Authors: Sheri L. Swift
“Well, time will tell,” said Cole somewhat sadly.
“I don’t know; they all seem genuinely happy to be alive. I think they might surprise you,” said Rose as she went and kissed him.
“I hope so, for Lana and Titus’ sake.”
~~~
Lana was so glad to see Titus come swimming through their doorway.
He smiled his widest
grin
and kissed her.
“Why are you so happy?”
S
he smiled at him curiously.
“It feels goo
d saving humans, but also
your father called me son earlier
.
”
H
e smiled widely again.
“He did; well that’s what you are,” she giggled.
“Yes, but it is nice to hear him say it; I also called him dad,” he chuckled.
“I imagine that he liked hearing that too.”
“Yes, I could tell that he did.”
Titus smiled widely once more
as he took Lana in his arms
.
“I’m so glad that my dad’
s come back to the mer family,” Lana said as she kissed
him
.
“Yes, I am glad also,” said Titus and then he told Lana all of what had occurred with Marty and his crew.
Lana
hoped that her dad was able to talk the men into keeping the secret of the mer. She knew that her father must have believed in Marty enough or he might not have sent Titus to him in the first place.
The hurricane went just passed the island and
Safe
Harbor
suffered little damage. They were all grateful; it could have been much worse if it had hit them straight on.
~~~~~
That next week, Cole did bring Rose to
Gull
Island
so that they could go into the cavern an
d see their new little grandson
Prince Tarrock.
When Cole rowed up in the dinghy, Titus, Makoa, Tristan and Sirene greeted them.
Cole allowed Makoa to take Rose on his back and he followed after them.
Titus agreed to keep Jedediah entertained with the help of Tristan and Sirene. Jedediah loved being held by Titus and they all four sat on the ledge
outside
of
Gull
Island
while his parents visited with Lana.
Rose couldn’t believe how wonderful it was to ride on the back of one of the mer. This surpassed any dream she had ever had of them. If only her mother could have seen her now.
When they surfaced in the cavern, Lana noticed what a smile Rose had and she knew that it must have been a wonderful experience for her just as it was with Lana the first time she rode on Titus’ back.
Rose saw the little mer being held by his mother and couldn’t believe how tiny he was. She especially couldn’t believe that he was already swishing his tail as though he were going to take off, just as Cole had told her. “He is so sweet Lana. He really is trying to swim on
his own isn’t he?” asked Rose
.
“Yeah Mom, so you better hold on tight,” Lana said as she handed little Tarrock to her.
“My what a strong little guy you are to be so young,” said her mother as she kissed his cheek.
Little Rose swam up to her grandmother and wanted her to hold her also.
“Rose, wait and let your grandmother get to visit with little Tarrock first,” said Lana.
“I can hold you,” Cole said while holding out his arms to her.
“But I want Grandma Rose to hold me,” she pouted.
“That’s alright, I’ll hold you first,” said her grandmother as she passed little Tarrock to Cole and then held Rose. She beamed a bright smile.
“You’re gonna spoil her doing that you know,” Lana laughed.
“Yes, but that’s what grandparents are for
.
”
S
miled her mother.
L
ittle Talei walked to the end of the ledge and also wanted Rose to hold her as she put out both of her arms.
Rose grabbed her with her other arm as she struggled to keep afloat with the two girls.
Cole shook his head and laughed at her.
“Mo
m, I think
you better sit on the ledge,” Lana
said as she and Tarra
began to laugh.
“I think you’re right; these girls are getting heavy. I’ve always considered myself a pretty good swimmer, but like your father, I’m no mer.
Cole handed little Tarrock to Lana and took the girls from Rose so that she could climb onto the ledge and then he gave them back to her as they were both still wanting her attention.
“Well, I guess grandpa isn’t a
s important anymore
.
”
H
e grinned
.
“I think this little guy wants his grandpa,” Lana said as she handed her son back to him. Once more, Tarrock flipped his tail back and forth and tried to get loose of Cole’s grasp.
