Rogue Wave (The Water Keepers, Book 2) (29 page)

Rayne shook his head and chuckled. “You don’t need to explain. It’s perfect. I understand exactly why we’re here.”

I glanced up at him sheepishly. “Oh,” I said, realizing I had completely read into his reaction incorrectly. I let my happy excitement return. “Okay, good. Then, let’s go.”

As we strolled away from the parking lot together and down the path, Rayne carried our bag of food and a blanket in one hand and laced his fingers through mine with the other. Crystal Cove used to be my place to be alone or get away, but now it seemed a hundred times more special with Rayne by my side. We crossed under the tunnel of painted murals, up the hill past the shuttle stop, and past the Beachcomber Café at the edge of the sand.

The area just beyond the café was busy, which wasn’t really a surprise. It was a warm weekend afternoon, and we weren’t the only people wanting to enjoy the beautiful ocean atmosphere at Crystal Cove. Without having to say anything, we both headed to the left past the crowd, down to the rockier side of the beach; then we set up our blanket at the exact place where we’d shared our special moments here the night we’d first met.

We talked and ate, laughing repeatedly at the two young boys making sandcastles in an entertaining fashion a few yards away. But the mood changed abruptly when Rayne took his last bite of food and set his plate down on the blanket.

He paused and looked at me carefully. “Your father loves you, you know. I really believe that.” The people and sounds around me fell quickly to the background.

I swallowed a rigid lump of food and looked down at my lap. “I can’t really picture it,” I said after a moment. “I mean, I’m glad
you
think so. But that’s not something I can believe or understand when I’ve never even met him.”

I looked out at the waves, gathering my courage. “How long have you known him?”

Rayne paused, as if this was difficult for him as well. “Sixteen years,” he said. “Physically speaking, my body was only the equivalent of a twelve-year-old at the time.”

I knew Rayne had been around a lot longer than me, but it still felt strange to hear him talk about it. I shook my head. “I was only a baby then. I can’t believe you’ve known him all this time. Can you tell me what he’s like? What does he do? I have so many questions. Do I look like him? Does he have a family? What kind of person is he?”

“Well, I know him,” Rayne said. “But he doesn’t talk about his life very openly with me; probably not with anyone. I do know that he doesn’t really have any family back home. I mean, I think he has some distant relatives, but he never got married or started his own family. You’re his only child.” Rayne paused and smiled warmly. “You have his eyes.”

“Really?” I said, almost hopeful. It would be nice to know there was at least something small connecting us together. And it kind of felt good to think my father hadn’t chosen to be with some other family because he liked them better than me and my mom.

“Is he still a Keeper?” I asked. “I’ve been assuming for a while now that this was the reason he was here in the first place, but I guess I don’t really know for sure.”

“You’re right about that,” Rayne answered. “He was a Keeper when he met your mother, but he’s not anymore.”

I squinted in the sun when it appeared from behind a cloud. “What does he do now? Please don’t tell me he’s in prison or something. Don’t Keepers get in trouble for having relationships with people they treat with the Healing Water like he did with my mom?”

“He’s not in prison,” Rayne said. “But it’s true; Keepers can get in a lot of trouble for breaking the code. Your father has kept your identity a secret for a long time. But that’s only part of the reason why he couldn’t come back for you. Where I come from, your father’s a very important man. I’m trying to think of the best way to explain this to you.  He’s sort of like, a cross between the President of the United States and the King of England.”

My mouth gaped open. “What? You’re joking, right?”

“I know it’s hard to believe,” Rayne said. “But I’m serious. We have our own title for his position as well. Where I’m from, your father is called the Ambassador.”

“Wow, okay,” I said, trying to internalize everything. “So, he’s like, the ruler of your country? I’m not sure I totally understand. I mean, are we talking about an actual country, like with an official, organized government that you can show me on a map somewhere, or is this more like a secret, Water Keeper colony type place where you all live on a deserted island in the middle of the ocean or something?”

Rayne tapped his fingers on his leg, looking a little flustered. “We’re sort of both,” he finally concluded. He shook his head. “That’s really not the point. The main thing you need to understand is that your father wanted to be a part of your life, but he couldn’t because of his obligation to our people back home.”

