Happily Ever After

by Tanya Anne Crosby

  “I’m coming, Jack!” she shouted back at him, and shoved a few selected toiletry items into the sack.

  He came to the door then, leaning against the frame as he watched her with that look in his eyes. He seemed to like to look at her since she’d begun wearing Shorty’s pants, and what was more, she liked the way that he looked at her.

  Her heart leapt a little at the sight of him. “Jack,” she said breathlessly.

  He always managed to do that... steal her breath away. The very sight of him left her dizzy. A single look of his made her heart dance against her ribs.

  “Whenever you’re ready, princess.”

  He wasn’t upset with her, Sophie knew that by the smile on his face, but she grimaced at his endearment. “Harlan calls me that!” she reminded once more, and hoped he would understand how it grated on her nerves. “Please don’t.”

  He pushed away from the doorframe, straightening.

  “Anyway, I’m ready!” Sophie assured him. “Except ...” She hesitated, glancing at the papers on his desk, wanting so badly for him to see them.

  She went back to the desk, lingering there, plucking Harlan’s picture from the desktop. She couldn’t very well forget the picture when she’d tucked Harlan’s letter into the back of it.

  Jack eyed it distastefully as she placed it, too, into her backpack, and gave her a look she couldn’t quite decipher. “By all means, you can’t forget that,” he said caustically, and then pivoted on his heels and left her to follow.

  “Jack, wait!”

  She wanted desperately for him to see her drawings.

  Disappointment surged through her as he disappeared from her sight. It took her an instant longer to realize what it was that had rankled him, but when she did, she smiled a secret smile.

  He was jealous, and that fact pleased her.

  Quickly she seized the stack of drawings from his desk and placed them into her backpack, then hoisted the backpack over her shoulder.

  He would discover her journey’s purpose soon enough. In the meantime, it wouldn’t hurt him to wonder just a little. Somehow, telling him about her decision to leave Harlan didn’t seem quite as fulfilling as the thought of showing him.

  The market square was pungent with the aroma of fish and meats, sweetened only by the more elusive scent of fruits and vegetables.

  Jack remembered the way through the tangle of booths, though it had been nearly three years since his last visit. He’d brought Randall and Pete with him, just in case Jose wasn’t in a forgiving mood. He would have preferred not to bring Sophie, but she’d been babbling excitedly about the breakfast she intended to make them, and he suspected he’d have had to tie her down to keep her from accompanying him once she’d realized their destination.

  Anyway, Kell had gone after supplies, and the rest of his crew were busy setting up camp. And it wasn’t as though he didn’t trust them with Sophie, but he really didn’t trust Sophie with them.

  Besides, he had promised her that she could cook for them. She wanted to help and he couldn’t quite bring himself to deny her. Nor could he help but be amused at the look of wonder on her face as she followed him through the market. Instead of overripe fruits and day-old meat that made up the market’s wares, one would have thought she were surrounded by nuggets of gold and glinting diamonds.

  To her credit, she seemed eager to redeem herself to his men and unwilling to accept defeat. Unfortunately, his men were secretly praying Jack would banish her from more attempts. He’d never met a woman in his life who took such joy in her efforts and failed so miserably every time.

  Jack actually found it a charming quality.

  It wasn’t difficult to find Jose’s booth, and he recognized Maria at once. He was grateful Sophie’s attention had been momentarily distracted by a batch of particularly colorful peppers two booths away. She lingered to inspect them, lifting several and turning them in her hand as though they were precious gems.

  Jack smiled a little at the sight of her, then returned to the unpleasant task at hand, hoping the peppers would keep Sophie’s attention.

  Maria hadn’t changed at all, and her pretty face brightened as she recognized him. Guilt tugged at him.

  “Jack!” she exclaimed, and leaped up from the stool she had been occupying.

  “Hello, Maria.” He smiled a little uncertainly at her, and cast a hasty glance over his shoulder at Sophie.

