Page 54 of The Bully's Dare

Paradise couldn’t last forever, anyway.

Donovan and Jason want to hang out as much as possible in the remaining time we have, but I keep making excuses to avoid them. I tell them it’s my time of the month (I wish). I tell them I’m not feeling well. I tell them Four is making us engage in a little “family time.”

So when Pearl and Four take me back to the marina to get some boat time in while the weather is still nice, I’ve run out of excuses.

We board Sweet Serenity and Four and Pearl go below deck. I linger up top.

It’s starting to get chilly here. A lot of the boats have awnings over them. They’re locked down and closed up. The swans have left their nests. The pool is empty, shut down.

For the first time, I realize that I’m going to miss this place when summer is over.

I don’t see Donovan or his dad anywhere. There’s activity on The Healing Touch, though. Jason’s dad is sitting on the deck. He’s wearing a wool sweater stretched across his broad chest. His mouth is pulled into a focused frown underneath is greying beard. He’s opened up a storage hatch and he’s pulling things out, making small piles.

I climb over the railing and hop onto the deck. I cross so I’m standing in front of his boat.

“Hi, Mr. King,” I say.

He glances up at me and offers a smile. “Kenzi. How’s your mother?”

“Good.” I rock back and forth on my bare feet, feeling small and awkward. “Is Jason here?”

He shakes his head and turns his attention back to his project. “No. He’s back at the house.”

“Oh.” A thought strikes me. Maybe not the best thought. Or the worst. But I’m out of options. And Jason’s dad did tell me over dinner to come to him if anything…came up.

“What’re you doing?” I ask.

“Putting the boat away for the summer. All good things must come to an end.”

“Cool.” I bite my lip. “Can I get your advice about something?”

“Sure.”

“It’s…kind of personal.”

He looks up at me. Those steel blues—they’re all Jason’s eyes. But these crinkle with concern. “Come aboard,” he tells me, so I do.

I don’t know how I muster up the courage, but I tell him.

It comes out in a burst. All the words that I’ve kept pent up inside of me.

I tell him that I had sex with his son—I leave the details and the Donovan out of it. I tell him about missing my period, and the pregnancy tests, and the results that came after.

Mr. King is silent. He listens to me the whole time, letting me get it out.

We’re sitting in the navigation room. It’s a small area with a circular table between us. I have a glass of water in front of me, but I haven’t touched it. I haven’t stopped talking since I sat down.

Surrounded by all this dark oak, I feel like I’m in a confessional. Maybe that’s why I find it so easy to spill my guts to him.

When I finally go quiet, he lets the silence hang between us for a minute. He doesn’t look angry or confused. He just looks contemplative, his fingers tented at his mouth. Finally, he lowers them and asks, “Does your mother know?”

I shake my head. “No, but I plan on telling her, I just…haven’t found the right moment.”

“That’s good.” He interrupts. “Keep it that way. She never has to know. And neither does Jason.”

I blink. I’m not sure what kind of advice I was expecting, but hide your pregnancy from your mother wasn’t at the top of the list. “Okay…”

“It will ruin her life. And his. Do you understand that?”

---