Becki meandered from one section of the market to another browsing through jewelry, glassware, and art. She spotted a framed photograph that would fit perfectly in her living room. The artist had captured the Cooper River Bridge at sunset. The elegant lines of symmetry formed by massive cables as they stood against a background of color were breathtaking. As she moved nearer to the masterpiece, she heard a voice nearby shout a familiar name.
“Royce!” Joanna squealed and as she spotted her big brother, her hero, her larger-than-life champion. Boy, was he in trouble for getting himself captured.
Royce smiled and threw his arms wide open as she ran towards him. He stood watching, waiting for her to jump into his arms the way she had been doing ever since she was a child. There was nothing child-like about the woman running toward him. He wondered where the time had gone. His baby sister had somehow morphed into this beautiful woman.
Becki scanned the crowd and felt her heart drop to her knees. Royce… her Royce! She was unable to tear her eyes away as he threw his arms open wide, only to wrap them tightly around the raven-haired bitch who had launched herself solidly into his arms. Not only did he catch her mid-air, he hugged her tightly spinning her around in circles!
Becki could not believe her eyes. This was the same man who had apologized for being a jerk and had brought her flowers? The kind and considerate man who had stayed with her through the storm and acted like a perfect gentlemen? The one who had cooked her breakfast and told her that he didn’t want her to be with anyone else? The jackass twirling in circles with a death-grip on some big-busted bimbo was the man she had thought was different…trustworthy? Becki wanted to flee from the scene before her, but she seemed to be rooted to the spot.
Maybe she should march right up to the happy couple and introduce herself as the woman Royce had spent the night with! She wondered how the bitch in zebra-print, peep-toe pumps would feel about that little tidbit of information. Clearly, Royce was a far cry from the white knight she had thought him to be.
Becki tried to ignore the burning pain in her heart. She was determined not to shed one more tear- ever again- on white knights that turned out to be nothing but dark lords in disguise.
Dashing a tear from her eye, she concentrated on breathing slow and steady. In and out, keep your head up. In and out, you will survive this. In and out, you should have known better!
Becki kept her distance, ducking behind vendor cases when necessary, and continued to watch Royce with his woman. They were touching each other constantly as if they couldn’t keep their hands off of one another. His girlfriend must have been out of town, which would explain why he had time to spend with her over the last few days. She didn’t dare get close enough to the couple to hear what they were saying, but she couldn’t seem to tear herself away from the scene unfolding in front of her eyes.
“So, have I missed anything, brat?” Royce asked with a grin. He kept an arm wrapped around his little sister as they strolled through the market. It was so good to see her.
“Not much really,” Joanna answered. “But we’re not going to talk about me right now.”
Here it comes. Royce braced himself for Joanna’s wrath.
“What the hell happened out there Royce? I couldn’t believe it when you disappeared! Dad kept insisting you would surface soon. He forbade Mom or me to use our magic to find you. He said it wasn’t worth the risk. He was afraid that we might give away your position and put you in greater danger. Needless to say, Mom wasn’t too happy with that decision.”
“I can imagine,” Royce commiserated.
Joanna’s eyes sparkled with mirth as she added, “He had to buy her a new condo and let her totally redecorate it to keep her occupied.”
Royce laughed, “He’ll probably send me the bill.”
“I’m glad you’re back,” Joanna said, tightening her arm around him.
“Me, too,” Royce said dropping a brotherly kiss on the top of her head. She may be all grown-up, but she would always be his baby sister.
“I’ve been looking into the cloaking spell, and I think I’ve found a way around it. I have to be fairly close to the coin for it to work; and you know I can’t touch the coin after we find it. I’m not sure exactly how it works, but it’s spelled to repel Witches,” she whispered, being careful to keep her voice low. “We can move it mentally if there are enough of us, but no one knows what happens if we actually come into physical contact with it. I don’t want to be the one to find out either,” she shivered. “Merlin was an extremely powerful wizard and sometimes a bit over-the-top. I’m not up for being the guinea pig on this one.”
