Treasure in the Sand

by Jill Monroe

  Cooper gazed out over the beach. “Yeah, I guess it must be. Sometimes I forget to just sit myself in the sand and admire the view.”

  “But you’ve been all over the world.” All those amazing places she’d only ever dreamed of visiting, usually after watching The World Overton.

  He shrugged, and something clouded his eyes. “It’s work.”

  His glibness didn’t really ring true. She almost asked about it but their waitress took their order and returned shortly with two glasses of wine. “So, you were homeschooled? That wasn’t something, uh…”

  “Uh…what?”

  Embarrassment made her mouth a little dry. She reached for her water glass and took a long swallow. “I hadn’t read you were homeschooled on your bio on your site.” There. She’d admitted to him she’d read his bio. Secrets were bad.

  “My parents were rather free spirits. If I asked a question about cows, we’d go to a farm. My dad would work the livestock and my mom would tackle the harvest. We’d hang there for a month or so and then off we’d go again. I learned about the gold rush in California. We panned a site for awhile before heading somewhere else to learn something new.”

  “So adventure was in your blood.”

  “And research. They’d often send me to the library and I’d stay there all day. The Peabody in Baltimore or Trinity College in Dublin. I learned to speak French at the Sainte-Geneviève in Paris, and Spanish at the José Vasconcelos library in Mexico City.”

  She sighed. “Sounds amazing.”

  Their waitress discreetly dropped off their salads. “And lonely,” he said, after she left.

  “Really?”

  “I was an only child, so I was alone all day in those libraries, and believe me, at thirteen you’re not so appreciative of the great reading room in the New York Public Library.”

  She had an image of a sad and secluded boy. Her heart began to soften. Nope. Don’t. Harden right back up.

  He set down his fork. “Don’t go all soft on me. I had good times, too. When I asked about a pirate, my parents got jobs on a ship and away we went.”

  See? He’s fine. A wonderful silver lining. “It’s like they managed to give you the perfect skill set for your job.”

  He laughed. “I never thought of it that way, but yeah. They did.”

  “Do they like the show?”

  “When they catch it. I gave them the DVD of the first two seasons at Christmas, but who knows if they’re in a place with electricity.”

  Her own parents barely bothered to spend time with her. They certainly never rearranged their plans in her interest. “I always wondered if you did all the show’s research yourself or if someone else typed it all up and you just did a voiceover.” With his amazing, sensual voice.

  “I’m insulted you’d even ask that,” he told her, but a smile tugged at his lips. “Until very recently I oversaw every detail of the show.”

  The cloudiness returned to his eyes. She must have struck some kind of a nerve, but what?

  “Here are your meals. Enjoy,” their waitress said, dropping off their food.

  She leaned forward. “This smells amazing.”

  “So did I catch that you’ve never been to Casa Blanca before?” he asked after they’d both taken a few bites.

  Was he changing the subject from before? Interesting. “Honestly, I’ve avoided coming here, and it’s not just because of my salary, but—”

  “But?” he prompted.

  “This is going to sound really selfish, but I thought it might bring me down to see how great Casa Blanca was doing when Brecon looks like the hurricane hit it days ago, rather than two years.”

  Understanding filled his eyes. “Doesn’t sounds selfish. Just human.”

  “I went to high school with the owner, Lacey Armstrong, er Walker. She was two grades ahead of me at Mimosa High, so we didn’t really have any classes together. But she was always nice. So that just grounds in even more guilt for not checking this place out before now.”

  “If it’s not too personal, why haven’t you fixed up Brecon? Was it not insured?”

  “No, I was at college doing my student teaching when the hurricane hit. My grandmother was here alone.”

  “Alone? Thought she would have evacuated.”

  Her sigh was heavy. “Normally she would have, but the hurricane turned and hit an area it wasn’t supposed to hit. A lot of people were caught off guard. She rode out the storm, but it destroyed everything around her.” Molly’s shoulders slumped. “I wish you could have seen what Brecon looked like before. My grandparents planted a huge orange grove, rows and rows of trees. The air always smelled like fruit and sunshine.”

