by L. A. Fiore
“We need to make the claim,” Granddad announced, but he was already on the move.
“It’s shallow enough that we can get to it. We can bring in The Mooring.” Decker was talking about our excavation ship, one that was currently anchored offshore.
I heard all the activity around me, the excitement, the hustle and the bustle, but I just stood there looking at the image. She was real. Their story was real and in that moment I felt a gut-wrenching pain. Another love story that burned out too soon. His last thoughts were they of her? Did he die with her name on his lips? And her, a lifetime of missing him. A lifetime of getting through every day, waiting for the day she was called home so she could see him again. I understood better now what they felt and what I thought was a beautiful and romantic story was also a heartbreaking one. I supposed the most truly great romances were heartbreaking. At least theirs would be one people would know. Their love and loss wouldn’t be forgotten, but remembered, celebrated. They didn’t get forever in life, but I would make sure they had it in death. I hadn’t realized I was crying until Zoe touched my arm.
“Will, are you okay?”
“We found her, we actually found her.”
We were having a celebratory dinner. We had been staying on the ship while we searched for Isabella and soon we would be living on The Mooring, so for the next few nights while we got organized and packed, we were staying in a hotel. Solid ground since it was anyone’s guess how long we would be on the water.
I looked around the room and everyone was here including those in Noah’s crew that tended to avoid gatherings. While I looked around, my phone buzzed. Mr. Tuttleman.
“Hello, stranger,” I said in way of greeting.
“Hello, back. I hear congratulations are in order.”
“Well, we found the ship, whether we find the necklace remains to be seen.”
“You’ll find it. I’ve no doubt.”
“And I appreciate your confidence.”
“How’s your grandfather? The place is too quiet without the sound of his cane on the tile.”
They were best friends, Granddad and Mr. Tuttleman. I mean they could argue like an old married couple, but they were best friends.
“He’s good. Invaluable to me. I couldn’t do this without him.”
“And he is loving every second of being there for you in your moment.”
“How are you? How’s the museum?”
“Running smoothly, but there was something I wanted to mention to you. I received a call from an associate of mine who runs the...oh no.”
“Mr. Tuttleman?”
“I have to call you back. Someone just spilled juice in the artifact room. No drinks or food. Those signs aren’t there for decoration.”
Before I could say good-bye, he had already hung up.
A figure in the shadows caught my attention because of the heat that slid down my spine. I knew it was Noah even though I couldn’t see his face. He didn’t make a move toward me.
And as I grew closer, a chill moved through me at the hardness of his expression as he moved his gaze down my body.
“Is something wrong?”
Those gray eyes came back on me. Then he wrapped one hand under my chin and lifted my mouth to his. My painting, the exact way the man kissed his ladylove. And like her, I clutched his shoulder and leaned into him, giving back as good as I was getting.
He ended the kiss but his lips lingered just above mine. “Yes. We’re not alone.” He reached for my hand. “Congratulations on finding Isabella.”
“We found her.” I smiled up at him and I knew it was more than gratitude in my expression because I loved that we had found Isabella. “Thank you.”
“Beautiful, don’t look at me like that or we’ll be skipping out and getting naked.”
Like a wave, lust rolled over me. “We’ll get naked later.”
“Fuck, yeah.”
“We should mingle first.” I looked up at him through my lashes. “But we won’t stay long.”
The Mooring, an excavating ship that would be our home for the foreseeable future, cut through the water as we headed to Isabella. Ocean Quest, Captain Willard’s vessel, remained anchored at the dive site for security measures. The dive team was primed and ready. As was protocol, we would be going down with partners. Those on Noah’s crew who were diving would be teaming up with someone from Decker’s team. Noah was my partner.
It was thinking about Noah that had me working my lower lip. Noah was an unknown, but he was a force of nature, a dynamic and mysterious figure. An enigma that people will want to solve. When the media came, and they would, and it was discovered he was funding the dive, that he was rich on top of everything else, it would be the perfect storm for those gossipmongers. They wouldn’t stop until they learned all of his secrets and my fear was they would dig too deeply and find the bodies. When it had just been Noah’s crew, Zoe and me, the idea of Noah’s crew helping us find Isabella had been an exciting and romantic adventure, now it was a bit more complicated.
A hard chest pressed against my back, his hands curling around the railing on either side of me.
I turned so I could see him. He pressed in closer as our eyes locked.
“Are you ready to see Isabella?”
“Yes, particularly since I get to see her with you.”
“A highlight for me too.”
I curled my hands on his waistband and pressed my forehead to his chest because what I wanted and what was best for him were at odds. I lifted my gaze to his.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think you and your crew shouldn’t be so visible.”
“You’re worried when the press comes people will learn our dirty little secret.”
“I’m worried they’ll find the bodies. I’m worried that you won’t spend the rest of your life on the open sea, free, but locked behind bars.”
I couldn’t read him, hadn’t a clue what he was thinking, but then he lowered his head and kissed me and all thoughts left my head.
