Reed gives him an easy smile. One that I’ve come to know is actually fake, the manners kind of smile, since it doesn’t climb all the way to his eyes. Reed is especially good at BSing for manners’ sake. “Hey, Mr. Kennedy. You need some help there?”
Mr. Kennedy’s eyes light up. “Oh, no, thank you, Reed. I’ve got to keep these little gems on lockdown.” He lowers his voice and leans in, giving us a powerful waft of BO, probably earned from spending the day in the field. “I’ve found what I believe to be a crossbreed between Asclepias viridis and Asclepias syriaca.”
“Gosh,” Reed says, “that sounds exciting, Mr. Kennedy.” My mother is very good at sniffing out lies, even the little white ones. I wonder if she could sniff out Reed right now.
Mr. Kennedy nods, shifting his weight from foot to foot. “Oh, it is exciting. If I’m right, it’s a new species. One that could help sustain much more wildlife here in the mountains than we originally thought. Oh, yes, Reed, it’s all very exciting.”
“Congratulations, Mr. Kennedy. I knew you’d find what you were looking for here. Oh, and have you met my friend Emma? She’s visiting from New Jersey.” I decide that Reed learned his hospitality from his father.
Because his arms are too full to safely pull off a polite handshake, Mr. Kennedy nods to me, smiling big. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Emma.” Then he eyes my dress and Reed’s fancier-than-normal khakis and becomes visibly distressed. “Oh, are you going on a date? I didn’t mean to interrupt. You both look very nice. I remember going on a date once.”
I open my mouth to object, but Reed takes my hand. “Yes, sir, we’re heading a few towns over to the movies. You didn’t interrupt anything.” He starts dragging me toward the front door. “But if we don’t get going, we’ll be missing more than just the previews. Evening, Mr. Kennedy.”
“Have a good time, you two lovebirds,” Mr. Kennedy calls over his shoulder. Sylvia rushes past us as we reach the glass lobby doors. Behind us, we hear her press the elevator button for Mr. Kennedy, accompanied by his frenzied thanks.
When we get in the truck, Reed pats the seat in the middle. “You can sit here, since we’re picking up Toby.”
I raise a you-wish brow. “Then Toby can sit in the middle.”
Reed winks. “Worth a shot.”
“What don’t you get about—”
“So anyway,” he continues as if I’m not talking, “I have another secret to tell you. If you don’t know how to Blend, then you definitely haven’t figured this out yet.”
Why does he have to be so mysterious? If there were ever a time I would have appreciated a straight-up info dump, it would be now. But noooo. Reed is determined to string me along until…?
I decide not to play his game anymore. I peer out the window, pretending to drink in the nectar that is the winsome town of Neptune passing us by.
He gives me a few seconds, then he starts squirming. “I know what you’re doing.”
“Huh?” I say, without looking at him.
“You’re dying to know. I can tell.”
But when I don’t answer, he starts to show signs of weakness. First, he taps his fingers on the steering wheel to the tune of the song humming fuzzily through the speakers. Problem is, he doesn’t appear to actually know the song. Or he has the rhythm of a worm.
Then he takes to checking the rearview. A lot. He adjusts it as if looking for something in his teeth. Then he adjusts it to view something terribly important-looking behind us. After that, he makes a show of waving to every. Single. Person. We pass.
Now I’m starting to think he’s playing me. Because I’m about to blow a freaking gasket.
Thankfully, we pull into the driveway of a house I’ve not been to yet. Reed unceremoniously beeps the horn, and a few seconds later, Toby is sitting in between us.
“I thought you were grounded?” I tell Toby.
He scowls. “I am. I have to go to Mrs. Buford’s for tutoring, ’cause I almost failed math this year. Which is stupid, because I almost failed it. I didn’t actually fail it.”
“Better get that out of your system before we meet up with Mom and Dad,” Reed says, not unkindly. “You’ve had a smart mouth lately.”
Toby rolls his eyes. “Says the King of Comebacks.”
It’s then that I realize that Toby reminds me of Rayna. And that I miss her. Me. Missing Rayna. Even her Tabasco-sauce temper. In. Sane.
I poke Toby in the ribs. “Your brother says he knows a secret about me. Yesterday, he showed me how to Blend. Today, he says he knows how to do something else.”
Toby glances at his brother, but I can tell his mind is already made up to divulge it to me. After all, he does blame Reed for getting him grounded. “He’s talking about the time he shaped a fin.”
Okay. So now I’m the one fidgeting. In front of me, my knee begins to bounce. “A fin? What do you mean?” But I know what he means. And it’s not possible. But then, twenty-four hours ago, I didn’t think Blending was, either. Not for Half-Breeds.
“Aw, Toby, you little jerk face. You just cost me a kiss,” Reed whines.
I’m starting to get really good at my you-wish brow.
“Yeah, right. Like Emma would kiss you. You’ve met Galen, right?” Toby shakes his head in mock sympathy toward his brother. Then he beams up at me. Apparently, the Triton prince made an impression. “Where is Galen, anyway?”