“At least I put a shirt on,” Daniel teased. Harper had once commented on the fact that he never wore a shirt, or so it seemed whenever she saw him on his boat.
“Hello again, Daniel,” Brian said, walking up behind Harper.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Mr. Fisher.” Daniel stepped away from the tree and held out his hand.
Brian shook it quickly and nodded. “Thanks,” he said. “Did you know Bernie well?”
“No, not really.” Daniel shook his head. “But I knew that Harper was close to him, so I wanted to see how she was holding up and offer my condolences.”
“That’s very thoughtful.” Brian eyed him, as if he weren’t quite sure what to make of Daniel, then turned his attention to Harper. “I really hate to do this, but I have to get back to work.”
“I can give her a ride,” Daniel offered. “If you need to get going.”
Brian’s eyes flitted over to Daniel before looking to Harper to see what she wanted to do. Her father would just be going home to change for work and then leaving right away, so it wasn’t as if he needed her to go with him. And she wasn’t really looking forward to spending another day alone in the house.
“You go ahead, Dad,” Harper said. “Daniel can take me home.”
Her father hesitated before nodding. “Okay. I’ll see you later, then.” He leaned over and kissed Harper quickly on the temple before walking away.
“So…” Harper said once her father had left. “Do you often peruse the obituaries for funerals?”
“No.” Daniel stepped away, walking among the headstones, and Harper fell in step with him. “I’ve actually been checking the paper a lot for any info on Gemma.”
“Oh, yeah,” Harper said. “I’ve been doing the same thing.”
“So you haven’t heard anything from her yet?” Daniel asked, watching Harper as she spoke.
“No. Alex has gotten a couple e-mails, but they’ve been false leads so far.” She sighed. “I have no idea where she is. And I don’t know what I’ll do if she never comes home.”
“I hate to break it to you, but … you’ll live,” Daniel said solemnly.
“Why do you make that sound like bad news?”
“Because I’m under the impression that you want to curl up and die,” he said. “Or at least that’s what you think you’re supposed to do if something happens to your sister. But the hard truth is that you won’t. Life will move on, and you’re strong and smart, so you’ll move on with it.”
Harper shook her head. “I can’t imagine that. I can’t ever give up on her.”
“Nobody’s asking you to give up,” Daniel said. “I’m just suggesting that you keep things in perspective.”
“How so?” Harper asked.
Daniel had stopped walking, so she stopped and looked up at him. The sun was shining brightly above them, and the day felt far too lovely for a funeral. He squinted in the light, then gestured to a headstone behind Harper.
“That’s my brother John’s grave,” he said.
Daniel had told her about the accident he’d been in with his brother five years before. John had died, and Daniel had been left with scars covering his back and a few on his head, hidden by his hair.
“I’m sorry,” Harper said.
“I visit him from time to time.” Daniel stared down at the headstone, sounding uncharacteristically solemn. “I loved him a lot. But he’s still dead, and I’m still here.” He looked up at Harper, his eyes resting on her. “And so are you.”
“I know.” She smiled wanly at him. “And I don’t plan on going anywhere.”
“Good.” He smiled at that. “Now come on. It’s too nice out to spend the day at a cemetery. Let’s get out of here.”
TEN
Sirensong
Since going for a swim yesterday, Gemma was reenergized. Once she got past her guilt about enjoying any part of this experience, she felt pretty good. Penn hadn’t spoken to her much after that, and that was fine by Gemma.
Penn had spent most of yesterday in her room with Sawyer, making all kinds of noises that Gemma had only thought existed in porn. Then Penn got up early this morning and declared that she and Lexi were going on another shopping trip, once again leaving Thea in charge of Gemma and Sawyer.
Gemma still didn’t feel a hundred percent, but the watersong was hardly bothering her, and her chills and night sweats had gone away. So she decided to make the most of it. She put on a bikini and went out to the balcony to lie out in the sun. It was a beautiful day, and she wanted to enjoy it.
The problem was that Gemma had never really lain about before. She was always tan, but that was because she spent so much time in the bay. It didn’t take long before she gave up; she just couldn’t lie still that long.
The balcony outside her room hung about twenty feet from the ground. The ceilings on the first floor were tall, making the balcony exceptionally high. A railing of horizontal bars—painted white, of course— ran around the side of it to keep anyone from accidentally falling over.
Gemma went over to the edge and sat down, dangling her legs over the side and resting her arms on the lowest bar. She stared out at the ocean and swung her legs back and forth.
“I see you’re feeling better,” Thea said from the balcony next to hers. Each one of the five bedrooms that faced the ocean had its own balcony, and Thea’s room was closest to Gemma’s.