by KaLyn Cooper
Instead, cold disheveled sheets that smelled of her essence and their sex was all he found in the dark room that had to wait more than an hour before streaks of morning hit the closed sliding doors.
Jillian was less than thirty feet away, but it could have been thirty miles. She and Addi were just on the other side of that wall—
Addi. What a stupid, self-centered fuck I am!
Jack hadn’t given one second of thought to Addison since Jillian appeared in the doorway to his office. He’d seen the ever-present baby monitor in Jillian’s hand and knew she was never without it unless Addison was in her eyesight.
Christ almighty. How could I have forgotten about that precious baby girl? She is everything to Jillian.
He had never dated a woman with children before so he’d never had to deal with the dynamic of his woman being needed by someone else twenty-four-seven. He loved Addison, and sharing Jillian with her hadn’t entered his mind before now. He wondered if Addi slept in her own room and how often she awoke in the middle of the night.
Had Jillian heard the baby in the night and gone to her? He wasn’t attuned to the rhythms of a child, but if it meant that he couldn’t depend on Jillian in his bed when he woke up, then he’d have to learn to deal with the raging hard-on he’d had every morning since she arrived.
Needing relief, he contemplated a shower and his hand, but that’s not what his body wanted. It wanted her, any way he could have her. But that wasn’t going to happen.
Jack decided to pound out his sexual frustration through sweat made another way, a hard run on the beach interrupted by sit-ups and push-ups in the surf. Every time he performed this pre-dawn routine, the lessons pounded into his psyche at BUDs washed over him like the ocean waves. Today it was trust no one other than your teammates.
Sand gritted into his back as he finished crunches and popped to his feet to sprint the next half-mile in the softer sand above the tide line.
Jack had never been in love and would never allow a woman to have that control over him. He’d been in lust many times and found temporary comfort in the bodies of too many women to count.
But love, no. Not like the kind his mother and father had. He used to think it was dreadful the way they’d grab at each other when they thought no one was watching. Around their home, they were unabashed about hugging and kissing in front of their children. Sure they argued, but by morning, his mother and father were back to public displays of affection once again.
He remembered walking in on his grandparents in a groping session shortly after he’d reached puberty. “Yuck.” He’d thought he’d said the word in his brain, but it had escaped. He could hear his Gramps’ words even now. Never letting his wife of forty-plus years out of his arms, he said “Grandson, I only hope you find a woman that excites you at sixty as much as she did at twenty-six.” The look they’d exchanged was one of pure love.
Within two years, she was taken from their lives by a drunk driver. The sadness he’d seen in his grandfather’s face after that had changed Jack’s life forever. It had been reinforced by the devastation that filled his mother since a heart attack had ended his father’s presence on this earth.
Jack had vowed never to love anyone that much. His own pain at the loss of his devoted grandparents hurt every day, still. Even though his father chose to spend more time with the family corporation than with his family, Jack had still loved his father and missed him constantly. Then there was Jimmy. Jack had no words for the devastating agony of losing his brother.
He could bear as much physical pain as the Navy, BUDs instructors, and bad guys threw at him because it was nothing compared to the misery of someone you loved dying.
He dropped to the ground again and gutted out twenty-five more push-ups. His shoulders and biceps burned with the lactic acid accumulating deep within its tissue. Cocking one knee up and digging his toes into the sand, he gracefully positioned his whole body like a runner in the blocks, then shot out for a mile this time in the hard-packed sand, lifting his feet high so they didn’t splash in the surf.
But then there was Jillian. He liked her. A lot. He couldn’t get enough of her, not only in bed. He enjoyed being with her while they were awake. Yesterday he couldn’t wait to get home and tell her about his day and hear what she’d been up to while he was on his boat pampering tourists.
When he’d found her staring into the ethos, he’d known something bad had happened and it was up to him to fix it for her. And that’s what he’d happily done.
