Free Siren in Store by Megan Hussey

Chapter
1
     
    ***
     
    It was a bright and sunny day. And,
depending on one’s current life condition, that could be pretty
blasted problematic.
    Beth Nolan for one greeted the
dawning of a new Florida morning with squinted eyes and a pounding
head; to her the rays of a golden sun equaled little more than a
bane to her senses—a reminder that a night of blissful respite had
reached an unruly end.
    With the coming of the sun arrived
the realization that another day of work was about to commence; a
day of standing on her feet behind the counter of Siren’s Call
Books, the small store she operated on the border of the beach in
Paradise Bay, FL. A day of worrying about bills, taxes, and the
young, fresh competitors who’d just opened a chain book store a
mile away from her modest shop.
    “And those are my good
days.”
    A bad day was a 24-hour period very
similar to this one; a day that began with a splitting migraine
headache—one prompted in all likelihood by summertime allergies—and
a readymade supply of flamingo droppings delivered fresh to the
front entrance of her pink sandstone business.
    “Ah, life in Florida,” she managed a
smile, clutching her forehead with one hand as she tried
desperately to unearth the many newspapers that lay soiled on her
doorstep. “Gotta love it.”
    One thing she genuinely did love,
she mused, was the way the offending sun sprinkled the azure
iridescent surface of Paradise Bay; a crystalline collection of
crashing waves that flowed free at the edge of the
beach.
    Straightening on the doorstep with
papers in hand, she watched as a lone ivory hued seagull soared
high above these waters, its pristine reflection adding further
color to the waves below.
    This lush tropical vision never
failed to impress and inspire her; and today it boasted an
additional accent—a very beautiful and dazzling accent that came
close to stealing her breath.
    Suddenly the ebullient skyscape
before her was graced by the appearance of a crystal blue fin; one
that rose with a mighty splash from the streams beneath
it.
    As a Florida native, Beth had seen
her share of fanciful sea life; whether it took the form of a
diamond hued dolphin or a gem blue whale, or even the stately
big-mouthed bass that defined Florida waters, each had a distinct
appearance and anatomical lineage she immediately
recognized.
    “And as far as I can recall,” she
squinted her eyes in thought, “none of them have Fabio
hair.”
    Indeed, the creature who now
ascended in one smooth leap high into the Florida sky did so with
the equally smooth flip of its long blond hair; a stately mane that
now revealed a chiseled face, sculpted cheekbones, full lips, and
azure eyes that mirrored the hue of the waves beneath
them.
    “He’s beautiful!”
    She watched amazed as the manly
siren, a phantom of the waters, rose heavenward in majestic flight,
likening an angel in an ethereal dreamscape that transcended the
bounds of reality.
    “Damn right it transcends the bounds
of reality.”
    Turning from the vision with a
defined snort, Beth shook her head to clear it of its fanciful
haze.
    “Dudes don’t have fins.”
    OK, it was official, she decided.
The doctor needed to change the prescription on her sinus meds.
Majorly. And with haste.
     
    ~~*~~

Chapter
2
     
    ***
     
    Siren’s Call Books was a tidy
collection of sanded shelves that held rows and rows of dreams;
fanciful tales of whimsy and adventure that their owner held dear
to her heart.
    “A damned good thing too,” Beth
rolled her eyes, assuming the place behind the front corner of the
store she’d owned for the last four years. “They don’t sell worth
squat.”
    Siren’s Call Books did a thriving
business—in just about everything but books. Tourists flooded her
aisles in search of all things touristy—a word she wasn’t even sure
existed but that certainly fit her most popular and fast moving
product line.
    Visitors to the beach just couldn’t
get enough of the post cards,