  “I never saw any notice of her…” His words trailed.

  “That’s because Gram survived the storm in the bathtub with a flashlight and a bicycle helmet. Same way a lot of people on the island rode it out. It was when she was trying to clear the grove herself, well…she had a stroke.” Molly swallowed, trying to hold back the guilt.

  He nodded. “And all the money you would have gotten from insurance to repair the place went to her care,” he filled in for her, his voice filled with compassion.

  “Exactly.”

  His large hand covered hers, warm and strangely comforting. “I’m sorry.”

  She should have yanked her hand out from under his, but instead she rotated her wrist and gave him a squeeze. “Thanks.”

  “Can I tempt you to have dessert, guys?” the waitress asked the next time she approached the table.

  Molly tugged away from Cooper’s grasp then, and smiled up at their server. “No, it was so good, but I couldn’t eat another bite.”

  “Totally understand. I’ll be right back with your check.”

  Alone with Cooper again, Molly said, “The good news is Gram is getting better every day. And thanks to YouTube and a ton of do-it-yourself videos, I’m slowly getting some repairs done to the house. Mostly on the weekends. I can’t wait to see her walk up those stairs. Once I get them fixed,” she said with a small laugh.

  The waitress returned with the bill. Cooper signed the receipt and helped Molly from her seat. “Thank you for dinner.”

  “Let’s walk the beach.”

  They’d eaten an entire meal, amazingly delicious as advertised, but not once had they discussed the map or his offer of money. He’d try to hard sell her now. The thought of that was kind of disappointing. There were several moments in there together that felt very real. Play it close to the vest.

  They drifted down to the beach in no hurry, stopping only to take off their shoes. The sand was sun warmed and combed, not as gritty as the sand at Brecon, but her toes sunk into it just the same. Heaven. A life of travel sounded exhilarating, but there were reasons she’d never left Florida, too. Besides the wishes of her grandparents.

  The waves gently rushed to the beach and the wind brought in the scent of sea and salt. For some the ocean was a place to visit. A vacation. But to her it was home. Security. Her grandparents. And what Lacey had done with her stretch of beach was amazing.

  “I’m glad you brought me here, Cooper. To Casa Blanca. It’s actually made me really hopeful about the future.”

  He reached up and cupped the side of her face, his thumb caressing her chin in a gentle sweep. “I don’t normally make people feel hopeful. Or myself.” His gaze lowered to her mouth, then returned to her eyes. Searching. He lowered his head. “But I do like feeling this way,” he said against her lips.

  Her lids fluttered shut and she lifted on her tiptoes. His mouth on hers was better than any fantasy she’d ever dreamed up. Real life Cooper Overton was warm, and smelled like fresh sea air and made her heart race with the barest of touches. He tasted of wine and adventure and she craved drinking him in.

  He traced patterns on her skin with his fingers until her nipples puckered and goose bumps rose on her arms. Desire and want and need chased everything from her mind. She could stand there on the beach and kiss him for hours. Until one
tiny, destructive thought broke through the longing to be in his arms.

  What did a world traveling TV star want with her other than a map? An elementary speech pathologist on a tiny island in Florida? Molly pushed from his grasp, and sucked in several deep, mind-clearing breaths.

  “Trying to sweeten the deal?” she asked, her eyes narrowing. That was low down and dirty.

  Confusion darkened his brown eyes. He shook his head. “No, I would…” He traced the line of her cheek with his finger. “I’d never treat you that way, Molly. Hell, I knew I should have brought it up before I kissed you. I just couldn’t…”

  She brushed his finger away from her face. “Couldn’t what?”

  “Shatter the moment. I had to know your taste.”

  “Oh.” Her heart pounded in her chest.

