Chapter 23
Ned nearly tripped on Noonan as he ran around the side of both cars to where the fallen officer lay. He was trying to get up, but the wind had been knocked out of him.
Ned quickly dragged him away into the bushes at the side of the house, not wanting to be the object of a second blast.
Screaming erupted inside the house, the unmistakable sound of Madison’s pitch, but unlike anything he’d ever heard from her before. Things were crashing, and he also heard broken glass as someone either broke in or out of a window on the beach side.
He scanned the area. Both Noonan and the detective were gone.
Out from the splinters of the front door came the shooter, looking like a scared kid.
Ned yelled at him.
“You don’t want to do that, Son!”
But the kid was panicking and slowly raising his rifle to take direct aim at Ned.
His operator brain kicked in. Like it was a part of his body, he pulled his KA-BAR out of its sheath and in one well-practiced move, threw it as hard as he could before the kid could take proper aim. It caught him near the clavicle, sinking into soft tissue there. The force of the blade knocked the boy back, and he dropped his rifle.
Ned bolted, kicking the weapon to the side, but his target was completely overtaken by the shock of that huge knife handle sticking outside his chest. Blood was spurting over his chin, spilling down his torso and onto the ground.
Ned burst inside, where it had gotten quiet all of a sudden.
He was trained to look for a weapon first and then for blood. He found both immediately. Madison was holding a bloody boning knife, her arm also covered in crimson streaks. A man had fallen against the wall, leaving bloody smudge marks behind him, immobilized and dazed. Noonan had tackled a woman and had dislocated her shoulder. Her white face showed the agony she was in as she moaned. Detective Corrigan was placing a zip tie on one man, sitting on another who appeared unconscious.
But then he looked back at Madison. Her shocked expression wasn’t nearly as profound as the expression from the woman in front of her, an attractive grey-haired lady who must have been Madison’s mother. She stared at Ned like she’d seen a ghost.
“Jake?” she called out.
Ned thought she was crazy, driven mad by the circumstances they were in.
“Jake! You came back!” she said again.
Ned looked around, hoping to find someone else standing there, but she was addressing him.
“No, Jake’s my dad. I’m Ned.”
The woman fainted.
A flurry of police cars arrived and neighbors began piling out from their beach bungalows, wearing bathing suits, flip flops, and straw sun hats. A couple of the onlookers were drinking cocktails.
Ned approached Madison, and she collapsed into him.
“Hey, Madison, let me take this, okay?” he said as he carefully unpeeled the knife from her fingers. He was thinking she looked like the day he’d gone hunting with his father and killed his first rabbit. It was too late to regret not taking the animal’s life. Madison was still processing what she’d just done. Glancing over at the man leaning against the wall with a stab wound in his chest, Ned noticed he was still moving, and was grateful.
“You did real good, Madison. You didn’t kill him.”
She frowned as if seeing him for the first time and didn’t know who he was. “But I wanted to. He was going to kill my mother.”
At the sound of her daughter’s voice, her mother sat up, dazed, but apparently unhurt.
Police were filing in. The detective brought Ned his KA-BAR, wiping it on the jacket of the woman Noonan had tackled and subdued. “You dropped this.”
“Thanks, man.”
He sat Madison down, worried she would be going into shock at any second. He sheathed his knife and noticed the pendant in the fingers of the groaning woman on the floor. He picked it up, rubbed the silver mermaid clean, and placed it in Madison’s hands, curling her fingers over it just like his mother had done when she presented it to Ned.
“This is yours now.”
Her mother blinked several times, having watched him hand her daughter the pendant.
“Maddie? Explain this to me.”
Madison uncoiled her fingers and touched the curves of the silver mermaid. Ned saw that she began to piece together what had just occurred. “This is mine, Mom. Ned gave it to me. He got it from his father, Jake. Mom, this is the man I love, Ned Silver.”
“The man you love? You said the man you love?”
“I did say that?” Maddie smiled up to him in the shower. Her slippery body gliding past his filled him with joy. He wasn’t sure it would come back so fast.
“I liked hearing it. Of course, I never expected to hear it from some crazy woman, covered in blood and holding an eight inch serrated blade. That’s a lethal weapon.”
Madison nodded her head and looked down at her toes. Water sluiced over them both. The shower smelled of lemons. All the blood was gone. Ned had inspected every part of her and found nothing scratched, bleeding or bruised. He’d tickled her while he was doing it, too. Her warm psyche came back, which was what he’d been most worried about.
The police had detained them just for a few minutes and then let them slip away in Maddie’s car. Noonan took charge of her mother, since both of them were going to the hospital to be checked. The ordeal had left her mother short of breath, and Noonan thought he might have cracked a couple of ribs.
The young red-haired officer showed Ned the three-inch bruise that was forming in the middle of his chest, just before he put Maddie in the car and drove her home. To his place.
All the remnants of the danger had been washed away. He’d massaged her neck and shoulders, working her into putty. He said wanted her to sleep, told her she should go to bed and just rest until tomorrow so everything could settle down inside her.
She nodded agreement as he dried her off. Yet she leaned into him while he dried himself off. He picked her up and brought her into the bedroom. At the back door, Otis sat. He stopped.
