“Like a mermaid, right?”
“Similar, yes.Selkies are mythological creatures of Scottish folklore, half human and half seal, known for their beauty, grace, and sensual nature.Selkies can sometimes symbolize women who struggle to find their place in the world, usually because they’ve been badly hurt.”
She frowns at me.“That’s quite the backstory.You trust a girl with that kind of baggage to juggle your junk in her hands the way she’s doing?”
I laugh.“I absolutely trust her.She’s always had my back—or my front—you know what I mean.But you asked, and I answered, and that’s who she is.”
I trace my finger to where the selkie’s transparent robes and long hair intertwine with the tartan as it wraps around my hip.“This plaid pattern is the MacLaine family tartan, and this is a thistle, the emblem of Scotland, and then the Yosemite brand and family crest.”
“Is this Latin?”
The pad of Summer’s finger lightly brushes along the letters.
“It is.‘Vincere Vel Mori’means ‘To Conquer or Die.’”
She nods, frowning.“That’s pretty hardcore.I was about to ask if that’s a MacLaine thing or a SEAL thing, but it’s both, isn’t it?”
“You’re right, Summer.It’s both.”
She catches my eye.“I think I know why you have that tattoo, Declan.”
She doesn’t, of course, but it’s sweet of her to say.She knows me well, but she doesn’t knoweverything.
“That tattoo is your story, Declan.It’s your heritage, and your biography, I guess.A record of what happened.”
I sit up so suddenly that I almost knock her over.“Say what?Did Finn… what did he tell you?I’m going to strangle that little fucker.”
She sighs and rests a hand on my chest.“Hold on.Don’t be mad at Finn.It wasn’t intentional, and when he realized what he’d done, he made me swear not to tell you because then you’d want to kill him.”
“Damn right, I do.”
“Look, I spend a lot of time working with Finn, you know that.And I think sometimes you boys kind of forget that I’m not one of you, a MacLaine.Finn mentioned the rescue in passing, like I’d heard the story a hundred times, but when I asked him what he was talking about, he realized his mistake.He was really upset with himself.”
I stare at Summer.
“I guess your tattoo has something to do with that.”
I nod.“It does.”
I’m going to hogtie Finn and throw him in the trunk of Evander’s SUV.
Here they come.The questions that Finn’s carelessness will lead to, the ones I can’t answer.
But Summer simply snuggles up against me and rests her head on my chest.I put my arm around her.I wait.But she doesn’t say anything more about it.I glance down at the top of her shiny head, puzzled.
“Of course, I’m not asking,” she says, sitting up.“I know the rules around your SEAL gigs and your tech company and how none of you can say shit about any of it, including the where or when or why or who.I’vealwaysknown the rules.And anyway, that shit’s not important to me.”
I raise my eyebrows.
“The only thing that’severmattered to me is that you made it home safe.You and your brothers.I don’t think I’ve ever been more relieved in my life than the day Jamie told me you were all coming home for good.”
I reach for her and crush my mouth to hers.I hardly know what the fuck is happening right now, but I swear it feels like a dam has just burst, and the wall of denial we’ve so carefully laid in the last twelve years is not just being washed away—that sucker’s being pulverized.
And only the simple truth of who we are remains.
Summer.
Me.
