She pulled back and looked him in the eyes. “I don’t care, Gage.” She reached up on the tops of her toes and pressed a kiss against his cheek. He looped an arm around her waist once more and softly kissed her pink lips.
“Ivy, my dear…I have been meaning to ask you a question for a few days now.” He pulled away a fraction of an inch, enough to feel in his pocket. Yes, the ring was still there. Nervous excitement bubbled in his stomach.
Her eyes widened in…hope? Something warm spread throughout his body.
“Oh? What did you want to ask me, Gage?”
“Uncle Gage! You had better hurry. Mama and Papa and the rest are probably missing you.” Gage swung his gaze to Reed, who still sat with Emma.
Had the child been watching them this whole time? He prayed not.
Gage groaned. The little guy was right, though. He had no idea how long they had been gone. He squeezed Ivy’s hand. “We had better get going. You are right.”
Ivy moved toward town with him, but stopped and faced the children. “You two take care of yourselves, all right? I trust you with Emma, Reed.”
“Of course!” Came Reed’s cheery reply.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
It took Ivy and Gage nearly a quarter of an hour to catch up with the rest of their group—and that was after walking the entire time at a breakneck pace. How long had they been missing? Why, it was all that stupid, charming, sweet man’s fault. Before they were in sight of their friends, Ivy stopped to brush sand from the dress Eden had loaned her. The woman had taken pity on her and offered her a few gowns, and here Ivy was, ruining them with sand.
Gage’s eyebrows shot up, nearly to his hairline, before he did the same. After a moment, he paused and inspected her. “You’ve got some here…” His hand reached out toward her head and gently brushed sand away from her hair. Ivy’s cheeks heated. She was the one who had started their little sand fight. Why, she should be embarrassed. It was utterly unladylike. A glance out of the corner of her eye told her Gage didn’t care she had acted out of hand. In fact, he looked quite pleased.
What was it he was going to ask her earlier at the beach? It was probably nothing important, yet Ivy was desperate to find out. His gaze met hers and his eyes darkened. He reached out and took her hand in his. “I think we are mostly free of the sand now, my dear.”
“There you are!”
Ivy squinted against the sunlight. Eden and the rest of the group had spun around and were heading towards her and Gage.
“We were wondering what had kept you,” Caspian said.
“Oh, nothing. We just took the wrong street and had to turn around after a while when we were looking for you.” Ivy bit her tongue. She had not meant to lie, but she certainly did not want her friends to know she had been kissing Gage and getting into a sand-throwing fight with him!
Gage squeezed her hand. She tugged away. Had the others not noticed how much hand-holding was happening between her and this charming man?
“We decided to walk near the docks. I wanted to look at all of the ships there,” Eden explained as they continued their way further down the street towards the bay.
Charles Town was certainly no match for London, but it seemed to be slightly larger than Port Royal and somewhat more civilized. Of course, that could be because they were visiting in the late morning hours. Most of the ruffians were probably still abed, sleeping off last night’s escapades.
Eden slowed until she walked at Ivy’s side. The boardwalk they were on was too narrow for three to walk side by side, so Gage was forced behind them. That was probably a good thing. Knowing him, he would find a way to brush his hand against hers until he held it. Not that she would stop him, though. Oh, what was she going to do about this man? And Emma? Gage was certainly correct when he said Emma needed a father. And truly, she wanted him to be that man. Wanted them to be a family. Wanted it more than anything.
“So, how have you enjoyed your voyage with Captain Thompson so far?” Eden sidled closer to Ivy. Had she been able to tell what Ivy was thinking? Surely not…
“Oh…it was as good as can be expected. I did not enjoy the storm we sailed through one bit, or when I helped take over command of the ship…or any of the other troubles we ran into along the way.”
“A storm? You had to command the ship?” Eden tugged on Ivy’s arm.