The media arrived; well, they came because my parents surprised us with a visit. I was on the deck of The Mooring going over strategy with Decker when Granddad came from the bridge. He looked annoyed.
“Granddad?”
“Your parents are here.”
It was then that I noticed how many boats were in the area. “Why so many boats?”
“Media. Your parents are on one. They’re requesting to board.”
“Mom and Dad are here?” It was so odd a statement I had trouble understanding it.
“Would you rather they wait for us on shore?”
“No. It’s fine.” I turned to Decker. He had the oddest expression on his face. “You get to meet my parents.”
He smiled, and I wondered if I had imagined the look. “A dream come true.”
One of the boats approached. Mom and Dad on the bow, waving.
Zoe hurried over to my side. “They have got to be your parents. You look just like them.” She knocked her shoulder into mine. “They came.”
They made a beeline to me as soon as they boarded. Before I could say hello, I was being hugged by both of them. When we eventually parted, they were smiling and crying. Mom touched my cheek. “You must be over the moon.”
I was, but I wasn’t sure if it was more for Isabella or the fact that my parents were actually here. I hadn’t said that out loud, but Mom’s expression changed slightly.
“We deserve that look. You’re shocked we’re here, and why wouldn’t you be? We’ve never followed through on anything with you. We’re so sorry.”
Dad tugged on a lock of my hair. I remembered him doing that when I was younger. “Sorry, Willow.”
“You’re here.” Zoe pressed into my side. “Oh…this is Zoe Doyle, Zoe my Mom and Dad, Miriam and Nathan.”
Zoe was not one for formality. She hugged Mom then Dad. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
She also wasn’t one to not get in a dig when she could. She was a good fr
iend, the best.
Mom and Dad took the barb like good sports.
“And this is Decker. My boss...” I glanced over at him and grinned. “And my friend.”
Dad took Decker’s hand. “We’ve heard a lot about you. Nice to meet you.”
“Good stuff, I hope.”
“Oh yes, absolutely good,” Mom replied.
Granddad and my parents said hello as I looked around for Noah. A figure stood in the shadows. I knew it was him even though I couldn’t see his face.
“Excuse me for a minute. There’s someone I want you to meet.” Mom smiled, Dad looked suspicious.
Noah gestured behind me when I reached him. “Your parents.”
“Yes. Come, let me introduce you.”
The look he gave me was adorable in a wickedly devilish way. “I am really not the meeting the parents type.”
“I can see that, but they are here, you are here. Honestly I’m surprised they are here. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but of all the times I wished for them to take an interest, now isn’t one of those times.” They brought the media and I didn’t want the media here, not with Noah and his crew here.
He glanced behind me, but I had no idea what he was thinking. He reached for my hand. “Introduce me to your parents.”
We approached and all heads turned our way. I made the introductions.
Mom smiled. “It’s very nice to meet you, Noah.”
Noah took mom’s hand and brought it to his lips. “Likewise.”
Dad wasn’t as friendly in his greeting. His words were clipped, his handshake more obligatory than friendly. A sharp pang of anger had my hands fisting. As my father, he should be respectful to acquaintances of mine. And after a lifetime of putting me second, his show now of fatherly concern offended me.
My mouth opened to say just that when Noah took my hand again and squeezed before he addressed my parents. “Congratulations on finding Blackbeard’s treasure. I imagine you’ll be dining out on that for a long time to come.”
“So what is it you do?” Dad asked, but it sounded more like an interrogation.
And just like how he had answered me when I had asked that, Noah said, “I’m in acquisitions.”
“And what does that mean, exactly?”
“I have an eye for beautiful things and when I see something I want, I do everything in my power to make it mine.”
“Sounds reckless.”
“Dad!”
“How is what you do any different?” Granddad asked. It was the look of him that eased my anger because he was pissed, and rightfully so, since my dad was acting like a petulant child.
“Nathan. What’s gotten into you?” Mom asked.
He had the sense to look contrite. “Sorry, habit. My daughter stumbles onto what could be a huge discovery and she’s suddenly got a mysterious suitor who is a self-proclaimed acquirer of beautiful things. The skeptic in me wonders.”
Noah didn’t miss a beat. “As a father, I imagine your reaction is typical, even admirable, however, if you had spent any amount of time with your daughter you would know she is an excellent judge of character and quite capable of taking care of herself.”
I could have kissed him right then. Zoe looked like she wanted to as well.
“Sorry, Willow.”
“It’s not me you owe the apology to.”
Dad reluctantly turned his gaze on Noah. “I apologize.”
Noah nodded.
“Maybe you can head to shore, take the press with you. We’re getting ready to dive in the next few days and we don’t want all the cameras.” Granddad started ushering Mom and Dad back to their awaiting boat.
“I’ll come with you.” I looked back at Noah. “I’ll be right back.” When we were out of earshot, I said to my dad, “He’s a friend, more than a friend, and you were rude.”
“I know. I just…your mother and I have been doing this a long time and it has made us cynical. Trust is hard when you’ve got so many people ready to stab you in the back.”
