Winds of Deception (Samantha Rite Series Book 2)

by Hope Callaghan

  She looked over at Bri. “I’m sure Brianna would love for you to move here, too. Just remember, no one can make that decision for you. So go home. Think about it – and I mean really think about it.”

  Jasmine looked over at Sam with tear-filled eyes. “I know you’re right, Mrs. Rite.” She paused as she looked over at Luke. “And I promise I will give it some serious thought.”

  Sam squeezed her hand reassuringly as she stood back up. “It’s getting late. We better head up. The girls have to be at the airport pretty early tomorrow.”

  She looked at Brianna. “I’ll give you a few minutes to say your good-byes and then I’ll see you back in the room.”

  When they reached the girls’ hotel room. Sam stopped and looked at Lee expectantly. “I think you owe me something.”

  Lee looked down at her, his eyes smiling. “Yes, I believe I do.”

  With that, he reached over and gently pushed Sam’s long silky strands away from her face, their eyes locking. Without hesitation, Sam reached up and put her arms around Lee’s neck as his arms reached out and pulled her to him.

  When his lips touched hers, it was the sweetest kiss Sam had ever experienced. Her heart pounded as all the love and tenderness she felt for him was wrapped up in the gentleness of her emotions. The kiss deepened as Sam let out a long sigh. She wished this kiss could last forever.

  Finally, Lee pulled back, a small smile playing on his lips. “We better stop now. If not, the girls will catch us again and they’ll think all we ever do is stand outside your door and make out.”

  Sam let out a small giggle and sighed again. “Yeah, you’re right. I guess it’s a good thing they’re here. We don’t want to get carried away … or do we?”

  She didn’t give him time to answer before she stuck the key card in the door and opened it up.

  “I’ll need to take them to the airport in the morning. That leaves me one more day before I have to go back…”

  Lee shoved his hands in his pockets and frowned. “Don’t remind me. Soon, I’ll be just as miserable as the group we just left.”

  He continued. “That’ll just motivate me to get you down here as quickly as possible!”

  With that, he reached over and planted a quick kiss on Sam’s cheek before turning to go.

  Chapter 15

  The next morning the skies were overcast and gloomy which matched the girls’ moods perfectly. They were down-in-the-dumps over having to leave Travis and Luke. Sam tried to cheer them up to no avail. They didn’t even want to eat breakfast.

  At the airport, Sam was feeling a little guilty that she was staying on with Lee and the girls had to leave. But it had to be done and soon, they were on their way into the terminal. Sam let out a huge sigh of relief as she watched them go.

  On the trip back to the hotel, she was glad for a few minutes to herself. So much had happened in the last several days, it was nice to just be alone. She spent time every morning in quiet prayer but there were moments she just needed more than that.

  Her alone-time with God was the most important part of her day. Even though she knew He was in every situation and every moment of her life, it just felt good to talk out loud to Him. With every fiber of her being, she knew He was listening and that He loved her more than she could possibly comprehend. She ended her time with Him in earnest prayer.

  “Dear God. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for forgiving me of all my sins. I cherish my alone-time with You and as I pour out my heart, I feel Your presence so close to me.

  Thank you Jesus for dying for me, for cleansing me of all my sins now and forever. Lead me as you would have me go today, tomorrow and always. In Jesus precious name I pray. Amen.”

  Just that small amount of time Sam had in the car made all the difference in her soul and in her mind.

  She had the rest of the day to herself since she wasn’t going to meet Lee until later in the afternoon. She almost felt guilty about being so happy to have time alone.

  The afternoon flew by as she worked on her computer in the hotel room. She finally glanced at her watch. She needed to get ready – Lee would be back soon!

  With that, she hopped out of her chair and rushed to the bathroom. She wanted to spend extra time getting ready since this was their last evening until who-knew-when.

  She had just finished putting her hair up in a sleek, smooth updo when she heard a knock on the door. She ran over and quickly opened it to find Lee standing there and he was all decked out. “Wow! Look at you all dressed up! What’s the special occasion?”

  “Since this is our last night, I wanted it to be special. It’s a surprise.”

