“I wanted Rock,” she began slowly, picking her words carefully. “Still do, if I’m being honest. But he’s mixed up in something dangerous. I’ve got the kids to consider.”
“My grandma used to say ‘don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.’ Granted, I don’t know Rock the way you do, but he seems trainable. Any chance you can help him through this rough patch and give him another chance?”
“Did he put you up to this?”
“He did not, and I’m offended you would say that. I’m stating the obvious. You guys have chemistry and compatibility. So what if he has a few problems in his past? Everybody’s got something. At least with Rock, you’re getting a taste of his issues up front.”
“You make relationships sound easy. Do you think I can forgive his lies and go on like they never happened? I’m not made that way. I hate liars.”
“Sounds like you have a choice to make, then.”
The weight of decisions settled on her heavily. She spooned in a few bites of vegetable soup. “I don’t want to decide another thing. I want to be a good mom.”
“You’re already a super mom. You’re the sole provider for your family. When trouble hit, you sent your kids to safety and faced it head-on.”
Jeanie shrugged. “Anyone would’ve done that.”
“Not me. I would’ve left town with the kids. To hell with my business.”
“I couldn’t do that.”
“Right. You’re already who you want to be. Now all you have to decide is who you want to be yourself with.”
Jeanie set aside the empty container. “Ugh. Another decision.”
“You’re up to the challenge. Did y’all finish off that Murder Cake last night?”
She and Rock had hand-fed it to each other after round two. Some of the chocolate icing spilled on her bare chest. He’d licked her clean. “We did.”
“Nice blush.”
Jeanie sighed. “Hot sex.”
“Aha! I should have nabbed him from the get-go. I would have squeezed months of great sex out of him before I got bored.”
“There is that to consider.”
Donna tossed a cube of chicken at each of the dogs. They gave her their undivided attention. “You’re here. Rock’s here. How many times in your life will the kids be out of town like this?”
Her friend’s question was doing weird things to her body. Anticipation hummed in her veins. “You think I should ignore the risk to life and limb and glue myself to his hot body?”
Donna shrugged, a knowing twinkle in her eye. “Works for me.”
Chapter 32
Rock breathed easier once Jeanie’s van pulled up beside his truck at dusk. She’d come home. At least, he hoped that’s why she was here.
He wanted to undress her slowly and make love to her all night. Nothing new there. But she had a toughness and an innocence about her that pulled him into deep waters. He needed the stolen treasure to settle his debt, but damn if he didn’t want her just as much. He’d never had a woman melt in his arms before. She made him feel like he could do anything. He hadn’t felt like that in a very long time. Since before he’d lost half his squad in Afghanistan.
He opened the back gate, and the dogs bolted inside to patrol their food station.
Jeanie approached cautiously, her shoulders nearly touching her ears. “Hey.”
“Hungry?” he asked, taking the backpack of dog gear from her.
“Starved, but we need to talk.”
He gestured toward the open door and shouldered the backpack. “No sense being hungry when I’ve got a pork loin ready to eat.”
She shot him an enigmatic look but continued inside with him, sniffing appreciably. “Are you trying to seduce me with food?”
Rock laughed. “Is it working?”
“Sure smells good. Okay, I’ll let you feed me dinner.”
“I’d hoped you’d come home. Come here, I mean. To Lytham House.” He reached for her hand, rubbing his thumb across her soft skin. “I’m sorry I upset you earlier today.”
Jeanie stiffened and retreated from his touch. “You lied to me.”
He held her glittering gaze. “I did. I’ll do it again if it keeps you safe. You have enough going on right now. You don’t need my problems, too.”
“I’m not stupid. Your being here is about the money. The coins. And that little wooden chest.” She stared at the floor. “I need to know. Is Avery involved?”
“Later, okay? I don’t want him to spoil our dinner.” Rock sent the dogs to the living room, pulled the heated plates out of the oven, and set them on the table.