“You won’t be going anywhere near that coin. I’ll make sure of it,” He whispered softly. “I would never live through the wrath of your mother if I let anything happen to you.”
As Royce whispered to the other woman, Becki felt like throwing up! He had kissed her like that this morning, whispered to her in that sexy voice, and made her fall in lo--. She stopped that train of thought dead in its tracks.
Unaware they were being watched, Joanna pushed away from Royce and proceeded to enlighten him that he was not responsible for her actions. Neither would he be responsible for any resulting consequences. “You listen to me, Royce. I do what I do. I go where I go. I make my own choices, take my own chances, and make my own mistakes. If something happens to me, it won’t be because you let it happen. It will be because it was my choice, my decision.”
“You’re wrong about that, Joanna,” Royce argued raising his voice. “I protect my own. You are my responsibility.”
“No! You are wrong. We all know the risks involved, and we choose to keep doing what we do. It’s in our blood, our destiny. Don’t continue to carry that baggage, Royce.” Joanna softened her tone, “Tara knew what she was doing. It wasn’t your fault, and you could not have prevented it.” She touched his face gently forcing him to meet her eyes. “She didn’t want you to prevent it,” she said with tears in her eyes.
Why was that bitch crying? She was the one whose heart had just shattered into a million pieces. Becki stood frozen as she clearly heard Royce proclaim, “I protect my own…” and follow it up with “You are my responsibility.”
Becki had seen quite enough, too much really. She crept toward the exit. There was no need to watch any more or listen any further.
As the woman he was falling in love with ran away, Royce dropped his forehead to meet Joanna’s. “I know Jo, but it doesn’t make it any easier. I’m working on it. I promise.”
“Let me know how I can help you,” she begged, wanting her bigbrother to be happy again.
Her offer to help sent shivers of dread through him; time to divert her attention. He straightened, tucking her arm through his. “Want to hear about a girl I met?” he asked, knowing that would get her nosiness stirred up.
“Spill it,” Joanna prompted with a quick grin.
# Becki’s trip through the candy shop was a blur. As she shoved her car into reverse, she reevaluated her opinion of this perfect day. It had actually turned out to be a perfectly lousy day. She just hoped she could make it home before she had a complete melt-down.
She would drop the candy off at Kurt’s house, go home and have a good cry, and then get ready for work. Breathe in. Breathe out. Traffic turned out to be a nightmare on the way to Mt. Pleasant. Between construction areas and less-than-competent drivers, it took almost an hour to get to Kurt’s house. Just as she pulled into his driveway, her cell phone beeped with a text message. She stared at the message on her screen; Hope ur day is going well C U soon.
What the hell? She responded with an angry FU but then reconsidered and hit the delete button instead. Flinging the phone angrily into her purse, she snatched the sack of candy and made her way into the house.
As she opened the door, her eyes landed on the vase of flowers. They were still sitting on the table where Royce had placed them last night. She stalked to the table and picked up the offensive reminder of her foolishness.
Last night had been a joke, an absolutely ridiculous illusion.
The girls were thoroughly engrossed in a movie. Which worked out perfectly, as it alleviated the need to explain why she was ruining a perfectly beautiful bouquet of flowers down the garbage disposal…one by one.
Becki turned off the garbage disposal… along with her emotions concerning Royce.
“Hi, girls,” she said, pasting on a smile. “I’ve got the goods for you!”
She loved her cousins and loved spending time with them. They always made her feel better.
Mandy had already informed her that they had lunch plans together at school next week. She had given Becki instructions to pick up lunch at the local sandwich shop by 11:30. Lunch period began at 11:50. When Becki asked if she was supposed to stay and eat with her, Mandy responded, “Sure, you are the cool cousin.”
Becki didn’t feel so cool right now. She just felt upset and disappointed.
