"This isn't about possession of the powder horn." Adrian wanted to shake the man. "It's about saving Jackie's reputation."
"I realize that," Carl said with genuine remorse. "And I'm sorry."
"God!" Adrian turned away, feeling the rage of helplessness. He looked at Vivian over his shoulder. "Talk to him, will you?"
"I'll try. Unfortunately, the man is as movable as a granite boulder."
"Not in all things, apparently." Carl blushed as the two of them looked at each other.
"True," Vivian said, a secret smile curving her lips.
"Jesus." Adrian shook his head. The last thing he wanted to watch was two lovers making eyes at each other while his world was crumbling. "I need to go."
He slammed out the door and headed down the path toward the beach, needing time and space to think. This late in the day, the area was completely empty. He walked to the end of the pier and stared out at the cove. The sun hung low in the sky, casting shimmering light across the water.
Well, Jack, we failed. We failed you and Marguerite. And we failed Jackie.
A gust of wind blew up off the water, sending a chill through him. Suddenly exhausted, he sat on one of the storage bins and braced his elbows on his knees with his head in his hands. There had to be an answer. Beneath the pier, the waves rushed in and out, but nothing came to him.
As dusk gathered, footsteps sounded on the wooden planks. He looked up to find Scott heading toward him.
"What are you doing here?" he asked sourly, remembering Scott's wish for him to suffer.
"Allison and I have been up at the house waiting for you to join the celebration."
"Celebration?" He frowned when Scott held one of two champagne flutes out to him. "What in the world could you possibly find to be happy about on a day like this?"
"Oooh, I don't know." Scott sat beside him, stretching his legs out and crossing his ankles. "Life in general. And me being the luckiest son of a bitch who ever lived."
Adrian looked at him.
Scott grinned from ear to ear. "Allison's pregnant."
"What?" Adrian's heart lifted.
"We've known for a while, but she wanted to get past the first trimester before she told anyone. Today, though, we went in for the sonogram and ..."
"And ..."
Scott's smile got even broader."Twins."
"You're kidding?" Adrian wanted to laugh. "Twins? God, that's ... perfect. Really perfect. Alli must be beside herself."
"She's so happy, she's been laughing and crying since we found out."
"How are you holding up?"
Scott chuckled. "I'll let you know as soon as the shock wears off, but for now, I feel pretty damn good. Twins. Yeah." He shook his head, looking dazed. "So, what's up with you? Are you out here fuming over that news report?"
Adrian's good mood evaporated. "That, and Jackie wants to call off the engagement. She's convinced she's going down and taking all of us with her."
"I have to say, I don't envy her at all. Having people hang your whole life out for public inspection is enough to get my stomach going."
"Really?" Adrian said straight-faced, since he knew how Scott felt on the subject. "And here I thought you liked being interviewed."
"Nearly as much as having a root canal. It occurs to me, though, that you and Jackie are going about this all wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"Rather than avoiding the press, why not do the opposite?"
"Actually, I've been trying to tell Jackie exactly that. She won't listen. She wants to keep her name out of the news."
"Too late for that," Scott said. "At this point, what does she have to lose? All her secrets are out. Why not go on the offensive? Hire a press agent. Face the world as the happily engaged couple to balance the negative reports. One thing about public opinion, you can turn it in an instant with the right illusion."
"Telling the world I'm in love with Jackie Taylor, and that she's a decent, honest person, would hardly be an illusion."
"All the more reason to do it."
"A press agent, huh?" He mulled it over, then shook his head. "She'll never go for it."
"Maybe you're just not trying hard enough to convince her." Scott arched a brow. "Now, come up to the house and congratulate your sister."
"I'll be there in a minute." When Scott left, Adrian turned back to stare over the water. The sun had finally dropped below the horizon and the first stars had come out. He remembered the night he and Jackie had stood on the balcony, gazing at the sky. The memory was so clear, he swore he could feel her presence there beside him. Was she looking up at the same stars? Making a wish? Did she even know how?
