The Indigo Brothers Trilogy Boxed Set
Page 98
Right away, Mitch noticed something odd about the wreck. There were no cannons.
After discussing it over dinner one night with Walsh, the two decided that the Red Rose had likely gone to her grave during a storm and the crew had jettisoned the cannons in hopes of keeping her afloat. Which meant that if the crew dumped them overboard during the storm, the cannons would be scattered over several miles from the actual resting place.
That night, they put their heads together and marked off a grid so that they could thoroughly excavate the wreck site. Once they laid the grid, next came the tedious task of mining every inch of it.
Mitch decided to start with the air lift excavation tool. It was like a vacuum cleaner, used to suck up the top layer of loose sand and grit to expose whatever was buried underneath. The divers were then assigned a grid square. They used fans that looked like ping pong paddles to further clear their grid section. Each diver carried a mesh bag that they loaded up with whatever they found in their square.
Two weeks later, after all the hard work, they took stock of what they’d brought up. The Red Rose had provided them with two hundred gold coins, thirty bars of gold, three hundred silver coins, twenty silver bars, ten gold necklaces, fifteen gold spoons, two gold and silver bowls, five unbroken rum bottles, three gold crosses with gems embedded in them, twelve rings, and one gold chamber pot filled with emeralds.
But the biggest find of all was that solid gold sword, which when cleaned up revealed a jewel-encrusted hilt, laden with emeralds and rubies. The fabled lost sword of Cortés, that according to family lore Captain Koda Indigo had looted from a Spanish galleon the same day he’d made off with the countess.
All in all, a tidy sum when it was sold and the proceeds divided equally among all the crew, everything except the Cortés sword, which would be kept in the Indigo family.
After all, it was their very own legend.
Chapter Thirty-Four - Justice
By the time they got back to the Key, Raine had decided she wanted to be a part of that family legend once and for all.
But that meant having a come-to-Jesus showdown with her mother.
If she didn’t do it now, she knew she’d be tied to that taco stand until the day she keeled over, just like her grandfather had done. Mitch was right about that.
If running the restaurant wasn’t what she wanted to do, she needed to make the change now while she was still young enough to start over.
That morning, Mitch had already begun making plans to head back down to Little Bahama Bank that very night. There was an urgency in her heart and mind because she wanted to be on that boat more than anything else.
Her first stop had to be The Blue Taco. She had to promote Charlotte to manager and give her the go-ahead to hire whoever she deemed fit. Maddie’s daughter Gabby could join the staff if she wanted.
Heck, for all she cared, Charlotte could put Marachelle Fordham in charge of scrubbing down the toilets every night. See how the old bat liked being tied down to the taco shop, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
Her second stop was at her mother’s Cape Cod. Unlike before, Raine walked up to the door with a renewed confidence, determined that Marla Manning would never lay another guilt trip on her ever again.
When she got to the living room, she spotted the vodka bottle almost immediately. It was turned over at the edge of the couch, next to an empty glass.
Marla took one look at Raine and the verbal barbs poured out. “Where the hell have you been? You have some nerve leaving everyone in the lurch.”
“Nice to see you, too. I’m just here to tell you that I’m leaving with Mitch.”
“The hell you are.”
“Look, Mom, I didn’t come here to fight with you. I do love you, but I can’t live my life stuck at the taco shop forever. I just can’t. It isn’t the life I want. I have to make changes, big ones.”
“I knew this would happen. I knew Mitch would talk you into leaving me like this.”
“That’s just it, he didn’t talk me into anything. I came to this decision all on my own. And I’m not leaving you, I’ve finally decided to start living my life, something I should’ve done a long time ago. And thank God I finally came to my senses. I feel like this huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.”
“Of course you do. You’re acting irresponsibly just like you always do.”
“I’m genuinely sorry you feel that way. But it’s taken me four years to realize I’ll never be able to replace Danny, not in your eyes, not ever, no matter how hard I try, no matter what I do, I’ll never earn the same kind of love from you that you showed Danny. And I’ve made my peace with that. It was hard at first, but I’m okay now. Mitch loves me and I’m not letting that kind of thing go for any taco stand, certainly not for a mother who sees me as nothing more than a reliable employee. I can’t change the fact that you’re convinced you lost the wrong child. Having lost my own child, I’m sorry for that.”
Mimi heard the argument and came into the room carrying a photo of Raine and Mitch, taken when they’d been teenagers. Mimi tossed it toward Marla. The Kodak moment landed on the couch. “If you weren’t so blind drunk all the time, you’d be able to see that those two were deeply in love, have been for years. Anybody with a lick of sense can see that. Let her go, Marla. Raine deserves her chance at happiness. I had mine. You had yours. For God’s sakes, let go of all that anger and let the girl live.”