Jack automatically knew when he’d reached his halfway point and turned to the warm water and good hard swim all the way back. The mere thought of heading to his home, to Jillian and Addison who were there, to spending the whole day with them on his beloved ocean, made his tired muscles stretch out and seek the simple comfort of just being with them.
After rinsing the sand and salt off his spent body in the outdoor shower, he headed to the still-quiet house and a real shower. Dressed in his usual cargo board shorts, Jack opted for a BACats T-shirt.
He slipped into Jillian’s room. Fighting the pull—which was so great it surprised him—to climb into bed with her and merely hold her, he checked on Addi. Like her mother, she was sleeping soundly. Jack picked up the photographs and went to find coffee and sustenance.
That had been hours ago.
Addi had been the first to awaken, and once again, Jack had taken care of her until Jillian wandered out. The dark circles under her eyes evidenced lack of sleep, but since he’d been the cause, he didn’t mention it. He simply kissed her.
“You left me last night,” he accused, holding her tight in his arms.
“Not by choice.” Jillian melted into him and another kiss. “I heard Addi stirring through the monitor and didn’t want her to wake up to an empty room.”
“Next time we’ll sleep in your room.” He smiled down at her. “But you’ll have to be quieter. Good thing I closed the doors. Otherwise, you would have awakened the whole house when you rode me like a cowgirl last night.” That had been round three and, as far as he was concerned, the best of the night. She’d let her guard down and screamed his name when she came, milking his orgasm for what seemed like forever. He’d loved it and was looking forward to a repeat performance.
She pecked his cheek. “We’ll see.”
Not a commitment, but certainly not a denial. He’d take that.
The boys and Lilly arrived in the quad full of sass and energy, excited about spending the day with Jack on the boat and in the water.
But it had taken hours before everyone was fed, changed, extra clothes gathered, a cooler filled with lunch, snacks, and drinks to last the whole day. Mother arrived with a stack of beach towels three feet tall and hugs for everyone.
Just as he thought they were almost ready to go, Cool Hand Luke landed his helicopter on the grassy front yard to deliver the underwater camera. Everyone had to examine the chopper and sit in the pilot seat, try on the helmets, and test the communications system.
“Your sister’s fuckin’ hot,” Luke noted. “She’s not wearing a wedding ring. Available?”
Jack took a good look at his friend, who was a few years older than him chronologically and decades older than his sister in life experiences. He was ten times the man she’d married. “Yep. And she’ll be here until after the first.”
“The boys are hers though, right?”
“That’s a problem?” Jack asked.
“Exes complicate.” Luke never took his gaze off Lilly. “But I’ve been known to make an exception to the rules, even ones I make for myself.”
Oh, yes, Luke had broken the rules of combat flight more than once to pull Jack and his team out of a hot zone. Lilly could do a lot worse than Luke. She already had, and it ended in divorce. “I’ll text you her phone number.”
“She’ll give it to me.” Luke walked over to Lilly and turned on that suave charm that Navy pilots must learn in Pensacola as part of flight school. They all had it in spades. Jack
watched as Lilly fell victim to his casual smile and undeniable intelligence. When he whipped out his phone and entered Lilly’s cell number, Jack smiled. She would be seeing his friend privately, and soon. Good for them.
It was nearly ten when Jack fired up the powerful engines and left the dock. He’d spent an hour early that morning studying old and new sea charts and knew exactly where to find the site of the salvaged Virgin Mary. He needed to dive there with a compass to determine the direction she pointed. Although the photo he’d taken ten years ago was slightly out of focus and the sea had been cloudy, he could discern the ledge she’d stood on. It might take a while, but he’d find it again.
Comfortable on the jet boat, his family settled in for the ride.
As Jack approached the coordinates, the Chastain Salvage boat came into view.
Lilly was by his side in an instant. “Is that where we’re going?”
“What are they doing here?” Jillian asked.
“Stay calm.” Jack wished his sixth sense wasn’t jumping up and down screaming at him. “Yes, that’s where we’re headed.”
