Chapter 26
A loud thud jolted me awake.
“Xander,” I said, reaching out for him on the mattress beside me. But he wasn’t there.
From downstairs, I heard Casey bark.
I sat up. Okay, something wasn’t right.
I jumped out of bed and grabbed the nearest thing I could find to cover my nakedness.
As I buttoned myself into the dress shirt Xander had worn on our date, I tried to recall if I’d locked up after my housekeeper the night before.
I had to admit, I wasn’t sure. I’d been mostly focused on getting upstairs to Xander.
In my haste, had I perhaps forgotten to secure the B and B properly? And had an intruder gotten in?
I briefly considered arming myself—but with what?
It wasn’t as if the Sunny Side kept baseball bats in the guest rooms. Looking around, I spied my phone, still in the back pocket of the jeans I’d shed last night.
Not exactly a weapon, but I plucked it up anyway.
If there was a prowler, I could at least dial 911.
As I padded barefoot into the hallway and toward the stairwell, Casey barked again. I didn’t like the sound of that.
And where’s Xander? I wondered on my way down the stairs. Most likely, he’d gotten up early to hit the hot tub. Maybe he’d accidentally dropped something or knocked something over, and that was what had awakened me. Honestly, I was probably getting myself all wound up over nothing.
But then…why was Casey barking?
Trying to keep my wits, I rounded the corner on the second-floor landing. But just as I was about to descend the last flight of stairs, I froze.
There, at the bottom of the staircase, lay Xander.
He had one of the B and B’s white towels wrapped around his waist, but otherwise, he looked exactly like he had when I’d discovered him on the beach: naked, unmoving, unconscious.
To complete the reenactment of that disturbing scene, Casey sat by his side, whining softly and nudging him with his snout.
Had Xander fallen down the stairs?
The dog saw me, and he barked a third time. That roused me into action.
“Xander!” I cried, flying down the remaining steps. As fast as I moved, it was a miracle I didn’t take a tumble and end up in a heap at the bottom of the stairwell next to him.
Tossing my phone aside, I dropped to my knees and tried to wake him. “Xander,” I said, almost pleading. “Xander, can you hear me?”
No response.
Touching his face, I could tell his body temperature was lower than usual.
His pale skin had a gray cast to it. Instinctively, I slid my fingers below his jawbone and found his carotid.
While my heart was pounding like an award-winning drumline, his pulse was faint.
And judging by how his necklace moved up and down with his chest, he was breathing, yes—but shallowly.
I reminded myself that, if Xander had been injured in a fall, the necklace should be healing him.
In fact, it was probably healing him right now.
And it had to knock him out to work its magic, didn’t it?
That was what Xander had told me. So, I needed to calm down and trust he would wake up just as soon as his health was restored.
I stared at the strand of magical charms, trying to draw comfort from it. Instead, my fear was only compounded with impatience and frustration. “Heal him, goddammit!” I shouted.
Casey whimpered and licked my face.
“Sorry, boy,” I said to him, using my indoor voice again. The dog was right. Yelling at shells and beads wasn’t going to do Xander any good.
Sitting back on my heels, I scanned Xander’s body for injuries.
Maybe I would feel better if I could watch them heal, if I could watch the necklace doing its job in real time.
Except, as far as I could see, Xander didn’t have any injuries.
There was no blood. There were no bumps or bruises, no apparent broken bones. He just looked…weak.
All this time, I’d been assuming he’d tripped and fallen down the stairs. But…maybe I’d been mistaken? Maybe he’d simply collapsed? On his way to take his daily soak in the hot tub?
Shit! I thought, suddenly realizing something.
Xander had been busy most of the day yesterday, repairing the leak above my bed.
Then, he couldn’t use the Jacuzzi before our date, not with the baby shower going on in the dining room.
And when we’d returned, we’d continued things upstairs.
So, he’d gone the whole day without spending any time as a merman.
At this point, he’d had legs for well over twenty-four hours.
And according to Xander, legs took a lot of energy to maintain. Energy he had to replenish every day. Every day.
Oh, God!
He wasn’t injured. He wasn’t unconscious because he was healing. The Sea Wizard’s charms didn’t apply here. Legs were a different kind of magic, weren’t they?
Xander was unconscious because his own magical energy was drained.
Omigod, omigod, omigod…
How could I have let this happen? How could I have been so thoughtless, so selfish? He was weak because I’d let him get this way. Because I’d failed to keep him safe. Because—
No.
I’d have plenty of time to hang out at the intersection of Blame and Regret later. For now, Xander was the priority. I had to get him into the spa.
I stood up. Obviously, there was no way I could lift him. He had to be nearly twice my body weight. But maybe I could drag him out to the back deck?
Standing behind his head, I squatted down, pushed him into a sort-of-sitting position, and slipped my arms under his. Hugging him across the chest and trying to use my legs for leverage, I pulled.
He didn’t budge more than an inch. Plus, I was pretty sure I’d just tweaked something in my back. Dammit, this wasn’t going to work.
I eased Xander back down to the floor, my mind racing.
Should I perhaps go fill a pot with water and dump it on his lower extremities?
I hesitated. I wasn’t sure that would be enough to trigger a change, let alone to restore his strength.
Not that I was an expert on merman magic or anything, but my gut told me Xander’s lower body needed to be submerged in a sustained way. ASAP.
I spotted my phone on the floor where I’d discarded it, and I snatched it back up. Clearly, it was time to call for help.
* * *
To their credit, neither Drew nor Garth commented on the way Xander and I were dressed—or rather, not dressed. There were no raised eyebrows or insinuating smirks. Oh, they might have exchanged one of their married-people looks, but I didn’t notice. I was laser-focused on Xander.
