Current Impressions Read Free Page A

my eyes
filled with tears. She frowned. “You hate it.”
    I shook my head and sobbed harder. “I love
it,” I finally managed. “It’s one of the nicest things anyone has
ever done for me.”
    Ula crossed to me and pulled me into her
arms. She was slightly shorter than I was, but I still felt
comforted. Who knew I had such a great aunt?
    “We want you to feel welcome here,” she said
as she stepped back.
    “I do,” I answered honestly. “Thank
you.”
    She wiped her eyes, and I realized she was
just as affected by all of this as I was. She tugged my hand. “Come
on, we still have lots to see.”
    We finished the tour of the second floor.
The halls connected, resulting in a floor plan that made a large
square. Each corner emptied into a stairwell, the inner portion of
the floor contained the second of the common rooms.
    “This one is exclusive to our family,” Ula
said. “There are two more areas for the rest of the clan in the
cliffs.” When I asked how much family we had, Ula told me not to
worry. I’d meet them all later, and I’d already met the scariest of
the bunch, which was Brigid. I laughed and wondered at Ula’s
ability to make me feel so at ease.
    “We’ll go up now,” she said. “The top floor
belongs to David and Angus, but that’s where the study is,
too.”
    “Is my dad in his room?” I hadn’t seen him
since he brought me to Ula. Judging by the darkening sky, that was
several hours ago.
    “Probably not,” she said. “I’m sure he went
to see the others. We’ll go there next.”
    I nodded and tried to calm my jumpy stomach.
I was nervous about meeting everyone. I had no idea that so many
Selkies existed, let alone would live together on this island. How
would the others feel about me? Would they accept me as one of
their own? Ula didn’t seem worried, and for that reason, I thought
maybe I should just let it go. She’d tell me if I had a reason to
be scared.
    We didn’t go into David’s quarters, but I
could see they took up half the third floor. Angus’ quarters were
about half the size of David’s, and the remainder of the floor was
the study, which we did go into.
    My eyes widened when I entered the room. The
last time I’d seen that many books was in a library. Books, maps,
and globes crowded the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that surrounded
the room. There were no windows in here, but it was well lit
nonetheless. Throughout the center area were comfortable chairs and
side tables.
    “I spend a lot of time here,” Ula said. “By
your reaction, I’m guessing you will, too.”
    “It’s amazing,” I said, running my finger
along the spines of several books. The collection was vast and
eclectic.
    “While I’d love to stay here now,” Ula said,
“it’s time I take you to meet the others. Are you ready?”
    I took a deep breath. Was I?
    “They’ll love you, Meara.” Ula’s confidence
reassured me. “Just like we do.”
    I braced my shoulders. I could do this.
“Lead the way.”

 

    Evan watched Meara dive
in, fighting every muscle in his body that wanted to follow her. Less than two months , he thought. In six weeks, he’d be in
Scotland with Professor Nolan, and he’d find her. No matter what it
took, he would find her.
    A seal’s head broke the surface. He didn’t
know if it was David or Meara, but when a second seal popped up, it
reassured him. She’d done it. She’d Changed. How much the
transformation changed her remained to be seen. Still, he took
comfort in knowing that she wouldn’t drown or freeze to death in
the Atlantic. For the moment, she was safe.
    He walked slowly back to his car, in no
hurry to drive home. He already knew what he’d tell everyone. That
he dropped David and Meara off at the airport and, right now, they
were on their way to Scotland. It wasn’t too far from the
truth.
    He wished school wasn’t over. It would be
nice to go back to the privacy of his dorm room. His mom was great,
but she smothered with her concern, and