by Melody Anne
An hour later, Savannah found herself driving to the ferry, which took her to a dock that wasn’t far from Ashton’s place of business.
That made her a little antsy, but when she looked around, she didn’t spot the man, so she figured this was just a coincidence. It had to be. Her sister wouldn’t sell her out. No way.
“Savvy, it’s so good to see you again.”
Jumping at the booming voice of Joseph Anderson, Savvy turned around too quickly and stumbled to her knees, instantly sending a shooting flash of pain through her kneecap. Tears sprang to her eyes, but she wasn’t sure if it was from embarrassment or pain — embarrassment was more likely.
“I’m so sorry, darling,” Joseph Anderson exclaimed as he instantly bent down and helped her to her feet. His two brothers were right there with him, both looking equally concerned.
“Please don’t apologize. I’m such a klutz,” she said, trying to get the tears out of her eyes. Dang it!
“I’ve been told I’m too loud and startle people,” Joseph said sheepishly.
“No, really. It’s so nice to see you again, Joseph,” she told him, hoping he would just drop the subject.
He gave her an assessing look and then smiled big before grabbing her up for a monster-sized bear hug. Her breath rushed from her.
“It’s wonderful to see you both as well, Richard and George,” she added, almost afraid of what would follow.
Those hugs weren’t quite so bone-crushing, though.
“What are you three up to?” she asked as she looked out at the nice boat sitting at the dock with no sign of a dive instructor.
“We ran into your sister at the hospital when we were attending a board meeting,” Richard said, “and she was telling us how disappointed you were that you hadn’t gotten to go on a dive this summer.”
“So we arranged one for you,” George piped in.
Savannah looked around in panic. She just couldn’t see Ashton again. Her heart was just now starting to heal, sort of, and spending the day with that man would undo her limited progress.
“My nephew Austin has a lot of diving experience,” Joseph told her. “It was something of a hobby for him for a lot of years. He and his cousin Lance will be here any minute now.”
She let out the breath she’d been holding. “You really didn’t need to do this for me,” she said with a smile that kept growing wider. “But I do appreciate it. I should tell you to go about your day, but I’m eager to get into some scuba gear.”
“This is no trouble at all for any of us,” George said. “It’s a beautiful Saturday with calm waters. And Austin happens to know of a place where there’s a wreck that hasn’t been completely picked through.”
Savannah’s eyes lit up as she looked toward the boat.
“Sorry we’re late. Got caught in traffic,” a man said as he approached. He had a bit of gray at his temples, but he was still devastatingly handsome, as were all the Storm and Anderson men she’d met.
“Yes, if Austin didn’t drive like an eighty-year-old blind grandma, we would have made it here an hour ago.” This came from Lance, whom Savvy had met at Joseph’s party and that one time on the docks, a little earlier, when she’d been with her sister. Lance was a definite flirt. And it had been more than obvious that the man had found her sister attractive. Savvy wasn’t so sure about her sister’s feelings.
“Shut up, Lance,” the first man said. “I’m Austin. And I’m only a few years older than this cousin of mine, whose driving is much worse than mine. Of course, we did meet briefly at my uncle’s bonfire.”
How in the world could she have forgotten this man? Maybe because she’d been so completely consumed by the fire in her blood that was Ashton.
“I’m truly grateful that you’re taking me out. I haven’t been able to dive for over six months now, and I’m pumped up about it,” she said, taking Austin’s hand and then Lance’s.
“Well, then,” Lance said, “we’d better get this show on the waves.”
“Are you three joining us?” Savannah asked the infamous meddlers.
“Not this trip, sweetheart. We have business to take care of,” Joseph boomed.
She was disappointed to hear that. She really enjoyed the company of the dynamic older men. They weren’t aging gracefully at all and they didn’t seem to give a damn. She only hoped she had half their energy as the years continued to pass.
She barely had time to register what was going on before she was being led to the boat, and then they were casting off. So once again she was on the sea, but this was for a day trip only. Maybe that was a good thing. She didn’t need any more storms in her life — either the thundering ones or the ones who had it as a surname. And who could also be terrifying forces of nature in their own way.
“Which wreck site are we going to?” she asked as they cruised along.
“Well, we aren’t quite sure,” Lance said, “but we think we might have made a new discovery.”
Savannah’s heart instantly began to pound.
“What ship do you think it is?” she asked, now in more of a hurry to get to the site.
“We’ve only been out here twice, and it’s not listed on the registry of known wrecks,” Austin told her.
“So which ship do you think it might be?” She really wasn’t into the suspense.
“It could be the schooner Anna C. Anderson,” Lance finally said.
“Really?” she gasped.
“Could be,” Austin told her, stressing two of his cousin’s words.
“Oh my, that ship departed from Oysterville on Shoalwater Bay with cargo and fresh oysters on its way to San Francisco in 1869. It disappeared with seven people on board.”
“How in the world do you know that off the top of your head?” Lance asked her.
“I’ve studied all the wrecks and lost ships of the West Coast. I’ve studied other regions too, but this area is the most accessible for me. If it’s truly the schooner, you’ll be named as the ones to find it,” she said with delight. “And knowing I was here early on in that discovery would be just amazing.”
