I breathed out heavily. “What about our what-if, Sam?” He stood up and looked out over the side of the building. “What if Candy hadn’t lied way back then?” He turned around to face me, looking both sad and concerned.
“Doesn’t matter,” he returned. “She did lie-”
“But, what if she hadn’t? Where would we be right now?” I insisted. I huffed and rolled my eyes. Anger burned within me, and even though I’d confronted Candy and poured it all out, it still festered. “All those mistakes wouldn’t have happened, don’t you see? We could have been together from the start. Just one, the right one would have been enough, just like you said. We could be married by now, with kids-”
“Delilah, we’d also be much different people,” he interrupted. “I can’t imagine what God had in mind, letting this happen, but maybe we weren’t ready then. You can be pissed at her. She screwed us. But, you gotta work on your faith. Look at the person you’ve become, so strong and fiercely independent. Would that have happened if we’d been together? Would I have enlisted? I needed the army. I’m glad I did it, but I wouldn’t have if I’d had a reason not to, if I had you here. If you insist on thinking about what-ifs, then think about those. God knows what He’s doing, Delilah, even when we make our mistakes or they’re made for us.”
He reached out to me, and I gave him my right hand. He lifted me up, and pulled me to him. His hands encircled my waist, and I rested against him.
“You’re right,” I said finally. “I’m sorry. Just feel sad when I think of all that’s been lost-”
“Don’t think about what’s lost, just what’s gained,” he told me, pushing my hair back off my shoulders.
“Promise me nothing will get in the way of us this time around.” I smiled hopefully. His fingers slid along my cheek. A tiny crease formed between his eyebrows, and his eyes danced over my face. He opened his mouth to say something, but then hesitated. I tilted my head.
“Nothing’s easy,” he whispered. “The things in life that are worth fighting for, well, there’s always a fight, isn’t there? And this – this thing you do to me, seems like there’d have to be an epic war to earn it. Good thing we’re both fighters.”
“Sam,” I sputtered out.
He leaned his forehead down against mine, and smiled. “I’m sorry. Maybe we both have faith work to do.” The pangs of worry I spied in his eyes migrated over to my own.
“What is it?” I asked.
He took a deep breath and shook his head. “Nothing,” he returned. He kissed one cheek and then the other. With a much different tone, he said, “When you’re better, I’m going to take you out. You can put on a sexy dress. We can go mainland. We can go to the theater.”
“The theater?”
“Yes, we’ll go see a Shakespearean play,” he decided.
I gave him a skeptical stare. “You don’t seem like the type who’d enjoy that.”
“I could become a fan,” he grinned, “especially with the right teacher.”
I smiled. “Okay, but no tragedies for a while. Only comedies.”
“Fine by me,” he agreed. “It’ll be nice to just be us. Get all this behind us.”
“May take some time. Clark told me that a few larger newspapers will be running his story about the case in the next few days, as far away as Charlotte.”
“It was bound to happen,” Sam returned.
“I don’t like the attention.”
“It’s a good story, Delilah,” Sam said. “You should be proud of yourself.”
“Clark was very gracious,” I replied. “Desperation can produce great results. And that’s what it was.”
“The store is up and running. You must feel good about that, at least. How’s that going?”
I chuckled. “Badly.”
“It’s only been a few days,” he said. “Just needs time.”
“I know.” I smiled lightly to prove my contentment. Sam kissed my forehead. An ocean breeze swept up over the building and met us on our perch, cooling us off.
After a minute or so, I said to him, “Sam, something inside of me has clicked into place, and it won’t go back again. You’ve been with me this whole time, even when you weren’t.”
He cast me a confused glance, but I went on with, “I’m here for you, too. Something’s bothering you. I can feel it. You say that there must be some epic war to earn what we feel right now. We’ve already been through it, Sam.”
He smiled. “I’m sure you’re right.” Though the words came out, I didn’t think he believed them.
“Sam, whatever it is-” I started to say.
He interrupted me with a laugh and squeezed me closer. “Tonight, we’re celebrating. It’s funny – strange, funny, I mean. It’s going to take some getting used to-”
“What?” I questioned.
“You can read me just as well as you read one of your books, Delilah Duffy, and it’s unnerving-”
“Only when you don’t want to be read,” I returned with a raised eyebrow.
“No, I want you to know all of me,” he insisted, “just maybe not tonight.” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, and brushed my cheek with his finger.
He smiled warmly. “But, I will tell you this. Hadn’t even thought of it ‘till Aunt Bev brought it up this morning over coffee. I had an imaginary friend.”
“Did you really?” I grinned.
“Yep, I’d play trucks or G.I. Joes, even if I was just on the beach building a sandcastle, I’d talk to myself. Well, not to myself. To her.” He cupped my cheek. “Sounds kind of crazy, but I think that whole time, I was talking to you. I feel like I’ve known you all my life even when I didn’t and these last couple of weeks we’ve just been catching up.”