Garth gripped Xander under the arms—the same way I’d tried to do earlier but with more success—and Drew got between his legs and lifted him by his knees. I ran ahead to open the back door, get the covering off the spa, and power it up.
I watched, my heart in my throat, while my two friends carried Xander out to the deck. He was completely naked now, having lost his towel somewhere in transit. He was still unconscious, still an unnerving shade of gray.
With some maneuvering, my BFF and his husband slid him feet-first into the hot tub and got him settled on the bench.
At first, there was no change.
I waited, using my entire being to call on anyone out there in the universe who might be listening, who might be able to help. I would have gladly made a pact with Satan himself if I’d had to. I would have promised anything to save Xander.
Please, please, please, I thought. Let him live.
“Hannah Banana,” said Drew softly, “you should go inside and put some clothes on. You’ll catch your death out here like that.”
“We’ll stay with him,” added Garth.
I shook my head. I was wearing only the thin cotton dress shirt to protect me from the elements, but if it was cold, I didn’t feel it. Besides, I’d be damned if I was going anywhere. I had no intention of moving a millimeter until I knew Xander was okay.
Let him live, I thought, sending up a wild, frantic prayer that felt oddly familiar, like I’d invoked the same kind of fervent plea before. Let him live, and—
Suddenly, the water in the hot tub started to shimmer. Because I’d just turned on the jets, there hadn’t been much time for bubbles to gather on the surface, so I had a relatively clear view into the spa. Even so, I had a hard time tracking exactly what happened next.
Underwater, Xander’s legs were glowing, emitting a white light that gradually became brighter and brighter.
The illumination was more intense and lasted longer than those brief lightning-like flashes I’d glimpsed during previous transformations—maybe because he was so much weaker now.
In my periphery, I saw Drew and Garth turning away, shielding their eyes from the strength of the glare. I squinted, but I kept watching.
For a moment, the light blinded me. But as the supernatural radiance started to recede, I could see into the water again. Xander’s glowing legs had somehow morphed into a glowing tail. And just like that, the light faded, the water lost its sparkle, and Xander—my Xander—was a merman.
But his tail, once iridescent, had the same gray tinge his skin still had. And he wasn’t yet awake.
“Xander,” I whispered. I sat on the edge of the spa so I could cradle his head in my lap. I ran my hand gently over his hair, over his cheek, over his forehead. “Xander,” I repeated.
Something fell around my shoulders then, something warm and cozy. I hadn’t felt the cold before, but now I felt its absence. I glanced up and saw Drew frowning down at me in concern. At some point, he must have gone back inside and gotten my coat.
“Catching pneumonia won’t help him,” he said roughly.
I smiled and nodded my thanks. When I turned back to Xander, he seemed to be coming around.
“Xander?” For the first time this morning, I could hear more hope than fear in my voice.
His eyelids fluttered. Then, I was staring into those beautiful green eyes.
“Xander!” I exclaimed. I was so delirious with relief I started to laugh.
He sat up straight and blinked at me, getting his bearings. He was still paler than normal, but the gray cast was gone. “Did I miss the joke?” he asked.
“No,” I said, half laughing, half lecturing. “You missed your hot tub appointment yesterday.” I punched him in the shoulder. I was going for playful, but the jab landed harder than I’d intended. “And that is definitely no joke.”
His brow puckered, and I watched as he worked out what must have happened.
“I thought I could handle it,” he said. “I didn’t think a few hours would make a difference. I’m so sorry to have put you through this, Hannah.” He paused. “And that’s my o-fish-al apology,” he said with a coaxing smile.
I bit my bottom lip. “Well,” I said, returning his smile. “I should have reminded you. So, I’m just as gill-ty.”
We gazed at each other.
“Oh, my God,” said Garth. “They’re making private little fish jokes.”
“It’s so cute, I think I might hurl,” said Drew.
Drew! And Garth!
I’d almost forgotten they were here. I turned to them. “Thank you,” I said, although that didn’t even begin to say what I felt in my heart. There literally were not words to express the depth of my gratitude. “I owe you.”
Xander looked from me to my friends. “Then I must owe you too,” he said solemnly.
“I’ll send an invoice,” said Garth with a grin. “As soon as I figure out what the line item should be.”
We all grinned back. With the mood considerably lighter than when they’d arrived, my friends turned to go.
Just then, I heard the Sunny Side’s front door open.
“Oh, no,” I said, getting to my feet. My gaze flitted between Drew and Garth. “When I let you guys in, I don’t think I locked up behind you.”
“Maybe it’s just Rita,” said Drew. “Or your housekeeper.”
From inside, Casey let out a bark.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Casey wouldn’t bark at Rita. Or Maureen. He knows them.”
“Joey D?” asked Garth.
I shook my head again. “It’s way too early for the mail.”
“I’ll go,” said Drew.
“No,” I said, holding up my hand to stop him. I was the one who had promised to keep Xander safe. And I’d already failed to do it once. I wasn’t about to fall down on the job again. “You two stay with Xander. I’ll go.”
“Perhaps put some clothes on first?” Xander suggested to me in a weird role reversal.
Right. I was still wearing just the thin, too-big men’s shirt with my sweater coat thrown on top of it, wasn’t I? Not exactly a look that screamed reputable business owner.
I nodded and headed back inside.
After waking up to find Xander unconscious at the bottom of the stairs, I figured my day could only get better. Unless, of course, I was about to find those three undersea treasure hunters out in the lobby.
Hoping like hell that wouldn’t be the case, I poked just my head out the swinging kitchen door.
I caught a glimpse of one man, not three. And not one of the hunters.
Oh, thank God! I thought.
“Grab a seat, and I’ll be with you in a minute,” I called out to him. Then, before he could reply, I scurried into my room and attempted to break the Guinness World Record for putting on jeans and a sweater.