  He scrubbed a hand through his hair, shorter than last night at Brecon. He’d gotten a trim today. “Molly, when I came out to Barefoot Bay, I thought I’d be negotiating with an old lady. I wasn’t prepared for you.”

  Her laugh was rueful. “Oh, Gram would so kick your ass if she heard you call her an old lady.”

  “I hope some day she can. Forget me. Forget what just happened a minute ago. Take the money,” he urged. “Get your house fixed up so when she’s ready to walk up those steps she can.”

  “It’s tempting.” You’re tempting.

  Molly turned and faced the ocean. Tonight’s gentle waves were so unlike her thoughts. “Have you heard how my family came in possession of Le Cœur Surveillé?”

  “I read a few things about it on the Internet, but the stories conflict each other.”

  She laughed. “That’s because we don’t even know. Not really. It was the War of Spanish Succession. The Spanish economy was in a mess, and King Philip V demanded all treasures be returned to Spain. No matter that it was the height of hurricane season. There was a military officer in Colombia. Rafael del Olmo. He was in charge of turning over all the riches he could find over to the King, but Le Cœur Surveillé was his. Another lost love in a string of lost loves.”

  “The Guarded Heart.”

  She nodded. “Exactly. He traveled by mule to Porto Bello and rode to Havana and up the Bahama Channel to the open sea. And after all that, a hurricane got him.” She scanned the vastness of ocean before her. “Can you imagine? Hundreds of men lost their lives, but del Olmo managed to hang on to some floating debris with one hand while holding onto the jewel and some coins with another.”

  “My research says he floated like that for days.”

  “That’s how my grandpa told it. His bedtime stories could be a little terrifying. So here’s where the narrative gets a little off. Some say a pirate found del Olmo who spilled his secrets before he died of exposure. Others say del Olmo managed to make it to Florida and lived long enough to sire a legacy and hide the treasure. Either way, I’m descended from a pirate or a man who risked his life for some stones and a little gold.”

  “Priceless stones.”

  The ocean breeze carried away her sigh. “Either way, I’m sure you see how I just can’t give the map away for money. Every winding strand of my Waiter DNA burns at the idea. It would discount all the sacrifices of the generations before me.”

  His hands curved around her shoulders, drawing her to face him. “You need to answer the call of finding it, too. The adventure.”

  She nodded. Was this manipulation or an arc of understanding stirring between them?

  “Then let me give it to you. Come with me as I find the jewel.”

  The man was more than pure temptation. He was hope for a better future. “What makes you think you’ll be the one who finds the treasure? Generations of my family have tried. Lost everything. Some even their lives.”

  He did the caress thing to her chin again, and another round of shivers followed. Then he smiled, slow and dangerous. “Because I have the one thing your family doesn’t have, Molly. The other half of the map.”

  What? What! Some people had excellent poker faces and could bluff their way through life. Molly wasn’t one of them.

  Her mouth fell open.

  “How did—I mean, wha—” Yeah. Good job on playing it close to the vest.

  The sexy man in front of her shrugged his shoulders. “You’re dying to ask how I got it.”

  She nodded. “No one even knows that my grandfather tore the map in two pieces outside of our family. No way did you learn that on the Internet. How did…?”

  “Can’t give up all my secrets,” he told her. Then winked.

  She plopped her hands on her hips. “I think we determined earlier that secrets are rude.”

  “True.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “You’ll have to think of a way to ferret the mystery out of me.”

  Molly watched as Cooper pivoted on his heel and walked down the beach in the direction of Casa Blanca.

  He glanced over his shoulder. “You coming?” The salty ocean breeze carried his challenge.

  Chapter Four

  The next morning, Molly found an orange gift bag emblazoned with the words Trick or Treat and a question mark on her desk. After she removed the orange and black tissue paper, she discovered an industrial sized box of condoms inside and laughed. Trick for sure.

  “Thanks, Deanna,” she mumbled.

  She tugged open her bottom desk drawer and shoved the box all the way to the back. Then piled some manila folders on top.