  She was intrigued. With that, she grabbed her handbag and followed him down the hall. No matter how much Sam tried to wheedle it out of him, he just shook his head adamantly. The only thing she knew for certain is that they were driving away from Orlando and towards the ocean.

  Eventually, they pulled into a parking lot in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. Sam looked around. There were lots of cars but when she looked at the building, it was anything but exciting. In fact, you couldn’t see much of the building at all. There were huge oak trees dotting the lawn. They were covered with huge clumps of hanging moss. The trees and hanging moss cast an eerie shadow over the building. Sam shivered involuntarily. “Where did you bring me – to a haunted restaurant?”

  He shook his head emphatically. “No, this place came highly recommended. Just wait.”

  Sam glanced at the large bronze plaque hanging at the entrance into the restaurant. Breakers by the Sea.

  He was right. When they got inside, Sam was in awe. The place was absolutely stunning. The view from the front entrance was amazing. Beautifully decorated and elegant candle-lit tables filled the room. Every table had an expansive ocean view. Leaded glass windows and French doors separated the dining room from a long, wooden porch. The porch was filled with white wicker potted plants and padded antique rocking chairs. Wrought iron lamp posts adorned the railing and cast a romantic evening glow.

  Sam turned to Lee, her eyes shining. “This place is just perfect.”

  With that, they were quickly seated at a table for two by the window. Sam couldn’t get enough of the amazing view. She thought the place was absolutely heavenly until she glanced at the menu. The place was definitely not cheap. Lee must’ve realized what she was thinking. “Please order whatever you like. This is our last evening alone and I want it to be special.”

  The menu wasn’t huge but there was a tempting variety. She settled on the five-cheese baked lasagna with a small garden salad, relieved that she was able to find something that wasn’t too awful expensive.

  Lee ordered the baked fish with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli.

  The meal was wonderful, the atmosphere cozy and very romantic. They shared each other’s dinner and both proclaimed the other’s to be much better. After the waiter brought the coffee out, Lee leaned back in his chair. “So Donovan and I have plans to search for the sunken treasure soon.”

  Sam set her coffee cup down as she carefully picked her words. She didn’t want to discourage his dreams of treasure but she knew there were others who also saw the map and would more-than-likely be searching for it, too. Some really bad people.

  “I know I can’t talk you out of this – and maybe I don’t really want to,” she admitted. “But will you promise me that you’ll be really, really careful and not doing anything crazy?”

  Lee leaned forward. “Yes, of course. I’m not naïve enough to think that Beth and Tom didn’t get a copy – or Michel or possibly even others.”

  “I think we have just as good a chance of finding it as they do – maybe even better!”

  Sam felt a knot tighten in her stomach. She shook her head. “I’ll be praying for you – daily – and you need to let me know exactly when you’ll be going out to search for it.”

  Lee promised he would. He could see how visibly upset this was making her so he quickly changed the subje
ct.

  Soon, it was time to go. Sam looked around one more time when they reached the door. This was such a beautiful place. Maybe someday he would bring her here again.

  The ride back to the hotel was quiet. Sam could relate to the sadness the girls felt the night before, knowing they were leaving someone they cared for, behind.

  Sensing her mood, Lee reached over and grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I hope this motivates you to get a move on – literally!”

  She slowly nodded. “I think it will.”

  Back at her hotel room, she turned to Lee. “I think it will be too painful saying good-bye tomorrow so maybe I should just take a taxi to the airport.”

  Lee didn’t answer right away as he studied her face. Finally, he nodded. “You’re probably right.”

  With that, she stood on her tippy-toes as she leaned in and pulled him towards her. Her kiss was a promise. A promise that she would see him soon. She couldn’t bear to say “good-bye.” Instead, she gave him a small, shaky smile before she turned and walked into her room, closing the door firmly behind her.

  Click Here for Waves of Deception, Samantha Rite Series Book 1!

  Click Here for Tides of Deception, Samantha Rite Series Book 3!