Marla tried to stand up, but staggered back on the sofa. She continued to wring her hands. “What about the taco stand? Do you want to go on food stamps? Who’ll run that place?”
“We won’t go on welfare. If you’d give up the booze, you could easily go back to managing the place. You have a capable staff, more than most. Maddie and Charlotte will see to it that the place goes on. Besides, it’s a damn taco stand, Marla, not a shrine to Danny. You keep avoiding it like you think it’s haunted with his ghost.”
Mimi turned to Raine. “If you love him, like I think you do, don’t let anything or anyone stand in your way. Don’t let anyone stop you from latching on, grabbing hold of that happiness he offers and giving it everything you’ve got.”
Raine went over to Mimi and put her in a bear hug and kissed her cheek. “Thank you. I knew you of all people would understand. I love you.”
“I know you do. And I love you right back. Now get out of here and go find that boy before it’s too late.”
Raine took off down the dock to the slip where The Black Rum had been moored hours earlier. She stared at the slip, blinked and realized the boat was gone. In its place was a ritzy catamaran, probably owned by some wealthy putz from Key West.
Her shoulders slumped. Why was she so surprised he’d left her already without a backward glance? He’d done it to her again. She headed back home, head down, each step a chore.
But when she reached her houseboat, she glanced up and saw him standing on her deck, gear beside him.
“What are you doing here? I just checked the marina and The Black Rum is gone.”
Mitch nodded. “Yep. She went ahead and took off tonight for Little Bahama Bank, going back to the dive spot there. It’s probably overrun by other treasure hunters by now, but hey, the crew wanted to give it a shot.”
“But that’s your dive site!”
“It is. But Walsh can handle whatever comes up.”
“Why aren’t you with your crew?”
“Because my heart is here with you.”
“Mitch, you can’t—”
“Don’t try to tell me what I can or can’t do. My life is with you and that’s all there is to it.”
“But I was coming to tell you to wait for me, that I’ve decided to come with you. I just quit my family’s business, no notice, no nothing. I could be your onboard full-time cook.”
“You were coming to tell me that? Really? That’s a hell of an offer. I really love your breakfast burritos.”
“I’m all packed. I didn’t want to lug my suitcase all
the way down the dock. I thought you’d do that for me.”
“Are you sure you want to leave here, that this is what you want? What does your mother say about your decision?”
“She was angry. Very. And gave me a hard time, but my grandmother pointed out a few things. Mimi was a lot more direct. Mimi said I should do what’s right for me. If I wanted to go with you, I should go, if it’s what I wanted, I shouldn’t let anything stop me. You’re what I want.”
She tilted her head up to his. “So what do we do now? I’m ready to start full-time.”
“That’s good. Great, actually. We may have to get a bigger boat. Jackson and Garret have decided they want to join the business. But I had something else in mind for you and me. How do you feel about marrying me and taking a two-week-long honeymoon before you join a bunch of guys on a boat? You’d be my wife then and part-time cook. As you already know, the crew divvies up galley chores. But I make out the roster.”
“You’re talking about galley chores and rosters when you’ve just asked me to marry you? Where’s that romantic guy I saw on the boat?”
He yanked her around the waist and off her feet. “I hear Life Stone Church is looking for a new preacher. Funny thing is, Walsh is an ordained minister. He can marry us.”
“Walsh? An ordained minister? But he just took off for the Bahamas.”
“Depending on your answer, he can always turn around and come back. So what’s it gonna be?”
She ran her fingers through his hair. “Yes. If that’s what it takes to settle you down, the answer’s yes.”
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of the first book in the
Pelican Pointe Series
Promise Cove
Promise Cove
The combat post was rural, more like a farming community stuck out in the boonies. The roads were primarily unpaved, dusty twenty-four-seven, and at the moment littered with burned-out equipment. The convoy they were riding in was going a sluggish twenty-five miles an hour in hundred-twenty-degree heat. There was no AC, no hope of grabbing an artery-clogging, delicious-tasting, fast food burger with a pile of over-salty fries, or even indulging in an after-duty dip in a cool, sparkling blue swimming pool.
Because this particular stretch of road had seen its fair share of hostile action the past couple of days, the entire unit had to be extra vigilant.
As they made their way up a rise, a grove of palm trees came into view. The wind picked up causing the fronds of the trees to bend and sway. The hot, arid breeze kicked up the loose grit, causing the tiny grains of sand to become airborne and burrow in and under any exposed pore and crevice of skin it could find. A thick layer of sand stuck to their faces, to their uniforms, and to their weapons. Homemade masks made from scarves and bandanas hid their sweaty faces and did little to protect them from the elements.