  Sophie’s attention was riveted on the peppers. As he watched, she began to select only the finest for the masterpiece breakfast she intended to prepare.

  Jack had a sudden desire to be there at her side... to look over them with her... smell her hair... touch her shoulders.

  She was beautiful, and it was killing him that she had to drag that damned picture of Penn around with her.

  It turned his stomach to think of the two of them together.

  Maria’s arms were around his neck the instant he turned around again. She nearly choked the breath from him. “Oh, Jack!” she squealed.

  Jack patted her back, grimacing as he cast yet another glance over his shoulder at Sophie.

  Considering the damnable picture she was carrying, he didn’t know why it should bother him so much that Sophie might be hurt by Maria’s attention. He ought to be more concerned with Maria’s feelings...

  Or his own hide.

  Jose came into the booth, his eyes narrowing in displeasure as he spotted Jack with Maria. If he’d had them before, Jack had no doubts any longer that her father knew. His stomach roiled again, and he grimaced at the older man’s expression.

  “Get away from my daughter!” her father demanded at once, and came to pry Maria’s hands from around his neck.

  Jack tried to assist him as best he could, hoping his immediate compliance would sweeten Jose’s mood, but Maria proved stronger than either of them realized.

  She held fast, jumping up and down excitedly, strangling Jack with her enthusiasm. “Oh Jack!” she exclaimed, and hugged him tighter, resisting her father as he railed at her in Spanish to release Jack at once.

  Jack had a niggling suspicion suddenly that her enthusiasm had less to do with him and more to do with defying her father, because her grip tightened at his furious demands.

  “No!” she refused him outright, her tone petulant. And she hugged Jack even tighter in a show of defiance. He was grateful she was fairly tall, otherwise he’d be a hunchback right now. She continued in Spanish. “No me puedes ordenar!”

  “Maria!” her father thundered, giving up trying to fight her hold on Jack. There was little affection in the stranglehold.

  “Dejar lo, Papa!”

  Attempting to follow their conversation, Jack was unclear as to whether she was trying to protect him or merely defy her father. Maybe both. And evidently she was determined to protect him to death.

  Jose seemed ready to trounce him—not that Jack was particularly afraid of the man, but it didn’t help his own cause that he felt Jose was justified in his anger. Jack wasn’t honestly certain he could even hit the man back if Jose decided to hurl a punch.

  He concentrated on breathing and gave up the struggle, hoping she’d notice on her own that she was throttling him to death sometime before he passed out at her feet.

  His Spanish was good, but not good enough to follow the heated discourse that followed. At last she said something that calmed her father, because he took a step backward, and Maria loosened her grip.

  Jack stood there uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his neck while Jose glared at him. His malaise intensified as Sophie came over with her colorful basket of peppers in hand, her attention obviously having been captured by the scene the three of them had made. She cast him a curious glance, and then turned to assess Maria.

  Maria stood defiantly beside him, refusing to give up her place at his side, and gave Sophie the very same assessing look in return.

  Jack groaned and felt the pit of his stomach tighten. Christ, it was going to be a long day.

  As
best he could, he explained to Jose what had happened, in Spanish so Sophie wouldn’t understand, taking full responsibility for his actions. He didn’t want Maria to feel the brunt of her father’s wrath so he took all the blame, but Maria apparently wasn’t about to allow it.

  She interrupted at once, making it clear that she was at an age where she had a right to do what she chose... which led to a lengthy argument between father and daughter about a daughter’s rights.

  “What’s happening?” Sophie whispered to him. Her brows were drawn together in confusion. She obviously didn’t understand a single word, and for that Jack was grateful.

  Jack shrugged. Now wasn’t precisely the time for explanations.

  Sophie gave him a frown.

  Let her be annoyed with him... he wasn’t the one carting around pictures of past lovers.

  And it really didn’t matter that she hadn’t actually been Penn’s lover. She apparently still had every intention of becoming just that. He grit his teeth at the thought.