  A knock sounded at her door, and Molly looked up to see her friend’s grinning face. “How’d your date go last night?”

  Molly lowered her face so Deanna wouldn’t see the lie in her eyes. “It wasn’t a date.”

  “Did you get lips?”

  Her cheeks heated. “Uh…”

  “It was a date.”

  “It was a business meeting,” Molly said after Deanna plopped down in the chair next to her desk.

  “Yeah, because all titans of industry conduct business meetings in romantic restaurants overlooking the beach and end with kisses by the sea.”

  “How did you know we were at Junonia?”

  “Small island, remember? So, does he give good liplock? And if he doesn’t, just to lie to me, because the world, hell I don’t need that kind of a disappointment when a guy is so hot.”

  Molly’s breath rushed out of her in a flash. “It was amazing.”

  “Damn. I knew I should have managed some way to slip in a few condoms into your purse before you left.”

  Molly held up her hand. “Nope. Not going to let that happen again. We’re going to be working together.” Wait. When had she decided that?

  Deanna grabbed the edge of the desk. “Wait, what? You, the legacy holder of generations of lore, will accept the help of someone outside the clan?”

  Her heartbeat kicked up the pace. “The man knows things he shouldn’t.”

  “Which is why you need the condoms.” Her best friend lifted a brow.

  “Okay, not sexual kind of things. Although he might. In fact I’m sure he does, I just mean—” She pressed the back of her hands to cool her cheeks.

  “You’re so funny when you get flustered and ramble, but please cut to the chase.”

  “He knew some details about the map my family possesses. Particulars I thought only four people in the world knew—me, my grandparents and Grandpa’s brother.”

  “So he’s legit.”

  “I haven’t confirmed it with my own eyes, but I don’t know why he’d lie.” After all, he was right—Molly’s copy of the map would be useless without the other half he claimed to possess.

  “The way I see it, it’s win-win for you. You work together, share your map thing and you get the money. And maybe, just maybe you find the treasure. Or another way it could go, you work together, share your map and not find the treasure. But you still got the cash and some sexy times with Mr. TV adventure guy.”

  Unease poked doubt in her friend’s solid arguments. “I don’t know. There’s some weird rumors about him floating around on th
e Internet.”

  “Good source material.”

  Molly laughed. “True, but some of what I’m seeing is that scenes on his show might not be on the up and up.”

  “You’ve been up close and very personal with the guy. Do you think he’s playing you?”

  She shook her head. “No, not really. But money does strange things to people. My grandpa and his brother never talked to each other after gramps came back to Brecon. Maybe he gets a glimpse of my map and that’s it. He’s got the information he needs and I’m out the money and my advantage. Game over. I’d be a disgrace to all Waiters down the road.”

  “But what if you find Le Cœur Surveillé?”

  Molly fell silent. Yes. What if.

  “Silent Molly.” Deanna stood and smoothed her skirt in place. “I see my work here is done. So when are you meeting next?”

  “Who says there is a next one? Maybe we’ll be working together solely by phone. Or text.”

  “Because I didn’t see you put those condoms in the trash. Anyway, gotta run.” Deanna rushed from the room.

  The starting bell rang a few minutes later, and the rest of Molly’s morning was filled with restless students and lessons and only the occasional thoughts of a sexy modern day buccaneer whose kisses made her forget all about what might be buried in the sand.

  By the time lunch rolled around, she was ready to admit to herself she really did require Cooper’s help. A small thrill of excitement made her stomach quiver. Okay, it wasn’t small. She should be way more reluctant about working with the man. There were too many what ifs.

  What if he took her map?

  What if he never made good on his promises about the money?

  What if he put those condoms to good use?

  Molly groaned, fanned her face and then reached for her phone. If she were going to do this, risk this, she would have to receive major compensation. She dialed the number for the Casa Blanca Resort and Spa. In a few moments, the desk staff had them efficiently connected.