If he could make one wish, it would be to have her with him now. If only he could talk to her in person and convince her to believe in all the possibilities and promise their future held.
~ ~ ~
Jackie stood on the quarterdeck, staring up at the sky and aching as if a part of her were dying. She knew she was doing the right thing, but she missed Adrian desperately, yearned for him with everything inside her.
Don't, she warned herself. Don't want. Don't hope. Don't dream. You'll only get hurt in the end.
And yet, these last months, she'd let herself hope for so much, she didn't know how to stop. A part of her heart she'd held in check all her life yearned with a vastness that felt as wide and deep as the Gulf. She focused on the brightest star in the sky and pictured Adrian in her mind.
I wish you were here.
The only answer was the whispering of the breeze and the lapping of the water. Turning away, she headed for her cabin, then lay awake for hours, before finally drifting to sleep.
Sometime in the night, she heard a noise, like the scuffling of boots out on the main deck. Since no one was on board but her, the sound jolted her to full wakefulness. She forced herself to lie still, listening. The footsteps moved to the lounge, heading straight toward her door. In one fluid move, she grabbed the gun off the shelf above her head, sat up in the middle of the bed, and bracing the pistol in both hands, pointed at the door.
The door opened, revealing the silhouette of a man backlit by the moonlight coming through the aft hatch.
"Freeze! Or I'll blow a hole through your chest the size of Barbados!"
"Shit!" The intruder stepped back so fast, he hit the door and moonlight fell on his face.
"Adrian!" She lowered the gun, her heart in her throat. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to talk to you."
"It's the middle of the night. How'd you get on board?"
"I climbed over the gate."
"Couldn't you have called?"
"Oh yeah, talking on the phone has been so effective the past few days, why didn't I think of that? Now, do you think you could put that cannon away?"
She turned and put the gun back on the shelf. "What time is it?"
"Around two A.M., I think." He came forward and climbed onto the bed on all fours. "Scoot over."
"What are you doing?" She moved back against the wall to give him room.
"Lying down." He flopped onto his back and draped an arm over his eyes. "I've had a bitch of a day, then spent five hours on a motorcycle getting here, and now I have the headache from hell. You got any aspirin?"
She stared at his big body stretched out on her bed, stunned by his presence, then climbed over him and went to the medicine cabinet in the head. Still reeling from the thought that he'd cared enough to come after her, she returned with the aspirin and a glass of water. "Here you go."
"Thanks." He sat up and took them from her, then frowned at what she was wearing. "Is that my shirt?"
She tugged at the tail of the white dress shirt that she'd started sleeping in as a way to be close to him. "You, um, left it here that first night."
"Oh yeah. I forgot." He swallowed the aspirin, then set the glass on the shelf. "Okay, here's the deal. You are not breaking up with me."
"Says who?" Her amazement vanished as she planted her hands
on her hips.
"Says me. I'm the guy who doesn't take no for an answer, remember?"
"Well, this time you'll have to."
"Like hell I do. First we're going to find the powder horn."
"You mean pray Carl finds it. I'm not diving anymore. Not with the media accusing me of stealing it."
"Carl's calling off the search."
"Oh great." She sank to the bed beside him. "I'm totally screwed now."
"No you're not. We're going to find the powder horn together, then we're going to shove all those accusations down everyone's throats."
"If Carl and his team of archeologists can't find it, what makes you think we can?"
"Because you told me yourself your father was one of the best treasure hunters in the world, that using a metal detector isn't just skill, it's a talent. I'm willing to bet you inherited some of that talent."
"Maybe I did, but the powder horn isn't made of metal."
"No ..." He smiled. "But the pearl pendant inside it is on a gold chain."
Hope stirred, but she held it back. "What if the necklace isn't there?"
"It is."
"How can you state that like it's fact!" Exasperation drove her off the bed and she went to stand before the windows.