  “Jose…” He interrupted father and daughter. “Perdon. La culpa es solamente mio.”

  “No!” Jose exploded. “La culpa es de mi puta hija que no puede cerrar las piernas por nadie!”

  Jack winced: Apparently he hadn’t been Maria’s only conquest.

  Maria turned ten shades of red at her father’s degrading remark and averted her gaze. Jack wasn’t exactly sure if it was out of anger or embarrassment, but it quieted her at once. He explained his reason for coming—not to cause trouble but to ask for Jose’s help.

  Jose remained quiet, listening, his thick brows drawn together in a hefty frown. He was much smaller than Jack, but his shoulders must have been twice as broad as Jack’s, and they were tense now as he listened, giving Jack a sense of unease.

  Jose began to shake his head as Jack went on to explain exactly what he needed from him, refusing him outright. He didn’t blame the man, but still he tried. He didn’t know who else to ask.

  Sophie and Maria went back to inspecting each other.

  In the meantime, a man came up to the booth and asked Maria for onions. Maria’s cheeks turned pink, and she shook her head briskly to say they had none. She waved him away, eyeing her father warily, and then turned again to the smiling customer. The two shared a brief look, and she tilted him a pleading glance. He nodded and hurriedly left.

  Jack lifted his brows, wondering what else the man had wanted besides onions.

  “What did that man say?” Sophie asked Jack as Jose launched into a fervent explanation for why he wouldn’t guide them. Jack tried to keep up with him and listen to Sophie at the same time.

  She tugged at his sleeve. “What did that man say?”

  He frowned at her. “What man?” he answered impatiently.

  Sophie raised herself on tiptoes to whisper in his ear, while Jose continued explaining that it was not only his anger for his daughter that kept him from agreeing to guide Jack to the jungle ruins, but his sense of responsibility to his family. He could no longer justify traipsing off into the jungles and leaving his family to fend for themselves. It was his fault, he added, that his daughter was so loose with her favors because he hadn’t been around to keep her safe. He intended to change all that... beginning today.

  “The one who was just here,” Sophie explained, and pointed out the man in question, who was now lingering at another booth trying to buy his onions elsewhere, making flirty eyes at the woman behind the counter. “What did he say?”

  Jack blinked at her. “He wanted to know if they had onions for sale.”

  Sophie’s brows knit as she considered that, and Jack returned his full attention to Jose.

  Sophie tried to remember exactly how he’d worded it: No tienes sayboyas? That was it precisely. No tienes sayboyas? “No tienes sayboyas?” she repeated to herself, trying to memorize the phrase.

  She tapped Jack on the shoulder. He turned to look at her, his expression somewhat harried. She didn’t bother to remind him how rude it was to leave her so completely out of his conversation. He hadn’t even bothered to introduce her. Was she supposed to twiddle her thumbs until he decided to include her? “I really hate to interrupt,” she told him, “but how do you say onions in Spanish?”

  He blinked at her. “Cebollas,” he answered.

  Sophie nodded.

  All right then... if sayboyas were onions... then no tienes must mean “do you have.” She tried to remember that while she endeavored to ignore the woman who was staring at her so rudely and so suspiciously.

  Maria, Jack had called her.

  She tried not to acknowledge the attraction Maria obviously had for Jack, and tried not to notice the way her gaze shifted to desire when she managed to pry her eyes away from Sophie to look at him.

  But she couldn’t help but wonder who the woman was.

  And she couldn’t help but be just a little jealous... even though she told herself she wasn’t... not at all.

  Though whoever she was, she was someone Jack was obviously very familiar with... judging by the grip she’d had on Jack’s throat. Sophie’s stomach turned at the thought of Jack and Maria together in any form or fashion.

