The Accidental Mermaid (Accidentally Paranormal Series Book 16)

by Dakota Cassidy

  This one’s for you, Grandpa, she thought before the wave came at her with the force of a tornado. Balling her fists—both her fists, Esther responded with some primal instinct.

  She’d never be able to explain how she knew to do it just the way she did—or even how she’d managed to summon the power to do so while she bled and her body ached with agonizing stings to all her muscles. She couldn’t even explain how she knew if she didn’t do something at that very moment, Tucker would die either way. If Jessica slammed him down against the water, she’d crush him, and Esther wasn’t going to let that happen.

  But by God, this woman had killed her uncle to climb some damn corporate ladder, and with that angry thought behind her next move, she let her hands go. Just threw them out into the cold night air, aiming directly for Jessica.

  The thunderous whoosh emitting from her hands took her by surprise. The power with which she threw her hands rolled like a bowling ball, gaining speed, roaring, rolling, screaming through the air and hitting Jessica square in the face. Her hands let go of Tucker, and as he fell to the water, Jessica crumpled, deflating much like a balloon, her body flailing as she hit the water with a loud splash.

  Esther ducked under the madness she’d created, back into the water to race toward Tucker.

  “Go left, Little Fish!” She heard Nina yell from somewhere far off, just as she reached Tucker and threw herself under his falling body.

  There was a brief flash of Nina’s face, her hair plastered to her head, moments before she rushed up underneath both of them and lobbed them at the shore in a rush of water, where they landed side by side, sprawled out on the grass beside—of all surprises—Chester, who Darnell knelt to help up.

  Reaching out, she felt for Tucker’s hand, prayed he’d grasp hers.

  And when his fingers wrapped around her hand, she whispered, “Thank God.”

  Instantly, he popped up, his handsome profile filled with worry as he turned to her and cupped her cheek. “Are you okay? Jesus, Esther! You scared the hell out of me. Don’t do that ever again. Please don’t do that ever again.”

  She chuckled. Weakly, because, you know…bleeding. “Unskilled my eye,” she teased as his lips grazed hers, and even in her sorry state, she was instantly warmed by his mouth on hers.

  “And I liked your shoes, you heathen!” Marty yelled, making Esther pop up next to Tucker to find the werewolf had Jessica by the tail, dragging her toward the picnic table and slamming her face down on the ground.

  “Marty!” she heard Wanda call. “Put her down!”

  Oh, Wanda was going to get it from Nina for leaving the car. But as she came into view, Esther saw she had towels in one hand, and her other arm looped through someone else’s.

  Getty Pearson’s.

  As their tails melted and their limbs returned, Wanda threw towels at them while a sopping-wet Marty and Darnell kept an eye on Jessica. Nina rushed to the shore, ready to do more battle, but Getty held up his hand.

  “Please,” he said to Nina, his eyes sharp and clear. “Accept my apologies for my horrid behavior the other night.”

  Nina didn’t say a word, but she nodded her head before she knelt to wrap Esther in towels, pinching her cheek. “Way to fucking do some damage, Little Fish,” she praised, knocking Esther in the shoulder.

  Shivering, Esther could only smile, because Getty Pearson terrified her—far more than Nina ever could.

  But Getty held out his hand to her, his eyes almost kind. “Esther? May I help you?”

  Eyeing his broad hand, she hesitantly placed hers in his palm and allowed him to help her up.

  “You’re bleeding, honey!” Wanda gasped, kneeling to inspect her wound, but Esther shooed her away.

  “I’m okay, Wanda. It’s nothing a bandage won’t cure.”

  Getty shook his head, his white hair, shorter in her human form, bouncing under the moonlight. “Esther, I don’t know where to begin. I—”

  But Esther shook her head, ignoring the sting of her wound. “It’s fine, Mr. Pearson. None of this is your fault…but none of it is Tucker’s, either. I hope you know that, and you’ll do your best to make it right.”

  Then Getty looked to Tucker, his eyes now full of sorrow. “I don’t know the details yet. I only know I was wrong, and forever I’ll regret the actions I took, son.” Getty held out his hand, extending the olive branch.

