Chuckling, Quinn said, “Put your hand back. It won’t hurt you.”
Graham grinned uncertainly, then slowly dipped his fingers into the water, then his whole hand. He started to jerk away again on reflex, but hesitated as the silky filaments threaded around his hand and through his fingers. “What… What is it, Grandpa?”
“It’s the secret,” Quinn murmured. “It’s… Lochlan.”
It took a moment for Graham to process his grandfather’s words as he watched with wide-eyed fascination as the tiny tendrils coiled gently around his small hand and wriggled up along his wrist. “Lochlan…?”
“He isn’t just a story,” Quinn said softly. “He’s real. And this is his lake.”
Graham’s eyes widened a bit more. “He… He’s real?”
“He is.”
“What…” Graham stared at his hand. “What is he… doing?”
Quinn laughed lightly. “He’s saying hello. I’ve told him all about you. He couldn’t wait to meet you. He wants to be your friend.”
When the tendrils withdrew beneath the surface, Graham slowly raised his hand from the water, mystified.
“Are you afraid?” Quinn asked. “Now that you know heisreal? Does that scare you?”
Graham shook his head, face aglow with awe as he stared at the water and the filaments swirling just below the surface.
“He can help teach you to swim.”
“Really?” Graham beamed.
“Of course. I’m a good swimmer, but not nearly as good as Lochlan.” Quinn loosened the boy’s arm from around his neck. “Are you ready?”
“Uh-huh.” Graham trembled with excitement.
“You’re not scared?”
“Nope.”
“Okay,” Quinn said. “He’s going to help me hold you up so you can practice using your arms and legs to swim. All right?”
Graham nodded, shivering a little as Quinn lowered him into the water.
The surface rippled as a tentacle, a few inches in diameter, coiled gently around the boy’s midsection. Graham gasped, eyes growing bigger in childlike wonder and surprise.
“Are you okay?” Quinn asked. “Still not scared?”
“I’m okay.” Graham grinned, face aglow with wonderment. “I’m not scared.”
“Good.” Quinn smiled, his hand on the boy’s back. “Lochlan would never hurt you.”
“I know.”
Despite the boy’s earlier insistence that he wouldn’t be afraid of Lochlan if he were real, Quinn was still a bit shocked that Graham accepted the creature’s existence without a flicker of fear. His complete trust in Lochlan as a friend was simply added evidence of the boy’s special qualities.
Silty tendrils played with Quinn’s toes on the muddy lakebed, tickling his feet with tinykisses.Quinn wriggled his toes as a bittersweet emotion squeezed his heart.He will take care of you when I’m gone… please take care of him, too.
Quinn blinked away tears that started to rise, and immersed himself in the joy of the moment. With any luck, it would be many years before he left this earth. He was in good health, physically fit, and did everything he could to stay that way. It was inevitable that he would die one day; there was no getting out ofit. But he would ward it off for as long as possible, garnering as many years as he could gather with Lochlan… and Graham.
The boy squealed as Lochlan lifted him so he was lying on his stomach on the surface of the water. Quinn let his thoughts fade to the back of his mind and grinned as he flattened his hand on the child’s back. “First, I’ll teach you to dog paddle. It’s the easiest. Cup your hands like this.” He demonstrated with his own hands. Graham imitated him. “Then reach your arms out in front of you and start scooping the water rapidly with your hands while kicking your feet. You’ve seen how a dog swims, right?”
“Yeah.”
