Page 97 of The Daredevil

I covered my face with my hands. “Oh my God. I’m so embarrassed.”

Smiling, Royce brushed his thumbs across my inflamed cheeks. “Next time, we’ll close the door. All done peeling the potatoes?”

“Yup. I’m here to help you clean your room.” Trying to forget my embarrassment, I jabbed a playful finger at his chest and glanced around the small room. He had a bed against the wall and two bookcases filled with books on Earth, volcanoes, and superheroes.

He pointed to two boxes on the floor. “There’s not much to clean. I’m giving away all my books, even the comic books.” Why did he sound sad about the latter?

I reviewed the knickknacks on his shelf and spotted a wish bottle that looked oddly familiar. It was about ten inches long, filled with shells, sand, twigs, and a rolled-up piece of paper. The glass was clearer than the one I had at home. My heart skipped when I saw a lightning bolt etched at the bottom of the bottle as though someone had used a sharp tool to carve into it.

“Where did you find this?” I asked.

“I didn’t find it. Aunt Klara gave it to me. When we returned to Iceland for a special memorial for my mom, we each made a wish bottle for fun. I tossed mine out to the ocean, but Aunt Klara kept hers and gave it to me.” He took the bottle from my hand and ran a finger over the lightning bolt. “I think mine is at the bottom of the ocean right now.”

Inhaling a breath, I placed a trembling hand on his arm. “No, it’s not. I think I have it.”

CHAPTERFIFTY

ROYCE

After dinner,we thanked Aunt Klara and left with two containers of leftovers. I promised her we’d visit again and told her to leave the donation boxes for me to take care of the next time I came over. The boxes were too heavy for her to lift.

The visit to Aunt Klara had been more wonderful than I expected. I loved seeing the two most important women in my life get along so well. Before I left, Aunt Klara thanked me for letting her meet my girlfriend. That was when I realized tonight hadn’t been a simple Thanksgiving dinner. Michelle was the first woman I’d ever told Aunt Klara about and the first to see my childhood home.

It was a tremendous step for me, and I’d done it as though it were natural. There hadn’t been any hesitation on my part. What did that say about me?

I had it bad for Michelle.

Inside her apartment, Michelle led me over to her bookcase, where she retrieved a box from the top shelf and brought it over to the coffee table. Her hands shook as she removed the top lid and took out a worn and scratched-up wish bottle.

My heart hammered when I flipped to the bottom and saw my lightning bolt. “Where did you find this?”

“When I was at the beach about five years ago. I was walking along the shore and came to an area with rocks and found it covered in seaweed. At that time, I was blogging about treasures you find at the beach.”

I couldn’t believe it. “I made this bottle about ten years ago, the year after I bought Whitewater Family Resort—a year after I rescued you.” I placed the bottle on the table and cupped her teary-eyed face in my hands. “You found me. In a special way, you rescued me. What I have in that bottle are bits and pieces of my soul. It carries a wish I never thought anyone would see. It could’ve sunk to the bottom of the sea, but you found it, took it home, and cherished it. Thank you.” I kissed her for a long moment. The kiss was soft and slow, like gentle waves of the ocean rippling through us, letting us know we were destined long before we knew each other.

How could I not believe in the universe’s magic? I believed in nature and the power of observation during my research because they yielded a tangible truth I could touch and see. This weaving of serendipitous moments resulted from something beyond Michelle and me.

I opened the cap and took out the rolled-up piece of paper. “I’m surprised how intact it is.”

When I unrolled the paper, a small seashell clattered to the table, and Michelle picked it up, examining the iridescent shell. “The ocean took care of it.”

“I guess nature was hinting at my future girlfriend’s name to me back then. ‘Shell’ in Michelle.” My grin widened as her eyes sparkled with the connection.

“I guess so,” she said as she stared at the message scrawled on the paper in my hand.

Risk lies in the space between love and no love. What do you dare to choose?

“You’ve read this message before?” I asked.

“I was hesitant at first because I felt like I was intruding, but curiosity got the best of me. Somehow, I believed the message was meant for me.” She stroked the paper as though remembering that day she found the bottle.

“When I tossed the wish bottle into the ocean, I never expected anyone to find it. I’d just visited my mom’s grave, wishing she could have lived longer. Sadness overcame me along with anger, and I needed to get away from those suffocating feelings. Aunt Klara took me to a gift shop offering a class on creating your own wish bottle. I stuffed my emotions into that bottle and set it free.”

Though I’d been the one to toss it into the waters, the recipient must have felt fortunate to have found something profound. I’d seen it in movies, but to actually find one was extremely magical. It seemed like every moment linking me to Michelle was extraordinary—magic in the making.

Was that love?What do you dare to choose?Could I answer my question from the bottle?

I believed I had already made my decision. My heart galloped from a combination of fear and excitement. Human emotions were so confusing, and now I understood how they muddled even the brightest minds.

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