  Tucker’s jaw clenched, his profile tight and angry, his wide chest puffing outward.

  Oh, no, no, no. No posturing today. She drove a finger into his ribs. “Don’t be a jerk. I think it’s pretty obvious, your sister did a number on everyone. Your father’s no different. Now make nice.”

  Tucker took his hand, holding on to it for a brief but substantial moment before he let go. “We need to talk, Father,” he said, low and husky.

  “Indeed, son. We do. For now, I have more pressing matters. Shall we meet tomorrow sometime? Maybe for breakfast? I know your mother would be delighted.”

  Tucker finally smiled at his father, and nodded. “Sure, Dad. Text me and I’ll be there.”

  Getty smiled back, the first smile Esther had seen from him, and it was remarkably like Tucker’s. “And now, those pressing matters,” he said, moving off in the direction of Jessica, who Marty and Darnell still had a firm grip on.

  She lay limp as someone else entered the scene and carried her off toward the exit to the lake, with Getty behind them, his face grim, leaving everyone cold and wet and in total silence.

  Chester was the first to speak, his chattering teeth clacking together. “Tuck. I swear, I didn’t know. I’ll speak to council. I’ll confess that I showed her some stuff. I’m sorry, but I’ll take my punishment as council sees fit. And I’ll tell them what happened tonight.”

  But Tucker shook his head. “It’s okay, Chester. I guess she was just the last person I suspected. I never…” His voice drifted off, and then he squared his shoulders and slapped his friend on the back. “Go home, Chester. All will be well. Get a good night’s sleep and we’ll talk in the morning.”

  Chester took his leave quietly, likely lost in his thoughts about the night’s events.

  And then Nina narrowed her gaze at Wanda. “Didn’t I tell you to stay in the GD car?”

  “Well, if I’d done that, Getty never would have known what was going on down here. I had to do something. Also, you wouldn’t have fresh towels. So there.” She stuck her tongue out at Nina, who hissed at her before Wanda wrapped Esther in a floral-scented hug, kissing the top of her head. “You’re a badass, young lady. So badass, I think we should call you Hurricane or some such superhero name.”

  Marty hugged both Esther and Wanda before she let them go and said, “Well, fish folk, I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to hit the road and go back to the cottage. I have it on good authority Arch has, in his waiting-to-see-if-they-lived-this-time baking frenzy, made cake. Double fudge, chocolate-something infused with the petals of some rare flower from somewhere, and I think a win for the good guys deserves cake, don’t you?” She secured the towel now wrapped around her head with a smile

  “Aw, fuck you and your cake, Marty,” Nina groused, scooping up towels. “You know I can’t fekkin’ eat cake. Shit, I miss cake.”

  “You don’t even know cake from a damn hole in your head, vampire,” Marty teased. “You lived on Ring Dings and chicken wings for more than half your life. Now c’mon. I want a do-over. Race ya to the car!” Marty yelled, taking off.

  As Nina tore after her, Darnell plopped a kiss on Esther’s cheek and patted Tucker on the back before he offered his arm to Wanda. “May I have this dance?” he asked on his bubbling chuckle.

  Wanda sighed, blowing a stray strand of hair from her eyes. “I thought you’d never ask,” she teased, patting his arm as they made their way toward the exit, leaving Esther and Tucker alone.

  He looked down at her and smiled his delicious smile. “That was really quite something, mermaid. The two-handed tidal wave. Well played—well playe
d.”

  She smiled back at him. “I don’t know where that came from. Panic, fear, I just saw you dangling there and it freaked me out so much, I reacted.”

  Pulling her closer by the towel wrapped around her shoulders, he winked. “I think that means you like me, Esther Williams Sanchez.”

  Her heart beat hard against her ribs, and the heat in her belly lurched and churned as they pressed against one another. “As merman go, I just think you’re okay.”

  Without warning, he scooped her up, pressing his lips to hers, taking control of her mouth and making her forget her wound and her hesitations and pretty much everything else.

  When he pulled away, he asked with a teasing grin. “Still just okay?”

  “You know what we’re doing here, don’t you?” she asked, breathless and hopeful—so hopeful.

