Flukes (4 page)

Chapter Three

- Blake-

The whine of my alarm made me sit up in bed. I slammed my palm down on the snooze button and tried to remember why the hell I was awake so early. Looking around my room in confusion, I noticed the dirty clothes sitting on the floor next to my closet. I groaned and scrubbed my eyes with the palms of my hands. Another day of community service and I didn’t want to be late again. I’d had meetings with Dad twice last week, and each of them had run over. I’d be damned if I gave the owner’s daughter a reason to look at me like I was a piece of crap again. I’d been stuck mucking drains and fixing plumbing in the bathrooms. Every time I came out stinking like crap, she would smirk and flounce away.

Of course, I had insulted her family’s business, so I might deserve a little shit. I groaned and wondered why it bothered me so much. She was pretty, but I’d dated pretty and it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Maybe it was the instant fire in her eyes? Or the way she worked just as hard as everyone else. Shaking my head, I stood up and stretched. Nothing mattered right now except getting clean and finding some food. Since I hadn’t showered the night before, I could smell myself and that became my top priority. I shoved the door open to my bathroom and almost tripped on the rug.

“Damn it!” I kicked at the stupid mat my mom had picked out before she went back to France and turned on the shower. It was warm almost immediately, so I jumped in and turned on the extra shower head. The shower was probably going to be the best part of my day, so I decided to enjoy it.

Once my stomach started growling, I cut the water off and hopped out. I dried off, brushed my teeth, and dug around in my closet for clothes. For the last week I had been scrubbing tanks, hauling shrubbery, and trying to stay out of Meena’s way. I grabbed some swim trunks, an old sleeveless T-shirt, and some flip-flops. I tucked my wallet and bike keys into my pocket and stuck my sunglasses on my head.

As I jogged down the stairs, I could hear voices in the kitchen and almost decided to forgo breakfast. I could hear Vincent and his friend Liv arguing over the last grapefruit. They had been best friends since they both wore diapers. I wished I’d thought to bring my iPod; I could have ignored them both. My stomach growled again and I checked the time on my cell phone. There wasn’t enough time to hit town for some food, so I’d just have to suck it up and grab something here.

I pushed through the door and frowned at Liv. She was sitting on the counter in a pair of Vincent’s ridiculous pajamas and waved at me like a lunatic.

“Get your ass off the counter. We put our food there.” I opened the pantry and grabbed a box of cereal.

“I’ve got pants on.” She flipped me the bird and I chuckled. It was kind of hard to take the tiny girl seriously when she had her hair in pigtails and looked like she belonged in middle school.

“They aren’t your pants.” I poured milk on my cereal and checked the time on the microwave.

“They look better on her than on me.” Vincent frowned in my direction. “What the hell are you doing up so early?”

“Gotta be at the sanctuary.” I shoved a mouthful of chocolate puffs into my mouth and wished I’d skipped breakfast. Reminding Vincent about my community service wasn’t going to make anyone happy.

“I wish you’d let me do it for you.” He picked his bowl up and set it in the sink. Apparently he and Liv had decided to split the grapefruit.

“It’s not that bad.” Not wanting to see his guilty expression, I put the cereal back in the pantry.

“What’s it like? Did you get to play with the dolphins?” Liv hoped off the counter. “I’ve always wanted to swim with the dolphins.”

“All work, no play.” Shaking my head, I dumped my bowl in the sink and headed for the garage.

“Blake.” Vincent followed me but I didn’t want to have this talk. It was done and over. I wouldn’t have changed anything.

“I’ve gotta go, Vince. I can’t be late.” Gritting my teeth, I opened the door and headed for the bike—my freedom.

“I know. I just wanted to say thanks.” He leaned against the door in a ridiculous pair of men’s pajamas.

“Anytime, bro.” I shoved my helmet over my head and then slid my sunglasses on. “Hit the garage-door opener.”

Vincent used his elbow to punch the flat white button and waved over his shoulder as I pulled out. I revved my engine, checked the traffic, and headed out of town.

It was still quiet at the sanctuary when I pulled up and I smiled. I liked it like this, with no one around. I left the bike but brought the helmet with me. I didn’t want someone to swipe it while I was knee-deep in fish crap. Or walrus crap. Hell, it would probably be some type of crap. Especially if Meena had anything to do with it. She had still acted pissed when I saw her the other night. And in a hurry, apparently. I had ignored her obvious attempts to ditch me. Maybe she had been going to meet someone. I’d seen her heading down to that little beach a couple of times over the last week.

