“Brody, calm down.” Rowen grabbed his fist before he could hit the man again.
“Brody, is that you?” Two more pirates rushed up to join them.
Brody looked over to Big Garth and Odo, as they followed the path Lucky had taken up the rocky shore from the water. He felt like he wanted to punch them since they did nothing to keep him from being thrown into the sea.
“Welcome back, old friend.” Odo reached out for him, but Brody just glared.
“Now you’re calling me friend? Why didn’t you remember that when Old Man Muck was making me walk the plank? Where is that traitor anyway? I want him to look into my eyes when I kill him.”
“Brody, please, no,” begged Gwen, reminding him of his promise to stop acting like a pirate.
“Muck is dead,” Rowen told him.
“He is? Who killed him?” Brody looked over to Big Garth who had skill with the knife since he was the ship’s cook. “Was it you, Big Garth?”
“It was Lucky,” said Garth.
“Lucky?” Brody couldn’t believe his ears. Lucky was Muck’s best friend.
“I did it to keep him from killing Maggie,” said Lucky in his gravelly voice. He rubbed the scar running across his throat.
“Maggie?” asked Gwen.
“My brother, Reed’s wife,” explained Rowen. “Lucky’s turned a new leaf, and I’ve let him stay on as part of the crew. Brody, I sent them out looking for you, and told them not to come back until they found you. I left right after my brother’s wedding, searching the coast for you as well. My journey led me here, and I’m glad it did. My new first mate is aboard the Sea Mirage, but it’s yours again, now that I’ve found you.”
“I – don’t think so,” he said, looking at Gwen as he spoke. “I’ve made a promise to Gwen to stop being a pirate.”
“Then you’re in luck,” said Rowen. “The crew is all going to reform.”
“What do you mean?” Brody looked over to the pirates.
“That’s right,” said Odo. “Rowen’s going to set us up on a trade route.”
“We’ll be the crew of a trade ship from now on,” said Lucky, getting to his feet.
“It’ll give us all more time to find wives and start families of our own,” added Big Garth. “I actually wouldn’t mind the change.”
“That’s great,” said Gwen. “Then you can join them, Brody.”
“Gwen, I don’t need a ship anymore. Your father gave me his ship.”
“Where is it?” asked Big Garth.
“Is it as fast as the Sea Mirage?” asked Odo.
“It’s right there.” Brody pointed to the Desperado. The old, damaged ship creaked and groaned in the wind as it thunked against the pier.
“That’s your new ship?” Big Garth burst out laughing.
“I think we’ll be able to walk faster than that thing will sail,” added Odo.
“It’s been in a storm and hit by lightning,” Brody explained. “But I’m going to fix it up, and it’ll be as good as new soon.”
Rowen’s sea hawk swooped through the sky and landed atop the broken mast of the ship.
“We’re going to use it to find my brothers,” added Gwen.
“Where are they?” asked Odo. “In Hell?”
All three of the pirates laughed at that.
“I think it’s a noble gesture,” said Rowen. “Now that I’m living at Whitehaven Castle and have another ship, I won’t need the Sea Mirage. You’re welcome to use it to find Gwen’s brothers, Brody.”
“Thank you. I’ll think about it,” said Brody. “I have a lot of decisions to make soon.”
“You’re also welcome to stay at Whitehaven with me,” said Rowen.
“Whitehaven?” Gwen looked up in surprise. “In a castle?”
“Aye,” said Rowen. “Is there something wrong with that?”
Gwen and Brody exchanged glances. “I’m not sure we belong there,” said Brody. “We’re just . . . simple fisherman.” He smiled at Gwen when he said it.
“Then stay with me,” offered Edwin. “If you don’t want to stay at the inn, you can use our house in town. Since my brother and his wife mainly stay at the inn now, too, the house is empty most of the time.”
“Thank you. We’d like that,” Brody answered.
“When’s the wedding?” asked Rowen.
“I’m not sure,” said Brody. “Hopefully, as soon as possible.”
“I can contact the local priest from the church if you want,” offered Edwin.
“Does he marry ex-pirates?” Brody felt as if he were an outcast in his hometown.