I glanced down the beach for a moment, taking it in, and muttered under my breath. “So, my father is some bigwig, head-honcho guy, and he chose to be a leader for his people rather than take care of his family.” I turned back to look at Rayne. “I’m not sure what to say. I don’t know how I feel about that.”

Rayne scooted closer to me on the blanket and placed his hand on my knee. “You don’t need to say anything. Just because you know the truth, doesn’t mean anything is different, and you’re not obligated to change the way you feel about him or any of this. I know this doesn’t fix anything, but at least now you have a better idea of
why
your father left in the first place. And the truth is, there’s really nothing we can do about it anyway.”

“Yeah,” I said, nodding quietly. “At least now I know.”

Rayne moved next to my side and traced his finger up my arm. “Besides…you have me. From now on, I’ll be your family; if that’s what you want.”

The smile returned to my face. “Of course,” I said. I leaned up against his side and wrapped myself around his arm, leaning my head against his shoulder. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

After a moment, I lifted my head. “You realize I’m not going to let you off the hook that easily, right?”

“Let me off the hook about what?” Rayne asked.

“About explaining to me where you and my father are from. I mean, come on. You’re sort of both? What’s that supposed to mean? Are you from some secret city in the Bermuda Triangle or something? You have to give me a better explanation than that. You promised you’d tell me everything I wanted to know.”

“I’ll do better than tell you,” Rayne said, as he moved to his feet off the blanket. “I’ll show you.”

I looked up at him, wide-eyed, half expecting a magical trick where he grabbed my hand and we both disappeared into thin air, resurfacing in a distant land together instantly.

Sensing my anticipation, Rayne reached down to help me off the ground. “Don’t get too excited,” he said. “The place I want to show you is over an hour drive away.” My face fell.

“Oh fine,” I said, pretending to pout. “I guess I can be patient.”

Just as we were gathering up our things, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket.

Rayne watched as I pulled it out to take a look. When I saw the message on the screen, I held it up. “It’s just Heather.”

I read her message, which said,
what happened to you last night???

I wrote her back right away.
Sorry I ditched you. I had to talk to Rayne. We made up! We’re officially back together. I’m with him right now.

Yay
, she wrote back.
I’m so happy for you guys. Call me later. I want details!

I went to put away my phone, when a thought occurred to me. I hadn’t heard from my mom since yesterday afternoon.

“Are you ready to go?” Rayne asked.

“Um,” I said, hesitating. “My mom still hasn’t tried to call me. Do you think I should be worried?”

Rayne rubbed my back with his free hand. “I’m sure she’s fine. I told Dr. Jensen they should avoid using cell phones while they’re gone, in case someone was screening their calls or tracking their location. It’s probably a good sign. It means they’re playing it safe.”

I started walking, not feeling very convinced, and said, “I hope you’re right.”

Once we made it back up the hill, Rayne paused and motioned toward the street at the beach shuttle driving around the corner.

“There’s the shuttle,” he said. “We should catch a ride. It will save us some time.”

The familiar scene triggered a backwards switch in my head, like Déjà vu. My mind flipped back in a sudden flash to the night I’d met Rayne, when we stood in this very same spot. I nodded blankly in Rayne’s direction as my eyes centered on the shuttle van pulling up beside me. For a brief moment, I remembered the sinking feeling in my gut that took over that night in our past, when Rayne had run off into the shadows, leaving me alone in the dark.

“Sadie,” I heard Rayne say. “Are you okay?”

My mind refocused, and I finally realized that everyone who had been standing with us at the shuttle stop was already inside the brown and white van, waiting impatiently for us to join them.

I nodded at Rayne. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Then I smiled, realizing I was no longer stuck in the past. This time, instead of pushing me away and leaving me on my own like he had before, Rayne squeezed my hand tighter as we climbed the shuttle steps together.

24. SAFETY NET

“Can you at least give me a hint where we’re going?” I said to Rayne, for probably the fourth time since we left the beach.

“We’re more than halfway there,” he said with a smirk, glancing away from the freeway towards me. “Are you sure you don’t want to wait just a little bit longer?”

“Oh, I’m sure,” I said.

“But it’s so much fun watching you guess and squirm.”