“Yes, those are stories meant for another day. But I have dearly appreciated the company throughout the voyage.” She glanced over her shoulder at Gage. He was listening to their conversation. His gaze warmed as it caught hers, and he winked. That alone sent her heart rapidly fluttering.
Eden also glanced backwards and realized they had an audience. She blushed and squeezed Ivy’s arm. “Sorry. We will talk about that another time,” she whispered.
****
Gage stepped ahead of the ladies in front of him so he walked next to Caspian. His friend thumped him on the shoulder. Gage grinned. “How is married life treating you, Captain?”
The man’s face brightened. “Perfectly, I must say. Eden has been a blessing to me in many ways. To Reed, as well. I had never realized how desperately my child needed a mother in his life.”
Something tugged on Gage’s heart. He had never had a true father as he was growing up, so he knew what it was like to be missing a parent. In fact, he knew what it was like to be missing both parents ever since his mother died, leaving him and Addie to fend for themselves.
Of course, Caspian’s parents had taken them in, but that family had never felt like a complete family. Now, Reed had a mother. And Emma needed a complete family herself. The weight of the ring in his pocket suddenly seemed like a boulder. He needed to ask Ivy to be his wife. By the stars, they might as well get married while they were here in town. As a captain, Caspian could even perform the ceremony.
“How is commanding a crew treating you, my man?” Caspian bumped Gage with his elbow.
“I have to admit, when I first began, I did not have what it takes to be a good captain. But so many things have happened since then, I think I may just get used to it. Even though I liked serving under you, I always dreamed of having my own ship. Something to call my own.” Maybe it was because he had always felt like he and Addie were a burden to whomever they stayed with. His only memories of Father were the tales his mother had told him, and she had never been pleased with the man. According to her, Father had never planned on having either of his children. They were a burden. Something he was forced to take care of. So, when Addie came along, he left without another word. After that, Gage was old enough to be able to tell that Mother struggled to feed them. When she died, they were a problem to everyone around them. Two orphans scrounging the streets of New Providence for food. Annoying shopkeepers. Getting in the way. Scouring the city for a dry place to sleep at night. And then when Caspian’s parents had taken them in, they were yet again an encumbrance to the family. Gage had loved life on Caspian’s ship, but yet again he was being taken care of by someone else. It felt good to have his own ship, to be in command of his life for once. Even if his abilities as a captain weren’t nearly as accomplished as his friend’s had been. He shook his head, trying to jostle those thoughts from it. A change of subject might help. “Ivy…Lady Shaw proved to be a nice captain, though.”
Gage turned his head to wink at the precious woman. She was too deep in conversation with her friend to notice.
“Oh?” Caspian’s eyebrows rose.
Gage chuckled. “Aye, she is. When I was too injured to even hold a conscious thought, she was not only mending me, but also taking charge of my rebellious crew with your brother-in-law.”
The corners of Caspian’s mouth tipped upwards in a smile. “Of course a woman like that would be my Eden’s friend.”
Gage leaned back his head and laughed. The man was correct. Now that he thought about it, he could easily see what characteristics had drawn Ivy and Eden together. And Ivy was—or soon would be, God-willing—his. Excitement coursed through his veins,
tickling his insides. For the longest time, he had wanted nothing more than to have a wife and a family. Now, that goal was so close to his grasp. Yet another reason to get the precious woman alone with him for just a few minutes.
****
Reed Archer walked alongside Emma as she crawled through the sand. A seagull swooped down near them, but he batted it away with his hand. It wouldn’t do for the creature to land on Emma. Then Mama and Papa might not ever trust him with a baby again. He wanted a baby sister or brother badly, so he guessed it would be wise to take good care of this baby. Maybe if he was really good with her, Mama and Papa would think about getting one for themselves.
Emma slowed down to poke at a shell. Reed stopped next to her, picked up the piece, and handed it to her. A smile stretched across her face. She only had a few teeth, but it was really cute on her. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, like Mama did to him before she tucked him into bed. The little girl was fixated on the shell. “You like that shell, huh, Emma?”
