The Last Song(80)

And about himself, of course, for failing to call her on it.

Other than Ronnie’s preoccupation with her upcoming court appearance, the only blemish on their largely idyllic summer was the continuing presence of Marcus. Though they’d mostly been able to avoid him, it was sometimes impossible. When they did run into him, Marcus always seemed to find a way to provoke Will, usually with a reference to Scott. Will felt paralyzed. If he overreacted, Marcus might go to the police; if he did nothing, he felt ashamed. Here he was, dating a girl who’d stood in court and admitted her guilt, and the fact that he couldn’t summon the courage to do the same had started to torment him. He’d tried talking to Scott about coming clean and going to the police, but Scott had rejected the idea. And in his own indirect way, he never let Will forget what he’d done for him and his family that horrible day when Mikey died. Will admitted Scott been heroic, but as the summer wore on, he began to wonder whether a previous good deed meant a later bad one should be completely overlooked—and, in his darkest moments, whether he could bear the true cost of Scott’s friendship.


One night in early August, Will agreed to take Ronnie out to the beach to hunt for spider crabs.

“I told you I don’t like crabs!” Ronnie squealed, grabbing hold of Will’s arm.

He laughed. “They’re just spider crabs. They won’t hurt you.”

She squinched up her nose. “They’re like creepy, crawly bugs from outer space.”

“You’re forgetting that doing this was your idea.”

“No, it was Jonah’s idea. He said it was fun. Which serves me right for listening to someone who learns about life by watching cartoons.”

“I would think someone who feeds slimy fish to otters wouldn’t be bothered by a few harmless crabs on the beach.” He swept his flashlight across the ground, illuminating the fast-moving creatures.

She scanned the sand frantically, lest another crab dart near her foot. “First off, there aren’t a few harmless crabs. There are hundreds of them. Second, if I’d known that this is what happens to the beach at night, I would have made you sleep by the turtle nest every night. So I’m a little angry at you for hiding this fact. And third, even though I work at the aquarium, it doesn’t mean that I enjoy having crabs run over my feet.”

He did his best to keep a straight face, but it was too hard. When she looked up, she caught his expression.

“Stop smirking. It’s not funny.”

“Yes, it is… I mean, there must be twenty little kids and their parents out here, doing the same thing we are.”

“It’s not my fault if their parents lack common sense.”

“Do you want to go back?”

“No, it’s fine,” she said. “You’ve already lured me out here into the middle of the infestation. I might as well put up with it.”

“You do know we’ve been walking the beach a lot lately.”

“I know. So again, thank you for bringing the flashlight and ruining the memories.”

“Fine,” he said, turning it off.

She dug her nails into his arm. “What are you doing? Turn it back on!”

“You’ve made it perfectly clear you don’t like the flashlight.”

“But if you turn it off, then I won’t see them!”

“Right.”

“Which means they might be surrounding me right now. Turn it back on,” she pleaded.

He did, and as they started down the beach, he laughed. “One day, I’m going to figure you out.”

“I don’t think so. If you haven’t done it yet, it just might be beyond you.”

“That could be true,” he admitted. He draped an arm around her. “You still haven’t told me if you’re going to come to my sister’s wedding.”

“That’s because I haven’t decided yet.”

“I want you to meet Megan. She’s great.”

“It’s not your sister I’m worried about. I just don’t think your mom wants me to come.”

“So? It’s not her wedding. My sister wants you there.”

“You’ve talked to her about me?”

“Of course.”

“What did you say?”

“The truth.”

“That you think I’m pasty?”

He squinted at her. “Are you still thinking about that?”

“No. I’ve forgotten all about it.”

He snorted. “Okay, to answer your question. No, I didn’t say you were pasty. I said you used to be pasty.”

She elbowed him in the ribs, and he pretended to beg for mercy. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding… I would never say that.”