I folded my arms playfully. “Oh
really
? I’m so glad I’m keeping you entertained.”

He laughed. “It’s what I live for.”

I leaned out of my seat across the center console and brought my mouth an inch from Rayne’s earlobe. “Please?” I murmured in his ear, hoping to distract him. You could practically hear my eyelashes fluttering seductively through my voice.

“Okay, okay,” he said, laughing. “I’ll tell you. At least then we’ll be less likely to crash the car.”

“Really?” I said with childlike eagerness. I rewarded him with a big kiss on the cheek and sprang back into my chair.

Rayne’s voice was more serious. “You can never tell anyone about this unless it’s an emergency.”

“Of course,” I insisted. “I promise never to tell a soul.”

“This place we’re headed is important. It could save your life someday. That’s really why I’ve decided to take you there. I want you to pay close attention after we change freeways. A straight shot up the 405 for an hour is easy to remember, but the route gets a little more complicated after that.”

I nodded solemnly. “Okay. I will.”

“It would be a risk,” he went on, “but I could make you a map to keep in your car or save the directions in your phone, if you feel you need them. But it would be best if there wasn’t any way for anyone to accidentally come across the directions. And when it really comes down to it, if you ever need to go to this place without me, there’s a good chance your situation would be urgent. You may not have time to find directions or gain access to a map.”

“Should I be worried? You’re starting to scare me a little,” I said.

“No, don’t be worried. This is a good thing. It’s better that you know. And you may never need this,” he added hopefully. “It’s just better to be prepared just in case.”

I looked down at my lap. Ever since Ash broke into my room and threatened me, I was constantly suppressing an onslaught of fears.

Rayne sensed my hesitation and reached his right hand across the car to my shoulder. “I don’t blame you for worrying. It’s not right for me to downplay your situation. I just don’t like to see you upset. You’ve been incredibly trusting through all of this. So far we’ve been lucky not to have any problems, but technically, you’re still only a day or two away from death on a regular basis. And my access to the Healing Water is the only reason you’ve been able to survive for so long. If I were you, I would have gone crazy by now. I really need to thank you for placing so much trust in me for so long. I’m not sure I deserve it.”

“That’s not true,” I said. “You’ve sacrificed a lot for me. You have my trust because you’ve earned it. And I understand why you do it, why you’re always telling me everything’s fine even when it might not really be fine. It’s because you care about me and want to protect me. You don’t need to apologize. I love that about you.”

Rayne glanced from the road and paused to look at me. We exchanged understanding smiles briefly. Then he went back to driving. But as I sat quietly in the passenger seat, I couldn’t help but ponder the reason why Rayne was taking me to this place to begin with. He said it was important and could save my life someday. He also reminded me that his access to the Healing Water was the only reason why I had survived as long as I had.

 “Oh my gosh,” I said, eyes ready to pop out of my head. “Are you taking me to the source of the Healing Water? Is that what this is about? We’re going to the actual
source
?”

The thought sunk deeper. Without Rayne, I had no way to get any Healing Water at all. What if something happened to him? He was trained, but he wasn’t invincible. Without him or the Healing Water, I was as good as dead.

Rayne barely flinched at my outburst. “Not exactly. I mean, showing you how to get to the Healing Water
is
the point of this, but I can’t actually take you all the way to the source. I would like to, but that would cause a major uproar. I would probably be arrested on the spot.”

“Oh,” I said. “Yeah, that wouldn’t be good.”

“We’ll be pretty close to it, though,” he added. “You need to know how to get there. I’ll explain everything once we’re closer.” He glanced up at a sign above the road. “We’re almost to the Santa Monica Freeway. It should take us maybe twenty more minutes.”

We didn’t speak much the rest of the way. Once I understood where we were going, I watched intently out the window, wondering if I would ever need to remember these roads one day to save my own life. It was a disturbing feeling. I tried to memorize every curve and landmark to memory, until I realized I was doing myself more harm than good. I changed my strategy and focused only on the important details, the names of the streets we were actually turning onto and which direction we were headed. At first it wasn’t too difficult, west on Santa Monica Freeway, north on Pacific Coast Highway, but when we stopped to turn right off the highway, I had to do a double take. I wasn’t sure I was reading English on the street sign.