“Noah is very straightforward. He doesn’t play games. If he’s going to stab someone, he’ll do it while looking them straight in the eyes.”
Mom gasped. “That’s a metaphor, right?”
No. “Of course.”
“We just want you to be careful and cautious of those who just show up out of the blue. They more than likely have an ulterior motive,” Mom added.
“Thanks for the advice.” I was a little abrupt, but I was still fuming a bit about Dad’s behavior toward Noah. “Where are you calling home these days?” I asked.
“Actually we’re here in Mexico. There’s a site just outside of Mexico City, a possible lost city.”
It shouldn’t have surprised me that they hadn’t made the trip for me. Had they not been in Mexico City they wouldn’t be here and that just made my father’s behavior even more insulting.
“We’ll handle the media.”
“Thank you. We really don’t want cameras around here just yet.”
“You should think about doing an interview though, to build up the interest which will increase the demand for whatever you find,” Dad suggested.
“This isn’t about the money, and interviewing will bring other types of interest, the kind we are trying to avoid.”
“A few well timed interviews—”
“Dad, no interviews.”
“Nathan.” It was a reprimand even though Mom only said his name.
He stiffened, but he declared, “Fine. No interviews.”
We reached their boat. They both hugged me. “It is so good to see you.”
“And you. Thanks for coming.”
“When you get settled, text me your information,” Granddad added.
As I walked away something inside me shifted. I had built my parents up, thought they came close to walking on water, but the reality of them was seriously lacking.
I returned to Noah, he stood leaning against the wall, watching me. “I’m sorry for my dad’s behavior.”
“You are not responsible for your father.”
“He was being a dick, passing judgment on you.”
“I have a lot to be judged for.”
“But not by him. He who lives in glass houses.”
He moved, pulling me to him and pressed a kiss on my neck. “It’s sweet that you want to defend my honor, beautiful, but I’ve dealt with worse.”
“Well, those others weren’t related to me.”
He pressed in closer as our eyes locked. “Are you ready to see Isabella?”
“More than ready.”
I looked to my right and Noah was right at my shoulder. Like I had thought during our first dive together, he was a natural. I hadn’t mentioned it to him, but when I thought of my ideal life it included him and me, living, loving and diving together. A fantasy, but a really great one. He didn’t glance my way but he reached for my hand, as aware of me as I was of him.
Studying the scans, there was a narrow shelf and it was here where Isabella settled. Had she settled to the bottom, she would have been too deep for us to dive. She just appeared, like sailing out of a bank of fog. Haunting how she sat upright as if she was still sailing the seas. The hull was buried halfway in the sand. I hadn’t realized I had stopped swimming, was too overwhelmed looking at something that I had spent years searching for. Tears hit my eyes but I just let them fall. Noah was stroking my hand, a delicate brush of his thumb. The moment was bittersweet because I loved him and nothing would ever come of it, but somehow, just then at the moment when two dreams collided, it was enough.
We swam closer and I felt him. Stupid, probably just my overactive imagination, but I felt Alejandro. All that love forever resting at the bottom of the sea.
We reached the hull and my hand was actually shaking when I reached out. The world just stopped, everything around me disappeared when my palm touched the old wood. An energy pulsed through the ship into me, like a conduit, the whispers of ghosts echoed in my head demanding that thei
r stories be told. I moved slowly along the hull. It was in surprisingly good shape. We needed the hoses to dig her out, but what we could see had fared well. Noah signaled up and we moved to the deck. We swam along the length that at one time Alejandro had walked. The helm where he had captained his ship, the metal grate, corroded now from the sea and time, where prisoners would have been held. The bow where he might have stood, looking out to the New World, or toward home to his heart that was awaiting his return.
We swam to the stern, the name long ago eroded, but I could see it in my head. It would have been done in gold, a masculine script. He would have been there and not just because it was his flagship, but because it was the one he dedicated to his wife. She would have been there too. Maybe she was the one who broke the bottle to christen it. And she would have been there for the maiden voyage, would have stood on the pier long after his ship had faded from view. Praying and wishing that he would return to her. We circled the ship, first right up against the hull and then farther out. Scanning the ocean floor looking for any debris that may have settled after the ship found her final resting place.
I saw the object, covered in cement. Was it from the Isabella? We wouldn’t know until it was cleaned. Then I touched it and knew that it was. Noah came up beside me. I showed him, he put it in his dive bag. Then he took my hand and led me a bit farther to where a sea turtle was resting in the sand. For a few minutes we watched him before he signaled for us to ascend. He removed my mask before he took off his own. As soon as he pulled out his regulator he asked, “So what’s it feel like when a dream comes true?”
My smile took up my whole face. “Un-fucking-believable.”
We had just removed our equipment when Decker appeared on the dive platform. “I didn’t know your parents were taking over the dive.”
“My parents aren’t taking over.”
“Do they know that?”
I hadn’t talked to my parents since the day they arrived. They had been handling the media and I was consumed with Isabella. Before I could answer him, they appeared on the dive deck. Where the hell had they come from?