She glanced around the shadowed room before she sat. “What did you do with Avery?”
Rock sighed. “Nothing. We talked. He went his way. I went mine.”
“Did you hurt him?”
“No.” He’d followed Avery and staked out the trailer where he’d spent the afternoon drinking, alone. A total waste of his time. Rock studied Jeanie’s edgy demeanor, sensed the sudden shift in the atmosphere. “Did you want me to?”
“No. Avery is…Avery. Not much anyone can do about that.” She nodded toward his left arm. “How’s the arm?”
“Getting stronger. I’m sure I’ll be up to lifting you onto the counter in a few days.”
Jeanie fiddled with her cloth napkin, adjusted the alignment of her silverware, and avoided making eye contact. “I spent the day thinking. About us. I made a decision. I have to be focused to get my kids back. No matter how much I like it, sex between us dilutes my focus. I have two kids counting on me. So, no more sex between us. Things are complicated enough already.”
Disappointment dulled his appetite, but he wouldn’t relent without a fight. “Is kissing banned in the new rule book?”
“Kissing is how last night happened. No kissing. I don’t sleep with every man I meet, and certainly not every man I kiss.”
He nodded, pleased she was picky, sorry he didn’t make the cut. She valued honesty, so he spoke from the heart. “I won’t push you, Jeanie, but I care for you. I want more of everything between us.”
“Will you level with me about your investor?”
He’d been expecting this question. “Lyle is a North Carolina man, some kind of timber and textile baron. He invests his millions in the Tar Heel State, if he’s interested in the project. He’d done some treasure hunting before, so I took a chance and asked him to finance my search. I’ve paid back ten percent of what I owe him from my fishing charter income, but I still owe him another ninety grand. I have to find the three stolen coins and the chest to square things with Lyle by the end of the month or he claims my family journal. It’s the only known reference to the Clarissa foundering.”
“Why’d you agree to that?”
“Blue skies, open seas, repeat charter customers. Life was good. The payment schedule and the interest clause seemed the least of my worries. I was making it work. Then I had a few setbacks, and you know the rest.”
“This might sound dumb, but would he loan you more money? If you had the gear, could you find the rest of the treasure?”
“Even if he would lend me more money, I won’t do that again. I mean to get out from under this cloud of debt. I plan to start over. Really start over. I’d like to open a small business here. Ecotourism or fishing charters. Mossy Bog is beautiful. I’m sure I could earn a living here.”
She released a shaky breath. “More power to you if you can pull it off.”
“You sound skeptical.”
“I’ve known plenty of dreamers. They’re all over Mossy Bog.”
“Nothing wrong with having dreams.” Rock’s desire for her warmed his gaze. “I bet you’ve plenty of your own.”
She shot him a stern look and picked up her fork. “Focus. We’re keeping this platonic, remember?”
Nothing platonic about his feelings.
But he could be patient.
For now.
Chapter 33
Leering faces of his late partner and Palamir
i tormented Rock’s sleep. He surged out of the nightmare into wakefulness, ready for action. Shadows drenched the corners of his bedroom.
Where was he?
Mossy Bog.
In the old house he’d rented.
The dogs.
They weren’t here.
He struggled with panic until he remembered they were sleeping in Jeanie’s room. He’d insisted on it, though he’d much rather have had that honor. He glanced at the alarm clock. A little before seven in the morning. Might as well get up.
He showered, dressed, and made breakfast for two. Despite the sleeping arrangements, he felt lighter today. Jeanie had listened to reason about staying with him. She’d given him a second chance. He didn’t intend to let her down.
“Mmm. Breakfast,” Jeanie said as she and the dogs padded in.
He handed her a mug of coffee, black with sugar, as she preferred. “Morning. Sleep good?”
“Like a log. You’re spoiling me. When this is over, I won’t know how to act.”
Smiling inside, he busied himself preparing the plates, herding the dogs outside to romp in the yard.
“Thanks,” Jeanie said to the plate of bacon, eggs, and toast. “It smells delicious.”