  (See Below for a Preview of Book 3 in the Samantha Rite Series: Tides of Deception)

  Tides of Deception

  Samantha Rite Series Book 3

  Hope Callaghan

  FIRST EDITION

  PUBLISHED BY:

  Orlando Home Solutions, LLC

  Copyright © 2014

  All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. Although places mentioned may be real, the characters, names and incidents and all other details are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or actual persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

  No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

  ___________________________________________________________________

  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:20-21. KJV

  Lee adjusted the dive mask on his face. He nodded his head and gave the thumbs up just before he fell backward, out of the small boat and into the deep blue water. He knew the exact direction he needed to take as he forced the fins on his feet to move faster.

  There wasn’t much daylight left and he wasn’t keen on being out in open water when night fell. With the passing of Hurricane Bartholomew, the seas were still a bit rough, their chances of discovering the treasure were getting slimmer and slimmer every day.

  Within minutes, Lee reached the spot he’d been looking for. The rock shelf was long and bumpy. In the distance, he could see where it raised up. Yes! This was it. His heart started thumping hard as he pushed himself down past the peak of the shelf.

  He pulled his dive light out of its protective pouch and quickly turned it on. Now that the whole shelf was illuminated, he pointed it downward. Nothing. He pulled himself just a few inches lower. He didn’t want to go too far down. Without the right gear it was dangerous to have that much pressure on his body and the equipment.

  He carefully studied the area illuminated by the bright light. At first he saw only deep blue water. He was just about to give up when something caught his eye. Something shiny. Yes, there was definitely something directly below him. With his free hand, he pulled the folding stick out of the storage pouch that was attached to his buoyancy controller. He quickly opened it up and began poking around near the shiny object, careful not to stir up too much sediment or else he wouldn’t be able to see anything. The stick hit on something hard. As he slid it sideways, he could see more shiny objects. He pulled the stick back up and carefully hooked a small net onto the end. Once more, he pushed the stick down into the murky bottom. Ever-so-gently he scooped up one of the shiny objects.

  He took a deep breath as he slowly brought the net up for a closer inspection. Crap! He was so nervous and excited, his heavy breathing was making his mask fog up! There was just one small clear spot so he wiggled it around to get the best close up view possible. He shined his flashlight directly on the object as he peered at it from the edge of his mask. His eyes grew wide when he saw what he’d been looking for all this time. It was a Spanish cob coin with a cross etched on the center. It was faint but it was definitely there!

  Lee’s mind was racing – they found it – they finally found it!!! He folded the diving stick and carefully placed that and the coin inside the zippered compartment and securely zipped it.

  He started his ascent back to the surface when he suddenly remembered. What an idiot! This was the most important part of the dive! He reached into another pouch on the other side of his buoyancy controller and pulled out his underwater GPS. With the location coordinates safely stored inside, Lee started his slow ascent to the top where Donovan was anxiously waiting.

  Donovan peered over the edge of the boat into the murky water. He was starting to get nervous. Lee had been down there a long time – longer than normal. His sharp eyes keeping a lookout for the tiny bubbles letting him know Lee was coming up. He was so focused on figuring out if Lee was alright that he didn’t hear the approaching boat.

  Donovan started to lose his balance. Something just hit the side of the boat! He grabbed the edge to steady himself as he looked back to see what caused the commotion.

  Another, larger boat had pulled up beside him and there were two strange men inside. He was just about to ask them what the heck they were doing when one of them jumped into his boat and rushed towards him.

  There was no time to react – it was all happening so quickly! The stranger was now standing over him, a gun in his hand, pointed right at Donovan’s head.

  Just then he noticed bubbles rising from the water next to the boat. Lee was surfacing! The gunman noticed too. Seconds later Lee popped out of the water. He was so excited he spit his mouthpiece out and practically shouted at Donovan. “I found it, I mean WE found it – we found the treasure!”

  Just then he spotted the man standing next to Donovan, holding a gun. The gunman was grinning from ear-to-ear. “That’s the best news I’ve heard all day!”

  Other Books by Author, Hope Callaghan:

  Waves of Deception: Samantha Rite Series Book 1

  Tides of Deception: Samantha Rite Series Book 3

  Who Murdered Mr. Malone? Garden Girls Mystery Series Book 1

  Grandkids Gone Wild: Garden Girls Mystery Series Book 2