Page 96 of While We Waited

Islap my hand on my leg to stop it from bouncing. I’m excited and nervous and impatient. I’m basically a bundle of energy. We’re on our way to the doctor’s office for the growth scan for baby Sprog. And I can’t wait. Maybe this time we’ll find out if Sprog is a boy or a girl.

Hudson places his hand over mine.

He doesn’t saydon’t be nervousoreverything will be all right.Words I hate more than a mermaid hates sharks in her water. Trust me. Not everything is all right all of the time.

“We’re nearly there.”

He turns down the road toward the hospital but has to slam on his brakes before he drives into a group of bikers who are pedaling down the middle of the road. Hudson honks but they don’t move.

I roll down my window when I recognize the members of the group.

“What are you doing?” I ask Sophia, Chloe, Maya, and Paisley. “And why wasn’t I invited?”

We’re the five musketeers, we do everything together. Maya bikes toward the truck but doesn’t manage to stop before she slams into the front end. She lands in a heap on the road.

I jump out to help her but Hudson reaches her before me.

“Are you okay? Did you hit your head?” he asks as he helps her to sit.

Sophia, Chloe, Paisley, and I gather around them.

“Wow. You’re gorgeous. Not as gorgeous as Caleb but a hottie nonetheless.” She pats his cheeks.

“I think you’re fine,” Hudson says before standing.

“Um, Maya?”

She swivels to glance up at me and nearly falls backward. Hudson steadies her with a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, Nova. What are you doing here? You shouldn’t be drinking. Drinking’s bad for the baby.”

I giggle. “How much have you had to drink?”

Her nose wrinkles as she counts with her fingers. “One at the start at theBootleggerbar. One at theBuccaneer’s Distillery.One at theMermaid Motel.And one at theRumrunner.”

“You forgot the shot of whiskey atMermaid Mini Golf,” Paisley says.

I scan the group. “Why are you out drinking whiskey shots on bikes?”

“The mayor asked us to test out the route for theMermaid Treasure Huntin two weeks,” Sophia says.

TheMermaid Treasure Huntis part of the holiday celebrations on Smuggler’s Hideaway. Participants are given a treasure map with clues of where gifts are hidden around the island. Whoever manages to collect the most gifts wins.

And, because this is Smuggler’s Hideaway, you have to drink a shot of moonshine every time you find a gift. Which is why the treasure hunt is conducted on bikes.

I raise an eyebrow. “The mayor asked you to test the route?”

“We volunteered!” Chloe squeals.

“Of course, you did.”

Paisley frowns at me. “Why the sarcasm? We’re the perfect group to test out the route for theMermaid Treasure Hunt.”

“We are excellent at figuring out clues,” Chloe continues.

“And the loopholes!” Sophia shouts.

It’s true. My friends and I are the queens of finding loopholes in contest rules. It’s how we won theBootlegger Escape Roomweekend festival. I nearly gag at the memory of the hangover I had after the festival. But it was worth it.

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