“Yeah, eventually, but that’s as far as it goes. To the rest of the world, I’ll still be a geeky nerd.”
“From what I’ve seen this week, the geeky nerd has found her niche at school.”
“Appears so.” Suddenly, a blurry recollection that I’ve managed to keep in the back of my brain surfaces. It wasn’t a dream. I just wanted to believe it was. My legs give. “Oh my God.”
“Piper, what is it?” Tyler pulls me to my feet and wraps his arms around me. “It’s okay, baby. Whatever it is, we’ll get through it together.”
I know he means it. He’s proved it. No matter how cataclysmic my problems, he’ll stand beside me. And this is cataclysmic, no doubt about it.
Tenderly, he pushes strands of hair away from my face. He tips up my chin. “Can you tell me what’s wrong?”
I take a deep breath. “They’ve got my egg.”
His eyes widen; his face registers shock. As I watch, astonishment changes to anger. Resolve firms his boyish features. “We’ll just have to get it back, won’t we?”
Determination stiffens my spine. Not only will I get my egg back, I owe Dr. Stranger for what he did to my mom. Did he run her off the road and cause her death? I don’t know. Maybe I never will, but one thing I do know: I won’t be satisfied till I hunt him down and put him out of business.
My life will never be easy, never be without danger. I’m a dolph-girl. But I’m also a survivor. I look at Tyler. I’ve got too much to live for to do anything else.
A slap against the water causes me to turn. The little dolphin is back. She chatters at me, shoots out of the water, and thumps back in. She reminds me of Joel. For a moment, my heart tightens. How does one deny the call of like-to-like, blood-to-blood? What will happen when I see him again?
Tyler takes my hand and smiles. My heart lightens. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
Meet the Author
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to:
My editor Paige Christian
Beta readers--Jewel Adams
Mike Cox
Karen Gray (In Remembrance)
Margaret McNeely