In Over Her Head

by Judi Fennell

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  “They obviously didn’t carry out the punishment for turning me.”

  “Not for lack of trying. Nigel and Henri had it in for me but good.”

  “So what happened?”

  “My father.”

  “Fisher?”

  He smiled. “Yeah. My father. I couldn’t believe it, but he was working on my side the whole time.”

  “What do you mean?” She inched forward on the edge of the desk so her legs brushed his jeans.

  “My gods, Erica, I misjudged him. All these years.”

  He stood up, raked his hands through his hair, and paced.

  “He didn’t have it in for me. He was trying to toughen me up, make me stronger, hardier.”

  “For what? You handled yourself in the ocean well enough.” And on land, too, now that she allowed the memories to come back full force. He was here!

  “It has to do with my birth order and not being Immortal.” He sat back in the chair and explained that Fisher had been raising him to be tough, to train him to be able to handle a challenge so magnificent, so dangerous, that he’d earn a chance for Immortality.

  “But what about your sisters? Why didn’t he do the same for them?” She hopped off the edge of the desk and shifted to his lap, linking her hands around his shoulders. Dear God, he was here and she wasn’t going to miss one more minute of being with him. He wrapped his arms around her waist. “The women in our line live forever, but only the oldest male.”

  “So your father knew he was going to have to watch you die some day, and he was trying to help you all along?”

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  “Yeah. Who knew?”

  “Why didn’t you?” His eyes were still that sparkling, twirling green. The soft green. Like on the island.

  “The Immortality clause isn’t something The Council wants to advertise. There’d be hundreds of guys out looking for sea monsters or creating trouble all in the hopes of fixing things to live forever. My father couldn’t even tell me.”

  “So why did he now?” The dimple in his right cheek flickered. She wanted to see it again. And the other one.

  “Because I earned it.”

  “What?”

  “I earned Immortality.” And there were both of his dimples.

  “So… you’ll live forever?”

  “I would,” the smile faded, and his eyes grew darker,

  “… if I hadn’t turned it down.”

  “Okay, now you’ve lost me. Turned it down? Why would you turn Immortality down?”

  “Why do you think?” He cupped her cheek. “I wouldn’t want to live forever without you, Erica. I’ve barely survived this past moon. If Ernie hadn’t spotted you and reported back, I would have gone crazy wondering if you’d made it out alive.” He cupped her other cheek. “I told you I loved you. I’ve never said that to any woman. I meant it.”

  “And I love you, Reel. I didn’t have the chance to tell you before—”

  He kissed her and she fell, turning, spinning, tumbling into bliss. He was alive, he loved her, he didn’t want to live without her…

  And he had legs.

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  Minutes, or maybe it was hours, later, with shaky breaths and even shakier knees, they separated, just enough to let a breeze between them. She wasn’t letting go. Not now. Not ever.

  “So how did you end up here? With legs? And why did you get a tail in the first place?” She ran a hand over his cheek while he linked both of his behind her neck.

  “One question at a time, sweetheart. It turns out that the reason I got the tail was because of what I did to save you when we were in that glass prison cell with Kraken. Remember when I pushed you away—”

  “Shoved, tossed, threw… you didn’t push.”

  “Whatever. It was to get you away from him. I was going to face him—to the death if necessary—to give you as much of a chance as possible to escape. Apparently that was an act noble enough to do the trick for Poseidon. He was the one who gave me the tail.”

  “But now you don’t have it.”

  “Right. As you can imagine, there was a bit of a to-do with The Council when I returned without you. Nigel crying foul because I’d broken their orders and set you free… Charley listing the events of our ordeal… my father stumping for Immortal status for me… I finally had to get the octopi to expel some ink to get their attention.” His dimples deepened. “It was quite funny, actually. That stuff doesn’t wash off scales easily. Anyway, I got their attention, thanked Charley and my father for their support, told Nigel to stick an urchin in it, and that, while I appreciated the Immortality bit, I respectfully declined.”

  She gasped and he put his fingertips to her lips. He didn’t take them away.

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  “That, while Immortality was nice, it couldn’t make up for losing you, and that I wanted to leave the sea to live the rest of my mortal life with you. So, I left, dried out the tail, and, well, once I’m out of saltwater for two consecutive sunsets, the tail can’t come back.”

  She shook his fingers away. “But we were on that island for two nights. Yet your tail still came back.”

  He traced her cheek, slipping a strand of hair behind her ear. “Not nights, sweetheart. Sunsets. The actual setting of the sun. If you remember, we arrived on that island after the sun had set, so that didn’t count. It was the second night that was our first sunset.”

  How well she remembered that second night…

  “But you’ve given up everything—your home, your way of life, your family. You’ll never see them again—”

  He put his fingers back on her lips—and she let them remain. “Ssh, Erica. I haven’t given up as much as you think. One of the perks of being descended from a god is that my lungs will always be receptive to breathing water, and I can still kiss that ability into you just like before. I can go home any time I want. But I don’t want to live there. Not without you, and your life is here.”