My instant irritation surprised me. What did I care if she was seeing someone? I shook my head and kicked at a broken stepping stone. I was out of these damn islands as soon I could get my trust-fund money. Girls were the last thing on my mind. Not that I wasn’t going to enjoy the scenery while I could. It was hard to ignore a girl that looked like Meena. Really hard when she was wearing that tiny bikini top and scrubbing tanks.

Shit. I was thinking about her and she wasn’t even around. Damn bikinis. Maybe I needed to go scrub fish crap. Worry about something more immediate and focus on getting the hell out of here.

“Blake! Over here.” The owner, Ben, waved me toward the toolshed.

“Morning.” Nodding my head, I set my helmet on a shelf in the shed and looked at Ben expectantly. I wanted to just get whatever type of torture I had to do out of the way.

“How are you today?” Ben picked up a rake and looked back at me.

“Um, good.” I looked around the shed and stared at the shovel—my salvation with a metal scoop.

“You look hungry. Have you eaten breakfast?” Ben leaned on his rake and looked me up and down.

“Had some cereal.” I looked from the shovel over to Ben and frowned. Why was he being so friendly? Wasn’t I here to work off my penance?

“That’s not food. C’mon. You’re here early, so you might as well get some good grub.” Ben laughed as he walked past me. “You’re going to need it.”

Not sure what I was about to get into, I followed the older man up to the little cottage on top of a hill. The bungalow overlooked the entire facility and had kick-ass views from every window. Ben kicked his shoes off at the door and I followed suit. It was a little weird to walk around in someone else’s house without shoes on, but the smell of bacon and eggs made me forget about it immediately. When my stomach growled, Ben clapped me on the shoulder and pushed me toward the kitchen.

“Marion! I brought a beggar.” My back stiffened immediately. I wasn’t begging for anyone’s food. Ben seemed to sense my tension, because he turned back and winked once.

Marion turned away from the stove and smiled at me. She was a pretty woman, but I couldn’t help but notice that Meena didn’t favor either of her parents.

“Blake, right? You’re here early.” Grabbing a plate, she turned around and started piling food on it. “Orange juice, milk, or coffee?”

“Coffee, please.” I sat down on the bar stool next to Ben and had to fight to not drum my fingers on the counter. I couldn’t remember the last time my mother made me breakfast. In fact, I wasn’t even sure if our cook was a mother. Did it count if she was and made me breakfast? Marion set a plate in front of me and drool pooled in my mouth. This was real, home-cooked food. Even the stuff our cook made felt fake. Our eggs came with parsley leaves and the bacon was set on toast with fluffy garnishes.

“Dig in.” Marion smiled at me and I was struck by her genuine niceness. She wasn’t playing hostess. She really didn’t mind that I had crashed their breakfast.

“Thanks.” She didn’t have to tell me twice. I didn’t remember chewing the bacon, but it was gone in seconds.

“Where’s Meena? Out swimming?” Ben took a sip of his coffee and something passed between the adults. Thankfully, I had all that delicious food to keep my attention, so I didn’t look around the house like a dumbass when they mentioned their daughter. Covertly, I let my eyes scan the little kitchen and took in the pictures taped to the fridge and the seashells that lined the tops of the cabinets.

“She was so tired, I think she forgot to set her alarm clock.” Marion set a plate in front of Ben just as a door slammed open somewhere in the back of the house.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Meena came barreling down the hallway into the kitchen, and I stuffed a big forkful of eggs into my mouth. Hopefully my mouth hadn’t hung open for too long. She was wearing a tiny tank top that hugged her braless body and showed off her toned stomach. If her parents knew what I was thinking right that moment, they would have skewered me with the spatula.

“What is he doing here?” Her voice cut through the room and you could hear a pin drop. She skidded to a stop and crossed her arms over her chest. I swallowed my eggs and saluted her with my fork. I decided I liked seeing her off-balance. Her cheeks were pink and her eyes were wide with shock. Even if we got off on the wrong foot, her reaction seemed a bit on the excessive side. Maybe she just wasn’t a morning person.

“Meena!”

“He got here early, so I figured he might have missed breakfast.” Her parents talked over each other, but there was no mistaking their shock at her behavior. There went the morning person theory. Looks like it’s only me that gets the cold shoulder. Great. If I couldn’t spend some time with her pressed against me in that little  toolshed, I’d settle for keeping her angry. I liked the way her eyes snapped.