“If you can identify it, then you’ll get all the credit,” Lance replied.
Tears instantly popped into Savvy’s eyes and she had to turn away from the two men. “I’m not the one who found it,” she reminded them.
Lance tried to reassure her. “It doesn’t mean nearly as much to either of us.”
After about an hour spent zooming along, the men chatting nonstop, Austin and Lance secured the boat, and soon Savvy was in the diving gear that they’d provided. She couldn’t help but feel elated as the three of them jumped into the water.
The sea was full of mysteries, some of them fascinating, some terrifying, and some downright awe-inspiring. But as they sank farther and farther below the surface of the ocean, she began to see pieces of what might be a boat.
Time and the harshness of the sea had torn it apart, but close investigation allowed her to determine that it was definitely a shipwreck. To identify which one it was, however, would take more than an afternoon. Hell, even after months of study, she still might never identify it.
But Savvy wasn’t going to let that thought keep her from trying. She would come out as often as time and her limited funds would allow. She managed to turn up a few treasures among the wreckage, but nothing of monetary value. That didn’t matter at all. She wasn’t seeking riches — she was seeking treasure.
When Austin indicated it was time to go up, she looked at her oxygen and realized how low it was. She usually kept a better eye on that, but she was so happy to float along the bottom of the sea, particularly now, when everything else in her life wasn’t going swimmingly. True, the diving site wasn’t too far off one of the small islands scattered along the West Coast, but it still felt as if she were in the middle of thousands of miles of ocean.
When her head popped above the water, she removed her mouthpiece and sent a grin in Austin’s direction. There was so much she wanted to discuss. But ju
st at that moment she noticed another boat anchored right by the one they’d brought out.
And her smile vanished.
She knew that boat, knew exactly who it belonged to.
Swimming back over to Austin’s boat, she pulled herself up the ladder — and came face to face with Ashton. He was wearing diving gear, and it was wet, but she hadn’t seen him down in the deep water. She’d been in her own world, and maybe she had seen him but just thought it was Lance or Austin. But it didn’t matter. She wasn’t letting the sight of him ruin her wonderful day.
“Did you have a good time, Savvy?” he asked.
What the hell? He was acting as if there weren’t a whole lot of misery between the two of them. Or misery on her part — he’d probably felt none.
“What are you doing here, Ashton? I wasn’t under the impression that you were invited.” She was surprised by how cool she was able to sound just then.
But he seemed unaffected. “My father told me that my brother and cousin were out diving in our spot. I thought I’d join them.”
“Your spot?” she asked.
“Yes, we found it together,” he told her.
“Oh.”
She was completely deflated. Now, even if she did prove it was the Anna C Anderson, it wasn’t just Austin and Lance’s right to give her the credit. And she didn’t want to go diving in a place where Ashton could show up any time he wanted.
“Why so bummed out? It looks like you found a thing or two,” he said, reaching toward her.
She quickly backed away. “Don’t touch me, Ashton,” she grated out. “Please.” She hated that she was so very close to breaking down.
“Savvy … I … I’ve missed you,” he finally said, and she nearly collapsed at his feet.
But she didn’t. “You don’t have the right to miss me, Ashton. You’re going to be a father. Our entire relationship has been wrong — right from the beginning. You were engaged to be married, and still I let you pursue me. But now you’re going to have a baby with her. I can’t be with you,” she told him, hating the choked feeling in her throat.
“I just miss you, Savvy.”
“It doesn’t matter, Ashton. None of it does.”
Lance and Austin were now climbing onto the boat, and she was glad.
“I found something down there,” Ashton told her.
“I’m happy for you,” Savannah said.
“I want you to have it.”
He held something out, but she couldn’t see what it was. She didn’t want to even look, though, because she couldn’t and wouldn’t accept it.
“Thank you, but no. Give it to Kalli, whatever it is.”
“Kalli wouldn’t appreciate it. This was made for you,” he said and he put it into her hand.
Though time and circumstances hadn’t been good to this little piece of jewelry, it could easily be cleaned up, and it would be back to its former beauty. It was a necklace, an unusual piece that she was guessing was silver, but it could be gold as well. They wouldn’t know until it was cleaned. It was a heart with a curious pattern swirling up to circle a light blue stone. It was simple — and beautiful. And she desperately wanted to keep it.
“No. You take it,” she said. “Please go back to your boat and let me go home.” Savvy thrust the necklace back into his hand.
Ashton walked away from her, just as she’d asked him to do. He chatted with his brother and cousin for a few minutes and then returned to his boat. He rode off before they did.
Savvy knew that this would be the last time she would see him. She sat in the back of Austin’s boat and was thankful that he and Lance left her alone as she slumped over the side and let her tears fall into the sea. And she’d thought that she was cried out.
It was fitting to have said her final goodbye this way — at sea — to the man she loved so much. When she returned to the shore, she would leave it all behind. She had no other choice.