“There’s no need to bother the priest,” said Rowen. “I’m still a captain. If we hold the wedding on a ship on the water, I can do it for you right now.”
“Gwen?” asked Brody, gazing into her bright, blue-green eyes.
“Let’s do it,” she said. “I only have one request, and I don’t want any of you to laugh when you hear it.”
Chapter 10
Brody held his head high as he recited his vows of marriage, standing aboard the Desperado. It had been a struggle to get the ship away from the pier. Honestly, he wasn’t even sure it wouldn’t sink before they finished.
They’d used the Sea Mirage to pull it out into the deeper water. Now, all the crew watched from the other ship in amusement. Only Edwin, Rowen, Big Garth, Odo, and Lucky were aboard the broken-down barge with Brody and Gwen.
“Well, you’re married now, Brody. How does it feel?” asked Rowen.
“I’m not sure.”
“That’s because he didn’t kiss the bride,” called out one of the pirates from the Sea Mirage.
“That’s right; you haven’t kissed me yet as your wife.” Gwen looked up with a wide smile. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
“Then how about a kiss?” Brody kissed her deeply and then swept her off her feet, holding her in his arms as she threw back her head and laughed. Her long hair fluttered in the breeze.
“Look what I found,” said Lucky, walking out of the cabin with a black hat in his hand that was worn by pirates.
“Where did you find that? It must have been my father’s, but I’ve never seen it before,” Gwen told them.
“It was right there in plain sight in the cabin,” said Lucky.
“Really, Lucky?” asked Brody. “I find that hard to believe since Gwen’s never seen it before.” Brody put Gwen on her feet and sauntered over to Lucky.
“Sure, it was, Cap’n. Here, try it on for size.” Lucky plopped the hat on Brody’s head.
Brody straightened it and then kept walking forward, while Lucky kept backing up to the sidewall. Brody could see part of the sidewall wavering in the breeze, ready to fall apart. “Where did you find it, Lucky? If you’re going to remain as part of the crew, you need to start telling the truth.”
“And stop stealing,” added Rowen.
Lucky’s hand flew to the scar on his throat that Rowen had given him years ago when he caught him stealing. “All right, all right,” he said, backing up and trying to get away from Brody. “I might have found it at the bottom of a trunk. Under the bed.”
“That’s what I thought.” Brody stopped when Lucky’s back was against the broken part of the ship’s wall. “There’s just one more thing I have to do before I forgive you for your part of my mutiny, Lucky.”
“Anything. Anything at all, Cap’n,” said Lucky.
“Go jump in the sea, just like I had to do.”
“Me? Jump?” Lucky looked over his shoulder at the waters below him.
“Need a little help?” Brody stomped his foot, pretending to dart at Lucky. Lucky closed his eyes and turned his head, leaning back hard on the sidewall. Then the broken part gave way, and he fell into the sea.
Shouts of laughter and clapping went up from the crew on the Sea Mirage. Lucky surfaced, spitting a stream of water from his mouth.
“There. Now I feel better.” Brody removed the hat and handed it to Gwen. “But I don’t want to
wear the hat of a pirate anymore. You take it.”
“I’ll take it, but not as a remembrance of my father,” said Gwen. “I choose to remember him as a fisherman and will think of him that way until I go to my death.”
“Then why are you keeping it?” asked Brody.
Gwen smiled. “I’ll keep it as a remembrance of the day I met you. Also as a reminder that you promised to change.”
“I don’t understand,” said Odo. “Your father’s hat will remind you of Brody?”
“It’s symbolic,” she told them, stroking the hat with her fingers. “It’ll remind me of the day we fished a man out of the sea - a man who is now a fisherman and a tradesman. When I first saw Brody emerge from the fog it was magical and mystical. And the last thing I’d have ever expected was that someday I’d fall in love and be married to the Pirate in the Mist.”
Spoiler Alert!
(If you haven’t yet read the book, Autumn’s Touch – Book 3 of the Seasons of Fortitude Series, you might not want to read the Epilogue that follows, because it is going to ruin a surprise. It is best if you read the Legendary Bastards of the Crown Series, followed by the Seasons of Fortitude Series first, and then finish with this epilogue. Even if you haven’t read Autumn’s Touch, you can still enjoy the epilogue, but might not know all the characters. Happy Reading!)