  “Hysterically bonding, right?”

  “Yes. That’s what we’re doing,” she replied, but she wasn’t so sure that was true anymore.

  “Then I have a proposition for you. Wanna hear it?”

  “Go.”

  “What say we go hysterically bond on a real-live date?”

  “Like for food or something?”

  “Don’t push your luck. I save my food dates for the women who like me-like me, not just think I’m okay. Maybe some coffee? Or a drink?”

  “Do mermen drink?”

  “Like fish,” he said, unable to hold back his laughter as his belly rippled with it against hers.

  Esther looked up at him and smiled. “Then I say we go hysterically bond, Big Fish,” she answered, the edges of her heart melting with more of that hope.

  And then she pressed her lips to his and sighed, after which, hand in hand, they went off to hysterically bond.

  Together.

  Epilogue

  Two months later, on an unseasonably warm day in November…

  One little newbie mermaid who’d found a new family of merpeople to love, and a super-hot merman she was rapidly falling deeply in love with; a sexy merman who was working his way toward not just a less argumentative relationship with his father, but a new relationship with a newbie mermaid he couldn’t keep his hands off of; a half vampire, half witch who’s suddenly learned she’s more than just the muscle of her group, she’s also, much to her surprise, some of the very important glue; a pretty, blonde, faithful Spanx-wearing werewolf who’s still in the process of a very complicated merger with her husband’s cosmetic company, and continues to have the headaches to prove it; a very pregnant halfsie, who can’t keep her eyes open but will dare you to say such; a manservant who is never happier than when he’s cooking for a crowd of people—especially merpeople, who enjoy hearty appetites; a demon who has absolutely no intention of ever getting wet again; a snarky cat who’s just returned from the realm after a much-needed visit with her fellow familiars; a kind, gentle zombie who’s read The Little Mermaid at least twenty times in order to get to know his new friends; happy, healthy children gathering seashells and running amok on the shores of Oyster Hollow; volleyball-playing spouses; and a whole pod of merpeople, gathered together at the new mermaid’s beachfront cottage to celebrate the joy of framily…

  “Little Fish! Get the fuck over here!” Nina demanded as Esther rushed into her arms and gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek, which the vampire managed to endure for all of a half second before she was squirming out of her embrace.

  “Vampire!” she squealed. “Long time no see!”

  “You just fucking saw me a week ago, dipshit. Remember the stupid outlet mall with these two morons?”

  Esther snorted. It didn’t matter the short length of time since she’d seen Nina. She was always thrilled to bits when she did—she hadn’t just hysterically bonded with Tucker, she’d bonded with the vampire, and she was never going to let her go.

  Wanda, still as pregnant as ever, waddled toward her, her beautiful face as flawless as her maternity dress with the pink bow around her waist. “Esther, honey! You look amazing. I see love agrees with you?”

  Love. Something she’d had all her life in various forms, but not this particular kind of love. The kind that made her smile to herself during an ugly mediation. The kind that texted her in the middle of the day just to send her heart emojis. The kind she knew would pick her up after a long day and buy her a cheeseburger.

  Kissing Wanda’s cheek, she smiled back—in fact, there was hardly a time she wasn’t smiling these days. “Everything agrees with me these days. Marty? How’s the headache?”

  Marty, in her form-fitting jeggings, oversized lavender sweater, thigh-high flat black boots and big hoop earrings, flapped a hand at her before she gave her a tight squeeze. “My head’s fine. It’s the pain in my ass I’m worried about.”

  Nina gave Marty a shove with a smile. “Fuck off, Ass Sniffer. I’ll never be as big a pain in the ass as you.”

  “Wanna race? Whoever loses is the biggest pain in the ass!” she called as she took off down the sand and past the men, who’d begun a rousing, very boisterous game of volleyball.

  But Nina didn’t follow her, instead, she left Marty spinning her wheels. “So, everything okay? Mermaiding good?”

  Esther gripped her favorite vampire’s hand and grinned, pulling her toward the long table where Getty and Serafina sat, sipping wine. “It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

  And it was. She was learning, growing, getting better every day at being a mermaid. She and Tucker swam every night at the beach together, laughing, kissing, making love.