  She kissed his fingers then laced hers between them, bringing their joined hands to her heart. “But what about the stories you told me of Mers not making it on land?

  Reel, I don’t want to see you beach yourself—”

  “You forgot the rest of what I told you. That it’d be impossible to successfully live among Humans unless I had help from one. I’m assuming that declaration of love means you’re willing to help me, right?”

  “Hell, yeah!” She flung her arms around his neck, kissing every part of his face.

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  Laughing, he leaned her back. “Love the enthusiasm, sweetheart, as much as I love you.” He proved it quite nicely with another kiss before resting his forehead against hers. “And I also love the fact that we have The Council’s blessing.”

  “We do?” She pulled back in surprise.

  “Yep. They figured the best way to keep other Humans from finding The Vault was to make sure one of our kind was topside, directing them away from the area.”

  “Topside?”

  “You know, if you teach me how to operate a boat, I’m sure I can handle the sea part for any charters you’d like to take out. Oh, and the price on your head has been dropped. Matter of fact, my father decided that his daughter-in-law should fall under the family’s protection so he’ll be able to see his grandkids. Feel free to hit the surf any time you want, sweetheart. How do you feel about a honeymoon in Bermuda?”

  “Daughter-in-law? Grandkids? Bermuda?”

  He lifted her hand with the actinia. “We
ll, sure. Did you forget what this little guy represents?”

  “No, no I haven’t. But aren’t you getting ahead of yourself just a bit? I mean, sure, you can talk to fish and probably know this part of the sea better than any of the guys out there,” she motioned to the dock, “but kids?

  Are they even possible?”

  “You were with me on the island, right?” His dimple winked in his cheek and she blushed.

  “Yes.”

  “Then I don’t understand the question. According to my high-school health teachers, what we did was definitely the way to make babies. Matter of fact, didn’t we discuss that?”

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  She punched his arm. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. Can we have children? You and me? The Human/Mer thing?”

  “Ah.” Reel nodded and eased her against him where a certain part of his anatomy had decided to pay attention to the conversation. “Sweetheart, I’ve told you that we aren’t as different as you think. We most certainly can make children together. And they’ll have the best of both worlds.”

  Erica stroked his jaw, loving the feel of his skin against hers after all those days—and nights—apart.

  “The best of both worlds. That sounds great, Reel, for them and for us. But…”

  He raised her chin with a finger. “But what?”

  Erica had to hide her smile. “What makes you think you’re qualified for the husband part?”

  “Qualified?” He growled, his eyes narrowing as he bent her back over his arm. “You want to see my qualifications? I’ll give you my qualifications—”

  And he did.

  For a very long time.

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  Epilogue

  THE BRASS RING glided over the sleek gray surface of the water. Joey rode on the bow, feeling like the king of the world.

  Who’d have thought six months ago when he’d tried to fake his own death at sea that he’d find a diamond mine instead? That those stones that had floated by on the back of some gelatinous sea creature would be his way to pay off the debt to the casino and get those guys off his back. Not to mention lay claim to all the riches there were to be found. But he’d been too excited to write down the coordinates as he’d turned the boat back to shore, altering the plans he’d already set in motion for his “death.”

  He’d been on that damn phone the entire ride back and forgotten. That had been his first mistake. The second had been Erica.

  Well, the hell with sissy little Erica Peck and those diamonds she’d thrown overboard—again. He’d found a guide who knew the North Atlantic as if he’d been raised on it. The man even knew of the kimberlite vein and was more than happy to take Joey there. A partnership of sorts. And it’d cost him a lot less than he’d ever imagined. He was counting his riches in his head when the man, Nigel, stepped out of the bridge.

  “We’re here.” The man took off his shoddy glasses. Joey glanced around. Nothing but sea. No one would ever find this place. He was going to be so freakin’ rich. InOverHerHead.indd 341

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  “Well then, Nigel, I suggest you get in the water and find those diamonds I’m paying you for.”

  “Aren’t you going to join me? Don’t you want to see them for yourself? Trust me, you won’t believe what you see.”

  Joey thought about it for a moment. It’d be interesting to see this treasure trove again. He’d write the coordinates down first, though. Hell, maybe he’d get rid of Nigel and mine it alone. Anything for more profit. “Good idea. I’ll suit up.”

  Nigel just shrugged and waited by the dive platform. Joey let Nigel dive first—no sense taking any risk that the guide would leave him stranded. After all, a diamond mine was a hell of an incentive for murder. He should know.

  The cold waters closed over his head as he adjusted his regulator, the mask giving him a window into the undersea world.

  Nigel swam beside him, no wet suit, which Joey found odd, but then, men of the sea often had their own way of doing things. Nigel adjusted his regulator. There seemed to be a problem with it because no bubbles rose from it. Joey shrugged. A few minutes of that, and his plan would be a whole lot easier. As long as the man showed him the kimberlite pipe first.

  He raised his arms in a question then followed Nigel’s finger as it pointed to a large tube-like structure rising from the ocean floor.