“You’re going to have to be patient. You’ll get fed later,” he said to the dog, who turned his head and flipped one ear up over the other.
“That’s not fair. You should feed him. I’ll be fine.”
He kissed her then lay her on the bed. She immediately passed out.
He prepared kibble and meat for Otis and brought him a fresh bowl of water as well. He sat down on the patio chair and watched as the late afternoon sun hung in the sky. The sounds of the ocean and normal life soothed him. Even the sounds of Otis chowing down was a welcomed noise.
He pulled the pendant from his jeans and brushed over the curves in the mermaid. Madison had taken it off for the shower, but he knew the only place for her to be was around her neck.
He thought about coming out at sunset to watch like all the others did on Treasure Island, like people did in little towns all up and down the peninsula along the Gulf. It was a ritual, a healing ritual, he thought.
He watched Otis scamper around the corner again and disappear. Ned walked back inside, went to the bedroom, and studied Madison sleeping, her arms out to the sides, her long blonde hair streaking across the bed.
She’s the real mermaid. She’s the one my father hoped I’d find.
Gently, he put the chain around her neck and clasped it, marveling how it looked balanced between her two beautiful breasts.
The necklace belonged to Madison.
And Madison was his.
Chapter 24
Madison got a week off after the rescue. Her boss was just grateful that, when Ned went back to California, she’d agreed to work behind the bar at the Salty Dog.
Noonan was able to partner with a large salvage operation, who had a team of attorneys all over the survey filing, and had the tax office issue a new warrant for additional finds. They were estimating the find to be significant. Noonan was finally able to embrace the possibility he could wind up a rich man. But not
even that could tempt Madison or Ned to go back out into the water and hunt for treasure.
They spent lazy days and nights in bed—going to bed late, walking the beach at sunset, and waking up early to catch the sunrise. Otis began walking with them during these beach forays, or sat beside them on the blanket while they basked in the sunset. Eventually they were able to bathe him and bought him a fluffy pillow so he could spend his nights inside.
They’d skirted around the subject of what their forever looked like. Madison knew Ned would have to go back to Coronado soon, and that was going to be a real test of their relationship. He wanted her to move back with him. She wanted to stay in Florida. The issue remained unresolved. They still had a few days before he’d be returning to sort it out. She also knew he was wrapping his head around decisions he might have to make, since it wasn’t his plan to remain in the Navy as a career.
Madison’s mother got her little place put back together, had it completely repainted and went on an entertainment spree with her old friends. She explained that her mother often went through these swings. One moment reclusive, painting, reading, or gardening, and the next minute, she was having parties. Up until tonight, her mother had kept her distance.
One such party was planned for this evening, and her mother wanted them to come. It was a special invitation. Madison knew Ned was a little nervous about it.
She bought him a new shirt, a beautiful turquoise blue with pictures of starfish, seafoam and sand. His tanned skin and dark features made him look stunning in it.
“I’m still going to wear khakis and flip flops.”
“As will most of the rest of the crowd.”
Madison wore a light yellow dress with a low neckline, perfect for displaying the mermaid pendant. She was going to braid her hair, but Ned insisted she wear it down and free. As was their custom, he placed the pendant around her neck and kissed her shoulders.
“She’s not going to pepper me with questions, is she?”
Madison looked back at him through the mirror they were standing in front of. “Shouldn’t she?”
“What kinds of questions?”
“The usual kinds of questions a mother will want to ask someone involved with her daughter.”
He frowned.
She turned, wrapping her arms around him. “Just be yourself, Ned.”
When they arrived, they could hear the party going in full force. Her mother had strung party lights around the backyard. There were five golf carts crammed into her driveway, plus a couple of bicycles. Ned parked in the alleyway, and as they walked to the front door, another golf cart arrived with four more partygoers, all grey-haired friends of her mothers, who greeted them warmly and then danced into the house.
“Honestly, Madison, these guys act like they’re on college break,” he said, following behind.
“Some of them came here on Spring Break and never left!” She laughed at his puzzled expression.
“Will Noonan be here?”
“I’m guessing he will, but I didn’t see his truck out front.”
Inside, the place was festively decorated. The sliding glass door to the beach was wide open and half the partygoers were outside dancing to saxophone music.
“I’ll introduce you to him later. He used to play with some really big bands in New Orleans and toured the world. Fascinating man,” she told Ned.
“One of your mother’s boyfriends?” he asked.
“Oh, I’m sure. Most of them are.”
“How did you handle that growing up? I could never see my parents—”
“What’s wrong?”
Ned pointed across the patio at several people drinking cocktails and laughing.
“I’m sorry. What are you looking at, Ned?”
“That’s my mother!”
“No way. Which one?”
“Can’t you tell?” he said exasperated. “The only one wearing a dark color. The lady in the navy dress wearing pearls.”
The woman he described was standing right next to her mother, and the two were chatting, which surprised her most of all. Her mother was gracious, vivacious, and was wearing one of her brightest kaftans adorned with a shell necklace. She was telling some kind of story, her arms flying about her head. She made Ned’s mother laugh. The two of them were having the same light pink cocktail drink.
