Page 26 of Bay of Plenty

“I’ll call the police.” Declan pulled his phone from his pocket.

With a cry, Mum sprang over to him and grabbed his hand. “Oh, please don’t. I don’t want to be a nuisance and a bother.”

Eventually Mum started questioning herself, but I suspected she hadn’t invented the noises. A loud wave broke outside, interrupting her voice, soaking my brain in fear.

While Declan sat guard in the TV room, I lay beside her, my hand on her shuddering back, until she fell asleep, her breathing troubled. It felt like our roles were reversed—she was the child, and I was the mother. I was responsible for her now. I was the only one who could save our family.

Chapter Sixteen

Day Two

Declan promised againto rise early to allow me privacy while I got ready for the day, but still, I woke to an eyeful of another, um,risingon his way to the bathroom.

I was definitelynotthinking about that sight as we stood on the beach, picking out wetsuits for our first surf lesson. We’d already checked with neighbors, but no one had heard or seen anything last night. Declan surveyed the sizes of the wet suits, hands on his hips, highlighting deep V-cut abs that disappeared into his low-slung surf shorts. Tight bod. Objectively.

Out in the surf, Snow made a couple of 360s on a wave, which was how he got the name Snowcone—Snow for short—when he was young. “Watching him do that makes me feel dizzy,” Declan said. Me too.

Snow came in to shore and led us out into the waves. Even I had to admit something about him. When he waded into the sea, the frothing water molded to his body like he was a part of it.

In contrast, Declan and I pushed and slapped at the waves in a pathetic attempt to conquer them.

Snow warned us not to drift over to the point. “Shark week,” he said. “But don’t worry. They tend to stay in the colder water.”

Shark week.His words jolted me into awareness. Had he deliberately brought this up? Was he trying to unnerve me? Should I respond to provoke a reaction? It was so tempting.No, Isla, don’t risk it, not with Declan here.Declan wore a tolerant, slight smile but always kept me in his sights.

Once we’d paddled out far enough, Snow told us to lie flat on our boards while he held the back of them. A pretty compromising view—thank God I’d rented a full wet suit from Snow, even if it was overkill in this heat. We lay still, waiting. And waiting. Ugh. I feltveeeryqueasy.

Declan reached for my hand. That brought me a little peace.

“You look a bit green,” he whispered. “Seasick? Me too.” He drew circles on my palm with his thumb, and my cheeks flushed at his concern.

“I get it bad,” I whispered, checking that Snow was watching the waves. “I wanted to take the medication, but it makes you tired. I’m hoping I can get used to the motion.”

“Same here.” He touched my cheek, his brow furrowed. It was a small gesture, but it felt intimate, and my skin tingled under his fingers. “Let me know if I can do anything for you.”

“I’ll yell ‘paddle,’” Snow said. “Then I’ll give you a huge push, and you paddle like a shark’s behind you. Then I’ll yell ‘pop up.’ And. You. Give. It. Heaps!”

I was desperate to move, the only way to shake the nausea. “Paddle!” yelled Snow. I popped up immediately. Yeah. Then—aaagh. My legs flew over my head, and I snatched at the empty air.Splat.Into the water.

Right. This wasn’t going to beat me.Determined andlaser-focused on Snow’s tips, after a couple of rounds, I was half-scrambling, half-popping up, then standing. Declan was sort of terrible at it and couldn’t stop laughing at himself. Kind of endearing. Though he was struggling, he kept cheering me on.

I surfed almost all the way in. Bouncing up and down, I cheered. My heart felt like sun sparkles on the water. Declan caught up with me and planted a congratulatory kiss on my lips. His salty lips against mine, his smiling eyes creased, a firm, large hand on my wet arm, sent butterflies through my belly.

Snow yelled, “Rip, tear, and lacerate those waves.” Whooping, he ran to me, his knees thrusting high through the water. “Fuck, yeah. You’re a natural, Isla. You’ve got guts.”

We high-fived. For a second it felt genuine, celebrating with him like this. I dropped my hand and my body stiffened. I had to stay on my guard.

Still, I stood in the shallows, the sea fluttering like a satin duvet over a bed.Like a blanket for my heart.I’d always remembered this ocean as unrelentingly, vastly blue, leaving no place for my dreams, for me. Not like London’s green ponds, tame and human-size under the lamplight. But now I sensed the ocean’s welcome. I felt a glimmer of hope that I might fit in here after all.

“One more try, mate?” Snow said to Declan, who headed out again.

Squinting out to the waves, Snow clicked his tongue. “Declan’s hit a bit of a wall. Why don’t we hang here for a mo and figure out why?”

His concern unlatched my heart further. Maybe Snow was not the person I thought he was.

A seagull shrieked overhead.Fool. You fool.He couldn’t bemy friend—otherwise, the four years of bullying I’d endured didn’t make sense. I took a deep breath.Don’t be swayed like that. Hold tight to your memories. Stay firm.

But whatever I truly felt, this was the moment to apologize. For the sake of this case, I needed to clear the air, make friends, allow him to relax and get complacent… then catch him out in his lies. I knew I had to ease into it to sound genuine and sincere. “Being home has made me reflect on many things, Snow. I’ve thought a lot about how I handled that conversation with Sarge the day after Janey died. I wanted to say I’m sorry. It must have hurt you.” I swallowed around the spiky knot of what I longed to say to him. “I was wrong, accusing you of being the last person to see Janey.”

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