“I don’t know, he probably wants his grandma Rose too
,
”
h
e chuckled.
Makoa swam over to the pool where M
icah was sitting and watching it
all. “So, what have you been doing Micah? I have not seen you in a while,” Makoa asked him.
“I have been keeping pretty busy helping Cole down at the
Marina
. He is a good man to work for,” said Micah as he winked to Cole.
“Yeah, you better say that if you want to keep your job
,
” Cole
chuckl
ed.
“Well, at least you do not have Titus for a boss
.
”
Makoa grinned to Micah and then to Cole.
“Yeah, I’d say I’m a little easier on Micah than Titus probably is on you.”
“Micah really likes working for you Cole; thank you for giving him a job
.
”
Tarra
smiled
.
“Believe me; he’s been doing me a favor. I’ve had a lot of extra work and it’s been good to have his help.”
“Wow Dad, are things really that busy down at the
Marina
?” Lana asked.
“Well yeah; tourists are coming and going and I’ve had extra work at the lighthouse since the storm
.
”
Cole glanced to Micah and Micah grinned and turned away.
Lana could tell that there was something that her f
ather was keeping secret.
He’
s getting good at
guarding his
thoughts around me lately and it’s beginning to annoy me
. Now she knew that Micah also must know what it is. She thought that a surprise visit to the
Marina
was in order as soon as she could make the trip.
~~~
It was two weeks m
ore
when Lana finally felt like she could leave little Tarrock with his grandmother Princess Cassandra.
Titus was not so sure that it was a good idea for Lana to surprise her father and Micah at the
Marina
; but
he knew all too well that he could not talk Lana out of it. He at least escorted her to Micah’s boat.
When it seemed clear, La
na surfaced and swam to the back
of the yacht and climbed up the ladder.
Titus
went for a swim nearby
.
Lana was surprised that no one was on the
Island Traveler
. In fact, it didn’t look like anyone had been on her in a
while. She was mostly covered up by various tarps.
Wher
e could
dad and Micah be
and what are they up to?
Lana sat down on the bench al
ong the aft
of the yacht. She remembered the last time she sat there. It was on her journey back to
Safe
Harbor
and then it made her realize how quickly the mer would be leaving for the South Pacific. This was going
to be another hard goodbye.
I
just
got used to having dad and Rose back in my life and I love
little Jededia
h so much. W
ill he
even recognize me the next time we return to
Safe
Harbor
?
Lana couldn’t help but hear her father’s laugh; she turned to see
him
and Micah on a ship
next to her. It was a wooden schooner a
nd she was beautiful.
What are
they up to and whose
schooner i
s it?
“Dad, what are
you and Micah doing on that ship
?” Lana called over to them.
“Ah oh, you’ve been spotted,”
chuckl
ed Micah.
“Hey Lana, what are you doing out here?” Cole asked with a smile.
“I knew you were up to something; what is it?”
Lana looked with raised brows and crossed arms.
“Well, come on board and find out
.
”
Cole
waved her over.
Lana dove into the water and went to the back of the schooner where her father was standing. As she did, she couldn’t help but notice the words that were painted boldly acr
oss her stern,
BONNIE ROSE
.
Lana
smiled brightly as her father helped her up and she had tears filling her eyes, “Dad, is this your schooner?”
“Yep, how do you like her?”
“I love her; does this mean what I think it does?”
“Well if you mean, am I planning a trip to the South Pacific, then yeah. Rose and I never really had a honeymoon and I thought it best to travel while Jedediah is young and not in school...” he couldn’t say anymore for the fact that Lana had hugged him so tightly and was kissing him on his cheek.
“Dad, I can’t believe it, how wonderful! Micah, you’ve known all along haven’t you?”
“Yes, how else do you think he got her
in such fine shape
.
”
Micah grinn
ed.
“I did decide to sell those pearls of yours and you can say that I practically stole her from her former owner with the price he was asking. I knew with a little love, she’d be ready for a long voyage.”
“Dad, this is such a dream. I can’t believe that you’re really going
.
”
S
he smiled and hugged him once more.