“Is this your seat?” I wiggled on the stool and almost smiled when her eyebrows drew together and she took a deep breath. Yep, I liked seeing her pissed off.

“It is, but I don’t have time for breakfast.” She turned on her heel, giving me a nice view of her ass as she stalked back down the hallway. “Mom, toast me a bagel, would you?” She slammed her door shut and I laughed. I couldn’t help it.

“You sure did manage to piss her off, huh?” Ben elbowed me and smiled. “She’s usually a lot calmer.”

“We got off on the wrong foot.” I tore my toast in half and shoved a piece in my mouth. “I didn’t realize she was your daughter.”

“Uh huh. What did you say?” Marion leaned a hip against the counter and sipped from her coffee cup.

“I sort of hinted that I wasn’t happy about having to do community service.” I tried to find a diplomatic approach.

“I heard you thought this place was a real hellhole.” Marion looked at me over her coffee cup and I almost choked.

“Er, something like that. But mainly I was just complaining about giving up my summer.”

“Hellhole?” Ben looked at me and frowned. “That would certainly piss Meen off.” He chewed on a piece of bacon thoughtfully. “What exactly is so hellish?”

“Nothing.” I pushed back from the counter and took my empty plate to the sink. After rinsing the plate, I looked around for the dishwasher, but didn’t see one.

“Leave it. I’ll clean it with the others.” Marion’s eyes were thoughtful, and I felt like squirming.

“No, no. You don’t get off that easy.” Ben looked at me before standing up and kissing Marion on the cheek. He motioned for me to follow him out the door.

“Thank you, Marion.” That had been the best breakfast I’d had in years.

“Any time, Blake.” If it had been anyone else, I would have dismissed her words. But something about Marion and Ben put me at ease.

“I take it that your first impression of Flukes wasn’t that great.” Ben stuck his feet into his sandals and headed down the path toward the employee area. I kicked my feet into my shoes and hurried after him.

“Well…” I let my voice trail off. My first impression hadn’t been good. My second impression hadn’t really required any thinking. At least not with my brain. Which is why I wasn’t on Meena’s favorite-person list.

“It’s okay.” Ben sighed. He stopped for a minute and surveyed the sanctuary. “That’s actually what I’m going to have you guys working on. The place needs to be spiffed up. We’ve spent so much time and money on caring for the animals the other stuff fell through the cracks.”

“I can understand how that would happen.” The sanctuary sat in a natural cove that had been exaggerated by dredging. Roped-off areas and wooden boardwalks marked swim areas that housed dolphins. There was a bird house not far from the  toolshed and a building that housed tanks and smaller animals.

“You’ve probably picked up some things from your father. What would you suggest focusing on? You’ve had a week to check things out.” Ben surprised me when he waited for an answer. He was really asking me.

“I don’t think I inherited the family business trait.” I was pretty sure I hadn’t inherited anything from my father.

“C’mon, Blake. You’re smart. I can see it and hear it. So, tell me the first thought that pops into your head.”

“A new sign.” I don’t know why I was actually answering him. “Not just a repaint, but a whole new logo. You need something more modern, something that won’t get lost in the crowd. Something bright and catchy, but welcoming. There are a bunch of dolphin-swims and you need to stand out.” I thought about it for a minute. This was an interesting puzzle. What would work? “Maybe a cool font that twists up into a dolphin tail, or shimmers like water.”

“That’s a good point. What else?” Ben turned to face me, intent on what I was saying. My father never asked me questions, just issued orders or demanded information. There was never a give-and-take conversation.

“Landscaping. Freshen everything up, make it look inviting and exciting. There isn’t anything tourists like better than to take pictures.” I looked at Ben, who was nodding his head. “Maybe hold a big event or something to announce that everything has been revamped.” I stopped there, because I had no idea what kind of money they had for this type of stuff.

Looking away from the man in front of me, I caught a glimpse of Meena walking down from the house and froze. I swear to God, my heart actually stuttered. Her hair was braided and pulled to one side under a little hat and her tiny shorts shouldn’t be legal, not even in the Caribbean where people were just as likely to show up in a bathing suit. The old shirt she wore hung off one shoulder, revealing her bronzed skin. It was a mouth-watering image and I looked away. The last thing I needed was to be thrown out of the program by her father for ogling his daughter.