“Ned, I didn’t know anything about this,” she whispered.
“Hello, kiddos!” A familiar voice came behind them. Noonan was clean shaven, had gotten a haircut, and once again had washed his patch.
Ned grabbed him by the collar. “Did you have a hand in this? You invited my mother to come talk to my father’s ex-girlfriend?”
Madison was concerned he’d start making a scene. “Ned, stop it. You’re going to embarrass me.”
“Madison, this is not okay. You can’t go playing with people’s pasts like that, their deep-seated feelings. Just invite everyone to a party and ask them to mingle. This isn’t a petri dish, you know.”
“I invited her,” said Noonan, recovering from the manhandling.
“And I accepted. I wanted to come,” said his mother.
Ned turned to face her. “Are you okay with this? Do you know who she is?” he said pointing at Madison’s mother standing at her side. People began to stare and even the music stopped.
Madison’s eyes filled with tears. Ned looked like a cornered bull. She felt so sorry for him. She brushed the tears from her cheeks and scolded Noonan.
“You should have told me. I could have prepared him.”
“Why?” said her mother, her forehead furled, one hand on her hip. “He’s a big boy. She’s a grown woman. Why does she have to get permission from him to do anything? Noonan was just being nice, Ned. He paid her way.”
“Mother?”
“I didn’t realize it would upset you so, or I wouldn’t have come.” She was close to tears.
Noonan had to remind him, “Hug your mother, Ned.”
“Oh, God,” he muttered, holding her tight. “I’m sorry you got put in this position.”
She looked confused, her arms flapping around his back before she finally hugged him back.
“Wait a minute.” Madison’s mother spoke up.
Ned dropped his arms and stepped away.
“You take a lot of liberty, Ned. This is my party. Noonan asked me, and I told him he could invite her. We both thought it was about time she was included. She has a family here, friends if she wants it, and the rest of her life to spend however she pleases. Are you even a part of the human race?”
Madison tried to pull her mother off, but she wasn’t having any of it.
“Let me finish, Maddie. He’s made the scene, not me. He gets to live with it.”
“He’s trying to protect me,” Mrs. Silver said. “That’s all. He’s just trying to protect me.”
Ned stormed out of the house.
Madison looked between her mother and his mother, unsure what to do. “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” his mother said to her. “I didn’t realize he’d be so angry.” She touched the pendant. “Look, Amberly, she’s wearing Jake’s pendant.”
“As she should,” said her mother.
The crowd started talking again, and someone put on music. Noonan stood still, looking like a fifth wheel. He finally shrugged and said, “All I wanted to do was surprise him. I never intended this to happen.”
“It’s okay, Noonan. We know. It’s not you.” Madison addressed Mrs. Silver. “Well, I’m glad you’re here. We’re all so happy you came to see our little piece of paradise. I’ve wanted to meet you.” They clasped hands.
Her mother barked at Noonan. “Go get this girl a drink, please.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He departed on his mission.
Her mother began slowly. “So I have a theory, maybe a confession to make. My theory is that Madison is the real mermaid. Margaret, you might think me crazy, but Jake never should have been wearing that thing. It belongs on a woman’s body. He never offered it to
me, either. It never was for me or for you. It was for her.”
Mrs. Silver’s face was streaked in tears.
Her mom put her arm around Margaret Silver. “Come on, he was the sonofabitch we both loved for a time,” she started. “You more than me. But let’s be totally transparent here. He was a major handful. I loved him. But he knew I wouldn’t put up with him. He knew it wouldn’t last and I didn’t have to say a thing. He knew you were the only one who could love him that much. He made the right decision. And I think, in that man’s heart, he wanted us all to be here, together. This necklace brought Ned here. He brought back a little piece of Jake too.”
Madison watched the two women walk away, holding hands, talking like two long-lost friends. Noonan handed her the drink that was ordered, but Madison had a hole in her heart the size of the State of California. Now she had to face one more challenge. What she’d do with the rest of her life if Ned left her behind, just like his dad left.
Except Madison was sure she had enough love for him. But she wasn’t going to beg.
She didn’t want to follow Ned, either, so set her drink down and walked through the patio and out toward the shore. The sky was orange. The surf was light greenish blue. Large puffy clouds caught purples and yellows as the sun met the horizon. She’d always told herself the beach could heal anything. It was the balm that would soothe anybody’s soul, no matter what.
She inhaled, hoping that she could bring it all in and wash away all her sadness. She did it again, waited, and then let her breath out. Then she heard his voice behind her.
“Maddie, I’m a complete fool.”
She didn’t turn, in case her mind was playing tricks on her.
“Sweetheart, can you forgive me?”
It was Ned. She turned, letting him see her tears, not being afraid to let him see that she didn’t want to lose him.
“You have to make up your mind, Ned, which way you want to go. You once told me I had to let a quiet man come in and rock my world, and I did. I tried it, and you were right. It’s what I’d always wanted. But—”
She sniffled. It was a really ugly sniffle she had to wipe on her dress, but she didn’t care.
Treasure Island SEAL: Pirate SEAL Rescues his Mermaid (Sunset SEALs Book 3) Page 16