Epilogue
Five years later
Brody climbed the rigging of the Desperado with his four-year-old son, Breckon strapped to his chest. Gwen stood on the deck, shading her eyes, looking up at them with a scowl on her face. She cradled their newborn baby Katlyn in one arm, while with her other hand she held onto their son, Eric who one and a half years old. Their three-year-old daughter, Genevieve, was playing on the deck. Edwin and his wife, Marta, and their children were also aboard the docked ship.
“Be careful with Breckon,” Gwen shouted up to Brody. “That is too high. He’s going to fall.”
“Bloody hell, Wife, he’s strapped to my chest, and I’ve got my arms around him,” Brody shouted back, knowing it was no use. He sighed and headed back down. Gwen was never going to let him teach their children the joys of sailing.
“She looks good,” said Edwin. He leaned on the bulkhead, popping a nut into his mouth. “Of course, she should look good since it took you five years to fix up the old barge.”
“What did you say?” Gwen glared at him.
Edwin held his hands in the air as he stood up straight. “The ship. I’m talking about the ship, not you,” he told her.
Brody laughed. “I was a little preoccupied with raising a family, in case you haven’t noticed.” Brody jumped to the deck and unstrapped Breckon, letting the boy run around with the other children.
“Breckon, be careful,” Gwen shouted out. “The deck might be slippery.”
“I’ll watch the children,” said Marta, holding out her hand and taking Eric with her.
“Thank you,” said Gwen, rocking the baby.
“I thought you two were going to try to find your brothers,” Edwin said to Gwen. “Isn’t that what you said when you first got married?”
“We did say that,” answered Brody. “But then I was busy fixing the ship, and then the babies came along, and I guess it just didn’t happen.”
“I haven’t forgotten about it,” said Gwen. “I think of my brothers every day. Brody, I believe it’s time we set out to find them.”
“Nay,” said Brody. I’ll go, but not with you. It’s not safe on the sea, and especially not with pirates. You need to stay here and watch our children.”
Before Gwen had the chance to respond, Edwin stood up, looking at a ship that approached the dock. “I wonder who that is.”
“That’s the Sea Mirage,” said Brody. “Rowen must be here for a visit. I wonder why.” Brody hurried from the ship with the others following.
Gwen cradled her baby, and once again held little Eric’s hand as Marta, and all the children followed her, making their way to greet their visitors. Once the Sea Mirage docked, Gwen saw Rowen exit the ship, helping an old woman down the ramp to the pier.
“Rowen, what brings you here?” asked Brody, rushing over to greet his good friend.
“Nairnie was the one who wanted to visit,” said Rowen. “I think I’ll let her explain why.”
“Nairnie,” repeated Gwen, walking over to greet them with her children in tow. “Why does that name sound familiar?”
The old woman looked up at her, and tears filled her eyes.
“Nairnie, this is my wife, Gwen, and these are our children,” said Brody.
“Aye, I can see Cato in the bairns,” said the old woman in her Scottish burr, hobbling toward her.
“You knew my father?” asked Gwen in surprise.
“I happened to mention your late father’s name,” said Rowen. “When I did, Nairnie about took off my head for not mentioning it five years ago.”
“Nairnie,” Gwen repeated the name, searching her memory until she remembered. “I know where I’ve heard that name before. My grandfather mentioned it once when I was a child. I thought it was the oddest name I’d ever heard.”
“Yer grandfaither mentioned me?” The old woman stretched her neck and looked around. “Where is he?”
“Oh, my grandfather died when I was young,” said Gwen.
“Guid thing, or I would have killed the bastard,” said Nairnie under her breath.
“Pardon me?” asked Gwen.
“What about yer grandmathair?” asked Nairnie. “Did he ever mention her?”
“My grandmother died when I was a child too,” said Gwen.
“Nay she didna die, child.”
“She did. I remember it clearly,” Gwen protested.
“What ye remember is the death of a woman ye were told was yer grandmathair. But yer grandmathair is still alive and kickin’, lassie.”