  Mesmerized, Joey swam toward it. The diamonds were within his reach. So many riches, he couldn’t count. What he’d buy with the money…

  Images flashed before his eyes… Monte Carlo, Vegas…

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  Nigel swam beside him. Still no bubbles. Well, that was odd. How was the man breathing?

  Joey turned his head to ask him and did a double take. He could not have seen what he thought he’d seen. He slowed, the lure of the diamonds not as strong anymore, and turned to look at Nigel.

  Nigel, who had a grin as wide as his boat. Nigel, who’d removed the regulator and dropped his tank to the bottom of the ocean.

  Nigel, who had a tail.

  What the—?

  Before he had a chance to take it all in, to figure out what it meant, another tailed creature swam into the picture. This one with flowing white hair and a…

  trident? It couldn’t be…

  Another, looking like some freak out of Norse mythology, but instead of Viking horns, the guy had a tail. And another fish-eyed guy. And another, and another…

  They all had tails.

  Including the woman swimming up from the bottom like a bat out of Hell.

  Shit. She had two.

  That description later turned out to be true, as The Council decided that Ceto needed someone to keep her occupied, and Joey needed to be occupied. It was a match made in… well, if not Heaven, it wasn’t quite Hell. At least… not for Ceto.

  ~Fin~

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  Author’s Note

  Peck Beach is an historic reference to an island town on the southern New Jersey coast, so named after whaler, John Peck, who plied his trade there. It was renamed in November, 1879 as Ocean City.

  I may have taken liberties with the name and parts of Ocean City for this story, but the SS Minnow really does exist. An old ferro-cement-hulled lobster boat sunk by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department as part of the artificial reef program, recent attempts to locate it have been unsuccessful. But it was so perfectly named (I’m a huge fan of 60s sitcoms), that I just had to include it in this story.

  My family and I go down the shore for a week each year, walking the boards at night and venturing into the water during the day. However, ever since I saw JAWS, I tend to have a running commentary with myself while in the ocean. So, if you ever come upon a woman having a one-way conversation about fish in three feet of water, you might want to introduce yourself. Chances are it’s me.

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  Acknowledgments

  Most aspiring-to-publication authors I know have written the acknowledgement for their first book long before they become published. I was not one of them. I write paranormal; I didn’t want to jinx it.

  Thank you to:

  Sue Grimshaw, without whom this book would not exist. Sue, you will forever have my gratitude and a special place in my heart. To my agent, Jennifer Schober, for loving the Johnny Depp line; my editor, Deb Werksman, for wanting this to work for us; Dominique Raccah for the trilogy; Danielle Jackson, for getting the word out, and EVERYONE at Sourcebooks (the cover rocks!). Stephanie Julian, the ladies of VFRW
(* vbg to Sharyn Cerniglia for her generosity), and the SoonToBes for making me dig (swim?) deep enough to get this story on paper and celebrating with me every step of the way. To the LIRW and NJRW chapters for the great meetings!

  All my fellow American Title III finalists, including humorist extraordinaire, Jenny Gardiner. The staff at Romantic Times BOOKreviews Magazine for the American Title Contest and the promo during “that other”

  contest—not to mention having such kick-ass conventions!

  The Hicken and Spleen contingent: Pat, Beth, Lisa, Jamie, Dale, Ken, Dave, John, Sia, Brenda, Wendy, Viv, Ian, Sy, Jill, James, Dana, Beaker, and all the rest who’ve been through the trenches. There’s a “special”

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  word in the story just for the ‘bats! To Gather.com for the First Chapters Contests, and all the readers who loved this story and let me know: it keeps me writing. A hug as wide as the Atlantic Ocean to artist, Emerald de Leeuw, for A Merman’s Kiss. You took a chance on an unknown and I hope your generosity comes back to you a hundredfold!

  All the amazing authors who took time from their deadlines to read this story. To my Survivor Tribe: Michelle, Lisa, Janice, Donna, Joanne, and Jenny for keeping me sane. To KB who will always be remembered, and who’s “up there” acting as my guardian angel. To the ladies (and Bob) from the Philly AHC

  (shout-out to Val and Susan!), the guys (and ladies) from BHL, the Sigma Chi chapter and alumni at Penn State, my neighbors, my relatives’ neighbors, and everyone who voted in the online contests. For the Greek help: Beth Szabo and her daughter, Deanna; Bryn Chapman, Chrisoula Randas Perdziola, Libby McCord and Stathis Amarantides.

  Steven Spielberg, Peter Benchley, and Disney for the inspiration for this story. JAWS ruined the ocean for me and The Little Mermaid gave it back. Mom and Dad, for your support in “this writing thing”; my grandmother, my first reader; my sister and her family for keeping the eye-rolling to a minimum; and my brother for getting excited when he realized there was a book coming out of this.

  My children, for whom the words, “Don’t bother Mom, she’s writing her book,” are normal—poor things don’t know any better. Thanks for being you, for making me laugh everyday, for keeping the grumbling to a InOverHerHead.indd 346