He joined her at the table, pleased at how right she looked in his kitchen. “I’m leaving the dogs with you at the shop again.”
Jeanie put down her fork and studied him. “Why?”
So much for slipping his trip in under the radar. “I’m headed to St. Simons today. There’s a guy I need to see.”
“Palamiri?”
“Yes.”
Jeanie leaned forward, her eyes gleaming with interest. “I’m coming with you.”
The crispy bacon in his mouth tasted like shoe leather. “You have an event. A birthday deal or a bridge party.”
“The arrangement’s done. All I need to do is drop the flowers off at the parish hall this morning, and I’m ready to go.”
Her eagerness confused him. “What about your business? You said you had to stay open to make ends meet.”
“I’ll take my phone with me. Everyone knows to call if I’m not at The Muddy Rose. It’s not like we’ll be gone all day, right?”
He met her rapt gaze, gut twisting. He wanted to spend time with her, but this could be dangerous. “Palamiri might be the man behind my attempted murder.”
“All the more reason for you to have a buddy. Think of me as your driving buddy.”
He’d never been plagued with the urge to sleep with his diving buddies, but he lusted for Jeanie. On the other hand, the thirty-minute drive would be much nicer with her along.
Rock liked the sound of that.
While he chewed on the decision, he let the dogs inside. Both settled on the floor near Jeanie. Figured. They preferred her company too.
He returned to the table. “You can come along, but we do things my way, understand? I’m in charge of this operation.”
She saluted him and grinned. “Aye, aye, Skipper.”
Rock sipped his coffee. “That’s Cap’n skipper to you, Mate.”
She gathered the empty dishes and hustled them into the sink. “What time do we leave?”
Damn. She was into this as much as he was. “I want to check out something first. On the computer. An hour sound about right?”
“An hour’s fine. What about my clothes?”
He admired the body hugging fit of her curvy jeans and short sleeved blouse. “You look fine.”
Her lips pursed. “You said St. Simons. Where on the island?”
He told her the name of the hotel.
Her eyebrows rose, and her mouth gaped for a long moment. “I’ll change clothes. You will too. Nice slacks, dress shirt. Tie if you have one.”
The dogs flanked Jeanie and the bacon platter, eyes intent on the tasty prize. Rock resisted the urge to let his tongue loll like his pets did theirs. “For a beach place?”
“Trust me on this. You want to blend in, not look like a country bumpkin at that particular hotel. It’s the primo hotel on the island.”
Her comment jarred him. “What’s Palamiri doing there? He’s a charter captain, same as me.”
She nodded her encouragement. “Good question. I’ll do the dishes while you change. I have to go to my place to get the right outfit. We may as well stick together all day.”
Rock revised his plans. Change clothes. Pack up laptop. Go to Jeanie’s place. Go to the flower shop. Deliver the flowers. Drive to St. Simons Island.
“Will do.” He headed to his room. Jeanie’s insight rang true. If Palamiri was staying above his pay grade, something was off. Rock couldn’t wait to get over there and question the bastard.
Chapter 34
Jeanie wanted to find the coins and the chest to get her kids back. Her motivation didn’t trump Rock’s life and death stakes, but she didn’t care. To her, it came close enough. Her house seemed unbearably empty without them. She kept listening for the children, but they weren’t there. It also irked her to no end that her burglar had taken her coin stash from the bedroom closet. She used that for treats for the kids.
She gritted her teeth and focused on getting dressed for the surveillance luncheon. She selected her nicest slacks, a muted ivory crepe fabric, with a matching jacket. She added a hot pink shell that made her feel skinny. A few passes through her mop of hair with gel and she called it good.
About forty-five minutes later, the breeze on the island’s causeway ruffled her hair.
“Nervous?” Rock asked as they descended the last bridge.
“A little. I want to get to the bottom of this.”