My face lit up, and his eyes absorbed me.
“It’s just like you said. We’ve never really been apart,” he said. “Not completely.”
I leaned in closer, so that my lips almost touched his. “When I have two arms again,” I said in little more than a whisper, “and it better be soon, there’s other catching up I’d like to do.” Sam chuckled.
“I get to replace the life vest, huh?” he asked.
“You are the life vest,” I said. Smiling, I kissed him, and lingered weightless much longer than twelve seconds.
Epilogue
Treasure
Rachel paced the bedroom in Grandma Betty’s beachside cottage, looking more nervous than she needed to be. Raina, who should have been the nervous one, sat on the bed, dazed.
“You have to do it like you’re taking off a band-aid,” I told her, hand on her shoulder. “Just yank it off, really fast.” I made a whipping noise for emphasis. It came out pretty well, a fizzing whistle. Rachel fidgeted over to the window.
“Officer Teague just pulled up,” Rachel informed, “and his aunt, too.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Mamma Rose invited them,” Rachel informed. “I heard her talking about it earlier.” An easy smile crossed my face, knowing that all of this would go better with him here, at least for me.
“Should I wait-” Raina started.
“No!” Rachel and I said in unison.
I added, “There’s safety in numbers. Just do it. Get it over with and you’ll feel so much better-”
“Like when you take off the band-aid,” Rachel repeated. “That was a good one. Go with that.”
I gave Raina my best reassuring smile, and brushed her cheek. “You can do this.”
“Okay,” she said resolutely.
“Okay? Do you want to pray or recite a Psalm or something?” I offered.
“No,” she returned, “I’ve been sayin’ ‘em all day. God’s tired of it.” She took a deep breath. “Let’s go.” We all nodded to each other and exited the bedroom.
The girls rushed off to the dining room followed by Aunt Beverly, while I lagged behind. I met Teague in the hallway. He gave me a short kiss. I couldn’t wait for my arm to be healed so that I could wrap them both around him again.
“You look beautiful,” he told me. I smiled. “Feeling okay?”
“Nervous,” I admitted, “but decent otherwise. Head’s great. Arm’s average.”
“Why nervous?”
“You’ll see,” I replied, pulling him down the hall toward the crowd.
“It won’t involve police or ambulances, will it?” he asked. I smirked.
“Gosh, I hope not, but you never know with this family,” I replied, only partly joking.
We took our places at the table. Grandma Betty had added a table to the end, to accommodate our whole family and draped both with sky blue tablecloths. The center bore a vase with bright, white daisies, cut low so that we could all still see each other. Her red chicken dining ware stood out well against the pale background. She laid out two piping hot platters of seafood lasagna, baskets of Italian bread, red and white wine, and enough salad to please a few families of rabbits.
Clark opened the door with, “So, Teague, did the police locate the money Darryl Chambers supposedly had?”
Teague shook his head, and answered, “The money’s just a rumor. Whatever they profited, they spent right away, mostly on expensive collectible dolls and computer equipment.”
“Well, if I’ve learned anything about Darryl Chambers,” I said, giving Raina a nod, “it’s that he was not only very intelligent, but also resourceful. If there is a stash, I’m sure he put it somewhere very clever. I bet it’s got a lock to it.”
I spied Rachel nudging her sister, but nothing came out of Raina’s mouth. Instead, Raina fiddled with the pendant of her necklace.
“There ain’t no money,” Candy declared. I cringed at the double negative (and maybe at her the sound of her voice, too). “How could anyone believe what a boy like that says about anythin’?”
“Darryl was actually a very good person,” I cut in, “with a lot of potential. He was going to join the army, and he worked very hard for Damon-”
“Sure did. Best worker I had,” Damon agreed. “Could fix anything.”
“A-and he was trying to turn his life around,” I went on. “He had plans for the future, good ones.” I paused to let someone (Raina) chime in, but there was silence.
“You sound like a commercial for ‘em, Delilah,” Clara smirked. “I’m sure if he were alive, you woulda hired ‘em and let ‘em live on your roof, too.”
“How are things workin’ out with ol’ Henry?” Charlotte added, stifling a giggle.
I smiled widely. “He’s running the store right now. He’s wonderful.” I didn’t mention that he’d been laundering his under clothes in the bathroom sink and hanging them to dry across my office or the far out gaze that sometimes drifted over his face that I literally had to snap him out of. I considered these things mere eccentricities.
I added with a wince, “My employee is certainly better stock than some of yours, Clara.” I stole a sideways glance at Candy, who didn’t look up from her meal.
“How’ve sales been, Delilah?” Clara asked. I gave her a one-shouldered shrug.
“Fine.”
“Oh, come now,” she sneered. “Be honest. We’re family. I was actually hoping that after the horrid ordeal you been through, you’d at least have a good opening week, if only to give you a much-needed ego boost.”