"It's there," he insisted. She heard him come up behind her. "I've been thinking about this all the way down here. Captain Kingsley doesn't want some team of strangers to find it. It's too personal. He wants us to find it, because we're family. We're part of him and Marguerite. It was meant to play out this way."
She turned to search his eyes, hope and resolve battling within her. "I don't believe in ghosts."
"Yes you do." He smiled down at her. "That day when we went diving together, you felt Jack. Admit it."
She looked away. "I felt something. But ..."
"What?"
Beyond the windows, moonlight danced hypnotically on the dark water. "I haven't felt anything since. Whatever was trapped on the ship left once the excavation started."
"Or escaped to go after the powder horn."
She looked at him sharply since she'd thought the same thing. "What are you saying?"
"We might not know where the horn is, but I'll bet you anything Jack does. All we have to do is reach out to him. Let him guide us. But you have to have faith."
"Faith in what? Ghosts?"
"Faith in ... everything." He took her hands and squeezed them. "Faith that the love Jack and Marguerite shared is so strong, they won't go on to whatever awaits us after life unless they can go together. Faith that I love you enough, that I won't go on in this world without you. Faith that we can find the horn and clear your name."
"If Carl is gone, and I suddenly 'find' the horn, everyone will think I stole it and that I'm only turning it over to save my neck."
"They won't, I assure you. If it were just you and me and my sisters, maybe, but no one in their right mind is going to accuse Oliver Chancellor, of the Galveston banking Chancellors, or Scott Lawrence, world-renowned author, of helping you cover up attempted theft."
She stared at him in surprise. "You'd risk their reputations for a necklace? Does it mean so much to you?"
"Jesus, Jackie, don't you get it? This isn't just about the necklace. It's about you, too. You're part of me now, and part of my family, so of course we'll do whatever it takes to help you. I know your own family let you down at every turn, but I'm asking you to believe that we won't do that. If you can't believe in all of us, at least believe in me. You and I are meant to be together." He cupped her head and stared into her eyes. "At some point in your life, you have to believe in something. I'm asking you to start by believing in me."
"But that's just it Adrian, I do believe in you. That's easy. It's life I don't trust." She freed one hand to touch his face. "I love you so very much. I can't stand the thought of hurting you just by being around you."
"You hurt me by not being around me." He took her into his arms, making her heart clench. "I'm not letting you go or giving up. Especially since I have a plan for how we can fight back." He loosened his arms. "As soon as we find the powder horn, we're going to hire a publicist, and give the media a story that will put everything they've printed so far in the shade. By the time we're done, people will know the whole truth, not just the ugly parts. That's going to take guts on your part, though." He caressed her face. "I'm asking you to have the courage to fight for us. And to marry me no matter what people think."
"Courage, I can handle. Because you're wrong. I'm not a gutless coward."
"Then you'll try?"
If only she could be sure she wouldn't hurt Adrian and the others. "I'll make you a deal. I'll go back to Pearl Island and we'll look for the powder horn. If we find it --- if ---I'll face the media and ..." She took a deep breath. "Yes, I'll marry you." He started to speak and she placed a finger over his lips. "But if we don't ... you'll let me go."
"Deal," he said without hesitation, and kissed her palm. "Because we will find it."
"I wish I had your faith." She wrapped her arms about his waist and held on tight.
"Well, we'll have the rest of our lives to work on that." He kissed the top of her head. "For now, though, let's get some sleep. We'll head back for Pearl Island as soon as it's light."
Chapter 27
When they arrived at Pearl Island, Adrian had Jackie pull her truck around to his house rather than stop at the inn. He carried her gear inside and called Rory to find out where Carl was. "Even though he said we're welcome to search, I'd prefer to do it without him looking over our shoulders."
"Actually, Carl's gone," Rory said. "He left this morning."
"Well, he certainly cleared out fast."
"Faster than he expected, apparently, since his gear is still here. He and Aunt Viv had a big spat," Rory explained. "She headed back for New York first thing this morning. The minute he heard, he took off after her."
