Read Online Surrendering (Swans Landing) by Shana Norris - Free Book Online

the dark room and went back to the kitchen.
    I had just finished a peanut butter sandwich when Lake came into the room. His hair looked like even more of a tangled mess than usual and his eyes were bloodshot. I didn’t want to think about whether he’d been crying. It was too weird.
    Lake cleared his throat. “Let me know if Coral needs anything,” he said, avoiding my gaze. “Or any of you. I’ll do what I can to help.”
    I nodded. “I will.”
    He picked at the edge of the counter with his thumbnail. “I’m really sorry for not letting you stay with Mara and me. But I’m a dad, and one day, when you become one, you’ll understand my position.”
    I nodded. “It’s no problem. I get it.”
    He looked like he wanted to say more, but then he let out a deep breath and nodded. “Okay. I’ll see you later then.”
    He started toward the door, but then I said, “I love her, you know.”
    My neck burned when Lake looked back at me. I dropped my gaze to the crumbs of my sandwich on the plate in front of me. “I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her or anything she didn’t want to do.”
    Lake was silent for a moment, then he said, “I know you wouldn’t, Josh. But what scares me is how much she would want to do with you. I see the way she looks at you and the way you look at her. I know how that feels. And sometimes, when you’re that much in love, you don’t think about the consequences before you act. You don’t think about how hard it might be later.”
    Sadness washed over his face and I wondered if he was really talking about Mara and me, or if he was remembering how he felt with Mara’s mom.
    “I know with the way things are right now and with everything the two of you have gone through, it’s tempting to jump into things because you think there might not be a tomorrow.” Lake sighed. “I just want you to really know what you’re getting into before you act.”
    With that he walked out the door, leaving me picking at the crumbs on my plate.

 
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER TEN
     
    I broke the surface, shaking salt water from my eyes. I looked back to the shore, where a blonde figure still stood.
    “See anything?” I called.
    It was probably useless to shout. The wind whipped hard over the ocean and Dylan didn’t seem as if he could hear my question.
    It would be easier if he would just get into the water. But he refused, despite the fact that Lake had assigned us to swim the area around Pirate’s Cove as part of our watch. It had been suggested that the finfolk could already be here, waiting underwater for the perfect moment to come ashore, whenever that might be. So we were divided into pairs and given areas around the island to search, both ocean and sound sides. None of us thought it was likely that the finfolk would come from the sound, but we wanted to cover all bases just in case.
    Not that we could actually see anything. It was dark and murky in the water. If the finfolk were under there somewhere, they could easily hide.
    A large swell washed over me, submerging me for a moment before I rose above the surface again. The water was too rough. I could barely keep myself from being carried back to shore.
    I had hoped to swim with Mara, since we hadn’t had a chance to swim together in the two days that I’d been back. But Lake had paired me with Dylan instead. Was he intentionally keeping Mara and me from spending too much time alone, or did he just like to torment his daughter’s boyfriend?
    The current tossed me toward shore again before I was able to fight against it and stay near the place where I had surfaced.
    “This is pointless,” I growled as I fought against the crashing waves. We couldn’t keep searching every inch of the ocean. I hadn’t even been out there long and I was already exhausted.
    I sighed as I scanned over the water again. Still nothing. I might as well join Dylan back on the sand.
    Not too far out from the shore, the current became strange. Water pushed at me from