Reed glanced about the sand until he found another one. This one’s insides were shiny. Emma giggled and pointed at the shell. After a few minutes, she set it down and continued crawling along the edge of the shore. Babies didn’t seem to pay much attention to anything for a long time. Reed hurried to follow her. He glanced in the direction they had come from. The town wasn’t visible from here anymore. All he could see was sand, the ocean, the tall grass that lined the shore, and the craggy pieces of rock that jutted into the sea.
Reed scrunched his face up in thought. Maybe he should stop Emma and turn her the other way. He had never been somewhere like this before, especially not alone. All of his life he had been on Papa’s ship, or walking through town next to Papa, or on the beach with Papa. There did not seem to be any sign of any other people near him now. But he did not want to stop Emma and turn her around. She might get upset and start to cry. If he made Emma cry, then maybe Mama and Papa would think he was not ready to have a brother or sister.
Emma plopped down where she was. Good. If he could just trick her into turning around while she was sitting down, then she might not even know she was not crawling in the same direction when she started up again. She babbled something Reed couldn’t understand. Reed had found could not understand most of what she said. Her little hand reached towards something that was moving behind him. What would be moving when he and Emma were the only people out here?
Reed spun around. Something made gurgling, grunting noises. Something that sounded like an animal. With a gasp, Reed nudged Emma behind him. The creature, whatever it was, pushed through the grasses, making them move as if wind swept around them. Emma grabbed onto Reed’s leg. She seemed to sense the danger, also.
“You stay here, Emma,” Reed whispered, gently removing the girl’s hand from his leg. He moved forward and pushed aside some of the grass before poking his head through the opening. Three tiny animals sat on a mound of dirt, grunting. Their tiny tawny-brown bodies were striped with white and gray, and their little brown eyes barely opened. Reed laughed. That was what he was afraid of? Why, they were almost as cute as Emma!
If he was by himself, Reed would stoop down to pet the little critters. But he was with the baby, and he didn’t want anything to happen to her, so he moved away. Just as something else rustled the tall grasses. Reed whipped back around and found himself face-to-face with a much bigger, much angrier, much less peaceful-looking version of the little creatures. One that bared its long, sharp teeth at him. It looked like a pig he had once seen at a plantation. Papa had told him about wild boars once, and Reed was afraid he stood right in front of one.
A tiny hand squeezed his leg. Emma. She whimpered. Reed felt like doing some whimpering of his own, but big boys didn’t whimper. He would call out for help, but if he was too loud, maybe the boar would come charge at him. Maybe if he and Emma stood still long enough, it would leave them alone.
No. The creature roared, and then charged straight toward them, teeth bared. Sharp teeth.
As fast as he could, Reed bent down, grabbed Emma, and ran down the beach. My, but the little baby was heavy. He had held her before on Mr. Thompson’s ship, but he had been sitting down then. Now, he was picking her up and moving as fast as he could. A glance over his shoulder told Reed the wild boar was still in pursuit. Practically on his heels.
“Emma, hold on tight.”
She babbled something back but Reed felt her grip tighten. Something sharp slashed at his legs. Reed cried out. He stumbled and almost fell smack on his face in the sand. Hot tears trailed down his cheeks. He couldn’t help it if he wasn’t a big boy. This hurt.
Something thick and warm slid down his legs from the place the animal’s teeth had struck. Blood. Despite the stinging, Reed surged forward. The shore sped by in a blur.
Where could he go? The animal continued to follow him at a breakneck pace.
“Papa! Mama! Uncle Gage!” His voice cracked on a sob. “Please help us!”
Reed’s foot caught on a large piece of rock, and this time he lost his balance. He crashed onto the sand. Luckily, Emma landed on top of him so he didn’t crush her. The boar approached quickly. He needed to think fast.