They all watched divers climb onto the large wooden platform on the stern of the Diggin’ It. Jack carefully kept his distance in case other divers were on their way up.
Johnathan Chastain sauntered to the starboard side and called over. “Jack. This is a registered archeological dive site.”
Jillian’s mouth fell open when Dr. Tzuc stepped beside Chastain.
“Figures they’re working together.” Lilly’s acidic tone didn’t go unnoticed, but she’d kept her voice just above a whisper.
“Do you think Johnathan overheard us in the restaurant?” Jillian sounded apologetic and concerned.
Jack wrapped an arm around her and pulled her tight to him. He quietly reassured her. “No, darling. This is an established site. They’ve been here for a while, probably weeks.”
Jack hollered back to larger boat, “No problem. It’s a free ocean, and I’m here on behalf of the Girard Foundation that excavated relics from this area several years ago. We need current photographs to prove that our salvage operations didn’t damage the environment.” Jack lied easily, a skill honed in the SEAL teams and from lying to officials all over the globe. Mission success was always the goal, and Jack always achieved the goal, one way or the other.
“I’m sure you have the proper paperwork to prove that.” The Chastains had never worried about paperwork in the past. Their mantra was it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission.
Lilly stepped to the side of the boat. “Hello, Johnathan.”
His initial response was all male as his gaze raked over her low-cut, lace coverup, but when his eyes reached her face, Jack watched Johnathan sigh. “I see you brought your attorney. I’m sure Lilly has filed the proper paperwork.”
“Of course,” was her loud response. Under her breath she added, “I will if it’s necessary.”
Jack and Jillian rapidly donned tanks and fins and dropped over the side. He popped to the surface to get the camera and a good luck wish from Lilly. Adjusting his mask, he watched as Jillian did the same then lead the way into the clear Caribbean Sea. At thirty feet down, this was a good first test of Jillian’s diving ability. Since she was going to be around now, he had so many places he’d like to share with her. He couldn’t wait to show her a sunken ship and dive with her in the cool fresh water of a cenote.
With long, smooth strokes, he propelled his body through the salt water. The quiet of the ocean never ceased to amaze him. Underwater, all a diver could hear was his own breathing and the gurgling release of bubbles through the valve. Sound was amplified at the same time it was dulled. A shark could swim up silently, but a boat motor could be heard from miles away. Until hours were spent in that environment, it was difficult to recognize the source of a sound and learn to look up, down, and around in 360 degrees. Situational awareness could mean life or death under the surface.
Treading water about twenty feet down, Jack pulled out the sealed photo he’d taken years ago, studied it, and scanned the ocean floor. He saw where Chastain’s crew had raped the area around a jutting rock ledge for a hundred feet, digging in the sand and silt for whatever treasures were buried there.
Branches of staghorn coral lay broken and discarded. Lacy fern coral still waved in the current with chunks carelessly knocked off. Jack’s temper flared at the disregard Chastain’s men had for the environment.
But it was the original location where the Virgin Mary had stood for over a hundred years that interested Jack now.
He handed Jillian the photo, then pointed to the area. She nodded. He moved into position to take pictures. This was working, but he wished the statue was still there. Establishing an accurate direction was proving more difficult than he’d imagined. Jillian swam into his peripheral vision then hovered above a rock filled with anemones.
He had a living model.
Using only hand motions, Jack instructed her to stand on the ledge in the same position as in the picture. She handled herself well in the water. The long flippers were cumbersome to maneuver into a flat-footed stance, but she did so with grace and ease. The real test would be in an emergency, and he’d do everything in his power to see to it that none arose.
It took a few tries, but they finally got her in the same pose. Jack checked his compass and determined the Madonna had been pointing toward the shore. He double-checked then checked again. If that’s where she pointed, then that’s where they would go.