Later that night, as Savvy was stretched out on the couch with a thriller book in her hand about a woman seeking revenge on the man who had done her wrong, she heard a knock on the apartment door. Alexa was gone, leaving her no choice but to see who it was.
“Delivery for Savanna Mills,” the man announced through the door in a loud voice.
She looked through the peephole and he seemed to be legit. So she opened the door and he handed over a package after having her sign her name.
It took her a while but she looked over the simple box and actually opened it. And she wished she hadn’t.
Inside, on a bed of velvet, was the necklace Ashton had found. It was silver, a beautiful, simple silver locket, most likely belonging to a fisherman’s wife. Next to it was a note:
The aquamarine in the center of this locket symbolizes courage, loyalty, honesty, and beauty. Aquamarines are also considered sacred to Neptune, the Roman god of the sea. Wear this and you will always have a safe voyage. When I found this, I knew that it could belong only to you.
Chapter Thirty-One
Ashton had thrown away the best thing that had ever happened to him, and he had done it for nothing. Honor meant zip to some people. What a freaking fool he was.
“I told you two months ago to get the hell out of my life! I meant it then and I still mean it now.”
“But, baby … we can work this out,” Kalli cried.
“I love that you can say the word baby, Kallista. How can any human being be so despicable as to fake a pregnancy?”
Kalli looked at him with wide eyes. “I just knew we needed more time.”
“Don’t try to sway me with the equally fake tears — you’d probably use the word faux anyway. I wasn’t kidding, Kalli. Get out of here now or I swear you won’t like what happens next.”
Her back straightened and her tears dried up. “What are you going to do, Ashton? Hit me?”
“Oh, no, dear, Kalli. Even if I don’t consider you a real woman, I would never hit a … female.” He wouldn’t call her a lady. “I’ll hit you where it counts — in the media.”
He had nothing to lose anymore. He would tell all to the reporters who loved gossip, and every one of them did. He didn’t give a damn if it put him in a bad light too. He’d lost the woman he loved, so what the hell did any of it matter? It didn’t.
“Your money isn’t worth this, Ashton.”
“There it is,” he said with the first smile he’d felt on his lips in months.
“Yeah, so what? That stupid little trollop you were with won’t get her hands on it either now,” she said, and her laugh sounded as if it were coming from a mad scientist. Or maybe from Mr. Hyde.
Damn, he’d been a fool to think he could marry for a pedigree instead of love. When the true colors came out, they really came out.
He picked up the phone and started punching in numbers. He was done.
“I’m going!” she said, and she ran out the door. He knew he wouldn’t see her again. It was over.
Ashton ended the call before it had ever started ringing. He didn’t want to waste another thought on such a greedy, worthless human being.
One who’d cost him everything that had any real value in life.
Ashton hung his head in sorrow. He’d tried getting ahold of Savvy, but she wasn’t enrolled at her university anymore. Had she given up on her degree? Her sister wouldn’t tell him where she was, and his whole life seemed to be lost now. And it was all because he’d felt he had to do the right thing.
But it had been three months since he’d last seen Savvy on Austin’s boat in the Pacific. She was gone. It was time for him to get on with his life.
No, Ashton didn’t want to face the world, but he couldn’t keep hiding away. He had a business to run and a family he loved, even though they’d recently been driving him crazy. Every single one of them seemed to be asking him at least once a week whether he’d seen Savvy. If not several times a week.
And yet he couldn’t help but gaze out the massive windows of his secluded house and wonder what Savvy was doing.
Who she was with. Had she moved on? He could most likely get these answers with a little effort, but she’d made it more than clear that their relationship was over and done with, kaput, fini.
A small voice tried to tell him that the obstacle was no longer in their way. But he’d chosen to go back to Kalli, and he’d broken Savvy’s heart. She wouldn’t forgive him for that. And she shouldn’t.
It didn’t help, though, to know how much his father loved Savvy, how much his uncles, siblings, and cousins loved her too. From the moment he’d informed them that he was engaged to Kalli again, and told them why he’d made that choice, they hadn’t believed her story.
Their doubts had pushed Ashton to demand further testing — that hadn’t been easy — and it had proved that the woman had made the entire thing up. She wasn’t pregnant and she’d never been pregnant. She’d probably been planning to fake a miscarriage after she’d dragged him down the aisle. He had no idea how she’d managed to get an ultrasound photo.
But where there was a will, there was a way — especially when billions were involved. Kallista Blanche Huntington-Hart had destroyed his life. Not bad for a scheming bitch. Okay, so he had to take some responsibility here for taking himself down.
The clanging of the phone nearly made Ashton jump out of his skin. That was almost funny, and if he could have still found enjoyment in life, he might have done so then.
“Where have you been?”
His father wasn’t normally a man to yell, but Ashton had to yank the phone away to save his eardrum.
“I’ve been busy, Father. And how are you?”
“I’ve been worried about you — that’s how I am,” Richard told him.
“I’m sorry I’ve caused you any stress. I’m doing just fine.”
“That’s good, I suppose,” Richard said before letting out a long sigh on the other end of the line.
“What do you want to tell me, Dad?” The last thing Ashton wanted was to draw this out.
