muscles. I need a swim. A nice long one. My bath last night didn’t ease the pain in my lower half as much as it usually does, which is a firm indicator that I’ve been out of the ocean for too long.
When was the last time I went out? Three weeks ago?
I huff out a breath. As much as I love swimming free in the sea, I hate it, too. It’s dangerous. Scary as hell. And not just because of the possibility of being spotted by a human.
My mom may have found me beached and abandoned when I was little, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still have birth parents out there scouring the ocean for me. Or others of my kind who would force me to join them in our natural habitat, permanently. Or kill me for living on land among humans and risking exposing our species. Who knows what they’re like? They could be terrible creatures with no empathy for the fact that I’d be leaving Mom here on land, alone and in near-constant pain. She needs me.
The risk is terrifying.
Despite those risks, though, Ihaveto go swimming. I’ve experienced the intense pain of waiting too long or trying to make do with soaks in the tub, and it’s not fun. Not fun at all.
Tonight, then. Under the cover of darkness when I’ll be less likely to be spotted by humans and I can focus on my watery surroundings.
A knock on the door startles me, and I slosh some hot coffee over the hand wrapped around my mug. Gritting out a curse, I set the cup down and rinse my hand with cold water before drying it. Turning toward the door, I take a deep breath. The only people who come here this early are Mom’s nurses, and we’re not scheduled for any in-home care today.
So, that means it can only be one person. Releasing the breath, I walk over and open the door to see Brendan standing on my porch, the handle of a mid-sized picnic basket hooked over the crook of one arm and a rolled-up blanket tucked under the other. He offers me a happy grin when I meet his eyes.
“Good morning,” he says. “I was just about to have breakfast on the beach and thought you might like to join me. I used the leftover tortillas from last night to make bacon, egg, and cheese burritos, and I have coffee and juice.”
“Hali, who is it?”
I panic as Mom’s voice rings out from her bedroom, and I close the door to just a crack before saying, “Thanks, but I can’t right now.”
The curious expression he donned at my mother’s voice falls into a kind smile before he says, “Okay. If you change your mind, I’ll be right down there.”
He jerks his head toward the back of the house, indicating the blank swath of sand that leads to the ocean. I nod, and he smiles again before spinning and jogging down the steps. I close the door quietly and lean back against it, taking a few deep breaths.
Brendan is charming as hell. And that feels…dangerous.
“Hali?” Mom calls out, and I push off the door to head into her room. She cocks her head when I walk in, asking, “Who was it?”
“Brendan,” I sigh, plopping down into the chair next to her bed. “He invited me to have breakfast burritos with him on the beach.”
She stares at me for a moment, then asks, “So, why are you in here with me?”
“Mom,” I gripe.
“Seriously, Hals. You should go. Have some fun. Your entire life can’t revolve around taking care of me. That’s no life, at all.”
“I have a life,” I argue. “I have the turtle rescue.”
“Where youtake careof sea turtles. What about taking care of yourself?”