Satisfied with a job well done, Jack consulted his gauges and watch. They had time to explore the ocean for a few minutes. He swam over and took Jillian’s hand. Coral sparsely populated this ledge, so Jack swam a foot above the rocks. He pointed out smaller sea life that lived amongst the rust and yellow lichen. They watched a spiraled white shell with brown spots slither over lime green growth before Jack picked it up and showed Jillian the slug-like animal that lived inside. Since the shell was only three inches long, Jack returned it to its journey, hoping it would grow much larger.
A school of yellowtail passed ten feet away, totally ignoring them. For a few minutes they followed the wanderings of a two-foot long parrotfish, its blue and yellow flashing in the noon sunlight.
Jack heard the buzzing of a motor, and his gaze immediately went to the surface. He signaled to Jillian it was time to leave. He didn’t want Lilly with a boatload of children to face whoever approached.
As they rose, Jack saw the new arrival snug up to the Diggin’ It. They needed to get out of there. Jack didn’t trust Johnathan Chastain or Professor Tzuc.
Jillian’s head burst through the water next to him. She lifted her mask to her forehead as she spit out her regulator. “That was amazing. I almost felt sacrilegious standing where the statue had been, but what a great idea.”
Jack pulled her in for a kiss. “We’re as good together under water as we are under the sheets.”
“Jack.” Jillian used her palm to push water into his bare face.
“”I’ll get you back for that one.” Jack lifted himself onto the dive platform and reached for Jillian, but she’d easily pulled herself up beside him. Good to know she could take care of herself after a dive.
He handed the camera over to Lilly as he shrugged out of his tanks. He let them sit while he took off his fins. He helped Jillian with her tanks and then jumped over the stern.
“Let’s get out of here.” Jack slid the tanks into their storage docks.
Lilly batted his hands away. “I’ll take care of these. I don’t like the look of Johnathan’s new friends. They were blatantly carrying guns.”
Jack’s gaze flew to the Diggin’ It and observed the body language. The new men, pistols holstered on their belts, had the build and posture of gang thugs. They were taking orders from Johnathan, who kept glancing at him.
“I think it’s time to snorkel.” Jack announced loud enough for everyone on both boats to hear and headed to the helm. “How about it, kids?”
Young voices rose in joy, and Greyson did a little dance. Addison tried to follow his moves, and the women burst out in laughter.
“Leaving so soon?” Johnathan’s voice traveled easily over the water.
“Got everything I needed.” Jack gave the man his best eat-shit-and-die smile. Lilly had pulled up the anchor, and Preston had switched the red-angled stripe on a white background diver-down flag for the red, white, and blue of the USA.
Within minutes, Chastain was a spot on the horizon as they headed to their favorite reefs at Isla Mujeres.
Hours later, after the whole family had snorkeled and eaten a late lunch in the shade of the retractable canopy, Jillian rocked a sleepy Addison in her arms. “I wonder how long Professor Tzuc and Chastain have been working together.”
“Years,” Lilly replied. “Gramps tried to find the best expert for whatever he needed, and a few years ago it was Tzuc.” She looked at Jack, who was bent over several charts, repositioning the photos and compass. “You were stationed in California at the time.” Returning her gaze to Jillian, she finished her sentence. “That’s when he went to Tzuc. He showed the good professor some of the old manuscripts from Grams’ family, and the guy went nuts. He called Gramps and ranted about how he needed them for his research, showed up at the house late at night, and insisted on seeing him. I heard Gramps explain to him more than once that those belonged to Grams’ family and he couldn’t give them to him.”
“Persistent, huh?” Jillian laid a sleeping Addi onto the seat next to her.
“You have no idea.” Lilly checked her boys, who played quietly on the deck in the bow. “He even cornered Grams in the grocery store and convinced her to allow him to copy some of the papers. Gramps was livid, but you know Grams—well, actually you didn’t know her—but she had the kindest soul of anyone on this earth.”
“Maybe that’s why Jimmy thought it would be okay for him to fax some of the more difficult translations to Tzuc.” Jillian justified the action more to herself than to anyone else.