“I don’t know what you mean.” Gwen shifted the baby in her arms.
“I’m yer real grandmathair,” said Nairnie. “Cato was my son, stolen by his father when Cato was just a child.”
“You – you are?” For some reason, Gwen didn’t doubt it for a minute. She felt it in her heart that it was true. “So . . . you’re . . . family.”
Nairnie nodded her head, tears rolling down her wrinkled cheeks. “Come here, Gwen.” Nairnie spread out her arms. “I want to look at my granddaughter.”
Gwen rushed to the old woman, and hugged her, crying because of the happiness in her heart.
“Ye have Cato’s eyes,” said the woman, reaching up to wipe away Gwen’s tear. “Rowen told me he died. I only wish I could have been here to see my boy one last time before he left this world forever.”
“His grave is just over that hill,” said Brody. “Would you like to see it?”
“I would,” she said with a nod.
The entourage headed up the hill to where Cato Fisher’s body was buried, marked with a wooden cross made from the mast of his ship.
Nairnie fell to her knees atop the grave, throwing her body on the ground that covered her dead son. “Oh, Cato, I never stopped lovin’ ye,” she said, tears streaming down her face. “I wish I had come to look for ye,” she said. “I’ll never forgive myself for no’ comin’ after ye.”
“Brody, take the baby,” said Gwen, giving Katlyn to him, and getting to her knees as well. She lovingly wrapped her arms around her grandmother. “Please, don’t cry, Grandmother.”
“Nairnie, get off the ground,” said Rowen, helping the old woman to her feet.
Nairnie took Gwen’s face in her hands. “Aye, ye are a bonnie young lassie. I’m sure Cato was proud of ye.”
“You’re Scottish,” said Gwen. “That means I’m Scottish too.”
“Ye and all yer bairns. Brody, let me hold my great-grandchild.”
Brody gave her the baby, and when he did, Nairnie’s eyes lit up.
“You have four great-grandchildren,” Gwen told her. “Children, come meet your great-grandmother.” Gwen introduced Eric, B
reckon, and Genevieve to Nairnie. The old woman looked so happy that is made Gwen’s heart sing.
“Cato never had a son?” asked Nairnie, making sure to run her hand over the head of each child in a loving manner.
“Aye, he had three sons,” said Brody.
“Three?” Nairnie looked around. “Where are my grandsons?”
“My brothers, Mardon, Tristan, and Aaron are not here,” said Gwen.
“Well when will they be back?” asked Nairnie, poking her finger at the baby, trying to get Katlyn to smile.
“Nairnie, they left many years ago, and Gwen hasn’t seen them since,” said Brody.
“They’re pirates,” added Gwen.
“Pirates?” Nairnie’s eyes flashed in anger. “No grandchildren of mine are goin’ to be pirates.”
“My father was a pirate, too,” Gwen told her.
“Cato? A pirate?” Nairnie’s mouth pursed, and her eyes turned to slits. “I would have tanned his behind for that one. Nothin’ guid ever comes from pirates.”
Brody coughed purposely, and Rowen shook his head in a silent warning not to challenge Nairnie.
“Nairnie, did you forget that both Brody and I were pirates at one time?” Rowen gently reminded her. “We didn’t turn out that bad, did we?”
“I suppose ye’re right,” she said, giving the baby back to Gwen. “All right, I’m ready. Let’s go.”
“Go?” asked Gwen “You just got here. Why do you want to go home when I’ve just met you?”
“Home? Who said anythin’ about goin’ home?” asked Nairnie. “I’m talkin’ about goin’ out to look for my grandsons, Mardon, Aaron and Tristan. And when I find them, I’m goin’ to give them an earful. No grandchild of mine is goin’ to be a pirate if I have anythin’ to say about it.”
“Nay, you’re not coming on the trip,” said Brody shaking his head. “A ship is no place for an old woman. Plus, pirates are dangerous.”
“Say what ye want, but I’ll no’ lose three grandsons after I lost my only son. I willna repeat my mistakes, do ye hear me? We are goin’ after them.”
Pirate in the Mist: Brody (Second in Command Series Book 1) Page 8