  But then... she really didn’t want to think of it, so she thought instead of breakfast. She was eager to prove herself, and itching to begin. But first she needed eggs. Should she scramble them or should she make them into perfect little suns, with the yolks bright yellow and the whites perfectly formed?

  She patted her basket in approval. She had plenty of the colorful peppers and intended to throw them into the pan along with ham. And she had plenty of smoked ham from the ship’s pantry, but she needed bread as well.

  Growing impatient to return so that she could begin, she tapped Jack on the shoulder again and whispered, trying not to distract the man he was talking to from his explication, “How do you say eggs?”

  He gave her a curious look.

  “How do you say eggs in Spanish?” she asked again.

  His brows collided, but he answered. “Huevos.”

  Sophie mentally added that to what she already knew and practiced it to herself a few times, committing it to memory. No tienes huevos? No tienes huevos? No tienes huevos.

  She kept repeating the phrase to herself, dutifully ignoring the glaring woman. She tried to be patient with the interminable conversation going on between Jack and the man, who, she now assumed through Jack’s conversation, was named Jose. He was either the woman’s husband or her father... and judging by their ages, she assumed father.

  No tienes huevos, she repeated mentally while she waited for her chance to speak.

  She really ought to ask Jose first, before looking elsewhere. It wouldn’t make much sense to run around looking for eggs elsewhere if Jose had them to sell, but their conversation was becoming tedious. She couldn’t understand a single word they were saying and she was growing impatient... not to mention battling a severe case of jealousy that was growing to monstrous proportions.

  Never in her life would she have guessed herself capable of such terrible envy, but she was. She wanted desperately to put her hand possessively on Jack’s arm, but couldn’t bring herself to do it, so she found herself standing so close to him that she could smell the wonderful scent of his skin.

  Her body remembered, and warmed. It drew her nearer, despite her resolve not to appear competitive with that woman!

  She refused to lower herself to such an unseemly level of behavior. If Jack chose to be with her, then so be it. He wasn’t hers to command—and neither was she his!

  Still... she had every right to stand as close to him as she pleased. She was the one making breakfast for him after all!

  She cast the woman a baleful glare, though she really hadn’t meant to, and then became annoyed with herself when the woman returned it.

  What on earth was she doing trading evil glances with a woman over a man who wasn’t even hers?

  It was ridiculous, and Sophie was ready to go, but Jack seemed to be pleading with
Jose for something, determined to win his compliance.

  Jose shook his head, stubbornly refusing whatever Jack was requesting of him.

  His daughter’s hand in marriage?

  Sophie’s stomach twisted at the ridiculous notion. Her thoughts were running amok. Jack was not the sort of man to make love to her one day and marry another woman the next.

  Still, she decided they weren’t getting anywhere, and she wasn’t going to stand around and watch them butt heads all day long like two stubborn bulls. She decided to go look for her eggs now. At least that would while away some of the time while they argued.

  The man continued to shake his head, not speaking, only staring at Jack, and Sophie didn’t feel the least bit guilty about interrupting this time. She had shopping to do. It wasn’t pleasant for her to stand here and listen to them argue in a language she didn’t understand while that woman glared at her in a language she couldn’t help but comprehend!

  Sophie didn’t like her, or her father, either, and it must have come across in her tone. “No tienes huevos?” she blurted at the man, and was quite pleased with the way it flowed from her tongue.

  Jack’s head spun about, and the man’s did as well.

  The woman gasped and put a hand over her mouth.

  The man glared at her, and his face began to mottle.

  Sophie peered up at Jack. “What’s wrong?” she asked, sensing something was terribly wrong.

  Jack’s expression was full of something like horror.

  Something was definitely very wrong.

  Sophie’s eyes went wide. Her belly fluttered nervously. “What! What did I say?”

  Jack had only time to open his mouth, when the man hurled a fist at Jack’s face. It hit Jack’s jaw with a sickening thud.

  Sophie screamed as Jack went tumbling backward at the unexpected impact. She managed somehow to catch him.