  When they’d finally decided the time was right to consummate their relationship, she was only a little disappointed to hear mermaid sex was a myth. But Tucker made up for it in spades.

  In spades.

  And now, they spent all their days together with Mooky and Marsha, and his cats Freckle and Fran, who’d all taken a little while to warm up to each other, but still kept a guarded distance apart, sprinkled with a healthy dose of respect.

  “And the pod people? They’re being nice? You’re making lots of little mermaid friends?” Nina asked as the water lapped at the shore in the background.

  Now she beamed. Once she’d met everyone, when Serafina had graciously introduced her as though she were one of her own children, her world grew even bigger. Nowadays, she managed at least an invitation a week from one merperson or another to some function or other, and her world was full—full of belonging somewhere and to something.

  “The pod people are amazing,” she answered, as Tucker, strong, handsome in his black turtleneck and low-slung jeans, wandered over and greeted Nina.

  “Look who’s here! The most laid-back vampire in the world,” he teased, giving Nina a kiss on the cheek.

  She gave him the finger with a grin. “Fuck off, Sharkbait.” And then she laughed at her own joke before she squeezed Esther’s shoulder and ran off down the beach toward the men, yelling, “Hey, you bunch of sissy-asses, lemme in on this game!”

  “Did we ever thank her for helping to save our hides?” Tucker asked as he pulled her close to him, running his hands over her spine in that delicious way he had of evoking some serious heat in her loins.

  “I think we did. I mean, if bringing her a blood basket isn’t a thank you, what is?” Esther asked, kissing his lips.

  “Today’s a good day, wouldn’t you say, brethren in hysterical bonding?”

  Yeah, today was a good day. The sun was shining and the breeze had only a slight nip to it, making it perfect for Archibald’s impromptu barbecue. Of which they’d been to many—impromptu celebrations, that is.

  Arch was always cooking up something in that beautiful kitchen of Wanda’s, and he was always inviting them to share.

  And for the most part, the darkness of Jessica’s betrayal had settled, if not passed. She and Tucker had talked long into the night on many nights about what had happened, and why she’d done what she did. They never really found any answers, and Jessica didn’t help.

  Tucker had tried to visit h
er in mermaid lockdown with permission from the council, but she’d refused to see him, and he’d come to accept that she might never want to talk to him—or his father, who, little by little, had begun to mend the broken bridge between himself and his son.

  Serafina was the one who made Esther’s heart hurt the most, in sympathy. Her daughter, so lost, so angry, had hurt her, and in one of her more emotional moments, she’d confessed to Esther those awful, helpless feelings, and they’d talked about it, and Esther had listened, and now, she hoped the woman was on her way to at least finding acceptance. What else was there when your child betrayed you so harshly, but accepting and moving forward?

  Now, on this sunny day, with three long tables set with gorgeous fall floral arrangements, and wine and food in abundance, all their family and friends gathered around, laughing, eating, drinking, with her uncle’s picture prominently displayed on the head table, alongside her parents’ and grandparents’ pictures. Esther tucked herself into Tucker’s embrace and sighed. “Yeah, today’s a good day, my fellow hysterical bonder. And as a matter of fact, I like you a lot. A. Lot,” she joked, rubbing her cheek against his chest.

  “I love you, Little Fish,” he murmured against the top of her head.

  “I love you, too, Big Fish. I love you, too.”

  And then Esther Williams Sanchez smiled, and cuddled with her favorite hysterical bonder ever.

  The End

  Thank you, thank you for joining me for The Accidental Mermaid! I so hope you’ll come back for The Accidental Unicorn (yep. It’s true!), and for Marty’s journey, in 2018!

  Preview another book by this author

  An American Werewolf in Hoboken

  Wolf Mates, Book 1

  Dakota Cassidy

  Prologue

  Max Adams ran as though the hounds of hell chased him, pounding the pavement with swift, measured strides. The click of his nails echoed in the rain-soaked, empty streets. Flashes of buildings passed in a blur, his nose frantically seeking food. His long tongue slipped out the side of his mouth, draping over the clumps of hair covering his chin—er, muzzle.