“Yessss,” Leann said as they all ran toward the sack of candy. She stopped long enough to give Becki a hug. “Thanks,” she added.
“You’re welcome. Where is your dad?” Becki asked, hugging her back.
“He ran to the dive shop to pick up some diving gear so he could go diving with Landon tomorrow,” Clarissa answered as she dug through the sack investigating their candy options.
After making sure all the items on her list had been included, she moved over to hug Becki too, “Thanks. Are you ok? You seem a little sad today,” she said shifting her eyes to the empty spot on the table where the vase of flowers had been. Obviously, she was a little more observant than Becki had given her credit for.
“I’m fine; don’t you worry. I’m fighting a headache. That’s all,” Becki assured her, picking up her purse and sliding her sunglasses on.
“OKay…,” Clarissa answered, clearly not swallowing the lie.
“You girls have fun and take it easy on your dad tonight! I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“K. Bye, Becki. Thanks again,” they all called at once as Becki stepped out the back door.
Becki had heard Kurt’s truck pull into the driveway while she was talking to the girls. He was in the process of unloading regulators-- more regulators than he and Landon would need. Was he having a party that she had not been invited to?
“What ‘cha got there?” Becki asked.
“Oh, just some gear. Landon and I are taking a couple of buddies out exploring tomorrow,” Kurt answered nonchalantly.
“It’s supposed to be beautiful. Where are you diving?” Becki hinted. She loved going out with Kurt and Landon. They knew where all the good places were. Sometimes they would dive an area where the locals believed a ship had sunk in the early 1900’s. They would spend the day burning air and looking for treasure.
“Oh, we don’t have an exact destination in mind. Royce and Sean are going out with us, maybe a couple more. I’m not sure yet.”
Becki stiffened. “I didn’t realize you and Royce were so tight,” she said sarcastically.
Kurt glanced up frowning, “You ok with us going out? I thought you and Royce were kind of dating.”
“Royce and I are not dating…or anything else for that matter,” Becki said shortly.
“Did something happen?” Kurt asked, putting the inventory on hold. He was anxious to help Royce clear up the coin mess, but he had better be treating Becki right.
Becki saw it coming-- a million questions she just didn’t have the energy to answer right now. Uncle Kurt would be all pissed off on her behalf and probably drag Landon in to it, too. She didn’t want to ruin their trip tomorrow. She would keep her troubles to herself this time. She would end up blubbering all over him and making him uncomfortable anyway.
“No,” she forced a laugh, “just PMS.” It wasn’t true, but she knew it was guaranteed to back him off in a hurry.
Sure enough, he back-peddled as if it were contagious. “Ok,” he said, as he added a pair of fins to the rapidly growing pile of gear. “Are you working today?” he asked in a subtle effort to change the subject.
“Yes,” Becki answered with a smile, “and I need to get a move on.”
“Do you have any vacation time you could use next week?” Kurt asked out of the blue.
Becki frowned, “Vacation time? What’s that?” she teased. “No. Actually, I’ve picked up a couple of extra shifts next week. Why? Do you need me to run the girls somewhere?”
“Uh-- no, the girls are going to Indiana for a week or so. I just wondered if you wanted to go with them. I’ll pay for your plane ticket,” Kurt offered, hoping against hope that she would take him up on it.
“I appreciate the offer, and I would love to go. But, we have another server on vacation next week. There is no way I could get off work. I’m sure Mamaw and Papaw will be excited to see the girls though.”
“Yes. I haven’t told them they are going to Indiana yet. I thought I would surprise them at dinner,” he said as he continued to unload the gear and organize it.
“That’s great. I know they will be excited. Well, I need to hurry, so I have enough time to get ready for work. Have fun with the girls tonight-- all ten of them!” She laughed, knowing he had forgotten all about the slumber party.
He groaned and hung his head in mock defeat, “I forgot,” he admitted. He looked up at her hopefully, “Sure you can’t call in sick?”