“We will. I’ll phone Palamiri’s room from the lobby. My business with him won’t take long. Then we’ll grab some lunch.”
The way his voice roughened on the word “grab” did strange things to her insides. The ocean-flavored air took away his scent. She missed it, so she filled her gaze with him. He looked very fine dressed in his light blue shirt and navy blue tie. With so much blue on, his eyes darkened to an azure hue. She was aware of his every movement, every nuance of his voice. “What will you say to him?”
He shrugged. “I want my property.”
Talking about the lost treasure helped keep her mind off the virile male beside her. “If he has them, why didn’t he cash them in?”
“I’d hear about it, that’s why. I’ve contacted rare coin dealers and offered top dollar for 1850s gold sovereigns. Unless Palamiri’s found a private collector who’s willing to do an off-the-books deal, he can’t sell them without me knowing. He’ll be arrested for theft if he does.”
“Hmmm.” The steel in Rock’s tone suggested an arrest was the least of Palamiri’s worries. “Can you prove ownership?”
“I have digital photos of my sovereigns and the wooden chest. Every nick and imperfection on the coins are as telling as a person’s fingerprint.”
Jeanie did a double take. “Palamiri is living it up on the hope of future earnings? What a waste. I’d never spend money I didn’t have.”
A smile spread across Rock’s face like sunshine dawning on a new day. “Good to know.”
“What if Palamiri denies everything?” she asked.
“He can’t. Your ex said Palamiri and my partner were drinking buddies. Something I didn’t know at the time.”
“Your partner kept secrets from you?”
“Tarpley and I went back a long way, but he drank like a fish. That’s why I didn’t tell him everything.”
“That old ‘loose lips sink ships?’”
“In my case, they blow up first.”
“What was that like? The explosion, I mean.”
His cheek twitched. He shifted in his seat. He checked the truck mirrors. Finally when she wished she hadn’t asked, he began.
“It was like being in the service. One minute everything’s fine, the next it becomes Dante’s Inferno. You go into survival mode. I searched for Tarp in the burning wreckage, and he wasn’t there. With a busted arm and no g
ear, I couldn’t find him in the strong current. I feared a second explosion. Even so, I searched until I drifted away from the wreck, and it was too much effort to get back. In the hospital, the shock of what happened was worse than the injuries. And the guilt. Why’d I survive and not Tarp?”
“Fate’s a bear.” She placed her hand on his bunched shoulder muscles, willing comfort through her touch. “I’ve cursed fate a few times myself.”
“I’ll bet you have.”
Live oaks formed a thick canopy above the quaint two-lane road on the island. Today the bumper-to-bumper traffic crawled at a snail’s pace. She preferred the quiet, shady streets of Mossy Bog. No Atlanta tourists gawking at everything back home. No traffic jams. No stop lights either, she noted as they hit delays at sequential lights.
“You know where to go?” she asked.
“I memorized a map of the island before we left. We stay on this road for three miles. Two rights and we’re there.”
Impressed, she studied him. “You’ve done your homework.”
“Preparation pays off.”
The red tile roof of the stucco hotel came into view over the treetops. Queen’s Plantation had been an island fixture for a hundred years. Perfectly manicured lawns, crisp shrubs, and palm trees flanked the island’s crown jewel. She’d wanted to get married here, but they couldn’t afford it. They’d gone for a quick civil ceremony instead. The venue hadn’t mattered to Avery, but she’d wanted more than the stark courthouse setting.
Forget the past. Focus on the present. It’s a helluva lot more interesting.
Rock parked his Lariat in the lot among dark SUVs and flashy sports cars. While she checked her pink lipstick and pink hair in the mirror one last time, he opened her door.
She smiled up at him. “We should pretend to be a couple.”
He interlaced his fingers with hers. “Works for me.”
Tingles shot up her arm. Don’t get distracted by the man’s blatant sex appeal, Jeanie. Focus on this Palamiri character, enjoy your meal, and above all, protect your heart.
Rough Waters Page 12