Dressed in full combat gear, the stifling heat inside the Hummer caused perspiration to pool down their backs. The prospect of a hot shower, a mere dream in the back of everyone’s mind, was as far off at the moment as the idea of ever getting to go home.
But even in a war zone, confined in the cramped space of the Humvee, the soldiers did their best to make light of their predicament by laughing and cracking jokes. Sitting in the back seat, two officers kept up a steady stream of chatter. At least one did. Glancing up briefly when another new barrage of sand hit the windshield, Captain Scott Phillips barely noticed as he yanked the bandana from around his mouth so he could talk. And the Captain loved to talk, especially any bit of conversation that crept into his head that had anything to do with his wife, Jordan, and their baby daughter, Hutton, a daughter he had yet to lay eyes on or hold.
As had become his habit, 1st Lt. Nick Harris listened as patiently as he could. What else was he going to do in such close quarters but listen to the Captain’s long-winded stories about home? Nick indulged him, not only because he was a captive audience but because, like most everyone in the unit, he genuinely liked Scott. The men who served under Phillips liked the no-nonsense way he ran his unit, liked the man who could routinely go from all-business to light-hearted in the blink of an eye.
And light-hearted usually meant Scott kept up a non-stop monologue about his family back home. After spending a year of active duty with the guy, Nick felt certain he knew every nuance about the man’s personal life. There wasn’t much info Scott held back or didn’t share. When it came to his wife and newborn daughter, the man simply refused to shut up.
On the surface the two men had little in common. Scott was blissfully married while Nick, unattached, single, and happy about it, had a bevy of women waiting for him back in Los Angeles. But despite their differences, Nick’s affection for the guy overrode any annoyance over knowing every detail Scott chose to share. It seemed to Nick, Scott’s family life back home in California was an open book, which made him long ago accept the fact that Scott just liked to talk. Period.
Nick watched as Scott tapped his flak jacket and reminded, “I promised Jordan I’d wear this thing 24/7 as long as I’m over here. I didn’t have the heart to tell her it won’t do a damn thing to stop an IED.”
“There’s no stopping an IED,” Nick agreed amicably.
“When we get out of this mess promise me you’ll come to Pelican Pointe for a visit, meet Jordan and the baby.”
Here it comes, thought Nick as he shook his head, Scott crowing once again about his hometown and the people in it. Nick responded the way he always did whenever Scott mentioned Pelican Pointe—he made some smart-ass comment—making sure to insult the Captain’s small town in a good-natured, guy kind of way. “Now why would I want to spend time in a Podunk town that sounds like a bird sanctuary? I’m a big city kind of guy, Captain. I’d go nuts in a small town. Besides, small towns are cliquish.”
“Pelican Pointe’s different.”
“I doubt that. Everybody knows your business in a small town.”
“When we get out of this mess, you come for a visit. I guarantee you’ll see for yourself what a great place it is, how great the people are. They’d do anything for you, Nick.” Without taking a breath, Scott went on, “God, I sure miss Jordan. And I haven’t even laid eyes on Hutton. I wish I’d been there the day she was born. I hate it Jordan had to go through childbirth without me. She’s almost five months old, can you believe it?”
“How does it feel to be a dad?” Nick didn’t have a clue about being a father, but it seemed the right thing to say at times like this when Scott got that distant look on his face, that wistful gaze in his eye, the look that said he was homesick and wanted nothing more than to get back home to his family.
“Being a father is great, I think. I’d like to be able to hold her though, you know. Pictures aren’t the same thing. You ever thought of having kids, Nick?”
A panicked look crossed his face. “Hell no. I can’t even see myself married.”
“Marriage is exactly what you need. Might settle you down.”
Nick couldn’t imagine it. “Marriage would be like a rock around my neck. Too many sweet things out there in the proverbial sea I haven’t sampled yet.” He wiggled his eyebrows up and down.
“Get yourself in trouble is what you’re gonna do. You need to think about finding that special someone. If you ever found a woman like Jordan, you’d change your mind in a heartbeat.”
Before Nick could argue, he heard the sound of a rocket blast pierce the air.
Someone yelled,
“Look out, incoming!”
Nick heard an explosion, saw a blast of fire, and then a wave of smoke surrounded the vehicle so thick, he could barely see or breathe anything but fire and heat. Soldiers started running toward the lead Hummer. He heard more yelling. His lungs burned.
“Go. Go. Go!” someone shouted.
Chaos reigned as Nick watched the Humvee just ahead of theirs disintegrate into pieces. He saw burned metal fly through the air before he realized it wasn’t the lead Hummer at all. He turned to where Scott had sat beside him and saw his buddy’s face twisted in pain. Nick heard screaming.
“Promise me, Nick…”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vickie McKeehan is the author of twenty-one novels.