A large piece of driftwood rested near his head. Reed frantically grasped for it, but his hand only hit the empty sand. The boar was practically right behind them. “Help!” Reed got ahold of the driftwood and hefted it over his head as he struggled to a sitting position. He whacked the boar square on the snout with the chunk of brittle wood.
The blow did little to thwart the beast, but at least it slowed its pace a little. Reed surged to his feet as he tried his hardest to balance Emma in his arms. He shot forward and scanned the beach for a way out, for any way to get away from this animal that seemed intent on killing him and the baby.
The creature whirled back to her babies, but then continued towards Reed and Emma again. She seemed to be going even faster now than she had been before.
The rocks. The craggy rocks that jutted out into the ocean, high above the water. Reed sped to them. In fact, they seemed to be made like a staircase, the highest point stopping a far distance out into the ocean. Maybe it was a staircase built by God just for him and Emma. But the tide was coming in, and already some of the lowest sections were covered with water. Maybe Reed could run through it, though. He glanced behind. The boar still followed closely, but twisted back to her piglets once more. The rocks were his only hope.
Reed leapt straight into the ocean. The saltwater stung the scratches on his legs. He couldn’t help but cry out again. Emma’s tiny, chubby arms wrapped around his neck. Her little blue eyes were large with terror as Reed threw out a hand to grab onto the next piece of rock. Water lapped at his waist. It was moving so fast, it threatened to pull Reed and Emma out into the ocean. Papa had taught him about currents. The waves were deadly when the tide came in.
Reed hefted all of his weight forward and pulled himself out of the water, up onto the next layer of rock. Emma began to wail loudly. Reed paused to catch his breath, but not for long. The water swirled at his feet, further soaking his boots. A glance forward told him he had a long way to climb before getting to the highest point of this outcropping. A sharp piece of rock slashed his hand. After a few more steps, his right foot landed in a puddle that grew deeper by the second. He slipped and almost plummeted straight into the swirling water.
Tears streamed down his face. He had tried to behave like a big boy. He had tried his hardest. And now his legs hurt. More badly than anything had ever hurt before. And he and Emma might not live. A sob tore from his throat. Reed had promised his parents and Mr. Thompson and Mr. Thompson’s lady friend he would take care of Emma. That he and Emma would be safe.
Reed glanced behind him. The wild boar had stopped at the water, and now looked a thousand times more disinterested in him and the baby. Good. A sigh of relief heaved from his lungs.
Fierce water swirled about his ankles. Reed bit his lip and continued climbing upward, seeking s
afety. He prayed the water wouldn’t cover the highest point of the rock staircase.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Addie studied Mr. Douglas, or Lord Trenton, as she supposed his real name was, through lowered lashes. She regretted nothing more than their last conversation, when she had been terribly rude and he had been terribly polite, considering the thoughtless things she had said to him. What did he think of her? Most likely nothing well.
She was also incredibly aware of how close he was as they strolled down the narrow sidewalk. Their shoulders occasionally bumped, sending sparks flying through Addie’s body. She wondered if Adam felt the same sensation.
What was she thinking? She had no desire to bring another man into her life. Ever. It was out of the question. Even recently, she had been betrayed by her former employer, Mr. Faulke, when he had planned to hire another woman to replace her at her job. Men had a long history of being useless to her. There was no way she wanted to deal with another one of the inadequate species.
“Mrs. Poole?”
Addie’s face heated. Now he was talking to her? And he was calling her by her married name. She was not certain she could handle that. A groan escaped her lips. “Yes, mister?”
“I am really, truly sorry for spilling the tea on you. It was an accident.” He reached out and grabbed her hand in a gentle gesture. “I hope your hand is healing well.” Addie glanced down, where his hand still held hers. Her skin was slightly pink, but there was hardly even a mark left from the hot liquid.
“Mr. Douglas, I know it was an accident. I wanted to apologize for how poorly I treated you.” The words were hard for her to admit, but it was right of her to apologize.
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