The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks Page B

her, okay?”
    The toddler seemed to focus momentarily on her shirt.
    “This is Nemo,” she said. “He got lost, too. Do you like Nemo?”
    Off to the side, a panic-stricken woman holding a baby pushed through the crowd, oblivious to the tension in the air. “Jason? Where are you? Have you seen a little boy? Blond hair, orange shirt?”
    Relief crossed her features as soon as she spotted him. She adjusted the baby on her hip as she rushed to his side.
    “You can’t run off like that, Jason!” she cried. “You scared me. Are you okay?”
    “Nemo,” he said, pointing at the girl.
    The mother turned, noticing the girl for the first time. “Thank you—he just wandered off when I was changing the baby’s diaper and—”
    “It’s okay,” the girl said, shaking her head. “He’s fine.”
    Will watched the mother lead her kids away, then he turned back to the girl, noticing the kind way she smiled as the young boy toddled off. Once they’d moved far enough away, however, the girl suddenly seemed to realize that everyone in the crowd was staring at her. She crossed her arms, self-conscious when the crowd began to part for a rapidly approaching police officer.
    Marcus quickly murmured something to Scott before melting back into the crowd. Teddy and Lance did the same. Blaze turned to follow them as well, and surprising Will, the girl with the purple streak reached out to grab her arm.
    “Wait! Where are you going?” she called out.
    Blaze shook her arm free, walking backward. “Bower’s Point.”
    “Where’s that?”
    “Just head down the beach. You’ll find it.” Blaze turned and rushed after Marcus.
    The girl seemed unsure what to do. By then the tension, so thick only moments before, was dissipating as quickly as it had arisen. Scott righted the table and headed toward Will just as the girl was approached by a man he assumed was her father.
    “There you are!” he called out with a mixture of relief and exasperation. “We’ve been looking for you. You ready to go?”
    The girl, who’d been watching Blaze, was obviously unhappy to see him.
    “No,” she said simply. With that, she strode into the crowd, heading for the beach. A young boy walked up to the father.
    “I guess she’s not hungry,” the boy offered.
    The man put his hand on the boy’s shoulder, watching as she descended the steps to the beach without a backward glance. “I guess not,” he said.
    “Can you believe that?” Scott raged, pulling Will away from the scene he’d been observing so closely. Scott was still hyped up, the adrenaline surging. “I was about to pound that freak.”
    “Uh… yeah,” he responded. He shook his head. “I’m not sure Teddy and Lance would have let you.”
    “They wouldn’t have done anything. Those guys are all show.”
    Will wasn’t so sure about that, but he didn’t say anything.
    Scott took a breath. “Hold up. Here comes the cop.”
    The officer approached them slowly, obviously trying to gauge the situation.
    “What’s going on here?” he demanded.
    “Nothing, Officer,” Scott answered, sounding demure.
    “I heard there was a fight.”
    “No, sir.”
    The officer waited for more, his expression skeptical. Neither Scott nor Will said anything. By then, the condiment area was filling with people going about their business. The officer surveyed the scene, making sure he wasn’t missing anything, then suddenly his face lit up with recognition at the sight of someone standing behind Will.
    “Is that you, Steve?” he called out.
    Will watched him stride off toward the girl’s father.
    Ashley and Cassie sidled up to them. Cassie’s face was flushed. “Are you okay?” she fluttered.
    “I’m fine,” Scott answered.
    “That guy’s crazy. What happened? I didn’t see how it started.”
    “He threw something at me, and I wasn’t going to put up with it. I’m sick and tired of the way that guy acts. He thinks everyone’s afraid of him and that he can do whatever he wants,