"What about his team of divers?"
"When they heard Carl was gone, they went back to their hotel in town."
"Perfect," Adrian said. "We'll have the cove to ourselves."
"What are you going to do?"
"Jackie and I are going after the powder horn."
"You brought her back with you?" Rory's voice rose with excitement.
"I did." He smiled at his sister's enthusiasm.
"Great! But do you really think you can find it?"
"What's this?" He laughed. "Doubt from the Sunshine Girl?"
"Never. When are you going down?"
He looked up as Jackie came out of the bedroom in her wet suit. "Just as soon as I change." Hanging up, he gave Jackie a quick kiss. "Give me two seconds."
She nodded and waited as he changed into his suit, her stomach rolling as she thought about how much rested on finding the horn ---not just her future, but the hopes and dreams of Adrian's whole family. Taking a calming breath, she prayed she wouldn't let them down.
When they arrived at the beach, she saw Rory standing on the dock with Lauren perched on her hip and Chance shading them with a golf umbrella. Allison and Scott were also there, fanning themselves with brochures from the inn. They brightened when they saw her and waved.
"What are they doing out here?" she asked. "Don't they know it's too hot this time of year to stand around in the sun?"
"Hey, gang," Adrian called as they stepped onto the dock, not looking the least surprised to see them. "I take it y'all are the cheering section."
"And help, if you want it," Scott answered. "I've got my scuba gear in my car."
"Jackie?" Adrian turned to her.
"Tomorrow I may take you up on that," she said. "Today I have a theory I want to check out. If it proves true, we'll have a defined search area to start with, so maybe, hopefully, we won't be faced with sweeping the whole cove."
"What's your theory?" Adrian asked.
"The day Carl fired Danny, the jerk they interviewed on the news, I overheard them talking. Danny had been operating the dredge without the scree
n on. If he was clumsy, he could have sucked up any number of artifacts, including coins and other metal objects, and blown them outside the area Carl had set."
"Could the dredge have picked up something as big as the powder horn?" Scott asked.
"Absolutely," she answered. "And that's really our only hope. I want to sweep in an arch around the area I think Danny was working that day, and see if I can pick up a trail to follow. I'm guessing on a lot of this, but maybe we'll get lucky."
"Sounds like a plan." Adrian nodded.
She shook her head at him. "You did hear the words 'theory,' 'guess,' and 'lucky,' right?"
"Faith, Jackie." He winked at her. "Faith."
As Scott and Allison helped them gear up, a dolphin lifted his head out of the water and chattered at Jackie. "Hey, Chico," she greeted him.
"Friend of yours?" Adrian asked as Lauren clapped her hands in delight.
"Sort of," she laughed. "For some reason, he singled me out as his personal playmate, and follows me around every time I dive."
"A man with discerning taste," Adrian said.
"Just don't let him steal anything from you. His favorite game is keep away, and he's really good at it."
Chico flipped water at her.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," she told him, then looked at the sun. "We'll stay down for one hour, come up for two, then go back down. Which means we only have time for two dives today."
"There's always tomorrow," Adrian told her.
Trying to not think of the odds against success, she nodded. "You ready?"
"I am if you are." He pulled his mask into place.
"Wait!" Rory stepped forward and hugged her brother, then startled Jackie by hugging her, too. "Good luck. We'll be up at the inn, where it's cool, but we're all pulling for you, okay?"
Allison hugged Jackie next. "We know you'll do it."
Adrian hid a smile at Jackie's stunned reaction. The woman clearly needed more experience with affection, and he meant to see she got it. "Let's do it," he said, and stepped off into the water.
She jumped in after him and they headed for the wreck site. A murky haze persisted even at the lower depths, due to all the recent activity, but he could still make out the ship in the beam of his light. He followed Jackie as she swam over the main deck. She started to swim past the aft hatch that led to the officers' quarters, but he tapped her shoulder.
Don't Tempt Me Page 26