“How generous of you,” I returned sarcastically. “I don’t need sales to make me feel good.”
Clara grinned like the Cheshire cat. “So defensive, Delilah, dear! This market just isn’t right for a bookstore, and the whole town knows you’re tankin’. But, you get our votes for diligence and determination, that’s for sure.” She started chuckling at this point, and added, “You’re like the little engine that could, chugging up the hill – I think I can, I think I can.” She and Charlotte laughed. I felt Teague’s hand on my knee, telling me to be calm. I ignored it.
“I’m sure you didn’t read the book, but that train makes it,” I informed her.
“That’s why it’s called fiction,” she bit back.
“You are such a-” I felt Sam’s hand gently squeezing my leg. I stopped. Cursing in front of my grandparents wasn’t such a bright idea, if I could help it. “You’re right, Clara. The bookstore might not make it. But, at least I can take some pleasure in the fact that you won’t get it. Right?”
Clara shook her pretty head, and smiled. “Never know what might happen,” she replied. “I may not be able to buy it from Uncle Joe right now, but he’ll calm down and see reason. It ain’t over yet, sweetheart.”
“Holy crap, I love this family,” Clark remarked, pulling his notebook out of his pocket.
I huffed. “You may hate me for taking over Beach Read, but you’ll see. My presence hasn’t hurt as much as it’s helped. You’re just too blind to see it. Once the secrets-”
“Secrets?” Clark urged. “What secrets?”
“Mavis Chambers targeted me,” I reported, “because she thought Darryl was in love with me. Mavis was wrong, but only by a few branches of the family tree.”
“Holy shit,” Clark beamed, earning a scowl from Grandma Betty, which he expertly ignored. “All you other gals are too old, except-”
“Raina, pull the band-aid,” I said sternly. Raina stood up, nearly knocking her chair back behind her.
“I’m pregnant!” she yelled. Then added as she dashed out of the room, “And nauseous!” The announcing-then-running strategy was a good one. Clara was quick to jump up and follow her. The rest of the table sat paralyzed, staring at me.
“You know,” Clark grinned after too many seconds of tense silence, “if Chambers did amass a treasure, other than the one he’s left with Raina, of course, and he couldn’t keep it at home and it isn’t in a bank, there’s really only one place it could be.”
All eyes turned to him, mouths hanging open. Clark added, “Maybe Chambers didn’t just come back that night to install a light.”
I shifted in my chair and huffed. “Don’t say it, and don’t you dare print it.”
Clark laughed. “Beach Read: Books, Gifts and More. Right?”
Thank you for reading Sea-Devil: A Delilah Duffy Mystery!
Did you have fun? Did you figure it out? Did you get a chuckle? I hope so. I had a lot of fun writing it and I’m not done yet! Delilah’s adventures are only beginning! Be sure to check out book two, Luna-Sea: A Delilah Duffy Mystery available now!
I’d love to hear from you! Visit me at my website jessicasherry.com. Give me your email, and I’ll give you free stuff!
Thanks for supporting this first-time, self-published author! Please share your thoughts by leaving a review!
Blessings and Happy Beach Reading!
About the Author
What? You’re still here? Really? Well, then let’s put this novel (and probably you, too) to bed with a little about me, the author.
My first attempt at a novel was in the 3rd grade, an Annie-like drama (minus the music) called A New Life. My teacher, Mrs. Brown, graciously allowed us to act out scenes after lunch, soap-opera style. From then on, writing was my thing.
Many novels and publishing attempts later, I’ve learned that the industry is not as gracious as Mrs. Brown. It’s a tough business. Sea-Devil is my first published novel, and this is its second publication.
I’m married to Joe. We have two awesome kids – Ethan and Abby. We’ve made our home, for now, in Williamsburg, Virginia. Joe keeps us in coffee and air-conditioning as a computer programmer. I keep us in debt (from publishing) and funny stories (both my own and from my work as a preschool director). Our home is generally joyful, unless I’m in a bad mood or the dog pees on the carpet. But, we know our cups truly run over with blessings.
I love the beach, and would move there if I could (one of me and Joe’s together-dreams). I drink lots of coffee. Bite my nails. Watch too much TV. I love a good story, love dreaming them up in my head, and love sharing them in the hopes they might make you laugh, escape, dream along with me. God and I are tight. Though I pray everyday, read the Bib
le, and am active at church, I feel closest to him when I’m writing or at the beach. Writing at the beach is like my heaven! There’s just something about those two things that makes me feel apart of “his most excellent harmonies” (Phil. 4:9 The Message).
Not asleep yet? Try warm milk.
Want to know more? That’s weird, but okay. I get it. I’m weird, too. Check out my website at jessicasherry.com. While you’re there, be sure to say hello and tell me about you, so this isn’t entirely a one-sided relationship. Peace out!
Sea-Devil: A Delilah Duffy Mystery Page 32