Becki laughed, “No way, you are on your own. I did my part; I provided the sugar,” she said as she climbed into her car and then waved joyfully as she drove away.
Another text message from Royce flashed on her phone. She pressed delete without ever reading it.
# “The bar is packed tonight,” Tabby, her friend and fellow waitress, warned as Becki clocked in.
“I noticed,” she shot back. “Is everything going ok?”
“Yes, it’s all under control with the exception of Ted-- he burnt his hand caramelizing the crème brûlée,” She laughed.
“No! Is he ok?” Becki asked, her eyes opening as wide as silver dollars. Ted reminded Becki of a short-order cook from an old TV sitcom. He was as sweet as he could be, but his bulb didn’t burn the brightest.
“He’s fine,” Tabby reassured her. “But, I think you need to cover blow-torch safety with him one more time before he burns this place down around us!”
Becki laughed, “I’ll take care of it.”
She grabbed an ink pen and jabbed it through the messy bun on the back of her head. She always had pens sticking out of her hair. She had sent several pens through the washer and dryer and ruined countless articles of clothing before she decided to stop sticking ink pens in her pockets.
Tabby reached around Becki to grab her tray of drinks the bartender had just finished making. As she nodded to a big round table currently filling with women, Tabby teased, “I’ll let you take the party. They just came in. Have fun!” Then she headed for the rowdy table of frat boys in the back corner of the bar.
“Ohhh, thanks sooo much,” Becki threw over her shoulder as she went to get started with drink orders. Groups of women were notoriously hard to keep happy, and the crowd was already a little more boisterous than usual. That always happened around a full moon; it seemed to bring out the nut-jobs.
As she placed the first round of drinks on their table, one of the women handed Becki a stack of twenty dollar bills and a list of addresses. She explained that their husbands were on kid duty, and the girls were kicking up their heels. She asked Becki to keep the drinks flowing and to call cabs for each of them at the end of the night. Girl’s night out was about to begin. Oh, my.
The girls dined, danced, and drank their way into a stupor. Surprisingly, they had remained polite and had turned out to be the most fun group Becki had served in a long time. They were now being poured into their respective cabs to be driven home. Once there, Becki hoped they were prepared for the hangovers that would surely linger for the next day or two.
As Becki gathered the empty glasses and wiped down the recently vacat
ed table, Trevor entered the Pub and immediately began making his way toward “his” table. He preferred to sit where he had a clear view of the front door and easy access to the back door on the off-chance he needed to make a hasty exit.
He spotted Becki clearing a large table and quickly changed his route to bring him close enough to playfully grab her back-side as he passed.
Becki spun around with fire in her eyes preparing to way-lay whoever dared to touch her in such a familiar way.
Trevor merely winked at her and continued walking.
“I’ll take care of you later, you Lecher,” Becki threated, flipping her towel at him.
He quickly side-stepped successfully avoiding the stinging pop of her wet towel.
“Promises, promises…” he taunted looking back at her over his shoulder.
Becki was glad to see Trevor; he was exactly what she needed tonight. A little crazy in the company of a sexy bad-boy should fix her right up. She might have a hangover herself in the morning. She knew Trevor would see that she got home safely. She might even let him do that belly-shot he had mentioned earlier.
Becki finished cleaning up, clocked out, and headed over to join Trevor.
“Hey bad boy, are you up for showing a girl a good time tonight?” she teased running a playful finger down his cheek.
“You’re talking to the right man, doll,” Trevor said as he stood to slide his arm around her for a quick hug. “I’m all about a good time,” he promised as he guided her into the chair next to the one he had been occupying.
“I’ve had a rough day,” Becki said dropping into the chair like a sack of potatoes. Dropping her head into her hands, she expounded, “Really, really rough.”
Trevor’s hands immediately descended on her shoulders and began massaging away the tension.
“Mmmm,” she purred, “your fingers are magic.”
Trevor smiled. If you only knew...
Treasure Tides (The Coins) Page 13